Penang Forward Sports Club

China - a country, a place, a land I never thought I'd step my foot on, not until I'm in my 50s, not until I'm too old to be doing crazy stuffs and make peace with myself to settle for something less interesting and well...mundane.

But when the dragonboat team decided to take part in the Guangzhou International Dragonboat Tournament, I jumped at the opportunity, even tho initially I was only supposed to go as a reserve rower. Figured it's always better to go with a group of fun people than following a tour full of old people heh :p

Accommodation and meals were provided, so we only had to pay for our flight ticket to get there, which was approximately 900 ringgit, pretty good deal I'd say since we're flying with Cathay Pacific.

Aww... it's been a while since I flew with a decent airline.



2 of the 3 chicks that went with me on the trip.



Yes, it's always so much more fun with the ppl you know



My second breakfast of the day, first round was McD at the airport.. BURRRPP~



Ermm I know, all of us had to wear the team's jersey. Did not distinguish us much from the usual tour group, the only thing we're missing is a tourguide with a bright yellow umbrella haha



Arrival



Outside HK airport,



waiting to board the bus to train station..



and the long torturous journey to Guangzhou continues...



Is HK population so packed that everyone has to stay so close to each other in order to conserve space?



I don't know what this picture is for, posting it up just because I've already taken it! Ok, let us all admire the beautiful bridge



At the train station





The paddle bag, I'm demonstrating that the size is so big it can fit one
short
small human inside



The immigration, finally!



Stepping into China for the first time in my life! (sorry got a bit too excited because it's another new country for me) HURRAY!



First view of Shenzhen, omg the place is so filthy with spit everywhere and full of ermm.. yee lais (mistress) lookalikes HAHA



An obligatory picture of a recovering blogger



First meal in China and we had Japanese food!



Not that I'm complaining tho, this is the BEST fried spicy beef rice I've ever had in my life OMFG



Ramen, ordered by others



Fried chicken with teriyaki sauce, looks normal but the meat is so soft and tender



I forgot what this was called but it's mushroom wrapped with chicken, it was SO SO GOOD! Definitely recommended!



Pepper that makes you pant like a dog for water.



After the satisfying lunch and waiting for people taking turns to use the super gross public toilet, we had to board another train from Shenzhen to Guangzhou again! Zzzz



The train can run up to 200km/h, too bad I was already asleep soundly by the time it got to that speed.



I really like this pic! The effect is so old school :)



Exhausted team member cum tourguide, kudos to him! If it's not for him we would have lost our ways with the countless train rides @_@



Our team manager still looking fresh and happy



A while later...



We're finally in Guangzhou!!! But it was raining cats and dog at that time, the traffic was so bad the bus which was supposed to fetch us to the hotel could not get in so we had to wait longer at the station FOLs @_@



It was already more than 12 hours of travel by the time we reached our hotel.




The room wasn't too bad albeit the bed was hard and it was a smoking room



A shower, a change and a dinner later, we're all gathered at the lobby for some camwhoring action before going out to explore the surrounding area.

The complete set of girls in the trip



Half man, half woman ROFL



This is what you get from *cough cough* dragonboating



There wasn't much to do at night and it was raining nonstop so we went to check out the nearby mall when I saw this woman dressed looking like a pure Shanghainese!



Friend bought this 2010 FIFA World Cup Coke for only 2 yuan! That's like err 1 ringgit? So effing cheap lor.. in fact everything is cheap in China!



We were back in the room by 10.30pm for there was nothing else to do and most of the guys already disappeared to a nearby pub to catch WC match. It was a tiring day of travel, hauling an 11kg luggage around with a weak body was not that fun you know.

At this point, I still dislike China. Rude people, filthy public toilets, feeling like a total stranger in a place where English is limited!

I went to sleep that night half cursing, half regretting the trip, half wondering if the trip will turn out to be better.

But oh boy, was I in for a big surprise the next day!