The Twin Pagodas Of Shan Lake

Remember my Two Rivers Four Lakes Night Cruise on my first night in Guilin? I spotted the famous Twin Pagodas while on the cruise and was so mesmerized by them that I had wanted to take more photos of them?

On my fourth night in Guilin, after returning from the Jingjiang Princes' City, I had that chance again. Jam, his friend and I went for a walk after dinner at the park near Shan Lake and we saw the Twin Pagodas again.

But first, let me blogged about our dinner. We ate at Xi Shui Cui Yu Xuan, the same restaurant we had lunch on our first day in Guilin.

We had glass noodles.



Snails.



Can't see those snails clearly? Let me magnify for you.



I actually did not know how to eat them. Jam taught me. I think snails were common and a popular dish in Guilin!

We rounded up the dinner with fish!



Noticed all those nuts? Seemed to me that Guilin people like to put nuts in their fish and their rice noodles!

After dinner, we went for a walk at the park facing Shan Lake.

At first we wanted to visit that famous Guilin Lijiang Waterfall Hotel to watch the man-made waterfall that made it into the Guiness Book Of Records. Unfortunately, we were told that the waterfall was out of order!

So we went to the park instead and had a leisurely walk. Here, we saw the magnificent Twin Pagodas again!



The Twin Pagodas which are famous landmarks in the city of Guilin, consists of the Sun and the Moon Pagodas.

The 9-storied Sun Pagoda, which is the higher of the two, is about 41 metres tall, and is lighted in bright yellowish gold. It is said to be made of solid bronze and may well be the tallest bronze pagoda in the world.

The 7-storied Moon Pagoda, on the other hand, is about 35 metres tall, is lighted in blue and is made of wood and glazed tiles.



The Twin Pagodas are located at the centre of the lake. There is a bridge to reach the Moon Pagoda but unfortunately we did not know about that! So we did not go up that Pagoda but instead watched it from afar! How I regretted it!

I also learnt that both the pagodas are connected by an underwater tunnel! How marvellous! So the only way to reach the Sun Pagoda is via the tunnel from the Moon Pagoda. If only we knew about that!!

Oh well, no point regretting now. If I ever go Guilin again, I will definitely make it a point to visit the magnificent Twin Pagodas!

FIRST COMMENTER

Barely There

I'm not talking about my brain these days, but yes, that is barely there as well!  Actually, it's there, but just preoccupied with too many different things.  I went to the grocery store yesterday, walked through the isles for 30 minutes and realized while I was standing at the register that I only had my keys and a smile with me.  Needless to say, that didn't get me through the check out.  But, I digress...

This lovely little package arrived at my door yesterday!

Thanks Tony!

I really wanted to talk about Barely There intimate apparel!  Yes, let's talk about bras and panties... why not?  In fact, they are called "foundations" for a reason -- they are the foundation of any outfit. So, it's very important to find the right style, fit and comfort factor when choosing these pieces for your wardrobe.  Barely There is seamless, tagless (nice!), super luxurious and all around comfy!

A peek inside the box...

Tony, of "Shoe Daydreams" (a.k.a. Princess Poochie) was kind enough to send me a box of goodies including a bra, panty, thigh shaper and legging to try out.  Thank you so much!  I'm wearing my bra as I type this -- I'm not kidding.  But, I almost forgot because I feel like it's "barely there!"  It's true, I would not joke about such things.  The fabric is soft, but it's still very supportive and I'm so happy that I don't have to reach into my shirt and pull the straps back up over my shoulders every five minutes.  TMI? 

I tried to find a YouTube clip of one of my favorite DEVO songs, but it just doesn't exist.  So, I thought I would copy and paste the lyrics for your entertainment.  Brian Applegate sings about cup size...

Devo - 34C - Brian Applegate

 

34C isn't good enough for me

I need to have, at least a D

34C isn't good enough for me

I need to have, at least a D

Big ones, round ones, fat ones, too

Itty bitty teeny ones just won't do

Big ones, round ones, fat ones, too

Itty bitty teeny ones just won't do

34C isn't good enough for me

I need to have, at least a D

34C isn't good enough for me

I need to have, at least a D

Big ones, round ones, fat ones, too

Itty bitty teeny ones just won't do

Big ones, round ones, firm ones, too

I'd like to see the ones on you

I'm anxious to try all of the other products and I promise I'll keep you all posted -- because I know you're waiting with baited breath to hear about my skivvies!!

Molto Bene!

Ah Italy... why do you tease me so?  You lavish me with your luxurious fabrics.  You inundate me with style and originality.  You taunt me with techno textiles, mesmerize me with material and impress me with special finishes.

