My China Traveloque 2008,…

(Trip to Macau-Shenzhen-Shanghai and Beijing)

Hi and Cheers to all, I am back on line and keeping in touch …Just arrived from my Asian cruise, I have been away for almost a month now,…I wrote this China travel notes at special request of friend Nimfa Briones….. Glad to share it to all, please read on and enjoy… Travel Expo at Mall of Asia Since I came to know about the Travel mart many years ago.. I always attend this travel market event on a yearly basis…as you know, this year, the Travel Tour Expo was held last February 15, 16, and 17 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia in Pasay City, it was a three day Travel mart. The Travel Tour Expo is actually a venue where you can buy and reserve tickets and travel package tours at discounted rate or cheap price….during the 3 day period they give big discounts that ranges from about from 8 - 10% from total cost.. . this is where I buy my travel packages kc mura and affordable for me… Last February, my friend Ms.Fely Mendoza (I met Ms Fely in my earlier travel to China, USA and Europe) and I was eyeing for Russia and Scandinavian countries tour before the end of the year, while Mai Ciocson and I was supposed to look for a pilgrimage tour to the Holy land with side trips to Jordan, Egypt and Dubai in April or May…. pero iba ang nangyari… Mai invited Nimfa Briones to attend the Travel expo while I invited Mila Fernando to attend also, to have a feel of the events and scout for travel itinerary that would suit our needs and budget…(I think I did send out the Travel Expo Ad to many friends for their info and possible interest too..) To Travel or not to Travel Nagkitakita kami doon sa Expo…We found a very cheap travel tour to China, I thought it would be nice to travel to China with the forthcoming Beijing Olympic in August, we can view and see the Olympic buildings and sites. Initially, we agreed to travel together in China.. Our China travel tour cost us about P36,000 + only, per person, it’s a package tour on full board….at once, Mai and Mila agreed to get and confirm the China tour, however, I had a hard time convincing Nimfa to join our group… Nimfa got lots of questions, fears and doubts, she said she can’t afford to travel at this time kc, she got a son who is to get married this May 2008. Kaya ayaw niyang mag spend ng money, alanganin siyang sumama…kaya para maconvince and magconfirm siya, I offered to initially pay for her down payment for the tour fee para magdecide siya and sumama na siya agad !!! I used the invitation by intimidation technique…I have been encouraging Nimfa to relax, take a break, have a vacation for working so hard as a single mother for many years. I thought she deserve to give herself a "self Gift", a pat at the back, to be happy and enjoy life at this stage of her life… You know what !!.. I bought two travel tour packages at the Travel mart last February, our china tour with Mai, Mila and Nimfa… and another travel package, an Asian travel cruise (on board the luxury liner Super Star Gemini) to Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand with my niece Estela…kaya more or less I was away for almost a month…….I observed that my niece is getting too stress in her work as nurse and Clinical Instructor at Mary Chiles Hospital and as a part time staff of E- Book publishing company, I thought she needed a break, a relaxing time and a grand vacation, so I invited her to come along with me in the travel cruise…masakit sa bulsa ko…. but I believe in good cause, in depositing happiness and unforgettable moments in my bank account of memories, sharing travel learning opportunities and to put in simple words, I am happy to see others happy and enjoying life…. Confirmed China Tour As usual, I served as the willing coordinator, errand girl and messenger for our travel requirements and plans. Prior our trip, we planned and coordinated what to bring and what type of clothings we need to bring, dahil malamig pa sa China kahit na Spring na ang panahon doon…Believe ako !!.. kay Mai and Nimfa, marami silang baon na sweater, akala ko panlaban sa lamig… yun pala para sa picture taking, for color and variety ika nga hahaha …..

