Street Vendors

Street vendors are common scene on busy streets in Beijing city. Most of vendors are from other provinces such as Tibet or Northern area. They flock to city during weekends in tourist shopping areas or the subways (during rough weather) along with beggers or the self-made singers. Out of the estimated 13 million population in Beijing capital, 4 million are said to be outsiders, not Beijing born residence.

Christmas

Felt a little "cheated" as I thought I could enjoy a White Christmas in Beijing since the average temperature now is zero C. There is no sign of snow and not a single feel of Xmas mood around here, other then some scattered Xmas lightings at the big shopping plaza. Worse of all, it is Not a Public Holiday on Christmas day itself !!!! Regret to stay here for Xmas. I should be back in Singapore at least for the "fake" snow and feel the holiday mood........sign..... Anyhow, merry christmas to me, hoping to go home and reunite with my family next week. Cheers !!

Human Problems

I was assigned an additional role recently to take charge of subcontracting transactions in Beijing. We have engaged company Nola utilizing 4 of their 2K injection machines to help easing our in house capacity shortage. Since Nola is also having similar set up as ours, or partially our competitors in that sense, we have hard time working together as partners. There are many instances where their machine has problem where they claim is our mold problem that causes their problem. In reciprocal our engineers always claim that our mold problem is a result of Nola's machine problem. So this controversy continues everyday, every moment and drags into my weekends as well, receiving SMS about complaints with one another. Sometimes I wonder who is telling me the right story and who should I listen ? Suddenly I became the judge to mediate the disputes and pass down final verdict. In the moment of reflection of these events, I thought that these kind of disputes is totally unnecessary and extremely trifle. It could be avoided totally if the person-in-charge is more careful. Put in heart and passion in their work, all matters can be resolved with ease. Why waste so much enerygy in fault finding? Actually machine and tool has no problem, they are all "dead" stuff. My final verdict is "Human Problem" !

First snow arrives in Beijing

First snow arrives in Beijing early this morning at 2am. Temperature is below zero at -1C for the first time this year. From now on, whenever there is rain forecasted in coming days, it will be accompanied by snow flakes. It was said that snow arrives 2 weeks later than previous year due to global warming. Nevertheless it will be my first winter experience and I look forward to a white christmas which for me is an impossible dream in my entire life !

PBJ Beijing 2nd Plant

It was a Friday on the 11th Nov 2006 in Beijing. This is the day of inauguration of PBJ Beijing 2nd Plant (Beijing 1st plant in operation since 2003). Our CEO, vice Chairman of the board of directors, VP of Nokia Beijing, major customers as well as the governors of Beijing BDA (Beijing Technological Economic Develpment Area) attended this auspicious event at the beginning of winter season.

This is the 3rd plant in China for Perlos (1st plant is locatecd in Guangzhou 7 years ago). 4th plant will be ready in Guangzhou from Q1, 2007. This heavy focus in Asia operation is in line with HQ strategy to generate 70% of business in APAC region.

Beijing Food

Staying in Beijing for 8 month now, its right time to write about BJ special food. First thing first is the “HuLuTang” 葫芦糖. Don’t really understand why it is so attractive to the local people as it is very sweet and unhygienic (sometimes). Second food that I can think of is the Beijing Roast Duck. I tried the so-call “best” roast duck in Beijing and its taste was good. The restaurant name is "大董烤鸭店" which was featured in Spore Channel U 5 years back. There are 3 different ways of eating and the hostess will demonstrate that to you. It was fun.

Happy Valley Park

Together with KuanChee and Peters' family, we went to the amusement park called Happy Valley located at Fourth Ring Road. Weather was only 3C~12C. In order to enjoy the outdoor rides, we only set off at 12PM when we can see sunshine and the temperature was at its peak. However the sky became dark as early as 5PM. We adjourned to WangFuJin for dinner and little shopping in the cold cool chilly night !!

