Shenzhen with TL: Day 0, Flight Cancelled!

A couple of months back, Auntie TL asked if I am keen to go on a trip with her. Her in-laws are from HKG and had invited QQ to do the National Day long weekend with them in HKG. After she “sent” QQ to them, she would have a few free days. Of all the aunties, I would be one of the few who have a lot of flexibility. I still have a fair bit of leave to clear and the kids are independent. We booked the flight once Daddy Lim gave me the green light. 

Usually, I would be busy with researching and booking and planning the route from point to point. This round, the burden is shared and we do our part proactively. We didn’t even need to split the work - whoever has time would do whatever there is. I was keen to do the HKG trip bcos I got to know that Shenzhen now has the world’s biggest indoor ski and snowboard resort. I told Auntie TL that she can decide on any itinerary, my only request is to do snowboarding. I can even do it myself and meet her thereafter. I would be even happier if I can do 2 days of snowboarding! 

My original thoughts for HKG would include a hike, cycling and some neighbourhood/ island exploring but I wondered if these are doable in summer. It would be very hot and likely very wet. After much research, Auntie TL decided that she would join me in the snow resort; she and QQ would take skiing class, in prep of their year end winter trip. I got companions! We also totally switched our plan to do only Shenzhen as we have both done HKG many times in the past. 

Packing commenced over the weekend. There would be a fair bit of traveling and hotel change, thus we are traveling light. Packing has to start early bcos I was in Jakarta for work trip on Monday, back on Wednesday late night, work Thursday morning and jet off on Thursday afternoon again. Woohoo! I barely got to see Daddy Lim and the kids the entire week. 

Bcos we were doing Shenzhen, it was good that we both did the planning bcos it is not easy to find information about China in Google and most stuff are in Chinese. It is very tiring to read so many Chinese words and trying to find addresses in Chinese is nightmare. We ended up finding videos for information on Tik Tok and Red Note bcos I lazy. I am also so appreciative of the power of AI. We simply copy and paste the drafted itinerary, then AI told us that the logistics was crap and suggested adjustments. We refined the plan until AI agreed that it would work.

My morning started with saying “hi” to the kids before I miss them again for the next 4 days. They went to school and I rushed in a Bodycombat class, packing in a workout before the start of a trip that would probably involved a lot of eating. We should burn some calories 1st and also not eat so much if we can. Zzzzzz. I try. 

Daddy Lim had a dental appointment, took an off day and could send me home for my 8.30am call. I was just fretting over how to get home from Paragon in 30 mins. 

I had a busy morning, squeezing in another laundry load, vacuuming before Xiaomi did the mopping and completed the packing. Bcos the packing was done so haphazardly, I am not surprised if I missed anything. All I need would be my passport, my cc and my phone. I will just buy whatever I missed from Shenzhen. 

We arranged to meet at 2pm. The flight was supposed to be taking off from T4. I was so hungry. We met for lunch and cleared immigration. All smooth and easy. Yup, we packed light. HKG, here we come! Or so we thought.

It was a turnaround flight and there was a slight delay. We boarded soon after and were comfortably seated. Before long, the plane started moving and I was thinking to myself that the stewardess were very effective. 

But, the plane didn’t take off. An announcement came that the plane had to turn back bcos of some technical issues and the technicians had to check them out. 

We sat in the plane for 3 hours! After each hour, we would be informed that the technicians were still trying to figure out the problem. After 2 hours, they distributed snacks. I was hungry but would have preferred to be in the air than this fee snack pack.

At the end of the 3rd hour, the Captain said that the problem cannot be resolved and we had to disembark the plane. The staff at the counter would help us after we get off the plane. 

What greeted us at the counter was what we saw in movies. There were long Qs and people were crowding the tiny counter. Very little information was passed out. It was chaotic. I stood around to eavesdrop and knew that the next flight at 8.05pm was full. The business class and Diamond Club passengers were served 1st. The remaining commoners simply had to Q and wait. 

It was a long wait. While waiting, we were trying to figure out if the travel insurance would cover. It wouldn’t, bcos the cancellation was due to the flight mechanical fault. We should claim from the airline instead. What we could claim from insurance is flight delay.

When we were finally near to the end of the line, we received a SMS to inform that we are booked on the 7.20am flight tomorrow. Instead of heading home, we asked for a night’s stay at the hotel. We got the ask, as well as free taxi to the hotel. 

