Really looking forward to a luxury shanghai- Jianan tour for months.
Thinking of swimming everyday in five star hotel. Having lovely breakfast in the morning and had some sightseeing done. Walk around various spots during free time.
Very worry regarding Marina’s anaphylaxis , eczema and asthma. Decided to take baked beans, spaghetti, cup noodles, plenty of cereals and biscuits for snacking.
Brought along all medications just in case
Pray every day that we could make it to the trip and we could stay healthy during the trip.
Suddenly, one realises that travelling can be such a stress thing as you have got so much to organise.
The diary was copied and pasted from Wikispaces which I created but because it was not educational, I was requeted either to leave or pay to stay on. It is generous for them to alert me so that allowed me to have time to do the copying.
This is an account of myself and Marina's travel experience at Jiangnan in 2011. It is organised as such that she did her travel diary with some assistance from me and I did mine. We look at different things and we commented on different things.
Tour members who have given me your email address would be able to put in discussion topics by simply clicking on DISCUSSION. If you have not got comments at this stage, feel free to read and join in at any time.If you know any other members who would like to join this space, please email me.I wish all members of the group well and I am very glad to meet you all and thanks to all of your good wishes / comments about Marina.
Arrival and Day 1
Friday Hong Kong to Shanghai
As we know there are no chance to wash clothings so between us, we had three pieces of luggage. Good that we managed to take all of them ourselves to the Hong Kong airport.
First time on Dragonair, very small plane and no TV, a bit disappointing to Marina; nice Maxi HK style milk tea on board.
Arrived at Pudong Airport, Shanghai, Marina spotted the color yellow words with red background.
Boarded the coach and was quite newish.The coach went around to drop off different groups of people at different hotels.
We found out later that there were 14 groups setting off on 23rd.
The first hotel is quite fine.
We set off for a swim and indeed that was the only swim we managed to do.
We came across another two ladies from Perth so we ended up having dinner together.
After dinner as the hotel has a revolving restaurant at the top floor, we managed to have a good lookout of the Shanghai night scenery.
As we know there are no chance to wash clothings so between us, we had three pieces of luggage. Good that we managed to take all of them ourselves to the Hong Kong airport.
First time on Dragonair, very small plane and no TV, a bit disappointing to Marina; nice Maxi HK style milk tea on board.
Arrived at Pudong Airport, Shanghai, Marina spotted the color yellow words with red background.
Boarded the coach and was quite newish.The coach went around to drop off different groups of people at different hotels.
We found out later that there were 14 groups setting off on 23rd.
The first hotel is quite fine.
We set off for a swim and indeed that was the only swim we managed to do.
We came across another two ladies from Perth so we ended up having dinner together.
After dinner as the hotel has a revolving restaurant at the top floor, we managed to have a good lookout of the Shanghai night scenery.
Saturday Shanghai to Suzhou
Highways in Shanghai are very well built. It was a clear day and I did not feel much pollution.
We arrived at Shanghai museum. It consists of four storeys. Marina and I decided to start from the second floor rather than the first floor as to beat the crowd.
The amount of displays were so vast that one needs to stay a day there, but given that we had one hour, we rushed in and out quickly as to capture as much as we could. I am glad that Marina is at the right age that when can read the diacritic. Not sure if she has picked up a bit of ancient Chinese art and craft history.
http://www.shanghaimuseum.net/en/collection/collection.jsp
Sing-wong-miu
Shopping at Sing-wong-miu, being Saturday, it was just so busy. Joanna and Holly joined us so that would mean we both had a company.
Spent some money on getting some cakes and sweet which mum likes. Good to have goodies packaged and sold as a taste kit.
Suzhou
Travelled from Shanghai to Suzhou , it is around 100km. This is the birth place of my father.
We realised that at each city, a local guide was assigned to assist the tour.
Lingering Garden
Our first stop is the ‘Lingering Garden’. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/jiangsu/suzhou/lingering.htm
It was listed as heritage and was originally built in late 1500s. It was then extended and renovated at different stages.
The design of the garden was very nice with ponds and trees and pavilion, very typical Chinese garden. With a lot of tourists plus the loudness of amplifier coming off from so many tourists guide, it was not as enjoyable as it should have been.
