It's mute!
Some time last week I discovered that my T5 is mute. The built-in speaker no longer works. Just a week earlier I lost the original stylus.

Called the nice people of Palm. They said it's already out of warranty. I have the option of sending it for repair(US$98) or replace it(US$125).

Up till now, I still have not decide whether to repair or replace. Other than being mute, the T5 still works. What I really need is a new stylus.

The Red Kebaya
I watched the film yesterday with Ma Hen. Even though the film got sort of bad reviews (from some of local medias and friends), we enjoyed it.

The film is being promoted as if it is about the lady in the red kebaya, a 'joget' girl named Azizah. Just look at the posters and trailers being aired over the media. To me, however, Azizah (Vanida) is only a supporting character (and she did it well!). If you are expecting more from Vanida, you might be dissappointed as "Red Kebaya" is really not about Azizah. The film is really about Mr John Reynold (Bob). Why do I think so, there are few things that you should note.

Firstly, if the story is about Azizah, the audiences would be 'introduced' to her life instead of merely 'listening' it from Hoggy (Zahim) and herself. We were never introduced to her life when her husband left her when she was pregnant to join Chin Peng. And how she came to become a 'joget' girl. We never knew the hardship she faced as a divorcee (malay word 'janda') bringing up her son, Adik. Also failed to be depicted was how the community at that time (especially Malay community) persived 'joget' girls. Another interesting point is that, throughout the film, how Azizah felt towards John was not really 'shown', we merely take her words and gestures. Unlike John, who dreams of her in his waking hours. The Malay word would be 'angau' (a-ngau).

Instead, the audiences get to know John in a very 'intimate' ways. We saw how unhappy John is with his marriage. We saw how the wife refused him and treated him. His 'angau' with Azizah. We also saw his nightmare of having to kill a communist. We saw the communist whom he killed but never saw Azizah's husband and had to take her words that her husband had a scar (thus, not the communist that John killed). We also get to know how he is in person (i.e. kind hearted, 'lowly-paid' hardworking man, etc). He also is a hopelessly 'romantic' person. He cried when he declared his love to Azizah whereas Azizah didn't even shed a single drop of tear.

The film is somewhat different from other Malaysian film. The story lines. The cinematography. But then again, is it really a Malaysian film?

Month of Syawal

Maybe it's a bit too late to be writing about Syawal. Nevertheless it need to be written. The month of Syawal follows after the month of Ramadhan. If Ramadhan is about fasting, Syawal is about celebrating of the completion of a fasting month. This is the month where Malaysians (especially Muslims) went visiting each other and ask for forgiveness.

For Malaysian with 'kampung' to go back to, this is the time for 'balik kampung'. Family members (brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts etc) get together to celebrate 1st Syawal.

The signature delacacies for Eid Mubarak (1st Syawal) are lemang, rendang, and dodol. Lemang is some sort of starchy / sticky rice cooked in bamboo. It is eaten with rendang.

Rendang is either meat or chicken other cooked in spices and coconut milk. There are rendang consisted of jackfruit, and even tapioca shoot, but generally the rendang that you eat with lemang is the meat / chicken kind.

Dodol is a traditional malay 'candy'. It is very 'chewy' like a buble gum but you can't make buble out of it. It is made of among others coconut milk and sugar. The initially liquid ingredient, is cooked and stirred till it is thickened.

Less and less people cook their own lemang and dodol due to the tedious work and effort needed to produce a good lemang or dodol. For lemang your need to find the bamboo. Rice and water (mixed with coconut milk ) need to be just right for the lemang to taste good. The fire (usually wood is used to make the fire) must be control so as the lemang would not burned.

While dodol could be cooked over gas stove, the mixture need to be continously stirred to avoid burned. Stirring a very sticky mixture needs some degree of strength and patience.

More people prefer buying lemang and rendang from roadside hawkers. These hawkers could be easily found along the road heading back to 'kampung's.

Next time if you are in Malaysia somewhere in Ramadhan, do stay a little bit longer for Syawal to experience more traditional Malay food and the celebration of Eid Mubarak.

Ramadhan

In Islamic calendar, it’s the month of Ramadhan. This is the month when Muslims around the globe fast from dawn till dusk. It is a special month for Muslims to refrain from temptations, lust etc and do more good to self and others.

Since Malaysia's official religion is Islam, Malaysian generally have a somewhat-altered-daily routine for the month of Ramadhan. For example, for some offices lunch hour might be shortened and office hour ended somewhat earlier. Along with the alter office hour, rush hour somewhat starts earlier. Many restaurants are closed during the day. Nightlife activities (concert etc.) are generally lesser.

These might led foreign tourists to think that visiting Malaysia during Ramadhan would limit their gastronomic experiences since many eateries are close during the day. Actually that is not entirely true. The standard fast food restaurants are open. So are restaurant and eateries operated by non-muslim to cater for non-muslim Malaysians. On top of that, Malaysia have this thing call Pasar Ramadhan.

