26th Day in Ningbo, China

Sorry for the humongous lack of updates. I've been really busy for these past 2 weeks, as i've been running round a lot and sleeping pretty early, without having a chance to update this here journal, so yeah i'll try my best to update as much as possible. Will be heading back to Singapore in 3 days time! Here goes, my 26th day in Ningbo.

Date : 271106
Time : 1030AM

Breakfast and stuff, today me and my mom were gonna go round Ningbo to run some errands. First stop, furniture mall.

Time : 12PM

My mom and the maid had changed the sofa covers in the living room only to find out that one part of it didn't have the proper holes to slot it nicely over the sofa. Thus, we went to the furniture shop from which my mom ordered the sofa/covers to ask them to make the holes and do it properly this time. Reached the place at around 12 30PM. It was a huge place, everywhere u look there were sofas, tables and the like. Tons of furniture shops and lots of modern designed furniture. It was kinda like a maze but my mom roughly knew how to get to the shop and there we went. Mom told the staff what she wanted and after that we walked around a bit and took some pics before heading back to the car.

Me in the furniture mall

In the middle path of the mall

In front of the furniture mall

Time : 1:00PM

Left the furniture mall to a 2 storey shopping center next to Carrefour. Had to go back to the furniture mall to get to amended sofa covers in 1-2 hours so my mom decided to show me around this shopping center. On entering the building, i could see one whole long row of shops, it seemed the length of 2 football fields. SAme applied when i looked to the left and right from where i was standing. Man it was humongouso-balbosaur haha. Mom stopped occasionally at some shops to look for stuff. The variety of shops were abundant, 1st few lanes were women's clothing, followed by shoes, apparel, and the such. Walked around the whole place for 30-45 mins and then proceeded back to the furniture mall. Here's a pic at one of the side entrances of the shopping center.



Time : 3:45PM
After getting the sofa covers, we went to a pet shop near the Korean restaurant which we went to last Saturday, as they had called my mom saying that there was a miniature dog available. My mom was interested to take a look at it so we went to pick up one of the staff at the shop. She guided the driver to another pet shop about 15 mins away. On reaching, i spotted a huge Samoite(sp?) Husky dog roaming about just in front of the pet shop. Mom went in to see the mini dog while i waited at the car. Did video for a while, taking shots of the husky and the numerous other dogs in the shop. Man it was so cold that day, i was freezing, i think it went into 5-8 degrees range. EEK! Well, following that, the kids were already home. My mom was having a meeting with some members of the Singapore Kakis Club (local club for Singapore expats) at Z Place in the evening. We decided to go pick up the kids and proceed to Z place and we were pretty hungry too.

Time : 5++PM

Reached Z place and got us some light food while waiting for my stepdad to arrive to eat dinner. Kids did their homework there too. Mom proceeded to have a meeting with the Singapore Kakis Club members.

Time : 6++PM

Stepdad arrived and we ate our dinner. Following that, nothing much happened, just went home, played around with the kids, etc the usual, got on the net, and slept.

Time : 11PM++

Slept?

25th Day in Ningbo, China

Date : 261106
Time : 10 AM

Woke up, did the usual stuff, checked on yesterday's soccer results/my fantasy premier league team's progress, ate breakfast with the family.

Time : 11.30 AM

Went outside to play badminton with Nat and Kim. We then went on to play the 'catch-the-ball' game. We were messing around when i thought of something we could play with, these 1-1.5 metre PVC pipes which were lying by the house. I then told them to use them like swords aka like ninjas. We did and came up with names for our swords/moves and play acted with them haha it was funny to see Nat and Kim do their moves. Got us playing the 'ninja' game on videocam.

Soon, Rishab came out to play with us. Russ was also brought out by Kim but i decided to return to the house to get some work done on the net. The kids then went to the neighbour's to play Game Boy and hang there.

Time : 2 PM

Lunch time, ate instant mee hoon soto. Decided to watch Jarhead after that. Watched till about 5PM, with an interruption in between as a mom's friend had come over to collect some stuff. Jarhead was not as i expected, it was good, but the ending made me go 'what? that's all?'. So yeah, not one of the best movies i've seen but kinda shows how war makes soldiers go psycho haha.

