My Dad

Yesterday, I have an argument with my Dad.
Actually, I didn't want to quarrel with him.
I was moody because my friend "fly kite" me.
I wish to release all the heat so that's why I was out of control over my feelings.
Anyway, I shouldn't blame anyone else as this was my fault.

After an overnight, I was recovered.
Realising that I was a rebellious child.
Using the "strong" words hurt my dad's feeling.
Feeling sorry for what my act towards him.

Through all these years, I finally realised....
I'm lucky to have my Dad as compared to some of my friends.

My dad
...is like a best friend who lend me a hand.
...is an advisor when I was in dilemma situation.
...is my driving tutor who improve my driving skill.
...is English teacher to correct my grammar.
...is a joker as his jokes make us laugh till cry.
...is a storyteller as he likes to share his memories with us.
...is a technician when our house need some repairs.
...is brave to fight over human's rights.
...would not easily give up person & support me when I wish to give up.
...etc...etc...

I'm Happy & Thankful to have him in this family.
I wish to say :-
"I'm SORRY, Dad for I hurt you"
"You've been such a FANTASTIC & WONDERFUL DAD."
"With you around, my house is full of Joy & Happiness."
"My bro & I LOVE you VERY MUCH."
"Thanks for everything you did to us." =)

Zhang Jia Jie Trip (张家界)

After spending hours, finally, I could finish writing out about this trip. Ok.. Here the story goes..

First Day, 8th December 2009

My company has been organized a trip to Zhang Jia Jie (张家界), China for staying 5 nights. I was full of excitement because everything seems to be new to me. A lot of questions popping out of my mind as travelling to a foreign country was appeared to be too unbelievable. I wish to share my wonderful journey with you here.

On the first day, CC, WN, Angela and I took ERL at 6.30pm to KLIA and reached within 30 minutes. Mr Lim's family, Hong and Hong's wife arrived earlier than us. Ms Chiew was our local tour guide. Checking in our luggage was the first thing to do at the airport counter. After that, we went through the custom. Liquid form, sharp things and lighter are not allowed for hand baggage.

(Four pretty girls at ERL)

We had a quick breakfast at Starbucks Coffee as we heard the announcement that our plane is ready to fly off. Wohoho.. From there onwards, we were running and taking a train to the destination of aeroplane. Almost all the seats were filled up except us. Around 8.45am, China Southern Airline flew off from KLIA.

Angela, Mr Lim's mother and I were sitting together. We were given a choice either fish mee or curry chicken rice. I chose curry chicken. There were fruits, mango pudding and bread. Flying to 广洲 (Guang Zhou) would take 3 hours. During the flight, you could watch mandarin movie, listen music or take a nap.

When we reached广洲飞机场, it was 12.15pm. Again, we went through the custom. A lot of people was lining up and some of them were Korean, Thais and Japanese. After that, our luggage needed to transfer to Zhang Jia Jie airport. We stucked in the airport for TWO hours. Gosh...

Since our next flight was at 8.05pm, 广洲 tour guide brought us to try their specialty food at 名麓美食such as roasted duck, sliced steamed chicken, etc. The tour guide brought us to their 广洲市场. The atmosphere looked the same as our Petaling Street, KL which was crowded and merrier. This place is suitable for those who are expert in bargaining the price. For instance, a bag is cost at RMB100 (RM50), you could negotiate till RMB30. I bought a nice long sleeve for RMB25.

(Guang Zhou's Street)

(Statues in Guang Zhou's Street)

By the time we reached Zhang Jia Jie Airport, it was 10.30pm.

(Guang Zhou Airport)

莱 顿大酒店 was our first night. Angela and I shared a room. Angela was not happy when she knew that we had a corner room. She was quite superstitious and complained to Ms Chiew to change the room. With all Ms Chiew's persuasion, Angela accepted the room finally. She switched on the television for the whole night in order to calm herself down. For me, I didn't have a good sleep as I had a nose block in the middle of the night.

