I was SUPER excited when I got to know I was needed at China SAPPHIRE NOW event!! The last time I was in Beijing was like 17 years ago!! And knowing that the weather's gonna be cold, makes me even more excited.

This event is the replica of the MOST prestigious flagship event of SAP in the states. First time in China, how cool is that? And I'm so glad I'm part of it, as one of the SAP ambassadors.  :D



The first 2 days were setup and getting ourselves familiarized with the venue and all aspects of the event that we need to know. But at least we know how to take some time off to chill and have fun. It's been awhile since we last met up with Audrey. I think it has been almost 2 years, ever since both Humi and I left Dassault. Very sweet of her to fly over from Shanghai to have dinner with us.


Audrey chose such a exquisite restaurant called Da-Zai-Men and booked a very cozy suite for us. The decor and cutlery setting is so classy! Oh, and the food. Absolutely delicious, especially the kong-ba (braised pork)!! I tell you, it was done so well that the fat simply melt in my mouth!! Just that one pot of kong-ba and rice is sufficient for me. I'm missing the taste just as I'm typing and reminiscing it..  *drooling*

Then it was Day 0 where we went to recce more places and made sure that we knew every inch of that convention centre and exhibition hall. Luckily we were all in flats. There's no way we could endure all that walking and standing the whole day. Of course we need to pamper ourselves after 6pm. There we go, drinking and dining with Patrick, right before the event day.


Thanks to Humi who is very familiar with Beijing, brought us to many great restaurants and great food!

The event went well, although with bloopers here and there, the team managed to tackle all problems. We closed the event with a 'thank you' drinks to all the employees, followed by a karaoke party!!



Humi flew off the next morning so she could get back home in time to celebrate her birthday with her family. I took the chance to stay behind for a few days more to explore Beijing with Ash being my tour guide.


Ash brought me and Kat to a few places, not too touristy yet popular among the locals. One of them is hou-hai. Beautiful lake view and quirky local stores selling a variety of stuff. There was this store selling bags in all shapes and sizes with different descriptions and guess what I spotted?


LOL!!! Yeap! The best MATHER!!! Buahahahhahaa! This is really a typical direct translation from the Chinese. Hahaha, nice work tong-zhi!!

We also went to qian-men (aka front door) where you can find all the international brands like Sephora, Swatch, H&M, Uniqlo, Zara in ancient Chinese-looking buildings. It's a weird feeling like you've stepped into a different era but still able to find your familiar brands.


We had so much fun shopping and when we had to lug all our loots back in train, that journey back to hotel was extraordinary!! 


The first train ride seems pretty normal. The train was quite empty, we even found seats and had the time to snap snap. The nightmare began once we switched to the other line.. It was during the evening rush hour and I really think there were hundreds of people in the train station, trying to get onto the train! It was really bad that Ash had to carry her table lamp on her head to prevent people from squashing it.


Yup! There she is, trying to balance the table lamp on her head and posing at the same time. Hahaha, the train ride was quite a traumatizing and memorable one for me.

We ended our trip in a hot way. Yea, hot pot style! This is one famous 24-hours hot pot place that we had to wait almost for 2 hours before getting our table. But luckily, it was worth waiting for.


Fabulous trip!

I'm thinking of going back again, but with my parents and bb the next round. Wanna bring them to see what I've seen and to eat all the great food.

Hope it will be soon. Till then..