We got our China travel tour from Wintrex travel Corp… we call it "ang tour na walang pahinga" kc its a whirlwind tour of places in Macao, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing….I was not too focus this time with our China travel tour, kaya hindi ako nakagawa ng travelogue while on the actual trip…but Nimfa urged me to make the travelogue kc ilalagay daw niya sa album niya kasama ng mga adventure pictures namin…I found out later na ang dami palang dalang pera si Nimfa, kc dami niya napamili at me money belt pa siya ..hahaha… when Nimfa purchased a Lacome perfume and beauty products on board the Air Macau plane, the airline attendant do not like to accept US dollars bills with markings kahit na galing pa ito from legitimate bank in Philippines, take note, it is their airline policy daw… so it is good to always carry international credit card and pay via your credit card when possible, para walang hazzle instead of paying in US dollar bills….however this is contrary to the advice of Mr. Warren Buffet the second richest man (the richest man of course is Bill Gates!) who donated $ 31 billion to charity, he said… “ stay away from credit card and invest in yourself….. I like his other advices in life like, don’t buy more than what you really need…don’t try to show off, just be yourself and do what you enjoy most…live your life as simple as you are…etc. etc. I got low adrenalin and excitement in this trip, maybe because this is my second time na doon sa China, (I was in China in 2002, with my nephew Mark, we also climbed the great wall of china, we had a 15 day travel tour, visited about 9 cities in China that time … ) so di na masyado yun excitement ko but this time what matters and important to me was the happiness and enjoyment in our bonding experiences as barkada, masaya and enjoy yong grupo namin nila Mai, Mila and Nimfa…our happy travel experiences add more years to our life… The Las Vegas in China - Macau Our China trip adventure started in Macao, since travel time is part of our trip schedule, we were thankful we got an early morning flight to Macao via Air Macao, hence we got more sightseeing time in Macao…Upon arrival at Macao airport at noon time, we boarded a low-floor airport bus "Cobus" going to the arrival area. Together with other tourists, we were met by our tourist guide named Ms. "Annie". We rode on a tourist coaster and went to Amigo restaurant for our taste of Macao buffet lunch. Right after lunch, we proceeded with our Macao city tour, visiting the statue of Kam Lam, the Fisherman’s Wharf, the ancient A-Ma temple, Ruins of St Paul’s Church, Chinese delicacies candy and cookies store, viewing the Macao Tower, (this is a communication and entertainment tower, they said it is one of the tallest structure in the world, it got various restaurants, theaters, shopping malls and a variety of adventurous activities such as the bungee jumping, tower climbing), etc. etc. I remember in 1980s when I first came to Macao, the place was just like a sleepy town with only one casino “ the famous Lisboa Hotel Casino” they got no airport that time, Macao can be reached only by hydrofoil or ferry boat from Hongkong for about 45 minutes, its like going to Corregidor from Manila…Macau now has many long and modern bridges that link the island to mainland China… Now, I find Macao as ultra modern city, it is now called the “Las Vegas” City in Asia having so many casinos in the peninsula, Macau is now considered the highest-volume gambling centre in the world, they have Sands Macao, Venetian Macao which is considered the second largest building in the world, Wynn Resorts, MGM Grand Macao, MGM Mirage. Numerous other hotel casinos are also to be opened in near future … Macau’s economy is based largely on tourism, much of it geared toward gambling, the gambling industry had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho. Macao currency is called Macanese Pataca (MOP), Languages used are mostly in Cantonese and Mandarin, altho I noticed signage at the airport, streets, highways and even their entry card at immigration are with Portuguese language translations… we didn’t encounter any old or young Portuguese tho.. I guess they just like to retain and maintain their Portuguese origin… para elite ang dating… diba!! Per our tourist guide, Macao was both the oldest and the last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on December 1999. Portugal and China reached an agreement to return Macau to Chinese rule on Dec. 20, 1999. They