I feel quite blessed to be able to travel to the 3 different places in 5 days together with my 2 younger sisters. My second sister brought her ex-colleague along who works in a Hong Kong University as a lecturer to be our translator as all of us don’t speak Cantonese. You need to be able to speak Cantonese to get by as this is one of their main language and English is secondary. She also doubled up as our tour guide. It was a good experience to be able to see the different cultures and lifestyles. I went to a few places in Hong Kong – Golden Bauhinia Square, Repulse Bay, Aberdeen Fishing Village where I snapped photos of the famous Jumbo floating restaurant, The Elements shopping mall where we had our dinner, The Peak, etc.

After Hong Kong, we went to Shenzhen by MTR from Mong Kok East station where our hotel was (Royal Plaza Hotel) to Lor Wu station which was the last train station in China. There we met up with our other tour guide and took a cab to our hotel – FX Hotel. We went to Windows of the World and watch a 4D movie. Also took quite a lot of photos there.

Then we took a ferry to Macau from Shenzhen. We stayed at The Venetian hotel which is a 5 star hotel with the largest casino in Asia. We had dinner at a Portuguese restaurant which was treated by second sis. The beds in Venetian Hotel were decadent. All the rooms are suites and looked very posh. There were many shopping outlets as well. We also saw some ballroom dancing inside the casino. Then it was day tour at Macau the next day where we went to The Tower, saw ruins of St Paul’s church which was just a wall, plus a few other places.

After that, we took a ferry back to Hong Kong and then took a ride in a cab to our hotel – Royal Plaza Hotel where my second sister managed to talk her way to upgrade our room into a suite. It was both enjoyable and a reunion of sorts for the 3 of us siblings. Next target would be Europe.

It was an enjoyable trip to Hatyai by chartered van which took about 5 hours on the road. We woke up as early as 5:30am to get ready for the early morning trip as we were the first family to be picked up. My second sister was a chatterbox and kept us entertained throughout the journey. I also bought 2 bras, 4 panties from Wacoal and 2 bras, 3 panties from Triumph in Hatyai as the prices were cheaper compared to Penang. Besides that, I also bought some skin care serum (3 bottles) plus body wash and scrub from a pharmacy carrying UK Boots brand. All of us spend a combined total of thousands of ringgit for our toiletries and lingerie. I also bought 3 big packets of cashew nuts for friends and families. It was a worthwhile trip and money well spent. Happy Chinese New Year and Belated Valentine’s Day to you all.

I have booked online through Air Asia to fly to Kota Kinabalu (KK) from 20th to 22nd June 2008. It is on a Friday to Sunday where there is less work. I did try to check out malaysianairlines.com of MAS Zero Fare advertised in the press now but found that it was about RM100 more expensive with transit in KL. With Air Asia, I can fly direct from Penang’s airport to KK in Sabah. The the cost? For 2 persons return is RM814 including taxes and RM3 per bag to check in per person. After I have gone to KK, I would have been to all states in Malaysia. I was in Bintulu, Sarawak in late 2006 and early this year, I went to Terengganu by car. I have been to Kelantan many times for business previously. And I have also been to all the other states in the west coast from Johor to Perlis. I have also stayed in a local hotel in Johor some time back, also for business.

Since I hate walking, I don’t plan to hike up Mount Kinabalu which will take at least 3 days. What I have heard about Mt. Kinabalu is that it is about two times higher than Penang Hill and the path there is not as steep and difficult compared to Penang Hill. So, next time I can boast to my grandchildren that I have hiked up Penang Hill by foot. Because of the MAS zero fare, my youngest sister and her church friends plan to hike up Mount Kinabalu sometime in November. And you can book online until 19th of this month of May.