Free & Easy Holidays at Siem Reap & Phnom Penh - 8th to 13th December 2005

Angkor Wat - myself, younger sister, sister-in-law, younger brother & elder sister


Another photograph of Angkok Wat


Photograph take at main entrance of Bayon , Angkor Thom
From Left: myself, sister-in-law, younger & elder sister & younger brother.




The three days Visitors Pass at USD 40.00 for visiting Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and other Khmer temples within Siem Reap

Photograph taken within Bayon, Angkor Thom

As regular budget travellers cum backpackers, we jumped at the opportunity when Air Asia offered a special discount of RM 49.98/sector for flight to their new destination, Phnom Penh. At that time, Air Asia has not yet commenced flight to Siem Reap - the city of Angkor Wat. As usual, I contacted my siblings (elder sister, younger sister, younger brother ) and my sister-in law and we managed to obtain the special all inclusive returned tickets @ RM 242.98 per person. What a bargain.

The next step was to surf the internet for information on hotels, travelling, etc. at Phnom Penh & Siem Reap and worked out an itinerary for the 6 Days/ 5 Nights trip. Our main intention was to visit The Angkor Wat Temple Complex at Siem Reap - the world largest religious monument built between 891 to 1191 AD and used for 400 years of the Khmer empire. UNESCO made it a world heritage site in 1992.

As the travel was during the December 2005 school holidays, my younger sister, Lai Ling being a teacher was extremely happy that she could joined us on the trip. Our Air Asia Flight AK 852 left KLIA at appproximately 3.15pm on 8 December 2005 and arrived at approximately 4.05pm Cambodian time. After immigration clearance, we converted our Malaysian Ringgit into Cambodian Rials at the airport and then took the cheaper taxi waiting at a slight distance away from the main taxi stand. This was reported in the net and was rather truthful. We paid US$ 5.00 for our farep to our pre-booked hotel, Hong Phann Guest House - managed by Capitol Guesthouse. It cost us US$ 10/double room (US$13/triple sharing), air-conditioned + fan, cable tv, hot-water bath, a large room with a large balcony. The Capitol Group of companies are also tour operators, stage bus operators, boat operators, etc. We stayed the 1st night (8 December 2005) and the last night (12 December 2005) at this guest house. The next morning, we booked via Capitol the 7.00am express boat to Siem Reap via Tonle Sap River and Lake Tonle Sap - the largest freshwater lake in south east Asia, cyclically swelling from 2500 sq. km. (dry season) to 12,000 sq. km. in the wet season. It cost us US$ 22/person. According to the net, it takes about 4 hours to reach Siem Reap but our journey took almost 6 hours. We were informed by the operator that during the wet season, the express boat is faster but we were travelling during the dry season (the operator used a smaller and less confortable boat), thus, it took a very much longer travelling time. If we would known earlier we would had chosen the cheaper alternative of travelling via direct bus @ approx. US$ 4/person since the travelling time was almost the same. Nevertheless, it nice to travel via express boat and returning by bus. The express boat firstly travelled along the Tonle Sap River for almost 2 hours. The first leg was quite photogenic as it winded past villages, temples, fishing boats, etc. until it reached the great Tonle Sap lake whereby floating villages, flat-boats, fishermen, large herds of various flying birds can be seen. Travelling on the great Tonle Sap was like travelling on the open sea. It was a real great lake. We viewed semi-submerged forests, rural Cambodia and its unique ecosystem rich with birds and other wildlife. Most of the travellers were caucasians with the exception of some Hong Kongers and our group of Malaysians. Each passenger were given a number seat but the caucasions prefers to travel on the roof of the express boat to view the outside landscapes. After almost six hours, the express boat finally docked at Chong Khneas, 12 kilometres south of Siem Reap. On arrival, we were surprised to see a man holding a pamphet bearing my name. We just followed him but as he directed us to tuk-tuk, we sensed that something was not right. Our guesthouse, Jasmine Lodge was supposed to arranged for a van pick-up. We eventually met Mr. Kunn, the manager of Jasmine Lodge who then took us in a van to Jasmine lodge cum guesthouse. On arrival, we checked-in, had a quick lunch and without wasting time, begun our half day afternoon tour to Angkor Wat.

