Girlguide

Introducing the map reading babe aka the occasionally reliable guide and great companion.

Without her I’d be practically lost in China and not to mentioned bored to death especially during those monotonous rides to the city centre.

The map also detail the bus and MRT routes.

Village

The place where I stayed, I wouldn’t deemed it as a village as in the ‘kampung’ sense where they are coconut trees and houses made of wood; no.

The cute and pretty house cat.. miao miao miao~~

One can see medium scale industry such as timber, wood products – doors, tables and bed frames; handbags, unfinished leather goods, etc. E-bike (bicycle running on rechargeable battery) is a popular transport.

There is also a big clinic nearby the market. There are plenty of eating shops available and even a small hypermarket.

Public transports comprise of motorbikes and buses (~RMB 3 / RM 1.5) that would adequately connect you to other places such as the Guangzhou city centre where it is efficiently connected through MRT (RMB 5-10 / RM 2 – 5) and feeder buses. Unfortunately the train runs underground so there’s nothing much to see. That’s why hours of traveling underground could be boring.

There, people with the same surname stays in a particular village. Ours is the “Yang” village. So everyone in the village is Mr./Mrs/Ms. Yang. Lol.. But afraid not, they are influx of ‘outside’ people coming into the village, mainly for work, and vice versa. So if you’re a youngster in the village you can still find a partner with a different surname..heh.

Weather

It was suppose to be the end of spring, going into the hot season but as the today’s climate would have it, weather around the world has gone a little off timing. The first two days were chilling despite the temperature being 20-22 deg C. The last three days were okay. When it’s cold, bathing is not  enjoyable but made bearable by the ‘furnace’ (water heater). It runs on gas as oppose to electricity. Mind you, it’s as good as the electric water heater, complete with volume and temperature control.

Food

Compared to Malaysia, some food taste nicer, some not as good. Generally, the flavour is similar. Food in the village can be delicious and cheap. For example, 4 ample bowls of noodles cost about RMB 20 – that’s RM10 with change! Unsuccessful to find pork burger in KFC or McD (we thought they have it, no? hmmm…)

The reunion dinners cum karaoke + mahjong sessions

Language & People

The people in Guangzhou speaks Cantonese by large, also Mandarin and swearing is pretty common too. Sometimes they use it as conjunctions in their sentences. Even old lady curses. Now I know where the bad words originated from.

You don’t want to mess with the old lady on the right cause she can be very fierce but she’s a great host and even gave up her wooden mosquito netted bed for us.

She’s generally a humorous person, who’s tongue in cheek kind of joker. At her age, she’s still very sharp and hears well too but aches at her joints due to old age and many years of hard work in the paddy field. Indeed it is true, when they say Chinese people are not that civic minded (yet). We experienced the ‘culture’ in more than one occasion in various places. For instance, they don’t expect you to use their toilet if you’re not a customer and they have no qualms about scolding you if you did so. They might even tell you with a straight face about not having a toilet in a properly built hypermarket. They will stand by the doors of the train like they’re about to run for the Olympics gold medal and when the train arrives, rush in and lay whatever they have in hand to occupy seats for their partners. The same scenario would happen in a bus. Speaking of which, don’t expect them to queue to board a bus. While fighting your way into the bus, you should also protect yourself from being elbowed, especially on the face. Generally, they are not friendly to strangers. Do not expect courteous smiles or welcomes and thank yous from their services, even from airport staff. Some work like they’ve been under pressure or gotten out from the wrong side of the bed (perhaps they did…hmmm…)

Activities / Places

Went to the nearby market every other day for breakfast, buy snacks, clothes or just to look around.

Such seems to be the life of the people in the village – to visit the market and buy groceries, everyday.

Went to the overpriced (RMB 200/RM90/USD30) but nevertheless worthy zoo.

Like other zoos (except our own deplorable zoo negara), Chime Long Zoo is well kept, clean, spacious and the animals look well fed.

A banana for her effort instead of cuddly toy…whuahahahaha~

The biggest attraction for us was of course the very cuddly cutie panda.

After that we went to the croc farm although not much time to explore as it was getting late.

Chime Long has a theme park nearby the zoo too. There are various packages to choose from but I would say they are rather expensive. If it’s fun it might be worth it.

Went to a shopping place ala ‘petaling street’. Depending on your style and preference, you might get a good bargain on anything ranging from accessories to boots.

Also went to some parks (FOC).