(莱顿大酒店)

Second Day, 9th December 2009
Early in the morning, we have to check out from our hotel. After having breakfast in hotel, we started to visit famous places in Zhang Jia Jie. 小李 was our tour guide.

Experiencing the ride of world's longest cable car to 天门山, just like the cable car in Genting Highlands. However, we could not see much as the mist covered all over the beautiful scenery. It took us for forty five minutes to reach the top. Once you stepped out, you could feel the air was very cooling and fresh. The trees and plants were covered with a layer of ice. It's spectacular.

(Tian Men Shan)

天 门洞was our next destination. For those who have a good stamina, this is the best place. Why do I say so? This is because you have to walk 999 steps to reach the top and 999 steps in return. Besides, the weather is freezing. Reaching to the top was not easy at all. All of us made it to the top except my two seniors, Ms Chiew and Aunty.

(Tian Zi Dong - 999 Steps)

By the time we arrived the town, it was lunch time. I noticed that there were restaurants serving dogs’ meat. 小李 told us that this was their specialty and was not cheap. All of us were relieved when we heard that they won't serve dogs' meat. Phew...

The fame of Zhang Jia Jie was through an artist who used the natural resources in Zhang Jia Jie such as stone, sand, wood, etc to paint an art. His name is 李军声. He setup军声画院to display his arts. By looking at his masterpiece, you could tell how talented and creative this person is.

(Jun Sheng's Masterpiece)

宝峰湖was another attractive place. The scenery was breathtaking. The lake was surrounded with steep mountains.

(宝峰湖)

For your information, the culture of 苗土家 is quite interesting. A pretty lady would sing a song to find a mate. The guy who is interested with this pretty lady needs to sing songs in return by giving 3 chances. All the songs must be ending with “yuo wei”. If the lady interested in you, you could bring her home immediately. What if the lady doesn’t like you? Haha.. There is a punishment which is the person needs to do tough job for 9 YEARS! This is the same procedures for a guy looking for a mate but without punishment imposed on the lady. For 苗土家, woman is the bread-winner of the family so they are powerful. While riding the boat in 宝峰湖, we heard a lady and a guy sang with a powerful and beautiful voice.

(Lady find a mate by singing)

They sang in their own languages but I only knew the word – you wei. Another interesting story about their culture is the girls have to cry for their marriage. How long does she have to cry? I thought it just took a few hours but it was not. In order to know the girl’s sincerity in this marriage, she need to cry as long period as possible, perhaps a month. Wow… It sounded a tough task. As you see, they must have been trained at the very young age. This reminded me the Korean drama series where the girls always good the role of crying. Haha… For those guy wearing spectacles, you've an advantage as the girls believe that you're an educated person.

小 李 brought us to 茶叶店. The girls called themselves as “阿妹”. Addressing them as 小姐 would not respond to your request as they believe小姐 is for those who don’t want to get married. They provided some drinks for us to try. After the demonstration, all 阿妹 kept promoting their products even though you showed no interest. I told myself, “Better ran away from them”. So I followed Angela went toilet. After coming out from toilet, 阿妹 mentioned that they need to hit the target of RMB900 but currently is RMB870. As everyone was watching and waiting for answers from WN, Angela and I so we bought the tea biscuits for 7 packets at RMB100.

We reached 京溪国际 hotel and have dinner. During dinner, we discussed about the show-魅力湘西歌舞秀 at 8pm tonight as this is an optional for our package. Charine, WN and I decline not joining the show as I was tired for the whole day's event. Thus, I have muscle cramp on my legs. 小李 kept on persuading us to go but was like a force. Ms Chiew also recommended us to watch the show. In the end, Mr Lim agreed and made payment for the whole group.

At 8pm, we entered the hall. The performance began with auction for the paintings. There was a man singer, Mr Yong who could sing a very high pitch. Another lady singer, Ah Duo has the sweet voice and she sang her countryside song. Both singers have powerful voice without using microphone. This is fantastic. Besides this, their acrobat shows were superb too.

