SleepingBeautyTravels

Chinese Tea Culture and Kung Fu Tea Ceremony

Posted on June 4, 2018 Leave a Comment

I’m writing this blog today to talk a little bit about Chinese Tea Culture and what we need to know about the Kung Fu Tea Ceremony. At the end of this post, I’ve included a video of myself preparing Chinese Dark Tea in a Kung Fu Tea Performance. Of course, if you find this post too long, you could always skip ahead to the video.

The kung fu tea ceremony（Chinese: 功夫茶） involves the ritualized preparation and presentation of Chinese. The term ‘Kung Fu Tea’ literally means “making tea with skills”. Today, the approach is used popularly by teashops carrying Chinese Tea, and by tea connoisseurs to optimise the taste of tea and the experiencing of consuming tea.

Before the start of a Tea Ceremony, the tea master will first determine what is the appropriate temperature for the specific types of tea being used. An optimal temperature must be reached and maintained. The temperature would depend on the type of tea used. For example:

95 °C for Oolong tea
100 °C (boiling) for compressed teas, such as Pu-erh tea, White Tea and Anhua Dark Tea.

1.brewing vessel, it can be a tea pot or a covered bowl called Gaiwan.

2.tea pitcher (Chahai), which is used to ensure the consistency of the flavor and colour of the tea (Chinese: 公道杯, Pinyin: gōng dào bēi)

3.hot water kettle, e.g. an electric kettle

4. brewing tray （Chachuan）used to hold spills

5. tea towel or tea cloth （Chajin）, usually dark-colored

6. tea spoon／tea pick，（Chashi）for dispensing the amount of tea leaves required (Chinese: Chashi, Pinyin: chá shí) for clearing the teapot spout, clearing tea leaves etc.

7. tea cups (traditionally 3 cups are used in most instances), matching size. Also named Pinming Cup (品茗杯）).

After we have gotten everything ready, we can get straight into the actual tea preparation, below is the full video of myself preparing Chinese Tea, hope you guys enjoy watching and leave me a comment if you have any questions. 🙂

Shopping at Louis Vuitton Champs-Élysées Flagship Store in Paris, France

Posted on August 29, 2017 Leave a Comment

On the last day of our Paris trip, we shopped at the Louis Vuitton Champs-Élysées Flagship Store. I already had the Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere 25 in mind before my Paris trip (the prices for Louis Vuitton pieces in France are a lot better comparing to the LV stores in Australia). There are plenty of Louis Vuitton Stores in Paris, just to name a few:

Louis Vuitton Paris Champs Elysées

101 Av. des Champs-Élysées

+33 1 53 57 52 00

Open until 8:00 PM

Louis Vuitton Paris Saint Germain des Prés

170 Boulevard Saint-Germain

+33 1 45 49 62 32

Opens at 10:30 AM

Louis Vuitton Paris Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann

40 Boulevard Haussmann

+33 1 53 25 08 90

Open until 8:30 PM

Louis Vuitton Paris Printemps Haussmann

Printemps Haussmann

64 Boulevard Haussmann

+33 1 53 32 20 60

Open until 8:00 PM

The one at St. Germaine des Prés was actually the nearest to our hotel. But despite the reputation for having the longest queue and waiting time, I decided at last to pay a visit to the Flagship Store at Champs-Elysees. It’s really more for my curiosity to check out the multi-storey flagship store. So if you hate long queues or had limited time, do visit the other less crowded stores instead.

The grand Louis Vuitton Flagship store.

I thought we were quite lucky as the queue was reasonable. But still, we waited for about 30 mins to get into the store… I already knew what I wanted so I asked for a SA, but I was told that all the SAs were engaged and we’d be served when a SA was available. It was quite common, most customers had to wait between 30 mins to an hour to be served. So we just browseded around on our own.

Finally, our SA came to us and asked if we wanted any drinks. She was warm and friendly and she spoke English, so that’s great. I looked at and held the Speedy Bandouliere 25 in Monogram, Damier Ebene and Damier Azur prints and decided to go with Damier Ebene. All of them were exquisite but I already had the original speedy in monogram and the Damier Ebene’s just more carefree and easier to maintain (it’s basically maintenance free!).

