Cambodian Trip 2025

I bought Malaysia Airlines Flypass in end-November 2024 and decided to revisit Danang, Chiang Mai and Phnom Penh. I originally wanted to visit Danang in March but the dates I chose were not available so had to switch to Phnom Penh. I had to add on a bit more on top of the Flypass for fuel/tax/charges.

My sister has a Cambodian contact, a Cambodian Muslim Ustaz whom she and family had visited before and has continued to be in touch with. Ustaz Rani usually contacts my sister in Ramadan asking if she could help collect some funds for the local Muslims and my sister obligingly helps collect and transfers the funds. This year was no different. As I was going to Phnom Penh anyway, I offered to bring over the funds with me. We then decided to collect some clothes (new and preloved), batik and pelikat sarongs, women’s prayer attires, shirts, etc. I also bought a suitcase to store the clothes in. Alhamdulillah, my sister managed to collect substantial amounts and transferred part of the money to Ustaz Rani a week before my departure (the local Muslims are really destitute). I topped up the balance of the money with my zakat and converted into USD to bring over.

Saturday, 15 March 2025

We left my sister’s house at 07:00 and arrived at KLIA T1 35 minutes later. I quickly made my way to the bag drop counters. The line was dealt with efficiently. We then went to use the facilities where I found two rings near the hand dryer. I went to the Information Counter to ask where Lost & Found was but because it was at another floor (Level 2, if my memory serves me right), I asked if I could just leave the rings there and if the lady at the counter could help instead. She made a big deal and snapped photos of my boarding pass. I was made to feel like I was guilty for finding those dang rings. I hurried to have my boarding pass scanned and then went through the e-gate.

We took off slightly later than scheduled and landed at 09:50 local time. My last trip to Phnom Penh was back in 2009 and the city has really developed since then. I hurried out of the plane to the arrival hall and completed the e-arrival form before going through passport control. It was then when I discovered that the accommodation I’d booked months ago in Battambang had double booked and they had to cancel my booking. I was furious and quickly searched for an alternative accommodation. Alhamdulillah, despite being very last minute, I managed to find a hotel room.

Ustaz Rani was already waiting for me with a banner with my name on it. He quickly recognised me and approached me. I asked him to wait a bit while I finalise my hotel booking and messaged my sister. Then we went to the car (his brother-in-law’s car) and drove into the city. The traffic was really heavy then and it took us 40 minutes to reach Al-Serkal Mosque. I wanted to perform prayers here and prayer time was less than a hour away so I caught up with my Quran reading.

After prayers, the men dropped me at VET Bus Station. After thanking them, they left for Kampong Cham. I’d previously researched the minibuses that offer services to Battambang and was even about to pay for one only to have my payment rejected. So it was quite by accident that I discovered VET Bus company and after reading the reviews, I made up my mind to purchase ticket from VET Bus company instead.

The bus left at 13:00 and we stopped en route for 15 minutes to use the facilities. There is a WC in the bus too but it was good to be able to stretch our legs. Oh, if you ride VET Bus, you’ll get a small paper bag of bun/croissant and juice and a bottle of water. The crew also offered hot tea or coffee which I declined of course, as I was fasting. We continued our journey and reached the VET office in Battambang at 17:50 and I walked seven minutes to Royal Hotel. The streets were not great at all with potholes and dusty.

I checked in and paid USD20 for my room (USD10/night for a room with fan). Then I went up to my room and before long, I was breaking fast. After that, I ventured out to find food for my pre-dawn meal the following morning. I found one halal Indian restaurant before turning back and taking another route. Finally found a vegetarian restaurant but it was about to close. I hurried inside and asked the owner if I could buy something for my pre-dawn meal. She took pity on me and prepared some noodles. Alhamdulillah. I then returned to my room, showered, performed prayers and then hit the sack.

Sunday, 16 March 2025

I woke up at 04:00 for prayers and sahur. I then went out for a morning walk at 07:30 before returning to my room. I even met and chatted with a local Muslim girl. The hotel owner had helped arranged a tour for me (I’d booked on Booking.com when I arrived; however, the guide contacted me to inform that he was down with asthma and couldn’t bring anyone around). I insisted for the tour to start at 08:30 because anytime after that would be just too hot.

There was some confusion at first and finally an elderly guide was assigned to me. We headed south for the Bamboo Train. I had to wait a bit until a couple arrived and I could join them on the train. We had to pay USD5 to ride the train (if I had chosen to ride alone, it’d be USD10). So we boarded to open air train and sat on a bamboo platform and rode it. We had to stop when trains from the other direction came and get down. The two train operators would then lift on of the platforms, set it aside and push the other train ahead before replacing the removed platform on the track again. We also had to stop a bit at the last stop to let a train pass.