The most impressive part of the garden was some part of the ground was covered by stones and as according to the guide, the people in the olden days only wear shoes with cloth sole and when they walked on these floors it would provide the foot massage which would improve one’s health.
We went to another shopping area called GuanQian Street (观前街).I also purchased some sweet stuff for mum and aunties.
Holly, spotted MacDonald’s so I got Marina a cheese burger meal which costed $18.50 RMB.
Suzhou River
We were quite tired by then but instead of going to the restaurant to have dinner, we went on the boat ride along Suzhou River. We were entertained by a lady singer singing Suzhou Pingtan 苏州评弹. The traffic on the canal is busy. The boat does not travel fast but it is still dangerous when it travels past each other. I am wondering if any accidents had happened before as it is dark and no life jackets or safety guidelines were mentioned.
Holly was not feeling well but he pulled it through.
By the time we sat down and had our dinner, it was well over 8pm. It was an exceptionally long day. Everyone was exhausted. The hotel was good.
Day 2
25th September (Sunday)
Suzhou Wuxi
We went to the Silk production factory, the production bit as according to others was only a demo. What the factory wants is for you to purchase silk products ranging from silk quilt to all types of silk clothing, underwear, scarves etc. I was already advised by friends not to purchase any of the products as some products could not get through the Australian customs.
What amazed me in the demo was the strength of the silk coming from the cocoon. They are tough and that explains why the ancient Chinese has found it to be useful material to make clothing. We spent close to two hours at the shop and we had lunch in the same building. I purchased a sleeveless top which I can wear to some functions particularly useful in Western countries.
Look at the amount of silk quilt purchased by our group !
Suzhou Wuxi
We went to the Silk production factory, the production bit as according to others was only a demo. What the factory wants is for you to purchase silk products ranging from silk quilt to all types of silk clothing, underwear, scarves etc. I was already advised by friends not to purchase any of the products as some products could not get through the Australian customs.
What amazed me in the demo was the strength of the silk coming from the cocoon. They are tough and that explains why the ancient Chinese has found it to be useful material to make clothing. We spent close to two hours at the shop and we had lunch in the same building. I purchased a sleeveless top which I can wear to some functions particularly useful in Western countries.
Look at the amount of silk quilt purchased by our group !
Wuxi
After lunch, we left Suzhou for Wuxi, about 50km in distance.
Lingshan
First stop was Lingshan where we visit the Lingshan Brahma Palace / 灵山梵宫, Grand Budda .
We paid $30 dollars to have some carts to cart us around in the park.
Little hiccup with Joanna as she leaned against a wall but there was no warning whatever regarding it had just been painted so....
The architecture of the temple is grand, colorful and simply awesome.
It has some displays of Kuan Yan.
The Grand Budda was built in 1996.
Finally we watched the musical fountain reproduced the theme of ‘Bathing by Nine Dragon and Flowers Revealing Buddha’
Wuxi is not a busy and glamorous city as compared to Shanghai and Suzhou
We had dinner quite early and then we had got time to go for massages.At the masage place, a couple of ladies realised they had not seen each other since they left high school but they caught up with each other here.
Other websites that shows pictures of the Brahma Palace and Grand Budda
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17606013
http://missklicious.blogspot.com/2010/10/lingshan-brahma-palace-wuxi.html
http://wuxi.jiangsu.net/attraction/premier.php?name=Lingshan_Grand_Buddha&city=Wuxi&id=12
http://www.synotrip.com/wuxi/lingshan-grand-buddha
http://www.foreignercn.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5549:lingshan-buddhist-scenic-spot&catid=95:travel-in-jiangsu&Itemid=196
Day 3
26th September, 2011 (Monday)
Pearl shopping
In the morning, the bus drove past Lake Tai (Tai Hu) , or Tai Lake (太湖) and its meaning is Grand Lake, because it is big (870 sq. m) . The tourist guide explained that it was no way that one could walk around the Lake as it was too big. It is the second largest fresh water lake in China.
Pearl is being cultivated artificially is another dominant industry as pearl can be sold to toursts as souvenirs but not the local fresh fish or crab products.