If you’re looking for an outdoor activity, Skytrex adventure offers an exciting  scared-the-heck-out-of-you experience. Well at least for me in certain trails. Skytrex is located in Taman Pertanian , Shah Alam, just further down i-City (another place worth visiting). Just head towards Shah Alam / Klang by Federal and you’ll reach within 30-45 minutes coming from PJ/KL center. Taking the morning session is recommended as the air is refreshing and it’s not too sunny plus you’ll get to go first instead of waiting for another group as it is only allowed one person to go at a time.

You may reach at 8am sharp, just in time to board the bus which will take you into the game area. The bus cost RM3/person and it takes roughly 10 minutes.

Upon arrival, proceed to the registration counter where you will sign your death warrant (lol) and purchase a pair of glove for RM3. Glove is optional, but highly recommended. However the ones they have are so-so only as it does not protect your fingers entirely. You may use your own glove if you have it. For some reason, they might insist that you use their glove, but seriously, you don’t have to listen to them. Their glove will be just a good or bad as phua chu kang’s.

Instructors will help put on the safety harness. I think these devices are designed by a female.

Warning for guys – they are very crotch-unfriendly. So brace yourself, there’s no way to escape the torture.

Okay, ready for Extreme Challenge. FIY, if your group is more than 10 people, you will get 10% discount. So we paid RM40/person for the Extreme Challenge that supposedly cost RM45/person. I’d suggest to take on Extreme Challenge, even for first timers so that you’ll not feel you’ve left out something and kept wondering what it was like for the hardest one. It is worth every penny except if you took the chicken exit. Then that’s too bad…you chicken! lol.

Instructor will give safety briefing, while showing you the dos and don’ts, and also some tricks. Then everyone gets a little training before the starting on the actual circuit.

That’s how high it might be. About 4-8 storeys high. Make sure your shoe has proper grip as the pipes may be slippery. Trust me, even with harness, you wouldn’t want to slip.

The longest line of the circuit. You can actually just sit on the strap and enjoy the ‘flight’. But it’s easier said than done, if you’re zipping for the first time. I held the strap like my life depends on it (actually it is), hence my arms was holding my whole body weight. That is still okay, cause I’m featherweight. If possible, just relax and sit to lessen the pain in your arms and to save energy for the rest of the game because even climbing up the trees may be quite tiring and scary at times.

There are many different types of obstacles on air that you’ll have to go through. Never one is quite the same, thus you’ll not get bored. Some platforms may have no instructors, so you’re practically on your own. Even if they’re on the station, they won’t really bother you much, which is good in a way because you don’t want to be told what to do all the time. So pay attention to the safety briefing and have fun decide stuff for yourself!

Walking on these pipes are the scariest for me. Fear can be so real despite knowing you have safety harness. Friends presence might be good, not because they’ll cheer for you (quite the opposite rather), but more like you don’t want to lose face, or let them see you fall down or worse – take the chicken exit. That’s the ‘motivation’ you might need if you’re a person who’s very afraid of heights. lol!

All of us went through the challenge successfully though two took the chicken exit, one due to light injury, another – fear got the better of him. You can actually carry your bag with you if you want, just make sure it is not heavy. Otherwise locker is provided for free. Bringing some water is a good idea.  Also, get your cameras ready so that you can capture all the sky-high action!

Took pictures while we waited for the bus to ferry us out.  If you happen to meet a french guy, who’s kinda in charge of things, notice his sexy french accent. It’s seductive that you’ll want to have it.

Since we’re near Klang, we went for Bah Kut Teh. We went to the famous Teluk Pulai Bah Kut Teh in Taman Intan, Klang. It’s just about 10km from Skytrex and 1 toll to pass. Thanks to Google Maps, an Ipoh guy like me can lead a bunch of KL people to such place. Anyway it’s not that hard to find. That area alone has about 5-6 BKT shops, but evidently you’ll see this one most packed.

And it is not famous for nothing. For me, it’s quite tasty. You can read about it in other food blog. Suffice to say, Teluk Pulai BKT doesn’t disappoint.

Since drivers don’t have to pay, the rest forked about RM20/person for this satisfying meal. Otherwise, you can enjoy BKT here for about RM10-15/person.

