Thursday, March 14, 2013

TimTania Tie the Knot

So awhile back I found out one of my friends from secondary school and also USYD, Natania, got engaged! They planned for a November wedding, and it was smack in between my busy period, because my mom's birthday is mid november, followed by my gramma's birthday and then my dad's birthday at the end of the month. I managed to squeeze some time out for a trip back to Sydney and of course to attend Natania's wedding!! We're not the kind of friends who talk all the time, but I know if I ever truly need her help she'll be there for me, fo shizzle, even with a bit of eye-rolling and sarcastic quips, but there nonetheless, and I wanted to bear witness to one of the defining moments of her life. Natania's also the first of my close friends to get married, congrats on being the pioneer hehehe (PRIVATE JOKE RIGHT THERE). It was a really heartfelt wedding. None of that fancy shmancy stuff you get over here in Singapore, just a simple church ceremony where they vowed their love and devotion in front of close friends, family and God. And of course a really amazing, intimate luncheon with great food and a couple of fun games thrown in. Truly happy for the beautiful couple! 

compare this to my graduation photo hehehhe :)

(i didn't draw this!)
haha the bride wore SANDALS. 

This wedding, their marriage, it just goes to show you don't need the fancy things. You don't need 600 guests, or a 6 string orchestra to play your march in, or champagne fountains, or cheesy slideshows. You just need a love that is so deep and so true, and it makes everything beautiful, everyone can see it and more importantly feel it. I wish you both laughter and love for years to come x

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Of Rocks and Mountains

"Oh what are men compared to rocks and mountains!" Tis a line I always remember from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Truly nothing, even if I doubt the great lady herself had ever been to China. More photos! This truly is a disgusting backlog, clearly not cut out to be a blogger. It turns out life is more exciting than I think it is. 


So one of the things unique to Lijiang and its native Naxi tribe is it's embroidery schools. They are kept within the family, and the skill is mostly imparted to relatives (nieces, daughters, daughters-in-law, cousins etc). In Naxi culture, it is the woman who earns the upkeep! Not really a yay for equality because the men just spend their afternoons drinking tea (or liquor) and playing chinese chess..... 
So one must most definitely go to see an embroidery school, when one is in Lijiang! They truly are amazing works of art, so much patience! Some of the more intricate ones take up to 700 days to complete, quite insane! 
Look how the fishes sorta come alive! The bright parts are where the silk embroidery has been done. At the school we went to, they had a whole lot of little dogs which were once stray but now guard the house (or laze about) in exchange for food and pats. 
TEEHEE me when I'm happiest, surrounded by furry little dusty dogs. 
Another tourist destination: Tiger Leaping Gorge. Apparently a hunter was chasing a tiger and it leapt across the gorge onto that rock and onto the other side of the river, which you can see by the tiny humans on the other side, is pretty damn wide. 
Food! Cooked by the boy in the blue jacket! I saw boy because he could not have been more than 16 years old but he had pretty legit cooking skills. I hang my head in shame. 
Moar food! This one was one of my faveee meals! It's called Guo Qiao Mian (or Cross Bridge Noodles), and is light and not too oily (although look at that soup). First, according to what you order, they serve you a plate of condiments and a bowl of noodles. Usually comes with peavine, ham slices, quail's egg, beancurd skin, pickled veggies and some meat like chicken etc. Then later on a big boiling claypot of soup arrives! You're supposed to throw the noodles into the boiling soup, followed by all the other condiments and then eat it all. It was super delish, need to try to recreate this dish! 
Some Peacock Dance show, rather entertaining. Granted, I did fall asleep once but only because I was tired. Then off to the Stone Forest, a forest made up of limestone formations. Naturally, being the civilised people that we are, we spent the entire time there having fun with the topography. 
Teehee! Daddytong says hi. 
The End. 

Friday, March 8, 2013

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

More photos from my Lijiang trip! I quite like posting things about 5 months late I think... It helps me to remember fondly the good times. Would you call this living in the past? I guess so! Anyhow, the most famous thing about Lijiang is undisputably, this mountain called Yu Long Xue Shan. Not only is it a jade mountain, it is also a JADE DRAGON SNOW MOUNTAIN. Trust the Chinese to be extra lor-sorh or descriptive about a mountain. It is naturally one of the treasures of China, and Zhang Yimou was so inspired about the mountain he produced a show with the mountain as a backdrop. 

Here you see hundreds and hundreds of actors. To be honest I can't really remember what the show was about, mostly the cultures of the Naxi people of the region, but is that a view or what!? Outdoor theatre also means feeling hot (from the sun) yet freezing (from the winds) at the same time. 
After the show it was cable car time! After rushing for the bus to take us to another high point (whatchamacallit) to get on a cable car, we had to queue pretty long but it was quite worth it! So meanwhile, queuing up we saw heaps of people in these long ass puffer down coats, but it was so warm from the sun we thought we would be fine! WE WERE WRONG. 
See all those tiny red people on the stairs? Yeah they're in red puffer jackets. 
My sister & I, and Daddy, FREEZING. We took this picture huddled together but still nearly got frostbite. 
(hehehhehehe I kinda felt like Perez Hilton while editing this photo on photobucket) 
Freak human/baby looking radish. Not quite sure if I would dare to eat it. Also I must say the food here was way better than the food I had in Jiu Zhai Gou/Chengdu. I guess Mala food is not to my palette. Ok just one more post and I'd be done with this trip! But still have yet to put up all the photos from my UK trip. Baby steps! 

x