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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Yangshuo Day 2 & 3


 
 
Water rafting @ LiJiang

 
 Shangrila Park

 Banyan Tree

 Moon Hill
 
 Yulong River

On our Day 2, we woke up at about 7.30am and got ready for our trip to Yangshuo. We left Wada Hostel at about 9.30am. We took a bus to the Guilin Bus Station and after ding dong here and there we boarded a bus to Yangshuo around 10.30am. We are supposed to take an express bus which will transport us directly to Yangshuo. Unfortunately we took the wrong bus, a normal public bus which stopped at all the stations and our whole journey lasted near to 2hours. After alighting at the Yangshuo Bus Station, we boarded a mini bus to West Street. We checked in to Yangshuo International Youth Hotel and immediately booked a trip for Lijiang water rafting. We made it on time to catch the tour on the same day as it departs at 1.30pm. After settling in our luggage in the room, we hurried to the meeting point where the tour bus is already waiting for us. 

The journey to Lijiang took about 40mins. The reason we took this tour is mainly because of the scenic view printed on the Chinese Yuan 20 (CNY20). 5 of us boarded a raft mended by an elderly man. He took us across the river and made a stop there where we could clearly took the photo printed on CNY20. We stopped for about half an hour, taking photo and making it into a small key chain and bought some snack. We continued with the pleasant raft ride. Emeryn took off her slippers and dipped her feet into the running raft. She obviously enjoyed this moment a lot. Before turning back to the starting point, our raft made a final stop where we took some photo there. There were many smaller set up selling souvenir and even offering a horse riding or a photo with the bird. And of course, we don't fall into all these. Emeryn requested mummy to get her a water shooter/blaster where she could play with it during our raft ride back to the starting point. The whole raft ride took about 2hours. We managed to have red bean soy custard and fried noodle while waiting for the rest of the passenger to return. We reached our hotel at about 6pm.

We then booked another tour to watch the Liu San Jie performance. After a quick refreshment, we went to West Street for dinner. We managed to walk around the nite market before assembling at the hotel for our pick up. Upon reaching the venue, we were amazed with the huge crowds. It was so crowded with at least thousands of visitors making their way into the venue. We have to hold hands while walking in order not to be separated. We have to walk quite a distance to reach our seat. The Liu San Jie performance is an outdoor show at an amphitheater that overlooks the Li River and several mountains which are illuminated during the show. The stage is a series of floating platforms and boats on the Li River. The performance showcases the local indigenous groups and their colorful clothing, songs and traditions. The shows director is the same gentleman who directed the opening ceremony for the Olympics. The performance lasted for an hour before we were dropped off at our hotel. Mummy only managed to shop at the nite market for 30mins after that as Emeryn wanted to go back to the hotel for a rest. Por Por, Ah Kong and Carmen Ee Ee continued with their shopping.

We started our Day 3 at 7.15am as we booked another half day tour to Shangrila Park. Ah Kong and Por Por woke up earlier and bought us McD for breakfast. At the Shangrila Park, we were only allowed 2 hours to visit such a beautiful place. Shangrila Park also called "Shi Wai Tao Yuan" (世外桃源) in Chinese, literally meaning "land of peach blossoms". It is a nature park build inside a lake. Upon entering, we took a boat to cross the lake and visit a cave and a forest of peach trees. We were also entertained by the folks performances there. There are two major themes presented in Shangrila Park. One is the traditional Chinese farming culture, the other is the culture of the minority groups of north Guangxi minority cultures such as Miao, Dong, Zhang and Yao. Unfortunately we did not manage to tour the whole park due to the short time given to us. That's the draw back of engaging tour group.

The tour driver dropped us back to our hotel at around 11am and we headed straight for an early lunch. After lunch, we checked out from the hotel and walked across the road where we checked into Wada Hostel Yangshuo. It was a brand new hostel, newly opened less than a month. Mummy booked a 4 bedded bed room, comes with attached bathroom. After getting ourselves refreshed, we booked a private car at the reception for a visit to The Banyan Tree and Moon Hill. Throughout our visit there, it rains everyday. But fortunately the rain doesn't last long, probably 15-30mins. 

Our first destination was The Banyan Tree. It started to pour as soon as we reached our destination but we were all prepared with our raincoat. Despite the rain, it does not stop us from visiting. The banyan tree, measuring 7 meters (about 23 feet) in width and 17 meters (about 55.8 feet) in height has experienced extensive growth over the years. Although its stem is very old and its roots twist, its branches and leaves stretch out so lushly that the sunshine hardly penetrates its shadow. We also enjoyed a bbq fish while visiting the Banyan Tree.

