Autumn in Beijing Day 1 - COSMO

Part of our first day in Beijing was getting lost somewhere in Wangfujing and accidentally ending up at one of the most popular shopping places in Beijing, the Oriental Plaza. There we encountered the 2nd Beijing Wangfujing International Brand Festival. There were a lot of shops, and a lot of items on sale. However, we were not really up for a shopping spree since we're on a budget. Though fall and winter clothes were kind of expensive since the season was on transition from summer to fall.

 welcome arch

 the long shopping strip

huge golden abacus

At the end of a long day of walking around Beijing, we spent some time at the hotel lobby to use wifi! Facebook and Twitter are banned in China but good thing I got those uploaded as my mobile apps in my Blackberry, that's why I was still able to use them. I finally got in touch with my friends in the Philippines as I got my BBM and email working too.

this aquarium was so relaxing 

 outside the elevator doors

 reading the hotel rules

After relaxing for a while in our hotel room, we're off to have dinner at Houhai Lake. But before that, we headed first to Xidan Shopping Mall and shopped for scarves and shirts from H&M. It's the usual thing we do every time we go to a country with H&M, since we don't have one here in the Philippines. I just hope we can have it here soon!

 encountered these Kung Fu performers at the hotel lobby on our way out

 walking on a really cold weather

 huge overpass/walkway

 they said that's the longest escalator in Asia

It was so hard to find a cab so we decided to just take the train from Xidan to Ping An Li. Just by referring to our map, we walked to find the Houhai Lake. We knew we were there when we found this map:

We were at the Northwest part of the lake. Our friend Pam couldn't remember what side of the lake they went to the previous night so we just kept walking. we walked southward on the west side of the lake. However, when we couldn't see much bars, restaurants, and lights on that side, we went back up north and decided to walk southward on the east side of the lake. We kept on walking even if it's drizzling because we were so hungry and we just wanted to arrive to the cosmo place. Then we finally found a series of bars and restaurants. We chose to have Thai Food at Lotus Blue.

 service was fast and dishes were yummy

 dinner was quite expensive compared to our previous meals in the city

After dinner, we walked for a bit and tried some street desserts: fruits on stick coated with sugar and huge cotton candy. Then we all got sugar rush! haha!

Starbucks Chinese Version

Then we headed back to the hotel. However, it was so hard to find a cab because there were a lot of people waiting for a cab also, and there's no line...well yeah, we did it the Filipino way. But the worse was, no cab wanted to take us back to the hotel because it was kind of far from the area plus they couldn't understand us. Even if we're showing the business card of our hotel (with map), they still wouldn't take us there. It just so happened that there's this private car driven by an old man with his wife on the front seat, offering to take us back to the hotel. However, he's offering an expensive rate. We didn't agree, and we moved farther from them. But he didn't leave. He approached us again and bargained. Finally, we agreed to a certain rate and we finally got a ride back to the hotel.


We got home before midnight because we needed enough rest for our next day's destination: Great Wall of China.

Autumn in Beijing Day 1 - CULTURE

This trip was booked 3 months ago. After a long time of waiting, it's finally time for our Beijing trip! Our accommodation and meals were covered by our friend Pam, who was sent there by her employer for a bit of work.

Currency Conversion:

CNY 1.00 (Chinese Yuan Renminbi) = PHP 6.78

Our plane left Manila at 7:35 of September 15 and we arrived in Beijing International Airport at 12:05am of September 16.

Tip: Go where the bulk of people are going. There's a long line getting a cab but it's fast moving. Don;t let other cab drivers on the side fool you. Flag down rate that night was  CNY 11.00 and meter was CNY 2.00. We paid CNY 100.00 upon arriving at the hotel.

Essentials:

Map of the hotel and its business card

Beijing map w/ Subway guide

A list of helpful vocabulary written in Chinese characters

We stayed at the Grand Mercure Hotel. Our friend got a free upgrade from a Deluxe Room to an Executive Room, which was at the topmost floor (10th) of the hotel and can only be accessed by the elevator upon swiping the room card.

We slept for a couple of hours and woke up at around 9am to prepare for a long day of walking around Beijing. Since Pam was at work, only my bestfriend Dianne and I toured the city together for the day. Our map didn't let us down! It was fun walking around in a bit cold weather and a clean surroundings.

 nice flowers we saw along the way

happy BFFs!:)

THE EGG (National Grand Theater of China)

It was just a few blocks from the hotel. We referred to our map and we ended up passing by the inner streets that were a bit scary haha. Then we reached The Egg, however, they said it's better to go there at night because of the nice effect of its lights.

The Egg at night (a photo from Pam)

THE FORBIDDEN CITY

From The Egg, we're supposed to go to the Tian'anmen Square. But we kinda lost our way and entered the street on the left of the Monument to the People's Heroes. Then we found a garden on our right where we entered. We paid CNY 3.00 to get in. We kept on walking 'til we saw a gate full of tourists. As we entered, we saw a huge "plaza" and realized that it's the gate to the Forbidden City.