Firstly, we applied for a 3 days pass @ US$ 40/person. We were prepared for it as we brought our own photograph for the application. Angkor literally the capital city of the khmer, the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. At its prime of the Angkor Kingdom, it contained more than a million people and Khmer kings constructed vast waterworks and grand temples using only manpower, elephants and handtools. The Angkorian kingdom was started by Jayavarman II in 802AD on Kulen Mountain, north of Siem Reap. Later, in the early 12th century under the great Suryavarman II, he built Angkor's most spectacular architectural creation, Angkor Wat, as well as other monuments. Angkor Wat was constructed as Suryavarnam II's state temple (dedicated to Hindu Gods such as Vishnu, Brahma & Shiva) as well as his own mausoleum Extensive battle scenes from his campaigns against Champa were carved on the south walls of Angkor Wat. For many years, the lost city of Angkor Wat was totally isolated from the western world hidden within thick jungles covering the area. The temple complexes were first discovered by French missionaries in 1860. Henri Mahout, a French botanist then started intensive research and restoration program

The next great Khmer king was Jayavarman VII who drove the Cham from Cambodia in 1181. He then broke with almost 400 years of Hindu tradition and made Mahayana Buddhism as state religion and immediately began Angkor's most prolific period of monumental buildings such as Bayon with its famous giant faces, his capital city of Angkor Thom and the temples of Ta Prohm, Bantaey Kdei and Preah Khan.

During our three days at Siem Reap, we also visited various other Khmer temples such as Angkor Thom, Bayon, Phimeanakas, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the leper King, Ta Prohm, Roluos Group, Pre Rup and many more which I could not remember the Khmer names.

Our stay at Siem Reap was at Jasmine Lodge which offered nice comfortable non-airconditioned room (during the dry & cool season) with attached hot water bathrooms @ reasonable price of US$ 5/night (double) and US$ 8/night (triple-sharing). The Manager, Mr. Kunn, his wife and staff were very friendly people. We left Siem Reap for Phnom Penh on 12 December 2005 AM and boarded the Capitol tour bus directly to our guesthouse to Hong Phann guesthouse. The trip took about 5 hours. In the afternoon we went shopping, walked to the Russian market and while walking, we passed by The SGS Cambodia Liaison Office but it was closed (due to a public holiday).

The next day, the five of us squeezed into a 4-seater motorised tuk-tuk for a local tour. Firstly, we visited the killing fields of Choeun Ek - the site of the death of thousands of victims of Khmer rouge with it numerous mass graves and memorial stupa (containing countless human skeletal skulls). Later we visited the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Silver Pagoda, the National Museum, the Independence Monument and Wat Phnom. Thereafter, we rushed back to our guesthouse at about 2.00pm, had lunch, checked-out and then proceeded to the airport for our 4.35pm flight to KLIA.

With the exception of the high charges for express boat to Siem Reap @US$ 22/person, 3 days temple tour @ US$ 40/person and airport tax @ US$ 25/person, we have no complaints on other costs. Food,accomodation and travelling costs at Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are quite reasonable. One good tip is to eat at food outlets which charged in the local Cambodian Rials, as prices are more reasonable than those outlets which charged in US$. Despite the higher US$ charges on tourism related industries, we enjoyed our holidays at Cambodia.

Free & Easy Holidays at Foshan, Zhaoqing & Guangzhou - 19th to 24th November 2005

Photograph taken at Foshan Ancestral Temple or Zumiao Temple.


This was our first travel booking with Tiger Air, Singapore. There were five of us, i.e. my elder sister, younger brother, my younger sister, my niece (Wan Pik Ki) and myself. A day earlier, we drove down from KL to Johore Baru and parked the car at a friend's place. We then took a bus to Singapore and checked-in at Penang Hotel, Singapore.

We woke up early next morning and after breakfast, we took the MRT from Lavender Street directly to Changi Airport, Terminal 1 for our 9.30 am flight to Macau. Upon arrival and after immigration, we took the usual AP1 bus to Barrier Gate, cleared Macau & Chinese immigrations then to Gongbei, Zhuhai. Here, we took the afternoon bus directly to Foshan and checked-in at Chancheng Hotel. At night, we had our night shopping and dinner.