agreed on provisions that ensured the autonomy of Macau, including its right to elect local leaders, the right of its residents to travel freely, and the right to maintain its way of life for 50 years after the start of Chinese rule. The name Macau is thought to be derived from the Temple de A-Ma, a temple built dedicated to the goddess of seafarers and fishermen. It is said that when the Portuguese sailors landed at the coast just outside the temple and asked the name of the place, the natives replied "A-Ma-Gao" (Bay of A-Ma). The Portuguese then named the peninsula Macau. We climbed the ancient “A-Ma Temple” which is believed to protect the seafarers and fishermen, it is situated on a hillside facing the sea. Macau got museum in the park, with stunning exhibits of Chinese costumes and antique silver headgears. We also climbed the ruins of St Paul’s church with its beautifully laid out museum. The façade ruins of St Paul church is considered as an icon or emblematic picture of Macao. Fort Macau with its cannon is very near St Paul’s church….Mila Fernando was too amazed to see lots of bamboo scaffoldings used in the construction and renovation of buildings in Macau. …since the bamboos were neatly and beautifully laid out, she said it was “ work of Art”… she took pictures of it as souvenir photo… After our Macau city tour, on our way to Shenzhen China, we proceeded to the busy terminal of Gongbei Border gate which links Macao to China and vice versa… About 500,000 people workers, tourists, people from all walks of life pass through this busy and huge terminal daily….. At the Gongbei Terminal, we passed two immigration counters, exit for Macau and another one, entry to China… It was a very long walk on escalators, stairs with our heavy luggages in tow….. you need to be extra alert and aware when you are in this great busy Terminal, kundi mawawala ka !!! we met and encountered a senior lady who got lost, she was separated from her family and tour group amidst the queues, lines of people…we tried to help her by letting her go with us, however she got a different visa scheme which is a Chinese Group visa while the four of us got Individual Chinese visa… after an hour of waiting, she did find her group tho….

Our entry to China was a long process, it was a very long tiring walk. We were worried when we didn’t see “ Ms. Annie” our tourist guide along the way…she was remised in giving us appropriate directions on what to do…however we met another tourist guide named Mr. “ David” who assisted us in finding our way…… Shenzhen City – the Shopping Paradise of China On the way to Shenzhen, we had our dinner at Famouseperf Kitchen. I realized it was the first time for Ms Nimfa to have a laureate dinner with about 12 courses , yeah.….. When Nimfa used the washroom of the restaurant, I was too surprised to find out that this was the first time that Nimfa got to experience seeing and using a Chinese toilet, the “ squat style” toilet … actually, this type of toilet is part of culture in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and is existing even in Japan no matter how modern and advance Japan is, when I was in Tokyo, Japan sometime ago, I found a restaurant with a western sounding name that got the” squat type” of toilet also, …..you can actually choose between a “squat type toilet” and a standard seat toilet in the restaurant… I think they consider the “ squat type” toilet to be more hygienic and sanitary to use… From Macau, we had a 3 long hours coaster ride up to Shenzhen, which gave us opportunity to sleep along the way…. We arrived 1:30 AM in Shenzhen, China and was billeted at Ambassador Hotel, for better sharing moments and chika time, the four of us agreed to raffle our names as to who will be our hotel roommates. I got Nimfa as my roommate, while Mila and Mai shared a room. I remember, we stayed in this same hotel many years ago, during my time at PGI/Chevron, I organized a short trip to Hongkong via Shenzhen, our group composed of Aldrin Barrios, Emily Villanueva, Mila Fernando and others, … Upon checking out from Ambassador hotel that time, the hotel staff would not let our group together with other tourists leave the hotel… because according to them, they got missing hotel towels, they were trying to find out who got and stole it , they even threatened to open all our luggages to find the hotel towels… but after a while, they let us go.. they found the towels !!! Yun dalawang bakla na pinoy na kasama sa tour group confessed and surrendered