During the month of Ramadhan, there are lots of Pasar Ramadhan (Ramadhan Market) mushrooming every where in almost every town. This particular market starts everyday around 4pm till around 9pm. These markets specialized in selling food and drinks. It is the best place to sample a wide variety of food. Especially local traditional dish that aren't normally sold during other months. For example, there's this drink called 'Kathira'. It's a concoction of cooling 'herb' and condiments.

Other than Pasar Ramadhan, most hotels have Ramadhan Buffet. Some are a good bargain if you are into sampling food. Be aware that some are total rip-off with overly priced buffet for bad tasting food.

Generally. it is the best time to be in Malaysia to taste local cuisine. Especially when Syawal comes (after Ramadhan ends). Plus, this year, Deepavali (Hindu's celebaration) would be celebrate just a few days before Syawal. But that's a whole different story.

Gubra

Finally I watched Gubra. The highly critisized indipendent film by award winning Yasmin Ahmad. No, I didn't watch it in the cinema. Didn't buy the vcd either. I watched it on my T5. How? That's beyond the scope of this entry.

I had wanted to wait for it to be air on tv. But then the girl in the film made a remark during a live telecast. She was critisized by people of all walks of life for that remark. For her remark, she might be banned from local tv. There goes my plan to watch it on tv.

Anyway, back to Gubra. Dialog wise, it does reflex how most Malaysian speak Malay/English in their daily live. It made the film feels real. In terms of story line, the film suffers what I call accute 'sembilu kasih' syndrome 'Sembilu kasih' is a local telenovela that has too many sub-plots in it. At least all characters in the telenovela is somehow connected. Whereas in Gubra, 'Bilal circle' did not crossed path with orked's. I felt like watching 2 film at once.

Other than that, I feel that Orked's character was not fully developed. For a person who had studied in England, you would expect a certain degree of maturity. Somehow I find younger Orked in Sepet is more matured than Gubra's Orked. Another thing that I couldn't comprehend was that how a married lady could touch the bare chest of a half naked (well ok, shirtless) man she just met, when she bumped in to the guy outside a public toilet in a hospital. Even if it was just to brush off a few strand of hair. Further more, her husband is in the same building. Just plain weird.

The "Bilal's circle" faired better in my book. It felt more real. The tender loving care showed by the wife to the husband. Man to animals. One neighbour to another. And don't forget, mother to child (even if the mother is a flesh trader). With little dialog, these circle of people managed to leave more mark on the film. Even though the T5 screen is small, I could almost see (and feel) all facial and body language used.

I really wonder how the lady playing Orked could won any award. She might deserve the award, but not from playing Orked in Gubra.

Merdeka! (Independence!)

Malaysia celebrated it’s 49th year of independence yesterday. How did you celebrate your independence day? Me, it started with on the 30th August. I had a meeting near KLCC area. The meeting ended around 11pm.

I though I wouldn’t get stuck in traffic jams. I was mistaken. I should have left my car at the car park and walked to KLCC park. They are holding some sort of celebration / concert. In my effort to leave before the Merdeka-rush started, I got caught in massive jams. After a while, I decided to stop and park my car by the roadside (double parking another car). At least I got to chilled out and enjoyed the fire works. Here’s my (dis)advantage point:



The next day, I visited a few historical sites when Merdeka is concern. First was the Dataran Merdeka. It’s the field in front of Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad. This was where the Union Jack was brought down and replaced by Jalur Gemilang. Where exactly this happened? There we many people at the field, mostly foreign workers taking photographs. Not many would notice three ubiquitous small flag poles at the field. But those who took note would notice a plate at the base of the middle flag pole indicating those historical moment.

Next, was Stadium Merdeka. Where exactly this stadium? Somewhere near Petaling Street. This was where the Tunku Abdul Rahman shouted “Merdeka” on 31st August 1957. Today, it is almost forgotten. Except for some families patronizing the “Mamak” at the second floor, no body seems to bother about the significance of this old mark where Tunku Abdul Rahman stood 49 years ago, if there was, I didn’t find it. Other than building. There were no plate (like the flag pole) to me, there were a Japanese family taking photographs there. I’m not sure if they know that the stadium is actually a historical site.

Last was the National Museum. Actually I didn’t stop. I just drove passed it. In front of the Museum is a flagpole. The Jalur Gemilang here is different than the rest of Jalur Gemilang in Malaysia today. This particular Jalur Gemilang have less stripes (I think there’s 13 stripes). The stripes represent the number of states in Malaysia at its early days of independence.

Malaysia have come a long way since its independence day 49 years ago.

(p.s.: Recently I passed by National Museum again and noticed that the flagpole with the old version of Jalur Gemilang is not there. I must have mistaken the new flags with the 'historical' flag.)

Wrecked

One of the thing that catched my eyes during my short trip to Melaka was this graphic road safety campaign. Underneath the usual accident statistic board was a car totally wrecked. Now if that does not knock some sense into your head, I don't know what would.

p.s.: sorry for the earlier gramatically horrifying entry. That's what happened when you simply cut and paste.

Melaka Historical City

I got a malay wedding invitation yesterday. The place - a friend's house in Melaka. Thinking I could still find my way, I didn't bring the invitation card - the map was in it. I haven't been to Melaka for quite some times. Some of the roads looks different. Needless to say, I made a huge round before finally reaching the destination.