Winter Season

Weather is extremely strange early this morning. Whole sky and street is covered with fog or smog (?). Visibility on the road is only 2 cars in front. We could not see the third front car while traveling to office today. The high way leading to office is closed for traffic, same as other major high ways. It took us 2 hours to reach office, which 1 hour is enough under normal circumstances. My other colleague traveling to Guangzhou from Beijing, was stranded in Beijing airport from 9AM to 6PM. What a Monday to start off ! This is also said to be the symtom for the arrival of winter. News reported that the foggy sky was due to sudden drop in temperature after several days of sunshine, which was not normal in winter. When the high/low humidity converges in one place, with the integration of air particles, resulted in the formation of fog. In other words, it is advisable to put on face mask when going outdoor as this fog could be contaminated with dust and air pollutant.

Weekend Visit to Jilin

It is a rare occasion to have a chance to attend a cross cultural Chinese/Indian wedding late October 2006. My Indian colleague is marrying a local Chinese girl from Jilin province. We took a night train from Beijing station departing at 2240 hour on the 27th Oct, and arrived next morning 0700 hour at Changchun (capital of Jilin). Thereafter we were transferred to Shangri La Hotel located at the heart of Changchun. We had good buffet breakfast at the coffee garden before our city tour around the capital. We visited the famous “Puyi” (the last emperor) palace. Puyi was named to be the “puppet government” as he has lost all political power to the Japanese and Westerners at that time. The palace was only the harbor place for Puyi and he was secretly under strict vigilance by the foreign power, unknowingly.

Singapore Food Fair in Beijing

This is a Charity Bazaar / Food Fair on one Saturday, 23 September2006! The Bazaar, jointly organised by the Singapore Embassy and theSingapore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in China (Singcham), is held at the Embassy grounds:Singapore EmbassyNo. 1 Xiu Shui Bei JieJian Guo Men WaiChaoyang DistrictBeijing 1006003. Part of the proceeds will go to the Singcham Charity Fund withspecial contributions going to the Beijing Tong Zhou Care Centre, anorganization that takes care of mentally-challenged and underprivilegedchildren. The Bazaar promises to be fun & lively, with games, live entertainment, merchandise booths, a garage sale and Singapore food stalls!

Autumn has arrived in Beijing

The autumn season has slowly crept in, driving away the hot spell of summer. I notice some changes during this transition of changing season other than the declining temperature. The night arrives earlier at around 6:00 pm as compared to the normal 7:00 pm. It means a longer night hour for resting and shorter daytime activity. In these days on the road off work is already pitch dark compared to bright daylight in Summer. This change is so subtle which was not felt before back in Singapore. I started to put on more cloth and jacket to work from this week onwards. It is interesting to see new fashion from the ladies on the streets with fur wear and high heel boots, men with nice coat and jackets. But for the less fortunate, blankets and over-sized torn shirts can be seen over their body.

Visitors to Beijing

My nephew and his girl friend dropped by my house on the 2nd Sept along his way back to Jilin. We went to the Temple of Heaven and some shopping at the Hongqiao Flea Market.

It is a rare chance to meet in Beijing as I hardly meet my China "close" relatives. My last meeting with this nephew was 5 years back in Hainan home town.

Public Toilets in Beijing

A big shock in my life when I entered the public toilet near the local "pasa-makam". It is like a huge activity hall that we have in the HDB community center, except that this hall is with elongated hole dugged for squatting while doing "big" business and a drain at the other side for "small" business. More variations of toilet also found when I explored more in the public places. All of them has similar phenomena. ie. you just need to follow the smell to locate it. Some has wall, but no doors. Some with partial door !
(it is not easy to take these photo as there are businessmen in there. I actually waited outside till it was vacant to have quick snap !)

Mode of transport in Beijing

Other than normal transportations that are the same as in Singapore, one can also notice unique types of transport.

Special bicycle lanes are created at the side road. Thousands of cyclist can be seen on the side road during rush hours and jam out at traffic junctions.

Various passengers transport like trishaw, converted 3 wheels motor cycles, box-build 3 wheels motorbike, electric-controlled bus and the subways. This has add on colors, dust and vitality on the road and makes Beijing streets interesting and unique.

Haircut in Beijing

RMB 100 type haircut & 1 color dye (top), RMB 3 type hair-shave !

This is one of the important things to search it right in Beijing. A reliable and reasonable hair saloon that provides decent hair cut which has similar standards like in Singapore.

