Manchuria Road Trip Part 04

Blowing off some steam: Andre Su from Taiwan belting out a Wu Bai number

Our Chinese host had done a great job.
So, here I am, on the last day of my tour in Harbin. We stayed at the Volga Manor which is pretty isolated from the outside world.
On the final day of the programme, we were taken to a few industrial locations where foreign investments had been highlighted.
These are really boring stuff I had to endure until lunch...

Superb feast: Western Chinese Muslim food

We had two Muslim journalists in the group.
So, the hosts must have been really kind to cater to their needs. What I find strange is the fact that they were picky about food, but not the booze.
Anyways, lunch was simply amazing. From Cow's head all the choice morsels to sliced lamb, anyone with Cholesterol problem would have a tough time.
After lunch, we rushed back to the Volga Manor for a tour of the facility.
This was followed by a dinner by our hosts and a trip to the Russian Spa.
Now, having my brains blown away by some Chinese Vodka, I must say that the steam bath.
But what I'm not used to seeing: are naked guys walking and just chilling out. 
For an Asian, I value my modesty, so, I put on a towel.
There were a few Russians who were 'back to nature' at the steam bath. They seem to be pretty okay with it, but I found it to be very gay.

A nice view of the Volga Manor

Sunset in Harbin's Volga Manor

Me, enjoying an electric buggy ride

I had a flight to catch at 05:00am to Pudong airport in Shanghai.
When I staggered back to my room, I've packed everything, leaving only the essentials. 
With only three hours of waiting time, I'd literally slept in my Polo Shirt and Jeans.
And before I knew it, I was on the way to the airport, still reeking of last night 42degrees proof Chinese Vodka. 
Throughout the day, I felt like I was pounded by a steamroller.
It took us two and a-half hours to get to Pudong and when we got there, there was another long and agonizing wait to check-in at the Malaysian Airlines counter.
Rene and I were eagerly waiting for a good lunch break at the departure hall.

Dancing the night away with the Russians

Shanghai beef noodles and dumplings

It took us an hour to clear the check-in counter and the Chinese CIC. 
Once we were done, we went to the airport cafeteria to look for something to eat.
We found a Shanghai dumpling shop and ordered beef noodles and dumplings.
The food was only so=-so and also pretty expensive.
While having a coffee break, I bumped into Ng Sek San, a folding bike kaki. 
Sek San was in Beijing cycling and did a solo ride in Shanghai. 
He brought his Brompton foldie for the ride and told me that the Ko Lanta Storm Riders were back with stories of epic proportions.
I told Ng about the CFAL3 ride on Sept 11 which he had totally forgotten about.
After catching up for a chat, we boarded the Boeing 777-400 which was bound for KL.
At 9pm, after five hours from Pudong, the flight landed at KLIA. I bade farewell to Rene after picking my baggage.
Michelle was waiting at the arrival hall.
I missed my kids and was told that they had waited for my return.
To sum it up, the Harbin trip was very interesting. Now, that I've seen China in a different light, I do plan to return to this ice city during winter...
The only slack I see during the media trip was the fact that the participants had no time to round up some souvenirs for their colleagues at home.
All I can say is that I am grateful to my big honcho who gave me this assignment and to the China Daily who organised a helluva great trip!

Manchuria Road Trip Part 03

Modern city: Harbin in Summer

When it comes to work, the Chinese really knew how to pack it in.
We left for the Baroque development area after breakfast and was followed by a trip to the China Heavy Machinery Company.
There was an English-speaking dude there who is also quite worldly.
He lived in Dubai, UAE for some years before heading back to CHMC.
Anyways, watching how turbine props and power generators are being made aren't my stuff, but the lunch really caught my attention.
On the previous night, we had a 10-course dinner.
At CHMC, they broke all previous records!

Donkey meat

Stewed snow frogs

The Chinese live to eat.
I mean, affluent ones. When lunch was served, everyone gawked at the sight of a plate filled with frogs.
As for me, I was simply amused. I helped myself to a bottle of chilled Harbin Beer and picked up a whole frog, put it in my mouth and started devouring it.
Samo loves frogs! And it was a good treat indeed.
Other exotic dishes include a plate of Donkey's meat. It was done in such a way, the meat was tender and tasty.
After a hearty meal, the entourage was led to the Binjiang wetlands. Yes, more swamps.
It was an agonizing drive as my bowels were filled with Harbin Beer.
I found instant relief once the bus made a stop at the visitor's centre.
At Binjiang, we were given a tour of the wetlands, and in my humble opinion, this is one of the better places to visit in Harbin in terms of its natural attractions.

