Xi'an, China Day 2 (Part 2 - Xi'an to Luoyang)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t!

Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa Ali Muhammad.

The journey in Xi'an continues and to catch up on my previous post just read this Xi'an, China Day 2 (Part 1 - Terracotta Army)

So after a long walk in the museum, we finally went for lunch somewhere near that area which is reachable in walking distance. The authentic Shaanxi Chinese cuisines were delicious but do mind on the herbs, once you got a bite it'll definitely changed the taste of the rest of the foods.

Beautiful art on the pathway

Souvenir shops and food stalls along the way to the foods area.

So here is where the foods area situated.
Many restaurants and foods to choose from. Please ignore the hungry us posing ridiculously.

Our non-Muslim had their lunch at this restaurant

For Muslims, worry not as Halal food is also available there. Just look for restaurants like below. Can you see the Jawi/Arabic writing on top of the billboard? Well that writing indicates that this is a Halal Restaurant, InshaAllah.

This restaurant is situated at the end of the shop lots and a bit at the back so walk through til the end of the pathway.

Enjoying the delicious foods, semua tunduk focus on foods haha

Some of the Shaanxi Cuisine we ate in that restaurant while many more to come after that!

But there is one thing, Muslims here are minority and according to the local in order to be successful in their restaurants business, they had to sell alcohol to the non-Muslims. Well.. emm.. so don't be shocked if you see people drinking in the Halal restaurants or bottles of alcohol in the beverages fridge. And may Allah have mercy upon us, the sinful slaves. Forgive us oh Allah, and present us Hidayah!

Again, pomegranates! This is near the restaurant we had lunch.
And those in the baskets are small juicy persimmon that looks like tomatoes.

While walking through those shops and restaurants, we were approached by old ladies insisting us to buy their pomegranates and persimmons but unfortunately majority of them can't converse in English so it is very hard to do business with them. But one thing you can do is, take out that gadget you have and find the calculator apps to press on. You can also bargain!

After a yummy luncheon we then hurried to the Xi'an Railway Station to catch up our bullet train to Luoyang This was my first experience on a bullet train and all these while I really thought that only Japan has it, kurang membaca punya pasal huu ignorance me. Well anyway, this ride took about an hour 40 minutes in the 310km/hour bullet train.

The railway station is somewhat like our KL Central.

A lot of facilities except for prayer room so we just prayed at the corner in this station and yes it is open space.
Wudhu' taken at public toilet.

Can't read Mandarin but I bet you can purchase ticket using this machine kot.

Passengers waiting for departure.

The ticket price from XiAn Bei to Luo Yang Long Men is 174.50 Yuan\RMB.
The ticket has name and the seat is fixed.

And ohh at the main entrance we were supposed to queue up for security check and yes it is the same like at the Terracotta Army, put all the belongings in a tray and passed through a thorough security check. After that, wait until your departure time and once it is time to depart, go to the correct gate and ours was Gate A13.

Ensure the correct gate and off you go to the train.

The train was so fast that I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the front of the bullet train.

So off we go to depart on the train. I had the chance to see the breathtaking scenery outside the window but it was just a while because we departed about 5.30 pm and by 6 pm it is already dark like 7 pm in Malaysia. There is no change in time frame between China and Malaysia but the sunrise and sunset in China is faster about an hour compared to Malaysia.

So for Muslim, please bare in mind that this would also means that time for Solat there is an hour faster for each prayer time for example Zuhr is at 12 noon and Asr at 4 pm. But of course, since China is a 4 seasons country so the time will keep on changing. So do install useful Solat apps to ease you there!

It would be so much easier if you travel with a Muslim agency, not to be racist or anything but for us it was really troublesome to find a clean spot to pray. Alhamdulillah that this station is  clean enough for us to pray at the corner of an open space area. 

When you had to pray anywhere clean then it is also means that my dear Muslimah, a proper, decent and suitable attire is required. Because there is no way that you gonna put on your telekung in the public and meleret-leret atas lantai. After all, a Solat ready attire is actually what we Muslimah supposed to be wearing every single day. Hashtag Notetoself. 