Next, we headed to Moon Hill. Moon Hill is a huge slice of rock with a round hole in its center, and you mount 800 steps on a marble paved mountain path to reach it. At various angles it resembles from the new moon to a full moon. The rock measures 380 m (height) by 410 m (length) by 220 m (width). We did not expect this visit is meant for climbers who are keen to climb up the hill. Thus, we only made our way to the base of the hill and took marvelous photo. On our way back, the kind driver made a pit-stop somewhere near a village for us to snap more beautiful photo of the Moon Hill. He also stopped by at Yulong River and explained the history to us without any further charges. The Yulong is a shallow river and it is not located near any industrial areas. Thus, it is clean enough for swimming, though some brownish surface foam is visible in it. Yulong River offers a spectacular view to any visitors. The air is super refreshing and it calms the mind. Unlike the busy Li River, it has no motorized boat traffic and relies completely on bamboo rafts to ferry passengers downriver. 

The driver then dropped us back at West Street around 5pm. We continued to tour the ever busy West Street and bought some souvenir too. After 2hours of walking, we went back to Wada Hostel. Por Por and Emeryn do not want to go out for dinner and choose to stay in. So mummy, Ah Kong and Carmen Ee Ee walked out for dinner at a restaurant highly recommended by the hostel staff. The price is cheap, a similar price paid by the local and not over-priced especially for tourist. The rain started to pour again after dinner. We went back to the hostel for an early rest that night.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

KL, here we go >>> Malaysia Supermodel Top 20 Audition

 
 @ Petrosains

 
 Malaysia Supermodel Top 20 Audition

On Sat morning, we left home at about 8.20am and went to pick Por Por as she wanted to join us to KL. Our next stop was at mummy's aunty place. We picked her on the way to KL too. We reached our first destination, KLCC at about 1.30pm. We had a quick lunch at the level 4 food court before entering Petrosains. Por Por and mummy's aunty went for a walk on their own while we explore Petrosains. It was a very worthy trip but mummy failed to explain most of the things there to Emeryn due to her lack of knowledge. We didn't manage to cover everything in just 2.5hours as we rushed for our dinner date.

We left KLCC at about 5.15pm and headed to Sherine Ee Ee's house at Bandar Utama. After stuck in a traffic jam, we finally reached at 6.30pm. After a quick refreshment, we went out for seafood dinner with mummy's cousin sis and bro and both aunties. It was a good catch up over dinner. After dinner, all of us proceeded to Ikea. Emeryn went into the Ikea play area for an hour while mummy catch up with her shopping. Mummy bought some glass container for our future paradise. We left Ikea at about 10.45pm. It was a long day for us, driving all the way from Penang, visiting Petrosains and long shopping at Ikea.

The next morning we woke up early for the main highlight for our trip. It was the Malaysia Supermodel Top 20 Live Audition. The original venue was at Paradigm Mall and was changed to Premiere Hotel two days before the event. Before the event, mummy was having hard time deciding what Emeryn should wear for the catwalk. Many online review suggest, light/no make up, no plain white clothing, limited accessories to worn, do not wear anything old than your real age. One word: simple. Emeryn also did not practice prior to the event and mummy let her be comfortable about the event. We reached the hotel before 10am with the guidance from GPS. We were overwhelmed with the number of participants there and they were all dressed perfectly. 

Registration starts at 10am sharp and the queue started to move slow. Emeryn's number was 34 and she was the 20th participants to go into the audition room. After the registration we were made to be seated and continue waiting in another room. The event starts at 11am and the person in charge gave briefing to the participants by batches. Por Por waited outside the room; whereas mummy accompanied Emeryn in the waiting room. Little that we know, the parents/guardian are allowed to go into the audition room to witness their loved ones presenting their catwalks. After completing her audition, Emeryn told mummy that she did not do very well and she probably won't be selected as the Top 20 contestant.

We then drove to One City, Subang to have lunch with mummy's aunties, and cousins. After lunch we spent about an hour there chit chatting before going up to the Skypark Rooftop with the see through glass floor located at Level 10. The whole rooftop sides were made from glass, thus this place is not for the faint hearted. We left the mall at about 3.15pm and headed back to Premiere Hotel for the result announcement. It took us longer time to reach the hotel as mummy missed 2 turnings. We reached the hotel at about 4pm and continue waiting till 5.45pm. It was a long torturous wait as mummy was feeling really sleepy. Each participants were given an envelope each containing their result either CONGRATULATIONS or SORRY. After the closing speech, they are allowed to open their envelopes and Emeryn didn't make it to the Top 20. Immediately she reaction changed. We left right after that. Emeryn shed tears silently when she was in the car. She was upset and disappointed.

We drove home and stopped by at Rawang for a quick dinner before dropping mummy's aunt back to Simpang Pulai. After sending Por Por home, we reached home at 11.15pm. Drop dead tired, and Emeryn continues her sleep.


FB Updates "She shed tears of disappointment knowing that she didn't make it to the Top 20 Malaysia Supermodel. What's more disheartening to see her in such way?"

