Krabi Trip Part I - Chicks at the Beach

This post shall be solely pictures with little descriptions, as pictures can tell a thousand words. ;)

 First of all, of course it has to be me!

On Bamboo Island - first stop of our island hopping trip - love her yellow bikini.

 There was really nothing much to do on Bamboo Island beside looking at the hot chicks. Check out the white guy beside her, doing the same thing.

Saw the same yellow bikini girl on Maya Beach (that's the place the filmed Leonardo Dicaprio's "The Beach").

 Still on Maya Bay.

 Yup there was basically nothing much to do on Maya Bay.

 Maya Bay.

 Still Maya Bay.

 Asian in white bikini.

Topless chick on Maya Bay!

 This one was on the same trip with us.

 

 Spotted another white bikini while having lunch on Phi Phi Don Island.

And last but not least, the ultimate.

The Versatile Blogger Award

I am entrusted by one of my best-est friends, ShinTien to write this particular post. She has a blog that is awesome and inspiring which I follow closely without fail. She had passed on this Versatile Blogger Award to me and of course I accept this award! I hereby proclaim that I am, a versatile blogger (no matter how many of you disagree with that).

And I shall follow the rules of this award which are to:

• Thank the person who awarded you and link to his/her blog.
• Tell 7 random facts about yourself.
• Pass the award to 15 new found bloggers.
• Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to, and let them know you’ve done so, and let the giver of your award know you accept it.

So, here goes. Seven random facts about myself:

 Coal Ball (top) and Miao Miao (bottom). They're good friends.

1. I am addicted to this soft toy of mine, whom I call "Coal Ball". I love him to bits. I can't sleep well without him at night. There was one night I made a last minute decision to sleep over at a friend's house, and I couldn't sleep well at all! I kept having this sense of insecurity about the room, the bed, the blanket etc. It was also partly due to the fact that I didn't get to wear comfortable pajamas, but yeah.
2. Sometimes I can't stand slowpokes. I simply can't.
3. I am wearing a green colour pajamas that my mom tailored for me. And both my nephews have the exact same piece, just different size.
4. I am the most emotional creature I've ever met. I can get excited this minute, depressed the next. And I am easily provoked, especially when it comes to driving on the road.
5. I am able to withstand hot weather more than cold weather. I would rather sleep without fan or air-conditioning the whole night, than to have a temperature of one degree lower than I am used to.
6. I love blogging, like a lot. But my blog is not exactly frequently-maintained, I would say. The most significant reason is I tend to run out of ideas on what to write. (Refer to Tien's post on how to cope with that here.) And when that happens, I just let it be. I didn't want to force something out of me because when I do, the posts usually seem rough. My blog is suppose to be my journal, somewhere I turn to in the virtual world when I have something to say (regardless of how many people will be reading them). And when I look back, I will be reminded of some feelings that I once had, some things that I did, some people that I knew (I am a very forgetful person).
7. I just came back from a vacation in Krabi, Thailand and I think Malaysia has better beaches than that.

There, I've stated seven random facts about myself at last. It's certainly more difficult than I thought. Now I'm going to pass this award to my fellow blogger friends:

1. Modern-Day Robinson Crusoe
2. The Bimillennial Man
3. Confessions of a House Officer
4. Over the rainbow, beneath the dark clouds...
5. JC in da house

Right, I can only come up with 5 blogger friends. But who cares! Congratulations ya'll for winning! :D

Day 9: Hangzhou - Malaysia

Having to leave Hangzhou, China was a depressing thing - that meant back to reality and a nine-to-five life. We left the youth hostel in the morning to catch our afternoon flight back to Malaysia. We called a cab through the youth hostel, charging us RMB120 flat rate. It was RMB20 more than the metered cab that we took the night we reached Hangzhou. We figured it was worth it to pay up to avoid the risk of not being able to catch a cab by ourselves.

A few pictures while waiting for the cab...

 

 The entrance of the hostel.

 Me all packed up, refusing to face the camera because of my panda eyes.

Reaching the airport on time, we couldn't decide whether to have KFC or McD. So we had both. :P

 Tomato ketchup in Chinese, how cute.

And they didn't have chili sauce in the fast food restaurants in China - can you believe it? When I asked for chili sauce they gave me those Chinese style spicy sauce with garlic. How can one have their fries dipped into those?

 Very much enjoying his meal.

 KFC chicken burger.

 Fast food in China, is a luxurious thing.

 Chicken burger in McD.

The reason I didn't order any pork burger - I couldn't even if I want to. There were no pork burgers available for lunch, and we missed the breakfast time. :(

 Check out the number of pandas in the waiting area.

Didn't buy one because it was expensive, and my bed is already full.

