Beijing Trip: Trespassing the Forbidden City

"皇上驾到!"

"huang shang jia dao"

The above expression is usually used by the emperor's eunuch to announce his arrival at functions. Little did I know about the history of ancient China but I managed to pick up a few names of emperors from Qing Dynasty which is the typical setting used in the series. This may be due to the fact that Qing Dynasty was the very last dynasty before being overruled by Republic of China as it is today. Kangxi and Yongzheng Emperors are among the common references used by directors in their work.

With Forbidden City as the survived existence of the dynasty, a trip to Beijing is definitely incomplete without the visit to one of the biggest best preserved imperial palaces in the world. This is where emperors and their concubines once lived. Home to 24 emperors, spanning two complete dynasty (Ming & Qing Dynasty) for more than 500 years, it is listed by UNESCO as largest collection of ancient preserved wooden structure in the world. Walking on the paths where Yongzhen used to pace or looking at dragon throne that Qianlong  used to sit at while having session with his officials, the thought can be quite overwhelming at times. Well, if you know bits of China history that is.

Forbidden City is just a walking distance from the hostel I was staying, around twenty minutes. It was close to 9am and the place was already crowded with people. There were quite a number of counters opened at the time and hence I need not to wait long enough before getting my ticket.

Main entrance of Forbidden City, Meridian Gate

Maybe I should rephrase that: the only entrance of Forbidden City as you can only enter the city from this gate (located at the south of the complex) and the north gate only serves as exit and there is no way you can enter it from there. If you happened to arrive at the place at north gate, I'm afraid that you need to move surround the complex to get at the Meridian Gate. (Key point: It's crucial to plan ahead so as not to waste time.)

From my experience travelling in Europe last time, I would never thought that I would need to go through scanner whenever visiting tourist attractions and that happened in Beijing (that includes using the subway station). 

Back in those days, only emperors can use the middle door (Imperial Passageway) and today, you don't need to be the descendant of royal family to walk through it. A fee of RMB60 will do.

Forbidden City entrance ticket

Excitement started to peak as I pass by that door...

Flashes of "Empresses in the Palace"'s setting..

Crossing the Golden River via these marble bridges which leads you to the following courtyard..

Gate of Supreme Harmony

Was greeted by such a big crowd and it seems to be almost impossible to capture the building on its own (and selfies). It is believed that this courtyard can accommodate up to 100, 000 people. At that point of time, I was still in disbelief that I was in the Forbidden City, the place that I have been imagining for as long as I remember. All the main buildings will have gates before them. As the caption goes for the above photo, passing this gate will lead you to...

Hall of Supreme Harmony

This is the most important and largest structure in Forbidden City. It is used for ceremonial occasions such as coronations, emperor's birthday etc.

Look at that crazy crowds.

As I walked along, I can't help but to observe the ancient chinese architecture. One of the things that I noticed quickly (of course, I read about it before hand) is the roof guardians.

Roof guardians

These guardians are at the four edges of the roof and it applies to all the roofs, whichever they shelter. It is a series of mythical beasts led by a figure riding a phoenix. The more the beasts are, the more important the building is. Noticed the colours of the building? I can only imagine how the people of that time can paint the repetitive patterns on all the structures.

Come to think of it, emperor has the absolute power and believing that the emperor is the son of God, there is nothing that emperor can't have. This may explain the reason of disputes among the princes as only one prince can ascend to the throne. Kangxi Emperor has the most surviving children (24 sons and 12 daughters) and I can only think how did the princes out-smart one another.

Guardian Lion

Dragon-Head Spouts

These spouts which are located at the marble platforms used to and still are parts of the drainage system.

Hall of Middle Harmony and Hall of Preserved Harmony

Dragon Throne at the Hall of Preserved Harmony

Water Vat

These water vats are spotted around the palace. They are used to contain water for fire fighting. In winter, to prevent the water from freezing, thick quilt is used to cover them.

Nine Dragon Screen

One of the three types left in China, this wall is meant to protect Hall of Imperial Supremacy from evil spirits. This wall is located at Complete Palace of Peace and Longevity, in which you need to turn right after exiting Hall of Preserved Harmony. 

Walking ahead leads to the Gate of Heavenly Purity before entering another of set of three halls. 

Palace of Heavenly Purity

Dragon Throne at Palace of Heavenly Purity

Exiting the halls and you shall come across Imperial Garden.

Before exiting the palace at the north gate, there are more to explore at the east and west wings of the city. These are the places where emperor and concubines actually lived.

The walkway at Eastern and Western Palaces

Different palaces are connected through this walkway. They look exactly the same from what I saw in the series, where all the concubines went from one place to another. 

Hall of Mental Cultivation

This hall is the place where emperor spends his off time.

