Usually I travel alone, but on June 1 (2010) I travelled with nine others. After a smooth touch-down at the Macao International Airport (MIA) around 10:30 then we proceeded to the bus stop where we waited for the AP1 shuttle bus. We waited for almost 30 minutes but the bus was yet to arrive. The fee was MOP4.20 instead of MOP3.30 but the luggage was still the same, MOP3 per every bag. Well I have not been to Macao for more than a year. The 10 of us decided to take a taxi instead of the shuttle bus, although it cost us more, especially with 3 taxis, but we didn't want my 2 Chinese nieces to wait for us in vain near the Gongbei Port.

From Gongbei we took a 15-seater coaster to Guangzhou. The cost of the van was RMB870. The journey was quite smooth until we reached Guangzhou. As it was raining while the roads were under repair to prepare for the coming Asian Games, the congestion was quite bad. We arrived at the hotel in Xiaobei almost at 17:00, that took us almost 5 hours from Gongbei to Guangzhou.

It is.indeed easier for us to rent a van rather than taking a public bus. The van sent us direct to the hotel doorstep and if we took a public bus, it will stop at the bus terminal then we have to take other busc or taxis.

On June 4 (evening), I was with some friends buying things at the Luohu Walmart, and I sensed a man of aropund 35+ was following us. I observed that he had been followibng me for the past 15 minutes and kept his distance. When we came out of the premises he stopped following me and I let my guard down. My Chinese niece called me and I answered her, and suddenly my nephew who was about 5 metres in front jumped and caught a 10 year-old girl, trying to rummage my sling bag while I was answeing the call.

The man who was following me, suddenly came and took the girl away. From their faces, he could be her father or her relative. I felt sad that he was probably teaching her in this art of stealing. What would happen if the victim vents his anger on the girl if she gets caught?

I have been to Guangzhou only seven times, most of the time with some friends from Malaysia. These friends loved Indian, Middle East and Turkish foods very much. They are good hunters of food. From Turkish lokantasi, South Indian unavagam to restaurants and they never failed to savour the taste and jotted down inside their notebooks. We have been to Delhi Darbar Restaurant near Shangxia jiu, the foods are OK but the service is quite slow. Indian Chef near Beijing Lu is also OK and the service is better. One of the best Indian foods I have ever tasted is Uncle Café is situated at Henjing Commercial Centre, near Huanshi Zhong Lu, about 15 minutes walk from the GZ Train Station. It was introduced to me by Mr Amir, who was a Second Attaché Officer of the Consulate General of Malaysia Office.

Unfortunately Uncle Café is just a small restaurant that cannot accommodate larger group of diners, may 30 persons at one time. Try Beriani with chicken tikka masala, and crispy fried chicken and end up with crispy nan bread.

Both Macau and Hong Kong Immigration provide duplicate card where the first page is for arrival and the second is for the departure. Make sure you sign on both forms upon arrival and retain the second card in your passport, because if you lose the second or the departure card, you will not be allowed to leave Macau or Hong Kong. Macau Immigration Arrival/Departure Card is written in Chinese, Portuguese and English, while Hong and China are written in Chinese and English.

China arrival card is detachable with the departure card. Visitor can only fill the arrival card which will be given to the immigration officer at the arrival counter. You don't have to retain the departure card in your passport.

With the introduction of low cost flights by AirAsia, many Malaysians and Mainland Chinese in particular, able to visit both Kuala Lumpur and cities in China. Besides Hong Kong and Macau, AirAsia flies to five (5) destinations in China, namely Guangzhou (CAN), Guilin (KWL), Haikou (HAK), Hangzhou (HGH), Shenzhen (SZX) and Tianjin (TSN). Malaysia Airlines (MAS) also flies to five (5) destinations in China, namely Beijing (PEK), Guangzhou (CAN), Kunming (KMG), Shanghai (PVG) and Xiamen (XMN).

True to its motto: “Everyone Can Fly” AirAsia has indeed enabled many low income group to travel, including me. I have never dreamt of travelling to China as cheap as RM600 to Shenzhen and back. I am not a representative of AirAsia nor its agent but just would like share this glad tiding because both countries have a lot to share from culture, business to health treatments. From Kuala Lumpur there are two flights daily to Guangzhou and Shenzhen while other destinations are only once.

Some destinations you can return on the same day, such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen but not Guilin, Hangzhou, Haikou and Tianjin. As for Guangzhou the first flight arrives at 0945 and the last flight to Kuala Lumpur is at 2035; first flight for Shenzhen arrives at 1045 and the last flight to Kuala Lumpur is 2045 but other flights are just enough for a touch down.