Sweater Weather

It's already November and in less than 50 days, it will be 2015. I feel like time's moving way too fast and I'm in a constant chase, always a little behind. I haven't fully internalized the fact that this is already my Junior year, my third winter in Beijing. But last winter didn't seem that long ago, it's been a year already. Woah.

That aside, my favourite season is finally here. Sweater weather. Trenchcoats, boots, scarfs, coloured leaves, pumpkin spice latte, things I so adore. Despite the cold, I still love talking long walks around the campus. The falling leaves and crisp cold air charms me in the most peculiar way. Sadly fall in Beijing is almost always non-existent, it goes as fast as it comes. I look forward to capturing more pictures of these pretty leaves before the trees go bare.

I'm tired. October went by in a flash. October saw the start of my internship, the start of concert preparation and a very dreadful farewell. I guess work and extra curricular involvements came in handy in filling the emptiness inside my heart. In fact I was almost too busy to remember something's missing. Have a better Halloween was on my bucket list this year but it failed due to the same reason as last year. Ah bucket list, that will be for another post. I wanted to start November on a fresh page, but instead I lounged around at home the entire day cleaning, watching movies and sleeping, because I was just so exhausted. At least I got tiredness out of the way! November's gonna get even more hectic, but that's fine because Dubai's waiting for me at the end of the month. I can hardly wait!

PIXIE BITES: Green Tea Restaurant

绿茶餐厅

This is one of my favourite restaurants in Beijing. It serves traditional dishes from Hangzhou with a contemporary twist. The decor features ornate window panes, blue-and-white porcelain tables and dark wood furniture. 

 原味奶茶 (Original Milk Tea) - This has a similar taste as Hongkong's milk tea, more tea and more bitter than the regular ones you get in GongCha/Coco. 

Fire Prawns - It's essentially barbecued prawns, and it taste delicious! It's worth trying, just for the presentation. 

 Clams - I rarely recommend any seafood in Beijing, because one it's usually not fresh, two, the fresh ones are always overpriced. This dish is well worth the try! The beans give it a really special flavour. Although sometimes it gets a little salty, so keep in mind to tell them to put less salt. 

 Grilled Chicken - No captions needed, the look itself is mouth-watering enough, isn't it?

Boxed Bread with Ice Cream - Apart from this, I've never had any other dessert before, which explains how good this is. 

You can easily get 5 dishes for under a 100 rmb, which is good enough for 3-4 people. The portions is filling but not too much. Unlike many other chinese restaurants, the preparation time is short but the quality of food is superb. I highly recommend this place for both imitate dinner dates and group gatherings with friends. It's one of the best low cost restaurants with good food! 

The store listed below is my personal favourite, but of course there's branches spread all over the city so choose the one that's the most convenient.

Address: Rm L301-L302, Blk 5 Bldg 24, Phoenix Galleria Mall, 5 Shuguangxili Lu

朝阳区曙光西甲里5号院24号楼凤凰汇购物中心3楼L301-L302号铺 

Directions: Sanyuanqiao Subway Station (Line 10), Exit 3

Opening hours: 11am-3pm, 4:30-10pm

10 things you should know about Beijing

1. Beer is cheaper than water 

vs.

A bottle of beer and a bottle of water both cost 2 rmb. Although the beers here don't necessarily taste good. 

2. PSI Level 250 is not too bad! 

A PSI Level of 150-250 is actually a good day for Beijing! 250-350 you might need to start wearing mask. 350-500 you might not go out as often. So if the PSI Level is ever below 100, you'll be like " WOAHHHHH, CLEAR BLUE SKIES. *takes a gazillion pictures* "

3. Squat like a pro

Most public bathrooms or the ones in schools are still "The squat system" and little have proper toilet bowls! Although bathrooms in restaurants, shopping malls, hotels and airports are fully equipped with proper toilet seats! So if you are studying abroad in China, you'll learn how to squat like a pro! 

4. Honking is never too much 

Chinese drivers like to honk, any time, anywhere and for any reason!They will probably honk at you if you don't give way to them, EVEN while crossing the road while the green light is on. So save your " STFU(s) " cos it's not gonna work!

5. Traffic lights doesn't mean much 

Vehicles can legally still turn right at red lights. Which makes you wonder why there are traffic lights in China at all. Traffic lights and pedestrians means nothing to drivers. Yes they will still drive even when the green light is on. SO, cross only when everyone else is crossing, even if it's red light. AND give way to vehicles at all times, unless you want to get knock down.  