the towels. Nag sorry naman daw sila.. they got it by mistake sabi nila !!! We were all angry sa mga baklang yun….as Pinoy nahihiya kami sa ginawa nila !!! Whenever we are out of the Philippines, as Filipinos, we represent our country, our people, our family, ourselves, our character and our culture kaya dapat we need to be cautious of what we do, to show and give our best and take pride of being “ Pinoy”… that incident gave us learned lessons in life, to be always aware of our responsibility as Pinoy … The following morning right after our sumptuous buffet breakfast at the hotel, we met our assigned tourist guide in City of Shenzhen named “ Ms. Vivian Liu”… I consider Ms Vivian, to be a young tourist guide, she is a nice lady. We like her kc she got clear English diction, madaling intindihin ang English niya…Ms. Vivian accompanied us all day long touring the city of Shenzhen. Surprisingly, there were only four of us in our tour, special ang groupo namin, kaya kakalog kalog kami sa van… We went to Jade, Silk and Pearl factory store, (there we learned information on how jade is made into jewelry, where and how silk is made, how pearl is cultured in China, we went to shopping malls..at gumastos ng pera !!) Schenzhen city which is very near Hongkong, is a Special Economic Zone in China. The shopping mall most visited by day-tourists is Lo Wu Commercial City, situated close to the Luohu border crossing. They got overwhelming array of goods, clothes, handbags that carry brands of Seibu, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Armani, (usually by fake-designer), fabric, jewellery and electrical goods. The other reasons for Hong Kong tourists to visit Shenzhen are the restaurants and goods usually at a cheaper cost but low in quality. Shenzhen is home to some of China’s most successful high-tech companies, such as the famous ZTE. The highest building in Shenzhen city is Shun Hing Square, it is also currently the world’s ninth tallest building, Oh yessss…we went inside the theme park, Window of the World, which has about 130 reproductions of some of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, among them, The Eiffel Tower, France , The Angkor Wat, Cambodia , The Taj Mahal, India , Merlion, Singapore, The Sydney Opera House, Australia , The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, Notre Dame de Paris, France, The Colosseum of Rome, Italy , The Great Steps of Spain, Italy , L’Arc de Triomphe, France , Venice and St. Mark’s Square, Italy, The Idyllic Sights of Windmills and Tulips, Netherlands , The Acropolis of Athens, Greece , The Wall and Clock Towers of Kremlin, Russia, London Tower Bridge, Britain , Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza, Egypt , The Africa Safari Park, Kenya , Mount Rushmore National Memorial, U.S.A., The White House, U.S.A., Skyscrapers in Manhattan District, U.S.A. , Mount Corcovado, Brazil , The Statue of Liberty, U.S.A. , The Capitol Building, U.S.A. , Jefferson Memorial, U.S.A. , Lincoln Memorial Hall, U.S.A., Mount Fuji, Japan, the Statues of Easter Island, Chile and many many more…. We did have a good time appreciating the park, marami kaming picture taking dito.. kaya lang nawala yong sobrero ni Nimfa sa park..at si Mai naman nawala yun gold bracelet niya…. Sayang… Our schedule was hectic, but Ms. Vivian, was able to manage our time very well. We had our lunch on time and very early dinner, would you believe !!! we had dinner at 3pm !!!… near the theme park so that we can easily go to airport and catch our flight via China Eastern bound to Shanghai City… Shanghai – the city of Lights It was night time when we reached Shanghai… kaya hindi kami nakalibot ng husto sa Shanghai… this is what I know about Shanghai, it is another ultra modern city in China, it is considered the “ the Romance and City of lights “ or “Paris” of Asia…. …Shanghai is one of the world’s busiest ports and is often regarded as the center of finance and trade in mainland China. The city is currently undergoing a building boom. Shanghai is notable for its modern architecture and unique style, has one of the richest collections of architectures in the world. Shanghai is spousing the Expo 2010 with its theme” "Better City - Better Life" its objectives to build and improve quality of life of its residents. Pudong skyline and the Shanghai Bund are the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. At Shanghai Bund, building heights are restricted in this area, the Bund houses 52 buildings of various architectural styles. Our tourist guide in Beijing At Shanghai airport, we got a connecting flight to Beijing. We arrived Beijing at 12 midnite….altho our plane bound to Beijing was delayed a bit, we were able to catch and meet our new English tourist guide who will serve as our tourist guide for the duration of our stay in Beijing… Kahit na malalim na ang gabi nandoon yun tourist guide na sundo namin..