Canton Odyssey

As mentioned in earlier post, our Air Asia flight to Guangzhou departed at 0530 hrs & checked in at 0400 hrs. Mind u, LCCT Airport still has hive of activities goin on at wee hours in the morning as if it's normal office hours. Arrived at Guanzhou Baiyun International Airport at 1000 hrs local time & our group (consists of 17 family members & friends) was greeted by the local tour guide. The plan for this trip is a mixture of free n easy & guided tour. The cost of the total ground packages?? Tell u later after my next 2 posts on China trip.

Our first stop for this trip is the Dr Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. This is one of many places built around the world (Penang included), in recognising the contributions of the Father of Revolution to the nation. Next is the Five Rams statue. Had lunch in a local restaurant before proceeding to the The Ancestral Hall of Chan Clan. Seems to have those mansions, owned by the local tycoon in those days in every province. Here also showcasing the local architectural works in the design of the area besides the handiworks by the locals.

The legendary icon - Dr. Sun Yat Sen

Family in front of Five Rams Statue

Outside Chan Clan Memorial Hall

Ladies in the group started to get itchy hands & naturally the next thing to do is shopping. Went to the famous Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street to fulfill their urges. Guangzhou has population of 40 million people & shopping on weekdays here can very stressful, especially when queuing to make payment. Didnt really buy much in this street, just that the things sold are quite ubiquitious in designs & can't attract me to part with $$$ to buy them. Even though it costs only RM 15, what's the point of buying the shirt when u dun like it? Dad, bro & myself prefer to sit down in a local coffee bistro. Sipping hot mochaccino in a chilly temperature of 19 degrees while "washing eyes" for us guys is equally exciting to shopping for the gals...:)

Freshly baked potatoes

Ginger milk desert - heavenly taste. One bowl is just not enough

Dried sea foodstuffs at reasonably price

Went onboard the Pearl River cruise, something like the one found in Shanghai & Bangkok. Here, u could see majestic buildings with shining lights along the river with colourful bridges too. Checked into the 4-star Hotel Canton after dinner. No complaints on the room. Comfy beds with good bathroom facilities. Next day is a free n easy day and ladies insists on going to famous street to buy dried seafood stuffs after being recommended by the locals. Practically on the move the whole day. Surprisingly for a big city with population almost 2 times size of Malaysia, it's is pretty organised in the way that people will know which area to go if they wanna get something. One area will have shophouses selling only dried seafoods , the other area only sells bathroom accessosies, another will sells toys. And here in Guangzhou, they sell everything under the sun. And it's a common knowledge to people overseas that Guangzhou is one of the one-stop centres to source for any materials etc.

Busy making beefball noodle

Night view on top of cruise boat along Pearl River

Later at night, went for shopping walk at Beijing Walk, another famous pedestrian street outside our hotel and back to hotel to rest our tired legs before departing for Dongguan the next morning. To be continued....