China-Macau-Hong Kong Trip 2008 - Day Two (8th Oct 2008)

In China, their definition of a good bed, I was told, is super-hard. The harder it is, the better! So yes, you are not wrong to conclude I didn't get the best night's rest, but I suppose the fatigue took over.

This is the view outside of my room

It's actually a resort area

And good Feng Shui too, with a hill and a lake just outside

The toilet's not bad, 5-star hotel leh...

Isn't this cute? They even provided a rubber duck alongside the bath salts and body lotion. I missed out on the bathtub here.

And... uhh... Some other personal-use items, in case you need it. Always better to be safe than sorry!


The hotel lobby's huge and posh, no wonder it's 5-star...

And here's the parting shot

Yup, we only stayed for 1 night here. Too bad I didn't have time to explore the place, it looks very good and the food's rather impressive too. Oh well, there's a long journey ahead, time to hit the road! We met up with Ah-Mok, our driver on loan by Mr Yau, then got on our way.

Next stop was actually a factory visit, which isn't much to talk about, although I did get a glimpse of village life in China. Following which was a simple lunch where I tasted "kampong chicken" (the skin's yellow, not white). Next on the itinerary is the Sea Battle Museum in Humen (虎门）, which is dedicated to the Opium War and the naval battles that ensued.

At the entrance of the Museum with Dad

Officially endorsed by Jiang Zemin (江泽民), former Chinese President

And here's something to show that China's up and coming... The Humen Bridge (虎门大桥）. There are actually many bridges like this all over China

And we also drove under the bridge, so you can imagine how large it is

OK, I can't say the Museum was very interesting, that explains the lack of pictures. Haha! From there, we proceeded on to the Panyu district (番禺区), where we were supposed to recce another hotel in Chang Long (長隆), another resort area.

This area is developed as a wildlife resort, with a zoo, night safari, water world and amusement park. The hotel there is easily 5-star, maybe even 6, but the most famous attraction of the area is perhaps this:

Yes, that's a real, LIVE, white tiger, right beside the buffet restaurant, might I add. Of course, the glass is thick enough.

However, the real show was at night, where we watched the circus performance, which seems to be quite famous and quite good too!

I quite like the forest background, it's very well-done

Yes, time to introduce the contenders

It's actually pretty cute seeing the 2 bears "fight", of course I trust that no bears were harmed in the process

The bears are quite good, introducing various modes of transport, from this rickshaw...

To the bicycle...

And where would we be without motor transport?

This is a very delicate balancing act by 4 guys who kept the wheel spinning by their own momentum aloneI have to say this is very impressive indeed

The grand finale, and the curtains come down... A water curtain!

The performance ended quite late although it was immensely enjoyable, and it was an hour's drive to our hotel for the next 3 nights, New World Courtyard by Marriott, in Shunde District( 顺德区). And it's the only hotel I didn't take any photos of. Ironically... Haha! Yes, time to let my tired body get a nice warm shower and hit the sack... another sack with a hard mattress...

Photobucket: Chime-Long International Circus, Panyu