Working Trip 9

Toward the end of my working trip, the host rewarded us with an adventure rendezvous. The place we are going is one of the five sacred mountain in China. Millions of people go there for a pilgrimage and for the Chinese, this place is equivalent to Mecca to Muslim. They say, every Chinese dream of visiting the temple at least once in a lifetime. The place is called Mount Tai or Tai Shan located 1571 meters above sea level and the highest mountain in Shandong Province.

I didn't realise the significance of this mountain until i got to know that only 72 Emperors out of more than 2000 emperors existed during the dynasties era have made to the peak and prayed at the temples located on the Mountain. One of the greatest emperor and the first King to ever climbed the mountain to its peak was the same King that had built the Great Wall of China. It was said that only the successful emperors dare to pray at the temple or else he will embarass himself to scale the heights. It was believed that whoever managed to reach its peak will return to his home as a 'new' rejuvenated person.

Can you see the peak? Yes. We will be climbing up by foot. By foot? Aiyaa. Anyway, it was a majestic sight from downtown Tai An.

We arrived at the foot of the mountain a bit late. Thus, the guide advised us not to climb up by foot or else we will not be able to come down the same day. Phewwww... I was glad but my colleague looked frustrated. It was a blow to him because the Chinese believed that the pilgrimage will not be fullfilled if the person does not complete the 7000 steps climb towards the sacred temple.

There was a bus ride until the mid-point and from thereon visitors can choose either walking up the stairs or take the cable car. I chose the cable car. The cable car ride took 20 mins to reach the top. It was high up in the air and i enjoyed the God given scenic nature.

This is the sacred temple. It is said that a person need to write his prayers and wishes on a piece of paper and a priest will complete the process. The piece of paper is then burnt to ashes and the person is given a padlock which is then he will lock at the center of the shrine. The lock symbolises that our prayers and wishes are secured and safe at the temple. The Chinese believed that prayers made at this temple are the purest of all prayers and high possibility of it being fulfilled by God.

Behind me is an ancient hotel that was used by the emperors to stay up there for an extended period in those days. The temperature was around 10C. I was standing above the clouds. Beautiful sight.

I had the chance to say my quiet prayer during sunset. I wish only good things for me, my family and my friends. for MU too. Hahah....

There were many ancient buildings built at the peak. I wonder how they carry the building materials up there during those days.
Soon after sunset, we were supposed to catch the last cable car down. Unfortunately, we missed it. Darn. The cable car service ends at 530pm but due to bad weather it stopped earlier that day. How, huh, now?
We were told to walk down the mountain and take the 7000 stairs. Alamakkk.... You can see the stairs from this picture and we started walking down at 530pm. We were told not to take more than an hour to reach the mid-point or else risking missing the bus ride down. If we missed the bus, we have to walk down another three hours to the foot of the mountain.

Thus, without wasting any time - we started our journey down. Throngs of people walked down with us but no one complained anything. There were people still climbing up and some carrying water containers, supplies, clothes etc. Walking down the stairs made me realise why the Chinese regarded this journey as a pilgrimage. It was tough walking down but three times harder to walk up. I saw many determine young and old people struggling to climb up.

On the way down, we saw this sacred tree too. It was said that the first King that climbed the mountain sheltered under it from cold weather. As a result, the King rewarded the tree by making it as one of his Minister during his administration era. Sound funny, huh? But mind you, do not make fun of this in front of your Chinese friend cos it is considered as insulting. The exact tree is still exist until today and only god knows how old she is. (must be at least 2000 years old).

I completed the walk down within 60 minutes and managed to catch the last bus. Nasib baik.....

I came down with new spirits, renewed vigour and great feeling that i had completed the pilgrimage. It was not easy but the satisfaction sensation that ran through my blood at that time cannot be describe in words.

Keat - I stand corrected but i hope you can confirm whether my facts are accurate. You must go, my fren.

Working Trip 8

Well, i tried to update the blog and document my journey through China but unfortunately i had difficulty in getting internet access. Thus, this is an outstanding post and i'd like to share with y'all about my experiences...

I went to visit a factory in the northern part of China. The people there are still very much into the Communist regime and demonstrated here in the pix where they hang the oath/charter of the Communist party and everyone must obey it with passion.

Later, the host took us to a halal restaurant and one of their delicacies is shown here. Very high in protein content, i was told and good for man. Crispy on the outside, squiggy in the inside. Haha.... sedap gak.. Anthony Bourdain styled luncheon.
Snapped this photo while waiting for tickets to visit a historic park. The pix depicts a mother trying to console this young kid not to be afraid of me..!!!

This park is reknowned for its historical artifacts and it said that this is where the most beautiful chinese writing of all-time was found. This park is now being nicely preserved and well taken care of. A very scenic park.

The 'Great Hall' where the best writers all over China were once kept and trained by the Qing Dynasty. On the right, is a replica of the most beautiful Chinese writing ever produced in history of mankind.

Mao Tze Tung tried to emulate the writing but this was the best what he could conjure up on a big rock.
Later, we went to one of the most significant archelogical findings in the world. This is the grave of Su Bin (the grandson of the writer) and the place where Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" was found. I've read this book before with amazement but never i would imagine that i will be visiting the place where the book was found. Its regarded as the mother of all modern military strategic and intelligence masterpieces.