Here we were, walking dejectedly to exit immigration.

We were assigned to Aloft Hotel, which is near Zhongshan Mall. That is super near home actually. The room is decent and I get a big bed.

We are starving. The hotel would have provided us free food but their kitchen had closed at 10pm. We got MacD instead. #comfortfood

Our flight is at 7.20am and we would leave at 5am. Fingers crossed that everything would be ok tomorrow. 

Mummy Lim

Done Another Jakarta

The last short trip to Jakarta was spent doing meetings at the hotel. This round, I went to the office and sites, spending more time at the latter.  

I opted for an earlier flight to have more time on the 1st day and was up at 5am, buffering some time to fold the laundry that I gave up waiting the night before, then leaving the house. #lifeofworkingmum

In the last few trips, I didn’t do my DFS shopping bcos I have too much stockup cosmetic. This time, I am back, replenishing my Makeup Forever. Changi has this lucky draw going on but mainly giving vouchers to entice people to do more shopping. This round, I at least got free chocolates. I am quite sure this chocolate has shrunk in size. I remembered that it was much bigger the last time. 

Nana asked for Laneign lip balm. So colorful and delicious looking. 

The travel desk had booked me on the last few rows. I only confirmed my trip last week and thought that the flight was full. It turned out that the seats beside me were empty! Eventually somebody took the other aisle seat but at least the middle seat was empty. Hoho. I like. 

I had the Tomyam noodles bcos the other choice was the soggy pancake. It was so spicy that I cannot decide if the soggy pancake would have been a better choice. Where are my eggs?

The immigration was done smoothly and I could use the egate, which has no Q, after applying for a “visa-free visa” online. It was a long way to the site and took me about 1.5 hours. The rest of the day passed quickly. 

I have decided to stay near(er) to site this round and was in this hotel recommended by my colleague - Artotel Living World. It is very new and connected to a big but empty mall. 

The room was comfortable. 

I decided to find dinner at the mall and went for Japanese food. 

There wasn’t much to shop at the mall. I got Zaky’s favorite chocolate. 

I have high threshold for not so great hotel rooms but what I do need a decent gym. Artotel didn’t fail in this aspect. In fact, they got brownie points - their gym is 24/7.  Everything in the hotel is very new, including the gym. I was the only crazy one hitting the gym at 6am, but I had to take a call at 7am and had to be ready by then. 

The last time I was on the treadmill was in the Chiang Mai hotel and I had to slow down a few times on that treadmill, believing that the treadmill speed was not calibrated. I was panting mad then and had to walk at times bcos I was running at blind speed. This time, I am starting to doubt if it was a treadmill problem or I have lost my jogging capability. I was struggling to finish my 4km and had to slow down a few times too bcos my heart rate was hitting 170 bpm. Sob. 

I didn’t have time for bfast and also bought bread for lunch the night before, knowing that I wouldn’t have time or lunch options outside of site. I found out later that there was some lunch arrangement on site but was happy with my bread. 

It was another long and tiring day. I opted for Japanese food again. The mall just has so many Japanese and Korean food options. Yums.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up earlier and hit the treadmill at 5.30am, wanting to find back my treadmill ability. I come to believe that the problem is shared - I was still panting but not as hard and could go at a faster speed (as per what the machine indicated), but felt that the real speed of this treadmill was slower that the one that I was on yday. 

I had time for bfast. The spread looked great but most of the selection were carbs. 

My view from my bfast table.

I headed to the Jakarta office on the last day, which was another long morning ride in the morning traffic. It was a short day bcos I left for the airport at 3.30pm for my 8pm flight. Everything went smoothly and as planned. I also got to the airport with plenty of time. The egate worked and I got myself comfortably parked in a restaurant with a sandwich for my call at 6pm. All good! 

Finally it was time to go home. This time, I really got the entire row to myself. 

I didn’t lie down or sleep bcos I was busy catching another Korean movie. The flight was so short, such that I barely got my meal when the captain announced that the descent would take place in 5 mins. At least I got my coffee black. Ya, I ate again and it was some nice chicken and egg noodles. 

It was already almost midnight when I got home. I managed to unpack, do a load of laundry and did some urgent work. My company would see a very hardworking employee, who sent email past midnight. 