The shop also sells all the by-products of pearl as it is rich in protein, amino acid and certain minerals, hence it can be taken as health products.
The cultivated pearl came as a result of cells being injected into the shell and the pearl secrets substance over the cell as to decrease its discomfort. After learning the story, it has put me off of getting pearl, why do we need something as a result of another living creature’s discomfort.
The pearl shop is big and immaculate and there are so many shopkeepers wanting to do business with you.
At lunch, we have ordered the small dumplings (siu lung pao) as Marina likes them. However they have made it so sweeten, it has spoiled the taste of this delicacy. A little hiccup followed when a glass of coke accidentally spilled onto Marina’s top. Luckily, I could reach our luggage fetch a clean top for Marina to change into.
Pearl shopping
In the morning, the bus drove past Lake Tai (Tai Hu) , or Tai Lake (太湖) and its meaning is Grand Lake, because it is big (870 sq. m) . The tourist guide explained that it was no way that one could walk around the Lake as it was too big. It is the second largest fresh water lake in China.
Pearl is being cultivated artificially is another dominant industry as pearl can be sold to toursts as souvenirs but not the local fresh fish or crab products.
The shop also sells all the by-products of pearl as it is rich in protein, amino acid and certain minerals, hence it can be taken as health products.
The cultivated pearl came as a result of cells being injected into the shell and the pearl secrets substance over the cell as to decrease its discomfort. After learning the story, it has put me off of getting pearl, why do we need something as a result of another living creature’s discomfort.
The pearl shop is big and immaculate and there are so many shopkeepers wanting to do business with you.
At lunch, we have ordered the small dumplings (siu lung pao) as Marina likes them. However they have made it so sweeten, it has spoiled the taste of this delicacy. A little hiccup followed when a glass of coke accidentally spilled onto Marina’s top. Luckily, I could reach our luggage fetch a clean top for Marina to change into.
Hangzhou
We then headed to Hangzhou, another 150 km drive. It is one of the most beautiful cities in China.
West Lake.
When we got there, it was quite misty and hazy. However, this certainly provides the most beautiful scenery one can imagine.
We took a boat ride to see the different scenic spots, but the scene is far too beautiful, everyone is trying their best to capture the scenes with their cameras or videos. The boat trip was quite short . I suppose that is the real disadvantage when you join a group as you simply cannot have the freedom to do anything more if that is not on the original itinerary.
West Lake Dinner
Hangzhou is a very busy city and there were plenty of people on the streets.
We struggled along to walk to the restaurant particularly that involved crossing some roads.
At dinner time, Marina complained of the pain near her jaw. To make things worse was she started crying I was stressed and felt sorry for her. Other people around noticed that and came to ask her and I realized the more people that came around to check on her, the more upset she got herself into. Finally, Kevin, the only male in our dining table, suggested to get some ice as to numb the painful spot. I split an adult pandol and gave Marina half to help her to stop the pain. She kind of calmed down a bit after a while.
West Lake Show
After dinner, we were arranged to see a show which detailed a few things that we s did on the trip such as seeing the production of silk, pearl and tea etc.
I told Marina that I could do away with the show, but Marina was very nice and understanding, she reckoned that it would be boring if we went back to the hotel so she was happy to go even her condition was not up to that.
When we got to the theatre, Betty saw McDonalds’ and asked me to get Marina some Macdonald’s for dinner which I did. I was so glad that Marina did enjoy the show and also her ear / jaw ache decreased as time progressed along .She enjoyed her macdonalds happily on that very night.
Day 4
27th September, 2011 (Tuesday)
Hangzhou
It was a drizzling and wet morning, we headed to the tea farm. Hangzhou is famous for growing ‘dragon well’ tea leaves. We were being introduced to the goodness of drinking this type of ‘dragon well’ tea leaves. They sold some special tea pot which has got a hole where you press onto it, the water from the sprout of the tea would stop. . The demonstrator at the tea garden was like an actor and was also a good sales person. We were however told by family members not to purchase any more tea leaves as we have got plenty already.
The hazy weather contributed to a very calm and peaceful scenery. The garden and the surronding mountain of the tea garden is so lovely. It is a pity that we could not get to walk a bit more.
