Dazzling Holidays and What's Not Part 1

Going abroad was one of my utmost passion ~ seeing new places, smelling new scents and merely enjoying how people in other countries goes about their daily lives. So with careful planning and budgeting, I managed to butt in with my mom and dad and the rest of the kins on the journey to Korea and China.


I was blaring with excitement since this would be my ultimate outing. 


After 6 grueling hours of flight from Kota Kinabalu to Incheon, we arrived at around 6.15am (5.15 Malaysian Time).All in all, Korea was exceptionally awesome. The food (though literally tasteless) was nice. Not too spicy, and it was carefully donned as if it was a piece of art, but then, like most orientals, Koreans (and their neighbor, the Japanese) do treat their food in a same way Picasso would treat his color palette. ad unguem factus I may say.


After spending a night at Seoul, and covering places like Myeongdeung ( A savvy shopping district in Seoul), Incheon   ( Korea's Chinatown was super) and Seoul itself, we were hopping on our next flight to Beijing. 


Resting on the comfortable seat on board KAL's A380, I was swiftly dozed off while en route to Beijing ( a 1 hour 30 minutes flight from Seoul). I was anticipating that Beijing would be the pinnacle of my outing, visioning the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven and many interesting places to visit and the cool pre-autumn weather... Again the excitement mounted as the Captain announced that we would be arriving at Beijing International in 10 minutes...


Korea was exceptionally awesome ~ clean, spotless and well organized. I wished I could have said the same to Beijing ~ it's either you'll be risking severe pneumonia or bronchitis or you have to walk using a gas mask around the city.. because Beijing is filthily polluted =.=  With visibility limited to a few hundred meters, I wondered how the people there could've endured life day by day. Hrmm...


And, friends (especially to the guys) don't be surprised if you walk into their public toilets and sees people doing their 'business' with their dicks dangling freely cuz, the cubicles there are doorless..  The sight of a man shitting, with his dick swaying in open air really freaks me out, I mean, we don't do that in Malaysia for Pete's sake. I was embarrassed upon seeing that man, and backed off from the Public WC, promising myself never to walk into their Public toilets again. That's was a tiny fraction of what Beijing has to offer, but again, it is a megalopolis and things could happen unexpectedly. So I learned to anticipate things throughout the rest of the week in Beijing.

Now you know what I mean when I say it's doorless =.=

Anyways, here's some of the common issues in Beijing, and how you could do to avoid them (should you plan to go there in the future). I got most of these from the Internet but since I've seen this in real time, it's worth sharing..


1. Taxis: if you take a taxi, sit at the back because many of them don’t have front seat belts or if they do probably won’t work (usually the most expensive taxis, 1.60 or 2.00 Yuan, have seatbelts, however, just follow my advice and seat at the back). Be involved in traffic accidents in China could be one of the most complicated issues of your entire life.

2. Pickpockets: it is also a big issue in China. Pay special attention when you travel in crowded buses, trains or subway.

3.Unattended bags or coats: wherever you take a seat (except in the hotel room or at your friend’s house) don’t ever leave your belongings.

4. Ripped-off: always bargain for untagged prices (except at the major department stores). If you feel the price is too high or feel there is something you don’t feel comfortable with simply don’t buy, shop around.

5. Fake goods: watch out!

6. "Best before"…: check the expiry date or date of validity, especially foods and drinks.

7. Strangers: don’t accept free drinks or food from people you don’t know. Being drugged and waking up only with your clothes have happened many time.


8. Beijing seems to always be in traffic hour, perhaps this is why the drivers feel they must rush and cut in front of everyone whenever they have the chance. when crossing a road with no lights (or even if there are lights) always stick to the crowd. the drivers (esp the bus drivers!!) seem to speed up when they see people crossing, hoping to cross before you do! stick to the crowd and you'll be fine!!


That's that for now, I'll be rambling about Tianjin and my awesome journey to the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square in Part 2 of this blog ^^