China Day 1 - Halal Food | 161 Wangfujing Hotel, Beijing

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

Previous entry here.

12 January 2016
Beijing, China

Berjalan keluar dari area Forbidden City, tujuan utama mau cari subway station. Perlu sampai hotel as soon as possible katanye, sebab dua ketul ni sudah lapar tahap ndak boleh dibawa berbincang. 

Jalan punya jalan, subway station nan hado kelihatan. Both of us memang tiada data internet so berjalanlah ikut naluri hati (chewah sangat perangai). After nearly half an hour berwalkertapaki, suddenly nampak signboard Dongsi Street. Eh sudah dekat area hotel? Gagah juga lah berjalan di kala sejuk, di kala perut lapar.

But honestly, memang ndak terasa penat sangat pun sebenarnya. Sebab tujuan mau mencari subway station, and memang tiada plan untuk menapak balik hotel. Alih-alih, eh sudah di Dongsi. Berkat sesat awal pagi tu, bolehlah cam area hotel dengan jayanya. 

Sebab memang sedia lapar so teruslah kami terjah restoran halal sebelah hotel. Thanking DJ for this information she shared prior my trip. Memang restoran ni betul-betul only a few steps away from the hotel we stayed. Syukur ada tempat makan halal.

# Siapa boleh baca Pingyin, bolehlah translate nama restaurant tu for us

# To those yang in doubt, boleh refer this frame they hung at the restaurant. Halal certified gitu

# And yes, konsep order makanan di China...tunjuk gambar jak. Unless reti berbahasa diorang, bolehlah try berbasa-basi

# Alkisah perut lapar, nafsu tamak berhaloba bagai jadinya ambil side dishes tanpa toleh kiri kanan. Ingatkan free (macam di kampong), rupa-rupanyaaaaaaa...masuk bil juga. Tabahlah hati

# One thing I learned about my travel partner this time; nasi wajib ada in every meal. Arasso

Lepas mencemar tekak, perut sudah puas hati...marilah kembali ke lubuk hotel. Masa ni katil sudah memanggil. Baru perasan, penat oii! The night after arriving from Malaysia, memang tidur-tidur ayam. Lepas check in earlier this morning, terus berjalan non stop. Sudah makan semua, barulah body bagi signal untuk rest. Gitu alasan kau kan Bie, walhal memang tradisi kau lepas makan jadi ular sawa. Sistur ngensot.

Beijing 161 Wangfujing Hotel

Totally forgot how much we paid for this. Hopefully jumpa notes untuk trip China ni, nanti apa-apa hal aku update entry ni balik. Btw, hotel ni best. Lengkap segala-gala. Ni untuk aku, yang ndak berapa banyak cengkadak ni janji toilet & bilik bersih. Wow self-proclaimed nampak *flip tudung*

Some of the staff speaks little English but they are super helpful. Tanya itu ini, dijawab dengan jayanya. Kau faham, aku faham. Ndak pasti bombastic grammar bagai kan. Janji soalan terjawab & u got what u want.

Room Type : Economy Twin Room

Date : 12 January - 13 January 2016 (1 night)

Price : CNY 210.60 (~RM 62.00 per pax)

Booked via : booking.com

Nearest Subway Station : Dongsi Station Line 5 Exit C

# Our twin beds room hotel

# Toilet bersih, puas hati

# Gigihlah panjat kerusi just to get this angle. Left bed was mine

# Ceiling decoration at the reception counter (lupa ambil gambar counter, sekian)

# Hallway. That staircase leads to the restaurant, and hotel rooms. And other rooms (i.e meeting room, banquet room etc)

# View of the hotel facade at night. Taken after we came back from the Nest Stadium (later cerita yang tu)

# The less than 2 minutes walking distance from our hotel to the halal restaurant

Sampai bilik, tutup langsir. Masa untuk membuta. Kena tidur untuk regain energy & kewarasan fikiran. Pulun jalan cover semua tempat pun tiada guna kalau body jadi restless. Tu lagi parah, membuli badan. Sudahlah trip kali ni panjang, ndak lah mau jatuh sakit di awal-awal trip kan. 

So sebelum menjadi zombie, rehat lah dulu. Bukan dapat hadiah pun kalau jalan non-stop on 1st day. Tiber!

