Summer Fat Camp 2010 - Destination II

Summer Fat Camp Destination II is the.... Philippines!

No summer camp is complete without going to the beautiful islands of Philippines'. For this trip, we went to Apo Island. Apo Island is a diving heaven and a marine sanctuary. I was hoping to go diving and I did! But I didn't feel too good after the first dive and got really sick but other than that I had a great time on my 2nd dive and snorkeling in the marine sanctuary. The hotel that we stayed in is so rustic that there's no running water and electricity is only available on certain hours. Reminds me of my grandmother's place when I was growing up. :)

Isn't the weather and the sea beautiful?

It was an awesome weekend! I would love to go to Apo Island again and maybe you can come along too! :)

Summer Fat Camp 2010 - Destination I

Summer Fat Camp 2010 is not an annual event. When the invitation lands on your lap, you grab it and don't think twice. It is not limited to only 1 destination but to many, where to? It is up to the organizers and all you need to do is to pay for your flight tickets and the rest is planned and covered for. The schedule is crazy but the experience is - priceless. Thanks to all the wonderful organizers!


Location 1 : Shanghai
My first stop was to go to Shanghai and to attend the Expo 2010. Frankly, it was really an awesome event, unfortunately, it was way too crowded. An average of 40,000 people attend the Expo, entering the Expo first thing in the morning took us 2 hours, let alone lining up to go into the exhibition halls. I was told that the to enter the China Hall, many lined up for 4-5 hours. So I didn't bother hence I didn't get to see a lot of the cool ones, I barely made it through the day and spent only a limited time at the Expo. If you have the patience to be in line for hours and be a part of the mob, you should definitely go and check it out.

The best part about this China trip is the accommodation!
My camp coordinator had the best accommodation mapped out! When the hotel's restaurant was fully booked, we just ordered room service. :D
Check it out!

Then of course, how could we forget camp food? Insufferable camp food? *Haha* On the first day, we went for Ajisen Ramen and it was pretty good.

For the next few days, we were stuffed with the best of the best in Shanghai. The best Shanghainese food that I had tasted was at Xiao Nan Guo, not only the food came out beautiful, the tastes were amazing! Most of the dishes looked simple but the tastes from the fresh ingredients were incredibly accentuated by the master chefs. We had the sticky rice in lotus root, salad, drunken chicken, seafood tofu (looked very plain but tasted very good), mixed mushroom, fish, Long Jin prawn, and my favourite is the sticky rice balls in sweet rice wine.

Somehow we always miss Japanese food so we had - Dory fish hot pot rice, agedashi tofu, and Rainbow sushi. When the weather got too unbearably hot, we hopped into Tian Mi Mi (dessert chain) for some grass jelly red bean soup and cold ice tea. Also, not forgetting the famous Lao Ma Mi Xian, thick vermicelli, best eaten either hot or cold.

Of course, not forgetting the Shanghai night scene.

And the famous Bund.

And the crowded Nan Jing East Road.

It's crazy, but I love the lights and colors. They're so vibrant and full of life! Glad to be back in Asia again. ♥



Location II: Hangzhou


We also went for a 2-day trip to Hangzhou, it was pouring during those 2 days, so we didn't really get to enjoy the West Lake but at least we get to see the beautiful lotuses.

When you travel, it's best to have local friends because they will bring you the best local restaurant. We were treated to the famous Cai Die Xuan Restaurant.

Location III: Suzhou


What's famous in Suzhou? The old gardens, temples and canal streets. And what is cheap there? Silk scarves. Well, only if you know how to buy and bargain for them. For the cheap price that I got for the scarves, I still think I was sold the imitation silk scarves although the lady looked insulted when I asked her so. Haha....

Next stop - Philippines.

Black Widow

M," LOOK! OMG, LOOK AT THAT SPIDER! IT'S SO HUGE! (Her eyes huge and in a disbelieved state)
Me, "What? Where?"
M, " LOOK! IT'S OVER THERE!"
Me, "Where? Are you pulling my legs?"
M, " NO, IT'S THERE, IT'S HUGE!"
M, "Oh, you mean that one? That's not big."
M, "YES, IT IS."

(I chuckled.)
Me, "You're just exaggerating. Here, let me get rid of it for you."
M, "It's so big it's almost like a tarantula,"
Me, "No it's not, have you seen a tarantula?"
M, "It's bigger than a black widow."
Me, "No it's not, a black widow is much bigger."

So I proceeded with using a stick and tried to get the spider out off the chair. Oh, that's odd, the web was so sticky that I find it hard to poke through the web to the spider. I got a better look at the spider, 'Oh, that's an odd looking spider," I thought to myself.