Nanjing
Then we left Hang zhou for Nanjing. It was about 215 km. After a bit of nap on the coach, the guide suggested to get people out singing. We were lucky to have Amy in the group as she is a professional singer . She had a lovely voice and sang a few lovely songs. The it was joined by a few others who could sing very well too. Marina and Holly also got involved in singing a couple of songs including ‘We are australian’. It was my first time to sing with her too.
Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s Mausoleum
The memorial Archway was wide and long and after about 15 minutes walk, we thought we had done our walking. But instead when we walked to the back side of the Archway, to our complete surprise, another 392 steps were waiting for us to climb up. Again, Marina and I managed to complete the journey. I was starving when I got to the top and when I looked around to get some food, I just did not have confidence to buy any cooked food (sausages and black color corn) or ice-cream. I managed to get some dry crackers. Only at that vey moment, I felt that the guide did not do a very good job. He should have let us know we had to do a bit of walking and we needed to prepare drinks and snacks to bring along etc.
On the other hand, I also found that I did not do any research or homework to the places that were listed on the itinerary. I only made that up when I was doing the diary. It was quite late when we left the Mausoleum.
When we arrived at the restaurant for dinner, instead of joining the group for dinner, we got picked up by our relatives who were staying in Nanjing. We headed towards confucius temple and we got caught in the traffic jam. We only had a quick browse around then we had to leave there for dinner. Marina had her best dinner treated by the auntie as we could get to order what she wanted to eat. That would be the only meal that Marina really enjoyed in the whole trip. Most of the dishes in the trip are fairly blend in taste but quite healthy as there were always plenty of vegetables. Water melon is served in every meal. However, to us there were more than enough. We always had some left over.
After dinner we went back to the relatives’ home as their kid had been to Australia for english class. Marina was looking forward to catch up with him. Unfortunately, when we got there it was rather late and the two kids did not have a chance to play at all.
The relatives drove us back and they got lost as according to them the hotel we were staying, mostly were five stars in the Chinese stamdard, not international standard and they were located away from the main city area (Gingye New Century Hotel)
Hangzhou
It was a drizzling and wet morning, we headed to the tea farm. Hangzhou is famous for growing ‘dragon well’ tea leaves. We were being introduced to the goodness of drinking this type of ‘dragon well’ tea leaves. They sold some special tea pot which has got a hole where you press onto it, the water from the sprout of the tea would stop. . The demonstrator at the tea garden was like an actor and was also a good sales person. We were however told by family members not to purchase any more tea leaves as we have got plenty already.
The hazy weather contributed to a very calm and peaceful scenery. The garden and the surronding mountain of the tea garden is so lovely. It is a pity that we could not get to walk a bit more.
Nanjing
Then we left Hang zhou for Nanjing. It was about 215 km. After a bit of nap on the coach, the guide suggested to get people out singing. We were lucky to have Amy in the group as she is a professional singer . She had a lovely voice and sang a few lovely songs. The it was joined by a few others who could sing very well too. Marina and Holly also got involved in singing a couple of songs including ‘We are australian’. It was my first time to sing with her too.
Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s Mausoleum
The memorial Archway was wide and long and after about 15 minutes walk, we thought we had done our walking. But instead when we walked to the back side of the Archway, to our complete surprise, another 392 steps were waiting for us to climb up. Again, Marina and I managed to complete the journey. I was starving when I got to the top and when I looked around to get some food, I just did not have confidence to buy any cooked food (sausages and black color corn) or ice-cream. I managed to get some dry crackers. Only at that vey moment, I felt that the guide did not do a very good job. He should have let us know we had to do a bit of walking and we needed to prepare drinks and snacks to bring along etc.
On the other hand, I also found that I did not do any research or homework to the places that were listed on the itinerary. I only made that up when I was doing the diary. It was quite late when we left the Mausoleum.
When we arrived at the restaurant for dinner, instead of joining the group for dinner, we got picked up by our relatives who were staying in Nanjing. We headed towards confucius temple and we got caught in the traffic jam. We only had a quick browse around then we had to leave there for dinner. Marina had her best dinner treated by the auntie as we could get to order what she wanted to eat. That would be the only meal that Marina really enjoyed in the whole trip. Most of the dishes in the trip are fairly blend in taste but quite healthy as there were always plenty of vegetables. Water melon is served in every meal. However, to us there were more than enough. We always had some left over.
