So, I was at China last week  for 5 days 5 nights. It was quite a rushed trip. I was a bit nervous as I did not prepare well before the trip. Just to clarify, I passed by Guang Zhou only. My biz trip was @ Foshan.

Day 0

We landed @ Guang Zhou Baiyun International Airport around 8:30pm and took a bus from the airport to Foshan. Then, met up with Mr H @ Foshan bus station and headed to our hotel which we thought is “seven stars” hotel. In fact, is a hotel named as “seven days”. The pronunciation of “seven days” & “seven stars” in Cantonese is a bit similar.  Frankly speaking, we were a little bit disappointed. 7DaysInn situated all over China. It’s kind of economy hotel. Overall, the hotel is good, cheap & the service is good. BUT, the mattress is too hard for me. Slept after heavy dinner. Oh no~ FAT!

Day 1

We started our work on 29 March 2010. I woke up around 7:15 & had breakfast @ the hotel restaurant. It’s a healthy breakfast. RMB 7 for 3 man tou + 1 banana + 1 hard boiled egg + free flow of porridge & soy milk. ~ damn cheap. Nothing much could share for my working part. We returned to hotel after lunch and started our leisure time. Shopped around in Foshan. In between, we spent sometime for dessert.

However, we couldn’t get taxi to back to hotel. So, we decided to take the motobike taxi. My first time experience motorbike taxi. Err… I guess that will be the first and the last time for me. damn scary… haha… the funny thing is that 4 of us took different motorbike & I’m the only one managed to get back to our hotel as the other three were lost somewhere.. Nearly forgot about the poon-choi dinner. I missed out the poon-choi photo anyway~ My first time as well. Then, we went for foot massage (沐足) after dinner. A great experience for me too.

Day 2

Started our day after dim sum breakfast @ Grand de Cafe.

Meeting for the whole day. Anyway,  we had great meal all day long, and a memorable one too. Even now that I’m back in Malaysia, I would occasionally fondly remember the sashimi I had at the Golden Boat Restaurant. Truly yum yum. I tried the snake meat here as well.. but it’s not my liking anyway.

Day 3

Meeting for the whole day as well. Again… good food came along. Karaoke session end our day three in Foshan. Oh yeah, Visited Century Lotus Stadium today. Felt so proud of that.. huhu…

I was step on the  football field of Century Lotus Stadium.

Dinner @ 168 美食.. Basically is steamboat for me.. hoho.. The wine look nice but not taste nice..

Day 4

Fourth day, last day in Foshan. Light and easy day of the trip. Woke up around 10am and enjoyed breakfast @ the restaurant nearby ~ 粥家庄.

Visited Temple of the Ancestors (佛山祖庙). Admission fee ~ RMB 20. Some history to share about this temple ~

The Temple of the Ancestors dates originally from the second half of the 11th C, and was restored in 1372 following a fire. It is dedicated to the God of the North, Ruler of the Waters. Although the Chinese name ”祖庙” means ”Temple of the Ancestors”, this simply indicates that it is the oldest temple in town, “the ancestor of temples”. The rich ceiling decoration with many figures is its most interesting feature. The complex covers an area of 3000sq.m/32,300sq.ft and includes the following buildings: the portico (Qian Dian), the main hall (Zheng Dian), the Festival Hall of Truth (Qingzhen Lou), the Pond of Scented Brocade (Jinxiang Chi) and the Theatre of a Thousand Good Fortunes (Wanfu Tai) which is decorated with gilded carvings. In the walled pond in front of the portico there is a stone turtle with a snake, the symbols of the god of the North. At one time performances were held in the theater, which is decorated with gilded carvings.

Before this, we actually went to Thai style hair wash. Quite special as we were lay down during the hair wash. The hair wash is only RMB10 and add another RMB5 for fringe haircut.

Jing Yi & me dropped by @ 人信甜品店 for dessert after Temple of the Ancestors visit. Ate my first Red Bean Double Boiled Edd (红豆双皮奶) here. Yummy yummy ~

Day 5

It was to be our last day here and the flight was 8:35pm. We headed to GuangZhou airport after great dim sum breakfast @ 海悦. Taking into account the check in time and travel to airport, we only have a few hours left in Guang Zhou town. We kept our luggage @ the luggage storage in airport and headed to Guang Zhou town for a short walk. Anyway, we only managed to walk around World Trade Center. As I only have a short time here in Guang Zhou, still, there are lots of places I miss. Hope I can come again~

The panda is boarding soon.. huhu.. this panda is not mine anyway.. is belongs to Jing Yi.. haha..

