Shenzhen with TL: Day 1, Trying Again, Huafa and OH Bay

We were out of the hotel at 5am. 

Instead of ordering multiple taxis, the airline/ hotel had arranged for a bus. Our bus was filled and there were 2 other buses waiting. Yes, so many of us were affected by the flight cancellation. 

Our 2nd attempt. 

The hotel bfast only starts at 6am and we had to find bfast on our own at the airport. There is a 24 hours food court. It was the same boarding gate and I felt a little jinx. We were in the last 2nd row and suspected that we took the last few seats. Luckily for that or our itinerary would be very screwed. My heart leaped a little when the plane finally took off. I am sure I wasn’t the only one. At least this was a bigger plane and had better movie selection. 

Bfast! Eggs! Yum, yum, chomp, chomp.

I caught a movie and then slept. We survived on 4.5 hours sleep the night before. The original plan for last night was to take a car from HKG airport to Shenzhen as we would be too late for the last ferry. Now that we had arrived in the late morning, we opted for the ferry instead even though it would cost more. Tickets could be booked on the spot and AI said that tickets aren’t usually sold out. We landed at 11ish and got tickets for the 1pm ferry. It is very convenient, there are multiple timings and no need to clear the HKG immigration, saving some time. It was obvious how happy we were to touch HKG ground.

We had to enter the gate by 12.30pm and had half an hour. What did we do? The milk tea and carrot cake were good! Auntie TL had clearly displayed her approval. 

Boarding! 

The ride was about 30 mins and we had to clear the China immigration. There were only a handful of passengers on the ferry. 

We arrived at the Shekou terminal and took a didi from the port. Auntie TL did most of the paying and didi ordering; she had done a lot of preparation for the trip. I was totally reaping the benefit for tagging along. We had booked our 1st 2 nights in the 前海 area, to be near to the Huafa snow resort, which is tucked in the left side of Shenzhen. Bcos of the flight cancellation, we had to push our lessons to Saturday morning. The resort would be crowded but we didn’t have a choice. 

On the way to our hotel, we drove past the resort. The architecture is so interesting, designed to cater to the slope.

We booked a triple room in Zison hotel. It came with 3 big beds with the 3rd one was hidden in a corner.

We spent some time settling down and ordering Taobao. I always see people on social media traveling to China, ordering a ton of Taobao to their hotel room and then video themselves unboxing. I duno how much postage savings there would be, but I want to do the same too! I attempted to order while in Singapore but the Taobao app, which is in Chinese, is so hard to navigate. Auntie TL helped and reminded that we had to find suppliers who can deliver to our next hotel before we leave Shenzhen. It took us some time but mission accomplished.

Bcos our hotel was so far from everything and AI said that there are shopping and pampering services at the Huafa snow resort beyond just snowboarding and skiing, we headed to the resort as per the original plan. AI has a disclaimer that they are not always right. Ya, this was the situation. 

The mall was deserted. Many of the shops were in the midst of preparations for their opening. We found lunch at a HKG 茶餐厅. There were more food but we were too hungry to wait for everything to be served for photos. It was 5pm, we missed lunch and the bfast on plane was almost nothing.

Huafa was a disappointment. We walked around a little, agreed that there is really nothing and went on to our next destination - OH Bay, which was 35 mins drive away along the coastal road. The driver was very chatty and we entertained each other for the ride.

At least AI didn’t fail us this time. We opted to go in the evening too, when the weather is cooler. The must 打卡 book store. 

You won’t believe it, but we played the floor is lava. It was a 15 mins game and when we were done, the humidity hit me and I was dripping sweat. Workout clocked.

Bcos it was so hot, we had to get ice coffee. 

Then we went to look at the night views and the ferries wheel. 

There were quite some shops to browse, and we bought some clothes and trinkets. It was about 9pm when we decided to head back. Luckily we came to OH Bay or our 1st day would be so wasted. I don’t know if it was the heat or we had too much during the early dinner but we were still full and nobody was interested in supper or even snacks. Yes, I rejected Auntie TL’s invite to buy snack. We did buy a couple of small bread/ biscuits in prep of the class tomorrow morning. What we also did was laundry, free de.

It was already past midnight when we finally turned in. At least we only need to wake up past 7am tomorrow. Good night. 

Mummy Lim

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