After dinner we went back to the relatives’ home as their kid had been to Australia for english class. Marina was looking forward to catch up with him. Unfortunately, when we got there it was rather late and the two kids did not have a chance to play at all.
The relatives drove us back and they got lost as according to them the hotel we were staying, mostly were five stars in the Chinese stamdard, not international standard and they were located away from the main city area (Gingye New Century Hotel)
Day 5
28th September, 2011 (Wednesday)
Nanjing
Marina caught up with her sleep on the coach while others were shopping at the Jadeite shop. Preety sick of shopping already.
Yangtze River Bridge
Next we went to scenic lookout for Yangtze River Bridge , it was completed in the late 60s. It is the second bridge over Yangtze River after Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. It combines both highway and railway. It is 6,772 meters long and 160 meters wide. It was a great piece of architecture and effort to build in those days. As according to the guide, the bridge represented the collaborative efforts of the Chinese.
Inner Painting Gallery
At the museum there, there was an art gallery selling inner painting. Something that I have never come across before. Artists draw pictures onto a glass bowl from the inner wall of a glass with a paint brush twisted in a 90 degree. Artist required to have full concentration plus a strong arm and wrist. I have held off not to purchase much but I feel I have to get some of these artwork as souvenirs for friends and for ourselves.
Shanghai
After lunch, another three hours trip back to Shanghai. The guide collected the tips money from everyone and the tips money is going to be shared not just by the guide for our tour but with the coach driver, four local guides at each of the city plus the bell boys helping us to shift luggage onto the coach in the morning. a number of us tipped them more than they required.
Final Hiccup
Our group however did not end up having a final meal together because the guide decided to take us to another jewellery shop and that shop owener was pushing for sales and was using various strategy (reverse psychology, don't buy just come and have a look; even if you want to buy, I won't sell it to you) and (throw you a piece of brick and expect you to get a jade) to capture people to purchase stuffs. This has significantly spoiled the whole trip. Most of the people were not happy with this arrangement. A lot of us were tired and would like to have a good break and a good meal. WE ended up getting 30 dollars back as to compensate not to have dinner together. Furthermore, this arrangement had also wasted two very precious hours of which we could have got back to the hotel earlier.
The Bund or Zhongshan Road.
Thanks to Amy and Kevin, we managed to go out and took the underground railway to have a quick view of the Shanghai city, We jsut managed to see a bit of firework for the National Day. We also had a ldelicious meal at a Cafe on the same level as Macdonalds. It was good value for money. Among us, we took two taxis back to hotel after sightseeing. Last hiccup that spoiled the trip was that our taxi only charged us $35 dollars to get back from the Bund to the Hotel and the other charged around $130. All you need is a few greedy people involved in the tourism industry and that would spoil the industry to a great extent. When would people wake up to the fact that money does not mean anything.
Nanjing
Marina caught up with her sleep on the coach while others were shopping at the Jadeite shop. Preety sick of shopping already.
Yangtze River Bridge
Next we went to scenic lookout for Yangtze River Bridge , it was completed in the late 60s. It is the second bridge over Yangtze River after Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. It combines both highway and railway. It is 6,772 meters long and 160 meters wide. It was a great piece of architecture and effort to build in those days. As according to the guide, the bridge represented the collaborative efforts of the Chinese.
Inner Painting Gallery
At the museum there, there was an art gallery selling inner painting. Something that I have never come across before. Artists draw pictures onto a glass bowl from the inner wall of a glass with a paint brush twisted in a 90 degree. Artist required to have full concentration plus a strong arm and wrist. I have held off not to purchase much but I feel I have to get some of these artwork as souvenirs for friends and for ourselves.
Shanghai
After lunch, another three hours trip back to Shanghai. The guide collected the tips money from everyone and the tips money is going to be shared not just by the guide for our tour but with the coach driver, four local guides at each of the city plus the bell boys helping us to shift luggage onto the coach in the morning. a number of us tipped them more than they required.
