My vacation Part 1: Shanghai Expo

After about 18 hours of flight + 2 hours of bus, I arrived in Guangzhou on the 20th and then headed to Hangzhou and Shanghai on the 22nd. It was a 4 days trip to Hangzhou, Shanghai Expo and Wuzhen organized by a Guangzhou local travel agency. It was a memorable [insert sarcastic tone] experience all around. First day at Hangzhou was nice as the weather was pleasant but the next two days devoted to the Shanghai Expo was…

In Hangzhou

I went to the Expo on a Saturday and it was expected to be crowded but not THAT crowded. Apparently, there were near 800,000 visitors that day. It didn’t help that it was pouring rain as the end of a typhoon approached the area. We lined up for the entrance of the Expo for about 1 ½ hour since 8:30. We experienced our first share of pushing and shoving by people and it was scary!

We were supposed to spend the whole day there and at 7 pm the bus would pick us up back to the motel. I was all happy to buy the Expo passport hoping to collect some stamps but ended up not entering any pavilions at all. It was announced regularly that if visitors want to visit pavilions such as China, Germany, England, etc. have to expect 6 hours of waiting…! Even a pavilion like Angola need an 1 ½ hour lineup. Remember it was pouring rain that day and I didn’t have an umbrella so I was soaked fast. I really didn’t want to line up for some hours so I just walked around and took some pictures of the outsides of some pavilions.

See the people and their umbrellas?

The Ukraine Pavilion, one of the better pictures I took

Everyone of the family were so fed up that we left earlier. We took the free shuttle to go to the nearest metro station. Experienced again some pushing and shoving and people cutting the line (Grrr…that’s what pissed me off the most). And then more pushing and shoving while waiting to get in the metro station. The staff just let a small number of people at a time and geez people couldn’t even let a father holding a child pass first by squishing them at a corner…I was so glad to return in one piece and didn’t die by being knocked down!

The public toilets at the Expo and they are surprisingly very clean...

We were supposed to return to the Expo the next day but after such horrific experience, we all didn’t care that we wasted the money; we didn’t go back. We were visiting Shanghai by ourselves comfortably and ding ding ding, it was raining that day too! We finished the trip with Wuzhen and it was more pleasant as the weather was better and it was the other side that we didn’t visit last year.

Wuzhen

Okay, I'm done ranting [not]...

Baby and I

Baby and I Synopsis: (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)
Jun-su is a popular but rebellious 19-year-old. One day, his parents give him an ultimatum, leaving him alone in the house to rehabilitate his life. He doesn't mind the independence until a six-month-old baby Wooram is delivered to his doorstep. He has no choice but to care for Wooram and attend to his demand for breast milk. Where can he find a nanny?


My comments:
Haha…I’m having my Jang Geun Suk fix so I chose Baby and I to watch and boy, 1-2 years can really make a difference to an actor. If you saw HK movie Rob-B-Hood and thought that baby Matthew was cute; then here, baby Mason was equally cute! Don’t you just want to cuddle and hug him? His expressions are so cute and his crying…the airport scene is just so aww…

The movie is pretty watchable and entertaining if you’re not looking for much depth. I kinda predicted that twist at the end but when you think about it, Woo Ram’s mother (who we never met) has to be stunning beauty to create this baby (I’m sorry, but the biological father is not stunning in the look department, just saying). I found he adult voiceover for the baby annoying more than funny. Overall, baby Mason is really the scene stealer here!

The unexpected daddy and the baby...aww...

*** Yeah...my long vacation abroad starts tomorrow...so later next month...:p

It’s too bad that I couldn’t finish...

- Boys Over Flowers => - Funny how the Taiwanese version was my obsession of summer 2002 and this latest Korean adaptation didn’t have the same effect. I think I stopped around episode 5 last year. I had a second attempt to watch it a while ago but I was still stuck at episode 6. Why it didn’t work for me? It’s hard to explain what’s wrong. Is it because I’m too old for this? I remember cringing during the bullying parts and out of F4, only Kim Bum made an impression from what I saw. My loss, maybe, but pass...