Time : 5++PM

Went on the net to resize all the photos we've taken. Took about an hour and a half to finish doin it. Kids came home and then we ate dinner at about 7PM.

Time : 7++PM

Ate dinner and bummed with the kids after that. At about 8-9PM, decided to watch Cheaper By The Dozen 2 with the kids. Havent seen Cheaper by the dozen 1 either but they didn't get it so we watched the former. Hillary Duff looked way hagagrd int he movie and way too skinny in my opinion. It was a funny family show, but not great. Went online to do more stuff (i'm such a nerd) and then finally went to bed ard 11PM-12AM. No pics for today !

24th Day In Ningbo, China

Date : 251106
Time : 1030AM

Woke up, and everyone bummed till about 12-1PM when my stepdad came home from work. We then proceeded to have our breakfast/lunch at a Korean restaurant which was pretty near our place. It's again in one of those 2 storey shophouses which are abundant here in Ningbo. From the outside it looked pretty nice and clean. Stepped in and i noticed that on top of every table, in the middle, there was a steam-suction kinda contraption which was attached to the ceiling. When the customer wants to use it, it would come down a bit automatically, just on top of the steamboat/grill in the middle of the table. It was pretty cool and nothing i've ever seen before being used anywhere. Too bad i didn't take a pic of it :|. Anyway, the food was great and i pigged out. haha Here's a pic in front of the restaurant.



Time: 1+ish, 2PM

After lunch, we walked down the row of shophouses. Came across a pet shop, where my mom and kis went in to ask ard and stuff. Man that place was sseeemmmeeellyyy! Dunno if it's the dogs' smell or just some sort of disinfectant they use (eg. hospital smell) After that, we went further down the road and came across a rather modern bistro. Stepdad went in to ask some questions while me and the kids took pics in front of it haha



Following that, we went to Tian Yi Square, InTime Dept Store to walk around and check stuff out. We then proceeded to Ningbo No.2 Departmert Store just next door. Went to the toy section where the kids found this doll thingy which had interchangeable clothes, hard to explain but if i get a pic of it i'll post it up. Saw the same Spiderman figures from the last time i saw em there. ooo tempting....but nah, won't waste money on something i don't really fancy. Following on, we walked around the place, taking pictures as we go along. These are pics from in and around Tian Yi Square. (the most Orchard Road of Ningbo)






Time : 2++PM

After walking around for quite a bit, we then left Tian Yi Square to go to the foreigners' street (Lao Wai Tan). We came across this cathedral which was a terrific backdrop for pictures so guess wat? We took pictures haha. Apparently, from what little my stepdad could read, it's a cultural monument which was built probably a long time ago and wasn't being used as a church/cathedral anymore. Here are some of the snaps we took...




Following that, we walked down the riverside where the shops/restaurants/bars are. We also took the opportunity to get some snaps of the river/scenery.



Walked further down the riverside to singing voices. Apparently, there was a live band performance on a set-up stage just outside of Starbucks. My parents knew the band from a bar they went to. They had made friends with the band and the band immediately notices my parents waving past. We stayed for a while to see their performance. There were also some groups of people who were dressed and body/face ainted in gold who stayed in certain poses, trying to be still. (Like the silver guy in Orchard Road who does a damn good job in staying still like a statue). These groups weren't that good however haha. It was drizzling too and really cold so i guess that didn't help in their attempt to stay still. We decided to relax at the Starbucks and get some drinks while watching the band(All of them Filipinos, 3 girls, 2 guys) play. The band was pretty good, especially one of them, who sang Celine Dion's Titanic Theme Song really really well. Anyhoos, here are the pics from that area.





Time : 4 PM

We then proceeded back home after Lao Wai Tan to rest and slack. Back at home, the kids played with Russ and dressed him up in his new clothes given by Auntie Grace. You can decide if it looks cute or not haha... here are the pictures!