If you have the chance, go for Skytrex challenge at least once! (and also not forgetting i-City ya~)

cheers~

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I don’t update my blog often and when I do, I write long posts such as the recent ones. I bet, out of ten who visited, none would be able to finish them but it was my pleasure to tell the stories of our trip. What I related was only the gist of our journey and it does not do justice to all the big and small events that made this vacation a memorable one. Next time I wouldn’t be able to write such long posts anymore due to other commitment, but while I still can, I’ll continue to do so for my own documentation. I would like to dedicate these 10 posts to Kelvin, Jesse and Shean Chuan aka Chunaki for making the trip a success and a brilliant one. For those who have helped, both directly and indirectly – THANK YOU!

RIP M.J

]]> http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2009/06/27/day10-hn-kl/feed/ 1 http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2009/06/27/day9-hlbay-hn/ http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/2009/06/27/day9-hlbay-hn/#comments Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:20:31 +0000 teik http://alexlee.youthchapter.com/?p=74 The breakfast was egg, toast bread with butter and jam, and coffee/tea. Woke up late this morning and we missed to sun rise but never minded. It was nice curling up in the air-conditioned room where outside was hot and humid but glad it was like that rather than raining as it could hamper the trip due to poor visibility.

That morning was just cruising around for more sightseeing. We bade goodbye to the Vietnamese family and the doctor as they left for a stay on the beach which was part of the 3-day package. The rest of us stayed on our boat waiting for other people to come on board before headed back to harbour. That was the end of our trip. Therefore, for those who has not much time, 1-day trip is recommended because the following day doesn’t really have much activity other than sight seeing.

Before going back to Saigon, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant near the harbour and that place was hot. To matter worse, the generator wasn’t working while we were having lunch, so there was no electricity. I’ve never sweated so much while eating before. We had a typical Chinese-ish lunch but the conversation at the table was interesting. For example, we get to know that Tom and Kim sold their bike and car, and quited their jobs to travel – for a whopping one year continuously! If they were still talking at the end of their travel, they would get married. Then there was the French guy about his life and travel. It was nice to get to know them and we took a picture for remembrance.

We were then cramped, with all our luggage, into a van for the journey back to Saigon. I had more conversation with Kim about things in general. She was nice to talk to. Most people including myself slept on the way back. Upon arrival, we got down near Dong Xuan market area. Jesse bought a belt. We wanted to shop more but the shops were already closing at 5pm. So we wandered aimlessly around, occasionally stopping for a cold drink and snack. At one corner we had a bread stick (RM0.80 one) that looked simple but quite delicious. Then at the other corner, we stumbled into the best kebab I ever tasted. We sat down and ate 1-kg of lychee (RM2 – 3 per kg) before wandering the crowded market area with bags on our back. We continued to walk about, mindless of destination because we couldn’t go back to Ha’s place yet as she was still at her aunt’s place. She asked to wait for cue to go home and we obeyed. Anyhow, through this way, we actually get to experience the city and the hawker food, including the dessert (see picture). When we reached a park in the city, the sky was already darkening. Albeit tired and dirty, we had each other for company – chatting, joking and playing ‘chi ku pak’. After what felt like 10 years homeless in a foreign land, finally we were allowed to go back, yea!!

We were introduced to Ha’s cousin, who was back from the States doing her internship. We clicked almost instantly and the way she talked showed maturity and intelligence. She said fast food made her fat and she’s getting fatter, when it clearly wasn’t. Sigh, what’s wrong with Vietnamese girls? But then again, girls are always like that, right?? Kelvin was most manly to push the bike for her all the way to the junction, where we hailed for taxi. There we parted ways as we were going for night market, and she had to finish her report. Sad that we didn’t take a picture for remembrance. Wuwuwu~

Da came to join us as the night market. How nice it was to see him again, and we’re glad that our ‘pasar malam’ outing gave them a chance to see each other. They were quick into their own sweet world so we asked them not to worry about us and we walked separately. The night market was so long that it seemed endless. We bought more things, then it was closing time before we managed to see the end. We met up with the sweet couple and went for supper at a stall – beef noodle (again). It was nice nevertheless but again we were sweating while eating. Seating place by the stall was low because we sat on stool. Da insisted to foot the bill for us, again. After that, we left for home and they had a teary goodbye. Nah just joking, they just embraced and said goodbyes.

What surprised us when we got back was a bunch of goodies for us. Earlier, her mum and Lynh went and bought us each two packets of tea and cashew nuts, and 3-kg of lychee. And they wouldn’t accept us paying for them, saying it was a gift to bring home. So generous of them. We felt bad but grateful. We kept pushing money to Ha, but she just wouldn’t take it except for the flight expense. That night, we all chatted in the room way into the wee hours. That’s when we got to know her more, and liked her even more.