…Her name is Ms Kathy Wangwanyan, she is about 29 years old, married and got a son who is 4 years old.. I find Kathy as a positive, cool and amiable person…kaya lang me kulang sa kanya.. hindi siya masyado nagsasalita, isang tanong, isang sagot person siya….kunti lang ang mga kwento niya about China and Beijing….she is not a talker..matipid siya sa kwento…we tried to induce her to tell us stories by interviewing her and asking her questions… We learned she lives in the Northen part of Beijing, her parents are peasants and they take care of her son while she and her husband work in the city. She went to college to have a better life more than being a peasant like her parents… She is very much aware of the China restriction, the “one child policy” which was implemented during the communist regime of Mao Tse Tung. She informed us that China currently has 1.4 billion population…When asked what will happen if she would have another child, she said they will be punished and burden heavily with high government taxes… Altho I am a firm believer in freedom, I support the “Responsible Parenthood principles ” better. Couple can have so much children as long as “ they can afford”, they can afford to raise a child financially, physically, emotionally or psychologically, mentally and spiritually. Since we all live in one planet, we are all interconnected, hence the cost of having many children are shouldered not just by the family, by the community but the entire planet and by the generations yet to be born.. it correlates and tantamount to love of children, recognizing how much they need it terms of food, shelter, clothing, education, parental guidance, health services and love of our natural environment which nourishes our body and soul…. Ms. Kathy helped us check in at our hotel in Loong Garden Hotel, which is located outskirt of Beijing. Our hotel/apartel which got complete facility is in a very big resort area, with about 20 buildings hotel apartel that can be rented for short days or longer period. It is suited for big group occupancy… the restaurant where we eat our meals is located far from our hotel, however they provided a cart service to pick us up from our hotel…just one telephone call and presto the service cart will be at your hotel door…ang lament ko lang walang bathtub yun hotel room nila, where I can make babad my feet in hot water after a very tiring day !!!… This time my hotel roommate was Mai while Mila Fernando got Nimfa as roommate…. Mai pointed out to me the special bed they got… me bukol bukol yun spring bed nila…sabi ko naman probably they like to present a “massage effect” bed for hotel guests nila….kc China is more inclined and believer of body massage and accupuncture di ba…. We had our Beijing breakfast which I find plentiful. We were picked up at the hotel very early in the morning by Ms Kathy, our tourist guide. We toured the Forbidden city but unable to go to Tiananmen Square during our first day due to the official Olympic torch launching ceremony that day in the area hence, I suggested to Ms. Kathy if we can go shopping and go to the Philippine Embassy instead. I thought of making a visit to my cousin who is working as “ attaché” at the Phil Embassy in Beijing. I like to see her apartment in Beijing too. My cousin Cynthia David has been working in Beijing for about 4 years, she works at Dept of Foreign Affairs in Philippines, she has been assigned and posted in Hongkong, Singapore and Indonesia… she is a blessed single like me…and happily living alone in an apartment in Beijing… she is a very independent, open minded, courageous, confident, competent and very Godly devoted lady… lahat ng kapatid niya are all living in USA, her late father was also a diplomat, working at DFA and had been assigned to different countries as well. Cynthia was born in Singapore… her other siblings were also born in other countries….her other younger brother is currently working at Philippine Embassy in Israel….they belong to family of diplomats….I like the work of Cynthia kaya lang hindi ko kaya yun!!! gusto ko lang magtravel… hindi magwork sa abroad…hahaha..