After that, we drove north to Wat Samrong Knong. Along the way, we passed a Muslim area and I saw quite a few Muslims and also Islamic establishments, and mosques. Ustaz Rani had told me there were not many Muslims in Battambang and I didn’t believe him as I saw there were a few mosques outside the city on Google Maps. Anyway, at Wat Samrong Knong, I was first shown a building where female prisoners were held. This temple was taken over by the Pol Pot regime and where prisoners were held and detained and tortured. It was one of the ‘killing fields’ in the country. There’s a Torture House Museum that tells the tale of Cambodia's dark era of Khmer Rouge regime and how it was used as detention centre and torture house. There is also a Khmer Rouge memorial in the back besides the killing fields.

After that, we drove to nearby Ek Phnom Temple. There’s a USD1 entry fee to this Angkorian temple located on the left side of the Sangkae River. It is a Hindu temple built in the 11th century under the rule of King Suryavarman I. Although partly collapsed and looted by the Khmer Rouge, it is famous for its well-carved lintels and pediments. I spent about thirty minutes exploring the area and even climbed up and into the temple.

We then returned to the city stopping en route at a mosque. However, it wasn’t time for prayers yet (not for more than an hour) so the driver dropped me off at the hotel.

I met up with the driver again at 16:30 and we drove south to Phnom Sampov, yet another killing field. It was about half an hour away from the city. I chose to walk up instead of renting a motorcycle to bring  me up. There were quite a few visitors this afternoon. The views are amazing from the hill and the history is interesting. Many people, even young children, were murdered in the killing caves here during Pol Pot’s era.

I had noticed that the horizon looked dark and hurried down. I started walking faster and once I reached the ground, the winds started blowing. I quickly located my driver and after asking if I wanted to stay for the bats to which I said no, we left. The rain came down shortly after and it was heavy. The driver got down to bring down the covers; however, the rain and wind were just too heavy and strong that the covers wouldn’t stay in place and before long, I was drenched. I tried holding on to the covers so that they wouldn’t flap open but the elements were too much for me. I was grimacing throughout our journey.

We finally reached Royal Hotel and I paid the driver USD25. After breaking fast, I walked to Monorom Garden, the vegetarian restaurant, and bought fried rice for my sahur.

Monday, 17 March 2025

I woke up early for prayers and sahur. I then finished packing and had my shower. I checked out at 06:40 and the young tuktuk driver was at lobby. He then called out to the owner who gave me a krama, a checked Cambodian scarf. What a kind and thoughtful gesture! After taking a photo of them, I then thanked them and walked to VET office. It was there when I realised my bus was at 07:30, not 07:00. Duh me.

The bus came and we left on time. We stopped at the same pump station rest area as before for fifteen minutes before continuing on. We reached VET Bus station in Phnom Penh at 12:45 and I walked to Aurea Delight Hotel. I managed to check in when I arrived, alhamdulillah. 

I left the hotel at 16:00 and walked to the Central Market (Phsar Thmei). Completed in 1937, it has a high central dome. You can find fresh vegetables, fruits, seafood, souvenirs and gems sold here. I left after a short while and walked to the river. Then I walked to the National Museum and the nearby Royal Palace. There was some show there with young kids dressed up in traditional garb and parading with the girls donning very high heels. Really, at that age?! O know many adult women who would have problems wearing such high heels and someone is telling these barely ten year-old girls that it’s okay and feminine to wear those heels?  

I left and went to Surn Yin Vegetarian Restaurant to get some food for sahur. The restaurant quoted a different rate for conversion (it’s USD1 = 4,000 Riel but the restaurant’s conversion was slightly worse) and those who bought to go would have to pay for the container too. Then I discovered there was a halal restaurant right next door to it. Oh well…

I returned to my room and stayed in.

Tuesday, 18 March 2025

I woke up for prayers and sahur. I left my room at 08:03 and checked out. The staff wanted to check my room so I had to stay while that was done. I was walking to the bus stop for bus no. 3 to the airport when one passed by. I stood waiting for 55 minutes and not one single bus came. I was starting to despair when a Dutch bloke came. I told him I’d been waiting for 55 minutes and we decided to share a tuktuk to the airport. In the tuktuk, I discovered I had less than USD1 in local currency and told the Dutch bloke so. He offered to pay for the tuktuk in exchange of my remaining Riel. I thanked him profusely.

I quickly went to drop off my bag (it was light enough to be taken on board but I didn’t bring any ziplock bag for my LAGs). We took off on time and landed at KLIA at 14:50. However, it landed at the satellite building and I had to trek across the building for the bus back to the main terminal. I waited for my bag then went to perform prayers before going to the train station. However, I was stopped from entering the station - it turned out the trains were stuck at KLIA T2 and trains were not operating until the glitch was sorted out. I hurried up and made my way to the bus station. I managed to buy ticket for the 15:00 bus but of course it had to stop at T2 first (and I thought the bus came from T2). We finally reached KL Sentral at 16:00 and I took the LRT to Ampang Park where I had to wait another 15 blinking minutes for the bus back to Ampang. What a trying and tiring day!!!