Nanti aku continue update pasal activity kami lepas bangun tidur petang tu. Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim

China Day 1 - Forbidden City, Beijing

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

12 January 2016

Beijing, China

So from Tiananmen Square (story here), we walked to Forbidden City; which houses the Palace Museum. This place has always been on the top in my must-visit list. Sebab dulu-dulu before all the K-Drama craze, C-Drama was the big deal. Well, for me at least. Memang hantu drama & movie Cina. Nasiblah ndak terjebak C-Pop bagai.

Alhamdulillah Allah bagi peluang menjejak. Once only in my dream...and now, berdiri seketul Err di tengah-tengah city ni. Bersyukur sangat banyak benda yang aku mau, Allah makbulkan. Aku jak yang selalu kufur nikmat. Tetttt!

Sila lah baca sejarah Forbidden City ni. Memang menarik & wow sangat. Kami yang dalam tu pun memang gigih mengukur kawasan. Just imagine, dalam 'city' ni jak sudah ada 988 surviving buildings with 8,886 rooms! Tahniah paling ulung untuk inang-inang  & guards di zaman tu. You have my ultimate respect. Hands down.

"Once served as the imperial palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911). It was first built throughout 14 years during the reign of Emperor Chengzu in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Ancient Chinese Astronomers believed that the Purple Star (Polaris) was in the center of heaven and the Heavenly Emperor lived in the Purple Palace. The Palace for the emperor on earth was so called the Purple City. It was forbidden to enter without special permission of the emperor. Hence its name 'The Purple Forbidden City', usually 'The Forbidden City'." (source here)

# View of the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) from Tiananmen Square

# One for the album
Tetaplah tertempek muka Mao di situ kan

# The back view of the Heavenly Peace Gate

# Fascinated we are with the huge door; the nine-by-nine array of golden door nails
For your information, all gates in Forbidden City are decorated with this door except for East Glorious Gate

# Meridian Gate; the front entrance to the palace comes with two protruding wings

# Entrance ticket sold at one of the wings of the Meridian Gate
40 Yuan per pax (datang berdua, tiket tetap satu. Jimat kertas katanye)

# Try test GoPro

Tapi memang sejenis failed-benda-high-tech so after few shots, bersemadilah dia dalam bag. Letih oii adjust remote control bagai. 

Actually mau tunjuk kami berdiri atas jambatan; di bawah tu sepatutnya mengalir Inner Golden Water river tapi kami kan datang winter...so sungai adalah kering. Sungai ni merentas dataran besar Forbidden City & could be seen once masuk via the golden nails door tu.

# Ber-background-kan Gate of Supreme Harmony; the focus of the palace complex

# Percubaan Jea untuk dapat angle apa ntah; aku pun ndak mampu mentafsir
Yang pasti, berketul-ketul 'muscles' si Err diinterpretasi dalam gambar. Sobs

# Truly am grateful (hence the pose?)

# Ceremonial ramp, featuring symbolic bas-relief

# The colors & decorations are somehow similar to those palaces in my kampong. Eh?

# During Ming Dynasty, Emperors held morning court & accepted memorials from officials at this place

# As the first & main hall, this hall is also known as Hall of Golden Chimes.

# The symbolic cistern in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony

# 1 of the 18 vats inlaid with gold

# On the right side is the Hall of Military Eminence

# View of the Hall of Central Harmony from the square; yang belakang tu Hall of Union

This place is massive. Huge! Rasa sudah lama dalam ni yet seems like we had only covered quarter of it. Banyak benda sejarah dihadam, tapi haruslah masa tu jak aku ingat. Mau mengarang entry ni, ke google lah aku mencari info. Ngeh~

# The three-tiered white marbles terrace rises from the Supreme Harmony Square

Like seriously lah, memang ndak dapat imagine how life is like back in the days. Dalam Forbidden City ni jak sudah seluas alam (lenguh kaki mengukur jalan), imagine Beijing itself. 

# One of the relic in the Imperial Garden; the Incense Burner

I think I did take picture of the pavilions (4 of them but I only saw 2) in this garden but can't found any of it in my hard disc. Ntah di mana-mana jaklah kau saved all those pictures kan Bie.

# The gate to the Imperial Garden

Anyway, Imperial Garden ni is a private retreat area for the imperial family. 

# Gate of Heavenly Purity 

This is the gate to one of the three halls in Inner Court. The Emperors lived here. Note that back in the days, Emperor & Empress (Palace of Earthly Tranquility) lived in a separate building. They only 'met' in the Hall of Union (located between) during certain period which was determined by the palace. Boleh tahan complicated jugalah life diorang ni hatta kau seorang Maharaja. Tabahlah demi takhta. We didn't enter these three halls as we're just too tired (and hungry) to tour around. Perut sudah start mau ber-konsert.