I gave Ms Kathy, our tourist guide, the address of Phil Embassy in Beijing thinking she knows the in and out of the places/districts in the city of Beijing.. yun pala hindi niya alam !!! since we cant use the van because of transpo fuel restrictions, and such activity was beyond our tour itinerary, Ms. Kathy was so gracious enough to accompany us to Phil Embassy via the circuitious subway… we had a hard time looking for the Phil Embassy, it was already late in the afternoon when we arrived at the Phil Embassy office, at halos wala na yun mga employees. Cynthia was unable to receive my text message about our coming over to her office…however, we were able to meet and talk with a Filipino employee named Francis Lim, he works as Chinese interpreter at the Phil Embassy… To cut the story short, we met Cynthia and got to her apartment which is on the 22th floor of a tall building, about 10 minute walk to the Phil Embassy at naglalakad lang daw siya everyday to her office… We had good view of the city from her apartment, we had a light snacks in her place kasama si Ms. Kathy, our tourist guide…

Cynthia accompanied us to the famous shopping area, the Silk Market, its like 168 in Divisoria with about 7th floors of shopping areas full of various merchandises…. we were cautioned to apply our bargaining skills for value of our money in buying… Mai and Mila was able to buy their pasalubongs, but Nimfa got a hard time shopping kc she is always converting to peso equivalent of Yuan (Yuan, or Renminbi or RMB is the Chinese currency in china)…Ms Kathy patiently accompanied us late in the evening in going back to our hotel via taxi and long ride on the subway. Touring Beijing requires a lot of foot work, as it is truly a huge place to appreciate, to see and wander around. Beijing is so wide..hard on the feet.. expanse with concrete, so to speak but you will enjoy everything you see and experience. On our first day in Beijing we toured the Forbidden City, while on the second day, inspite of the cold chilly weather, we climbed the great wall of China. Our climb to the great wall was like a tour through the history backwards, it brought great excitement in each step of the wall. When in China, a trip to a section of the Great Wall should be a must, there is a saying in China "You are not a true man until you have been to the Great Wall !!. There were so many tourists climbing and wanting to finish the 3 kilometers great wall finish station. Sabi nila.. when you climbed until the finish station, you will be rewarded with a golden key daw… Because of age factor, only few steps lang ang kaya namin, give up na kami… it’s a matter of “ the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak “…..I heard Mai remarked… “Where were we when we were younger!!! Ang ibig niyang sabihin dapat nakapunta na kami doon nong bata bata pa kami…sigurado kayang kayang namin yun"…. Nimfa commented, Yeheyyyy.. I climbed the great wall of China at age of 50..!! kaya kayo, habang wala pang rayuma, go on, travel while you are still young….. What amazed us was… believe it or not, we saw ladies climbing the great wall in high heeled shoes!! ngeek !! para bang nakagown sila at nasa beach hahaha..wrong number baga !! or lack of mind set, kulang sa planning or kulang sa brain.. whatever you call it… By mid day, we went to see live Panda at the Beijing Zoo Giant Panda Center. We also went to a herbal clinic where you will be given free massage and free consultation of your state of health… tapos pagbibilhan ka ng herbal medicines na sobrang mahal !! these stores like the Jade, Pearl and Silk stores are run by chinese government, altho you will not be forced to buy, going to these stores are mandatory part of tour itinerary for tourists they said…we were sad kc wala kaming nabili sa herbal store, kc sobrang mahal eh…pambili na lang ng pasalubong yun pera namin!! Late in the afternoon we had a long walk at Tiananmen Square with our most ever patient tourist guide Ms Kathy…by that time we had a very low level of energy….. Oh yeah… we had a Peking duck dinner at a local restaurant in Beijing too, (we were really satisfied with our full board meals… sobra, plentiful and bountiful ang pagkain, most often I feel like… itake out lahat yun pagkain para ibigay sa mga taong nagugutom ba..) … Speaking of Peking duck… this reminds me of a movie I saw when I was in high school.. its entitled 55 Days at Peking, a historical epic film headed by Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner. The film is a dramatization of the boxer rebellion in china, about chinese attack on foreigners in China that time, this is an adventure movie and ala James Bond movie na rin…Am sure you do not know this movie…kc baka hindi pa kayo ipinanganak noong panahon na yun! Beijing Tourist Attractions The significant tourist attractions in Beijing are the following: The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, is enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching from east to west of China for about 4,000 miles. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections of the great wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. It is claimed that the wall is "the mightiest work of man, the only one that would be visible to the human eye from the moon,". Lots of beautiful legends and stories about the Great Wall took place following along the construction, and since that time these stories have spread around the country. Those that happened during construction are abundant, such as Meng Jiangnu’s story… Meng Jiangnu’s story is the most famous and widely spread of all the legends about the Great Wall. The story happened during the 221BC-206BC. It tells of how Meng Jiangnu’s bitter weeping made a section of the Great Wall collapse. Meng Jiangnu’s husband Fan Qiliang was caught by federal officials and sent to build the Great Wall. Meng Jiangnu heard nothing from him after his departure, so she set out to look for him. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the great wall, she discovered that her husband had already died. Hearing the bad news, she cried her heart out. Her howl caused the collapse of a part of the Great Wall. This story indicates that the Great Wall is the production of tens of thousands of Chinese worker and commoners. The Forbidden City was the Chinese Imperial palace in the olden times, it covers 72 hectares. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, and the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in Asia. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site and listed by Unesco as having the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, with extensive collection of artworks and artefacts. It has served as the scene to many works of fiction, films and television series such as, the Last Emperor, Marco Polo, Kingdom Heart, etc. Tiananmen Square which means Gate of Heavenly Peace is the large plaza near the center of Beijing, China. The square covers 40.5 hectares which makes it the largest open urban square in the world. The Square is lighted with huge lampposts which also sport video cameras and the big paintings/picture of Mao Tse Tung posted in the center.. It is heavily monitored by uniformed and plain clothes policemen. It has great cultural significance as a symbol because it was the site of several key events in Chinese history such as Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 where thousands of chinese protesters were massacred…. While in Beijing, we didn’t see much at close range the Olympic games venues such as the magnificent swimming stadium, the Beijing National Aquatics Center or as they call “ Bubbles”, the Beijing National Stadium or the “Birds Nest”, Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Centre, Olympic Green Convention Centre, Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. We saw a lot of on going construction of buildings, streets, highways and expressways, they are all under going construction of finishing touches, its like beating the red light for the Olympic games… they are all closed to viewers/tourists … bawal mag usyuso !!! some people are worried, they said baka daw hindi umabot yun sa Olympic August opening… Home bound On our last day in Beijing, Ms. Kathy fetched us and accompanied us to the airport for our flight back home. She has been a great help to us..she painstakingly assisted us in all our needs, accompanied us in all our walking tour in the city, she foot the bill for our extra transpo expense which was not within the scope of our tour itinerary… at hindi niya kami siningil …she was really God sent angel to us….we were all sad when we bid her goodbye, I gave her blessing card, Pinoy key chain as souvenir and of course we gave her enough tip for caring for us…I truly appreciate her kindness and will never forget Ms. Kathy and her cool, patient, smiling heart virtue…

On our way back to Manila, we passed Shanghai, Shenzhen and Macau again and was met and assisted by tourist guide Ms. Vivian Liu. To facilitate and shorten our trip, she booked us via ferry boat in going back to Macau.- instead of 2 hours trip, we reached Macau in about 45 minutes only. We had practically used and ride at least 4 types of mode of transportation, such as the plane, train/subway, ferry boat and coach/Van….kulang na lang eh yun cable car ride.. sabi ni Nimfa… It was night time and was raining when we reached Macau, we stayed at Best Western Taipa Hotel in Macau, this time, I shared room with Mila Fernando, while Nimfa shared room with Mai…we took the opportunity to go around the vicinity of our hotel for last minute shopping for pasalubong and we met and was able to chat with many Filipino workers in the city…since it was raining and we were dead tired, we miss the opportunity to visit and go around and explore other places and the casinos… sayang !! The Macau casinos, learning and playing the slot machines, Russian roulette, Black Jack, Lucky nine, Poker games would be fun to explore next time we said… We welcome the real world….We arrived Manila safely very tired, exhausted but extremely happy. We truly thanked God for the opportunity to travel and bond together. We consider the unforgettable memories and experiences as priceless…we did promise to plan to another travel trip tho… Thank you for letting us share our travel adventures, you are with us in spirit…God Bless…

Miles Bernal

April 2008

THE END