Random Shots in China

Some random shots taken during the China trip with the newly bought Panasonic DMC LX-3.

Taken at Splendid of China park, Shenzhen

My fave, taken in Shenzhen hotel. It must be challenging to sell this hairdryer brand in a Cantonese-speaking market like Shenzhen

Comfort at Sheraton Dongguan

Lake scenery outside the Keyuan Garden

Shot at Keyuan Garden pond, Dongguan

Gazebo overlooking the countryside in Lotus Hillpark, Panyu

The council building outside Canton Hotel

Superb workmanship shown in carving

Brightly litted bridge over Pearl River

Sleepless in Shenzhen

From Dongguan, took 2 hours bus trip to Shenzhen. Once arrived in the city, we went to this Lotus Hillpark. The focal point of the park is Mountain Top Square. Here stands the large statue of Deng Xiaoping confidently striding forward & looked benevolently over the city whose creation he inspired. Coincedentally, it was a Qing Ming festival period for the Chinese & there's crowds of people paying respects to this "Father of Modern China" & sang patriotic songs in groups.

In front of Deng Xiaoping statue

Stopped over at Splendid China after lunch. This place is a comprehensive 30 hectares miniature park, reflecting the history, culture, art & customs of various nationalities in China. Over 100 major tourist attractions have been miniaturized & laid out according to the map of China. Forbidden City, Yellow Mountain, Great Wall & many others are all there. Some of these mini spots are so precisely built & their fantastic workmanship make u wondering how could be the genuine spots looked like. Hangzhou for example, has so many spots represented in the park & praised as "heaven on earth" by poets & scholars of yesteryears. Thank God Air Asia fly there too...:) Spent half a day in the park, & watched 2 cultural shows in evening & night showcasing the cultures & history of China.

Miniature Forbidden City

She's ain't heavy, she's my sister...

The magnificent Great Wall of China

Cultural show "Dances of the Dragon & Phoenix"

It was a free n easy in the next morning. went to the famous Shenzhen Dongmen shopping street for shopping. After days of observing the shopping patterns & markets in China, let me categorised the goods sold into 3 main groups. The first group consists of the international known brands such as DKNY, Calvin Klein, Armani etc, found only in upmarket shopping complexes. Ladies, dont waste your hard earned $$$ on this category as the price are basically the same, as found in KL. Just wait for the KL Megasale & you can spend happily on these brands. The 2nd group includes the upcoming home brands & rapidly expanding into most parts of China. There are such as 360 Degrees, Li Ning, Kerk etc. Some like Yishion & Hang Ten managed to penetrate the international market. Price is middle-class ranged. Price conscious shoppers would not buy this as the quality & designs are about the same with others found here. The last group is the most popularly sought by shoppers for their cheaper-than-normal price range. Cant recall any names as the brands differ in different areas. Working trouser costs you only RM 20.00 each while long sleeve shirt costs only RM 18.00 each. Smaller cities offer cheaper prices unlike bigger cities like Shanghai, Beijing etc. Quality wise is acceptable....let me make it simple, u buy at your own risk..:)

Dongmen shopping street

Went back hotel & packed our bags in the evening to prepare for the night flight back to KL via Shenzhen International Airport. The price paid for the package of 5 days 4 nite, combination of guided tours & free n easy: - RM 650.00, not inclusive of boat rides, entrance tickets etc...no joke.

One Night Stand in Dongguan

We boarded the bus to Dongguan next morning. Stopped by at Lotus Park, Panyu. Here stands a giant bronzed statue of Goddess of Mercy, overlooking some beautifully landscaped Feng Shui gardens & a green lake. Once reached the city, we stopped at Keyuan Garden, one of the 4 famous gardens in Guangdong province.

Yinxian Temple with Goddess of Mercy statue

Walkway towards Yinxian Temple

Keyuan mean "a garden not too bad for visiting" in Chinese. Perhaps its creator was somewhat being modest about his garden. Opium Melting Square & the Opium Museum are the next stop, showcasing the long history of opium war in China. Went shopping at Huanghe Fashion Mall after lunch. Pretty large for China standard, it houses thousands of stores selling multiples fashion stuffs at affordable rates. I bought few trousers at Rm 20.00 each. We checked into Sheraton Dongguan hotel at the city. No need for me to mention about the service standard here, being a international 5 star hotel. Dad shamelessly claimed he can spend his whole day inside the room bathroom.

Entrance to Keyuan Garden

Dad reciting his newly penned Chinese poem on the stage to the audience of TWO....

Formerly an opium melting square

Nothing better than having a massage session to rest our tired bodies after a long day. All of us registered at only RM 50.00 per pax for session of 2 hours. Dad, bro & myself were put into this room, equipped with LCD TV, adjustable chairs with compliementary drinks & of course manned by 3 sweet masseuses. Only have this to say, simply heavenly.....:)

Sheraton's bathroom

Dongguan at nite

It's too bad we're able to stay one nite only in Dongguan as the group need to board for Shenzhen the next morning. To Be Continued....