I also got my SB 25 hotstamped with my initials. Louis Vuitton provides complimentary hotstamping services to any purchase of authentic Louis Vuitton handbags. We head to the hotstamping workstation upstairs and this is my SB 25 getting hotstamped: So now I’ve made this lovely Speedy Bandoulière 25 uniquely mine with T.Y.Z hotstamped. I always think of hotstamping as a great way to personalise a bag and Louis Vuitton does it so well. But having said that, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea if you have any intention of selling the bag later on. Many colours were available for hotstamping but the most popular ones should be gold and silver. Since my SB 25 had gold Hardwares, I had the hotstamping in gold too. I also bought a Rosalie Coin Purse together with my Speedy Bandoulière 25, as I’ve been looking for a small wallet for the longest time. It’s really tiny but functional enough, as it carries notes, has a coin zip and card slots. Also, because it’s really thin and small, it fits easily into all my small pouches, clutches or small handbags (I had the Louis Vuitton Pouchette and Mini Pouchette and the Rosalie fits in both).

A picture of my pretty Rosalie in use: That’s about all for our shopping trip at the Louis Vuitton Champs-Élysées Flagship Store. Definitely happy with both my purchases and the experience. :)

Paris, the city of love – Day 3

Posted on August 18, 2017 Leave a Comment

It’s such a beautiful day in Paris, sunny but not too hot. I was really excited as we had planned to visit the Musee de l’Orangerie today.

Because of the great weather, we decided to take a walk along The River Seine and slowly make our way to the Museum. I stopped to take some photos for my dear followers on Instagram @sleepingbeautytravels to keep you guys updated.

Finally, we were here at the Museum. Musee de l’Orangerie is an Art Gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. It is most famous for being the permanent home for eight Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet.

Here’s me in front of the beautiful Water Lilies murals.

Just amazed at how beautiful and exquisite they are!

Let’s look at a few other paintings that I really enjoyed:

It was already late evening by the time we left the museum and we had the magnificent La tour Eiffel as our last stop for the day.

Paris, the city of love – Day 2

Posted on August 16, 2017 Leave a Comment

We had Duck Leg Confit and Clam Linguini at Le Petit St Benoit for brunch which are two of the signature French dishes. Because we stayed around Saint-Germaine-Des-Pres we had many choices for good cafe/restaurants.

After brunch, we headed to the Louvre. We bought a 4-Day Paris Museum Pass at 62 Euro, which gave us free entry, without having to queue up. With the museum Pass we also got to visit as many times as we want to the over 50 museums and monuments in and around Paris. Pass options are available for 2, 4 or 6 consecutive days. You can visit the Paris Museum Pass website to find out more.
This is how the Museum pass looks like:

Here we are at the magnificent Louvre.

We didn't have to queue up to buy tickets but the queue for security check was still fairly long (yes, you have to clear security checks to go into the museums in Paris). The photo below was taken when I was queuing up and I kind of like how it is capturing Louvre from a different angle, with the sky and clouds as the background.

We entered the museum after around 30 minutes of waiting and the inside of the museum was just as crowded. Slowly we made our way to the Mona Lisa Portrait, it is the original piece by Leonardo Da Vinci and is so well-protected. One could only admire it from a few meters away. It took me a while to get to the front of the painting and took this precious photo:

We spent the whole afternoon in the Louvre and it was of course not even nearly enough. I wish I could spend a whole month just coming here and appreciate the art pieces but unfortunately time is limited and I had to move on to our next stop, Arc de Triomphe.

Climbing up the Arc de Triomphe was more tiring than I thought, as the spiral staircase was very narrow and steep. But we made it! When you climb to the top, you get an overview of the city of Paris. And here is how it looked:

Paris, the city of love – Day 1

Posted on August 13, 2017 2 Comments

We took Air France, landed in Paris in the afternoon and headed to the Les Deux Magots cafe restaurant as our first stop in Paris. The famous Les Deux Magots cafe in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres area of Paris, France had a reputation as the rendezous of the literary and intellectual elite of the city and is now a popular tourist destination.