Early next morning on 20 November 2005, we walked to Zumiao Road and visited the Renshou temple built in 1935 - a Chan sect of Buddhism temple. Within this temple was Ruyi Pagoda, a seven-storey pagoda with Chinese style tower with 8 angles. Due to time constraint, we spent about 15 minutes here and then walked to the nearby Foshan Ancestral Temple of Zumiao Temple on the same road. The entrance fee @ RMB 60/person was considered high. It was founded during the Yuanfeng period of Northern Song Dynasty (1078 - 1085). The original building was burnt down during the Yuan Dynasty and reconstructed in the 5th year of Hongwu period, Ming Dynasty (1372). The Zu Miao Temple was an important cultural relic site for ceramics, wood-carving, metal casting and architecture arts of ancient Foshan. If you are in Foshan, you must visit here.



Photograph taken at 61.9Metres high Bronze Statue of The Goddese of Mercy - Guan Yin at Xiqiao Shan, Foshan. (From Left: myself, my younger brother, niece & my elder sister)




Photograph taken at Guan Yin Statue, Xiqiao Shan, Foshan


After visiting Zumiao temple, we hired a taxi to Xiqiao Mountain, Nanhai district of Foshan. Our main intention was to visit the 61.90 Metres high bronze statue of the goddess of mercy, Guan Yin. It was one of the largest sitting Guan Yin statue in the world and constructed at Daxian peak, Xiqiao Mountain. The holy statue was grand and gorgeous and almost similar to the bronze statue of Buddha at Po Lin Monastery, Lantau Insland, Hong Kong. As we were in a rush, we did not visit other attractions at Xiqiao Shan and rushed back to Foshan where we visited Sun Yat Sen Park for about 30 minutes before we checked-out of Chancheng Hotel .

Photograph of my niece, younger & elder sister taken at Sun Yat Sen Park, Foshan

Photograph taken at the scenery of Sleeping Buddha, Seven Stars Crag Park, Zhaoqing - (myself, my younger sister, niece, elder sister & younger brother)

On 20 November 2005, we took the afternoon stage bus from Foshan to Zhaoqing. Upon arrival we checked-in Huaqiao Hotel which was right in front of Zhaoqing's Seven Crags Park. At night we watched the laser light display at the spectacular musical fountain show at 8.00 pm complete with multi-coloured lights and symphony music. If you are in Zhaoqing, you should not missed it. Later at night, the people, the young ones as well as the senior citizens were dancing in the town square (outside the seven crags park) to various musical beats such waltz, chinese classical, fox trot, cha-cha, rock & roll, etc. I have been to various places in Guangdong and this was one of the only rare places where street dancing could be found. The next morning, we booked two motor cycle taxis and toured Zhaoqing, firstly, a round trip to seven stars crags, i.e. seven limestone crags by the Star Lake which was partitioned into 5 lakes of different sizes by the winding green embankment. The seven crags have wonderful limestone karst sceneries similar to Guilin, Guangxi. The most wonderful scenery was that of a hugh sleeping Buddha formed by Apo, Heavenly Pillar and immortal palm rock. However, the scenery of the sleeping Buddha at this time of the year was rather bare with lack of greenery. I was here earlier in July 2005 with my elder brother and scenery was perfectly natural green.

After touring round the Star Lake for approximately an hour, we rode the same motor cycle taxis and spend another 3 hours touring Zhaoqing city and it suburbs. We visited tourist attractions such as the old city walls built during the Song Dynasty and Piyun Tower, The Plum Monastery (built 996 AD) with painting and sculptures relating to Hui Neng, the founder of Zen (Chan) Buddhism, The Chongxi Pagoda, The River View Pavilion, Baogong (Justice Pao) Temple, etc.

We checked-out of Huaqiao Hotel on 22 November 2005 am and took a stage bus to Guangzhou.

Photograph taken at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Guangdong

At Guangzhou, we checked-in at Guangdong Shamian Hotel and after lunch, we went by bus to Mausoleum of 72 martyrs, Huanghuagang hill, built in 1918 in memorial to the martyrs who perished in the Guangzhou mutiny led by Dr. Sun Yat Sen. Beside the tomb stone was a granite monument inscribed with the names of 72 marytrs and on its top stand is a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

We also visited Sun Yat Memorial Hall situated at the southern slope of Yuexiu Hill. It was constructed between 1929 and 1931 in memory of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the forerunner of Chinese democratic revolution by the people of Guangzhou and overseas Chinese. The grand octagon building of typical Chinese architectural style. A bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat Sen was set up in 1956 in front of the memorial hall.