By the time I reached the house, the 'kenduri' (eating part) was pretty much nearing the end. The 'bersanding' and 'makan beradat' has very much ended. Thus, I could not elaborate on those. The food was delicous - 'nasi minyak' (rice cooked in herbs), 'daging masak kurma' (beef cooked in spices and coconut milk - i think). After meeting the bride (my friend) and the groom, as well as the mother of the bride, I left.

I went for a drive in Melaka town for awhile before stopping at some of the shops in Jalan Hang Tuah. Hang Tuah is actually a lagendary Malay warrior. He and his friends, Hang Jebat, Hang Lekiu, Hang Kasturi, and Hang Lekir, are better known as Hang Tuah Lima Bersaudara (somewhat translated into The Brotherhood of Hang Tuah).

Back to the shops in Jalan Hang Tuah. There were side walk cafes. The cafes were more like up-scale foodstalls. What grabbed my attention was the sign board "Tempat bertemu / Meeting point". The shops mostly sell clothes and textiles. After browsing through the materials, quality goods with reasonable price, I left.

On my way back to the highway, there were a "Pasar Malam" (night market). Night market is most probably a Malaysian affair. Malaysian love to go to their "Pasar Malam". There were a lot of people at the "pasar malam". You can find almost all essential things - raw food like beef, chicken, fishes; clothes; cooking utensil; etc. If not all, most, at a very cheap price. However, the organization of the stalls was not to my liking. Raw meat was sold next to cooked food. Unlike other "pasar malam" that I've been to where the 'wet' and 'dry' goods are segregated.

Even so, I enjoyed my shot trip to Melaka.

National Library

This is one of the buildings I passed during my quest for National Art Gallery. The National Library is located along the same road with the Art Gallery. Unlike the Art Gallery, the library's main entrance could be seen from the main road.

The library is at least four storeys high. Anyone can go in and browse the collections. But you need to be a member to borrow a book. They have good collection of magazines. I among magazine I found were recent copy of Reader Digest, National Geographic. There were other magazines but mostly older copies.

The books in the main building are only reference books. To borrow a book, you need to go the adjecent building (Bangunan Sejarah). I only went to the 3rd floor and found that the have quite recent books on ICT. Other books are mostly older edition.

In my brief moment in the National Library, I found that there are many books on a wide variety of topics. However, books are mostly of older edition. If they are not old, they look old. Maybe due to the many hands that have handled the books. I definitely need to spend more time in browsing the books and check if they have recently publish reference books.

Balai Seni Lukis Negara (National Art Gallery)

Over the weekend, I saw an interview on television. It was about some art exhibition currently held in Balai Seni Lukis Negara till 31st of July. The central theme is Hutan Belum (Belum Forest Reserve).

Yesterday, I decided to check the exhibition out. But first I need to find this Balai Seni Lukis Negara. The first building I went to was the old building located opposite Mahkamah Syariah (Malaysian Islamic Court). The old building no longer housed Balai Seni and was left in ruined. It sadden me that such historical building was left to rot and be 'eaten' by weeds.

Then I drove around to find tourist police. I saw the sign board to the booth and eventually found the booth. Unfortunately, no tourist police could be seen. A very misleading signboard and booth. After a long round-around, imagine me relief when I saw another booth. But this time it was the police (the normal police booth).

I stopped my car and got out to ask for direction. My relief was short lived when the polite man in blue uniform gave me this blank look. He has no idea where the building is. From the look in his face, I think he has never even heard of Balai Seni Lukis Negara.

Later that day, on my way back from my office, lo and behold, there's the new building. I had passed is almost everyday. It is located right next to Istana Budaya by the busy Jalan Tun Razak.

This morning, I stopped by the Balai Seni Lukis Negara. I tought it was easy to find. So near yet so far. The enterance was not the same as the enterance to Istana Budaya. While there were adequate direction signs to Istana Buday, signs to Balai Seni Lukis was almost none. In fact, other that the one at the building itself, I couldn't see any other signboards. Instinctively, I turned into a small road (Jalan Temerloh) right after the spanking new building. True enough, there was the empty parking lot on my left.


The art collection was great. Unfortunately the arrangement was not really good. I have not been to many art gallery, but somehow the one in KLCC looks better. Maybe because the one in KLCC is small and the exhibition goes in somewhat a 'flow' from entrance to exit. The National Art Gallery on the other hand have multiple exhibition hall at each level. Other than that, I had expected more artworks to be displayed considering that it is a National Art Gallery.

I'm not sure if National Art Gallery is included in your typical travel brochures. But do check it out if you are an art lover. You could take a taxi from KLCC. If you are feeling adventurous, take LRT and stop at Titiwangsa. From there you can take a bus (if I'm not mistaken number 103). Be ready to spot Istana Budaya and press the bell to stop the bus near the National Art Gallery. Chances are, the bus drivers wouldn't know where it is.

Going Up North

Due to some work commitment, I had to make a trip up north. After consulting other colleagues, we agreed to stay in Seberang Jaya, Pulau Pinang. Seberang Jaya is on the mainland. We also decided to car-pool. The other colleagues are a pregnant lady and a friend who don’t know how to use manual transmission (or what American call shift stick). That leaves me as the designated driver for our business trip.

