BEIJING.. OH BEIJING..

Hmm.. How should I start this 'report'.. Well, let me put it like this. It had always occurred to my mind that having the chance to step in other countries, would be such pleasure & fun. After long awaited, my dream finally came true..

U ppl must be wondering "How?", rite?? Hmm.. I came to wonder myself. The 1st question that popped out of my mind, upon seeing the advertisement about the trip to Beijing written by our former YDP MPP UiTMPP, was "WILL MY PARENTS ALLOW ME TO GO??" So I decided to give it a try and phoned my father, back in Penang as I was in Shah Alam. After talking awhile, my parents actually agreed to allow me follow on the trip. Gosh!! Miracle just took place!! Hahahaha..

Alhamdulillah.. I was granted with good health to join this trip that consists of 9 girls, 9 boys, 1 supervising lecturer & 1 travel agent. Hehehe.. So, there were 20 of us. CIVILIZATION EXPLORATION PENANG-BEIJING 2009, dated 16th - 21st June 2009. That was the name & date of the program.

Before we left for Beijing, we had prepared ourselves with Mandarin Shortcourse, Islamic Prayers Talk & Health Talk. We departed for Kolej Jati, Shah Alam by bus on 15th June 2009, before checked-in at LCCT early next morning. Everything was fine in Malaysia, including aboarding & departure. But...

An unexpected thing happened to us during the 6-hour flight to Tianjin on Air Asia X. We were "given" additional of 6 hours on the plane, due to the bad weather in Tianjin. The pilot had to land the plane at Beijing airport, before we fly back to Tianjin at 2045. Upon arrival at Tianjin airport, the "swine flu" H1N1 medical team aboarded the plane & started pointing "guns" at our forehead, to check on our temperature. Then, we were greeted by our tourist guide, as soon as we left the cargo area. We had another 2-hour ride back to Beijing via bus. Gosh!! What an experience...

Our 6 days 5 nights tour was filled with all sorts of activities, ranging from sight-seeing to eating to bargaining to shopping. Going to The Great Wall, Tian'an Men Square, The Forbidden City, Bird's Nest Stadium, Summer Palace & all sorts of markets a.k.a. bazaars. But not to forget, we were also given tasks to be completed.

It was truly an amazing experience having the chance to visit Beijing. U know y?? Coz I really enjoyed the bargaining part.. Though I am not really good at bargaining, but I learnt a lot there. Hahaha.. Just imagine, an item that open with the price of 480 Yuan, can end up sold at only 60-70 Yuan.. Nuts isn't it?? At a point, when we bargain with ridiculous prices, the "laoban" will ask "Are you ok?", "Are you dreaming..? Stop day-dreaming!", "You killing me!!" (simply means that the prices that we bargained for was just ridiculous but not impossible for them to accept that price). They will finally give-in and sell us the item with our "negotiated" price.. It was rather funny, seeing them so desperate to sell off their items. But it is seriously crazy for us to demand such low prices to them.

Now when I recall the bargaining moments, I feel rather guilty. But what can I do... There is no turning back.. I learn from my experiences.

Insya'Allah, if I stand a chance to go there again, with my mom & dad, or with my husband, I'll "perform" better.. Hahahaha.. Anyway, I really enjoyed my time in Beijing.

I sincerely would like to thank Mohammad Faizal B. Zainon ( former YDP MPP UiTMPP ), En. Fairus B. Muhammad Darus (supervising lecturer ), former MPP UiTMPP committee, former MPP UiTMPP Secretariats & not forgetting Abg Fizi (our travel agent) for making this plan ON!! Thanx to all of u - Irma, Syu, Falah, Fariza, Siti, Nana, Intan, Farah, Faizal, Fahriszaki, Wan Makan, Izwan, Mubin, Afiq, Samsuri, Aly, Zahran, En. Fairus & Abg Fizi.

Extended gratitudes to
1. My beloved parents - Ba & Mak ( for the 'green lite' & the money supplied)
2. My aunty - Aunty Chah ( for giving me such a lot of money to spend )
3. My Mafia friends especially Saliana (mama, sorry could not wish your birthday on time via phone)
4. My IKRAM siblings ('Aisyah, Amin, Atiqah, Acik, Faris - for being concern about my health & forbidding me from going at 1st place, & Zaki - for giving me a last call b4 I aboard the plane to Tianjin).

Love u all sooooo much!!! Muaaaxxxxxxx!!!

CHIEF