Lovely packaging and it cracks me up that it was sent "extremely urgent."

Italians takes their fabric seriously!

They're all so wonderful, where is a girl to start?  How can I choose?  I want you all!  My Fall line needs you!  Viva Italia!

Climbing Up Solitary Beauty Peak

After returning from Longji Rice Terraces, Jam, his friend and I took a short rest then we headed out to Jingjiang Princes' City (靖江王城).

This place was not very far away from the Guilin Backstreet International Youth Hostel where we were staying for the night.

The entrance to the Jingjiang Princes' City was through a tunnel flanked by two lion statues.



We walked into the tunnel.



Coming out on the other side, we saw the front gate of the Jingjiang Princes' City.



There was a crowd there. I do not like crowds but I guess there was nothing we could do. It was after all, a tourist attraction. We bought tickets which were priced at 50 yuan per person.



Jingjiang Princes' City was formerly the home to 14 Jingjiang princes from 12 generations. It is also regarded as the birthplace of the entire Guilin city. During the Ming Dynasty it was a forbidden city, but at the time of Qing Dynasty, it was converted into the Guangxi Examination Hall, where many top national scholars emerged.

As we entered the gate, we saw a few guides and followed one of them. She led us to a few interesting places inside the Scenic Area. We were first brought to look at a Couple Tree.



It was actually a tree growing on top of another tree! And the weird thing about this tree was that it was hollow inside!



This is a signboard showing us directions.



Next, the guide brought us to see the former residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. This is the monument in memory of Dr. Sun.



In the period of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen made Princes' City his headquarter for his North Expedition.

There was a pool nearby but I did not take any pictures. There was also a pavilion which I like, situated at the side of the pool.



After that, we were brought to the Examination Hall.



I even experienced taking an exam in there! Each "candidate" was housed in a cubicle complete with a Chinese brush (mao bi), ink and test paper . It was fun!



Of course I did not write or do anything since I know very little Mandarin so I just sat there and enjoyed the feeling of how it must be like taking an exam in China during those ancient times!

After leaving the Examination Hall, we were brought to a cave called Peace Cave (太平岩). Oh! I could not take a proper picture of the Peace Cave entrance as there were people blocking. This was the best I could do.



The door was opened for us and we went into the cave which was located on the west foot of Solitary Beauty Peak. By the way, it is a natural cave and not man-made. It was in this cave that the Jingjiang Princes worshipped Tai Sui generals.

Unfortunately, I could not take any pictures inside the cave as it was just too dark!

Lastly, the guide brought us to the foot of Solitary Beauty Peak. It's the only peak in the Jingjiang Princes' City thus the use of the name "solitary".



The four characters 南天一柱 on the rock in the photo above literally means "A Pillar Under Southern Sky".

We decided to climb up the 306 stone steps to reach the top of the peak. Certain parts were quite steep and proved to be quite challenging.



However, our climb was definitely worth it as once we reached the top, we were rewarded with a panoramic view of Guilin City!



Oh, I could even see a church!



We spent some time up here taking photos.



After enjoying the scenery for some time, we made our way back down.



It was indeed an interesting visit and if you are a first time visitor to Guilin, this is one place you must not miss!

FIRST COMMENTER

Elizabeth

Don't they say that good things come in threes?  Or, maybe that's good things come in small packages?  Well, whatever.  I think that good things do, in fact, come in threes and right now, "Elizabeth" is a very good thing!

Most of you know Elizabeth Coyne, the author of the blog, "Observation Mode" and I'm guessing that most of you know that Elizabeth was one of my Angels dress sponsors.  The sexy California girl chose an appropriately sexy little gold number from my Spring collection.

The "original" Elizabeth

Well, the daring dress may have pushed the envelope a bit too much for Elizabeth as I pushed up the hemline for the runway!  Yowza!  So, after discussing some options and mailing fabric swatches, Elizabeth and I came up with a "new Elizabeth" for her personal wardrobe.  We settled on a shimmery black (always a great choice) fabric and we decided to allow the hemline to creep down a few inches.

Elizabeth II -- new version in black

*It would be nice to show you vertically, but even though the photo is saved that way, Blogger refuses to post it correctly.  Yet another reason to move onto Word Press, I think.

While working on "Elizabeth II" this weekend, I realized I had a Net Flix lying around that I never got a chance to watch.  Ironic that it was "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."  I'm not making this up!  And that makes three!

Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I

What To Eat For Lunch Today?

Do you always ask yourself this question "What to eat for lunch today?"

I do.

I am not sure if that question is grammatically correct but that's how I always ask this question to myself. And it's not just lunch, mind you. It's the same with dinner.

Always, the same question will pop up again and again with no apparent answers. What to eat? What to eat?