We were greeted by friendly staff and got a table outside. We o Read More

Day Trip in Geneva

Posted on July 20, 2017 Leave a Comment

Moving from the most populous city (Zurich) in Switzerland to the second most populous city. And yes, it’s Geneva (French: Genève). It’s also the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland and the capital of the Canton of Geneva.

We got to Gevena by train, it’s about 3 hours train ride away from Zurich. Because I had purchased the Swiss Travel Pass earlier on, so I got to hop on and off the train and go to anywhere in Switzerland for ‘free’.

Voilà! Je vous présente Genève…

The weather was great and perfect for taking photos. The giant water fountain below (known as The Jet d’Eau) is actually one of the city’s most famous landmarks. It instantly reminded me of Canberra (the Australian Capital city) where we have our beautiful Captain James Cook Memorial Fountain too.

We shopped a little at the City Center of Geneva. It is the most famous shopping destination of Geneva where various designer boutiques and world famous watchmakers line the streets. It extends from the banking district to Eaux Vives, the parallel streets of Rue du Rhone and Rue du Marche make up Geneva’s main shopping district.

We shopped around for a while and many retail stores were having big sales/promotions. I bought the chapeau that I was wearing in the photos below. Love it. 🙂

After exploring around for a bit more, we spotted a nice café to sit down and take a break, Martel Chocolatier established in 1818. We ordered café crème, two croissants (almond and chocolate) and some lovely macarons.

Our next stops were the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) and the Red Cross Museum (they were only one bus stop apart). Also, with the Swiss Travel Pass, I got free admission to the Red Cross Museum which was really nice.

There are three separate parts to the exhibition in the Red Cross Museum that allow us to learn about the three major challenges faced by today’s society: Defending Human Dignity, Restoring Family Links, Reducing Natural Risks.

It was a rewarding visit and was definitely a lot more thought provoking than I had expected. It made me realise some of the real difficulties that many have endured or are still facing. It’s probably in our human nature to tend to take things for granted, as it’s just so easy to neglect the things we have or the people who care for us. But we really should not. So let’s be reminded to always appreciate and be grateful with what’s given, never take anything for granted and engage in more ways to help others in need. <3

Moving on to the UNOG, not many people may be aware of these, but Geneva is known as both the ‘smallest of big cities’ and the ‘city of peace’. It is home to the European Headquarters of United Nations (UN) which is the second largest UN centre after the Headquarters in New York.

Finally, a photo of Palais Des Nations to finish. The building in the photo below is Palais des Nations. It is international territory and it has housed the European headquarters of the UN since 1966.

It’s been a long day. Bonne nuit Genèva!

See you next time. 🙂

Photos from 2016

Posted on July 12, 2017 Leave a Comment

Interviewed by the Australian ‘Model Citizen‘ Magazine (Issue. 9)

University Academic photoshoot

Hair modelling for Wella Professionals (Sebastian product line)

Miss Multiverse Regional Finalist 2017

Finalist for The Fashion Hero Reality TV Show Season Two

Hallo, Zürich!

Posted on July 11, 2017 Leave a Comment

So Zürich was the first city we explored after we landed in Switzerland. It is located in the north-central of Switzerland and at the northwestern of Lake Zürich. Being the largest city in Switzerland (and the capital of the canton of Zürich), it is a hub for roads, railways and air traffic. Both Zurich Train Station and Zurich Airport are the largest and busiest in the country. It’s only around 10 ~ 15 minutes train ride to travel from Zurich Airport Statation (German: Zürich Flughafen) to Zurich city.

The busy Zurich Train Station:

This is also where you can get a SBB Swiss Travel Pass, the super convenient all-in-one travel pass mainly catered for international visitors in Switerland. Basically, it allows the travellers to hop on and off any trains, buses even boats freely at a fixed price. Many options are available depending on visitors’ needs (1st or 2nd class cabin, monthly pass etc).