Time : 7:30PM

We went out to Lao Wai Tan again to have dinner at this Idian restaurant called Indian Kitchen. We had the buffet which was 80RMB(16 Sing Dollars) per person and since there was a buy 4 get 1 free promotion, all of us signed up for the buffet. It was delicious and one of the best food i've eaten since i've been here hahaha. yet again, here are pics of the place...





After we finished eating, the kids went out to play and they spotted a fire display by the riverside, and ran after me to call me there haha. It was a pretty cool display, managed to get a video of it i think and also some snaps. Here are the snaps of the 2 munchkins in front of the fire display.




We played around at a nearby fountain too and on came along 2 members of the Filipino band. Parents chatted for a while with them and then took a pic with my sisters. haha We went home soon after that, but not before my mom checked out this shop, Zircon, which sold crystal stuff and also egyptian statues. She immediately loved a watch with lotsa swarovski crystals over it. And sheeeeeeee more or less purchased it haha. She did ask the sales staff to do some adjustments to it before she would actually purchase it so yeah the staff would call my mom when its done and she would collect it. Haha so yeah we went home after that.

Time : 10++ PM

Came home and slept pretty lateish as i watched the Liverpool Vs Man City game at 12AM. What a happening day haha. weejiee hoojie only 2 more weeks here!! how time flies

23rd Day In Ningbo, China

Date : 241106
Time : 1030AM

Woke up with a super sore throat and fever. Felt so lethargic and tired... Went down to eat some stuff, was freezing cold so drank some warm water. Wanted to stay home for the day so i did haha.

Time : 3PM

Bummed on the computer and watched some tv till about 3PM. Mom went out to run errands so i was home alone till the kids came back at 3 45PM. I watched Superman Returns for about 45 mins before the kids came home. They joined me in watching it till about 5++? with some intervals in between for pee breaks and food haha. Man damn long show, kinda draggy. It wasn't a fantastic show and i wouldn't have paid 8.50 to watch it in the cinema. The acting just seems bad to me and the plot was weird. *Spoiler alert* Build ur own land in place of America? Come on..... 2 hrs 45 mins show somemore!! erk!

After that movie, played with the kids till dinner. Nothing much goin on at nite, did the usual, went on the net, play with kids, jump around, run around, till it was time to do some work!

Time : 10PM

Started on updating my friend's soccer team website, of which im the webmaster. You guys can check it out here.. Bakar Bananas C.F. Took me a whole hour++ to update everything. There is no HTML/Programming tool i can use on this laptop except Notepad. Had to use it to update everything which took quite a while. Went to bed at around 12AM.

22nd Day In Ningbo, China

Date : 231106
Time : 7AM

Woke up early today roadtrippin! to Ci Xi. Stepdad had to do a meeting at his Ci Xi office so me and my mom hopped on the bandwagon to look around there. However, i was feeling kinda bad as my throat got worse, damn tonsilitis! Anyhoos left home at around 7 45AM. Here are some pre-departure pics (Kids went to school at the same time)




Time : 8:00AM - 9:30-ish AM

Off we go! Very long journey, most of it i spent checking out the sights of China. Passed by villages, farms, dirt roads, hills/mountains before getting on the main expressway to Ci Xi. Along the expressway, all sorts of farmland can be seen and also industrial buildings. Finally reached my stepdad's office. Once we came out of the car, COLD! WIND! COLD!. Man i think i underdressed haha. It was so much colder here than back in Ningbo City. Me and my mom decided to follow my stepdad up to his office to eat our breakfast which we bought on the way. Once in the building uh-oh! Power failure! My stepdad's office was on the 10th floor and the lifts weren't working! We had to walk all the way up the stairs haha. Panting, me and my mom finally reached the office. The cold and the hike up had made my fever flare a bit but it became better after i ate and drank water. It was the first time i was glad drinking hot water haha.