Final Hiccup
Our group however did not end up having a final meal together because the guide decided to take us to another jewellery shop and that shop owener was pushing for sales and was using various strategy (reverse psychology, don't buy just come and have a look; even if you want to buy, I won't sell it to you) and (throw you a piece of brick and expect you to get a jade) to capture people to purchase stuffs. This has significantly spoiled the whole trip. Most of the people were not happy with this arrangement. A lot of us were tired and would like to have a good break and a good meal. WE ended up getting 30 dollars back as to compensate not to have dinner together. Furthermore, this arrangement had also wasted two very precious hours of which we could have got back to the hotel earlier.
The Bund or Zhongshan Road.
Thanks to Amy and Kevin, we managed to go out and took the underground railway to have a quick view of the Shanghai city, We jsut managed to see a bit of firework for the National Day. We also had a ldelicious meal at a Cafe on the same level as Macdonalds. It was good value for money. Among us, we took two taxis back to hotel after sightseeing. Last hiccup that spoiled the trip was that our taxi only charged us $35 dollars to get back from the Bund to the Hotel and the other charged around $130. All you need is a few greedy people involved in the tourism industry and that would spoil the industry to a great extent. When would people wake up to the fact that money does not mean anything.
Day 6
Shanghai - Hong Kong
I make use every chance to get some contacts on the last day as I was thnking of doing that the night before at the last dinner.
When I was fetching some goodies at the buffet table, to my surprise I came across a family friend.
The last time we met each other was at the street when we were walking along towards Darling Harbour in Sydney in 1997. We had not contacted since then.
14 years later we met at the last day before we departed to various destinations.
It is such a coincidence sometimes in life that you would come across people unexpectedly in occasions that you would not dream of.
We then set off to the airpot and Daniel and Karen were with us in the same flight which we were supposed to leave Shanghai at 1:30pm but got grounded until 4:30. Then thinking we could get to Hong Kong that evening, but instead the plane diverted to Xiamen for refuelling and a two hour trip ended becoming an ten hour ordeal. I really feel for Karen and Marina as both of them were not at the top condition.
Always wonder how the others went on the same day as we saw April checked in before us and she was on another flight and then there were a few more leaving for either Hong Kong or other destinations. Hope everyone did not have to go through what we experienced. Dragonair was quite poor in contingency planning, probably not for short distance flight, as they simply run out of food by night time.
I make use every chance to get some contacts on the last day as I was thnking of doing that the night before at the last dinner.
When I was fetching some goodies at the buffet table, to my surprise I came across a family friend.
The last time we met each other was at the street when we were walking along towards Darling Harbour in Sydney in 1997. We had not contacted since then.
14 years later we met at the last day before we departed to various destinations.
It is such a coincidence sometimes in life that you would come across people unexpectedly in occasions that you would not dream of.
We then set off to the airpot and Daniel and Karen were with us in the same flight which we were supposed to leave Shanghai at 1:30pm but got grounded until 4:30. Then thinking we could get to Hong Kong that evening, but instead the plane diverted to Xiamen for refuelling and a two hour trip ended becoming an ten hour ordeal. I really feel for Karen and Marina as both of them were not at the top condition.
Always wonder how the others went on the same day as we saw April checked in before us and she was on another flight and then there were a few more leaving for either Hong Kong or other destinations. Hope everyone did not have to go through what we experienced. Dragonair was quite poor in contingency planning, probably not for short distance flight, as they simply run out of food by night time.
Final Comments for the trip
These are all of my own and Marina's personal comments and do not
represent any of the group members. However, feel free to put your
discussion in accordingly.
Sight-seeing
Personally I felt that I did not get to see a lot of sight-seeing spots at those cities we visited. We seemed to rush from one city to the others, from one scenic spot to the other but not from one shop to the other. There is always sufficient time for shopping in designated shops. It is just not relaxing enough. But that is travelling, it is different from living in a place where one can get to know everything. I guess, all cities are awaiting for us to visit again.
Patriotic
Being a Chinese, you love and hate to admit yourself as Chinese. You admit because of its history and the recent tremendous economic development. You hate it because the Chinese government is still such a big brother over almost everything. Because of this, if only politically treated as priorities, those projects will go ahead and would get done rather successfully. The Beijing Olympic (2008) and Shanghai Expo (2010) would be the two main examples.