Let’s go sleep. 

Mummy Lim

The Chis are still Alive

It had been 2 over months since we got Lychi. Only 2 months? It felt like he has been part of the family for a long time. 

Lychi is still very cute, and very food motivated. He seems to be constantly hungry, despite the tummy pouch that he had developed.

Mochi is very well too.

This is Nana squishing Mochi’s face. I duno why. Poor Mochi.

They are still play fighting a lot and Mochi very much entertained Lychi. Mochi usually have the upper hand given that he is bigger in size. Lychi is not bullied, he sometimes chases or pounces on Mochi. 

Recently, Nana sent us a video. Lychi was grooming Mochi! I have never seen that before. Nana is so privileged to experience it 1st hand. 

Google says grooming could indicate Social Bonding: Licking shows affection, friendship, and acceptance within their shared space. While Mochi didn’t look like he enjoyed it in my screenshot, he probably did. Hoho.

We have been careful with closing toilet doors (to open windows) and metal gate. We changed out our kitchen rubbish bin to one with a lid after Lychi overturned it a couple of times in attempts to eat leftover human food. We threw out our door mat as well after he chewed out little bits and we were worried that he would ingest them. 

On Monday, I made bfast for Daddy Lim and the kids. I left for gym before they left for work and school. Then Daddy Lim and Nana forgot their bfast. Zaky left for school later and took 2 out of the 3 prepped bfast, leaving the last one idling on the dining table. It was a toasted wrap with duck. The duck was from NTUC and roasted in spices. I saw the messages after my gym class in Chinatown and I was already super near to office, about to head for office. 

I panicked. Duck is probably fine but I wasn’t sure about the pepper and spices. I decided to head home to WFH and save the Chis. I am glad for my work flexibility and was anxious the whole way home. 

I have never been more glad to see a wrap! 

Dear family, pls do not try to kill the cats.

Mummy Lim
 

Chiang Mai Only Us, Day 4: Muay Thai and Jing Jai Market

Daddy Lim bought new socks bcos he only brought 1 pair. He said that the socks were very stiff. We woke up to the socks still standing. Hoho.

We would be doing Muay Thai class in the morning! I was looking forward to it, though I can’t say the same for Daddy Lim. The Muay Thai center was 13 mins walk away and the class was starting at 9am. On the way, we saw a few shops selling straw/ rattan bags and knew that I needed to stop by on the way back. 

We arrived shortly before 9am and there was an ang mo and another Korean couple. Then another ang mo father and his 2 sons joined. The class was for 90 mins. Daddy Lim looked at the training scheduled and felt tired. 

I gave him the same mantra that I used the previous night - 花钱不花命 - drink sensibly, waste as needed. I told him to go slow when needed. People do 5 jumping jacks, he do 1 can le. 

The training started with stretching, then a jog around the tiny place for 5 mins. Daddy Lim said that he was dizzy from running round and round. I was ok, probably bcos my adrenaline was pumping. 

Another young couple joined us and we continued with skipping as part of warmup. It was a different type of skipping rope. It was very heavy and my arms were aching after a while. 

From the corner of my eye, I can see Daddy Lim practicing my mantra during the rope skipping segment. Hoho. Then, we had our hands wrapped up for the real stuff.

Only the ang mo has done Muay Thai. In fact, he has practiced for 2 to 3 years. While we were taught the basic technics, he got special sparring class. We were taught the punches, the hooks, the uppercuts, the elbows, the knees, the round kicks and push kicks. Most of them were the same as my body combat class except for the round kicks. It was a combination of round house kick + swinging of the leg. 

After we were taught the basics, we practiced in pairs. The last part of the class consisted of 5 stations - push kicks, basic sparring with the instructor, self practice with the sandbags, more sparring with the instructor and finally the side kicks. I exercised hard, like how I would during my body combat class and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The sparring segments were really fun, just that it took a while to connect the commands to what I was supposed to do - right punch, right hook, left uppercut, right kick, right knee, left pinch, right elbow. What?! Haha. 

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and had a great workout. I even asked if Daddy Lim wants to sign up Muay Thai class with me back in Singapore. 

We headed back to the hotel, we had to pack and check out. I bought this delicious grilled sausage on the way. All things taste good after a good workout.

Did I get my bag? Of course and only THB350!