As this was my niece first trip to Guangzhou, we revisited Yuexiu Park and the famous landmark of Guangzhou - The Statue of the 5 Rams, Zhenhai Tower. As usual, we spend hours shopping at various spots in Guangzhou.

On 24 November 2005, we had early lunch and took a stage bus to Gongbei, Zhuhai and then Macau for our 6.30pm flight back to Singapore.

Free & Easy Holidays in Thailand - 2006 (Bangkok. Ayutthaya & Nakhon Pathom)

Photograph of Free Standing Statue of Buddha at Buddhamonthon, Nakhon Pathom

Thanks to Air Asia - Now everyone can fly. We the Wan Family were regulars flyers on Air Asia and we made two trips to Thailand in 2006, i.e. 18th - 21st August 2006 and again on 18th - 22nd November 2006. In addition we also flew to other places like, Guangdong (via Macau), etc. Our two trips to Thailand were at bargained prices, the 1st trip was at RM 9.99/sector and the 2nd trip was the courtesy of Air Asia's free of charge tickets. These prices exclude airport taxes, administation fees and fuel surcharges, etc.

1st Trip - 18th - 21st August 2006

On our 1st trip, we flew to Bangkok via Don Muang Airport. On arrival, we walked across the road and took the train to Hualamphong Station. Unbelieveable, the Thai Railway has one of the cheapest fares in the world; the trip only cost Baht 10/person or RM 1.00. On arrival, we took a 10 minutes walk to our hotel- The New Empire Hotel, Yaowarat Road (The Chinatown of Bangkok). We stayed here for 3 nights, firstly the convenience of public bus and railway transportation, also its location at nearby Chinatown where all types of delicious food were found here. The temple of the Golden Buddha or Wat Tramit was only 2 minutes walk away. We travelled by cheap stage buses to places like Chauchak Weekend market - the largest outdoor market in the world, the latest shopping complex in Bangkok like Mahboonkrong, Siam Paragon. Bangkok - the paradise for shoppers especially my younger and elder sisters.

We took the river taxi and also chartered a long boat crusing the Chao Phraya River and visited a number of places like Wat Arun, the Grand Palace, the canals, the floating market, the Royal Barge Museum. As some places on the Thonburi side of Bangkok were below river level at high tide, the long tail boat had to wait at some of the lock gates in the canals to pass through. These lock gates were used to prevent flooding on the low-lying villages.

On the 2nd day, we walked to Hualamphong and took the morning train to Ayutthaya - the ancient capital city of Thailand. Ayutthaya was located about 76 kilometres north of Bangkok. The train journey took about 2 1/2 hours but the fare was only Baht 20/person. On arrival at the train station, we walked across the road and took a river boat (Baht 3/person) to the city on the other side of the river.

As there were five of us, we booked a tuktuk which could accomodate all of us. The total fare was Baht 600.00 for 4 hours. We visited the tourist attractions there, e.g. Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthata Historical Park, The Grand Palace in Ayutthaya, the old city wall and gate, Wat Lokkayasutha, Sleeping Buddha Wat, Wat Yai Chaimongkhon, Wat Mahathat. We ended our tour around Ayutthaya just before 2.00pm and thereafter, we had a fast lunch at unusual low prices.


Wat Mahathat, Ayutthaya - The face of Buddha with a tree growing around it

After lunch we took a songthaew from Ayutthaya as we intended to tour Bang Pa-in Palace which was located 18 kilometres south. It has a history dating back to the 17th century. The palace was revived by King Rama IV of Chakri Dynasty and today, the present palace is being used by the present King Bumibol & Queen Sirikit as a residence as well as holding receptions and banquets.

The songthaew we boarded went around the entire Ayutthaya district picking and dropping passengers here and there. By the time it reached Bang Pa-in Palace (the last stop), it was almost closing time @ 4.00pm. So, we just spend our time outside taking photographs and walked around.

The songthaew was infact a truck converted into a public bus. It was operated by a driver in front who had no access to the passengers at the back. It will stop anywhere to pick-up or drop passengers. When the bell rang, the passengers will get off, walked to driver and pay the fares. To reach our destination at Bang Pa-in (18 kilometres away), it took more than 1 1/2 hours as the songthaew in fact travelled more than 50 kilometres. The fare was Baht 20/person.