Day 1 (17th July 2006)

We left KL around 7.30 am. After around thirty minutes blazing through the usual morning rush, we reached Sungai Buluh R&R (Rest & Restaurant). I ate the food that I had packed earlier that morning. We continued our drive soon after. With only one or two toilet-stops, we reached our hotel around 12pm. About three and a half hour drive. It was quite amazing feat, since we mostly drove within the speed limit.

We checked into our rooms. While unpacking, we were surprised by the news we saw on the television. There would be a press conference regarding Siti Nurhaliza’s upcoming wedding. She’s one of the top single (as in not married) singer in Malaysia. Since our work would start at 2pm, we decided to wait for the announcement. We only wanted to know who is her future groom. We were partially disappointed when her father announce that it is Datuk K. Not because we have any feeling for Siti. Disappointed because she have become like other typical famous artists who married older VIPs. After that, we left for our appointment.

That night, we went to Pulau Pinang – The Pearl of The Orient. We took the ferry. It was my first time driving a car onto the ferry. I’ve been on a ferry to Penang a couple of years back. It was on the same day the old bus station was burned down. But it was on foot. Very much like a backpacker. Back then it only cost a few cents. The fare for a car is RM7.70. Plus point in taking the ferry: I got to enjoy the scenic view.

We reached the island half an hour later. With the guide from our mutual friend via the phone, we reached Padang Kota Lama. Along the way we passed some old buildings and if I’m not mistaken, Port Swattenham. We had our dinner at the food court in Padang Kota Lama. The food seller there were very persuasive and competitive. They ‘swarmed’ you like bees recommending this and that. They would not leave until you place your order. The food were good and cheap by KL standard.

We left Penang at 10.15pm on the ferry.

Day 2 (or rather night 2)

Daytime was occupied with work.

On the second night, we went to Penang Island via the bridge. Tol for the bridge is RM7.00. It is the longest bridge in South East Asia. It was the first time I drove on it. Somehow it felt very narrow. Except for the middle section of the bridge where it was three-lane, the rest of the bridge is two-lane. Not too long ago, the government wanted to widen the bridge to cope with the growing traffic volume. There was a report in local daily saying that the government could not proceed because the bridge’s blueprint was missing. How could such important document went missing? I have no recollection of any report of it being found again.

A friend of ours took us to a place called Teluk Tempoyak for seafood. The place was very secluded. I don’t think any first timer could find the place on their own. The drive took us through industrial area somewhere in Bayan Baru. Then we came to some sort of housing area before ascending through a narrow and winding road. At some stretch, only one car could pass through. But the long drive was well worth it. The place was right by the sea. The food was splendid. Locals would call it ‘ikan bakar’ (grilled fished cooked in spicy sauce)

Day 3 (Night 3)

I was feeling a bit under the weather. Could be due to the weather. Could also be due to the spicy food that I’ve been eating for the pass few days. We went to eat at a hawker stall nearby. I had fried ‘kuey tiaw kerang’ (flat-rice-noodle fried with cockles). The food was okay, not as great as the previous day – perhaps because I was not feeling well.

Day 4 (20th July 2006)

We headed to KL around 3.00pm after. Unlike the drive up north, the drive down south seemed to go forever. Possibly because of the numerous lane-closure. They (PLUS) are upgrading the highway. We reached KL around 9.00pm.

Beijing: Trip Recaps

1. Celcom don't have GPRS partner in Beijing. International roaming (phone calls & SMS) works just fine for post paid. (Yours truly is waiting anxiously for the bill)

2. Shopping in Beijing is madness (especially for a non-shopaholics like yours truly).

3. Bargaining during shopping is a MUST. You can also bargain at department store. No bargaining at places that use bar code scanner (Carrefour, & 7-eleven-like-shops).

4. With proper bargaining skill, patient, and courage opening price (as high as RMB1000) could go very low (as low as RMB100).

5. Be ready to be 'physically manhandled' by the persistant & persuasive shop assistants.

6. Main streets in Beijing are generally clean. However, avoid any water puddle, whenever possible, at any cost.

7. When buying things from street peddlers, be carefull of counterfeit money.

8. Taking taxis in Beijing is generally safe. They have receipt which indicate where and when you boarded the taxi, as well as where and when you reach your destination.

9. Definitely get your destination name written in chinese characters (unless you can speak fluent mandarin and can pronounce all the names properly).

10. Bl**dy-Geeky-Touristy Things to do:
* Climb Great Wall of China - done
* Visit Tianenmen Square - done
* Visit Forbidden City - done
* See acrobats show - done

11. Things to spot:
* People reading newspapers pasted on roadside-noticeboard
* Kids (and possibly adults) wearing 'backside-exposing-pants'
* People exercising & dancing in the park
* People reading newspaper while paddling their bicycle.

Day 6 (23rd June 2006)

7.30am – We checked out. I began to have a bit of stomach upset – enough to set the alarm in my travel companion, Gang. Our guide took us for one last shopping trip. Russian Market. No idea why it is called Russian Market. We also stopped at a place call Yueshow. Both were located within areas frequent by foreigners (as in white people). By 11.00am, we left for lunch.