The Art of War book published in the market has 13 Chapters. Here, i got to know that the original book has 18 Chapters..!! Mankind has never be able to decipher the last five chapters because the original copy has been damaged to pieces and there are gaps between the sentences. Scientist are still working to unveil its mysteries. See pic... (that's the original copy where Sun Tzu had written on bamboo strips).
This is a replica of the original script and that is how they use bamboo strips as paper in those days to document their writings.

The serene park where Sun Tzu's Art of War was found. The relics were discovered in 1972, some 2000+ years ago after it was buried. Profoundly, the contents are still applicable until today even in Masters and PhDs studies. Many Chinese businessmen are also using it as part of their strategy tool in running their day-to-day business. A well-known fact.

Raya Lagi..

Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir & Batin..

Tahun ni aku raya kat Nogorilah sebab aku keje 1st Raya tuh..

Kg Kota at Nite..

Utk pengetahuan korang, Jln kat Kg aku dah ditukar ye..

ni sebab bapak aku dah diacknowledge di kg sebab anak2 dia dah banyak

berjaya dan byk mengharumkan nama kg .. he.. he..

dan jugak supaya cucu 2 dia tak dijadikan bahan ketawa bila dah masuk sekolah & u nanti..

Raya tahun ni jugak aku sempat jumpa , beraya , berborak....

dan juga mencubit pipi Ejayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....

Kpd semua Selamat Hari Raya , jom jumpa Ejay bila dia datang KL nanti...

Working Trip 7

The driver sent me straight to the hotel. This is the grandious and the only decent hotel available in Cangshan town. Only rich people stays here, i was told.

This is the hotel, Ban Hua International Hotel. A 3-star rating hotel. Boleh larrr... better than factory hostel.

hmmm... not bad, huh? Exceeded my expectation... finally, a good bed and a TV!! Sadly, all channels are in mandarin except CCTV9 - news. It's been a week without TV and i've missed my daily dosage of the latest sports result. btw, did MU win against Villa? Hamilton, a world champion? Springboks, how?

Toilet looks clean.

We didn't wasted any time and soon after we washed-up, we zoomed to check out Cangshan town.

Look at the traffic - cars, bicycles, jay-walkers, motorcycles... all-in-one... non-stop honking each other .... everyone seems to be using the road as they like... ikut suka m*k b*p*k dorang jer..... but surprisingly, their accident rate is lower than Kajang.. definitely way lower than Malaysia's average.

I saw the tower from far. Definitely an eye-catcher. Beautiful sight.

Paid RMB4 = RM2 and walked up to reach the base of the 10-storey tower. Nice....

I climbed the tower and reached its top. This is how Cangshan looks like - dusty or maybe misty (im not quite sure whether its pollution, haze or mist), old town but big size.

Met this guy on the way down and asked him to play me a song. Free... very antique man.

Working Trip 6

On Saturday, 20/10/2007, I travelled to Cangshan. We bid goodbye to Nantong and a relief. One more week to go in China. Better make the most out it.

This was my ride to Canghsan. It's very common here and cheap. This one is selling around RMB70k equiv to not more than RM35k.

One of the R&R. Nampak cam shopping complex jer.

Barren hill. I have this butterfly feeling that i'm in for a challenge here.

Almost there now. Cowboy town along the way. Wild Wild West in China, anyone?

There were many farms along the hiway. As far as your eyes can see. Unbelievable.

Working Trip 5

Our last nite in Nantong, our counterpart to us to the her city. 3 million people lives in the city and it was bustling with activities. The development around this city simply amazed me and KL suddenly looked mediocre. Nantong is not a well-known place (at all..!!) and considered as a small suburban area in China.

Public water fountain show.
Some kind of sweets.

A brawl at the pasar malam. Luckily, police came swiftly to arrest the people involved.

My colleagues had some noodles at the street stall. Like Anthony Bourdain always said, hawkers food are the best if you want to discover a place. I had my bottled green tea only.

Tomorrow, i'l be travelling to Cangshan, Linyi Municipal, Shandong Province. It's about 5 hours drive from here. I dunno what to expect but that is as close i can get to sample real kampung in China. Heard that they eat a lot of lamb up there and colder too.

haha....

Working Trip 4

That's popia skin from breakfast.

Fill-up serunding generously in the center. Roll it into a cylinderical wrap.

That's dinner for me.

Make another four of these plus meal replacement drink (MRD) and gulp two litres of warm water. That should keep me satiated and carry me through the nite. i'm full... literally... haha

small gathering

kepada sesiapa yg dok kat area bangi, kajang, cheras, bukit jalil and um. jom kita buat gathering between 5-10 nov ni, kita main tenis kat uniten (aku nak belasah upiq). nak naik kuda pun ada kat situ.

Working Trip 3

Last nite we finished work slightly earlier than usual and our counterpart took us to a nearby pasar malam to get a feel of the local scene. Temperature was around 14C and no wind chill, thus, making it perfect for a nite stroll on the street.

My colleague, Sally. Whenever people asked her where i came from, she'll tell them 'He's from Paris, France!'... haha...

This is what they do for entertainment. Pay RMB2=RM1, u get to sing your chosen song and the public will decide whether you hit the right 'pictching' or not. Open-air karaoke. haha...

Blanket and comforters.


Looks yummy but too bad, had to pass it on.

Kuaci. Macam2 jenis.