Toilet post#34

Set myself a dateline (or is it deadline? When to use either?). Must complete posts on China comfy backpacking trip before the year end. Look at me. Started posting in July, still here. Since Toilet post#27, still here.

Still far to go. *sigh* Ok. New dateline (so, anyone's sharing thots on the 'deadline' issue?). Let's just cross city borders.

1.5 hours in the air and we arrive in Beijing, capital of China and the controversial host of the 2008 Olympics - Games of the XXIX Olympiad, from Xi'an. There I met my new dateline. *pump fist in air feebly*

We had no problem catching an airport bus to the city. It got a bit interesting when we found most taxi drivers were not familiar with our guesthouse address. Expected since most are new migrants from other towns and villages while the guesthouse we booked was at an area known as Old Beijing - Hutong.

Look. That's where we stayed. New Dragon Hostel. Interesting facade, no?Come inside. See, RMB389 (RM195 or USD57) for a room for 3, it's not shabby at all.

AND 15mins walking distance to the MUST VISIT tourist spots ie the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

Very important when travelling:-

Always keep the namecard of your place of accommodation with you. It'll be easy reference to ask for directions when finding the way back.

Flashback:

Trip begun from Kuala Lumpur landed in Hong Kong ferried to Macau trained to Shen Zhen bused to Guangzhou flew to Xi'an flew to Beijing the finally flew back to Kuala Lumpur. *phew*

Related posts (kinda mini year end reflection exercise):-

Toilet post#32

Cool Time Out in Xian, China

Toilet post#31

De Fa Chang Restaurant and oh ya, Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an, China

Grilled Lamb Sticks Muslim Street in Xi'an, China

Toilet post#30 .. Bonus: Breakfast provided at Nam Fang Hotel, Xi'an China

Oak Tree Cafe Guangzhou International Airport, China

First Class Red Szechuan Restaurant Shenzhen China

Pork Chop Bun at Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei, Macau

Toilet post#29

Toilet post#28

Dine in Hong Kong, Din in KL

Toilet post#27

Post holiday warm up

Toot-toot .. toot-toot ..

Toilet Post#33

It's midnight.

You are still loite .. ahem checking out the night scene around Lot 10, Jalan Bukit Bintang.

Had a couple of drinks, nature calls. Loudly.

Where to answer call discreetly? Civilisedly? Legally? Freely?

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Take the escalator (still in operations at such hour) in front of Lot 10 shopping complex (next to the Inner Circle cafe opposite the Standard Chartered Bank kiosk) down to its basement foodcourt.Caution. A reasonably level of soberness is required to amble among the dimly lit floor, littered with newly refurbished odd angled foodstalls.

Tada, privacy!

Now doesn't tip like this comes handy with the party season?

Fish Head Mee Hoon - Jln Ipoh.

Another one of those hidden-but-serves-good-food entry here. Only discovered this place a couple of weeks ago thanks to my wife and Uncle Jerry. On a typical Sunday afternoon, i would've said NO by default for lunch in an open area without air condition. This, however was rather recent and with all the rain you could ask for the entire 2009, the weekends have been pretty cloudy and cool. This place is located along Jln Ipoh, somewhat behind the old Low Yat Building. I'll try to direct you guys there in plain and simple English at the end of this post, but first let's see what this place is famous for.

1) Fish Head Mee Hoon - This one was served with tangy and fresh fish balls, fish paste, bean curd skins, yam pieces and deep fried fish - the main element behind this dish. Gladly, the noodles used were the thick ones, my favourite. The soup was pretty good, sour and milky though i'd prefer a lil' more milk to thicken it.

2) Stir Fried "Pak Kor" or "Nin Kou" with dried shrimps - Quite good, but at times the Pak Kor is a tad too chewy to my liking. Ingredients are first class - fresh prawns with sweet & juicy cabbage.