My younger sister, younger brother, sister-in-law and elder sister enjoyed with their photographs taken at the back of a Songthaew.

2nd Trip - 18th - 22nd November 2006.

This trip the plane landed at new Bangkok Airport, i.e. Suvarnabhumi Airport which was opened on 28 September 2006. On arrival, we took the free shuttle bus service to the transportation centre and then Public Bas No. 551 @ Baht 35/person to Victory Monument, Bangkok. From here, we boarded bus No. 29 @ Baht 7/person to Hualamphong Station and then walked across the road to our hotel, Bangkok Centre Hotel. At night, we were shopping at the chinatown.

The next day, we took the train to the neighbouring province of Nakhon Pathom lying about 56 kilometres away. The journey took about 1 1/2 hours and cost us Baht 15/person. On arrival, we walked to the nearby Phra Pathom Chedi. It has a history of more than 2000 years and it had one of the largest chedi in the world at 120.45 Metres and a length of 234.75 metres around the base.

After lunch, we walked to the nearby bus terminal as our next itinerary was Buddhamonton - a Buddhist religious centre opened on Vesak Day, 13 May 1957 to commemorate 2500 years of the existence of Lord Buddha. We boarded a local stage bus but since we could not speak the local Thai language, we showed the lady conductor a phamphlet of Buddhamonton. The kind lady conductor dropped us off at the nearest bus stop cum taxi stand; got down and spoke to the taxi driver, who then drove us to Buddhamonthon. The same taxi driver even waited for us for about 20 minutes for us to complete our tour. Not only that, he charged us a very reasonable fare.

We love to visit Thailand as Thais are very honest, helpful and extremely friendly to foreigners and tourists.

At Bangkok, we visited other places by water transport (river taxi) along the Chao Phraya river right up to the neighbouring province of Nonthaburi; by public buses and Metro Rail to the Erawan Shrine, shopping at various places like Suan Lum Night Market, Mahboonkrong, Yaowarat Road/chinatown and others. We had no problem in getting to the right places as we usually informed the bus conductor and he or she will tell the place to get down.

Since we were backpackers and light travellers, we enquired with a taxi driver who quoted us Baht 1000 for a trip from Bangkok Centre Hotel to the new Bangkok Airport. However, we took a very much cheaper alternative route by walking across the road to Hualamphong Station. From here, we boarded a train to Hua Takhe Station @ Baht 7/person. On arrival and right behind the train station, there was an air-conditioned bus waiting to transport us to the bus terminal @ Baht 15/person and then we boarded the f.o.c. shuttle bus to Suvarnabhumi Airport. For lunch, we had a various local food at the food court located at the ground floor. The food prices were very reasonable (especially in an International Airport) - the prices were quite comparable to those charged by a Kuala Lumpur coffee shop; which airport in the world can offer such prices !!!! only Thailand. We really enjoyed out stay in Thailand.

Wat Arun or The Temple of Dawn



Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakhon Pathom with the unusually large chedi

Cruising along Chao Phraya River, Bangkok visiting floating market, the canals, etc. on Thonburi.

Free & Easy Holidays from 2nd - 6th June 2005 - Guangzhou, Yangshou, Guilin & Macau

Myself (HK Wan), sister-in-law (Doreen Cheong), my younger sister (Lai Ling), my elder sister (Lai Meng), my younger brother (Heng Wan) & his wife (Rina Chee) - Photographs taken on 3 June 2005 at The Statue of 5 Rams, Yue Xiu Park, Guangzhou.

Thanks to the special offer from Air Asia, we managed to obtain 6 (six) cheap return tickets from KLIA to Macau during the mid-terms school holidays. My younger sister, Lai Ling being a teacher was extremely happy that she could joined us on this trip. The Air Asia Flight AK 50 from KLIA was late at night, we arrived at Macau Airport the next morning at approx. 3.00 am. We travelled light with only our backpacks. We stayed at the Macau Airport until about 7.00 am and took the first AP1 bus to Barrier Gate. The price was very reasonable @ MOP 3.30 or approx. RM 1.50 right up to Macau-Zhuhai border. After clearance of the Macau & Chinese Immigrations, we had a nice breakfast of dim sum & noodles at Gongbei, Zhuhai and thereafter boarded a bus to Guangzhou. On arrival, we took the Guangzhou Metro to the Huangsha Station and walked to our budget hotel, Guangdong Shamian Hotel.