We bought tickets at CNY 60.00 each. Since it's kind of expensive, we just chose not to rent audio guides anymore at CNY 40.00. It's a gadget that tells you the story of the Forbidden City in your preferred language as you tour around. We actually tried finding a group of English tourists and free-ride on their tour guides but we didn't find any 'coz most tourists were Chinese speaking also.

  at the entrance

 it's just so awesome!

After an hour of walking around, we finally reached the exit. We rode a bus headed to Dongzhimen and we went down somewhere along the way to have some authentic Chinese late lunch. We were so delighted that we got really good service. There were a lot of choices from the menu! Thank God for the photos of the food haha. They also served food fast. And the best part was, we only paid CNY 59.00 for everything we had -- roast duck, soup, fried rice, soda!:)

After lunch, we walked going nowhere 'til we found the Oriental Plaza, which I will discuss on my next blog entry. So after there, we tried going to the subway. We're supposed to go back to the hotel and go down at Xidan but we accidentally went down at Tian'amen haha! 

TIAN'ANMEN SQUARE (Gate of the Heavenly Peace)

So there, we're surprised to see the Mao Zedong Mausoleum, which actually led us to the main entrance of the Forbidden City. It took us a long walk to have such discoveries haha.

Then we walked going to Xidan station where we road the train to Xuanwumen, which was just a few meters away from our hotel. It has been such an awesome day of experiencing ancient Chinese culture. We may be tired from walking, but we're happy on how our day turned out.:)

I Missed Resorts World!

I've been a bit away from the night scene since I started working and studying in QC. Months before I started with my new job, I used to go to Resorts World at least once a week, particularly in Republiq. But probably, more than the far distance I have to travel, I just don't enjoy clubbing anymore, that's why I don't often go there anymore. I just go to resorts World once in a while when I get event invitations. So the last time I was there was during Republiq's 1st year Anniversary in June.

But just last September 2, we got an invite for the Uno Alpha Photo Exhibit Launch. It's an exhibit of photos of the men who were previously featured in Uno magazines. These men are those who have created a name in their own fields. The cocktail event took place in Genting Club in Resorts World Manila. We were so late 'cause we got caught in the middle of the traffic jam, which was probably caused by heavy rains.

Luckily, we were able to catch a bit of food before the buffet was closed. And since one of the waiters happened to be my bestfriend's neighbor in the province, we got some VIP treatment. We were served lots of drinks on our cocktail table -- iced tea, Coke, bottled water, beer, vodka tonic. Spoiled! haha!:)) A band was playing good music as we eat, drink, and chat. We didn't socialize to other groups since we're so preoccupied by our food and drinks haha!

We left the event before it's done. We window-shopped for a bit and chatted over crepes. After a bit of girl bonding at the mall, we proceeded to Republiq. Thanks to my friend DJ Ace for the last-minute guestlist!:)

Anyway, it's good to see a couple of friends inside the club. I missed that place! I missed dancing! I missed having so much fun! But the best part was, being able to bond with my girl friends while dancing and laughing at a lot of jokes! It wasn't an intense "girls' night out" but it was just right. Not too much and not too less. At least we got to rest our feet every once in  a while as we watched crazy Korean boys and girls playing around haha!

We went home a bit early; tired but happy!:)

Saying NO to Stress.

Since I'm busy with work, I don't go out as much anymore. But every once in a while, I try to hangout with friends and have fun. This way, I get to relax and do away with stress.

I usually spend my Wednesday night (when I'm not tired) in Blue Onion where a band performs. It was the drummer whom I became friends with from other gigs, then he introduced us to the rest of the band, and one of them was Vince Alaras of South Border. He's got such a nice voice, and I can't deny that I've been a fan of his music way back in the old days. The best Wednesday night I've spent there was last 25th of August. A lot of friends came, plus a couple of Eat Bulaga celebrities were also there for a birthday party. The jammers were really talented.

 the band

 Julia Clarete

 Kimpee De Leon

 Joyski and Pauleen

 Joyski and the band members

 the drunkards lol

and I in smart-casual attire lol

I also enjoy watching movies. It's one of my stress relievers. Just during the long weekend, I watched "One Day" with my bestfriend in Shangrila Mall. I finally got to try Sango, and I must admit, they got good food. And the best part of the day, I was able to buy my very own deck of Monopoly Deal from Hobbes and Landes. haha! Then we went to Distillery Eastwood for a bottle of Fragolino Blanco (but I actually wanted Rosso) and some cheese sticks while playing Monopoly Deal on-on-one. haha!:)) Capped the night with midnight snacks from KFC.

after trying out Sango

 my part 1 birthday gift for her

 say NO to stress haha!

 what a perfect combo!

final pic for the night

And at random days, after office hours, my co-workers and I are lounging at our boss' office, where we play Monopoly Deal and watch TV. We also do a lot of eating after work, almost trying out all the food stores in Katipunan and in Teacher's Village. And our comfort drink: Moonleaf!

It's really perfect to hangout once in a while to take away the stress and the bad vibes.:)