Saturday - 27 . December . 2008
FuFu with his ticket in front of CRH 1.
Alright, after the awesome Christmas celebration in Hongkong, i was ready for the New Year countdown in mainland China. As usual, every time i go to Hongkong, i would definitely meet up Yip Sui Sum, my housemate (when we were studying in Osaka, Japan). This time we planned to spend two nights in his hometown, Guangzhou, before continued our journey to Foshan (佛山) and Zhaoqing (肇慶).
Jodie with her ticket in front of CRH 1.
When i told Jodie that i would going to Guangzhou as well before i flew off, she told me that she was interested to travel with me and meet up Sum as well. The itinerary was set, the day has come, we met up at the MTR station, and headed off to Shenzhen. From Shenzhen, we took CRH 1 (和諧號 1型), a high speed emulator trains to Guangzhou. It is serving between Guangzhou and Shenzhen that makes our journey pretty much comfortable and convenient.
Beverages and snacks or even rice and noodles are sold.
The tickets and the packets of snacks we had finished.
Probably it's commenced on 1st July 2007, everything (the cleanliness, services, punctuality,etc) was fine. I have so far no complaint but enjoyed the 52mins quiet yet fast and smooth journey while chatting with Jodie and reading the magazine provided on the train. Very soon, i guess the Chinese high-speed emulator train could stand as tall as Japanese bullet train and German magnetic train.
Damn, it was damn so clean!
Ok, transportation in China has changed pretty much!
CRH 1 subscribes cool magazines.
Guangzhou East Station welcomes you.
After the 52mins journey from Shenzhen, we finally arrived safely at Guangzhou East station. Sum picked us up and brought us to the hotel before heading for dinner. It was so good to see my buddy again! Those memories we had together in Japan instantly popped up once he had shown up. We used to chatted on the roof top of our apartment...
Jodie knew Sum through FuFu in July, 2007.
We took subway back to the downtown.
This is the double bed room for FuFu and Jodie.
Jodie and FuFu settled down at a budget hotel in Sum's neighbourhood as his relatives visited him as well (we were suppose to stay at his place). The accommodation was actually arranged by him. A double bed room, RMB 200 (US30) for a night is a great deal by the way.
FuFu + camera + friend + mirror = camwhoring
This is a nice budget hotel.
The bathroom is so spacious~
Incredibly we found no dusk on the mirror.
Our room has a balcony - the view is not bad.
Both Sum and Jodie purposely took their time off to accompany me.
We appreciate every second we have together.
The Pearl River at dusk.
We chose Lan Gui Fang to have our first dinner in Guangzhou.
Boss of the day.
We are VIGs - very important guests.
The ambience of the restaurant is so great!
The crispy roasted pigeon.
The yummy fried rice.
The fresh stir-fried vegetable.
The spicy seafood curry.
Jodie desired to pay Shamian Islet (沙面島) a visit, hence we had our dinner there. It is located at the joint of 3 rivers at Pearl river a gazetted historical area that serves as a tranquil reminder of the colonial European period. We walked around the quiet pedestrian avenues flanked by trees and lined by historical buildings in various states of upkeep after dinner.
Happy New Year from the famous White Swan Hotel.
You could find Western-style buildings at every corner on the island.
Some turned into tourist shops selling curios and souvenirs.
Some became restaurant and hotels.
While the rest turned into bar and pub.
Sum is checking out the Western-style architecture.
Jodie and the statues on Shamian Islet.
We walked back to the Pearl River again.
The buildings along side the river.
Near Shamian Islet, there's a well known street - Shang Xia Jiu pedestrian street (上下九步行街) . It is a 24-hour pedestrian sections and the longest pedestrian commercial street in Guangdong Province. There, you find a long row of shophouses selling apparels, shoes, and gourmet Cantonese foods.
The street is brilliantly lit by neon lights at night.
It's especially crowded by teenagers.
This shopping area is also a showcase of traditional Cantonese architecture, especially pretty at night when it's lit up. Prices here are generally lower than anywhere, yet prepare to bargain a fair bit. We had lots of fun at the street shopping, sightseeing its unique architecture, enjoying famous Guangzhou snack foods at the gourmet corner and even having a closer look of local residents' daily night lives.
Jodie never miss out the snacks food.
Everyone is busy getting new clothes for new year.
I like the colourful neon signs so much.
There are many tea houses with hundred years of experience as well.
FuFu and Sum at the centre of the street.
Wonder what this person is selling.
In front of a reputable shop famous for its biscuits.
We are finally back to our hotel - the view from the balcony.
Lavender moisturizing mask.
It was dry in mainland China thus Jodie brought mosturizing masks along. I was given one lavender scented mask. Honestly speaking, that was my first time putting on the facial mask. It's a fun way anyhow to keep my skin cool and moisturized.
Oh my gosh, so cute. XD
We called it a day after the mask.