Time : 10-ish AM

The power had come back on and off a few times now, so me and my mom made our way down through the stairs again as we didn't wanna get stuck in the lift if power were to fail again haha. We left our stepdad in his meeting and my mom brought me to her favourite shop in Ningbo. It was a decorative shop, full of country-like furniture/plants and home accessories. My mom spent quite a long time looking through everything and contemplating certain buys haha. However, she decided not to get anything until later when my stepdad joins us for lunch.

In front of my mom's fav. joint

Following that, we walked down the street to see lots of kids' clothing shops. It was a pretty high-end street as the shops were mostly brand boutiques which included Snoopy and such. Further down the street there were also Converse, Nike, Kappa, Anta boutiques as well. Anta is huge here in China. It's like their very own Nike. We walked around for quite some time before deciding to take a break at a Coffee House.
Got us a pot of chrysanthemum honey tea, which was pretty nice at first but then we got sick of it fast coz of the honey. Here's a pic at the Coffee House(forgot the name of it, and i lost a serviette which i had kept in my jacket as a souvenir from there haha)


Following that, we decided to try riding on a local 'trishaw-like' vehicle to get back to the decorative shop my mom likes. Since it's quite a few blocks down the road, and we were lazy bums to walk, we stopped one of em 'trishaws' and hopped on in. Got some pics of me and my mom in the 'trishaw', didn't take a pic of the 'trishaw' itself though, my bad.


Following that, my stepdad arrived at the decorative shop and my mom bought quite a few items there. We then proceeded to have lunch.

Time : 2++PM

We were planning to go back to Ningbo City until my stepdad's colleague called him and offered to bring us to see the Under Construction Hangzhou Gulf Bridge it's called. So we went to pick her up and off we went to the coastal area of Ci Xi (Ningbo). It was a pretty long ride but then we finally came to a building where the staff of the whole Bridge project was working at. My stepdad's colleague (a woman who apparently is super rich and has connections with a lot of impt people) has a friend who works there and that friend that proceeded to ask a member of his staff to bring us UP THE BRIDGE! I didn't really know what to expect, i just knew that the bridge was NOT COMPLETE. The staff member then explained to us that the bridge is mostly complete except for the middle part which links both sides' part of the bridge together. It's a 20KM++ long bridge which connects Ningbo to Shanghai over a massive Gulf. The bridge is entirely over a massive Gulf of sea. (somewhat like the Causeway linking Singapore-Johor but this is at least ten times, if not more, huger than that) It's due to be completed early 2008.

Anyway, i thought that we were only goin to the base of the site but man was i wrong! The car pulled up at a security checkpoint and then the staff member got out, got us safety helmets, and asked the driver to drive up a pretty steep slope and onto the BRIDGE ITSELF! WOOOhoo!!! awesomeee coreeeee! We were making mini history by actually going on this bridge before it's even completed!! haha But it was pretty scary, it was a rainy, foggy day and at the bridge itself it was raining. The bridge itself looked like juz one whole slab of road, no barricades, no safety stuff to prevent us from juz suddenly diving off into a massive rumbling ocean. Man, it was super uncompleted but still we prod on, with the guidance of the staff member. Very very long bridge which is shaped like an S, not all the way straight like the Causeway. I took a video of about 3-5 mins of the journey on the bridge and took some pics as well. The staff member said that we would have been able to see all the way over the ocean and onto some land but the weather was bad so all we could see was a muddy murky ocean. There were might strong winds and it was damn cold too, the car's windows were cold as ice. We didn't dare to go out of the car as it was too dangerous. We went all the way to near the middle of the bridge and then turned back coz the further parts weren't safe for us to travel on. So after about 20 mins of being on the bridge, we turned back a further 20 mins. By the time we came back to the entrance, 40 mins had passed. woosh! what an experience! We then went to the staff building and dropped her off there before stopping in front of a billboard of the bridge to take some pictures. Man the winds were crazy cold, the moment i stepped out of the car, wooosh! instant cold. Took some pics and barely 5 mins out there in that weather, i was shivering. Quickly went back into the car after taking some pics. Most came out with me and my mom's hair all over the place due to the strong winds. Here they are, pics on the Bridge and near the Billboard...