At about 7 pm we arrived at Luoyang Station and it was super cold! Here the weather is colder than in Xi'an and definitely foggier. 

Freezing cold! At least for us Malaysian with this hot and humid weather we have.

Once arrived, we met up with a handsome (Astaghfirullah Puan Ain!) local guide, Mr Leo. We then stop by for dinner and from that railway station to the restaurant took about 30 minutes by coach. Unfortunately for us, dinner was not as great as lunch perhaps Luoyang province foods just not suitable with our taste, my taste at least.

After dinner about 9.15 pm we headed straight to Bohemia Hotel for check in and then went for quick walk near that hotel. We wanted to go to the shopping mall nearby but sadly at 9.30 pm, it is already closed.. sob sob.

Cold and foggy Luoyang town.

Failed attempt of group jump in front of the closed shopping mall.

Feeling disappointed and so we went back to hotel and you know what happened next right. Yup okay. So Luoyang, China Day 3 continues in my next post.

Till then, Assalamualaikum!

Xian, China Day 2 (Part 1 - Terracotta Army)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t!

Alhamdulillah for this opportunity to still be able to breath in this temporary world. And peace be upon prophet Muhammad s.a.w

So I would like to continue on my China trip Day 2 and if you missed out my previous post do check it out! Xian, China Day 1

21st Oct 2014 (Day 2)

After we had our breakfast which was around 9 am, we went to one of the 8 Wonders of the World, Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum or better known as the Terracotta Army. From our hotel to there took us about 2 hours as  it was Tuesday and the traffic was massive! Just like here in KL, nothing new lol.

Along the way there, we were able to see lots of pomegranates orchards and locals selling the fresh huge pomegranates by the road. If you didn't get a chance to stop, no worries as you'll see this fruit everywhere near the museum area.

Local selling pomegranates near the museum parking area.
Show off your Mandarin and you'll get a better bargain! 

When we were about to arrive, in another 15 - 20 minutes, we saw a beautiful statue that looks like a dancing man and lady. Well, I'm not sure what it is called but that man is an Emperor and that lady is his concubine. And if I'm not mistaken, that is the entrance to the Xi'an Huaqing Hot Spring. The history and ending part of this couple love story is pretty much tragic, according to my Chinese colleagues the concubine is murdered by his own true love the Emperor himself, so if you are interested to know more do google up!

The dancing statue, simply beautiful!

Once arrived that is somewhere around 11 am, there we were supposed to check in into 2 gates. So please ensure to keep your tickets after passing the 1st gate. Both of the gates were like in the airport where you put all of your belongings in a tray and passed through a security check. Once passed, we took a buggy ride to the 2nd gate and the ride is about 1 - 2 minutes only.

The entrance ticket for checking at Gate 1 & 2.
I'm sorry I don't know the price, ours' already included in the package but do check out Travel China Guide.

The best view for every buggy ride, at the back!

Done with the 2nd gate and finally we were in the museum area woohoo!! And there were visitors from all around the world! The outside of the museum area is clean with a beautifully maintained landscape but wait till you get to see what's inside it, mashaAllah, magnificient!

This is in front of Pit 2

The museum is huge and consist of few exhibition pits and hall. So we took lots of pictures! And if you don't have any idea regarding the history and stuffs no worries, explanations provided at each of Pit 1, Pit 2, Pit 3 and other relics displayed.

Taken as reference from www.chinahighlights.com

When observing these relics, don't just look at the front because sometimes at the back is where the best part lies.
If don't trust me, just look at the face of that lady on the right.

The digging and reservation processes are still undergoing up til this moment.

This picture was taken inside Pit 2 which is slightly smaller than Pit 1 and less armies.

This is the picture of the popular Horses as seen in the movie The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
And it is not that big as seen in the movie.