"Maybe I should hose it out?" I told M.
So I got the hose and started spraying water at the spider. It curled into a ball and stuck to the corner of the chair.
"Wow, it's so strong, it's not coming out."

M, "Hit the chair, flick it in the sand and see if it would come out?"

I tried. It's not coming out.
M took the chair and hit it on the pavement, thinking that it might help get the spider out.
Finally it came out. ALIVE.
"Wow, that's really a resilient spider," we said.

"You know, it could be a black widow after all, see if there's a red colored hour glass underneath it," S said over the fence.
"We should put it in a glass jar and take a look at it," M said.
So I rolled the paper up, the spider climbed onto the paper and I got it into the glass jar. I was so surprised how easy it was. M capped it tightly and we turned the jar over. Lo and behold. It was the - BLACK WIDOW.

Was I brave or a complete fool who is oblivious?
M thinks I'm amazing because I was not afraid of it but, I think I was a fool for not realizing it was a black widow.

Fenton Schmanton

Our 1st year has finally ended, to celebrate the beginning of a long deserved break, we went to Fentons and watched the Babies documentary. If my memory didn't fail me, this is the first time I've had diner food since I arrived 10 months ago. So a burger is a must! And at Fentons ice-cream is also a must!

This is my yummy Western Bacon Burger with much craved curly fries.

Mozzarella Sticks

Caesar Salad

My yummy Toasted Almond and Pomegranate petite sized ice-cream with complimentary cookies on the side :)

Old Fashioned Petite Sundae with hot chocolate fudge.

It was nice to be able to hang out after 9 months of hard work! Definitely should do it more often. :)

1982

What happened in 1982? It was the birth of Marco Polo Italian Ice-Cream Gelato. My heart was sold - to this wonderful in the middle of no where gelato ice-cream parlor. It was almost 45° F and the wind was blowing strong, but we just had to go and check out this Marco Polo Italian Ice-Cream Gelato place.

My oh my, the flavors? Durian, jackfruit, guava, lychee, sesame, mango, soursop... on top of all the other typical chocolate, strawberry, pistachio, irish coffee, chocolate, rum raisin, .... (and a lot more).

From top left: Mango/Lychee, Durian, Lychee, Melon/Guava, Lychee/Strawberry

It was 9.30pm and the place was packed with a line! The verdict? It's so good, you can say bye-bye to B&J and Haagen Dazs. The texture is so smooth and the flavor is just so lightly perfectly accentuated that they will have you wanting for more! Serious. Don't believe me? Try it yourself! :)

Yosemite

Spring is here! Let's go and enjoy the sun!

So we went to Yosemite. We went after school, and by the time we reached the area, it was dinner time and we went to Todd's BBQ and ordered the spare ribs dinner for two.

The meal combo comes with a full rack of ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, chilli and garlic bread.

Look at those ribs! Yumms.

After 4 hours of drive and tummy full of food, it's time for bed!

Day 1: Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

Early the next morning, we went up to Mariposa Grove and it's still partially covered in snow!

*Gundu leh*

After 2 miles, we reached 1st stop.

Everywhere is still covered in snow.

That's the snow melting away in the river.

This is the Fallen Monarch.

Look at how thick the snow is.

It's so hard to walk on snow without the snow shoes and I lost my foot at one point and slipped and fell on my bottom at another! Hehe...

California Tunnel Tree - 115 years old! The tunnel is wide enough to fit a mini car.

Grizzly Giant - 2700 years old!

Day 2: Yosemite Valley

This is the Tunnel View - from this vista point, you can see El Capitan, Half Dome and Yosemite Falls.

There are countless of waterfalls in Yosemite Valley.

This is Bridal Veil Fall (620ft.)

Yosemite Falls (2,425ft)

Different angles of Yosemite Falls.

The view of Half Dome from Sentinel Bridge.

The El Capitan

The first time I went to Yosemite it was almost 10 years ago, I cannot believe how long it took me to revisit this beautiful national park. I will definitely go as often as I can now that I am in California! Come, come, let's go together! :)

Salt, Grease and Sugar

I believe I'm stressed. Hence, I need carbs, salt and grease in my diet. Going for breakfast has always been a luxury. Most of the time they're good, but way too expensive. But much to our delight, we found this place 5 minutes from our place and rated best in the area - Country Way the Original, good ol' American breakfast.

This place is so old it feels like as if it's been around for over 30 years.

I had the today special - Apple Chicken Sausage, scrambled eggs, potatoes and wheat bread. It was really good and satisfying and best of all, it doesn't burn your pocket!

Another recommended dish is the French toast, it is very different from a typical french toast because it tastes more like fluffy cake with castor sugar and honey but I still love it.