However, the strategy to control the growth of population at the sacrifice of individual’s choice is something rather heavy handed.
Furthermore, it is the common civic sense of the general public, as the country has been so poor previously, some people only concern making money without considering the welfare of the others and that is particularly noticeable in the production of milk powder with chemicals added in and all types of food that are produced with additives which are not suitable for human consumption.
The guide also mentioned about setting up factories in foreign countries rquired lots of regulations whereas in China, it is much easier to set things up. Hence, workers in China risk their lives to produce goods for people to consume. It is a ' value' issue. What values most to the Chinese government : ability to have faster economic growth, ability to earn money in a very short time so that human lives can be forsaken. Developed countries would put occupational health and safety first as to protect the key element in the process of production.
Marina said : I am not Chinese and I don’t get into these things
Other issues:
Of course there are plenty issues that would take time to solve, such as the toilet issue some had raised during the trip. I had to say in compared to 30 years ago (1979) my first time to Guangzhou, it has significantly improved. Good that the little kids finally got a bit used to the squat type of toilet.
Why Shanghai?
The 99 dollars deal was another example of how the Chinese Government has subsidised this travelling program to allow overseas Chinese to be able to travel to China to see the development and to have a more positive image of China especially a lot of the migrants fled China or Hong Kong in early days due to the fear of communism.
Marina said: She likes the idea of democracy better when I explained to her the difference between communism and democracy.
Join a tour
As the tour was so organised, I only realised fares we paid included lots of entrance fees such as the Lingering Garden , Lingshan Budda. This is the beauty of joining a tour as that has taken the hassle off by monitoring the cost.
Marina does agree with this
Marina's health and food allergies condition
The only regret was I felt that Marina did not enjoy the trip as much as I had thought. The insufficient sleep had been a killing for her as her skin got very dried, her eczema flared up. She had eye bags around her eyes and the skin color around her eyes appeared rather rare most of the times. Looking at her, I felt heartache as the trip appeared to be more like a torture than enjoyment. I did wonder if she would refuse to join me travelling in the future.
In addition, I hate also the idea that to her, China is just shopping and shopping. I think only when she grows older she may be able to let us know her impression of China and if she still wants to travel there again.
Marina said: I will like to travel cos’ I get to see lots of different places. Having skins like that for a little while is OK because you can make it better.
Marina's personality & character
I have to admit that she is such a kind hearted and considerate person. On the night when she had her jaw pain and ear ache, she was in such a distress mode but she has decided to go for the show. I have to say that she did not want me to miss anything. I was so scared that the loud noise of the show would aggravate her pain but turned out that she enjoyed the show and as some others said, the noise and entertainment had diverted her attention away from the pain.
I have to admit that we both complement each other during travel. She is rather organised, observant and mindful of her mum’s absent mindedness. I mainly focus on their daily routines and schedules.
Marina said: thank you for making that comment.
She decided that she might as well go asher mum did pay for the show and she did not want her to miss out. May be if I didn’t go, my pain did not go away. She could be bored at the hotel.
Nexus Holidays
I felt that Nexus Holidays did a marvellous job of enabling to organise such a big group of people coming from various parts of the world and on the whole I could not find any fault with the logistics. When they give us food, they also give us a range of food. Very plain though.
Marina said: I did not like them taking us to so many shopping places. We missed out on the dinner together time on the last night.
About Nexus Holidays: http://www.nexusholidays.com/
Other blogs regarding Nexus Holidays:
Beijing: http://leastworst.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
China: http://freechinese.org/china-holiday-tours.html
Final thanks
I really want to thank Marina for able to complete the diary in such a timely manner as once we get back onto our normal routine, it is very hard to find time to to do things as such.
Also everyone in the tour who we have got a chance to speak to and also your care shown to Marina.
Sight-seeing
Personally I felt that I did not get to see a lot of sight-seeing spots at those cities we visited. We seemed to rush from one city to the others, from one scenic spot to the other but not from one shop to the other. There is always sufficient time for shopping in designated shops. It is just not relaxing enough. But that is travelling, it is different from living in a place where one can get to know everything. I guess, all cities are awaiting for us to visit again.