Views of the ocean/bridge from the car

The Hangzhou Gulf Bridge Billboard

Massive Wind affecting me and my mom haha

Time : 4:00PM

After that awesome experience, we then proceeded to drop my dad's colleague off, thanking her for bringin us up there and then went on our journey back to Ningbo City (where we stay). Throat was killing me so popped a pill to try to calm it down haha. Slept most of the time on the journey back. Also saw a kid nearly being run over by a lorry, the kid was maybe just 5-6 yrs old and road crossing in China is RISKY BUSINESS! man luckily she was fine. Cute kid though haha.

Time : 6:00PM

Reached Ningbo City but then my mom had some household stuff to buy so we stopped by yet another megamall, this one called Trust Mart. I was feeling tired and sick but i went along with them anyway. Man, the cashier that was serving us was so slow! And her face while taking on item slowwwly...and then scanning it slowwly... OMG! have to see it to believe it haha. Went around the place and got some dinner to bring back and eat with the kids. Completed the shopping and then proceeded to go home. (finally! haha)

Time : 7:00PM

Came home, ate dinner, told the kids what we got/where we went to. We had Auntie Binny and Rishabh over for dinner too. After dinner, i went through the mini DV tapes i have and played some for Auntie Binny and Rishab to watch on our TV. First, it was the tape of the Bridge and me and my mom's time in Ci Xi. After that, since Auntie Binny hasn't seen my mom's Singapore home, i popped in a tape from XMAS 2005, when Auntie Grace's family was here. Had lotsa laughs seeing Kim and Nat singing/dancing with relatives and also a 'music video' which me,Ted and a few of our frens conjured up in the Singapore home haha, remember that guys? Anyhoos, soon it was 9:45Pm and the neighbours went home while the kids went up to prepare to sleep. Me too, as it was a damn tiring day. Finished the night taking some panadols. Awesome day, time to recharge tomorrow!

21st Day in Ningbo, China

Date : 221106
Time : 1030AM

Ate breakfast and stuff and then bummed on the computer till about 11:30 AM. Me and my mom then left to meet my stepdad. We then proceeded to this building which had a fashion fair going on and was having its' last day today. It was raining from the previous night and not stopping. Wasn't heavy rain though, just drizzle, but made the temperature even colder!

Time : 12PM

Arrived at the fashion fair but it actually was just a mini 'lelong' sort of place with many booths selling clothes and such for relatively low prices. My mom went crazy in there, haha. I couldn't resist either and got myself a long sleeve shirt, socks and my first ever suit! The shirt was 8 dollars and guess how much the full suit was?.....wait for it......around 30 SINGAPORE DOLLLLARRRSSS super cheap!!! haha Although i won't be using it anytime soon, i'm sure it'll come in handy in the future. My stepdad bought a suit for the same price too. My mom bought quite some stuff as well.

In the building

Time : 1PM

Following the shopping spree, we hungry piglets then proceeded to TianYi square to get us some Dicos again. This time, wanted my stepdad to try the food there. Apparently he had seen a couple outlets in the U.S when he was there for reservist. Initially, i thought Dicos was from Mexico or something but yeah it's from the U.S. Yummy, they should open some branches in Singapore haha. Ate our lunch, and got some food for the kids as well. BUTT we left their food behind at Dicos when all 3 of us forgot to take it when we walked out! haha Luckily it wasn't much that we bought. Sent my stepdad back to the office while me and my mom went home to welcome the kids home from school.

Time : 4PM

Kids came home in their cute winter jackets. Got a series of pics of Nat jazzing it up for the camera.

Me in my HAUL for the day

Time : 7:45PM

Had dinner, the Ah-Yee cooked these prawns. At first i thought it was just normal prawns, but i found out that it was Mantis Prawns when my mom told me. It tasted like a normal prawn except for a part of it which is apparently the eggs of the prawn. It had no taste and was sorta crunchy. Didn't like that part much though haha. Here's some snaps of it.




