Day 1 (31 Oct 2009) :- KL - Tianjin Airport – Beijing part 1

Hi there ! (^_~),

this is my travelogue , i will share with all of you out there, my view/experience as i take a journey to one of the Asia's most influence country - CHINA.

hope you enjoy my travelogue,& the post will help you-sorry if there's any grammar/spelling mistakes. :p

<-_->

Day 1 (31 Oct 2009) :- KL - Tianjin Airport – Beijing part 1

1.00 a.m : Depart from KL (LCCT) via Air Asia – Thank you to Air Asia, ‘Now everyone can fly’ –with convenient cost !!,of course. (0_0)

lepak @ LCCT

on board Air Asia X

fill up this one!!

.. and this one too.. ask steward/-ess to help you

8.00 a.m : syukur, Arrived at Tianjin Airport (temp : -2C) .. so cold. rasa macam ke tulang dow..

@Tianjin Airport

f.a.q : How to go to Beijing from Tianjin Airport ?

answ : Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway is a 114 km high-speed rail line between Beijing and Tianjin in China.

1.Take a shuttle bus from Tianjin Airport to Tianjin Railway Station (cost – Y10) here's a few pics that i snap, all the way from airport to Tianjin Railway Station:-

2.Then, buy bullet train ticket to Beijing South (cost – Y58). It will take only 30 minute to Beijing South Station (subway hub) (something like KLIA transit to KL Sentral).

erm.. is this a bicycle or motorcycle? erm, confusing-do they have a roadtax for this? they are really good in modifying things..

traffic jam...

can you see the traffic light? - it used solar.->innovative

After 25 minutes, arrived at the Tianjin Railway Station..

view from the outside

ok, after arrived at Tianjin Railway Station, you will enter the main entrance, there’s a security check (they will scan all your belongings before you can enter the Station-security issue in China-> my god, it’s so ridiculous, luckily Malaysia didn’t have rules like this- at first, I thought it’s only applicable at the airport, not on public transport), there’s a ticket counter on your left, or you can ask someone to help you. Well, it’s not that easy you know.. huhu. If you CAN’T speak mandarin(most Chinese speak mandarin) like me, taadaa…, you’re in big trouble-I mean BIG trouble.

view from the inside(this is waiting area)

Everything was in mandarin/Chinese –EVERYTHING. The information board about ticket/train schedule was ALL IN CHINESE.OMG, there’s NOTHING in English!!at least, they can display an English version, right?.i was so confused, and at that moment, I was thinking by myself, what the h*ll I’m doing here, totally stranger’s, should I go back to KL? Why I didn’t think of this would happen? Huh, don’t know how to read ANY of it! How I want to buy a ticket?- I’m stuck and I really didn’t know what to do. Haha, guess what, syukur, Allah will always protect He’s followers. I cross by this young girl, & luckily, after about 15 minutes, I found a person that can help me. She bought a ticket for me and shows me the departure hall. FINALLY, I got a ticket.

One of the fastest train,-i'm going to ride it

ticket

Beijing..here I come !!

walla !! welcome on board to CRH – It is designed with maximum speed of 350 km/h (217 mph) and CRH trains running on the line at a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph) are one of the fastest conventional trains in the world !! The 120 km journey between Beijing and Tianjin, was shortened from the original 70 minutes to 30 minutes. Amazing right?-wish Malaysia will have one of this one day. I would give 5 star rate for this train- Very clean and cozy inside. !!, even though I take economy seat-maybe it’s new train.

to be continued in next post.. pt 2 -arrived at Beijing

China - 9 Days trip (A day before)

oooohh.. right now my heart beats like crazy, like BEP song - 'boom .. boom ..boom' hehe..

My flight will depart from LCCT at 1.00 a.m tonight!. expect to arrived at Tianjin at 7 or 8 a.m tomorrow.

Check all doc/itinerary ready.

• Passport
• Flight/hotel ticket booking
• Visa
• Money/Cash (Yuan & US dollar)
• Credit Card/ATM Card – activated
• Cloth
• Food (instant noodle-apa lagi-maggi lar)
• Others

Ok, set to go!!! this is it !! yahooo.. let's the journey begin..

China - 9 Days trip (A week before)

Plan and study your trip.

destination, where to stay, how to get there, and etc. In my case , I will travel to a few places, not only Beijing.

Places to go: Tianjin-Beijing-Shanghai-Jiuzhaigou-Chengdu-Guilin-KL

*why i choose this places?-each place have their own attraction, you'll see.so, here's the plan :-

Days : 9 days

Visa : Apply visa at least a week before.I just used travel agency to apply it for me, no hassle, no need to queue at china embassy, just pay sikit lar.., they will do it for you. cost RM80 (ready within 7 days) or RM150++ (express)-cost depends on travel agency, some might charge more than this.

So, if you want to book flight/hostel/hotel at China easily, i really recommended to you to book it online, through eLong.com or Ctrip.com. It's easy, and with great discount too!! – eLong.com and Ctrip.com- memang berbaloi..baloi

tips: book at least a week or two before you go, great promo and discount !!

Malaysia-Pulau Perhentian

jomXplore Pulau Perhentian (Perhentian island).

this is unplanned trip, but there’s something about this island that people always talk about; the beautiful side of this island, snorkel/dive is a must try activity here. so, I choose Perhentian island as my next birthday present for myself ..hehe
even though i can't swim, but whatever!! just do it !! at least i've been there..huhhu.. . The island? -it is beautiful.

Pulau Perhentian divided by 2 island, Perhentian Kecil (Small Island) and Perhentian Besar (Big Island). So,few days before my departure I try called a few resort at Perhentian Besar..b’coz they have beautiful coral there.but, unfortunately I don’t get any resort available (Tuna Bay Resort, and few others).. it’s fully booked until the end of august. (The reception said that if you want to stay in Perhentian Besar, you have to booked 2 month before your depart..) OMG!!.. . so, I try called a few resort at Perhentian Kecil.. luckily I got one!! at Senja Bay Resort…and YES!! at last..

f.a.q : How to get there ?
answ : by train/flight(air asia-great price,especially when there's a promotion)or (malaysia airlines/firefly), bus (transnasional, etc) (KL-Kota Bahru-take Taxi to Kuala Besut-speed boat)

Taxi rate from KB-Kuala Besut : RM75
Speed Boat : RM70(return), RM35 (one way)

f.a.q : How's the resort?
answ : it's quit ok,for one night stay (Basic)… 2 bed 1 bathroom..rate- RM150.(weekend rate),(weekdays-maybe less than that).

Actually, there’s many thing happened from the day I came till the day I went back to KL. I can’t tell you much here… but it’s almost like an adventure + thriller + relax + funny + ridiculous = happy.

So, here a few photo from Perhentian Kecil and KB.

Senja Bay Resort

Click http://www.flickr.com/photos/jomxplore for more pic.

Malaysia-Bukit Tinggi

em, recently we had a seminar at Cherating. So, on the way back to KL, we drop by at Bukit Tinggi.

For me,Bukit Tinggi nothing much to do and see here, except this unique resort, 'Colmar Tropicale'- it is interesting place, inspired by the original Colmar Village in Alsace, France,Colmar Tropicale is a picture postcard which come alive! At its heart is Colmar Square, a cobblestone central courtyard where you can enjoy outdoor dining and street performances. .

We also go to Japanese Village. Nice place, the landscape was designed by Japanese architect, if i'm not mistaken:P. There's a Japanese tea house,beautiful garden waterfall and koi pond.

one of the souvenier shop

koi pond