6. There's more things that doesn't make sense than things that does

ATMs in China only give out 100 rmb, no more no less. So if you wanna pay anything in cash that's more than a thousand, you have to carry a bulk of money around. While if you just wanna cash out 20, dang you can't. A lot of babies in China wear pants with a hole in the butt, EVEN IN WINTER. WHY? Maybe because it's easier to shit? I do not understand. Most eateries serve chilled beers/drinks that are not actually chilled. I don't know if Chinese people like warm beer or they desperately want to save electricity. But you still gotta accept it! 

7. Dressing up fancy to hike/travel is completely normal

chinasayshi.blogspot.com

Just climbing the Great Wall you will see women in dress, heels and handbags and men in suits. Or you don't even have to travel that far, just take a walk around the Forbidden City. Walking from one end to the other takes about a hour or two, and it gets pretty tiring after a while. But apparently it's easier to walk in 7 inch heels and stiff suits! But hey, got to give them credits for strong calves! 

8. Chinese women really really dislike the sun 

Summer's finally here! While the rest of the world hits the beach and bask in the sun, women in China pulls out their 'sunbrellas'! Some just use regular umbrellas while other use fancy ones with lace/sequin décors. This is all to protect the skin from the sun and keep their complexion as fair as possible. Unlike the western standards of beauty, Chinese relates being pale to beautiful. Hence women use umpteen whitening products and of course 'sunbrellas' to prevent themselves from getting tanned. 

9. Don't ever say 四(four) or wear a green hat 

In Chinese, the word 四(four) sounds like 死(si) which means death. Hence Chinese associate four with death, making the number inauspicious. Whereas 八(eight) is an auspicious number in China because it has similar sound to 发(fa)/发财(fa cai) which means to get rich. Chinese people often pay a sum of money just to buy phone numbers with many digits of eight, or live on the eighth floor whereas people avoid staying on the fourth floor. The saying "穿绿帽(wear green hat)" in China means that your wife is cheating on you! I do not know how or why this came about. 

10. Everything you have, China has it too! 

Heard that's Facebook, Twitter, Youtube & etc is banned in China? Fret not! Because there's a replica of almost all western social networking sites in China. These are the Chinese versions, 人人网 (facebook), 微博 (twitter), 优酷 (youtube). People here don't use Whatsapp but you can use Wechat to communicate with your Chinese buds or better, keep up with them by using QQ! Although we do not use MSN anymore but their QQ is sure still in trend right now! 

Well these aren't necessarily bad things about China, just interesting facts I've learnt from the two years of living in Beijing. They are definitely useful to me for my stay in Beijing, kept me quite in sync and immersed with the locals! Stay tune for my next post on 10 Things I love About China!  

Beijing Travelogue: Temple of Heaven

I love luscious greenery matched with clear blue skies. 

I took a trip to the Temple of Heaven (天坛), one of my favourite places in Beijing. One thing that I really dislike about the attractions/places of interest in China, especially Beijing is that they are awfully commercialized nowadays. There are expensive tours, photography booths, vendors and everything just to attract (and sometimes cheat off) uninformed tourists. But I'm glad this place has always remained as a very scenic spot. 

The Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests are definitely the main spots you should check out inside! Everything about this place feels majestic and holy. It's as if you can almost picture the royals performing those prayers and ceremonies. Apart from the main attractions, this is an ideal place for picnics! If you are visiting during spring or autumn, it's a common sight to see groups of families and friends laying around on the grass patches on a lazy afternoon! 

A guided tour is not necessary because there are detailed english translations inside. If you are keen to learn more about Chinese history, or if you do not want to squeeze with the crowd to read the descriptions, you can purchase the Electronic Guide Equipment for 40 rmb (pay 100 rmb, 60 rmb is for deposit) at any of the four gates. It comes in 7 languages, Cantonese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German and Spanish. 

Directions: Take Subway Line 5, get off at Tiantan Dongmen Station, Leave from Exit A and you'll find the East Gate of the Park.

Tel: +86 10 6702 8866
Website: http://en.tiantanpark.com/default.aspx
Opening hrs: 06:00-22:00 (scenic areas inside opens from 08:00 - 17:00)
Price: $
Recommended duration of visit: 2hrs (it's a pretty big place)
Review: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I can't say enough good things about this place!