Shanghai (上海 )

Here I am, preparing for another trip overseas.



 

 

 

The difference this time is I am not going on a holiday. I have a really packed scheduled for the 4 days 3 nights trip, with meetings, dinner and entertainment with 3 different group of people.

 

But this is going to be a special trip for me this time.



 

 

As a Chinese man, this is THE FIRST TIME I HAVE STEPPED FOOT IN CHINA!!!

Being the largest city in China, the population is about 24 million in the city itself. As for easy comparison, Malaysia has 30 million of people in total.

Shanghai can be best described as the Pearl of the Orient or the "Paris" of the East, just for your information.

When I went to Shanghai, it is not the vibrant lifestyle of the city that shocked me.

Not even the beauty of the Shanghai girls.

It is their traffic.

If you think the traffic jam in Kuala Lumpur is bad, traffic jam in Shanghai is ridiculous especially during the peak hours.

Well when I arrived in Pudong airport (Shanghai), I have my counterpart from Shanghai fetched me to the hotel.

For this trip, I chose a hotel right in the heart of the city called as the Paramount hotel. As for the pricing, it is at a slightly higher, but reasonable price at RM500 per night of stay.

It is not only because it is located in the town itself.

It is also because.

 They have a toilet which is about the same size of my room.

This is my room.

That comes with a simple living room.

 

To be frank, there's nothing to shout about their interior. I would think that my hotel in Krabi has so far listed as top of my list in term of accommodation.

Anyway I am not going to spend much time in the room. So, it is OK.

As usual, Chinese people are very friendly towards their guest. They will make sure they bring you to the best restaurant in town, have the best wine, and also have the best time of your life.

Shanghai-style cuisine.

That make you abalone looked like an anchovy.

 

What is a dinner without red wine. 

 

 

I am so blessed that I was not born as a vegetarian.

 

 

To be honest, I did not have much time to find out the name of each and every name of the dishes.

 

 

Apart from this one.

 

The "Xiao Long Bao" - Chinese dumplings.



Having arrived in Shanghai, basically the first day was spent with check in to hotels, shaked a few hands and having our dinner.

Next post coming up, a simple dinner which turn into a disastrous night.

I will get into details on the next post of their party scene in Shanghai.

Now I need to eat my dumplings first.




 

No Water

For the past 5 years ever since I have moved into my apartment, I am glad that I have almost never need to worry about the cut off of water supply to my unit.

 

So, when the Selangor government started to talk about "water rationing" exercise, it sounds nothing but like a jargon to me.

It is like explaining to a 5-year old kid of the process of making babies - It is the truth anyway, but .anyhow still seems almost impossible to explain.

The reality hit me hard when one day I was about to shower after a long hard day back from work, there's no water coming up from the tap.

All I heard is the sound of the trapped air released from the pipe, a little bit like the sound of a fart.

It is happening.

We used to take for granted for everything that we had, until it was taken away from us.

Without water supply, even answering the call of nature became like an impossible mission - you need to schedule for it.

The last thing you want to know is at the end of the day, your shit felt as hard as a brick.

Without water supply, even the water from the apartment swimming pool was "vandalised".

But the problem is, we have had so much rain in the month of April.

And yet, where did all these water goes?

According to SYABAS, the heavy downpour does not really ended up in the so called "catchment area".

That is why despite the downpour, we literally still have NO WATER.

Loads of bollocks really.

So when this morning I read the news that the water rationing exercise could be lifted as early as next week.

I am a happy man.

No need to worry about shitting bricks anymore.



 

Stupid AA Insure

Yes I do agree.

 



 

"Travelling should be worry-free".

That is why I am so "cheap" at times that I really didn't feel worry flying without a travel insurance.

For you guys who are the regular traveller especially on Air Asia plane, I believed that you will always noticed that there will always be stories in their magazine saying things like:

"Me and my fiancée got into accident..bla bla...and luckily we are covered by Air Asia Insure!"

 "Me and my friend's flight got delayed....and luckily we are covered by Air Asia Insure!"

"When I was riding a bike in Thailand, some transvestites grabbed my balls from behind and I lose control of my bike and went straight into a coconut tree and had a coconut drop on my p**nis and crushed it to pieces. and THANK GOD... I AM COVERED BY AIR ASIA INSURE!!

(OKOK, the third example is simply just my imagination)

So, back to the reason why am I writing this post.

I was just back from my Krabi trip (If you have read my earlier post) and for some really I-don't-know-what-am-I-thinking kind of reason, I bought the travel insurance prior to my flights.