Moving on to the old town of Zurich…

It’s a beautiful sunny day and isn’t the view of River Limmat just like one of those scenes from fairytales? While I walked down the streets of Zurich on foot (because I also wanted to check out the local shops and cafés), but visitors have the option to take the Limmat River Cruise tour past the most beautiful sights that Zurich’s Old Town offers.

There are many cafés, restaurants and all kinds of shops/boutiques along River Limmat, but of course I had to find a good café to have my daily dose of coffee. I finally chose a spot by the river at Rathaus Café , it serves coffee and alcoholic drinks. The staff is friendly and helpful and of course, the view was amazing.

As you can probably see from my sleepy eyes, I was still trying hard to recover from my jet lag *yawn*. SO yup, coffee and more coffee! >.<

After having a Latte Macchiato at Rathaus Café, we headed to the famous Zürich Opera House (German: Opernhaus Zürich). Tickets can be booked via the link.

Finally, a street shot of Zürich to conclude this post. See ya next time. 🙂

Milton Country Cottages, Home Away From Home

Posted on October 29, 2014 10 Comments

Posting on our recent trip to the Milton Country Cottage in New South Wales. This time, we searched for a getaway to a place not too far away from Canberra for his monthly visit to Australia andddd we have delightfully found this perfect and self-contained resort which has won many tourism awards. So now, let me present to you the highlights of our stay at the Milton Country Cottage.

Highlight #1 Warm and Friendly host

On the day of arrival, it took us about 2 hours to reach Milton from Sydney. It was already late evening by the time we reached. We were welcomed by Carol who is a really friendly and warm host. Basically, the perfect host you can imagine. 🙂

Highlight #2 Surprise Breakfast Hamper

*Tada*

A generous breakfast hamper full of goodies, fresh milk, butter, homemade jam, cereal etc which has far more than enough to last us for our entire stay.

See photo:

Yess, I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of this lovely breakfast hamper…

Caption: “WOW…Niceeee”

Highlight #3 Cosy and well-appointed room

Next, let’s check out the master bedroom, it offers top quality sheets and it has electric blanket too. It’s really cosy, tastefully-decorated and well-appointed.

And then..the common room with two single bed. It’s just equally cosy, perfect for families!

Highlight #4 Functional Kitchen

Functional Kitchen with everything you need at your fingertips to cook a feast (even rice and some Asian cooking spices were provided). But we were definitely not cooking a feast. I would have if I could but.. let’s just hope that creativity would make up for the cooking skill somehow. 😛

(at least it’s cute!! right?haha)

Processed with VSCOcam with a4 preset

Highlight #5 Bali-styled daybed & barbie in sheltered verandah

There is a sheltered verandah with table, chair, daybed and barbecue facilities attached to the cottage. We had a wonderful time sitting on that comfy bali-styled daybed while I slowly sipped on my coffee and enjoy the lovely afternoon.

Highlight #6 Close to nature & Kangaroo visitors

Look who’s here to visit our little home away from home!

After munching on the fresh grass at our garden, roo decided to settle down and get himself comfortable ‘like a boss’. Of course he didn’t know he was being captured by these two sneaky paparazzis. 😛

The cottage is so tranquil and close to nature that kangaroos are in fact the ‘regular visitors’ and the only sounds you hear are the ones from birds and cicadas. I’ve seen many many kangaroos since I stay in Australia, but sleeping and waking up to kangaroos outside your cottage in the early morning and late night is definitely a whole new experience.

Highlight #7 Large secluded Garden with Swing

This is a photo taken from the back of the lovely cottage we stay. There are a mini lake and swing in the garden too which are really lovely. <3

*We might not be able to become the best photographers in the world,

but we can always become and we actually already are the best photographers for each other.*

Batemans Bay, Australia

Posted on October 3, 2014 1 Comment

Here we are, all ready and couldn’t wait to embark on our new journey, this time to Batemans Bay! <3

Day One.