- Cinderella's Sister => I gave up in episode 7. But I give credit to this drama for bringing me back to Korean dramas earlier this year. The reason I picked up this drama: Chun Jung Myung! I adore this actor and I like Moon Geun Young as well. However, both leads cannot save my lack of interest in continuing the drama. The first four episodes were great but then it just seem to go nowhere but everyone being miserable and being mad at each other.

72 Tenants of Prosperity

72 Tenants of Prosperity Synopsis: (from Wikipedia)
In 1970s Hong Kong, rapacious landlords try to evict 72 tenants but sworn brothers Ha Kung and Shek Kin help the group of 72 defeat the landlord and landlady and coincidentally rescue Pinky from a planned forced marriage. When both sworn brothers fall for Pinky and propose to her, she flips a coin heads or tails, they both cheated during the toss but Ha wins her hand in marriage.

The sworn brothers become sworn enemies and Sheks hatred fuels intense rivalry against Ha in business dealings ranging from the manufacture of plastic flowers to the selling of stinky bean curd. Even after 40 years they continue to clash and in 2010 they are in keen competition selling electronics appliances in Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mongkok, the busiest street in the city and still home to the 72 tenants.

In fiercely competitive Sai Yeung Choi Street high rents force businessmen to use every means to survive, with electronics shops employing pseudo models in sales promotion campaigns and comic shops offering foot-massage services by Lolita, etc. These ploys are minor compared with the tactics of the landlord who threatens to close down the shops unless his demands for tripled rent are met. Amidst this strife and struggle the street is hit by acid-attacks and in high spirits the 72 tenants unite and pledge to safeguard their home.

Against a background of fear and turmoil, with the old love triangle between Ha and Pinky and Shek still festering, the next generation of the Ha and Shek families generate their own love affairs: MJ-style dancer Ha Junior is fascinated by Shek's daughter who is a Japanese AV culture fan; Ha's daughter, a kung fu expert, is pursued by Shek's love-struck son, the smart shortie. Affairs of the heart yet to be resolved.


My comments:
72 Tenants of Prosperity was a surprise for me. I didn’t expect that I’d enjoy it so much. The last Lunar Year movie that was memorable enough for me was Fat Choi Spirit. The fun of this movie is that you just don’t want to blink your eyes because you never know who will pop on screen as a cameo next. Really, almost all the actors/actresses of TVB are in this movie. It’s funny to see some ‘classic’ TV characters appearing in the movie such as doctor Paul Ching Chi Mei (Lawrence Ng from Healing Hands) and Laughing Gor (Michael Tse from E.U.) and I cracked up when I saw the parodies of Infernal Affairs, The Eye and Ip Man. I enjoyed gags such as ‘林Phone’ and ‘鄧梓Phone’ and the part with Bosco Wong and Myolie Wu at the end as well.

Well, basically it’s a happy movie with a big ensemble cast (it’s so great to see Jacky Cheung and Anita Yuen to do a comedy) that was pure entertainment for me.

You're Beautiful

Voila, the drama that gave me heavy withdrawal symptoms lately...You're Beautiful ( SBS, 16 episodes)...

You’re Beautiful Synopsis: (from DramaWiki)
The management company of the idol group A.N.JELL insisted on adding a new singer to the group as the lead vocal, Tae Kyung's voice was hurting. However,the new member, Mi Nam, had to go to the States to repair a botched eye job just before signing the contract. His agent came up with the idea of having his twin sister, Mi Nyu,to stand in for him and pretend that she was her brother. The two of them grew up in an orphanage and Mi Nyu, who was all set to become a nun, agreed to this charade as she didn't want to spoil her brother's chance of fame which would make it easier to look for their mother.

Cast:
Jang Geun Suk as Hwang Tae Kyung
Park Shin Hye as Go Mi Nam (Male) / Go Mi Nyu (Female)
Lee Hong Ki as Kang On Yu / Jeremy
Jung Yong Hwa as Kang Shin Woo
UEE as Yoo He Yi
Jung Chan as President Ahn

My comments:
Ah…where to start. I adore You're Beautiful! I’m still having withdrawal symptoms after finishing the drama last month (I’m a really late camper, I know). I also had a second rewatch without fast-forwarding, which is something I rarely do. See my enthusiasm?!