The show finished at 10.30pm. All of us were exhausted and check-in 京溪国际 hotel. The room was big which has bathroom with bath tub and shower stand and queen size single beds. It's rating with 5 stars. There was a LCD tv with a lot of channels. However, all the shows were dubbed into Mandarin. Not a single channel is for English. I wonder how China government attracts foreigners. For your information, Chinese don't know English at all. When you wanted to by pass them, mentioned the word, “excuse me” won't help. So, you've to speak in Mandarin, ie 请让开or 接过. Besides, their manner is very rude. They don't have any courtesy. For instance, they just push you away to pass the route and they would glare at you for not buying things.

Third Day, 10th December 2009

The next morning, we went to 天子山by taking cable car.

(天子山 Tian Zi Shan)

御 笔峰 is one of the attractive sceneries to be found as the mountains attached together which looked like the Chinese brush for calligraphy.

(御笔峰 yu bi feng)

This mountain is called云青岩. Also, you would notice that a mountain like仙女献花. However, we weren't lucky enough to witness this beautiful scenery as the mist covered the area.

There is a park called 贺龙公园. It is to remember贺龙元帅 who lead the soldiers in the war successfully.

(贺龙元帅)

The most interesting is the 天下第一桥 which the bridge is formed naturally. They believed that couples would have everlasting relationship by making a wish. Some bought their padlocks and throw the keys as a symbol for their strong marriage. This reminded me a Taiwanese drama, 恶作剧之吻2.

(天下第一桥)

We tried 西湖楼湘菜 at 天桥餐厅. The rice was served by using the bamboo which is something special. However, the taste of the food was quite salty. Perhaps, this is to preserve the meat and vegetable.

(西湖楼湘菜)

After lunch, we took the world's highest elevator; height is 326m -百龙电梯上在袁家界. It only took 2 minutes to reach the ground floor.

(百龙电梯上在袁家界)

金 鞭溪is a mini waterfall. The water was crystal clear and there are plenty of colourful stones. I believed this is place where 李军声collected the stone and sand for his painting. Besides, it’s a place where Zhang’s Family was buried (张家幕 ).

(金鞭溪)

After that, we watched the artistic of mountains (十里画廊) such as 采药老人，三姐妹,三家人,手掌，etc. It’s based on your perception of shape of mountains.

(采药老人)

(三姐妹)

China tour guide, 小李brought us to jewelry shop which is full of pearls and jade. I already made up my mind not to buy anything as I couldn't afford. All of us went into a room to listen the promoters' talk. While 阿妹 explaining the historical background, she mentioned this, “You're very lucky that our boss has just arrived and wish to see you.” My first thought was, “This is some kind like a Hong Kong movie.
It's really happened. The lady boss, Man Ling gestured us friendly. Her grandson is just born in 7 months and she was told that her lucky number is 13 and 17. It's just coincidence that our tour consisted of 13 people so she paid a visit. After hearing all her “sweet talk”, we believed in her. She even offered us with an attractive price for the Jade. Therefore, most of us bought it as gift for friends and family including me. I heard that my boss bought RMB30,000 for the bracelet jade for his mum. 小李 was smiling when he saw us. Look like he earned a FAT commission. Haha... He promised to buy us a drink.

During our dinner, the video photographer showed us the film. Mr Lim announced that who was the main actor or actress need to buy the DVD. Haha.. In the beginning, we laughed at Charine and WN as they did praying at the天门洞 whereas the rest of us went to climb the staircase.

Do you know how much is the DVD cost? It's RMB200 (RM100). My gosh.. It's very expensive. Original DVD won't cost at that price. Thus, the video photographer shot the video was not in good quality. Her face expression turned immediately after knowing that we just need a DVD. With the advanced technology, we could burn a CD easily.

After dinner, all of us decided to take a walk outside our hotel. The price of clothes and shoes were quite cheap. It's worth to buy. My boss's wife and his sister bought a lot of clothes and shoes. Haha... We also visited their supermarket. My boss recommended us the China Maggie Beef Mee so we bought some. They have all sizes of sausages which we couldn't find it in Malaysia.