It is just a feeling.

And yes, the trip was fantastic.

To cut the long story short, when I arrived back to Malaysia, it is even more fantastic.

I found out that my luggage was broken.

And it was not only ONE. It is TWO.

All of the sudden, I felt like superman.

For the fact that I bought Air Asia Insure.

But NAH.

Immediately I know what the problem was.

I am not the "Superhero" that is worshipped by millions of people because I used my "super power" to protect the mother earth.

I am just the "Super Man" who is a laughing stocks for wearing my underwear outside.

Why?

To cut the story short, let me put it into chronological event.

1. Found the bag damaged, reported to counter. They checked, and printed out an incident report. I am fine with that.

2. Told us to make the claim ourself using the incident report generated. When asked why we need to do ourself? The answer is "You can do it online ma, very fast one, no need trouble". I am FINE WITH THAT.

3. Went back home. (Sorry but I did not capture the screen). Asked to key in insurance policy number, booking number and policy number. Tried key in all the combinations, after the fifth time only it works. I AM FINE WITH THAT.

4. After filling in a long list of questionnaire, the screen went dead. I have to redo it. Another half and hour.

5. After filling it for the second time, error message came out "Baggage incident date" must be filled.
I swear to god. I can't even find the column of "Baggage Incident Date" after reviewing the whole list for not less than 10 times!! (Maybe I have problem with my eyes, but it is definitely not user-friendly).

6. Asked for original receipts. (Who the heck really do keep receipts for luggage which is more than 5 years? I can't even remember who is my ex-girlfriend 3 years ago, so what do you think?

7. Worst still, "please submit the ORIGINAL RECEIPT" to the following address in order to make claims!!

OKOK.

Now.

I thought everything was supposed to be as easy as 1-2-3?

My Ass.

Ok now, standing from the point of view of Air Asia, it is a PROTOCOL.

The client need to do it in order to claim for money back.

You know what?

From the point of view of customer, the insurance scheme is just LOAD OF BULLSH*TS.

Can anyone of you know what is this?

Yes it is the Air Asia Travle Insurance claim form.

And yes, I just used it to wipe my spilled coffee just now.








 

Next Destination

In the midst of preparing for my next business trip.

Any idea where am I going?

No prize for guessing though...

This is the one place, as a Chinese, It is a shame to say that I have never been to China.

I guess I have the chance now.
 

Krabi Trip

During the period between January to March 2014, I was so busy with my business trips and wedding preparation to a stage that I can't even remember my fiancée's name anymore.

 

That's when we think that we deserved a break, out of this country.

 

The original plan (including tickets and accommodation) to Bangkok and Hua Hin has been abandoned due to the mass riot in the city center. So, we decided to go slightly further, to Krabi island. (as we think the protestor wouldn't be so free to ride a boat and staging their demonstration over in this island).

 

Even if they come here, I would be well prepared to welcome them over here.



 

(Waiting and waiting, but apparently they never came)

Me and my fiancée always fancy and appreciate the beaches and the sun. As Air Asia has a one hour direct flight to this island, so we think that this would be a better choice. More relax, and yes, the beaches and the sun.

Hotel accommodation will always be the first thing that came to our mind. We really didn't mind small hotels, but since this is considered as our "first honeymoon" trip, we intend to do better.

So after hours and hours of research (and arguments), we finally decided with Mercure Krabi Deevana.

The price isn't cheap to be honest, but we are lucky in the sense that in term of what we are getting for almost RM500 per night stay (with buy 3 free 1 night promotional rate), it is definitely worth the value for money.

From our room, we have the direct access to the swimming pool. It would be perfect for the month of April 2014 when the water rationing was enforced and imagine that if I were to have the pool right next to my bedroom, all I need to di is just putting on my shampoo and jump into it right away.

Unfortunately we can't do that here.

The bedroom was so comfy. I must admit that I have a really good night sleep in this bed that I even considered to carry this bed along with me back to Malaysia.

Unfortunately, we can't do that either.

The outside view of the hotel from our room.

Of course when you come to Krabi, you wouldn't want to miss the island hopping activities. As a rough guide, a trip for entire day to four island can go as low as 750 Bath per head during the low season and 1500 Bath per person during the peak season.

It will also well depend on your negotiation skill. Rule of thumb, 50% discount on whatever they offered. The locals told me an interesting fact. If your price is a definite "No-No", they tend to tell you this - "See you tomorrow". That's when you know you should give in and pay the price.

If you are worried about the transportation, take this.

A small bike like this would probably set you back around 250 Bath per day of usage. But a lot of people didn't know about some facts about renting a bike from the shop.

1. You can actually pass them your driving license instead of your international passport for their safekeeping. Losing a license is OK. But Losing and international travelling passports, it is NOT OK.

2. You can actually ignore the helmet if you think it looks funny on you, but basically not wearing it is OK as according to the locals, the police "just don't do anything". But bear in mind that I is your safety that is the concern. So wear it like I do.

3. If any damages happened on the bike/get stolen, you HAVE TO PAY. It is NOT covered by any forms of insurance. Means if you lose a bike, prepare to fork our 60,000 Bath to replace a new one for them.

Activities in Krabi ranges from water sport, land activity and tour. So on the first day, we went for island hopping.

(Not really...Hopping)

Snorkelling.

 

 

This kind of island hopping trip normally includes transports, snorkelling sets and lunch. Make sure everything is included and written down in the receipts.

 

To be honest, if compared to Boracay island in Phillipines, it is like comparing between a mineral water and "teh tarik". Krabi is the latter.

 

The Krabi "teh tarik".

 



The Boracay one.

 

 

So judge yourself.

 

Definitely will go back to Boracay again one day.

 

 

The town itself where we stay, which is Ao Nang, may not be as lively as Phuket and Boracay. Which is quite a disappointment to be honest.

 

We have nothing much to shop and we ended up doing this.

 

Well, another disappointment as the kart is not well maintained and I have a feeling of riding a fighting bull instead of a Go Kart.

For dining experiences, we can recommend two romantic place to go.

Lae Lay Grill

A restaurant where you can enjoy nice and affordable seafoods and drinks while appreciating the view over the island.

Then its neighbour (Walking distance) from Lae Lay grill would be the Hilltop.

Almost the same concept.

Wine and Dine here would probably cost 2000 Bath for a nice and fulfilling meal. Once in a while wouldn't hurt isn't it.

Note that they did provide transportation from your hotel to the dining place for free of charge. (Of course include the return trip).

All you need to do is just ask your hotel to make a reservation for you and all you need to do is just dress up and wait for the pick up.

Even though you can ride a bike to the place, it is not really recommended as there hill can be steep and come with lots of potholes.

So this pretty much sum up our 4 days 3 night trips. Some of our free time we spent on drinking beers and wine in the pool next to ur bedroom.

Out of 10, let me rate my holiday as a summary. (1-Bad...10-Excellent)

Accommodation: 9.5/10 (Nothing is perfect)
Foods                 : 8/10
Water activities  : 6/10 (Again, should go Boracay)
Town                  : 4/10 (Boring town)

Hope this post can roughly give you, especially the first timers to Krabi a little bit of insight.

Apart from the fact it is a honeymoon trip, I should say Boracay island is much better.

My best bet is I think my wife would agree too!

 

United Kingdom

A close friend of mine stumbled upon my blog a couple of days ago on my trip to Boracay, Philippines.

That's when I am realized that I have not been blogging since December.

Just an update, for the past 3 months I was busy with setting up my new business, business visit to UK, organizing my wedding dinner and having my honeymoon. So little time, so many things!

Now where should I start.

Recently I have set up a business entity of my own (I guess I would not want to get into much details here). I have this opportunity to deal with a company from the UK, and got invited to visit their office in Birmingham in the month of March 14.

Over the course of two weeks, I have had lots of meetings and the only time left for myself to tour around will be only during weekends.

With all the expenses like hotel accommodation and airfare covered as part of the agreement, i took the opportunity to visit as many places as i can.

I flew the Emirates airliner, which will bring me on a 13 hours journey (with transit in Dubai in between). Based on what my friends told me, the airfare could be as low as RM 2000++ if you managed to buy it earlier.

And it ain't Air Asia.

The seat in economy class considered wide enough for a tall person like me. And they do serve beers and red wine on board.

So, this is what i did.

Visited Old Trafford, Manchester.

Then, the rival of Manchester, Liverpool at their Anfield Stadium.

What's London without Big Ben eh?

Visited Nottingham University, where me and my friend met up and thanks for showing me around during your precious weekend.

Well, it is funny as i was chasing the goose around and my friend tried to shoot my picture.

And well, Birmingham city itself on the final day before i was scheduled to travel back to Malaysia.

Had some sushi and selfie.

Overall, the trip was a good one.

Looking forward for the next trip.