SECOND DAY IN BEIJING - PART ONE

(1) THE JADE PLACE

(2) THE CRYSTAL PLACE

the crystal brooch that I bought

(3) THE BRASS/COPPER PLACE

(4) THE MEDICINE PLACE

24th NOVEMBER ~ On the first day of our tour around Beijing, we were taken to a few places which belonged or were controlled by the government. The modus operandi was the same. When we arrived, we were given briefing and demonstration - and later on we were asked whether we would like to buy the items being promoted. I guess it was one of the ways how the government was trying to promote the local products to the tourists but just imagine what a waste of time it had been, especially when nothing was bought, although at times we would learn something new or discovered interesting information. The problem was: the items sold were guaranteed to be ORIGINAL but the price was a bit TOO HIGH.

Nevertheless, I had a good time taking a lot of pictures so at least I got myself occupied. And listening to the briefing was another tiring thing to do as you would need to listen very carefully. Most of the promoters spoke English with thick Chinese accent - and at times, they would even try to speak in Malay Language, which was very funny indeed. In the end, we would be more interested in the language spoken rather than the products trying to be sold.

And the visit did not end here. There were a lot more commercial places that we HAD to visit throughout our stay here.

TO BE CONTINUED...

DEPARTING AND ARRIVING IN BEIJING

waiting for the flight in the wee hour of the morning

23rd NOVEMBER 2011: The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived. I was on a group trip to Beijing, China - thanks to my student, Syazwan and his father and family for inviting me to squeeze in. There were altogether 13 people on board and we left Johor Bahru in a BIG bus at 12 midnight and arrived at LCCT KLIA by 4 a.m. The flight was scheduled to take off by 8:30 a.m. so we had a lot of time to kill.

after checking in

thanks Air Asia, no everybody can fly

This is my very first picture up close in front of an aeroplane. Why? My first time travelling in a group so there were always people to help me (or were forced to) take my photos.

The journey took about 6 hours and 30 minutes. Upon arriving at Tianjin Binhai International Airport, we were greeted by the tourist guide from the travel agency, Miss Yang. There was a change in the schedule so we were taken to dinner and were sent to the hotel right after that.

Miss Yang carrying out her duty in the coaster

So what was my first impression of China? (1) Freezing cold: We were told that the temperature of the day was -1 degree Celcius. (2) Busy city, busy road: The travel should take one hour and a half from Tianjin Airport to Beijing. There were a lot of vehicles on the road and the stretch of traffic jam seemed to be endless.

sunset seen from the coaster's window

This is our hotel room but silly me. I could not even remember the name of the hotel, I need to ask Syazwan after this. The room was spacious and this hotel was chosen because it was a special one chosen for Muslim group tours. The two characteristics of the hotel were: it served halal breakfast and there was a qiblat (direction for prayers to be performed) sign in each room. The journey was long and tiring and we needed a good night's sleep and be prepared for the adventure awaiting the next day.

TO BE CONTINUED...


related links

The Jade/Crystal/Brass/Medicine Place
The Great Wall of China
Acrobatic Show
Tianenmen Square
Forbidden City [PART 1] [PART 2]
Silk/Massage and Herb/Market Place
Jinshifang Street Mosque
Summer Palace
Pearl/Jade/Knife/Table Cloth/Market Place
The Bird's Nest
Nan Dou Ya Mosque
the Panda at Beijing Zoo
Beijing Zoo
Niujie Mosque
the Tea Shop
the Bullet Train Trip

HOME SWEET HOME - AFTER 6 DAYS IN CHINA

Arrived home safely, after spending 6 days in China, in Beijing to be exact. I must admit I miss a few things from home - like the simple "roti canai" and "teh tarik", and surprisingly the newspapers and television too.

Now it is time to adapt to the real world - back to life, back to reality. I have to get back to work, trying to complete the necessary things before school reopens in the remaining one month time.

Be ready to read more of my 6 days of Beijing sight-seeing trip in my coming postings. Just hope you will not get tired of it.

SPOT THE ERROR 19

I feel something is just not right.
@a children's learning centre at Jusco Tebrau City

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Malay name, English spelling: I wonder whether the name has any effect on the person bearing it. So where is that hairy guy?

SHORT NOTES ASSIGNMENT FOR UHB1412

This is a special posting for students taking the UHB1412 and ULAB1112 course in UTM. I should have done this earlier but procrastination is the thief of time. By uploading my UTM students' excellent work in my blog, it can always be a good reference for students, for now and for always. Thanks to Shubana and Jovian for e-mailing me the files. Thank God, your work of arts is still kept safely in your computers and in good condition. :)

THE WORK OF SHUBANA VIJAYA KUMAR - COMPUTER SCIENCE AND IT FACULTY

THE WORK OF JOVIAN TAN CHEN CHIARN - COMPUTER SCIENCE AND IT FACULTY

ATTENDING SUEHAYDA'S WEDDING

An ex-student from SPM batch 2006, Suheyda Supari, tied the knot today. It was a must to go because I happened to know the father of the bride as well.







As usual met a few familiar faces but I was looking forward to see more. Perhaps they had come much earlier.

Wishing both the bride and bridegroom happy days ahead of them. and may their lives be filled with love.

THE SCHOOL ANNUAL LUNCH 2011

Another annual event for the school was held today at Mak Jah Cafe located at UTM. As the school holiday has already started, quite a number of people were not there. That was actually a blessing in disguise as the restaurant was quite small and would not be suitable enough to accommodate to many people at the same time.








The event started quite early, at 10:00 a.m. so it ended much, much earlier. As usual I was the unlucky one in the lucky draw session and the worst of all, I had to sit at the VIP table so I could not move around to socialize and take pictures. That would explain the limited number of photos posted in the blog. Congratulations to all the KEBIRUS [Kelab Bilik Guru and Staff - translate: Teachers and Staff Club] for organizing this event and to everybody who was present. We should start thinking who will be the next chairman for the club next year.

THE VERY LAST DAY OF THE SCHOOL SESSION 2011

POT LUCK FOR PUAN NOR IRMAWATY

Today was officially the last day of school for the year 2011. How time flies! And within a short time, there were small events still going on, in the midst of the teachers race against time to complete everything before the school holidays started.


We threw a small pot luck for Puan Nor Irmawaty Norzamri who was leaving SMKTUN. She was asking for a transfer to Kuala Lumpur to be with her husband and family. She had been here for quite some time but she had other duties as a wife and mother that had to be carried out.

Puan Irma giving her farewell speech

prize-giving ceremony

friendship remains and never can end

We wish good luck to Puan Irma and hopefully she will be happy in her new school next year. Don't forget us here in SMKTUN.

KAA CLASS PARTY

The second event was the class party organized by KAA teachers and students. Luckily I ate just a little in the staffroom before so it was not impossible to continue eating. This was something like an annual activity for the group and the students looked happy enough to be in the company of their friends and surrounded by scrumptious food.

FINISHING THE SCHOOL DUTIES

colleagues submitting their checklists upon completing all their work

Teachers were the busiest people on planet earth throughout this week. There was load of work to be completed, and the list seemed to be endless. Everything had to be completed before the school holidays started. Nevertheless, there must be some sort of miracle because (majority of) these people managed to get all the work done so that they could enjoy the school holidays to the fullest. Once you are a teacher, then your middle name will definitely be multitasking.

So that was the end of school year 2011. It has been a good year for me - life has been kind. There are things actually that have to be done, especially matters related to the new students intake for next year but that is a different a story. Goodbye school year 2011!