After all, it ain’t exactly a leisure trip for me. The only thing I can say for this trip is this is a 山珍海味 trip for me. Experience a lot of new things during the trip. And,  I put on weight quite a bit these days.

My first Business Trip @ iK. Basically no excitement at all. In fact, I am nervous. This trip has been postponed since Nov 2009 and is confirmed one month ago. As my boss told me, this is only an exposure trip for the China market. BUT, damn tension.

My itinerary for the trip ~

The weather is just nice. Not that hot I guess. In fact, the day time temperature is about the same as in Malaysia.

Nothing much to share for the preparation of the trip as nothing is been prepared yet. But really have to pray for the trip. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.Wish me luck!

Today, we woke out around 7:30am & went for breakfast around 8:30am. Haih..another GREAT meal.. ..  I thought the buffet breakfast should include some western food, however, only porridge with salted vege & some sweet potatoes, fried kuey tiaw & man tou available.. I was thinking.. ‘Huh? this is so call 4 Star hotel breakfast?’ Really Speechless. We made ourself a cup of nescafe after we got back to the room… haha..

Mr Lu picked us up @ 10am with a van. We headed to Yu Hill Park after checked out from the hotel as we will transfer to Yang Shuo today.

We arrived @ Yu Hill Park around 10:15am. Yu Hill Park is named after Yu Hill and the Emperor Yu Temple . The park has many wonderful attractions from the hill, deep and quiet cave, beautiful gardens and divine temple.

We were assigned a tour guard for the Park. According to him, the construction of the park is actually influences by both the East and West in its design. From the main entrance, there are springs full with a modern design.

Followed the map,  we passed through a cave named as 韶音洞. Gone through the cave, there is a temple known as Emperor Yu Temple (虞帝庙) which has been re-built and is very imposing.

Passing through 怡沁园，we reached the Five Blessings Tower (五福塔) , which is named form the traditional auspicious words “Five blessings come to one’s house”.

“Nine Spheroid Heaven” (九重天) is just situated outside of the Five Blessings Tower. It is made of three big pieces of marble and will inspire your imagination.

We left Yu Hill Park around 11:30pm & proceeded to Rong Lake (榕杉湖) ~ South Gates (古南门) ~ Gold & Silver Tower (金银双塔). It’s really “走马看花”. Don’t have much time to take photo also.

This ancient South Gate of Guilin as shown below was constructed in Tang Dynasty and expanded in Ming Dynasty. The gate lies in north bank of the Rong Lake. In front of the gate is a 1,000-year-old Banyan tree with flourishing leaves by the lake. The “Shadow of the Ancient Banyan Tree” is one of the famous scenic spots of Guilin in Qing Dynasty.

White marble arch bridge (古榕桥）on Rong Lake.

This 22.4 meters long, 2.64 meters wide Crystal Bridge is China’s first use of the special crystal glass block system for the practicality of bridges. Can’t really get the clearer view of the bridge as this bridge.

Passing through the Yang Bridge (阳桥）that separate two of the lake ~ Rong Hu(榕湖) & Shan Hu(杉湖). Saw a twin tower standing in the water of Shan Hu ~ Sun Tower and the Moon Tower. The 9-story Sun Tower is 41 meters high and made of solid bronze. The 7-story Moon Tower is 35 meters high and made of wood and glazed tiles. Both are located in the middle of the lake. The Moon Pagoda can be reached by a bridge, but the Sun pagoda must be accessed by an underwater passage between the two pagodas. The Sun is the tallest tower in water and it is connected to the Moon through a passage way under the water!

We left Rong Shan Lake around 12:30pm for lunch. Nice & Simple dish for lunch. I guess is because of the nice & comfortable environment.

We continued our journey to YangShuo around 1:15pm. Yii.. our tour guard is changed. The tourist car is changed to nissan too. Why Mr Lu never told us? Worry again~~ We told the new tour guard ~ Mr Chai we need to get something from the luggage, in fact we wanted to make sure our luggage is really in the car. haha…

The whole journey from Guilin to YangShuo took around 1 and the half hour. We checked in hotel around 3pm & started our free & easy activity around 3:45pm.

We stayed in Yangshuo Jin Yuan Hotel(阳朔锦苑酒店) which located @ 阳朔县抗站路14号. The location of the hotel is just nice, about 5 mins walk from the famous street in YangShuo ~ West Street. BUT, this is only a 2 star hotel.  It’s BAD! No lift! The room got smell! No shower cap! Aisk~~~Actually we were been told that the hotel provided should be > 3 star hotel. We got cheated? Anyway, we have to stay as well. Luckily only 1 night. I can’t remember which room we were staying. I only remembered we were staying in 4th floor.