We were tired and famished after the three hours travel from Canberra to Batemans Bay (especially my fairy boyfriend who drove all the way <3). So we decided to go for the well-known fish and chips at The Boatshed, 1 Clyde St, Batemans Bay, New South Wales 2536, Australia for lunch. We ordered the Grenadier ($8) and Marlin fish ($9).

I personally liked the Grenadier marginally more, but both were really awesome! The prawns were fresh as daisy and super nice too. To the extend that our friend Mr. Sea Gull was eyeing on our food throughout out lunch…

We arrived at Batemans Bay quite late, so we had really late lunch and after some exploring and walking around the place, It was almost evening and we captured the beautiful Sunset by the water before we headed back to our resort.

Day Two.

Started our day with our favourite Eggs Benedict at Starfish Deli, Clyde St, Batemans Bay NSW 2536. It’s located only a few steps away from The Boat Shed.

We also ordered a Latte and Macchiato too.

After the really filling and satisfying brekkie, we took a slow walk toward the Batemans Bay Jetty.

And we were ready for some desserts again! Voilà, we’re at the Blank Canvas Café. Latte, Mocha and Caramel Slice. It’s situated on the waterfront with a beautiful sea view. If you choose to sit inside there’re lovely candlelight on each table. Really great atmosphere and service. A sunny afternoon well-spent here, sitting outside at the promenade, enjoying the spectacular view and having a little heart-to-heart time. I’ll definitely come back here again! <3

Continued walking down the promenade…

Took one last photo of the bay before it’s turning dark. Beautiful views in the background with road signs telling the visitors where to go. But, who reads road signs when it’s so beautiful here and we’re ready to get lost just anytime! 😀

Day Three.

Waking up really really late~

We couldn’t wait to head to The Oyster Shed at 5 Wray St, North Batemans Bay, NSW2536. We’ve come here twice before, but this time it’s actually raining quite a bit and kind of stormy which give us a whole new experience of eating oysters in the rain and cold. *Just a happy girl sitting in front of dozens of deliciously fresh oysters*

I know you are really just more interested in the ‘deliciously fresh oysters’ than the ‘happy girl’, so here it is~ a close-up of the really really fresh oysters that were opened before our eyes. Yup, that’s how fresh they are! yummy <3

Another great thing that we’ve found today– Mango Sticky Rice! At The first time I actually tried Mango Sticky Rice was a few years ago when I visited Thailand and it was simply simply AMAZING. It was ‘Love at first bite’ for me. Ever since then, I’ve been ‘diligently’ looking for it at every Thai restaurant I went, but sadly, very few of them offered mango sticky rice (even in Singapore, it’s not so easy to find). But guess what! We found it hereeee, in Batemans Bay. Craving for it again as I’m typing out this post. 😛 Anyway,

*Picture or it din’t happen*

Day Four.

Wake up in the morning and met a ‘new friend’ while still in pyjamas and no makeup! She is so gentle and friendly even though it’s the first time we met. 😀 Whoever that says diamond is a girl’s best friend, surely hasn’t met a dog! <3

Took some time taking photo and playing with her before we left for Canberra. It’s nearing the end of our trip. 🙁

Has I’ve mentioned that it’s already nearing the end of our trip. 🙁 But, not quite the end yet, cos we always try to prolong our trip knowingly and unknowing, consciously and unconsciously. And… I really had no idea how we ended up here but,

*Let’s say hi to this sweet loving Australian Pelican couple.*

‘Inspired’ by the sweet loving pelican couple, we spontaneously took a sweet loving selfie ourselves. 😛 The thing about Long Distance Relationship is that you should always be sponty, happy and just enjoy every moment that the two of you get to spend together, as the wait is gonna be long and hard before you see each other again. I like to describe these moments as ‘bittersweet’ moments, it’s definitely sweet that you still have him next to you at at very moment, but how to not feel bitter at the same time as the hour of separation slowly approaches. 🙁

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