Patriotic
Being a Chinese, you love and hate to admit yourself as Chinese. You admit because of its history and the recent tremendous economic development. You hate it because the Chinese government is still such a big brother over almost everything. Because of this, if only politically treated as priorities, those projects will go ahead and would get done rather successfully. The Beijing Olympic (2008) and Shanghai Expo (2010) would be the two main examples.
However, the strategy to control the growth of population at the sacrifice of individual’s choice is something rather heavy handed.
Furthermore, it is the common civic sense of the general public, as the country has been so poor previously, some people only concern making money without considering the welfare of the others and that is particularly noticeable in the production of milk powder with chemicals added in and all types of food that are produced with additives which are not suitable for human consumption.
The guide also mentioned about setting up factories in foreign countries rquired lots of regulations whereas in China, it is much easier to set things up. Hence, workers in China risk their lives to produce goods for people to consume. It is a ' value' issue. What values most to the Chinese government : ability to have faster economic growth, ability to earn money in a very short time so that human lives can be forsaken. Developed countries would put occupational health and safety first as to protect the key element in the process of production.
Marina said : I am not Chinese and I don’t get into these things
Other issues:
Of course there are plenty issues that would take time to solve, such as the toilet issue some had raised during the trip. I had to say in compared to 30 years ago (1979) my first time to Guangzhou, it has significantly improved. Good that the little kids finally got a bit used to the squat type of toilet.
Why Shanghai?
The 99 dollars deal was another example of how the Chinese Government has subsidised this travelling program to allow overseas Chinese to be able to travel to China to see the development and to have a more positive image of China especially a lot of the migrants fled China or Hong Kong in early days due to the fear of communism.
Marina said: She likes the idea of democracy better when I explained to her the difference between communism and democracy.
Join a tour
As the tour was so organised, I only realised fares we paid included lots of entrance fees such as the Lingering Garden , Lingshan Budda. This is the beauty of joining a tour as that has taken the hassle off by monitoring the cost.
Marina does agree with this
Marina's health and food allergies condition
The only regret was I felt that Marina did not enjoy the trip as much as I had thought. The insufficient sleep had been a killing for her as her skin got very dried, her eczema flared up. She had eye bags around her eyes and the skin color around her eyes appeared rather rare most of the times. Looking at her, I felt heartache as the trip appeared to be more like a torture than enjoyment. I did wonder if she would refuse to join me travelling in the future.
In addition, I hate also the idea that to her, China is just shopping and shopping. I think only when she grows older she may be able to let us know her impression of China and if she still wants to travel there again.
Marina said: I will like to travel cos’ I get to see lots of different places. Having skins like that for a little while is OK because you can make it better.
Marina's personality & character
I have to admit that she is such a kind hearted and considerate person. On the night when she had her jaw pain and ear ache, she was in such a distress mode but she has decided to go for the show. I have to say that she did not want me to miss anything. I was so scared that the loud noise of the show would aggravate her pain but turned out that she enjoyed the show and as some others said, the noise and entertainment had diverted her attention away from the pain.
I have to admit that we both complement each other during travel. She is rather organised, observant and mindful of her mum’s absent mindedness. I mainly focus on their daily routines and schedules.
Marina said: thank you for making that comment.
She decided that she might as well go asher mum did pay for the show and she did not want her to miss out. May be if I didn’t go, my pain did not go away. She could be bored at the hotel.
Nexus Holidays
I felt that Nexus Holidays did a marvellous job of enabling to organise such a big group of people coming from various parts of the world and on the whole I could not find any fault with the logistics. When they give us food, they also give us a range of food. Very plain though.
Marina said: I did not like them taking us to so many shopping places. We missed out on the dinner together time on the last night.
About Nexus Holidays: http://www.nexusholidays.com/
Other blogs regarding Nexus Holidays:
Beijing: http://leastworst.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html
China: http://freechinese.org/china-holiday-tours.html
Final thanks
I really want to thank Marina for able to complete the diary in such a timely manner as once we get back onto our normal routine, it is very hard to find time to to do things as such.
Also everyone in the tour who we have got a chance to speak to and also your care shown to Marina.
No comments:
Post a Comment