12.00pm – Lunch. It was splendid. As the rest of the group said, the final lunch pretty much erase all bad memory of food (especially breakfast) during the tour.

2.15pm – We reached the airport. We bid adieu to Fariz and Jiang. We checked in our luggage.

4.35pm – We boarded the plane, flight MH 379. Again, after a series of seat swapping, we managed to sit next to each other. This time, Gang was on my left, and Ma Hen on my right. Bye-bye Beijing.

10.50pm – Touch down. After alarming long wait for Ma Hen luggage, we finally got all luggages. We headed to the arrival hall and then went our separate ways.

Day 5 (22nd June 2006)

Our fifth day was our ‘free’ day. Free in the sense that there’s no schedule and arranged tour for us. Definitely not free in the sense that no money required.

8.00am – We crossed the road in front of the hotel. After a few confusing moment, we managed to find a taxi stand. We got on a taxi. And I handed the map on which our guide wrote the Chinese name for the shopping complexes. My travelling companions were all for shopping.

Me, I drank all the sight along the way. People on bicycles on their way to work. I noticed school kids in t-shirts. People bringing vegetable to restaurants. Unfortunately I wasn’t seated next to the window and my digital camera was not fast enough to capture all the sights. Gang sat on my right. She opened the map and trace our route on the map. Ma Hen on the right fell asleep at some point of the ride.

9.00am – After getting caught in the morning rush, we reached our destination at the cost of RMB46.00. Not really. Our guide had written the Chinese name in reverse order. Taking our bearing along the main road, we walked to the right building. It was actually within walking distance. Since it was still early, we sat for a while and took another bearing. We decided to walk to the buildings across the road. We discovered a complex selling genuine electronics gadgets. It was very similar Low Yat Plaza in KL. I don’t know if my travelling companion noticed, but there was this solar powered charger. I think it was a telephone charger.

We crossed the road and went into another complex. This complex also sell genuine electronics gadgets. But unlike the first complex, this one was less ‘hyped’.

Then we went to the first shopping complex. We had a lunch consisting bread and ‘serunding’ (brought from Malaysia). After the replenishing, we continued to the second shopping complex for more shopping. By three o’clock, we were ready to head back to the hotel. Gang took out her map and we figured out that the best place to get a taxi would probably near the first shopping complex.

We got into a taxi. I took out our hotel card and handed to the driver. We made our way ‘home’. Both of my travel companions slept through out the drive back. I enjoyed the sights. Again, I was sandwiched by my two sleeping companions and could not take any photographs.

4.00pm – We reached our hotel. Feeling a bit tired, we decided to take a short nap before heading to Carrefour. The short nap turned into a deep sleep. By the time we woke up, it was already passed six o’clock in the evening. We decided to have dinner before heading to Carrefour. Dinner consisted of instant noodles. Fully aware that my stomach don’t really tolerate instant noodles, I ate it anyway.

7.30pm – We left the hotel on foot. We bumped into Dzul a few metres from our hotel door. He said Carrefour was just around the block. But the walk ‘around the block’ seems to be endless. It was around 8.30pm when we finally reached Carrefour.

Main item on the shopping list was drinking water and something to munch. I found two types of pillow on sale. One stuffed with buckwheat. Another was stuffed with bamboo. I bought both types. Good thing I brought my daypack with me. We loaded the daypack with the water bottles. Gang carried the daypack. Ma Hen carried the food. I carried the two pillows. The buckwheat pillow was heavier than the bamboo pillow.

Along the way, there were street vendors selling all kinds of things. Leather wallets. Shoes. Steamboats. There were even flowers. The flower buds were perfect – not torn – and fresh. If it wasn’t because of the quarantine law regarding plants and animals, I might have bought the flower.

10.00pm – We reached our hotel. Later we discovered from other group member that the taxi ride would have cost us RMB5. We packed our luggage. Earlier Dzul mentioned that we would be checking out around 7.45am.

Day 4 (21st June 2006)

7.40am – The bus departed from our hotel for our tour.

8.45am – Reach a Mongolian ‘Village’. We were taken on a ride on trishaw through small lane sandwiched between houses, called ‘Hutong’. After a breeze trishaw ride, we stopped by a lake. At the lake, we were taken on a boat ride. Amazingly it was paddled manually by a local boatman. While on the boat, we saw an old man doing a few laps around a small island in the middle of the lake. We left the village around 9.30am.

10.00am – The bus took us to a jewellery shop near the ‘Bird Nest’ stadium. The shop belongs to a Malaysian. The owner happened to be in the office. Actually his father was the one who founded the company. The father fled Malaysia for Thailand after being heavily in debt (gambling problem) and started a construction company. While building a house, he discovered a gem deposits in the ground. He made a deal with the land owner and the rest is history.

11.30am – We reached a traditional ‘hospital’. We were whisked into a room. There were some pail filled with hot herbal water. We were asked to take off our shoes and soak our feet into the water. While we were relaxing, a ‘traditional’ came in and introduced himself. He was born in Kelantan. His family returned to China when he was in his twenties. Now he is 74 years old. He graduated from a university specializing in traditional medicine.