There is an interesting incident. Four of us went to look for long John and enter a shop. When we need assistant about the clothes, the person in-charged wasn't respond to our request. Do you know what she is doing? She was too “FOCUS” playing mahjong with her friends until my colleague have to ask courtesy like “Sorry for disturbing you from playing mahjong, we wish to ask you about the long John.” Then only the lady stopped her game. For your information, our China tour guide told us that gambling is one of the main their entertainments.

Fourth Day, 11th December 2009 (Fri)
This is the fourth day. It's also the last day of spending in Zhang Jia Jie. We entered 龙王洞 to see the staglatic and stalagmite. The place is clean and has a beautiful path to walk. In order to compare with our cave, our cave is smelly and full of bat's shit on the floor which is slippery.

(龙王洞)

After that, we visited their silk shop. They explained the process of making silk from butterfly's larva. This time I didn't buy anything from this shop.

I heard that Zhang Jia Jie is famous of making blades. So, 小李 brought us there, 土司王. After hearing the lady promoting the kitchen knives, it attracted most of women. I noticed that they liked to do promotion. For instance, they offered a box of knives with scissors and fruit blade at the price of RMB400. The fruit blade is very useful till it could peel off the scale of the fish, it's called 魔术刀. The lady also stressed that the knives would not be easily to get blunt and it's easy to chop the meat. They guaranteed us for 10 years by giving the guarantee card. I just bought the fruit blade for RMB30 (RM15). I showed my mum and telling her the wonders of the fruit blade. In the end, she told me that it's impossible to peel off the scale of the fish. I was shock to hear it and we could buy it at RM7. What a good lesson...

老院子 was the last destination in Zhang Jia Jie before moving to 芙蓉镇.

It's about a village. It used to be living by the wealthy and worked as an assistant in the palace. You could find the beautiful craving of art in the room. Besides, there were some old utensils. However, Mr Lim was not satisfied with this place after coming out.

An incident happened which the story goes like this. The lady gave us a piece of Buddhist plague respectively. She told us that a fortune teller would provide free service. Then, we sat inside a room. One by one left from the room. The first to go out was Mr Lim’s family and I was the last. Actually, I’ve an uneasy feeling when I received the plague. Thus, I’m a Christian. Listening to their prediction is against Christian preaching. As a result, I told the lady my reason and she let me off. When I came to know, they were actually been asked to pay RMB99 for a candle light and it’s advisable to take 3, 6 or 9 candles. It’s kind of cheating us. Besides, the video photographer waited for us at 老院子 and sold photos at the price of RMB20 (RM10) per pierce for 5R size. She refused to give discounts. So, I just bought two pieces.

It took three hours to reach芙蓉镇 at 6pm. 小李gave us a treat to try their specialty of 米豆腐. It costs one yuan per bowl.

(米豆腐)

Nothing much to see there and it was raining for the whole day. There is no door in toilet so Wee Nee and I waited outside as well as Mr Lim. While waiting, a girl asked Mr Lim, “Where are you from?” Mr Lim replied, “Try and guess.” “Nan Jing? Guangzhou? Hong Kong?” she asked. Mr Lim spoke Cantonese purposely to me, “Do we appeared from locally?” “Maybe gua. Haha..” I answered.

We reached 凤凰 at 9pm. Before walking around the area, we checked in 凤都大酒店. Angela and I shared a single bed as Angela requested. I was surprised a computer in our room and could serve the net. However, there was a kind of smell. Anyway, I just put my luggage and walked out.

Seeing the night view of凤凰 was spectacular as it's decorated with colourful lights. It's also a busy night where there were many bars and karaoke. Some enjoyed eating grilling food at night. A few candles lights on paper of lilies flowing on the busy river. It’s one way of making wish. Angela bought half of dozen. With such a spectacular view, we could not get good picture as the weather was windy and cold.

(凤凰)

As I mentioned about the room earlier, Ms Chiew requested us to change the room. Therefore, 小李 settled the issue for us. The room has two beds without computer. At least, I could sleep well throughout the night.

Posted by Audrey at 8:35 PM 0 comments