Exiting the imperial garden you shall see two kneeling elephants. This signifies the power of emperor as even elephants kowtowed before him.

Kneeling Elephant

Gate of Divine Prowess

View of Jingshan Park from Gate of Divine Prowess

After spending close to 5 hours, it was the end of my visit at Forbidden City. Was I overwhelmed? I was. But, I felt rather incomplete as not all sites are accessible to visitors. For instance, the place where emperors slept, room where he spent time with his concubines etc. as you can only peek through the windows. Those are the little details I have been dying to get close to but apparently, I couldn't.

Still, it was an insightful visit and I foresee myself to revisit the place one day.

Next Chapter: Ancient Greek Ruins in China?

Beijing Trip Journey:

1. Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey

2. Trespassing The Forbidden City

3. A Summer Escapade

4. A Great Scam at the Wall

5. Mao's Legacy

6. Temples Hopping
7. Walks in the Parks
8.  Gastronomical Hunt

Beijing Trip: Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

-Laozi

Travelling alone is one of the things that I have always wanted to do. Get my backpack and explore the world. I just never thought that I would do it in Beijing, the capital of People's Republic of China! Well, I did it for a number of days when I was in Ireland. This one we are talking about 9 days, 9 days trip in Beijing (just would like to emphasize).

The idea of visiting China was rather inspired after watching Mainland China drama series, "Empresses in the Palace" whereby the setting was the Forbidden City (and I was addicted to series). Most of my friends have been there and I was determined to make the trip happen, even if I have to go there alone. (Some of my friends thought I was very daring to travel to Beijing all by myself). That advice came a little too late as  I purchased my flight ticket 9-month ahead of the trip due to promo (Unfortunate MH370 incident happened around two months later). Adamant with my decision, I bought a Lonely Planet travel guide for my preparation and counting the days to September.

Visa is required for Malaysians to enter China. Applied mine through a travel agent in my town with a fee of MYR150. It is advised to apply for the visa a month ahead of your trip and not earlier than 3 months as for tourist visa is valid for 3 months only and it usually takes around 5 working days to process. With Forbidden City being my major motivation to visit the city and of course, the famous Great Wall of China, I was rather unsure what else I could do there. You must think that I'm crazy that I plan to stay for that long then. At the end of the trip, I realised I did make the right decision, even before the trip ended as I underestimated the size of Beijing. I have researched and to find out there were quite a number of places that I could spend my time there. Planned my itinerary, ready with the travel guide including city map, booked my accommodation (faced last minute change due to unavailability of hostel to accept foreign visitors and managed to sort out the night before flying off to the city), converted RMB3000 (MYR1 is approximately around RMB2), I was ready to commence my trip as AirAsia X took off at 6.45pm from KLIA 2 on the 5th of September. The flight journey was around 6 hours.

Landed at Beijing Capital International Airport - T2, done with immigration check and I fell for very first scam. It was totally avoidable and I was very aware that I was in the middle of it but for some reason, I just went along. Walking towards the arrival hall and my intention was to get a legal taxi outside the airport but I was followed by a guy claimed to be official taxi driver. I was ignoring him at first but he was persistent and I walked into the trap, literally, when he showed his card. I was like, "oh, okay." I guess contributing factors include tiredness from long flight and it was late hour so I just agreed to get onto his RMB400-fare to my hostel. (Normal rate is RMB300 for after midnight charge). The worst part is not about the overpriced fare but the fact that the driver can't seem to locate my hostel. Not enough with that, he even asked for more money at the end of my trip. I couldn't care less so I just handed him a MYR10 note as a souvenir (even explained who's the figure on the note) for his keepsake. My very first scam in less than 1 hour after arriving at Beijing. What a way to start my trip.

By the time I reached my hostel it was already 2.30am. Checked in at Jade Hotel which is located at Beiheyan Dajie: 17 minutes walk from nearest subway station (Dengshikou), walking distance to Wangfujing (famous shopping street), Donghuamen (one of the snack streets) and Forbidden City. The room only cost MYR33 per night, 4-bed dormitory with a shared bathroom. With that said, Forbidden City was on top of my Beijing agenda.

Glimpse of chinese imperial setting shall unfold in the next chapter.

Beijing Trip Journey:

1. Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey

2. Trespassing The Forbidden City

3. A Summer Escapade

4. A Great Scam at the Wall

5. Mao's Legacy

6. Temples Hopping
7. Walks in the Parks
8.  Gastronomical Hunt

Mouth-Watering

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."

-Mark Twain

I won't call myself a foodie but I do enjoy good food. I am not a food critic but I believe in my own sense of taste when it comes to my favourite dish. Food here doesn't include the routine meals that we have every day whereby we eat to live. The food that I'm referring to is the food that we live for, the one you don't have it often. Once in a while, we just need to indulge ourselves.