Label Me

Life is always full of choices. But at times your choices are limited. I'm sure you often come across a situation where you are forced to take on a task which you don't feel like it at all. At this point it all comes down to choices.

One, you reject the responsibility and push it to somebody else with the most relevant excuse you can think of (which is always the lamest excuse one can possibly find). The consequences, you will be labeled as "lazy", "anti-social", "arrogant" etc.

Two, you take on the task anyway and decide to make it as simple as possible to minimize your work so that you can concentrate on more important things.

If you don't mess it up, all will be fine. People whom you service get what they want and if some things are not good enough or they're not satisfied with it, they give you "advices" and "suggestions" (read, complaints) to make it better next time. Some (a very small percentage) who appreciate your effort send you a thank you email.

If you somehow mess it up, hell you will be blamed like never before - it will be your whole damn fault. Even a mere two hours delay - because you need to settle some more important things first - will get you labeled as "irresponsible" and "not doing her job". Even if you say OK you're going to do this right now and you just need say, 5 minutes to prepare whatever you need and you're going to start right after 5 minutes. NO! The damage is done, what's labeled is labeled. It's like virginity - once you lose it, it's gone forever.

Whatever you do or don't do, when your name appears in the candidate list for this meaningful, important task, it's going to be a very eventful time of your life. Like I said it all comes down to choices. Do you choose "lazy", "anti-social" and "arrogant" or do you prefer receiving "advices" and "suggestions"?  If these two are still not good enough, you still have "irresponsible" and "not doing her job". It's your call ;)

Day 8: Hangzhou (Part II)

Getting Around in Town

It's very easy and straight forward when traveling around in Hangzhou (when you can speak and read Chinese) - you just have to follow the instructions. We traveled by bus all the time because it was so convenient. At every bus stand there would be signboards telling you the buses that stop there and where they go to. We took pictures of the bus schedule to plan our journey. And of course, having a map to be used as reference would help too.

The buses with codes starting with "Y" which means 游 (you) would take you to all the tourist spots.

In some bus stops near town area it indicated the distance of each bus from that particular stop. We were very impressed by this and wondered when will Malaysia be able to catch up.

Bus numbered 25 is just 500 meters away from this stop.

Three Pools Mirroring The Moon 三潭印月

Also known as Lesser Yingzhou Isle, it is a famous spot to go to during the Mid-Autumn Festival, when it is a full moon. The three stone miniature pagodas standing in the lake off the isle are presumably the best place for moon viewing. These pagodas produce many magic views of the moon in the water, making people nostalgic and reminiscent of the past.

Its inside lake - which is said to be the lake within a lake (湖中有岛，岛中有湖) - is crisscrossed with many zigzagging bridges, a causeway that expands from west to east, the lights and clouds reflection in the water can be seen with flowers in blossom. (Reference site: Tours in Hangzhou)

Boat transfer to Three Pools Mirroring The Moon RMB45.

One step at a time.

It said that Mao Zedong came to the isle and left this inscription.

Scenery on the isle.

Su Xiaoxiao's tomb, located on the corner of Xiling Bridge and Bai Causeway.

Looks like a painting.

 

The Impression of West Lake 印象西湖

The famous stage play produced and directed by Zhang YiMou, original score by musician Kitaro, and theme song sang by famous Chinese singer Zhang Liangyin. The set was near YueFei Temple, on West Lake. The play was staged entirely upon the lake itself. A stage had been built 3 cm under the water surface and it looked as if the actors were walking on water as they moved. The backdrop, it was the surrounding of the West Lake itself. And using lighting creatively, the most beautiful and breathtaking scenes were being presented. (Reference site: crienglish)

The play was based on a legendary love story "The Legend of The White Snake" (read about the story here). It was a sad ending and it brought tears to my eyes. This is certainly a performance that I feel should never be missed if you're visiting Hangzhou. Even if we had a tough and unpleasant experience getting the expensive tickets, I felt it was all worth it.

The crowd.

 

The two birds symbolized the lovers who was separated by destiny.

 

The bridge rised where the lovers would be reunited.

 

Check out the beautiful lighting.

 

The main actor.

 

This scene really touched me. It was all pitch black and the only thing we saw was the actor. He was separated with his love. It was sad and lonely.

The birds.

 

The backdrop.

 

 

Did I fail to mention how cold it was? The play was in the open, for God's sake! There were people who didn't wear enough clothes renting for winter jacket at the entrance of the play - can you imagine? Before the play began I couldn't stand the cold so I went into KFC and bought a cup of hot Milo which cost me RMB6. I was like, whatever - was totally willing to pay a fortune for something that could warm me up. Thank goodness during the play I didn't remember feeling anything as I was too mesmerized. After the play, I bought another two cups of hot Milo and insisted that we take a cab back to the hostel (instead of walking back as the original plan).