# The northern gate of the palace; Gate of Divine Might
We exited via this gate. This is the back gate of the palace; used by the palace workers. Women being sent to the palace for selection of concubines entered the palace via this gate as well.

# Nun di atas itu pavilions at Jingshan Park

Naik atas tu, boleh nampak full view of Forbidden City (from Wanchun Pavilion; at the central hill). Kalau datang bulan May, bolehlah layan bunga-bungaan atas tu. 

Ikut initial plan memang mau menapak naik atas tu. Dulu kala pernah jadi imperial garden for the royal family. Tapi sebab perut sudah berdentam-dentum pesta muda mudi, terpaksalah let go plan. Walau haritu ada baca dalam blog si Syieda; boleh jak naik bas untuk sampai atas. Bila kau lapar, bas yang parking depan mata pun harus kau ndak nampak. Apa lagi usaha untuk cari bus stop. Hentikanlah niat untuk berpavi-pavi bagai sebelum penyakit lain datang. 

# Northwest tower & moat...and frozen river

# Kanan tu penghujung Forbidden City, and kiri tu aku ndak tau lah area apa

Dua wanita jelita gigih menapak to the nearest subway station. Cadang untuk cari makan area hotel sebab DJ bagitau halal restoran is just 2 door away from the hotel. Masa ni memang subway station tu misi teratas tau. 

So berjalan lah dua ketul ni menyusuri tepi frozen river. Sambil layan view & sempat lah aku layan feeling melankoli sebab view gini memang favorite. Gitu kepoyoan aku kan. Ndak sedar si Jea kebekuan sejuk sudah di sebelah kau kan Bie.

Anyway, cerita makan pertama di Beijing akan disambung next entry. Alhamdulillah berjaya juga habiskan entry Forbidden City ni. Wish list eventually ticked off. Ndak sangka akan menjejak. Thank You, Allah.

Insha Allah, aku plan untuk datang Beijing lagi (tapi ntahlah bila). And this place memang akan repeat. Banyak lagi area kami ndak habis explore haritu. Next time datang, memang akan isi perut siap-siap. Or bawa bekal. 

Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim

China Day 1 - Qianmen Street / Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

From previous entry (here).

12 January 2016

Beijing, China

Selamat jumpa hotel walau sempat sesat sebab salah ikut direction (tulah daulat sama arahan). Dalam screenshot email si DJ, suruh pi kiri lepas exit Dongsi Station. Tapi bijak bestari si Err ambil kanan & jalan menonong ke depan penuh kondifen. I chose to blame the cold winter though; beku pemikiran aku! Yang si Jea pula haruslah ikut jak ke mana langkah kaki ku sebab itinerary Beijing ni aku yang buat. Pasrah!

After nearly 15 minutes jalan & still ndak jumpa hotel, barulah realized memang sah salah jalan. So kitorang stopped kejap tepi jalan, and try digest betul-betul map hotel yang ada di tangan. Ndak susah pun wei! Semua depan mata jak tapi sebab salah belok tu yang ke laut terus tu. Ok tipu, Beijing tiada berlaut.

Alhamdulillah selamat jumpa hotel (tu update nanti). Pastu boleh check in awal pula. Double hooray. Masuk bilik, terus urus diri. Bersiram & bersiap. While tunggu Jea bersiram, aku isi perut & online. VPN berjalan lancar, dapatlah update media sosial. 

Settled semua, kami pun mulakan langkah. Sebelum keluar, aku hafal siap-siap route yang paling senang & mudah untuk balik hotel nanti. Harini plan adalah untuk mengukur jalan. Ndak lah perlu terjah semua yang ada dalam itinerary, setakat termampu jak. 

Direction to Qianmen Street : Dongsi Station Line 5 (purple) ---> Chongwenmen Station Line 5 ---> Qianmen Station Line 2 (dark blue) Exit B 

# Archery Tower of Qianmen Gate (seen from Exit B)
Gotta walk pass through this gate to get to Qianmen Street

# Qianmen Archway

Ada tram (called Dangdang Che by locals) yang lalu sepanjang jalan Qianmen ni tapi masa kami sampai tu, nan hado bayang tram. Yang ada cumalah tram yang idle; aku assumed diorang buat display sebab tram tu 'pakai baju'. 

