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the globetrotter returns
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apologies for all the worry i've caused to some. a flurry of emails and voicemails along the lines of "WTF are you doing fiona?!!!" amused me somewhat actually. =p
so you must be wondering what actually happened. nothing much, really. just that when you're feeling like you're caught in a limbo, all that you want to do is to just drop everything else and live someone elses' life for awhile. of course i couldn't play god so i did the next best thing: travel. a decadent i-love-me treat.
within a few hours of facing mark and hearing him say all the dreadful words, i decided on a whim i HAD to get out. and fast. so i got online, and contemplated on tibet to embark on a soul-cleansing zen trip. but accomodation would be whack so i randomly chose shanghai and hongkong for its accessibility. a few clicks later, the trip was on.
yes, i was THAT impulsive.
so i hopped onto the plane early tues morning.
hello, shanghai.
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extremely satisfying breakfast of cheese omelette crepes and new potatos on singapore airlines business class. very unphotogenic but oh! so good.
my room @ the grand hyatt, shanghai. yes... room for one, thank you very much. and don't give me that sympathetic eye!
the gorgeous view from my room @ the 78th storey. too bad fog got the better of it and a few hours later all i saw when i peered out was.. whitewashed murals. fuck!
nanking street.
no hand carry crabs, please. use your feet.
the eerily quiet shanghai financial district. then again, it's rather new.
like little stacked matchboxes.
very windy.
i like to stand in the middle of the pre-war streets, and imagine the glorious days when shanghaiese women wore slinky cheongsams and smoked long stemmed cigarettes, and the intoxicating scent of opium lingering in the cold. sophistication is long dead, honey.
handy clothes racks.
modern alleys.
not-so-modern alleys.
doesn't this remind you of some really backward soviet country during the industrial phase?
pictures do no justice for the sheer yumminess of this popular shanghai snack.
deep-fried spring onion pastry. so oily that it is every dietician's nightmare. only for 1 yuan ( SGD$ 25 cents )
light but crispy batter encloses a delightful mixture of mincemeat and spring onions. oral orgasm!!
the startling reality of shanghai's income gap. walk along the streets lined with Gucci, Prada and Dior stores but wander into the alleys and be greeted by a parallel world of poverty and old people huddled around small bonfires.
another popular shanghaiese snack but i don't have the balls to try it lah. i am generally wary of street peddlars selling seafood. and you should be, too!
old-school charcoal roasted sweet potatos!
excellent eating on a frosty winter day.
just like solidified honey. the colour is so brilliant!
curry and coffee.. gives you diarhoea.
touristy shot of the dunno what tower.
these two sculptures cannot be any more randomly placed.
chinese cab drivers are terrified at getting mugged, as you can see from the acrylic 'protection' they have.
shanghaiese subway. got lost while exploring the heartlands because well, i am ashamed to admit that my command of mandarin is atrocious.
finally after a 4 hour delay due to intense fog at Shanghai, i touched down in Hongkong and straight to my room at Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, located at the harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui. a pretty nice 5-star hotel as well. the mirror looks like it came from an Anna Sui catalogue, yes?
the view.. otherwise maimed by the science musuem. i don't usually dig such modern views but i really feel that HK has successfully created the most beautiful city skyline. kudos!
i've been to many hotels in my time, and the sheer massiveness of this bed wins hands down. i've placed my pair of jeans there so that it becomes clear that it can easily accomodate 7 of me on this bed. depressing, since this kinda bed is definitely made for hot passionate sex (inclusive of various back-breaking positions adopted from the karma sutra) . HAHA. which i am seriously lacking of, obviously.
very very cramped living conditions. not unlike Singapore, but i would like to think that at least we have more space to move about in.
like Singaporeans, Hongkongers LOVE their shopping. this scene in Mongkok is taken on a weekday noon. imagine the chaos on a weekend!
a popular snack among the hongkong teens. it's a cold dish where you choose the ingredients for a list and they mix it up for you in a brown sauce.
and the ingredients include ( literally translated ) :
cow pat fish
intestine baby
lion dog
pig ears
green melon
pig head meat
and..
FISH WINGS!
the "far east plaza" of hongkong : argyle centre. horrid place, be thankful for far east plaza, all ye singaporeans because this place is stuffy, extremely crowded and awful techno is the soundtrack du jour.
the sight of innards turn me off so badly that i have to hold my breath while walking past the vendors. and they are dime a dozen so i almost died of asphyxiation, dahlings.
deep-fried intestines. which, admit it you perverts, resembles penises. really big and limp ones.
typical hongkong snack vendor.
smelly beancurd
and the.. *drumroll* DEEP FRIED INTESTINES! i popped one into my mouth and spat it out after a few chews. the taste is like.. a rush of rancid melted lard with a bitter aftertaste.
wasn't that bad at all! apart from the smell which i have grown accustomed to, it tastes just like tofu except that it was mildly sourish. from what, i don't really wish to know.
not too bad.
ladies' street.
succulent roast duck meat! two thumbs and two big toes up!
public bus.
artistic urm, legs.
TITS AHOY, MATE! Porno flicks @ the Marco Polo hotel. being alone brings desperation to great heights! nah, i didn't catch any at all since it costs like HKD$98 per film!!
the capital of nightlife, Lan Kwai Fong. big thanks to pebbles who managed to get me onto the guest list at the uber snobbish Hei Hei club, where only members are allowed entry.
alleys of LKF
alleys of LKF 2
foreboding buildings of LKF
i LOVE this picture. :)
gloom.
met up with S for a round of drinks and i got slightly tipsy after a couple of vodkas :p had breakfast at 3am at his recommendation. yum!
room service for a hungry lonely person. club sandwiches. one of the best i've ever had.
big red lanterns.
satoshi (a friend who is japanese but speaks better cantonese than the average singaporean. oh the shame) and i outside the harbour. yes i was cold. very.
don't you just love how perspectives always look so pretty? everything's merging at event horizon.
right next to my hotel
just like the MRT at home!
on the plane home.. reluctantly.
aboard the cathay pacific business class. foie gras terrine and fresh mozzarella with rocket salad. gastronomic!
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i was going to write alot more, including what happened just as when i touched down at changi airport which angered/saddened me no end but i'm too lazy. maybe later. =)
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listening to: lily allen - littlest things