Monday, July 21, 2014

Urban Playground

  
the birthday gifts

 
 @ Urban Playground

Last Tues was a school holiday in reference to Nuzul Al-Quran but it was a working day for mummy. Since daycare was off on that day, mummy took leave to look after Emeryn. Instead of staying at home doing nothing, mummy bought an online deal for Urban Playground a day before. On Tues morning we went out for breakfast with mummy's friend before heading to QBM to grab a belated birthday gift for Emeryn. Before going over to Toys R Us, mummy went to Dorothy Perkins to utilize her gift voucher which we got it from the Mummy & Me contest. After spending 30mins at Toys R Us, Emeryn decided on 3 gifts. 

We then drove to Times Square for the admission to Urban Playground. When we first went it, there were just a few kids but slowly the place become crowded. Urban Playground introduces the concept of inflatable playground with play area fitted with bouncers, inflatable slides, obstacle courses, climbing walls, and more. Mummy left Emeryn at the playground and she walked over to Mc Donalds to grab a take away. Emeryn had a few quick bites before continue playing. She made some new friends there and refused to leave when she had played for 4 hours. Mummy insisted of leaving as Emeryn has to attend her BM tuition in the evening. We bought dinner home.

On Thurs we went to Who's Bryan for dinner using the voucher mummy bought. Lastly on Fri nite, we packed our stuff before leaving to KL the next morning.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Guilin Day 1

flying to KL from PG

breakfast at KLIA2 before flying to Guilin

  
@ Reed Flute Cave

 
 the scenic view

 our dinner

After school on Wed, we hurried home and had a super quick dinner before heading downtown to pick Ah Kong, Por Por and Toki Ee Ee. Mummy booked a cab from her office, Hotel EQ to the airport. We parked our car at EQ and off we headed to the airport for our flight to KL. We touched down KLIA2 at 10pm. KLIA2 was impressively huge and it took us about 10mins or more to reach to the arrival gate. We waited for Sherine Ee Ee who came and fetched us for a quick sleep-over at her place before our next flight to Guilin. We had supper before heading back to her place for a rest. We only managed at most 3hours nap before waking up at 4am. At the airport after document verification, we had breakfast before boarding.

The flight took about 4hours and we landed at Guilin slightly after 10am. Our initial plan was to take a shuttle bus to Guilin city before transferring to our hostel. We bumped into a tour guide who offered us a ride right to our hotel door step at CNY60. Though feeling a little fishy, we boarded the taxi with the given cheap rate and the convenience. True to our instinct, the tour guide make a stop at the tour center and kept on selling us the Lijiang Cruise. We insisted not to book the tour and walked off by saying Thank You. The tour guide then drove us to Wada Hostel with the promised rate. Wada Hostel is a backpacker hostel and it is creatively decorated with unique set up. Mummy booked a private 4-bedded room. 

Without wasting more time, we left the hostel after check in. We asked for direction for our next destination at the hostel reception before leaving. We had our first meal, lunch next to the mall opposite our hostel. All of us had fried rice and the portion was seriously huge. To go to Reed Flute Cave, we took two buses to connect us there. With the clear instruction given by the hostel, we have no problem reaching our destination. We bought our entrance ticket at the hostel with a slight discount, CNY90 per pax. Upon reaching the Reed Flute Cave, we have to convert our ticket to the entrance ticket. Most of the tourist visiting Reed Flute has their very own tour guide but we don't since we traveled on low budget. Most of the time we just tagged along with any tour group to listen briefly to their introduction of the limestone formations. Reed Flute Cave is filled with a large number of stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations in weird and wonderful shapes. The cave was brilliantly decorated with colorful lighting. We spent at least 1.5hours exploring the cave.

After exiting the cave, the pathway leads us to a beautiful lake. While walking towards the lake, there are some stalls selling souvenir and Emeryn bought a glass pendant - doggie shaped which comes with a red string, use as a necklace. There was a middle aged man kept asking us to go for a bamboo rafting offering us a very low price till the end, but we refrained from taking the offer. We then took a bus back to Guilin city which took about 40mins journey. In the city we walked for another 1.5hours along the busy street before getting the second bus transit back to our hostel. That journey was a short one which lasted about 5mins. We had dinner upon alighting from the bus. We tried the spicy and sour noodle which was very spicy and their mix fruit dessert. Por Por and Ah Kong refused to have street food as it doesn't look too tempting for them.

We went back to the hostel after our dinner. It was a tiring day for all of us with sleepless nite and a long walk for the whole day. After getting ourselves rejuvenated, we headed to the street again at 9.30pm. We don't have time to visit the mall as it closes at 10pm. It was just a short walk in the mall before we explored the building next door. It was a boutique row with many eateries and boutiques available. We left an hour later with sore foot. We called it a nite near to mid nite.