A little of China..

too malas to write everything about china la. but the main thing was that NO ONE spoke english... serious. no, seriously! so i got by with hand gestures and CK's written translations - thank god. was quite hilarious actually.

highlights: everything's cheap.. shopped again.. went to this place called windows of the world where they've built miniatures of world famous place like the louvre, taj mahal, the leaning tower of pisa, the pyramids, the eiffel tower, a red indian settlement, niagara falls, mount rushmore, the statue of liberty.. you get the drift.. tried dressing up in a geisha costume as well, and got a picture taken with taj mahal in the background - absolutely hilarious if you think about it ;-)

also dressed up in an arabian costume, sat on a real camel (VERY cute), and got my pic taken amidst the pyramids, very cool ;-) also funny cos almost no one in that part of the world had seen a dark person and they were taking pics of me and with me.. freaking HILARIOUS. and this was despite the language barrier. even saw someone doing a video shot of me as i was walking - now i know what a celebrity feels like. i mean, dont they have national geographic or something? sheesh.. but funny all the same and a great experience.

was travelling alone and one of the things i like abt travelling alone is that you do things you'd normally never do. was hungry and since i ran out of my ever trusty muesli bars, i just walked up to a couple of girls and asked them for a grape-y biscuit cos it smelt pretty enticing. and they obliged ;-) it was so funny. human nature.. very interesting.. should try my hand at psychology or behavioral science or something.. hmmmm, something to consider when i hit midlife crisis ;-) (IF)

and since no one spoke the language, hand gestures were an absolute necessity especially when you're late for your flight and you're rushing so you wont miss it and you dont know the way to the airport.. so all that works is the "plane" - bear in mind that this goes best if accompanied by that "swoosh" sound ;-)

food: wantan mee with minced beef and beef fishball soup - very nice. baked sweet and sour pork rice - also very nice ;-) p/s: i think tv3 could do with an international version of jalan jalan cari makan and i could be the host.. hehehehe ;-)

was a good trip la ;-) almost had a constant smile on my face all through. and found out that my bargaining skills were pretty good - when you want something and you dont want to pay more than normal, JUST WALK, and they'll call you back. if they dont, give it 10 minutes, swallow humble pie and go back (if you think the last price quoted was worth it la).. got quite a lot of stuff tht i almost felt like santa claus when i came back ;-)

wish i had spent an extra day there or something. oh well..

yes yes, caught my flight w plenty of time to spare, got a baileys at the airport as well so was a good trip all in except that my bank balance needs help. so if anyone feels like contributing to the "help save kogs' bank balance" fund, i'll give you special mention when i make my first million.. cheers.. ;-)