Well, I have no problem with what to eat for breakfast as most of you would already know by now, I eat only fruits, fruits and more fruits for breakfast!


Cream chicken @ Pan Cafe

But when it comes to lunch and dinner, I will always face this problem of not knowing what to eat. Sometimes, I get so fed up with the food in coffee-shops and restaurants I feel like cooking my own food.

Maybe I should learn how to cook but then again, if I do know how, another problem will arise. I may start to ask myself "what to cook?" instead, which I think is ten times worse than "what to eat"!


Egg tarts @ Canton-i

In fact, I am sometimes so bored with outside food I rather cook myself instant noodles. I know it's unhealthy but I guess once in a while is OK! By the way, my favourite instant noodles is the Cintan brand and my favourite flavour is Asam Laksa. How about you?


My Cintan asam laksa noodles

So here I go again. What to eat for lunch today?

Popiah rolls?



Mee rebus?



I feel like eating Pasta Zanmai's Unagi kabayaki to onsen tamago



Or Tang House Of Fishball's celery mee



I guess Bao Bao's pan mee with dumplings are quite nice too.



Or maybe I just keep it simple and eat Bread Story's Panda bread. Haha!



Oh well, I guess I will never ever find a solution to this. I will always be asking this question every single day - What to eat for lunch today?

Note#1 : All pictures in this post were taken using my iPhone 3Gs and not my Panasonic LX3. So please excuse me if some of the food shown were not exactly appetizing.

Note#2: I highly recommend that cream chicken rice from Pan Cafe (1st photo) and the unagi kabayaki from Pasta Zanmai. The others are not too bad either, although in the case of Canton-i's egg tarts, I think Tong Kee's ones are better.

FIRST COMMENTER

On Gifts, Pressies, Postcard And Souvenirs

Do you know that being a blogger has its perks? One of them is receiving gifts, presents, prizes and souvenirs from fellow bloggers! And that's exactly what I got for the past few months!

First, there was that nice little postcard from Ayie in the USA.



It's a greeting from her baby Jariel at 3 and a half months! Look how cute he is!! Oh no!! He called me Uncle!! That sounds so old!! Call me Brother next time, yes? Haha! Thanks Ayie for this wonderful souvenir! Please send me another one soon : )

Next, my good blogger friend Merryn gave me this wonderful gift in conjunction with Mooncake Festival last month.



It was a panda lantern made from ice cream sticks! How creative! Look! There's even a candle inside!



Thanks Merryn for this nice panda lantern. I love it! By the way, for those of you who are interested in all these arty hand crafts, do check out her Crafty Crafted site!

Last month, I also met up with blogger SK who is now well known for spamming comments on my blog and a number of other blogs too. Well, keep them coming SK - I love your spams! LOL!

The reason I met up with SK was to pass him his prize which he won from a contest in my blog and also to collect my prize which I won from his blog! Imagine that! Haha!

What did I win? A second-hand book called "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold.



OK, if you want to read what he wrote in that postcard, let me magnify it for you. Guess what? He addressed me as Panda Foong - that's nice! Haha!



Excuse me, SK but I did not win this book by accident! I won it by sheer hard work and sweat! I won it because I left the most number of comments on your blog post and you can't blame me if nobody was as hard working as me! Perhaps the second-hand book was not enticing enough for them. Next time, offer a brand new, expensive book as prize! Haha!!

Anyway, thanks SK for this prize! : )

I have been visiting Lina's blog for quite some time and the amazing thing about her is she goes to Japan for holidays every year! No kidding! Recently, she came back from her Japan holidays and surprised me with a nice souvenir!



Ooh! What a cute letter! I love it! And what is that badge I see? Let me magnify it for you.



It's Mickey Mouse! Cool! Thanks for this wonderful souvenir, Lina!

While Lina went to Japan, another good blogger friend of mine went to London for her holidays. Wow! I have so many rich blogger friends! And I can only afford to go China, Bali and Cambodia. *sob*

Anyway, this blogger friend is none other than Mariuca! She had a contest in her blog asking her readers where she went for her holidays and I was among the first three who guessed correctly! Yay!!

And so this was what I won.



The packaging was so nice I was a little reluctant to open it. But opened it I did!



Now ain't that cute! A nice souvenir all the way from England! Although I would have preferred a panda bear, but how would you find a panda bear in England right? Haha!

This bear is so adorable, don't you think? Love it!!



Thanks for the pressie, Mariuca! Now when is the next contest on your blog? Haha!

I am so grateful to have so many nice blogger friends! And I look forward to receive many more gifts, pressies, postcards and souvenirs in future! Thank you my dear friends!

FIRST COMMENTER