At the end of my 8 day trip, I owe my room mate RM 170 & few swipes on my credit card! WTF.
Someone told me how beautiful Guilin is. She told me "it is for you since u like to take pictures a lot". Well, for that, I can't deny. Just look at the Guangxi's sky before I landed. I've seen New Zealand sky before and I think it was the most beautiful one. Until I saw Guangxi's. I can't believe my eyes. "is that mountains?" it looks exactly like a painting.
...and it took almost 5 hours ride from Nanning airport to the 1st hotel located in Liuzhou :( It's killing me at the beginning and yet I still stay positive, knowing that I will experience something beautiful through out my 8 days journey here, in Southern China.
5 hours is very long. I do nothing except fell asleep for few times and woke up playing with my camera.
Finally arrived Nantian Grand Hotel exactly dinner time.
They have more. Like 20 dishes? And I hardly eat one. It was Halal but the taste is totally strange. Well, 1st day is always like this. I learned few things on my 1st day dinner. 1) Duck & Chicken served with its head and legs (complete with its nails). 2) Salty. very salty. 3) No chillies. 4) shrimp is a must. 5) No fish from the sea. Only river. 6) They dont drink icy water 7) Coffee is expensive in China. So they served Chinese Tea forever, whether in hotel or restaurant :(
..and when I was getting ready to change, I realized I left my toilettries bag back home :( Facial wash, face cream, tooth paste, body & hair shampoo, lotion (I don't use hotel's. I only use my own stuff. My skin is complicated) Well, that's still ok. I can borrow my room mate's stuff. The problem is, she didn't wear contact lens! Argghhh! Lucky she don't mind to accompany me to go out and start searching something like Watson.
As usual, expect language barrier. I show the sign to the sales girls that I need a bottle of liquid for my contact lens - almost poke my eyes out just to show them I have contact lens inside, and grab a bottle nearby and show the sign of pouring the water on my palm like Im washing my contact lens. And yet, they gave me somekind like Eye Mo, medicine for eye infection, and worse, they gave me - mascara. I almost kill myself - due to frustration. Nothing is written in English. All packaging in Chinese, and local brands. Lucky there was a girl understand what I want, She showed me the sign of people wearing glass. I understand that I have to go to optical shop. She helped me with a cab, and talked to the cab driver to send me to the shopping mall. Shopping mall???
Another lesson learned on my 1st day in Southern China. Whatever related to eyes, you can only find in Optometrist counter/shop. Unlike here in Malaysia, we can find almost everything in 1 shop or Watson. Their "Watson" only provide skin care & cosmetics. Not authorized to sell contact lens solution. So, I managed to get Bausch & Lomb at one of the optical counter in a big shopping mall. Thank God! and lucky us, we brought hotel's name card with us. so the cab driver drove us back to the hotel after he took a look at the hotel's card, with no fuss. Cab fee is 7 yuan (metered) per trip (RM3.50) So, It was cheap.
Long bus ride continues next morning.
To Yangshuo.
This was taken outside Water Closet. Water closet is like R&R for you to stop for a toilet break. You are lucky if you joined Muslim Tour package. Because the guide will choose to stop at decent modern public toilet instead of their famous public toilet without door.
Stopped by for fruits, drinks and butt numb ease.
But you can find sweets among local liquor on the road to Yangshuo :P
Arrived Yangshou exactly lunch time.
Despite of weird taste of the food, I found something new and very delicious among 20 dishes.
Fried yam dipped with thick honey. Very naise!
After that I told our tour guide to make some modification on our meals onwards. No duck, no chicken head and legs, deep fried chicken & fish, always omelette, include broccoli in every meals, shrimp is ok to be included, more pepper in soup, less salty in everything and the rest is still up to him what to include. The result from menu modification? Everybody finished the dishes on our next dinner course!! :)))
Had a quick freshen up after lunch. The hotel that we stayed is right facing the river and few minutes walk to Yangshuo hotspots.
and checked office emails (internet usage is 5 yuan per hour).
and so, with my sticky armpit, I proceed with 1st ever sight seeing in Yangshuo - Li River Cruise.
it was a brief walk to the pier from the hotel. Good exercise after heavy lunch.
I wish that one day I able to live a carefree life. Afternoon nap in the hammock (by the beach, not by the river), the sound of clock ticking is a lullaby that send me to sleep, stress free and call my day as yesterday, today and tomorrow. No Monday blues or Tuesday mayday. Waiting for no Friday and everyday is a Sunday...
All expensive nuts that you found in hypermart can be found here - at cheaper price. Lucky Im not into Hari Raya cookie baking. Or else - tahun ini cik kiah jual Almond London secara besar besaraannn...
Belum apa apa lagi dah jumpa gerai menjual barangan berhantu. Hold my breath when I passed these stalls. Anyhow, I made a tiny purchase - a straw hat which costs me 15 yuan :) Feeling Kate Middleton kejap..
Kannn...
nak menyampah lagi ke?
The karst blanketed Guangxi land, or Guilin to be specific, makes this place so picturesque. It reminds me heavily of one small paintings I made when I was in Uni, during my diploma. The painting was exactly like the mountains here in Guilin. Rows of mountains with shady colors...I was into painting when I was in school. But as I grew up, I hardly got my hands on watercolors and blank white papers. Majoring in accounting made me busy with calculator and numbers. But when I had a time I still spared some time painting on small paper notes and wrote some story behind it. I had a friend that I frequently wrote to when I was young. I wrote to him in a "dear diary" like and snail mailed to him every week. It contains all my rants, crap stuffs about life and my clown thoughts. I wrote to him non stop for 2 years, until he had to continue his study to University of New Haven, United States. He loves all my writings and paintings, and before he left, he snail mailed me a blank, thick foolscap paper, with a bind holes. He wanted me to continue writing to him on that papers, booklet it and send it to him when Im done. But I didn't. I stop writing to him because I was so sad. I felt so small and left behind. And I thought he would probably forget about me anyway.
He didn't. After few weeks I received an Aerogram from him and he said he miss me. I didn't reply his 1st Aerogram and I received a 2nd one - asking me what happen, why I never wrote him back.
Well, he don't know that he left me heartbroken :(
4 years after that he came back for a while. (He continue working in a big city in United States) and, he grew up oh so handsome! I remember he bought me a Planet Hollywood T-shirt from NYC and he was sulking at me because I didn't get him anything. Actually I did. But I change my mind at a very last minute. Because I felt so small! I made something for him - a stupid small heart shaped pillow and I thought that was nothing compared to that T-shirt from New York City! So, I hid it away..
*very emo lah*
He went back to New York, and he sent me email (no more Aerogram, haha) saying that how I have changed. He felt like I was no longer wanted to be friends with him :(
Well, Dear Leejack, if you come across this blog out of nowhere - I just wanted you to know that, It was not like that, at all..and I still remember you. I still have a lot to tell, but now Im using blogspot!
Aiyaa, rows of mountains made me came up with above emo story already. I will continue with more of Yangshuo, Guilin, next.
Sorry huh.
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