I found one saloon located near to my apartment. Haircut and one-color dye (Wella brand) including wash and blow, cost RMB 100 (or S$20). Similar services cost S$50 in Singapore. Hence it is a good deal indeed!

But this cost is for medium income group and above. For lower income group or senior citizens, they normally frequent the “make-shift” barbershop along the street. It cost only RMB 3 (S$0.6) for one hair cut. Try it if you dare!

Team Building at YeSanPo

Itinerary in 白里峡 also includes visiting amusement park where activities like canoeing, horse riding, bunggy jump, cable car up to mountain peak and rock climbing. It was a weekend well spent indeed.

Team Building @YeSanPo (野三坡)

Joined the product design and ESI team for a 2D1N tour cum team building last week end.

YeSanPo is located at the outskirt of Beijing, inside Hebei province. It is a stretch of mountain that formed the beautify gorge and canyon century ago through natural geographical movements and weather erosions & glaciations.

We walked through a narrow lane (known as 一线天） in between two huge mountains. It was spectacular and gorgeous ! The feeling is great and refreshing. There are also many natural waterfalls and flowing streams. It is so different from the one we have seen at Jurong Bird Park.



It cost RMB 240 per head (S$48) for this whole trip with 3 meals and 1 night hotel accommodation. Where else on earth can you find such a trip and treat ?

Pilgrimage to India

Following the Buddha's Trail

It was the most valuable life experience I ever had for visiting the holy places in India where the Lord Buddha was born, enlightened, passing out and gave out the first important sermon.

Two renown monks, Ajahn Karuniko and Ajahn Sannamo were on this same pilgrimage trip from 1-12 December 2005. They were our spiritual advisors explaining the life of Buddha along the trails, as well as our inspiration for deep devotion and dedication to our faith.

The Birth of The Great Master - Part 1

The lord Buddha was born around 2600 years ago at Lumbini (located at Nepal, just at the India border). A pillar was established now to mark the birth place. The pond nearby was the washing point for his mother immediately after giving birth.

Today, the water in this pond is regarded as "holy" and many devotees from all over the world use this water to clean their hands, legs and body to symbolize the purification of their mind, body and speech.

Enlightenment - Part 2

The lord Buddha attained enlightenment at dawn under the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya. This tree seen in the photo at Mahabodhi Temple, is the exact spot that the Buddha was enlightened.

Many devotees of various traditions came and meditated under this tree throughout the night till dawn to emulate Buddha's great experience of bliss and liberation.

Pari Nibbana - Part 3

The lord Buddha passed out (also known as Mahaparinibbana) at Kushinagar and never born again into this world. He has attained the highest stage of spiritual development known as Nibbana. The pure hearted one, with a clarity of vision is free from all sensual desires and attachments.

Devotees from all part of the world came to this Mahaparinibbana Temple and offer their highest respect and veneration. This temple is always packed with devotees, deva, angels and celestial beings (can be seen as white dot floating in the air like in this photo. We were astonished to see so many dots appeared when this photo was developed) at all time of the day.

First Sermon - Part 4

After enlightenment, the lord Buddha went to the Deer Park at Sarnath where he gave the most influential sermon to his five ascetic disciples.

The famous buddhist teachings such as the "middle way", the four noble truth and the noble eight fold path was given by the lord buddha. This teaching is followed and practiced till today by all buddhists in the world.

Chinese Language Differences

Only when I arrived Beijing did I realize that there are some differences in Singapore mandarin and Beijing mandarin. In order to reduce cultural and language shock for new comers, I have summarized some of them as follows.