After lunch, we took the Metro and visited the Temple of Bright Filial Peity, 6 Banyan Tree Temple, it continued with night shopping at Changshou Lu, the jade market, Xiajiu Lu, the Qingping market until we finally reached our hotel at Shamian Island. At night, we visited the nearby White Swan Hotel with its landscaped waterfall full of colourful Chinese Carps swimming. Later on, we went outside the hotel and watched the scenic night view of the Pearl River.

The next day on 3 June 2005, we visited the Nanyue Tomb which was discovered in 1983 and contained the 2000 years old site of the tomb of Zhao Mo, grandson of the Nanyue Kingdom's founder, Zhao Tuo. Later, we spent almost 2 hours at Yuexiu Park and its various attractions such as Sun Yatsen Monument, Zhenhai Lou - The Gate Tower facing the sea and Guangzhou's landmark statue of Five Rams (see photograph above). In the evening, we returned back to Shamian Hotel, met some American couples who were adopting Chinese babies (usually girls) at the nearby American Embassy. Late at Night, we took a sleeper bus from Guangzhou Bus Terminal to Yangshou in the neighbouring Guangxi Province.


Photograph taken with the Scenic Twin Pagodas at the Fir Lake, Guilin.

We arrived at Yangshou at approx. 7.30AM. on 4 June 2005. As soon as the sleeper bus arrived, there was a mad rush of tours cum travel agents targeting us (as foreigners). We avoided them and checked-in a nearby budget hotel (day-use only) for a rest as well as to keep our backpacks. We had lunch and then book a local tour to the scenic Li Jiang River cruise. Firstly, we took a mini bus from Yangshuo to Xingping - the 1300 years riverine village. From Xingping, we took a hour long cruise right up to Yangdi and back. This was the most scenic part of the Li Jiang River with gorgeous karst peaks and breathtaking sceneries. Even the 20 Renminbi Currency is printed with the beautiful natural karst peaks. If you ever come to Guilin, you should not miss the Li Jiang River Cruise. After the cruise, we returned to Yangshou Town and visited the famous backpacker paradise, the bars and guesthouses of West Street or Xi Lu. Unfortunately, since we had booked 0ur hotel at Guilin that same night, we did not stay there. But, if we ever come back to Yangshou again, we will definately spend a night or two in this peaceful & beautiful scenic town. In the late afternoon, we took our backpacks from the budget hotel and boarded a bus to the nearby Guilin and checked-in at Tai Lian Hotel.


Photograph taken at at Banyan Lake, Guilin

Immediately after we had checked-in, we could not wait for an evening walking tour around Guilin. We visited the Fir Lake with its beautiful twin pagodas and the nearby Banyan Lake. The next day on 5 June 2005, we booked 2 reasonably priced taxis and visited the Reed Flute Cave (Ludi Yan) which contained extraordinary underground sceneries and natural rock formations. We visited other tourist sites like Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, Guilin Cultural Village, etc. I n the evening, we took a sleeper bus to Gongbei, Zhuhai.


Photograph taken at The Guilin Cultural Village

Photograph of myself taken on 6 June 2005 at The Ruins of Saint Paul, Macau

On arrival at Gongbei at approx. 7.30am on 6 June 2005, we cleared the Chinese Immigration and entered into Macau. At Macau, we booked a large room at a guesthouse in Rue la Felicidades or Happiness Street. We had a few hours rest and later in the afternoon, we visited some of Macau's tourist attractions, i.e. Ah Ma Temple, Macau Maritime Museum, The Ruins of St. Paul (see photograph above), The Guan Yin Temple, Senando Square, Avenida Almeida Ribeiro or San Ma Lu. At night at approx. 10.30pm we took a taxi to Macau Airport for our 2.45 am flight back to KLIA. We arrived at KLIA at approx. 7.00am on 7th June 2005 - Home Sweet Home.

Free & Easy Travel to Guilin, Yangshuo & Guangzhou, etc from 20/1/2005 to 26/1/2005

Photograph taken at Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou

Photo above - Photograph taken at Fisherlady Statue, Zhuhai

Photo - Top Left - Photograph of myself & my elder brother (Heng Wah) taken as Fir Lake Park, Guilin.