I watched it without much expectation. The first episode was alright as there are some things I have to get used to: 1) lead actor Jang Geun Suk wearing eyeliner and having a weird hairstyle (who I absolutely didn't recognize since I saw him in Lovers in Prague as Jeon Do Yeon's cute little bro) and 2) the cast wearing questionable outfits (I know that the characters are from a boyband but the fashion in Korean dramas never fail to shock). However, things really get interesting after the second episode with Tae Kyung knowing that Mi Nyu is in fact a girl. Then, the rest is pure fun. For a Korean drama, it was not at all draggy. There were a lot of LOL moments which still bring a smile on my face whenever I think about it. Example 1, 2 and 3, just to name a few.

The cast is really great and they have good chemistry as bandmates and as the parties of this cute square love relationship; I love their camaradeie. If it isn’t a norm that the lead actress has to end up with the lead actor, I wouldn’t mind Mi Nyu ending up with Shin Woo or Jeremy too. Tae Kyung should be someone who is hard to be with; he’s a control and neat freak, is allergic to seafood, sesame AND flowers, has night blindness and hates rabbits; but who can resist him when he smiles, pouts and when he creates the pig-rabbit. Shin Woo is the caring, understanding and gentle one whereas Jeremy is the sunshine boy. It’s especially heartwarming to see the trio treating Mi Nyu like a princess when she’s a girl and even when she was posing as a guy whereas National Fairy He Yi is getting the cold shoulders. Haha! It’s also nice that each sang to her to confess their love to Mi Nyu…aw….By the way, the OST is equally addictive, I’ve been looping it for quite some time now.

Now, a little nitpicking. Park Shin Hye did great in this drama but there is no way that she can pass for a guy because of her feminine features and her petite frame. I was a bit disappointed that the ending lacked some sweet moments from the couple…

* Opening credit of the drama

Out of 'drought'

Wow, I didn’t update this blog more than a year! Time flies...There were times during that year that I wanted to delete this blog but as I kept looking back at my posts, it was kind of hard to let go because I had great fun writing these posts. It didn’t help that I absolutely forgot the password of my blogger account. Once I logged in recently, I was surprised (or furious) to delete 300+ spam comments.

So what happened during that year? I had a ‘drought’ period for blog writing because I spent my time…reading. I was reading anything from Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy, Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood novels, just to name a few. It was during that time when I didn’t watch any series and was more or less ignorant of the HK music scene. As time goes by, I just lacked motivation to continue writing about anything.

Now, I want to [try] keep writing this blog because 1) I need to practice my writing, if not I’m afraid I will not know how to write anymore and 2) I recently picked up Korean dramas again. Aah…Korean dramas are like addictive drugs. I thought I’m immune to it now as I consider myself in ‘Korean drama rehab’ this last year but once I had contact with it, I’m a junkie again…

Khalil Fong @ Toronto

Yeah, within six months, I saw my absolute 2 favs (that is Jay Chou and Khalil Fong) in concert in Toronto. This time for Khalil, I'm fanatic (or crazy) enough to go alone to Toronto for this concert. It's the first time that I travel alone and it's an interesting experience, ah the freedom...

Back to the concert, I'm really happy to be there to support him. It really was a music based concert since most of the time, he was performing acoustic and the stage was simple, without any props. I must say that he was really good live this evening and his voice condition was great. He was really interactive with the crowd, he responded to the crowd making it an intimate concert. He even said "Bonjour" and "Je t'aime"...aw....

My only disappointments were that the concert was really short by my standards. It lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Also, only pictures allowed but no video shooting allowed...Grrr...that sucks! But clips of that evening can found on Youtube...oh well...

The concert venue Roy Thompson Hall

The interior of the venue

The encore part with guest Fiona Sit