English, In Singapore, In China

1) Potato , 马铃薯 , 土豆
2) Taxi Driver, 司机 , 师傅
3) What,s the matter, 有什甚事？,有啥事？
4) Spoon , 汤匙 , 勺子
5) Pineapple, 黄梨 , 坡罗
6) Air conditioner, 冷气机, 空调
7) Many times, 很多次, N多次
8) Let's go out , 我们出去, 咱们出去
9)Friends ! 朋友们 , 同志们
10) Wife/ Husband, 老婆/老公 , 爱人
11) Tax , 德士车 , 出租车
12) Bicycle , 脚车 , 自行车
13) Public Bus, 巴士车 , 公交车
14) Turn left/ right, 左转/右转 , 左拐/右拐
15) Brothers, 兄弟们，哥儿门
16) Muscular , 威风，爷们儿
17) capable, 很行，很牛

18) Police station, 警察署，派出所
19) U-Turn sign, 转回头，吊头转
20) Circle Junction, 交通圈，环岛转盘
21) Small Estate，小市镇，小区

22) Use strength, 用力，使劲儿

23) Heavy, 很重，很沉
24) Hurry, 快一点，赶紧

25) Helpless, 无奈，纳闷儿

26) blanket, 盖被，毛毯

27) one night, 一晚，一宿
28) standard, 标准,规范
29) gone case, 没办法,没哲

Technical Term

1) metal stamping: 冲压
2) machinery: 车间，车床
3) spray painting: 喷漆， 喷涂
4) electro coating: 电镀

5) rubber molding: 橡胶注朔

There are some other vulgar words that my taxi driver has taught me. But since I could not find the characters in the Chinese dictionary, it is omitted here.

Note: This section will be updated regularly as I come along and discover more differences.

Living in new environment

Accompanied Binu and YH, Spore colleagues to buy some fishes and tank accessories at the "Women's Street". When the fishes were released into the beautiful lighted tank at Binu's home, one can notice the different responses from each of these fishes. Some were stunt with heavy breathing, some were calm and swam with joy, some were hiding under the plants.

Isn't it the same with human behaviour when he or she were put at different environment to live?

Dinner with Singapore colleagues

One of my Singapore colleagues will be returning back home end of this month. We had a simple farewell dinner for him at the Yunnan Restaurant located at the "Super Bar Street". He has no special feeling about living and working in Beijing after completing his two years contract. In fact he feels happy and looking forward more to returning back home and reunite with his country and family. This will happen to me one day. As about the future after returning home, it is uncertain !! This will never be wrong. "The future is uncertain !"

Singapore Presence in Beijing

Singaporean Taste

BeeChengHiang, Prima Taste, BreadTalk, LauPaSat, Raffles Beijing Hotel, 77th Street, CapitalLand are some of the familiar names available in Beijing. They are located mainly near WangFuJin area which is next to the famous Forbidden City.

Alone in Beijing

Began new career in Beijing, China on the 6th March 2006.
Took me 2 weeks to accept this new challenge, leaving behind
family, friends, siblings entering new country, environment and
organization.

Stayed in Hotel Best Western for the 1st week whilst looking for
apartment at the same time. Settled down in Season Park's Condo
along "Dong-Zhi-Men" area, heart of the city near the famous bar-streets.

With conducive surroundings and impressive club house facilities, main pass-time now will be Gym, gym & more gym !! Trying to trim excess body fat accumulated from past years. Successfully cut down "three" Kg after six months' stay. Not bad a result !!

Samsung Days !

D&D Shanghai Night !


Lovely KTV girls for my farewell party !

Last day at UE Square office

13 years of working in Samsung has ended with next career in overseas. Leaving wonderful memories of the past good times and bad times together with these gang.

These are all excellent performers with strongest bondage and spirit I have ever felt in my entire life. Well done guys !!

Three Brothers

Hayden (Lao ErEr) to the left, Dylan (baby) to the right
Vernon (Ta GeGe) below



Playing at the pool side (strangle Ta GeGe for not sharing toys !)
Photoshot with Rackline Che-Che (extreme right)
Sunset at the balcony

Best moment of growing up at this stage.
Filled with brotherly love and kindness.
Worry not, burden not, afraid not.....It's wonderful time
Main driver is simply Toys ! Toys ! and more Toys !!

Every day is a learning lesson from waking up greetings, appreciation for taking and compassion for giving. Amazing fact is that each of the three brothers has totally different characters and traits, even for the twins brother ! (Hayden & Dylan) has no trace of resemblance.

The only unquestionable common fact found for all three boys is the Birth Date which falls on the 15th October !! It means One Cake for three boys which is likely to cause dismay to all invited guests for their birthday party. For one simple reason, 3 "angboa" is expected to attend their party !