.....times of refreshing.....

The last time I went to China was two years ago where I toured the Jiangnam area which consisted of cities like Hangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai. Well, I was back to China again in 2017 and this time I was at the southern part. Well, it's not as cold as the northern area but it's still cold to our standards, temperature ranging from 15 Celsius to 20 Celsius. The good thing I can ditch away by inner heat trap wear and a long sleeve tshirt will do.

This trip covered Macau, Zhuhai, Foshan, Shunde and Guangzhou which are all located in the Guangdong area and I was there for 6 days and 5 nights. It's pretty short as usually, my year end trips will last at least 8 days. LOL. The best thing about this trip is I am at a cantonese speaking locality and I never felt so much at home. In fact, some thought I am a native there! muahahahahaha...

After a stressful time at the Senai International Airport where the check-in kiosks were down and the lack of manpower at the AirAsia counters which added more woes to it, we were forced to queue for almost 2 hours, which means the flight was delayed 2 hours. I guess both the airport management and the AirAsia ticketing crew should have some backup plan and not let things just move on 'naturally'. Luckily, the flight took 3 hours and 45 mins and we were there by noon. Macau International was under renovation then and there was not much to see there. I love the cool air once I got down from the plane.

The first itinerary was visiting the Venetian Casino, which is one of the biggest casino there. Somehow this place is super crowded even on a Wednesday and I don't really like it there. It's just an eye-opener for me to visit such a huge casino with lots of folks around. And, I love the Pork Ribs Bun! (No pic here as I was too hungry then...hahah)

One of the wings of the Venetian

I am glad we are off to another itinerary and we were taken sight-seeing around the city. It was a beautiful place with modern and old buildings, and an expensive place especially the hotel. We have a nice cantonese speaking tour guide who entertained us and most of us , tourists, have a good time talking cantonese with her.

Shopping at Koi Kee confectionary

One of the best itinerary was to shop at Macau's various confectionery and biscuits shops, especially those with a long history. My kid loves their almond cookies and we did bought a lot!

The 15th century Ma Zhu temple

A relaxing spot near the temple

A peaceful old street near the temple

Glimpse of the Macau life

Then, we were brought along some old streets in Macau where there was an old temple sitting there, which was a tourism spot. I love seeing these old buildings, it's so much like HongKong.

Old Apartments

 

Old streets

Crowded apartments (up and below)

An old Catholic graveyard

A typical signboard in Macau, still can see lots of Portuguese words there

This almost took us one day and the last itinerary for the day was none other than visiting the Ruins of St.Paul's. Well, as the tour guide said, if you didn't visit this itinerary, you missed out a big part of Macau.

The majestic Gate

Family wefie ... it's so crowded there

Looking down from St Paul Ruins ..

We were rushing off to Zhuhai after that in order to avoid the rush hour, which is after working hours. We still needed to cross over the CIQ to China, though it's just passing by both CIQs under one building. It's so unlike JB-SG custom where you needed to cross the strait. We were slightly late and there were lots of human traffic there. I gotta watch over my family closely.

The crowded Zhuhai CIQ...look at the mountains of folks!!

And, we were in China, waiting to check-in to our hotel and dinner. It was a cold night too!

This was last Sunday and I am already on vacation in Guangzhou and Macau now. I will blog about my retreat when I am back next week. Oh... I really have craving for Korean food lately, no thanks to the Korean drama and I pestered my wifey to go back to Hong Dae in Taman Permas Jaya, JB, which served great Korean cuisines.

It was quiet at 3pm , come 6pm, it's super crowded!!

Up and below, varieties of korean dishes

Miso seafood soup... My kid loves it. It carried some spicyness but it's great tasting. It's slightly different from the Japanese variety.

And my favourite Korean Ginseng Soup... I can finish the entire bowl.

Here's one of the better places for Korean food in JB! Will come back again! Have a good weekend!

I blogged about  plantar fasciitis in my last post and I have been suffering from it for the past two years. Well, I am still not too sure what are the treatments except taking anti-inflammation and painkillers, which GP always prescribe, but I guess rest from running might help. And, getting good apparels like wearing good cushioning shoes too. In fact, I think it all started after a half-marathon run and later, I wore a pair of shoes with poor cushioning for a week long trip.

Here's an excerpt from wiki on the disorder -

Plantar fasciitis is a disorder that results in pain in the heel and bottom of the foot.^[1] The pain is usually most severe with the first steps of the day or following a period of rest.^[3] Pain is also frequently brought on by bending the foot and toes up towards the shin and may be worsened by a tight Achilles tendon.^[3][2] The condition typically comes on slowly.^[2] In about a third of people both legs are affected.^[1]

I am trying acupunture later and see how it goes. Btw, I got these from my contractor who also sold sports apparel.

A recovery compression sock wore after a workout

It's pretty tight and I shouldn't wash it too often as it will loosen very soon

Recovery after a run

The socks seems help as I felt the pain eased after wearing it for a few days but it also helps by wearing a good cushioning shoes. It did come back again especially when I wore my old running shoes and I have since discarded it. And, of  late, I shop for a new shoes and got a Brooks Glycerin 14, a recommendation from a seasoned runner. I will blog on my experience with the shoes later.


I will work on the recovery as a full marathon is still on my bucket list. Oh.. I love Korean Ginseng Soup lately and got my fix in Seoul Garden Hot Pot.


Have a good week!