We managed to get a cheap Air Asia return flight from KL to Macau. There were 4 of us, i.e. my elder brother, his travelling companion, Tang & wife & myself. We arrived at Macau Airport just around midnight. Since we did not make any hotel accomodation, we stayed at Macau Airport until about 7.00am and then boarded the first AP1 bus direct to Barrier Gate. After immigration clearance at Macau and Gongbei, Zhuhai, we had our breakfast. Mr. Tang & wife were too tired and immediately checked-in a 3-star Gongbei Hotel to catch up with lost sleep. My brother & myself took a local bus and visited the statue of fisherlady by the seaside. In the evening, all of us took a sleeper bus from Gongbei to Guilin. Our very first experience on the sleeper bus -very clean and well carpeted, no shoes allowed inside and had to be hand-carried or kept in plastic bags. The sleeper bus was full of passengers but the journey was delayed for more than 2 hours as the bus driver drove very slowly in order to meet with another bus to transfer 2 additional passengers. We only arrived at Guilin at 9.30am the next morning and checked-in at Tai Lian Hotel for a good rest until lunch. The food at Guilin was reasonable and delicious especially pork ribs (We had them daily in various cooking styles), Guilin yam, various vegetables. However, fish & prawns caught from the Li Jiang River are not as tasty as those back home in Malaysia. As we were in Guilin during the winter season, in one of the restaurant, Mrs. Tang noticed what looks like roast piglet on display; however, when I looked at it closer (especially on the ears and nostrils), it was actually a "roast puppy". She was shocked. Dog meat is a delicacy here especially during the cold winter months.

In the afternoon, we met a taxi lady who took us around visting places of interest at Guilin, such as Elephant Trunk Park, Guilin City's landmark of the twin Bayan Lake & Fir Lake, Fubo Hill, Decai Hill, etc.

The next morning, we visited Seven Star park with the taxi lady and her younger sister (a university student) who act as our guide. Her intention was to improve her spoken English by communicating with us. We proceeded by bus to Yangshuo. Yangshuo was a backpacker's paradise in Guilin and famous for its West Street or Xi Lu. We had a walking tour of around Yangshuo and met a number of foreigners. After lunch, we took a bus from Yangshuo to Xingping. From there we boarded a Li Jiang river cruise to Yangdi and viewed the picturescapes of gorgeous karst peaks with breathtaking sceneries all along the Li Jiang River.

That night, we took a night bus from Yangshuo direct to Guangzhou.

We arrived at Guangzhou at 6.30am and proceeded to Victory Hotel, Shamian Island and stayed there for 2 nights. At Guangzhou, we visited a number of attractions such as Yuexiu Park or 5 Rams Park, Zhen Hai Lou, 6 Bayan Tree Temple, The Chan Family Ancestral Temple, Temple of Bright Filial Piety, etc. TheVictory Hotel in Shamian Island was a nice & confortable hotel. Shamian Island also reminded us Guangzhou past Colonial History and the existing colonial buildings. From mid 18th to mid 19th century, Shamian was the only place where foreigner traders were allowed to abode. It has various colonial buildings, churches, a French and British Sectors, etc. The American Embassy was also located here, thus, security is tight and almost crime free. We met a number of American families who came here to adopt Chinese Babies (usually girls). You can see lots of American couples pushing prams with Chinese Babies.

We stayed at Victory Hotel, Shamian for 2 nights, after which, we proceeded back to Macau via Gongbei for our night flight back to KLIA.

Free & Easy Travel to Thailand, Macau, Hong Kong & Jiangmen, China from 8th - 14 December 2004

Photograph of my Octogenarian Father, my wife, son & younger sister taken with the French Student at Tai O Fishing Village





Top Photo - My wife, Son (Wai Yan) and myself taken as Giant Buddha Statue, Po Lin Monastery.

Photo - Right - My wife, Daughter (Po Yee) and Son (Wai Yan) taken at Giant Buddha, Po Lin Monastery.

We were travelling as a family of 8 comprising of my 80 years old dad , my elder & younger sisters, a niece and rest of my family, i.e. my wife, daughter, son & myself. We flew from KLIA to Hadyai and spent a night there. Next morning, we were on our way to Macau (with transit at Bangkok Don Muang Airport). On arrival at Macau, we took the AP1 bus to the Macau-Hong Kong Ferry Terminal and boarded the ferry from Macau to Tsimshatsui, Hong Kong. On arrival, we checked-in a budget hotel at Tsimshatsui (TST).