He explained about the basic concept of yin and yang. Yin is the water part and yang is the fire part of our body, analogically speaking. If they are not balanced, that’s why the body is not well. If your yin is low, you need to eat food that makes your body cool and ‘increase’ your blood. Then we had a really great foot massage. By the end of the session, I was ‘burping’ away.

1.00pm – We had lunch in a cultural restaurant. The waitress dressed in some ethnic clothing. I believe they are Mongolian costumes.

2.00pm – The bus stopped at Beijing’s Hard Rock Café. In a very touristy fashion, we all went in and snapped some photos. I think some of the staff and patrons were annoyed by our present. On our way out, I noticed some pamplets by the door. I grabbed a map of Beijing. Then we left for shopping trips.

4.00pm – First stop, same as previous day’s complex. I showed the old ladies' shop to other group members. After being ticked by my companions, I promised my friends and my self not to bargain at their shop anymore. Surprisingly (or not), the two ladies recognized me.

5.00pm – Second complex. I had the experience of being grabbed (physically) by three shop assistants. They didn’t want to let me go without buying a pouch from their shop. I haggled till the price dropped from RMB150 to RMB46. I would have haggled some more if wasn’t because of we were out of time.

6.00pm – Silk road market. The shop assistants there were less friendly and looked more fierce.

7.00pm – Dinner before returning to our hotel. Before leaving our Chinese guide, I asked him to wrote down the name of the shopping complexes we visited in Chinese.

Day 3 (20th June 2006)

7.30am - Already on the bus and ready for our tour.

8.30am – Our first stop, jade factory. The first cut is the rough cut. Then the master ‘cutter’ would shape the jade to the desired designs. We were also taught how to differentiate original jade and fake jade. Basically original jade would have ‘murky’ texture when look through the light. Then there’s the ‘pitch’ test. The higher the note sound, the better the jade is.

10.00am – The bus is off to Great wall. I asked our guide, which portion of the wall are we heading. I really don’t want to go to the Badailing section because it’s the most touristy section of the wall. Unfortunately, the guides (Dzul and Fariz) could not answer my question adequately.

10.40am – We exited the Badailing Expressway at Shinguan exit (not sure if I got the spelling or the pronunciation right). Finally, THE GREAT WALL of China! The highlight of the trip (at least for me). This section is build on a hilly side of China. Along the way, I notice granite bricks laying near the roadside. The bricks were probably for restoration work on the wall.

After a group photo, we ascend the wall. I’ve climbed the steps to Batu Caves in Malaysia twice, but the climbed up the Great Wall was definitely more challenging and steep. The steps were irregular and steep. Definitely more steps than that of Batu Caves. After all, the Wall actually goes up the hill. Imagine how hard it was for ancient soldiers to climb the wall with all their armours. From the watchtower, the people at the car park looks like ants (maybe I am exaggerating, but they look small).

As I sat at the tower, I wondered, why didn’t I climbed the wall on the right of the ‘entrance’. It has fewer tourists thronging the steps. Nevertheless, the view was breathtaking (due to breathlessness of the climb and the spectacular view). My only regret is that I did not take more photos.

12.15pm – After an even more challenging descend (I’m actually one of those who are afraid of height), I reached the car park. We boarded the bus to lunch. On the bus, I felt my knees trembling. Not because of the climb, but because of the height.

1.00pm – We reach a cloisonne factory. It served as an art workshop cum restaurant. Cloisonne is actually a craft of using copper and enamel to make vase, container and other artwork. I couldn’t actually made out what the translator was saying but basically there are 7 steps (if I remember them correctly):
1)shape – Copper plates are hammered to shape into vase or any other container.
2)prints / motives – strips of copper is glued to the main container to form prints and motives.
3)colour – some paste (I think it is enamel) with colours are filled into to grooves formed by the copper strips.
4)Burn – First burn. Perhaps to let the paste set in the grooves.
5)Baked –The cloisonné is baked in clay oven.
6)Enamel filing – If I’m not mistaken so that the cloisonné have that smooth surface.
7)Polish – So that the cloisonné have a shining surface.
After the educational tour, we were taken upstairs for our lunch. The window behind us opened to green hills.

2.30pm - Left for traditional medicine factory. Journey took about 1/2 hour. The staff demonstrated some of their products. She even went to the extend of scalding her palm using a red-hot iron. The smell of burnt meat filled the small room. We could see the reddish-and-brownish line on her palm. She applied one of the cream, ‘Bao Fu Ling’. Then she continued with her demonstration. After a while, she wiped her hand. Lo and behold, the scalding was gone!

3.30pm – The bus left the factory. According to our guides, for window-shopping. The guides asked us to compare prices between the three places that we would be going. We would be going to the same places on the fourth day for actual shopping.

4.30pm - First shopping complex, Shioawen shu men (the name sounds suspiciously wrong). I bargained for small table cloths (or was it table napkin?) from a shop manned by two old ladies. Gang was quite angry for that. I was ticked by both Ma Hen and Gang for it till the rest of the trip.

5.45pm – Second complex, Chaowai Yueshow.

