Sunday, January 15, 2006

Back Home, Finally! Time To Work, FUCK

Mood-O-Meter : Still in lazy mode, not looking forward to work!
On The Jukebox : Metallica - Enter The Sandman
Blog Snack : Bottled China Green Tea (Good Shit!)

I'm baaaaacccckkkk!!! After 11 days of gila makan backpacking trip around China, I am finally back in Malaysia. Luckily I've got Sunday to chill a bit and settle down before going back to work. Not really looking forward to work though. Oh well, gonna work for two more weeks and I am off for Chinese New Year again. Hahahahah!! How awesome is that?

The trip was spectacular. Having been to Shanghai area just 13 months ago via tour group, this trip is waaaayyyy better. Aside from the fact that Wei Ming being there (MUACHZZZ!!! miss you d..), we had an 'insider's look' of a middle class China man's life. We ate in the same stalls, took the same subway/bus/train, hung out in the same spots. Doing everything by ourselves was an awesome learning experience.

One keen observation though: The country has developed waaaayyy faster than the Comrades. You see skyscrapers, the most canggih cars, amazing infrastructure... BUT, a big one like mine after all the makan, what I see is CHAOS, people spitting, not queueing up while waiting for the subway, cars zig zagging on streets as if the lines were non-existant... AT LEAST, the government via its much touted central planning are taking steps to bridge this gap. They are trying to brainwash Comrades into turning cities from developed cities to Civilised cities. Guess these steps are taken to prepare the country for 2008 Olympics. Every major city in China will be flooded with tourists, not only Beijing. And the improvements since 13 months ago has been massive. Information for tourists (for non-chinese proficient like yours truly), VERY CLEAN toilets, convenient transportation.. all these improvements I am confident to say have put Malaysia to shame. I would think that a small country of about 25 million would be easier to manage, plan and develop. But this behemoth of a country we call China of 1.3 million people are able to adapt to change and steamroll its way forward. Perhaps its God's will for the way it has turned out for the two countries?

Anyways, as promised, some pics from the trip. Enjoy!



Monday, January 02, 2006

Trippin' In China

Mood-O-Meter : Excited as hell!
On The Jukebox :
Blog Snack : Baskin Robbins' Strawberry Cheesecake

Tuesday night I'd be airborne to mainland China for 11 days of fun and excitement! After months of planning and plotting, finally its time for execution for THE (pronounced as 'thee') best vacation ever. Was packing a few days ago: Clothes (check), digicam (check), travel docs (check), toiletries (check), Chinese currency (check), Wei Ming (most important part of the trip - double check!).

Made some plans with ex-EM mates to meet up in Hangzhou, its gonna be a blast!!! Hope Alex does not go bottle crazy though, it could get UGLEH. Will post some pictures on line when I get back. Stay tuned in two weeks time, folks. Jakun, OUT...