It's iPal...

When we talk about technology or the creativity of people in earning some extra cash, then we are going to talk about creativity. There is a site or e-mail provider known as iPal where it is trying to promote itself as an email provider that is different from other email provider.

Well... maybe you would like to check it out to hear different opinion from you guys...

Day 10 - Beijing 3rd Day

Again... Beijing has lots of tourists attractions that is impossible to be completed in a couple of days. This might due to the reasons that it's the capital of Beijing. Oh yah, the culture of Beijing is very unique. One of them is in greating people. The local tour guide asks us to call the driver as "shifu" master instead of calling him as driver "She ci". Similar to other people who are expert in their own field also.

During our third day stays at Beijing, We went to Tiananmen Square (but we didn't go inside due to the long queue), Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Experience the tricycle or so called becak.

Look at the daily visitors at the Tiananmen Square. Not just the local tourists but the foreigners also.
Not to say that how huge is the space and poor those servants of the kings and queens the other time. They have to walk for soooooo long just to see the King or the Queens....
 

Look... the bicycle that looks like motorcycle ... or the other way...??

Traffic for bicycle...
But then... the two-wheel drivers in that state is extremely crazy... They don't even want to stop when they see people cross the road... and honestly... I were the victim... coz they are just extremely fast....

Medan "Worst . City . Ever"

A few days ago, a friend in Australia sent me a link from the age.com.au regarding an article written by ADAM GARTRELL. Basically it talked about how bad Medan is. Well, not to deny that Medan is not a good city, however I WILL NOT Say that it's the worst city ever. As the person who love to travel and had stayed in a few countries and states before, medan is not that bad.

People normally come for Medan for the culinary and to visit Lake Toba (The largest lake in the world) and there is Brastagi also. Btw... here is what Adam wrote:

Dear Medan. I hate you.

I visited you recently and found you the most unpleasant, charmless and thoroughly depressing city I've ever encountered. And I've visited plenty of s---holes in my time.

Now, when it comes to big Indonesian cities I have pretty low expectations.

I live in Jakarta, the biggest of them all, so I know what I'm in for: traffic, pollution, heat, noise, chaos, the stench of human waste.

And you, Medan - Indonesia's third biggest city - you provided all those things. In great abundance.

In fact, even though your population, at three million, is a quarter that of Jakarta's, I reckon you're worse on just about every count.

Quite an achievement.

But Medan, you're awful not just because of your many failings but because you appear to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

You're slim pickin's for hotels, you don't seem to boast a single, decent restaurant and from what I've heard, you've got no real nightlife.

Your airport is a Boschian nightmare, your roads a mess, your buses an embarrassment and your taxis ... well, if I ever find one I'll let you know.

And ever heard of trees?

Okay, so you have a big mosque but it's also the closest thing you've got to a tourist attraction. And you have a few shopping malls but what city doesn't?

I understand now why you consistently feature on people's "Worst. City. Ever." lists.

You're at the very top of mine.

Okay, I admit, there's a personal element to this. See, I got robbed in one of your hotels.

It wasn't a very nice hotel. It promotes itself as a four star hotel when in actual fact it's closer to a two. But that's fine. I don't need luxury and it cost less than $100 a night.

Except, in the end, it actually cost a couple of grand. Because while I was out one night scouring the streets for a decent meal - in vain, of course - someone broke into my room and stole a giant wad of company cash from my suitcase.

Why did I have a giant wad of cash, you ask? Well, because Indonesia is a mostly cash economy, so I'm forced to travel with plenty of it. But why didn't I put it in the safe? Well, because the hotel didn't provide one.

And when I brought the robbery to the hotel's attention the staff were predictably - and perhaps deliberately - unhelpful.

Security staff at first said they could give me a keycard lock report, so I could see if anyone else entered my room. But then - for reasons not properly explained - they suddenly couldn't.

But that was okay, they said. They could show me the CCTV footage outside my room instead.

Oh no, wait, sorry! We don't actually know the password to review the CCTV!

Can you say "inside job"?

