Spa in mainland China ..

EP
====

It is not my first time to have Spa in mainland China ,
Not like Hong Kong where you can drive or jump on a bus
for an hour and get your ass to the beach / island , and enjoy
the natrual beauty , fresh air etc for weekend ..
IN mainland , you have to drive at least 2 hours ( or more )
to find a indoor resort / spa ... not to mention something call " Beach" .
THIS CNY , my relatives took me to a resort in " Fujian " ,
not far away from " ChaoZhou " ... JUST 2 hours by car .
Just like from Lisbon to Porto , Both places ( ChaoZhou / Fujian )
are very similar to each others no matter on cuisines / culture etc ...
I am " lucky " eounght that " auntie " visiting me on that day morning ,
tho i can't enjoy the very hot spa and massage but it is very nice to sitting
besides the pool , sun bathing and reading the book about " Traveling Lisbon " ...

1.) Entrance of the resort , the name in English is a bit weird with
the word " Cloud Nine " which is totally not the same meaning
as the name in Chinese ... my cousin said this is the result of
using the translation system.

2.) Pool side and my fatty toes , my body can't enjoy the hot spa ,
but my fatty feet can ... that's why i sat besides the pool , reading book and
dipping feet ...

3.) Actually it is much more like a swimming pool with hot water more than
a hot spa i know in Japan / Taiwan . The water / pool side area have the
smell of sulfur , so maybe is just a slightly different on the style ...

4.) My reflection of reading book and a wooden path
to another bigger pool .

5.) HOW can i miss the sunset besides the pool ?
IN fact you can pay for only enjoying the pool OR you can buy the package
from the hotel , in which you can have dinner and stay in the hotel for one night .
( around $900 - $1200 RMB for a standard room )

How to sleep better

HP
####

It is a rare occasion for me to go to bed at night and not be asleep within 10 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. Being tired, and not being able to sleep is really a frustrating experience because we all know how important (and precious) a good night sleep is. So, i decided to share with you honeyzita, because i'm starting to get worried with your cuckooness, lol.

Go to bed when you are sleepy
Don’t force yourself to go to sleep at a certain time because you have to get up early the next day. You will just find yourself tossing and turning and becoming frustrated because you cannot seem to fall asleep. If you concern yourself over how much sleep you are going to get it and how well you are going to function in the morning you are just putting your brain into overdrive and adding additional worries and stress causing you to lose sleep. This is often referred to as “learned insomnia”.

Exercise but not too close to bedtime
Regular exercise is recommended and will help to increase your energy levels throughout the day and in turn will help you sleep better because it helps combat stress. However, be careful not to do any vigorous exercise to close to bedtime. If you are an evening workout type of person try and fit your exercise in more than three hours before bedtime this way your body has time to come down from it’s exercise induced state (heightened blood pressure, stimulated muscles and mind, etc).

Don’t indulge yourself with a big meal before bed
It is a good idea not to have a large meal (or large snack) 2-3 hours before bed because the digestive process can interfere with your sleep. Going to bed so soon after eating can lead to acid reflux (which can lead to GERD which is a known cause of oesophageal cancer). There are certain foods that help your body produce seratonin, which is a chemical in your body that can help you to relax. Some of these foods are milk, turkey, and peanuts. If you are hungry before bed opt for a light snack. Your sleep, and overall health will thank you for it.

Forget the snooze button
Our bodies are constantly adjusting to our schedules, eating habits, etc. We are after all creatures of habit. So if you oversleep even a couple days out of the week you are re-seting your internal sleep clock. Try and wake up the same time every morning (regardless of when you went to bed the night before). By waking up at the same time every morning you will be keeping your body on a schedule (and our bodies respond well to routine!!)

Release your thoughts
Are you a mutli-tasker? Always have everything planned out in your head? Well before going to bed create a to-do list for the next day. Getting all these tasks out of your head will allow your body and mind to rest more peacefully as opposed to planning/strategizing and stressing about what’s going to happen or will need to happen the next day. Unresolved stress and anxiety can lead to a sleepless night and most likely an unproductive next day.

Did you forget to flip your mattress?
Although some mattresses are perfectly fine with never being flipped, most should be flipped every 4-6 months. It’s something we tend to forget to do (or can’t recall when it was done last). If you’ve had a couple nights of tossing and turning and can’t figure out why maybe it’s time to flip your mattress. You may be surprised that that was all you needed to do.

There you have it honeyzita. A few tips and tricks to get you sleeping better, just like sleeping beauty, but please try to wake up as i kiss you magically, haha. There is no absolute sure-fire way to ensure a good nights sleep but using these tips and tricks will keep you one step ahead of the game! If not, you can always use the good old hammer, i'm pretty sure that won't fail, hahaha

Decoration you can find in a Chinese household !

EP
===

1.) Dragon sculpture .

2.) Mega plant and vase in the living room .
some are for decoration only but some are related to " Feng Shui ".



3.) Ink and wash painting / woodcarving

4.) Chinese New year Candy tray :
wil put some candy / dried food etc inside to welcome the guests .

Eating in ChauZhou ...

EP
===

Chaozhou cuisine is particularly well known for its
seafood and vegetarians dishes and is commonly regarded
as being healthy. Its use of flavoring is much less heavy-handed
than most other Chinese cuisines and depends much on the
freshness and quality of the ingredients for taste and flavor.

Chaozhou cuisine is also known for serving rice soup (mue) in addition
to steamed rice or noodles with meals. The Chaozhou mue is rather
different from Cantonese congee.
The former is very watery with the rice sitting loosely at the bottom
of the bowl.
We also have a late night dinner called "Da Leng" .Chaozhou people
enjoy eating out in restaurants or at roadside food stalls close to
midnight before they go to bed. Some restaurants stay open till dawn.

Share with you some pictures of family dinner during CNY ....
i haven't captured every dish , just some very special one ...
ON the circle plate : this is kinda appetizer , with prawns ball / fried fish
pan-fried rice rolls etc .

On the left : Abalone with gingkok sauce
On the right : Shark's fin with chicken broth

Braised goose & offal

7 Vegas ( served in Hot pot ) : this is the dish we usually eat
on the 7th day of CNY , vegetarian dish with 7 different vegas inside .

Oyster Omelette ( O-Luak ) : This dish is actually a kind of
omelette which is cooked with fresh raw oysters.

Pedestrian Street ...

EP
===

Pedestrian Street , located not far away from where
my garndparent's home , 10 minutes by trike .
Similar to MongKok the Temple Street , you can find everything
here from eat to wear .
Per my cousin , i am putting myself in a risk to take photos in this area
since it is also a place with lots of pickpockets ( some even carried
shape knife with them ) ... they're everywhere on the street ,
staring at your bags / belongings .
OK .... not that scary in fact , should always be careful with your own stuffs
where ever you go ( travel ) , not only just in China .
It is around 5PM when we went there on that day , kinda hustle & bustle
area in town , it would be more crowd at night .

Some hawkers selling snacks ,
On the left , something called " popiah " , like omelette with prawns / pork
and parsely inside $3 RMB x 2 pieces
ON the right , fried chicken slice . $4 RMB for a bag ( in medium size )