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....

Been There & Back

Just back from China early at wee hours this morning. Few news headlines missed for the past 5 days. Button won (again!!) the KL Formula One GP, he became the new Prime Minister of Malaysia & most important of all, Gunners won 2-0 against Man City to strengthen their grip on the 4th placing & can somebody tell me who the heck is Federico Macheda??? Sounds Chilean instead of Italian to me.

Back to the China trip, we bought this Air Asia zero fare promo, totalled approx RM 350 per pax for return fare. Total duration of 5 days 4 nite for whole family together with 12 other family frens. Checked the itenary here, planned by the ever-so-efficient Mom. She works in travel agency anyway...There's arrival at Guangzhou, 2 nites in town, then one nite in Dongguan & then another nite in Shenzhen before return to KL via Shenzhen. Back home from work on 1st nite & our departure time from LCCT KLIA to Guangzhou at 0530 hrs the next day!!!! And the airport transfer van came at 0300 hrs, leaving me only 2 hours of sleep. Anyhow, it's my first time to the places & at least there's places for us to test out the new camera bought, shared by both bro & myself...the Panasonic DMC-LX3.

Shall post about the trip soon with great photos....

Zhuhai Hop Over

Day 5

We took a charter bus to the Macau bordergate to cross over to Zhuhai. The trip to the mainland from the bordergate is more like hopping from one shopping complex to another. Custom clearance was surprisingly efficient & doesnt' take much of our time. Over to the mainland gate, named Gongbei Port, we were greeted by Angela, the tour guide in charge. We booked tis package tour for one day to bring us to the local tourist destinations plus meals. She looked relieved when she learnt we understand Cantonese, her mother tongue as she looked struggling with her grasp of English.

Even unidentified beings need to follow the local regulations

First stop is the Fisher Girl statue, the city's symbol just like St Paul Ruins to Macau. The statue is composed of granite & 8.7 metres high, placed at the seaside. Stopped over at a local seafood restaurant for seafood lunch. Continue with the visit, we went to the great Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Memorial Park in Zhongshan, somewhere outskirts of Zhuhai city. Here stands Dr.Sun's birthplace & one of his many residences around the world. Besides is a memorial museum, with impressive collections of his works & stories of the his entire life. With great, detailed explanation of each significant event of his colourful life, we spent almost 2 hours to travel back in time & browsed thru the stories. Little that I knew Dr.Sun has a Malaysian second wife.

The life-sized statue of a great icon - Dr.Sun Yat Sen

Next is the underground shopping complex, situated just under Gongbei port at the bordergate. There are several hundreds of shops, many with goods targeted at tourists - clothings & shoes, jade & other jewelleries, electronic gadgets, imitation stuffs etc. We was told to bargain at all times & to bargain hard. Thank goodness Cantonese is the first language here, otherwise wonder how am I goin to bargain in Mandarin!!!! Bought some clothes at RMB50 each & only that, cos other stuffs are similarly priced to the one in KL. It's almost dinner time by the time all finished their 2 hours shopping. Brought to tis seafood restaurant nearby with impressive designs from the old Qing Dynasty era.

Entrance to the Qing Dynasty restaurant

Grand dinner served, total of 10 dishes excluding deserts

Finally checked into tis 2000 Years Hotel in the town. No, it's not the age of the hotel but the name is. Comfortable room with great showering experience. Never I've seen a showerhead as big as a human head. Imagine when u have hot water sprayed to ur entire body at full blast and u just need to stand still without moving an inch....Taking shower is never this satisfying!!! The tour guide recommended all of us to undergo sessions of Chinese massage at one of the local health centre to pamper our tired bodies. First hour is a reflexology session. Dad & myself were then brought to a private room for body massage. The natural next thing to do is to remove our clothes. The masseuses stared at us as if we're goin to have a nudist-style sessions. We were then told no clothes need to be removed as they will do it with us fully clothed. I was like"Huh? What the heck?? Massage with clothes on?" Then, the masseuse probably pressed my "sleeping mode" nerve that had me dozing off almost immediately. Next thing I knew is the session was over & total charges for 2 hours of session - RMB80 (great bargain there

Day 6

Checked out early the next morning after breakfast to visit the Royal Meixi Stone Archways. This is built in remembrance of Chen Fang, a local born who's the first Chinese consul in Hawaii. Had one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the famous Guangzhou face-changing performance. The question of how the heck the fella did it at such fast pace will remains a mystery for long times to come. Too bad the movie file too big to be uploaded into this page. We went off early to avoid long queues at customs bordergate. Once arrived at Gongbei bordergate, came about the typical scene in any Chinese customs office. Thousands of people just stand still queuing up waiting for approval to get across the border. It was Sunday & everybody probably hopping over to Macau for some weekend gambling games. Took us almost 2 hours just to get thru the Macau customs. Rushed on time to the airport for flight back home.

Guessing Game - Jump of joy or Kneel of a worship?

Time is not a factor in places like this