7.15pm – The third, Wujiang Street, was more like Bukit Bintang area in KL. We were shocked to discover that even in department store, you could bargain!

8.15pm – We had our dinner before heading back to our hotel.

Day 2 (19th June 2006)

7.00am – Breakfast at the hotel. It was a disaster. Good thing I brought the ‘4 in 1’. Went on the bus for our tour.

8.10am – The bus had an accident. Actually, to me it was hardly an accident. A van from the left lane scratched the bus when it (the van) changed lane. By the way, vehicle in China are left-hand-drive. Both drivers stopped their vehicle in the middle of the road thus causing jams during the morning rush. They argued while waiting for the police to come (which was surprisingly quick). They argued some more in front of the policeman.

Perhaps after hearing the stories from both sides, the policeman took out his book (presumably the summon book). He was about the write the ticket when both drivers decided to settle. The van driver paid RMB200 to our driver for the damage.

8.45am – We reached Tiannenmen Square. I can’t remember the dimension of the Square but it was huge. If I’m not mistaken, it can fit around 4 million people at one time. There square was surrounded by some administrative buildings as well as memorials. There was the warrior memorial to commemorate those who died for China.

There was also the Mao Mausoleum, which I think no one from the tour group noticed. Even Dzul had no idea of its existence when I asked about it. The mausoleum housed the body of Chairman Mao (info courtesy of Discovery Travel & Living). After around half an hour, we crossed over to Forbidden City. Actually, we used a tunnel to cross the road that separates the city and the square.

The Forbidden City is huge with gates after gates letting visitors into the centre of it. Most of the walls were painted red – Chinese colour for prosperity. According to Fariz, the complex has the best Feng Shui – water flowing around it, the front faces a vast open space and a hill at its back.

Most of the complex was being restored. Later I found out other Beijing historical sites are also being restored, perhaps in preparation of the upcoming Olympic.

11.20am – After what seems to be an endless walk, which I thoroughly enjoyed, we reached the ‘back door’ – the one that faces the hill. We left the Forbidden City.

12.00pm – We reached the silk factory. First lesson in Beijing. There are mainly two type of silk cocoon. A cocoon that have two silk worms in it and a cocoon with one worm. The first type of cocoon is used to make comforter (a type of blanket). For Malaysian climate, it was recommended the 1kg-silk-comforter. The second type is used to make fabric. Roughly, a piece of cloth needs around 24 000 cocoons. This particular factory made the silk suit for APEC that was held in China not long ago. They have among others picture of Bush (US), and Dr. M (Malaysia), wearing the silk suit.

Among the things we learned at the factory was how to differentiate a real silk from the fake one. When a real silk is burned, it let out white smoke and a smell similar to burnt human hair. According to the translator, silk have the same chemical composition as our hair. Hence, the care needed for silk cloth is the same with the care for our hair (translation: wash it using a hair shampoo).

By the way, they even make use of the silk worms dejecta (translation: the poop). The poop is used as pillow stuffing. It is believed that ‘poop pillow’ is good for neck pain.

1.30pm – Lunch. After lunch the bus headed to Niu Jie Mosque. Niu Jie Mosque is the oldest mosque in Beijing. Like Forbidden City, the mosque is also undergoing restoration. The mosque was made mainly of wood. It reminded me of wooden mosque in Melaka (which I have to visit when I return get to Malaysia).

3.00pm – The bus left for panda zoo. It was sort of a sad sight. Panda looks dirty and tired. The cages looked small. Other than the panda, I also had another first encounter of another kind. There was this cute little Chinese toddler. She was trotting along with her family in front of me. Suddenly she stopped and squatted. She peed right in the middle of the walkway! So that’s the use of the weird looking pants! (Earlier while on the bus, I noticed a couple or two toddlers walking in pants with a hole showing their 'backside-crack'). Unfortunately my camera was not fast enough to capture it. From then on, I vowed not step on any water puddle in China. We left the zoo after spending half an hour there.

4.00pm – We reach the pearl factory. Unlike Sabah pearls, Beijing pearls are fresh water pearls. They came from fresh water oyster. Ocean oyster produce one pearl per oyster whereas one fresh water oyster produce as much as 20 pearls. The oyster matured when they reach 7 years old (i.e. pearls could be used for jewellery). Pearls from younger oyster can be used for cosmetics products.

While the translator was explaining these, all shop assistants looked and smiled politely to us. As if on cue, when the translator ended the explanation, all shop assistants took out the pearl cream and put it on to our hands. Then they took out the pearls jewellery and coaxed us to buy.

Coaxed is not the right word. It was more like trying to force us to buy them. They chased after us even when we went out of the front door. Gang was ‘forced’ to buy two pendants.

5.00pm – After the scene at the pearl factory, we made it safely to Summer Palace. This palace was used by the ancient royals to escape the heat during the summer in Beijing. Three quarter of the palace ground is covered by water (lake). Coincidently, we visited the palace in summer. It does have the cooling effect to us, the weary travellers (who wouldn’t be after the extensive walking in the Forbidden City).

