千里之行 始于足下

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: A little cloudy

With the laundry cleaned and my bags packed, the only thing missing from my list was some USD. Greenbacks almost always give the best exchange rates around the world. The Axis of Evil might hate the US government but they adore Benjamin Franklins. I didn’t have to go through any of them in my trip but dollar was still the currency to carry.

I began my quest for USD with a metro ride during the rush hour. Bad decision as I felt like squashed tuna inside a can. I was really glad when I got out of the cabin.

I first went to CITIC Bank’s branch at CITIC Plaza. They could exchange RMB to USD but I needed some in the first place. I asked for directions to the nearest Citibank ATM.

And I ended up being given the directions to a Citibank branch 15 minutes walk away. I mentally counted the approximate amount of RMB that I would need and withdrew them. Citibank was not able to change RMB to USD and the only place that would do it (according to them) was the Bank of China down the road. As the CITIC Bank was too far away, I went to Bank of China instead.

The guy serving me didn’t really want to change USD for me. Perhaps it was something about capital control in China. I somehow managed to convince him, saying that I would need USD in Vietnam and I couldn’t get them anywhere else. Reluctantly he made me fill up a form and went to photocopy my passport. Another form later (because I managed to screw up the first), I had my US$200. He was helpful enough to give me the 10 twenties that I requested.

I reached Alan’s apartment in time to say farewell. They were going out for their final classes and I would do more research before going to the train station.

Not before saying goodbye to someone familiar.

Bye Bye Chen Fala

I was early for my train so decided to take some pictures.

The obligatory train station shot

Reunification of Motherland

I couldn’t help but wonder whether that the words were meant for Singapore as well as for Taiwan.

Something less controversial on the other side:

Reinvigorate China

My train

Train no.:
Dep: Guangzhou 16:52
Arr: Nanning 06:23
Time taken: 13h31m
Distance traveled: 809km
Cost: 179 RMB (Hard Sleeper middle berth)

Goods to be loaded on

The hard sleeper class that I was traveling in was organized in open plan configuration with six sleepers in each ‘compartment’. It’s similar to India’s 3AC class without the berths along the corridor. Mine was the middle berth which cost less than the lower berth but more expensive than the upper one.

Chinese Hard Sleepers

My bed for the night

Little boy in the next compartment

Rolling through the countryside

Where the term 'Samsui women' is derived from

All the berths in my compartment were taken up. Besides me, there were a group of three female friends heading home to Nanning, a traveling salesperson from either Zhejiang or Jiangsu and an older woman with Beijing accent. The Nanning girls spoke Mandarin with the same exact accent with Malaysian Chinese and that left me quite amused.

The salesman was quite surprised to find the group of friends were speaking Mandarin among themselves. He asked them why they weren’t speaking their dialect and their replies were that they each had their own dialect (despite all three being native to Nanning). The topic was then shifted to Vietnam. The three friends had been to Vietnam before for work. Both the salesman and the older woman were surprised to learn from them about the availability of luxury goods in Vietnam. I half-suspected that they still believe that the Vietnam War hasn’t ended and the Vietnamese are still living in tunnels.

The train attendants would walk around the aisle during dinner time to sell pre-packed meals (I saw boiled chicken and rice), peanuts and fruits. The most popular item had to be instant noodles. There was hot water at each end of the carriage and that was often the cheapest food around.

I went up to my berth shortly after dinner time (around 8pm) and thought about my trip ahead. It would be
an epic, I told myself before nodding off to the rumbling tracks underneath the carriage.

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: Rainy

The morning was spent doing laundry and I tagged along for Alan and Daniel’s farewell lunch with their buddies from SYSU.

Could you recall the shopping mall with an archaeological site in its basement (from day 3)? That was where we had lunch. Vietnamese food was the agenda and it was kinda coincidental for me as I would be in Vietnam in two days.

Picture with the buddies (sadly some had left earlier)

I also got the ticket for the next day’s train to Nanning at the Guangzhou Train Station. The buying process was pretty painless except for the queue. It’s amazing how China runs its train network so efficiently.