# Kaki ada, jadi walkertapaki jak lah kami ('tram' paling reliable)

# Starbucks branch in an old classic building
Mau lepak ngopi tapi sebab travel partner kali ni bukan berjiwa ado-ado macam Mak Jemahs, so kita simpan niat. Next time insha Allah, amin 

# From another angle

Tujuan pi Qianmen ni memang untuk witness by ourselves the ancient commercial street. Ndak rugi tempat ni first yang kami tuju. I simply fell in love with this place. Everything look so classic & elegant. No wonder it is said that thousands of people come here everyday; mainly to experience the relics of historic wealth. I now know why.

# Memang automatic dynasty-kinda-feeling tu ada bila nampak buildings di sini

# Tiba-tiba lah kan kedai dari kampong pun ada di sini

# Geng Uncle-uncle; membawang sambil berbisnes tepi jalan

We walked where our feet led us. And whenever we saw crowds. We walked through the small & big street, narrow lanes & alleys. We entered few of the shops but decided not to buy anything as yet. Baru first day, nafsu membeli masih berbelah bagi. 

Initially we planned to have our brunch here. According to my research, ada few shops with halal sign at this area. We went to one of the restaurant; flipped the menu booklet given...and eventually decided to leave upon seeing few menu yang meragukan. Ndak apa, tenaga dari breakfast roti di hotel masih ada. Moh ler kita menjelajah lagi Qianmen Street ini.

# Dashilar Street
The most ancient, famous & distinctive street in hutongs of Beijing. 

# Pengabadian kenangan katanye

# Authenticity
Tidak hilang ditelan zaman

# Cuci mata
Mostly souvenir pun memang sudah selalu jumpa di mana-mana, akibat selalu menghadap barang Made in China jak kan 

# Hutong 

# Banyak lagi yang boleh ditinjau di sini (mostly shopping)

Sudah agak-agak puas mengukur jalan di Qianmen, kami pun patah balik to where we started our journey this morning; the Qianmen Gate. Banyak lagi yang mau dijejak di Beijing ni. Esok sudah mau pi tempat lain pula so marilah pulun sebaiknya peluang yang ada. 

# Qianmen Gate Tower; highest tower gate in Beijing

Also known Zhengyangmen, it served as the South Gate of the capital city in Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing (1644 – 907) dynasties, bearing a history of over 600 years. First built in 1419 in Ming Dynasty was said to be the Gate of the Nation. Qianmen was an entrance merely for imperial carriages. It was only opened when the emperor went for worshiping heaven in Temple of Heaven or during the emperor and empress's wedding. -wiki-

From Qianmen Gate, we followed the sign to Tiananmen Square; one of our highlight of must-visit place in Beijing. Aku ler tu yang taruk tempat ni dalam our must-must list tu. Si Jea menurut jaklah perjalanan yang aku atur. Tapi betul lah kan, ni salah satu landmark China. Alang-alang sudah sampai, haruslah menjejak.

# China Railway Museum
Seen from across the street on our way to Tiananmen Square from Qianmen Gate

And sebelum masuk dataran nan luas ni, kena ikut laluan underground untuk sesi scanning diri & your belongings. Sila bawa passport, sebab diorang akan check. Ni based on our experience 2016 haritu. Ndak tau lah valid ka masih di tahun 2019 ni. 

# Monument to People's Heroes
Located at the center of Tianmen Square; it is the largest monument in China's history. Eight unusually large relief sculptures show to the people the development of Chinese modern history. Two rows of white marble railings enclose the monument, simple and beautiful (source: here)

# National Museum of China

Note that yellow barriers; it continues throughout the square. Hence dari celah mana kau plan untuk masuk Tianmen Square ni, memang perlu pass through security check. 

And obviously we didn't enter the museum. Memang tiada dalam itinerary...and kalau pun ada, memang ndak lah aku 'berkari' mau go through the security check lagi. Queue satu hal, leceh mau scan beg bagai satu hal. Memang berhal-hal so marilah kita proceed pi ke arah Tianmen Tower. 

Dari kejauhan sudah nampak muka si Chairman Mao Zedong. Nasib bukan gambar dia melambai-lambai else harus kami rasa macam dialu-alukan lah sangat kedatangan kami. 

Cerita masuk Forbidden City aku continue next entry. Pening mengimbau route perjalanan (update lah lagi once in a blue moon, kan?!). Lagipun entri ni berjela-jela sudah, jari jemari perlu rehat. Gitu alasan si Bibie.

Until next entry, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim