Thursday, August 30, 2007

My trip to Hangzhou ....

I will not write anything on stitching for this entry....instead enjoy my findings in Hangzhou, China!!

We visited Hangzhou on our first weekend in China. We had decided to spend the weekend there just to kill time and go for some sight seeing. We hop into an express bus and it took us 2 hours to reach Hangzhou. Basically, Hangzhou is a tourist city and the most popular spot is West Lake Garden (it remind me of the Summer Palace Garden in Beijing :))). We did not cover much places since decided to keep it for the next time once we have permanently based in China.

We are very impressed with the express bus service....the bus is very clean, on time and even serve mineral water free on board (I hope it's the safe one!!).....same goes for the bus in the city its clean and punctual...for 2 yuan you can take a ride anywhere in the city...one thing I notice the public bus make an automatic announcement everytime it make a stop .......it has been a very fullfilling experience riding the buses in China.....

Beside West Lake Garden, Hangzhou is also famous for its tea, silk, silk umbrella and chop sticks.....these are a must buy if you are in Hangzhou.


This is the city of Hangzhou from the hotel window.....





This is some of the views at Westlake Garden. The lake is full of lotus plants and they are soo loveeelyy in the summer.....I took these photos at 7:30am and as you can see some of the ladies are doing their exercise routine (group dancing by flipping fan on their hand...quite interesting)

































Shopping time......


On the left is a place called Wushan Market (I hope I got this right!)....this place full of souvenier gifts ranging from silk dress, fans, umbrella, key chain, pewter items etc...etc..etc...

On the right side is Silk Market. This place is very huge and long, about 2-3 blocks I guess....the is a small Muslim coffeeshop at the right side of the entrance
Conclusion, one day is not enough to cover these two places especially the Silk Market. I don't do much shopping since I am not into it unless if I find something on cross stitching..........



An array of fabrics at one of the shops at the Silk Market.







Finally, the bus station in Hangzhou. As you can see here,
all are in Mandarin including the tickets so it's all up to you to figure it out so that you end up at the right destination (LOL)....




Next trip will be Yiwu........






















































































































Friday, August 10, 2007

Life in China...continue....

It took me more than a week to comeback and write.....let's continue...
The day after we arrived we straight away went to our client plant about 10 minutes drive from the hotel. It was a huge plant full of new buses since our client is the main sponsor of buses for Beijing Olympic. One thing make me real proud, they raise the Jalur Gemilang at the main entrance together with Union Jack, China and Germany flags.

Working with them is a very challenging experience since I have Mandarin limitation and they hardly understand English. But they are nice bunch of people and very helpful. We managed to overcome our limitation on our first week and towards the second weeks we managed to speak simple Mandarin conversation.

Back at the hotel, I started to gather some information to find some cross stitch shops. Apparently, one of the Asst Manager at the hotel, Jason, is into stitching. He showed me the shop a few step away from the hotel. The place is full of cross stitch kits...its a wholesale market not only selling stitching stuffs but also all sort of things women accessories, clothing, wools, shoes, herbs, tea, nuts, vegetable, etc...etc...all in one roof!!!...half a day was not enough to cover all. I went crazy seeing the wools for knitting...they are so nice, soft n fluffy...I almost bought a bundle but since I am not into knitting I have to on hold of my desire...I keep on telling myself "no...no...not now...still have sometime once I have settledown..."....this will be my next agenda once I started being away from the children....I grabs a few kits to treat myself and a few as a gift for my stitching buddies...........I hope they will love them!!

The wool in one of the shelves....



These are some of the kits for myself.... since I love flowers so much, most of the kits I choose are flowers motifs....

Some adjustable plastic hoops for myself and as a gift for my stitching buddies. The one at the top corner are cross stitch kits for purse. At the bottom are cross stitches for clock. The kit inclusive the clock mechanism.

The food we order at the Muslim Restaurant...beef, mutton and some sort of mutton kebab....



The building and road across the hotel:

These are some photos taken at the garden nearby the down town:


I guess it is common in China to have beautiful garden in each town...I have seen a few in the area and the Chinese people really know how to enjoy the garden and spend quality time wondering or just chit chatting at the garden bench.....





Talking about being away from the children....it has now become common questions from my friends and colleagues, how do I manage being away from my partner and children....one of my colleague bluntly commented how could I do that without feeling guilty....yes, its sound easy to say than done....for me I have my own way of planning my life, this is my choice and I have to live with it.......this is not one brain decision...I have been talking with Rozi and the children for numerous occasions... and all at the right senses.....its hard to explain and I thank Allah for giving me a very strong will power....I am glad and thankful for having Ayong around ...she has done a superb job while I am away...making sure that all her siblings is comfortable at home without me around by helpling in the kitchen cooking with my maid, taking good care of them and ensuring daddy always has his tea after dinner even without mummy around....we have been very open all the times...I had once asked how she felt about having to take my role temporarily......she said its always her obligations since she is the eldest....may Allah always bless her with successful life in the future!!!...In one of her emails she is complaining that 2 weeks is too long for her since she is running out of idea to cook....I know I always can count on her since she took good care of me while I was on wheel chair 2 years back...she is the one who bath and clean me, helped me with my urine and she is only 12 years old to face the situation....and all without telling her in advance how and when to do it..........

I have a choice to bring my children with me but the only problem is there is no religious school at the town whereI live...it's very difficult for them...I had decided that they will stay with me during the school holidays and Rozi can always visit me whenever he wants (it is a good reason since he hardly take his annual leave)


On my diet regime....its not so good........

Gotta continue again.....