Inside Pit 1 and Pit 2 there were a room for taking pictures with the terracotta armies itself but of course we needed to pay 10 Yuan/RMB each person. You can either take individually or group photo and yes, using your OWN camera. Just a quick 3 - 4 snaps and they'll shoo you away, still more people waiting in the line! Nak selfie selfie ni memang tak sempat la!

Once in a life time memory with the Terracotta Armies 

If you didn't get the chance to take pictures with these armies inside of the museum, you will still be able to do so outside the museum area. Just walk trough the gates and along the pathway there's lots of souvenirs for you to take home.

Few set up like these for photography purposes

Another photography spot

Fridge magnet of Terracotta Armies and Pagoda

There's even jades, Buddha statue and Terracotta Army figurines

After a long walk in the museum and looking around for souvenirs, we finally went for lunch somewhere near that area also which is just few steps further. And for that story, I'll continue in the next post!

Till then, Assalamualaikum!
May Allah bless us all!

Xi'an, China Day 1

Assalamualaikum w.b.t dear believers!
All praise is to Allah s.w.t and peace be upon Muhammad s.a.w and prophet's wives and sahabah.

I wanted to share my trip to China ages ago but I am way too lazy to write, lol. So here I am (finally) sharing my experiences in China, enjoy!

This trip was sponsored by my employer so it is a company trip actually and there were about 15 of us. This 6 days 4 nights trip was from 20th to 25th October 2014 and it was with Ontravel & Tour Sdn Bhd

20th Oct 2014 (Day 1)

Our flight scheduled at 6.15 pm and we were flying with AirAsia X and it was my first time flying with AirAsia Airbus. It was big and comfortable with convenient 4 toilets just sufficient for the hundreds of passengers.

Before check-in luggage... girls will be girls, posing!

That is the D7 346 Airbus

Meriah mak oii

I had Uncle Chin's Chicken Rice and it was LOUSY! Nasi berkerak dan keras as if dah 10 kali dipanaskan.
Ingatkan only MAS has the Nasi Lemak Bogel.

The air travelling from Malaysia KLIA 2 to Xi'an International Airport took about 5 hours and so we reached Xi'an International Airport about 11.15 pm, queued up for immigration and finally about 12 am we met up with our tour guide, Mei who is a local people and headed straight to MengFei Hotel or also known as Flying Dragon Hotel  

From airport to the hotel which is situated in the heart of Xi'an city, took only 20 minutes by bus if there is no traffic congestion and 30 - 45 minutes if otherwise. But since we arrived at midnight in Autumn season, it was cold and foggy and so the bus driver had to slow down due to poor sight.

China's Immigration, not so long queue at midnight. Nihao!

The cold and foggy night!

And of course as Malaysian, where this kind of environment is rarely hard to see except for Genting Highland and Cameron Highland (itu pun dah tak sejuk mana dah..), we go "Wooooo....." alooooong the way to our hotel. Serious jakun kejap woi! Hahaha..emm..ehem.

Once arrived at the hotel we were divided into couples and checked in to our room sweet room, yeay! We were then advised to be early for the complimentary breakfast tomorrow or NO more food as this is considered as a small 4 stars hotel and handling crowds is not their expertise, boleh pulak macam tu kan.

Happy faces before sleep! Perlu ke? Haha

The nice and cosy room, no air conditioner just natural cold air from outside.

Please note that MOST of the drinks, snacks, cards in the room NOT for free. Even the bottle water!
Unless you want to purchase it, check the tagging first.

But anyway, for Muslims we didn't have any problem as most of us brought our own foods because complimentary breakfast is non-halal, but you can still eat the cereal and breads kot but for myself I did not eat anything from the hotel's breakfast through out this trip.

In front of the MengFei Hotel

Simple birthday celebration at hotel's cafe for October's babies.

So with this, it is the end of Day 1 and I'll continue with Day 2 in the next post where we went to the best ever place to visit, where? Keep on reading my next post Xi'an, China Day 2 (Part 1 - Terracotta Army) !

Till then, Assalamualaikum!
Have a barakah day peeps!