Our last stop of the day was Jing Jai market that only opens during the weekend. There was so much rave about it and I was excited. 

It feels like a much spacious, well organised farmers’ market. We went for the food 1st. We got lasagna, spicy Thai sausage and this crispy pork. 

We didn’t buy anything. There were a lot of crafts that were delicately made and come with a price, though still decent. I just didn’t have a need for those crafts and any purchase would be impulse purchases. The clothes were mostly linen material and I wasn’t interested. 

Despite the tentage, it was very hot and we agreed to leave for home. Bcos it was too crowded at the market entrance, we walked further away to get a Grab. It was so hot. Our hotel was only 7 mins away by car but the heat made any attempt to walk disappeared. 

We got our bags and headed to the airport, which was a mere 20 mins drive. The airport was tiny, and nothing much to see. So we ate again and spent the rest of the time scrolling away. 

The extra leg space comfort. I tried to sleep but barely managed.

The holiday had been very hard on my nails. 

Finally home and the end of our holiday. 

The end of the holiday meant the start of “cleaning up” both home and work. Fighting! So that we can plan the next vacation. Yay!

Mummy Lim

Chiang Mai Only Us, Day 3: Cycling Tour, Pub Crawl

We were going cycling! We love city bike tour. It saves us the time to find the main sightseeing points, we get a guide who explains the history and we get from point to point faster by bike. We found Trailhead from Klook. They do city bike tour and also mountain biking trail ride. I probably wouldn’t survive the latter; I will not be capable to ride up trail and too scared to ride down. 

I skipped the morning workout. We had bfast and used the 1st floor toilet. I didn’t choke the toilet like Daddy Lim did, but had my fair share of toilet bowl nightmare that is too much information to share. Let’s just say that we both had been traumatised by the toilet and agreed that all big businesses were to be settled in the hotel toilet instead. Lol. 

The Trailhead shop was about 17 mins walk away, which is probably why I booked with them. 

We arrived at about 8.30am and were told that the ride starts at 9am and there would be another couple with us. 

We waited in the comfort of the cozily decorated cafe. The tour came with a free drink. 

Finally starting our tour. These were our bikes - single gear market bikes, which were surprisingly easy to handle. 

Our 1st stop (and many other stops) was a temple. There were some kind of festival taking place and almost all the temples that we visited were crowded. In this particular temple, the school kids were doing their prayers, when it was usually done in schools. On normal days, the monks would go around the schools to conduct their prayers.

The kids lined that shoes orderly outside the temple. It was cute to see that their black shoes come with little cute cartoon trinkets, bringing brightness to ordinary black school schools. I wonder how they would be able to find their shoes after the prayer; there were rows and rows of shoes of similar sizes and patterns for the hall full of primary 1 and 2 school kids. 

Next, another temple. Haha. This one has a lot of gold. I couldn’t go into the temple hall bcos I wasn’t appropriately dressed. It is ok, the temples all looked the same to me after a while.

The 3rd temple was interesting - the Sliver Temple. The temple grounds had massage classes and silver work classes. 

The guide told us that the males in Thailand could become a monk to get free university education or vocational training, like this monk here. I supposed they had to “pay back” in some form or serving thereafter. 

The actual temple was covered in silver - not sure what kind of metal though. I don’t think it is real silver but very magnificent. Women are not allowed to enter the temple hall in this temple. 

We cycled somemore to yet another temple. 

Lastly, we went to a temple with a white pagoda. I know, I lost count too 

At both sides of the stairs are these snake and fish creatures called the Naga. 

It was almost the end of the tour. We cycled along some recently renovated canal. There were bars on both side and I can imagine how vibrant the nights would be, provided that the canals don’t overflow, which sometimes do during heavy storms and sometimes stink bcos of pollution. 

We stopped at one of the shops for a needed cold drink. 

The final stop was the Wararot Market. We visited the same market on our 1st day. We finally saw a Chinese temple, which we were then told that we were in Chinatown. No wonder. 

The shops come with all sorts of “branded” stuff. 

Lunch was provided. We were brought to a food center and could choose our lunch. I had the traditional curry noodles while Daddy Lim opted for the beef noodles. Yums.

W walked back to collect our bikes and walked past the flower market. 

Also, vendors selling live stocks to be set free. 

On the way back to Trailhead, we came to the city gate. Most of it had been rebuilt, except for the door. 

