West Lake @ Xihu, Hangzhou

When visiting Hangzhou, no one should miss visiting the West Lake or Xihu. In other words, Xihu is the main attraction of Hangzhou. West Lake is just about 12 kilometres from the airport and it cost around RMB 100 to RMB 12o. So if you are travelling by yourself, try staying at the hotel around the West Lake. West Lake offer beautiful scenery's and a lot of activities for the tourist from morning till night, including food and shopping. And surrounding the West Lake area are popular tourist spot where you can either rent a bicycle or take the tourist bus (the 'Y' buses) to visit those places. You can also hop onto the tourist bus for a round trip or drop to any of the tourist spot at just 3 Yuan per trip. And if you are planing to visit Shanghai, just take a cab or a bus to the Hangzhou train station. A bus fare would cost 2 Yuan per person. If it's an older bus, it only cost 1.5 Yuan. From there, you can take the express train which is something similar to our KLIA Express which cost about RMB 40 for about 1.5 hours for a distance of about 190 kilometres. Upon reaching Shanghai South or in Chinese, they call it ShanghaiNan.., walk to the subway station following 'line 1' to buy tickets to the People's Park. At the People's Park, you can walk to the famous tourist shopping area call Nanjing Road and The Bunk. I would suggest anyone to travel by the subway train to move around in Shanghai as it is so convenient and fast. However, since there are 3 of us, a taxi would be cheaper if there is no train service a particular places where we intent to visit. Perhaps I would post more about travelling around Hangzhou and Shanghai later. At the time being, enjoy please enjoy my photos taken around the West Lake or Xihu..

I Luv Hangzhou !

I'm back from Hangzhou since yesterday morning. Took the 11.25 pm flight on 21st Feb., from Hangzhou airport to KLCT and arrive around 4.25 am the following day. At 7.25 am, took the next flight from KLCT back to Kota Baharu. Visiting China as an independent traveller is the most wonderful journey I ever experience. Even though I don't speak fluent mandarin, that does not hinder me from travelling there at all. To me English is still the most important language and universally accepted by all. As such, English is still very important to all students in Malaysia unless you just still want 'to stay under the coconut shell'. In China, there are still some hand full of young Chinese who would understand English to give you some advice and travelling tips around. Even though they don't speak as fluent or with some Chinese accent, they do write considerably well. Even the elderly age group are friendly and ever ready to provide us information or at least to show us how to moved around.
This trip has changed my perception about Chinese in China, or at least Hangzhou. Hangzhou is a very clean, well organized city and tourist orientated. The people are friendly and most willing to help and give advice to tourist more than I expected. The bus service is so efficient and you can see tourist everywhere in the city be it local tourist or even foreigners. Their Bus fares are reasonable and there are no discrimination on locals visitors and foreigners as far as entrance fees are concern as compared to Thailand.
Next week onwards I will start posting some photos taken from my recent visit to Hangzhou and Shanghai. For the time being.. it's back to work, work and work !

Now Everyone Can Fly ! It's Airasia Again !

Thanks to Tony Fernandez. It's 'now everyone can fly' again.. ! Without Airasia, I don't think I would ever get the opportunity to travel to other parts of the world. During my younger days, travelling to overseas on vacation is so rare for me, perhaps I would only dream and wait for free package from companies and also on incentives. And during the 80's, I only get to fly to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur. The rest are just by Train to northern Thailand. And even with that, my Singapore air trip also turned to land route as the Malaysia Airline flight ticket prices escalating like dunno what.. Even with that, they are still making huge losses !!
And how often can we afford to go on fully guided tour ? Maybe once a year for me... if i am lucky enough. As the number of family member grows, it even becomes more difficult, especially when finance and time factor is concern. With Airasia, it's free and easy.. and I also get to travel as an independent tourist at budget price.

Ok, stop the bal...bla.. bla... Comes tomorrow, I will be flying off to Kuala Lumpur again by Airasia. Over there, my twin sons will join me to Hangzhou, China on the next morning. We'll be there for almost a week. Its a free and easy trip, more relax as compared to my previous trip as we will only moved on as and when we would like too. All in my mind is just to have a relax time at the West Lake of Hangzhou having hot cup of green tea during the cool early spring season, and to jog during the morning at the West Lake... and go window shopping after sunset.

So, Hangzhou ! see you soon !!

p/s : Mr Tony, I also bought your launching price for KLCT to Tianjin 2 days ago !!! Hope to see you in Beijing soon !!!

To my oversea friends.., Mr Tony Fernandez is the CEO for airasia.com

Happy Valentine Day to all those who loves to be loved !!

I feel Great ! Do You ????

Received from a friend, just to share with you...

TO ALL THE THOSE WHO WERE BORN IN THE 50's and 60's /early 70s
First, we survived with mothers who had no maids.
They cooked /cleaned while taking care of us at the same time. They took aspirin, candy floss, fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrup and diabetes was rare.
Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy for fever.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
As children, we would ride with our parents on bicycles/ motorcycles for 2 or 3.
Richer ones in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pirate taxi was a special treat.
We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle.
We would spend hours on the fields under bright sunlight flying our kites, without worrying about UV rays which never seem to affect us.
We go into the jungle to catch spiders without worries of Aedes mosquitoes.
With mere 5 pebbles (stones) would be a endless game.
With a ball (tennis ball best) we boys would run like crazy for hours.
We caught guppies in drains / canals and when it rained we swam there.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually worr ied about being unhygenic.
We ate salty, very sweet & oily food, candies, bread and real butter and drank very sweet soft drinks, sweet coffee/ tea, ice kachang, but we weren't overweight because..... . WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, till streetlights came on.No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters out of scrap and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.
After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, multiple channels on cable TV, DVD movies, no surround sound, no phones, no personal computers, no Internet.
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and we still continued the stunts.
We never had birthday parties till we were 21,
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and just yelled for them!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! Yet this generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 40 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the government regulated our lives for our own good. and while you are at it, tell and share it with your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

PS -The big type is because all of us have Long-sightedness or hyperopia at our age !!!
__._,_.___

Finally On-Line, I am !!

Finally I got myself connected again with the Internet on this very day, the 15Th day of Chinese New Year, also called Chap Goh Meh ! My house line was cut off due to fallen tree.. that was what the service provider informed me after making so many complaints.
What have I been up to lately ..
25Th Jan - CNY eve, attending family reunion dinner at Renaissance Hotel
26Th Jan - Friends visit to house
27Th Jan - Visiting Relatives
28Th Jan - Resting at Home
29Th Jan- Start working
30Th Jan - Attending CNY dinner at Bangkok Restaurant
31st Jan - Sons went back to KL for studies
3rd Feb - To Temple for 'Pai Tee Kon' until early morning of 4Th Feb
Today - Chap Goh Meh.. going to the same temple again tonight ! My China friend just informed me that today in China, they call it Lantern festival. That is something new to me.. anyway..
Happy Chap Goh Meh and Happy Lantern Festival to all Chinese !!!!