My last night in Guangzhou ended with yet another ice-cream at McDonald’s. I would miss this place!

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: Sunny but cold

While checking out of the hostel, the helpful receptionist patiently answered all our queries regarding transportation. We would head to Yuyuan, located in the Chinese part of the city, by public bus.

To be honest, I was pretty impressed by the transport infrastructure of the Chinese cities that I’ve been to. Hangzhou especially because of the public bike rental system. Chinese cities also run their public bus system efficiently. The fleet is often very new and I couldn’t recall seeing anyone hanging by the bus doors (although they were often crowded). There are also televisions on the buses and trains (ahead of Singapore; there’s no more TV Mobile here anymore).

Old & New

Reaching there

Entrance to the shopping area - crowded as everywhere else

The main reason why we were here was to get plums. Apparently Alan’s mum visited Shanghai and liked them. Ever the filial son, Alan was going to bring 5kg back. Yup that’s right. 5kg. Nothing but packaged plums. He bought all the quantity available in the store and the next customer who came in couldn’t get any. Luckily for her, Alan was kind enough to let her have a 500g packet or else she would go home (wherever it is) disappointed.

Look at the crowd

Initially we were planning to meet our friend Michelle who was back in Shanghai during the holidays. However, she couldn’t make it last minute and both of us had the afternoon to while away. We were thinking of visiting Xintiandi or watching a movie. The cold weather and the movie trailers on the trains helped us to make the decision.

Watching movie in Shanghai is an expensive affair. A ticket cost 80 RMB (~16 SGD). No wonder everyone watches pirated movies instead.

The trailer which helped us to make our choice.

Before Bodyguards and Assassins began, we noticed a couple in the row in front of us.

They were eating bak kwa!

How interesting!

The movie was quite nice but you could drive a bus through the loopholes in the plot. This reminded me of a Hokkien saying: zou hee siao, kua hee gong. Literal translation will be actors are crazy and audience are silly. We have to be silly enough to appreciate the crazy performance.

We had an early dinner in the noodle place besides our hostel.

Spicy noodles

There was a direct bus to Hongqiao Airport (no. 806, 5 RMB) from our hostel and it took almost an hour. I was mad at the check-in staff who refused to acknowledge my existence and served another person who arrived later. The joy of traveling indeed.

Alan and I were both amazed by China’s productivity. I think the work maxim is: If the job can be done by one person, let at least two people do it. The lady at the boarding gate would scan our boarding pass and another man five meters away would tear the ticket and retain a portion. Somebody must have forgotten to tell them that the two tasks can be performed together. Alan said that it was necessary for creating employment.

Flight: China Southern CZ3504
Dep: SHA 19:45
Arr: CAN 22:05
Flight time: 2h20m

I was surprised to get a wide-body aircraft (757 I think) for a domestic flight. As both Shanghai and Guangzhou are first-tier cities, there should be quite a lot of demand for travel between them. Tickets weren’t too expensive (we paid 550 RMB one-way) and the load was probably around 50%. Alan and I could have rows for ourselves. We landed ahead of time again but nobody was complaining.

Returning back to Guangzhou, it was noticeably warmer than Shanghai. Alan showed me this incomprehensible sign at the shuttle bus waiting point.

It should be "Taxi Boarding Point"

Engrish FTW!

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: Excellent

I will write about the 5-day trip to Jiangnan (Hangzhou, Suzhou & Shanghai) from Day 7 to Day 11. I’ll try to be as detailed as possible regarding the travel arrangements and places that we visited in the report.

Alan and I woke up really early in order to catch the first shuttle bus to the airport at 5.30am. We would have to take a cab to New Pearl River Hotel (新珠江大酒店), the nearest shuttle stop. The shuttle would cost 23 RMB, not too expensive for covering almost 45km.

We had some difficulties figuring out where our check in row was and queued up at the wrong counter. Luckily we managed to sort it out and even found the time to say good morning to Aaron.