We barely made it back to the shop before it started pouring. I would have walked back if not for the rain. We got some pretty drink to end the 3 hour tour. 

Our next activity would start at 8.20pm. Daddy Lim took a nap while I finally got the chance to use the gym. The treadmill was not calibrated properly and gave me nonsense speed. At least I felt like I did something to burn some fats.

But then, I dragged Daddy Lim out for cake. He then ordered a pasta. What!!??! It was a vegan place but I didnt feel very healthy with the sugar and carbs. 

We had some time to burn and went for a massage. Shiok!

It was my turn to take a nap while Daddy Lim spent time on his phone. Then, we took a grab back to One Nimman for the pub crawl tour. I found it on Klook. Hoho. 

We found some snacks option in the same One Market place. One Nimman is super busy on Friday night. 

We saw a cat cafe and there were so many cats! The Thais seem to favor cats over dogs. We have the same vibes. 

We were to meet in front of some pub at 8.20pm. We were on time but didn’t see anybody. Fortunately, there was a number on the booking form to contact the tour organiser, who then got the host to contact us. The host, S, told us that the meeting point had been changed to the 1st pub place, which was 8 mins walk away. Klook didn’t update the details. Zzzzz. 

S met us at the 1st pub. There was another lady, Lee, on the tour. Lee is from China and in her final Uni year. Ya, young girl. Hoho. She came to Chiang Mai with a friend, who wasn’t interested but she wanted to try the clubbing scene, having just visited Bali and tried clubbing in Bali and had fun. She was too scared to do it alone and thought that this tour was a good avenue. I bet she didn’t expect to meet an uncle and auntie couple. Lol.

There was a band singing Thai songs. I realised that all the bands that we had seen so far were very young. Their vocalists, usually young ladies, were tiny but had really strong vocal.

We had a beer. The 1st beer came free with the tour. We stayed for 30 mins and left for the 2nd venue that felt like Blackbird. The DJ was spinning pop songs and then the band came on. My Long Island tea that cost less than SGD10. Very strong and I of course didn’t finish it.

Free shooters from the host - rainbow shots. I didn’t drink any. If Daddy Lim gets drunk, I should at least still be sober to try to drag him back. 

The band started playing for a while before we had to leave. We at least hear them play 2 English songs. 

The 3rd stop was more of a drinking place. They had a cocktail buffet. For THB300, one can have unlimited cocktails. Daddy Lim opted for a single beer. I only wanted a coke. Haha. Lee, who said that she hadn’t really club before and doesn’t often drink had 4 cocktails to make her $$ worth. As the drinks went on, she became chattier and chattier, telling me about her personal life. I got to know that she is studying Uni in Scotland and is going to do her Masters in London. She is facing the dilemma of job search, considering her options of seeking employment outside of China, which would require a work pass and would be difficult or to return to China, which her parents would want but that meant very little opportunity to work overseas thereafter. While Lee grew up in China, the overseas education had opened up her eyes and she now felt how restrictive working in China would be. The prospect of working in China, which meant working very hard, long hours and for little money with very limited annual leave, doesn’t at all interest her. #youngpeoplwproblem

At midnight, we left for the final club, which was supposed to be a dance club. Both S and Lee were tipsy. Hahahahaha. S said that he hosts these tours about 5 to 6 times a month. While he had to pay for his drinks, he got paid well enough to do so. He drank so much that I fear for his liver. S is probably quite young too. He said that he dropped school when he was 16 and had been doing something of this nature for the last 10 years and now considering what’s next in life. 

We didnt actually see many people dancing. The DJ was spinning. There were many young people. Funnily, after about 15 mins, S declared that it was the end of his shift and he simply bid us goodbye and left. After another 10 mins, Lee decided to leave and we all left. This kind of pubs are not for Daddy Lim; I am too old for this too. Lee’s hotel was about 10 mins walk away and she said that she was capable of finding her way back. 

There was a MacD nearby and we headed for supper. I haven’t had supper for a long time.

This is a ham and cheese but in the Apple pie crust. It tasted… confused. Lol. 

It was a good experience. The alcohol was cheap but I would do this only if I was 20 years younger. Haha. At least it was good for sleeping. I heard Daddy Lim snored within minutes of hitting the pillow. 

Mummy Lim