We walked from our hotel towards the West Street (西街) which situated in the heart of Yangshuo. As mentioned, it’s about 5 minutes walk only. Lots of bars & cafes available here. It’s a great time to take a break with a cup of coffee here.  The street is filled with small shops and vendor’s stands selling all kinds of souvenirs and snacks.

Since we need to rush for the 7:30pm Liu San Jie Show, thus, we decided to visit the street again @ night. We had our dinner @ KFC before we left West Street. Oh yes, we were given RMB50 for dinner.

We left hotel around 7:30pm for the liu San Jie show. A large-scale performance that regards the lmpressional Sanjie Liu as the general theme，and creatively combines the ciassical Sanjie Liu’s Songs，ethnic groups’Culture and the fishing lights together，to reflect the harmonious atmosphere between human beings and the nature．The pertormance lasts for 1 hour & 10 mins and 600 plus actors and actress are invoIved．It’s AMAZING…

The tour guard dropped us @ West Street after the show.

We end our day with a cup of Blue Mountain coffee @ Cafe del Moon (西街月色) that cost RMB28. My face look tired I guess..

Anyway, let’s go back to 9 Aug. You guys must feel so weird that my flight to Guilin is actually 10 Aug early morning but WHY my journey started on 9 Aug? hehe.. we overnight @ LCCT the night before departure.

WHY?  Because the flight is too early, I scared I won’t be able to wake up.. THEN, taxi will be double charge during mid night.. Thus, we took the last bus @ 10pm from KL Sentral & reached LCCT around 11pm. In fact, we should take aerobus which ended @ 01:45am. (I only know this after I back from the trip ) . Actually my initial plan (4 months ago) was stay in Tune Hotel for the night. The hotel rate is around RM60++ BUT, the time I wanted to book for the room (around 1 month ago I guess), the rate increase till RM120++.. woo.. the price is double.. Err… after second thought, we decided to just stay overnight @ LCCT. Save Cost.. haha.. Wah~ it’s really out of my expectation, many people overnight @ LCCT too..

We found a nice place in MC-D for us to rest for the night. I slept well for the night whereby CH stay awake for the whole night.. haha… I woke up around 4:30am & proceed to the flight check in. Well, never forget a cup of vitamin C first before departure.

We went for breakfast @ the food court before we fly off. Actually we wanted to have our breakfast @ Oldtown BUT it’s full house.

Boarding AirAsia flight scheduled at 0640 hour.. As usual, I was in sleeping mode through out the journey.. haha..

The flight landed @ Guilin around 1040hour. After going through the Customs check and A(H1N1) declaration. We met up with the Tour Guard ~ Mr Lu.. Huh?!? Mr Lu? I was told that our tour guard should be Mr Chai. We were a bit worry that time as we were only 2 person in a group. He fetch us using a Blue color Honda Fit (Honda Jazz on our local shores). We were expect a van. :s . Haih.. no worry.. go ahead…

The journey to Guilin city takes about 1 hour. Mr Lu brought us for lunch @ Golden Melody Hotel (金嗓子大酒店) which located @ the Guilin Road, on the 6th Qixia (桂林市 栖霞路6号). haha.. expected.. it’s Chinese meal.. 2 vege, 1 meat & soup. Frankly speaking, I don’t really enjoy the meal.. haha..

Then, we headed to our next activity ~ Lake Cruise of Lijiang River (This activity should be on the second day in our initial itinerary). The cruise include view of Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Fu Bo Hill (伏波山), 叠彩山 & etc. The strangely shaped hills, or karsts along the Li River. Imaginative name were given to some of the peak.

Mr Lu told us the peak is actually take about 70% of your imagination to see what it is like. Li River is actually divided into 3 sections from Guilin to YangShuo. First section is Guilin-Ox Gorge, Second section is Ox Gorge-Water-Dropping Village & the third section is Water-Dropping Village-Yangshuo.

Main attraction along the Li River ~ Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Fu Bo Hill (伏波山) & Diecai Hill (叠彩山). This cruise actually cost RMB50.

We were seated on the ChunJiang21 (春江21）Cruise Boat around 1:30pm & the cruise ended about 1 hour. We were offered for some Li River famous snacks. Of course, you have to pay for it..

As this is only a sightseeing cruise for 1 hour, thus, it only cover a few peak along Li River. I strongly recommend a complete Li River cruise from Guilin to YangShuo. There are more gorgeous Karst peaks give you surprises at each bend of the limpid river.