6.00pm – We left the palace and headed to a government owned teahouse. On our way to the teahouse, we passed the 'Bird nest' stadium. The stadium was constructed for the Olympic 2008 based on the design of a bird nest. The stadium was design to withstand major earthquake (info courtesy of Discovery Channel).

At the teahouse, we got the chance to sample three type of tea. The first tea was white tea. It has a distinctively sour taste. The second tea is Oo’long Tea. All Chinese tea is brewed without adding any sugar. However, when drink in certain way, we could taste the sweetness of the Oo’long Tea. We are supposed to slurp the tea. The last tea is the flower tea. I like the sweet smell of the flower tea. Unfortunately, I could not remember the nutritional values of the tea served.

7.00pm – We had our dinner before heading back to our hotel. We were back in the hotel by 8.30pm.

Day 1 (18th June 2006)

The day began at a friend’s place in USJ. I had spent the night at my travel companion’s place. I wanted to hitch the ride to KLIA. By 6.15am, we left USJ. We had to be in KLIA before 7am to meet the tour manager.

6.50am - Met Mr Dzul (tour manager) at counter C15. We also meet another companion, nicknamed for during this trip as Ma Hen. My first companion was later nicknamed Gang (a name which we hardly used anyway). We checked in our luggage then headed to KFC for breakfast.

8.45am - Went through the departure gate. By 9.00am, we were already boarding the plane, flight MH 378. After a series of seat swapping, the three of us (Ma Hen, Gang, and I) managed to sit together. However, the plane only took off around 9.30am. Beijing here we come!

10.45am - Breakfast up in the blue sky.

2.30pm – Snack was served. No lunch!

3.30pm - Touch down. Beijing here we are!

4.45pm - After a series of queuing (for the exit, imigration, quarentine form & custom) we made it out to the airport lobby. There are 19 people in our tour group.

5.10pm - On the bus. The local tour guide is Mr Liew. Like Harmonica in Phuket, Liew adopted another name for easy memorization, Fariz. The bus driver is Mr Jiang, A Chinese word for river. A few metres from the parking lot, our bus was caught in a massive jam. To be more precise, it was a standstill. People actually turned off their engine and got out of their vehicle. Some smoke and some chat with the next driver.

5.30pm – The bus finally moved. There was a road closure. Some foreign ministers were visiting China. As in KL, roads were closed to allow smooth flow of the foreign delegation.

6.00pm – The bus stopped and park by a roadside. We walked along the sidewalk to get to a restaurant for our dinner. We passed some buildings which looks like a housing complex, similar to flats in Malaysia. The restaurant’s door faces the infamous Tiananmen Square. Everyone devoured the food. I’m not sure if the food was good or we were all very hungry.

7.00pm – We left the restaurant for acrobat show.

7.30pm – We reach the ‘theatre’. Having seen Fantasea in Phuket where everything was superbly choreograph into a story, the acrobatic acts were somewhat disconnected. Nevertheless, the show was cool. There were no safety nets and most of the acrobats did not use safety harness. The body ‘bending’ and ‘folding’ by the acrobats made the Thai massage I endured seems a child play.

8.30pm – The bus headed to the hotel, Zhong Yan Hotel. While distributing the hotel keys, Dzul could not remember my first companion’s name. He called out Ma Hen’s name, my name, and the gang.

9.30pm – Already in the room. We unpacked our things. We did a stock check on our food before going to bed.

p.s.: The names of travelling companions have been changed to protect their identity.

Getting ready for Beijing

I'll be going to Beijing this Sunday. Can't wait to see one of the seven wonders of the world - The Great Wall of China. Haven't started packing yet and it's already Friday. Will try to upload entries from China using my T5.

Puduraya

I had to go ‘up north’ last weekend. Initially my companion had already booked the tickets. Unfortunately, since we couldn’t collect the tickets earlier, by the time we went to the counter in Shah Alam, the tickets were sold out.

So, I was assigned with the task of buying last-minute bus tickets. On Friday morning, I frantically phone the numbers listed by the bus companies on the Internet. The numbers were either engaged or rang eternally. I could not get through any of the ticket counters. The one that I got thru’ – Transnasional – have no tickets left for Saturday morning.

I decided to go to the bus station famously known as Puduraya. The roads around Puduraya is constantly jammed. To make the matter worse taxi, cars, and buses stopped by the roadside to let passenger disembarked. Driving to the area was out of the question. I took the LRT – formerly known as STAR LRT and stopped at Plaza Rakyat. Puduraya is less than 5 minutes walking distance from this stop. In fact, it is right next to Puduraya.

Puduraya itself is relatively old building. I googled “Puduraya” and found this entry in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puduraya). Well, there were plans to renovate the complex, but till this day, the main building remains very much the same for as long as I could remember.

Stepping into Puduraya, I was overwhelmed with the crowd. It was only 11.30a.m. The place was already buzzing with all sort of activities. Ticket-sellers screamed from left and right. Papers with destinations scribbled on it, were hung at tickets counters. Travellers moved from one counter to another trying to get the best deal (ticket price are about the same, only differ in the schedule). It was truly an assault to the senses.

I managed to get tickets to Butterworth. Not exactly to the town that we wished to go. We would have to get down at one of the R&R along the highway. That is another story all together.