Early start for him too

Our flight was Deer Jet flight JD5619 scheduled to depart CAN at 7.45am and arrive HGZ at 9.50am. To be honest I had no idea that this airline exists before booking the flight but the first impression wasn’t too bad. The aircraft cabin was clean and one of the cabin crews looked like some celebrity (exactly which Alan and I couldn’t agree on that).

Distance traveled CAN – HGZ: 1038 km

We arrived earlier than expected (proved that Chinese airlines pad their schedules) and found the shuttle bus　to Wulin Square (武林小广场). The shuttle bus attendant pitched some travel products (hotels mainly) as soon as the bus started to move. Along the way:

Hangzhou is modern

People on the street

Upon reaching the bus station at Wulin Squre, we were swarmed by tour agents giving us their pamphlets. Escaping them, we managed to hail a cab to West Lake Youth Hostel, our abode for the next two days. I didn’t take a picture of the hostel entrance and I’ll post one that I found on sinohotel instead.

Picture taken from sinohotel website

Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport to Wulin Square (Shuttle bus 20 RMB) to West Lake Youth Hostel (Cab 16 RMB)

We got a four-bed dorm (with attached bathroom) at 55 RMB　per person per night. Luckily for us, we were the only occupants for the first night. After settling down and making the necessary research, we headed out to explore Hangzhou.

The first thing that we did was to find the kiosk where we could get a bike rental card (more information here). Hangzhou’s Municipal Government had installed many kiosks around the city where one would rental these public bikes. It costs nothing for the first hour, 2 RMB for the second one and 3 RMB per hour from the third hour onwards. It would be our main mode of transportation in the city.

Our rides in Hangzhou

Our hostel was by Hangzhou’s famous West Lake. Naturally we took photos there.

West Lake (southern shore)

Pavilion

I can't read the middle character

With our new ride we made our way to Qinghefang, a well-preserved (or well-restored?) historic street. The wares sold in the street were mainly Chinese crafts and aimed mainly at the tourists.

Arch

Not a bad crowd for a weekday

Lanterns = Chinese

One of the many medicinal shops on the street

Boy carrying water

Filming for some TV program

Chinese tuktuk

Guan Gong in Pavilion of Loyalty

The outdoors became too cold for us and we escaped into the Treasury Museum. The good thing about Hangzhou museums is that they charge no admission at all. Despite that, we were the only visitors.

Some of the exhibits:

I think it's some kind of license

The official trying to explain something to the emperor

Portrait of one of Qing’s greatest statesman

Li Hongzhang

Chinese bond

ROC founding father

Sun Yat-sen

Pasting notice in the town square

Proclaimation of the establishment of PRC, 1st Oct 1949

Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong

Artpiece on wall

After touring the museum, we cycled to the train station to buy our train ticket to Shanghai. It was rather scary as I had no prior experience cycling on roads before. Furthermore, China drives on the opposite side of Singapore which only added to the confusion. The saving grace was that most main roads in Hangzhou had a lane for cyclists.

Dinner was at a restaurant near Hefang Street. The waitresses in every restaurant that we walked past would try to usher us into theirs. We decided that there were little differences between them and we settled for a random one.

Nice presentation

As the public bike rental system closed its operation by 8.30pm, we decided to walk back to our hostel to work away the calories. Along the way, taxi drivers would approach us and asked whether we would like to visit the bar street. We declined and Alan remarked that the taxi drivers had to resort to touting because of the less business brought about by the efficient bike rental system.

Instead of the bar street, Alan enjoyed himself by beating me in consecutive games of Chinese chess at the hostel.

Hostel lantern

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: I didn’t care because I was indoors almost the whole time.

It was the day after the Macau trip and before traveling to Hangzhou. There were things still to be done: booking of the accommodation, figuring out ground transportation, deciding where to visit etc.

A rather non-eventful day besides eating a fancy lunch at a western restaurant and bitching with Alan and Daniel about their exchange mate.

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: Sunny

I woke up early to join Alan in his last international marketing class at Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU).