Needless to say I moved to a different hotel for my final night. I woke up the next morning in blood-stained sheets. Mozzies never take any interest in me but your Medan mozzies made quite a frenzied exception.

 

I didn't get malaria. But I did get spectacularly, violently sick about a week later from an intestinal parasite, which I'm certain I picked up from you, Medan. I just know it.

I've never been so happy to board a plane as I was the one that whisked me away from you, Medan. And I never want to see you again.

AAP

Dave Developments in Writing Numbers and Alphabets

Isn't it interesting to find out a 2 years 9 months toddler can write?

Day 8 - Beijing 1st Day

Our real tour started today... 8D/7N China tour (Beijing 3 nights, Hangzhou 2 nights, Suzhou 1 night, and Shanghai 1 night). We join Hong Thai tour from Hong Kong. Yes they speak Cantonese. Do we understand Cantonese? Well, not much, but so far we could co-op well and listened to each of the instructions.

Mommy... is that our flight?

Kids waiting room in the departing hall....

The flight took about 4 hours if am not mistaken. We had so many times turbulence. It even scared Dave who was sleeping. When we reached there, we only had time to go to Wang Fu Jing, which is Beijing's modern shopping district. We didn't do much there, just had a walk and tried the fruits candies. Oh yah, in there, there was actually the streets that sold the life Scorpio. yackie....

I am impressed with the highway @ Beijing

Why they have blue colors roofs...?? In the next few years, we won't be able to see this view anymore..  They will be replaced with high buildings

Wang Fu Jing Trademark

This is the fruit candy

Those are still alive....

These are dead

Dave in front of the Lotte Shopping Mall @ Wang Fu Jing

I like this KFC delivery... ^^

Dave is enjoying the hotel's bed...

Day 7 - The Giant Buddha @ Ngong Ping 360 HK

Discover Hong Kong website claims that "No trip to Hong Kong would be complete without a visit to the world's tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha which sits serenely atop Ngong Ping plateau amid the spectacular mountain scenery of Lantau Island."

I came here before, but Mr said that he never came here and during our last trip to HK we didn't come here also. Thus, again he insisted that we should pay a visit to the Giant Buddha this time. This place is also known as Po Lin Monastery and the Wisdom Path. All of them are located in one place only.

There are a few ways to go to the Giant Buddha. You can refer to this website. Once we reached the MTR Tung Chung Station, we went to Exit B that direct us to either the cable car or bus station. We chose to go by using cable car to Ngong Ping (where the Giant Buddha is located) and this time we tried the crystal cabin. It's a bit pricey, but hey we thought that we won't go there again, since both of us went there already. Meanwhile, I am not sure if I still have the gut to have another 10 - 20 minutes ride on the cable car again. In the crystal cabin, the floor is made of the crystal where we can look through the bottom. That is the only difference between crystal cabin and the normal cabin.

The Crystal Cabin Car

 
Dave feels happy and excited in the cable car as it's so high up above the sky... (that's what he said)

The crystal cabin's floor

Once we arrived at Ngong Ping cable car station, there is a path that direct us to the Po Lin Monastery. We had our lunch there in the restaurant. There are 2 prices for the menu, which is HKD 60 and HKD100 for each people. Brother-in-law suggested that we should try the HKD 100 meals, thus we tried them and they worth the money.

On the way to the Po Lin Monastery, there are shops on the left and right of the streets (no cars are allowed). We did stop by to watch the Monkey's Tale Theatre (we watched the Monkey's tale shows in the theatre, just like watched movie) and Walking with Buddha .

Little Shaolin

 The dishes at the Po Lin Monastery Restaurant (5 dishes and none of them were artificial meat)
 

After the meals we went to the Giant Buddha. It's quite foggy at that time so we didn't see the clear Buddha. 

 Look at the journey to the top... that's why we need energy first...

So foggy rite...??

 From Po Lin Monastery, there is a short walk to the Wisdom of Path. We didn't go there as there were constructions.

After the Giant Buddha, we spent the rest of our evening at Citygate Outlets. It is an outlet shopping mall.

What's up dude