3) Thai style Tofu - I guess you can get this dish and almost any restaurant but the tofu here is fresh, fried to perfection, topped with freshly minced groundnuts and the usual sweet Thai chili sauce.
3) Stir Fried Pan Mee - much better than the one in Old Klang Road behind Pearl Point. Texture is precisely the way i like it, neither soft nor hard on the extreme ends and is tastes pretty good, although it's uncanningly similar to the Fried Pak Kor. Choose either one unless you have a group of no less than 5 per table.
4) Longan and Loh Huon Kor... forgive my Canto translation, I believe you know what this is.. Chances are they boil this themselves and it's not overly sweet. So you need not order the "kurang manis" version.To get here, get on to the Bulatan Segambut from KL, take the 3 o'clock turn and head straight past the Ho Ho Steamboat Restaurant / Jln Ipoh Yong Tau Foo bungalow.

As the road turns left, take the immediate right, to make a U-turn. Keep right and upon seeing the first set of traffic lights, turn right whereby the old Low Yat Building is on your right.

Head in for 50 metres or so and lookout for Jalan Mangga on your right, of which you'll see a sign that leads you to a temple. Once you turned right, you'll see the restaurant on your right and a huge temple on your left.

I like this place, the food's good and the view is pretty nice, with some landscapes done by the temple on both sides of the road, with a river like drain running through it with no nasty views thus far.

MY tummy's verdict: 8.4/10

Toilet post#32

I exclaimed it in my earlier post on South West China (near Chengdu ) and now I'll reiterate my statement LOUDLY. My toilet experience in China is 2 thumbs 2 big toes and 1 bum up. *slap bum for effect*

And there we were. July 2009. With clothes weighed down in several coats of sweat. Popping in and out of historical tourists spots within and around the famed walled city of Xi’an. All with seasonal entrance fees, no less. Surprisingly although there were healthy flow of sticky rivers from our pores, there were still plenty leftover from the gallons of fluid we drank which made toilet visits a frequent activity. No complaints from me as these places of relief were all equipped with cool air-conditioning systems. Yay!Xi'an the ancient walled city has many interesting sites but one can only take so many scenic spots standing under the relentless summer heat. As for the shoving crowds, don't even make me go there.Best spot to catch your breath and patience, a well hidden restroom. Not meant to say it's exclusive for special members or need the ability to solve certain secret codes. Most visitors to the touristy spots come in groups with limited visiting time before they are bussed to cover another spot in their itineries, so they are lean on toilet breaks which means rushing in and out at the first toilet they come across. Visitors like us (semi-backpackers) have all the time to seek out further and quieter outlets. Ahh the comforts we chanced upon.
Ahhhh....

Penang Joe Coconut Jelly

Here's a short cool filler post away from my scathing hot China backpack trip series. Come out come out wherever you are!

Smooth. Translucent. Almost. Wombly. Sweet. Slightly. Fragrant. Suggestively.*AHHHMMMMum mum mum mum* while it's cold.Repeat 5 spoonful times.

For you to ask where to mum-mum, please contact joezcoco@yahoo.com.

For me it's a private number. Not to Joe. To a kind friend who travels from the island to KL in a speed machine. Pity not often enough. *sigh*. This luscious delicacy does not keep at all. Must be consumed in 4 hours max, I'm told.

Folks, if you have the chance slip it down your scratchy throat, jump at it!

Cool time out in Xi'an China

So hot my cap was crispy outside, damp inside. Shades dripped sweat.

There's only so much walkabouts in the heat that one can tolerate. When we spied this, I almost thought it a mirage. Not memorably sweet but real juicy. Pity the watermelon was not iced (better if it comes with a block of ice to sit on) but just look at that chopper. Cool huh.

Where to hide, where to hide when the sun doesn't seemed exhausted at all though it was tolling since 6am! Yessiirrreee, that star burns like no tomorrow from dawn till dusk during summer in the good 'ol Middle Kingdom. Everyday. When smiley weather person on the morning news predicts 34-36 degrees celcius, it's considered a cool day. (-_-)"

Unoriginal, uninteresting. But with air-conditioner at full blast, we gladly colonised a 1+1+1 settee here for hours on alternate days. Thank the Power-That-Be for franchises.

We were in Xi'an for 5D4N. Too long a stay for non-history (should it be historic? Historical?) buffs. Guilty. We were there mainly just to see the touristy Warriors. No doubt we went around other sites of interest but the punishing weather made the hours quite laborious. 3D2N would had been adequate. However, the extra days were unavoidable for we wanted to grab a much cheaper flight to Beijing.

Settees were set free dinner time - sunset. A cool 4 hours respite with great company, now that's a holiday.