The next day on 10/12/04 we took subway from TST to Tung Chung, Lantau and from there we boarded a bus to Po Lin Monastery and The Giant Buddha at Lantau Peak - the second highest peak in Hong Kong. After staying there for approx. 2 hours photographing & videoing our visit there as well as enjoying the vegetarian food at the Po Lin temple, we then took a bus to Tai O Village - the fishing village of rural Hong Kong. There, we met a lone French Backpacker cum student and conversed with him. He was surprised that we, being Malaysian Chinese could conversed the same local Cantonese dialect spoken at Tai O. We informed him that we were 3rd generation Chinese originating from Jiangmen, Wuyi, Guangdong Province. In fact most Hong Kongers speaks similar Cantonese dialects. After Tai O, we took a bus to Lantau Ferry Point, i.e. Mui Wui and from there we took a ferry back to Hong Kong Island. The departure of the ferry was very punctual and some of us nearly missed boarding this ferry as they were busy photographing the nearby localities. On arrival at Hong Kong, we then took The Star ferry back to Tsimshatsui.

The next day (11/12/04), I took my father to Yaumatei (via subway) and from there took a CTS bus to my ancestral hometown at Jiangmen, Wuyi, Guangdong Province. My Hong Kong relatives were surprised that there was a direct bus from Hong Kong to Jiangmen as all the while, they usually travel by ferry via the Jiangmen River. The rest of my family, my 2 sisters and niece stayed for an additional night at Hong Kong and Macau. The bus took us to the Hong Kong border town of Lokmachau & Shenzhen for immigration. Thereafter, the bus passed by Zhuhai, Zhongshan and finally to Jiangmen. The entire journey took approx. 4 hours including immigration clearance at Hong Kong and Shenzhen. On arrival at Jiangmen, suddenly, 2 motor-cycle taxis approached us. As my 80 years old father was so eager to have arrived at his childhood hometown of Jiangmen; without hesitation, he just rode pillion with his baggage on the motor cycle (without even thinking of the safety aspect). The cost of the motor cycle ride for approx. 2 kilometres away was RMB 5/person; which according to my distant relative does not even cost more than RMB 10 by taxi ride. When I informed my siblings on my father's motor cycle ride, they burst out laughing.

This was the first trip back to my ancestral hometown. We immediately checked-in a Hotel with a large room with attached bathroom but the water heater was gas-fired. All my life, this is the first time I had seen a gas-fired water heater. The rental was cheap at RMB 80 or approx. USD 10/night. Rental has to be paid daily. At the hotel, we met-up with my elder brother, my sister-in-law and their son who had came earlier 2 days via Guangzhou. Later in the afternoon, we visited The WAN FAMILY Ancestral home at Hehou Li - about 10 minutes walk away. The ancestral home was built more than 100 years of solid stone walls and still standing although the conditions was poorly maintained. It was being rented to a Hunanese couple.

We stayed at Jiangmen for 3 days and 2 nights; visited some distant relatives, travelled to the Xinhui Bird Paradise, East Lake, etc. On the 13/12/04, we checked-out of the hotel and took a direct bus from Jiangmen to Gongbei, Zhuhai; thereafter cleared Chinese & Macau Immigration and took a bus to Kingways Hotel, Macau to meet up with the rest of the family. There are now 11 of us at Macau. I took a walking tour at Macau with my elder brother for about 2 1/2 hours at an unusual fast pace. We visited the Macau Museum, Ruins of St. Paul, Macau Fort, Senando Square, Lotus Flower Plaza, etc. Later at approx. 3.30pm, we proceeded to Macau Airport for a flight back to Bangkok, Thailand. At Bangkok, we checked-in a budget Orchid hotel at Yaowarat Road - the Chinatown of Bangkok.

The next morning on 14/12/04, we visited the Golden Buddha temple at the nearby Tramit Road. Later, my elder brother & myself took a walking tour and travelled by river taxi along the Chao Phraya to visit the Grand Palace, Wat Po. That same afternoon, all 11 (eleven) of us proceeded to Bangkok Don Muang Airport for our evening flight back back to Kuala Lumpur - HOME SWEET HOME