Back in April, I travelled to Kota Bahru, Kelantan to attend my friend's wedding and have the chance to try the famous Nasi Dagang at Restoran Selera Daun Pisang.

There are many choices of meat and vegetables you can pick from with different methods of serving. I took fried egg covered with sweet spicy gravy and beef "rendang" and costed about MYR8. It was a little pricey, in my opinion, but it was definitely very fulfilling.

Had dinner by the beach of Pantai Cahaya Bulan. Being a "rojak" lover myself, I believe the key of a good "rojak" is the sauce which binds the ingredients together. We had seafood "rojak" and I can say it was recommendable. The sauce itself wasn't that spicy (you can always choose to spice it up on your own) and the sweetness was just nice. Had "keropok lekor"  and I dare say east coast has one of the best "lekor" in the country. Loving the soft texture.

Back in the city to try the famous desert shop, Ozarah which is recommended by Foursquare. I ordered sweet cone snowy treat. Loving the sweetness of the cone (but too much of it can be quite overwhelming, not to mention the "brain freeze"). Still, I enjoyed the dessert. 

Back in Miri, sometimes my friends and I just feel like splurge to indulge ourselves. For that reason, we usually drive all the way to Brunei (40-minute drive, by the way) to have Sushi feast. Ever since I tasted the sushi served at Excapade and Kaizen (the two famous Sushi franchise in Brunei), Sushi King is now officially out of my list. Ingredients used to serve the sushi are very fresh, enjoying every bite of freshness in the mouth. In Malaysia, quality of Sushi served at Sushi Zanmai is comparable but too bad, it is not available in Miri/East Malaysia at the moment.

The most recent cuisine that I have tried locally is Italian food which is served at Fratini's Restaurant. Ordered Salmone Penne and Gladiator Pizza. I don't think it is fair to compare to the ones served when I was back in Italy but honestly, they are recommendable for whoever craves for Italian. Liking the penne texture which blends with the minced salmon (Confession: I like salmon). I believe in pizza with thin crust is simply the best one. 

Looking at these photos already make me feeling hungry. Lesson learned: Don't blog when you are hungry, when you are going to post about food.

Anticipating next mouth-watering adventure...

Mount. Kinabalu Trip: Journey to the Peak

"It's funny how some distance makes everything seems small; The fear that once controls me can't get to me at all."

- Frozen (2013)

It's been 2 weeks since the climb but somehow, I can't seem to forget the thrill of the journey that I had. I don't think I will be able to forget it in the nearest time.

It all started when my friend invited me to join her to fulfill one of her resolutions. Have been talking and contemplating to conquer the highest peak in Malaysia, I agreed without second thought.

Touched down in Kota Kinabalu on the night of the 17th of April and we stayed for one night at Akinabalu Youth Hostel which is strategically located at Gaya Street. The rate for mixed dormitory without fan is MYR25 and I find that is quite reasonable. The only shortfall of the room is it only has one power point. Alternative power points are available at the living room if you intend to hang out there.

Cozy and welcoming surrounding at Akinabalu Youth Hostel

Woke up as early as 5.00am to prepare ourselves as our van would come and pick us up at 5.45am. The shuttle service to and from the city to Kinabalu Park was included in the package.  We reached the park about 2 hours later and we have our breakfast at Restoran Panataran (at our own cost). Afterwards, we were brought to meet our mountain guide, who happens to be a 14-year-old boy!

My hiking partner and I, with our destination is right behind us!

We were fetched to Timpohon Gate, the trail that we signed up for and the same trail would be used for descent on the next day.

 Departure point of our hike: Timpohon Gate

Renting a walking stick at the cost of MYR10, getting ready with our bag (Have no intention to hire a porter which costs MYR6 per kilogram) containing our food supply and necessities and well-equipped with hiking gears, our hike began around 9.00am.

Journey began downhill with these stairs

First 2 kilometres was rather an easy climb despite of the steepness of the trail in which I felt like I was trying to fight with gravity. It definitely felt different to trek with all those loads on my back, as to compare to my routine hiking. To think that I need to hike for 6km on that day... Dare not to think further, just climb.

The only waterfall on this trail. The water isn't really falling on that day. 

I believe this creature is known as mountain squirrel. Saw lots of them at the resting huts.

It's 9.34am at this point.

Green is good for the eyes.

Make it to 2km at 10.11am. 

The climb continued for the next 2km and finally we reached  Layang-Layang Hut at 11.45am, the usual spot for climbers to have their lunch break. This hut is somewhere near 4km check point. We have trekked for two-third of the trail. Our packed lunch consists of sandwich, chicken wing, an apple and a bottle of mineral water.

Take a selfie after lunch, before continuing our journey

The climb resumed after 30 minutes lunch break. The final 2km, I would say, is the toughest trail before reaching Laban Rata Rest House. Most of the pain in my toes or legs is caused by this trail.