Time : 8++PM

Bummed ard, watched parts of Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen with Nat. Watched it before, not one of my favs, but wat the hey, i had to kill time. Went online to do some stuff before retiring to bed pretty early. Had to wake up at 7AM the next day as we were gonna go to Ci Xi, another district in Ningbo, which is an hour 30 mins drive from here. Can't wait to explore!

20th Day In Ningbo, China

Date : 211106
Time : Morning

Ate breakfast, did usual stuff, then left home at about 12 45PM to go shopping! Went to Ling Qiao again. Took a cab as the driver went to Ci Xi(a district in Ningbo, 1 and a half hrs away)to do some errands for the office. It was a much smoother taxi ride compared to the crazy one last Saturday haha. Once in front of Lin Qiao, spotted 2 guys, 1 wearing a 'songkok', selling fur outside the center. They were probably from some Muslim mountainous province in somewhere in China haha. They were selling LEOPARD/TIGER fur i think! I got it on videocam, but not on camera. It was one whole slab of fur, probably the back of the tiger/leopard skin peeled off. Pretty interesting but at the same time i do not condone the use of endangered/beautiful animal fur. :P haha

Time : 1:15PM

Started the shopping fiesta, mainly my mom shopping for winter underwear clothing. We also went to my mom's tailor to ask her to adjust some stuff on a jacket she was tailoring. After that, we went opposite to Tianyi Square. We walked along a stretch of shops which sold higher end clothing/accessories for women mainly. There were shops like PeaceBird (a rather popular and expensive brand in China) and Nike. Along that stretch spotted another 2 guys wearing songkoks but this pair were selling bread peddled on a bicycle/tricycle kinda thingy. Here's a peek. Below it is a pic of Hy Mall's Exterior.




Mom got a pair of snazzy boots for only 45 RMB, 9 singapore bux! It was on sale and she grabbed it haha. Following the walk around the shops, we went into a department store called InTime, something like OG. Lotsa stuff they were selling, went all around the place, not buying anything actually, just window shopping. Went up to the foodcourt to get a drink and then went back down to the 1st level. Out the lift, my mom ushered me into this booth which sold Beijing Olympics 2008 official stuff. Pretty expensive stuff man but highly commemorative as it's not sold anywhere else in the world but China.(i think, anyone can confirm this? haha). Didn't buy anything yet though, will stop by next time for a second look. We then went out of the building to the one next door, called Ningbo No.2 Department Store. In between these 2 buildings, there is a bigass Ox statue, of which i took some pics of. Here goes...


Opposite Intime, a few roads down, is a building called Movie House or something. Apparently this is where the biggest cinema in Ningbo is and probably with the highest concentration of cinemas too. Didn't go there though, just saw it from a distance. We then proceeded to Ningbo No.2 Department Store. It's somewhat the same with InTime, but less posh and high end products. However, they had a toy section which had Spider-Man figures from the SpiderMan movie. WoohoO! Looked through them and saw some pretty good looking Spideys with lots of articulation and an 18 inch one with over 67 points of articulation(in layman's terms it's the joints of a toy which can be twisted to achieve several poses, for eg, a neck joint so u can move the head around.) It cost a whopping 399 RMB though, 80 Sing dollars. yeouch! Anyways, left the toy section behind and went down to the men's section. Got me a jacket/track pants combo for only 99 RMB, 20 sing dollars. weepiee doo.

Time : 2+/3 PM

Left Ningbo No. 2 Department store and proceeded to Tianyi Square, which is directly opposite. Went into Hy-Mall to get some groceries and my mom also bought a top for the Ah-Yee(House Maid). Damn poofed by that time, legs tired after all the walking. Not to mention hungry core. Went to Dicos, a fast food joint, to eat. oh it was lovely, even better than KFC. It's a chicken joint by the way. Here's a pic of it i took some time ago... and also of the food we bought.

Yummy food, the one in the small packet is maple-chickensticks YUM!

Time : 4:30/5++ PM

Went back home after Dicos. Kids were already home from school. Ate dinner and stuff, bummed around with the kids till it was time to sleep. Went on the computer to check on stuff as well before sleeping.