A young girl playing a Chinese harp

After spending two days in Manchuria (Harbin's old province name), everyone thought I'm a Mongolian.
There is no escape from this stereotype.
Even the Bangla reporter had tried to be funny.
Anyways, moving on, when we were done with the swamp thingies, we were herded to the Volga Manor, a country resort that made its name on the Harbin tourism map.
This is a Russian-styled manor with many replicated Russian architecture.
FYI: Harbin was once a flourishing place when the trans-Siberia railway was laid.

Bread and salt: A traditional Russian welcoming treat...

With the Banglas out of sight, a few reporters - namely three white guys based in Japan and Dubai had organised a trip to a Russian Disco.
Turned out that it was a plain rip-off. 
Lucky for me, I met Khun Rittikorn, a Thai TV cameraman who was willing to share the payment for four bottles of beers.
Later, we joined the China Daily crew at Karaoke before calling it a day...

Manchuria Road Trip Part 02

A view of the Songha River

The day begins as early as 5am in Harbin.
By the time I got up after a short rest, it was already bright and shiny.
Our organizers had set the day's highlights with a visit to Sun Island wetlands and a meeting with the city's Mayor in the afternoon.
For me, the only thing in mind was a solid breakfast and a walk along the Songha riverbank.
Since I am no stranger to a Western meal, my day begin with some sausages, eggs sunny-side up and some good coffee.
Later, I walked along the Songha riverbank to record its morning activities.
I was surprised to see people swimming in the frigid cold water in the river.
Some guys were also fishing on the spot.
It took me about 30-minutes to capture some of the day-to-day life shots before making my way back to the hotel's coffee house for breakfast.
One thing I noticed about Harbin is the fact that its dusty during Summer.
And this city is also busy with traffic as scores of people made a rush to their workplace.
The Communist China which I came to know decades ago, is now a different place.
Harbin is a modern city with everything you can imagine.
The only difference, is that its an authoritarian state. 
Anyways, after breakfast, the Press crowd were herded to Sun Island and another location in the South of the city later.

Wetlands within a city: The Sun Island

Since half of the day would be spent on visiting swamps, I dressed as comfortable as I could.
No point wearing pants and shirt since its going to get dirty.
So, that said, things were smooth at the wetlands. 
Later in the day, we were introduced to Harbin's Mayor and his staff.
During the Q&A session, a representative from Bangladesh had floored him with tonnes of questions.
I guess this is typical for wannbes to impress the rest of the crowd.
Then, at night, the Harbin City Council hosted a welcome dinner.
I had the luck of being seated next to the Bangla guy.
Not only he's irritating, the dude was also very demanding, wanting pictures of him to be taken with high-ranking Chinese officials.
Anyways, that aside, we later visited the downtown area of Harbin and since my bladder was filled with Harbin Beer, the first order of the day was a trip to the gents.
After the tour, I lounged around at Shangri-La's bar and listened to their entertainers perform.
It was lights out and back to packing again before hitting the road towards the Binjiang wetlands and Volga manor..

Exhibits at Harbin's Russian village

Manchuria Road Trip Part 01

Shanghai's Pudong Airport

The timing was really tight as I've obtained my China Visa only days before my trip to Harbin, China.
It was a mad rush to submit the paperwork as China is very strict in allowing journalists into their country.
For this, I blew a hole in my pocket for a 'rush' Visa and its 'service' fees.
And before I knew it, I was onboard flight MH388 to Pudong airport in Shanghai, China.
It takes about five hours to get there from the KLIA and as soon as I alighted from the plane, it was another mad scramble to the domestic departure terminal on the same building.
Thankfully, it had free internet connection where I utilised my waiting time to get in touch with my wife back in KL.
Pudong airport is huge and at the same time, stuffy.
Foodstuff is very expensive here and I was lucky for the fact that I had a piece of snack on my Ortlieb hip pouch.
This kept me going for another few hours before boarding the flight to Harbin at 8pm on the same day.

Staying in touch with my HP Netbook

So, there I was, waiting, waiting and waiting.
It was an agonizing six-hour wait and the fact that the CZ6525 flight to Harbin was delayed didn't help.
I was on this trip with a fellow journalist from Sin Chew Jit Poh, which is a member of the Asian News Network (ANN).
The trip was organized by the China Daily who did a splendid job in keeping things together.

Podung airport at Dusk

Finally, when the boarding call was made, it took another two and a-half hours to land in Harbin.
Meanwhile, dinner was served.
This was a relief as my tummy was already growling.
Even when the food sucked, it was better than nothing.
When I arrived at Harbin, I was greeted by Yolanda Pao, a China Daily staff whom I kept in touch with over the travel arrangments.
At the airport, I finally met Rene Foo, the reporter from Sin Chew daily.
So, basically, we spent 16 hours on the road before arriving at Harbin. We checked-in at the Harbin Shangri-La hotel before calling it a night....