The uneven rocky trail 

 Another break before going on...

This breathtaking view is after 5km check point. 

Final rest hut before reaching rest house and look at that trail ahead..

Spotted this worm lying on the ground. Mountain worm, I suppose? 

One of the flora, I forget the name

It's getting chilly at this altitude and the plants are more unique

Climb, break, hike, stop... and the cycle continues.

Made it to the rest house at 2.30pm!

So, we have climbed for about five and a half hours, inclusive of intermittent stops and lunch break. Dinner was served at 4pm. Meals provided at the hostel is buffet style and to consider the location of the rest house, the choices of food can say to be quite luxurious. I truly appreciate the effort of the porters who bring the supply all the way up. I recalled there is one guy carrying a cooking gas cylinder during our climb. That is truly remarkable.

After checking in at our dormitory, there was nothing much that we can do at the rest house other than waiting for the time to pass. We went to bed before 7pm to prepare for an early day on the following day.

Sea of cloud outside of Laban Rata Rest House

Foreseeing another rocky trail...

 Liking the chilly climate, reminding me of the British weather

Another selfie before calling it a day, with our dormitory in the background

Woke up at 1.30am and prepared ourselves for the final challenge. Had our supper and we began to hike at 3.00am. We equipped ourselves with headlight and winter outfit, we started to walk in the dark with big groups of climbers. Along the way, the groups were dwindling and seeing people started to have breaks in between. Eventually we came to the point of stone-floor trail with some rope climbing session. The trail was rather steep and if to be careless even just for one second may be fatal. The sun is yet to rise and the only source of light is our headlights, in which mine kept on slipping away from my forehead, makes my climb a little difficult.

After Sayat-Sayat Hut, the final check point before the summit, that was the very last battle that I need to tackle before reaching the end. So close yet so far, I can somewhat see the summit from there but seeing the path that I have to go through, I admit, I almost wanted to give up. I overheard some of the climbers saying they don't have the endurance to go on anymore. Re-reflecting myself, I am this close and seeing my friend was ahead of me, I decided to go on. Although I didn't make it to the summit before sunrise (that was the initial target), I made it to the final destination.

 We made it to the highest point of Malaysia, Low's Peak!

6.12am of the 19th of April, 2014, the moment to be remembered.

For thing that goes up, it must come down. After spending minutes of our time there after hours of climbing, it's time to say goodbye to Low's Peak and made our way down to the Rest House. Now we finally can enjoy the view as the sun shines over the summit.

Climbing down is relatively easier for me but my friend didn't think so..

 Amazed by the triangle shadow

 Met our mountain guide, Shukri!

 The iconic South Peak

 Personal memento with South Peak

 South Peak depicted on old RM1 note and ...

 new RM100 note.

8.0km check point we didn't get to capture earlier as it was still dark at the time

 Tiny flowers that grow on the stone floor

 Plants that can be found at this altitude. They must be liking the cold.

 Another awesome view from the top, wonderful creation of Mother Nature

 The same stairs that we used for climbing up which was not visible back then

Laban Rata Rest House view from the top

We made it back to the rest house around 9.00am to have our breakfast (our last meal). Packing our stuff and we started to descend at 10.30am. 

 Bidding farewell to Laban Rata...

 As much as I enjoyed the descent, this trail will always intimidate me.

 Managed to capture this pitcher plant on our way down.

My knees and toes were hurting so bad during the descent but somehow it didn't stop to climb down at a greater pace. At some point, I accidentally kicked over something and worsen the pain on my toes. Couldn't stand it any longer, I decided to use slippers for the last 2km before reaching the gate.

Concluded my climb at 2.30pm, a total of 4 hours of descent!

The feeling of reaching the gate is just as exciting as to cross the finishing line of a run. Never in my life I thought I would have made it to conquer the Mount Kinabalu. Even now I still couldn't believe myself that I have been there. Despite of the negativity at some points, thankfully they didn't get it on my way. Encouragement from hiking buddy definitely plays a big role for this commendable accomplishment.

Getting our certificate from HQ and we left for the city. Stayed for another night in KK before flying home on the next day. That pretty much concluded our Mount Kinabalu weekend getway.

Bye bye, Kota Kinabalu!

Will I be climbing it again? May be. Perhaps next time I will be more prepared. Low's Peak and South Peak, you are dearly missed by yours truly.

So, what's next? :)

For your information, our package costs MYR900 which includes:

1. Shuttle service from KK to Kinabalu Park

2. Park Entrance Fee

3. Climbing Permit

4. Mountain Guide Fee

5. 4 Meals (Packed lunch, dinner, supper, breakfast)
6. One night accommodation stay at Laban Rata

7. Certificate

8. Climbing Insurance

More info at this site.