Mahjong days!

I love a good hangout with friends at a mahjong table :D Super fun today except for all the smoke. On the one hand, I’m quite mortified that I used to be a heavy indoor smoker myself and now can’t abide it, but on the other hand, I have always hated secondhand smoke – I used to light up when others did in an indoor space precisely because I hated secondhand smoke. Sigh.

Anyway. I’m home and I bloody reek of smoke. I felt like a walking ashtray on the bus heading home.

But I had fun :D We played sixteen “circles” (or rounds I guess) but we had quite a few “falling dealers” so in actual fact it was quite a bit more. Looking forward to next time already! Yay!

Henderson Waves

I love that there’s a trail that consists of bridges and goes above the city here. It’s so gorgeous. I also love that it actually gets cooler when it rains. And so today, when we walked along the bridge known as Henderson Waves, and along the metal bridge that zigzags through the city, known as Forest Walk, it was comfortable enough that there wasn’t that awful sticky, sweaty feeling… There are things I love so much about Singapore!!!

View of the city from Henderson Waves

HOLIDAYYY!!!

I’m in Singapore!! Land of greenery and fresh air!!

HK airport really sucks, there’s nothing open even around midnight… Unlike Changi, where bookstores and duty free and eating places were open even though I arrived 40 minutes early, at 4:50am!!

Yay!

Baker & Spice

195 Anfu Lu, Xujiahui, Shanghai. Awesomeness.

Ahhhh I love Shanghai. And I miss my man. The man who is no longer mine… Hai. In other news, that bakery is awesome, and walking along the tree-lined streets in Shanghai refreshes my soul. I love. Yup.

Island East Markets.

The Farmers’ Market thing in Hong Kong is catching on. First it was the quarterly one in Discovery Bay, and now there’s one on HK Island YAYYY!!!

So I snuck out of work (or rather, I was very very late for work) and helped my friend man her stall. I had so much fun I practically refused to go back to work (she asked me multiple times whether I needed to go to work… hahaha) and we had a fabulous time and we sold everything!!!!

Anyway. Two more weeks of fun – Oct 14th and 21st. Can’t wait!!

For more information on Island East Markets, it’s 10am to 5pm every Sunday until Oct 21st at Tai Koo Place in Quarry Bay. Here’s their official page, and here’s their facebook page (which is more updated), and here’s their twitter page. Heh.

Beijing

Landed in Beijing! Staying at a friend’s beautiful apartment in Sanlitun. The weather is amazing. I love it, especially standing out on the balcony, enjoying the breeze… I am, however, starving, and there’s nothing to eat in the house. The fridge has rolls of film, and batteries. Typical of a bachelor/photographer/producer dude. Haha.

The food-less fridge.

First hike in ten years!

Walked across Lamma Island today – over the hills and by the beaches – for the first time since the 90s. I’ve totally neglected this island for years. I wonder why.

The walk was actually a “Lucky Hike” with a friend and her large extended family. They’ve been doing this for about ten years now (this was definitely the coldest year, apparently – thank God the rain held off!!) There were about twenty of us, which made the walk a pretty noisy one! In truth, it seemed more like a food tour (seriously, we ate far more than we walked!!) than anything else but it was fun and it was a great start to the new year.

Must remember this happy combination of fresh air and good company!!