Later, we went to the Di Bao Silk. One of the activities that is a must when you follow a tour. Anyway, Silk is not to my liking.

Then, we headed to another shopping point ~ Dr. Tea (茶博士家）。 Again，they keep on promoting their famous tea ~ 普尔茶，桂花贡茶 (东方美仁) (Osmanthus Tea) ，绿牡丹 （Green peony)

We bought Green peony @ the price of RMB280 & got a free Osmanthus Tea which cost RMB180.

We had dinner @ the same place again (金嗓子大酒店) after the Dr. Tea visit. Again, I felt no appetite when see the dish.. haha..

We got back to hotel (Licheng Holiday Hotel) around 7pm. Our room was 8601.

We rested for about half an hour before our next activity @ 7:30pm ~ Dreamlike Lijiang (梦幻漓江秀). Dreamlike Lijiang is a nightly theatrical spectacle that celebrates the rich natural and cultural heritage of Guilin. Overall, the production is a blend of acrobatics, ballet, and contortionist displays set to music. Some acts tell a story. A great show that you MUST SEE when visit Guilin. The show started @ 8:00pm and ended @ 9:10pm.

My trip to Guilin has been confirmed on 24 April.   Of course, AirAsia is my choice for this trip.

This trip is actually a free gift upon booking of the Star Cruise @ Matta Fair one month ago. 

Well, free gift always come with Terms & Conditions.  

1. Valid until 15 Dec 2009
2. Minimum (2 pax) departure
3. This voucher in INCLUSIVE of 3 nights hotel accomodation, return local airport transfer, meals (3 breakfast, 3 lunch, 3 dinner) and sightseeing tour as per highlighted in the itinerary
4. This voucher is EXCLUDES of Passenger Handling Charges-PHC(Malaysia/China airport taxes. YQ tax. travel insurance and fuel surcharge), China Visa Application, tipping & optional tours
5. Reservation must be made 45 days before tour departure
6. This voucher is not valid for extension of validity or changing of packages are strictly prohibited and not inclusive of other misc or own expenses.
7. This voucher is not valid for peak season/school holiday/weekend departure.
8. This voucher cannot be used in conjunctionwith other offers & promotions.

After check with the Hwajing Travel Agent, I realize the Guilin Tour is only depart Every Mon, Tue, Wed & Fri only. Thus, we only can choose any flight that is depart on Mon/Tue/Wed as this voucher is not applicable for weekend departure.

Itinerary Details

Day 1  : Kuala Lumpur – Guilin

Exciting holiday begins with a pleasant flight to Guilin, the most scenic city in China. Upon arrival, meet with local representative and transfer to local restaurant for lunch. After lunch, proceed to visit Yu Hill Park(虞山公园). After dinner, transfer to hotel for check-in.

Day 2 : Guilin – YangShuo

After breakfast, proceed to lake Cruise of Lijiang River [view of Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Fu Bo Hill (伏波山), The Fighting Hill (斗鸡山） & etc (十大名山).] After lunch, transfer to southeast of Guilin City – YangShuo by coach. En-route will view the “Moon Hill” (月亮山）. Upon Arrival, transfer visit West Street(洋人街/西街）, is the most prosperous district inYangShuo. Visitors will attract to west Street by its unique mix of cultures. After dinner, transfer to hotel for check-in.

Day 3 : Yang Shuo – Guilin

After breakdast, transfer back to Guilin by coach. Upon arrival, transfer to local restaurant for lunch. After lunch, visit to Rong Lake (榕杉湖) Scenic Area is located in the center of Guilin. Then, visit Jiuqu Bridge (九曲桥). After this, continue proceed to visit South Gates (古南门) and Gold & Silver Tower (金银双塔). After dinner. transfer to Zhenyang Gate Walking Street (正阳步行街) for shopping.

Day 4 : Guilin – Kuala Lumpur

After breakfast, free & easy. Then transfer to airport for your returning flight back home

Optional Tour :
A) RM150 per pax

• Guilin Fantastic Show (梦幻西游）
• Catching Fish Show （鱼鹰捉鱼表演）
• Passed By Two River & Four Lake （车夜游两江四湖）

B) RM120 per pax

• Impression San Jie-Liu (印象刘三姐）

Since the air ticket & itinerary has been confirmed, I post the Guilin voucher together with the air ticket to Hwajing Travel Agent in order to proceed with all the necessary booking.

As mentioned, this voucher is EXCLUDES of Passenger Handling Charges & tipping. Thus, each of us have to pay RM45 for Passenger Handling Charges & RM60 for tipping. Total is RM210 for 2 person

Now, I guess I need to proceed with the China Visa Application.