It’s hard not to compare SYSU with the host university which I went to. SYSU is a public university while Sabancı University is a private one founded by one of the biggest foundations in Turkey (in turn set up by one of those massive conglomerates in Turkey). Needless to say SYSU’s facilities couldn’t compare to Sabancı’s or SMU’s. The student mix in both schools were decidedly different. The students at SYSU seem more down-to-earth while most Turkish students in Sabancı are generally well-to-do and many often have nice cars plus substantial allowances from parents.

Where Alan had his classes

The professor is an elderly Australian named Alan and he did most of the talking for the first part of the class; mostly about different cultural context in marketing. He tried to inject humor but I believed that some were lost by the fee-paying Chinese students. As usual, the exchange students would dominate the class participation while the local students would only answer when posed with questions. Alan (my friend) told me that most Chinese students were working professionals and they would spend most of the weekends going for MBA classes. Some would have classes the entire day on Saturday. Their hunger for knowledge and success were really commendable.

There were quite a number of exchange students in the class and they were not required to go for the next class scheduled on Christmas’ Eve. The local students had to attend it because Christmas is not a public holiday in China. In return, the exchange students would have to do their group presentation a week earlier.

Remember the tampons that I had to buy? Alan used them for demonstration purposes in his team’s final presentation in the class. Apparently most local students hadn’t heard of them and the prof seemed rather impressed with Alan’s group’s presentation. I guessed that SMU has trained him well.

Alan and I had lunch at the cafeteria after the class. Both of us had skipped breakfast and we were starving by then. The food at the cafeteria was really cheap; I believed that mine was less than 10 RMB for rice, potatoes, veg and pork.

After our meal, we went around the campus to find the bus stop for the next day’s trip to Zhuhai. I found on the net that there are buses departing from SYSU campus. Some pictures along the way:

Pavilion

Alan said that someone told him that the building was haunted

The man himself

We found the bus station which was located near the South Entrance and inquired about the timings and price. We would return again in the evening to purchase the tickets.

My traveling map: To SYSU

Liverpool was playing Portsmouth away that evening and the match was scheduled for early kick-off. Daniel promised to bring me to a nice place where we could watch the game after dinner.

Dan showing off his street cred

Along the way, we dropped by the bus station to purchase our tickets to Zhuhai. Being non-student, I got to pay 70 RMB instead of 35. Oh well no complaints.

On a side note, something rather interesting happened. While walking through SYSU’s campus again, I noticed an European-looking lady in headscarf with presumably her two kids. The younger lady seemed to be in her late teens and had a cap on while the boy looked like a 10 year old. They fit the profile of Turks and I decided to take my chance.

I waited for the little boy to catch up with me and make eye contact.

I smiled at him, “Merhaba” (Hello!) He replied Merhaba as well.

I asked “Türk müsünüz?” (Are you Turkish?)

Instead of replying he turned back to her mom and sis and shouted “Türkçe biliyor!” (He knows Turkish!)

Thus the mom and sis came over and talked to me. They were quite curious about my ability (albeit really limited) to speak Turkish. After racking my brain for any Turkish vocab left inside, I managed something like:

“Menum öldüm. İstanbulda oturdum. Beş ay ile. Biraz Türkçe biliyorum.” (Nice to meet you. I stayed in Istanbul. For five months. I know a little Turkish.)

To my pleasant surprise I was understood.

The mom asked me what I was doing in Istanbul.

“Universiteside calımasıyorum. Ermm… exchange.” (I’m studying in university. Didn’t know the word for ‘exchange’)

“Hangı?” (Which?)

“Sabancı Universitesi”.

They smiled. Apparently all Turks whom I met reacted the same way.

Apparently the daughter was studying in an university in Istanbul (think it’s Istanbul University) and of course some details escaped me. They also asked me what I was doing in Guangzhou before bidding us “gule gule” (goodbye).

I really had to thank hocam (my teacher) Güniz to make the conversation possible.

The place where we watched the game was a pub/restaurant/pool parlor. The service was really good; the attendants even racked the pool balls for you. The game in comparison wasn’t so good. In fact it was downright atrocious. Easily the worst game of the season. We lost 0-2 with Mascherano sent off. The second half was spent more on chatting with Brendan, Alan and Daniel’s friend from exchange, than on following the game.

Despite a long day ahead of us the following day, we hung around a bit at Alan and Daniel’s exchange friends’ place before going back to rest.

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: Kinda cold

Another day of exploring Guangzhou on my own and it wouldn’t start without having breakfast first.

Chee cheong fun

First up was Chen Clan Ancestral Hall/Academy or 陈家祠. It was built in the late 19th century by the Chen clan for worshiping their ancestors. Constructed in the traditional Chinese style, it was classified as an important cultural and historical site.

Chenjiaci Arch

I didn’t know much of the history but I would agree that the place was lavishly decorated.

Facade

Lion

Signboard

Pathway

Bronze sculpture

Kids playing

Intricate carvings on the roof

The place didn’t hold my attention for too long before I decided to go somewhere. After much internal struggle, I decided to forgo Shamian Island for a more pragmatic need: shopping for a fleece.

Guangzhou turned out to be colder than I expected (around 10 deg) and I only had one fleece with me. Another was required because I can’t be simply wearing the same one without washing at all.

Off to Gongyuan Qian metro which was walking distance to Beijing Lu, the main shopping drag in Guangzhou.

"In front of the park"

The slogan making a pun out of her name

Using my internal GPS, I managed to stumble on Beijing Lu after a few wrong turns.

Beijing Lu

Being used to the never ending shopping street of Istanbul’s Istiklal Caddesi, Beijing Lu seemed kinda limited in comparison. However, give me pedestrianized shopping streets like this to Orchard Rd anytime. Without the hassles and fumes of motor vehicles, they are ideal for people-watching.

Reminds me of Istiklal Caddesi

not too crowded on a weekday afternoon

Lanterns already up despite CNY still two months away

HK actress Charmaine Sheh endorsing some beauty salon

Old school shop facade

I had a hard time deciding between some world-class brands…

Clio Coddle anyone?

French luxury brand "Ali Baba"?

In the end I settled for a Uniqlo fleece at 79 RMB. Back on the main street…

Countdown to Asian Games

What's a sports event without its mascots?

Finally I’ll end off with my discovery of the day:

An archaeological site at the basement of a shopping mall

I believed that it was an ancient underwater storage system

Apparently the site was discovered when the developer was laying foundation for the shopping mall. This kind of incident could only happen in cities with long histories buried beneath it. In comparison, the most amazing thing that we can dig out from Singapore soil are probably centipedes.

Chenjiaci to Gongyuanqian (train) to Beijing Lu (Walk)

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Weather: Overcast

Alan brought me to eat breakfast at a breakfast place opposite their apartment.

Place where I had breakie

Breakfast for two (Cost less than 15 RMB)

I had the bee hoon; couldn’t finish it because it was too dry. The dumplings were pretty nice though. After breakfast, I would explore Guangzhou on my own. Alan and Daniel’s apartment was convenient and within walking distance to Chigang Metro station. My destination of the day would be Yuexiu Park, ten train stations away.

Yuexiu Park Train Station

For most of my previous travels, I would be armed with a Lonely Planet guide. However, with experience, I realized that it was not a good idea to carry a physical copy because:-

A) Guidebooks are heavy and I’ll be passing through several countries. Didn’t make sense to me at all to buy/borrow and bring several guidebooks for the whole trip.

B) I probably don’t need to all the information in a guidebook. In fact I will only be using the two chapters from the China guide.

C) Carrying a guidebook in hand screams ‘TOURIST’! In many places (especially the touristy ones) it is the synonym for RICH SUCKER. Ever a skeptic, it’s easy to imagine that people will try to fleece unsuspecting tourists like me.

The answer to my problem came in the form of technology. I simply downloaded the Lonely Planet chapters (available here) which i needed onto my iPod Touch and referred to them whenever I needed to. People would think that I was simply fiddling with my iPod. Granted it is always easier to find information on a book but I would not trade my new found solution to lugging few kilos of guidebooks around.

Back at Yuexiu Park, I had difficulties figuring out the directions to Nanyue King Museum. Somehow iPod wasn’t so good at displaying maps and I walked in the wrong direction initially.Before getting my bearings and find the museum, I came across some Middle Eastern looking men and an European woman in headscarf. I suspected that they are Turks although I didn’t verify.

Nanyue King's Tomb

The entrance fee to Nanyue King Museum was 12 RMB but I managed to convince the ladies at the counter that I was a student (with my tertiary EZ Link card) and got away with paying just 5. Delighted with my conquest, I first saw the exhibits of ancient Chinese pillows (trust me they looked all so hard that I doubt I will ever fall asleep on them) before visiting the actual tomb site.

Way to the Original Tomb

There is a pretty good write-up about the tomb here. Beside the staff checking ticket at the entrance, I was the only person down at the tomb at that time and I felt that the atmosphere was kinda eerie.

Eerie Tomb

Leaving the site, I went to see the exhibits which were excavated from the tomb. Photography wasn’t allowed; all I took was of the wall mural outside the exhibits’ hall.

Nanyue styled wall carving

I had enough fun looking at the tomb and decided to visit Yuexiu Park located directly opposite the museum. However the entrance isn’t and it took me some time to figure out.

Along the way I saw…

Cherry QQ aka most-ridiculed-car-in-sg

…and…

Lamborghini Showroom!

Is China socialist? I’m wondering hard…

According to LP, Yuexiu Park is supposedly one of the biggest urban park in China and I don’t disagree.

Yuexiu Park Entrance

Yuexiu Hill

It’s big and there are lakes, hills and gardens located all around the park.

Entrance to Garden

Arch

Lake

The famous Five Ram Sculpture was also located inside the park.

Five Rams Sculpture - I only counted 4 here

The final place that I visited for the day was Guangzhou Provincial Museum.

Guangzhou Provincial Museum

Inside the museum was the history of Guangzhou from the prehistoric era until modern times. There were some pretty niffy exhibits in the museum:)

Bust of Nanyue King

Bodhisattva

Giant Turtle

Bell

Crystal Guanyin

Western Clock

My fav - Old School Fridge

Name of the building

The rest of the day escaped me; I could only recall having really sore feet after walking the entire day.

Map depicting my metro ride between Chigang and Yuexiu Park.

Total distance: 12.1km
Cost: 4 RMB

For your convenience, please refer to The Journey for the itinerary and the latest updates.

Distance travelled today: 2648.27km

Had to wake up early at 4.15am this morning in order to catch the 6.20am plane to Guangzhou. Managed to find Alan’s elusive tampons at Budget Terminal’s Guardian Pharmacy. Somehow managed to avoid eye contact with the cashier when making the purchase.

The terminal was surprisingly teeming with people at 5 in the morning. My flight was the day’s third; some other flights which were around the same time were to KL, Macau and Haikou. Enjoyed roughly half an hour of Internet and witnessed a grown man snoring really loudly before boarding.

Flight was rather uneventful; the only thing of note was the number of iPods and iPhones in use. My ears were partially blocked due to the change in pressure during the flight and had not recovered yet.

Arrived at Guangzhou at 15 past ten and breezed through the immigration. Waited a while before Alan came to pick me up. The journey to his place consisted an airport bus ride followed by a normal bus.

After lunching and napping, we made our way to the south campus of Sun Yat Sen University in the evening. Met up with Daniel for dinner; Alan left for his exam and Daniel and I had dessert in some hole in wall eatery. A few shopfronts down the eatery dog meat is being offered and on display. Definitely not the most canine-friendly place.

The day did not end until supper and chilling out at McDonald’s. Guangzhou to me so far seems a rather modern place with certain things (eg MRT) very similar to HK; Cantonese is audible on the streets but Mandarin is understood everywhere. I’ll try to explore the city more in the coming days.

Super early flight

His snores were so loud that I was embarrassed for him

Baiyun Airport

My ride to town

First meal in Guangzhou

Guangzhou Skyline

Guangzhou's Metro

Sun Yat Sen University

SYSU Arch by the river

Mac for supper:)