So that was my return trip to Cambodia.

Nusa Penida Trip

I’ve been wanting to visit Nusa Penida for quite some time and even contemplated taking a boat from Lombok after buying the flight ticket there. However, after finding out that the boat ride would take four to five hours one way, I scraped the idea and bought another flight ticket, to Denpasar this time. I then started searching for rooms near the port and then on the places to visit. I booked a room in Denpasar and Toyapakeh at Nusa Penida, was offered another room at another place in Toyapakeh, searched further, cancelled earlier booking a mere few days before departure and booked The Cozy Bidara as it’s closer to the main road. Just before this, I also cancelled the Denpasar room and booked a room in Sanur as I figured it’d be better to travel on directly to Sanur after landing than taking an early morning cab to Sanur from Denpasar. 

I then bought fast boat tickets from Sanur to Banjar Nyuh Harbour and return from Banjur Nyuh Harbour to Sanur. A colleague who went to Nusa Penida on a day trip from Bali shared me a guide’s number and after a few days, he gave me quotation for a two-day trip (covering Weat and East Penida). Initially, he quoted me IDR7.5 million but after telling him that I’d make my own room booking, he quoted me IDR5.5 million. Which was simply just exorbitant! I’d searched for tours on Klook but it cost too much for a solo traveller. Somehow, Allah helped me come across a page offering car and driver for RM194.7 for a solo traveller for either West or East Penida so I purchased one of each. I’d have to pay for parking and entrance fees but after doing more research, I found it would still be way more economical than the earlier offers I saw on Klook. Syukur Alhamdulillah. It always pays to do some research. 

Friday, 7 February 2025

I left office and took trains to KLIA T1. I had checked in for my flight online and wasn’t too worried when I arrived at 15:37. I was surprised to find that the flight was bound for Melbourne which meant I had to go to the satellite building so I hurried over. I was boarding the plane before long and we took off on time.  We landed at Denpasar and I rushed out, earning some comment from an entitled elderly woman. I gave her a ‘whatever’ look and sprinted out. I had pre-booked a taxi via Booking.com and the driver told me that due to the busy airport, they could only wait a certain time.  I was out by 20:30 and after locating the driver, we made our way to Erwin’s Guest Room in Sanur. The guest house is located within a maze-like neighbourhood with very narrow lanes but we managed to find it, Alhamdulillah. It was 21:30 then and too late to find dinner.

Saturday, 8 February 2025

I woke up early and had a shower then performed prayers. A light breakfast was served at 06:30 (it was already light then). I left at 07:10 and made my way to the rendezvous place for Axe Stone boat. I decided to be adventurous and followed a different route and ended up being lost and tried to retrace my steps and Alhamdulillah, found another exit out of the maze. Alhamdulillah.

I registered at the Axe Stone counter then joined the other passengers to the port building. We then went through security and walked to the boat. We were given lanyards which we returned back to one of the staff before boarding the boat. The boat ride took about 45 minutes and it rained somewhere along the way. I had taken an anti-motion sickness pill during breakfast but the aging of the boat as we were disembarking almost made me nauseous.

I had arranged to meet the Klook local operator for driver at 09:15 and borrowed a bloke’s phone to contact the driver. We met up and walked out of the port area. Ok, the port area was horrible and I don’t know why the local authority didn’t improve the road surface with the port tax that they collected from visitors (Rp25k). We drove first to Kelingking Beach aka T-Rex Beach. Nusa Penida is hilly and the roads can be quite bad in some areas and very narrow with one-lane width so drivers have to drive carefully to navigate the turns and slow down when there’re vehicles from the other direction.

We spent about 45 minutes at Kelingking Beach - I actually went down the steep stairs until the steps stopped and you have to navigate the o my terrain) and climbing up again - before driving to Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach. I paid Rp10k for parking at Kelingking Beach car park and Angel’s Billabong/Broken Beach (the latter two share the same car park). We left after spending about an hour there and Dhika (my driver) brought me to lunch at Manthies Resto.

After lunch, we drove to Crystal Bay. Again, I paid Rp10k for parking. I didn’t see the charm or beauty of the place. There were stray dogs (indeed there are too many stray dogs around the places we visited) and the sand was black. I couldn’t appreciate it at all and went to sit at a hut instead to let Dhika have some shuteye.  After an hour, I woke Dhika up and he drove me to The Cozy Bidara Guest House. I had paid for my stay beforehand. The guest house is quite near to the only mosque on the island and within walking distance of Banjar Nyuh port. I wanted to venture out for dinner and was not amused when there was a power trip just before Maghrib. Thankfully the room wasn’t too suffocating as I had switched to AC earlier. I then went out in the dark to find dinner and ordered bakso from a stall. The power came back on while I was having dinner. Alhamdulillah!

Sunday, 9 February 2025 

This morning, we set off at 09:00 and drove to the east of the island. It fined during the night so there were puddles in the roads. After 75 minutes, we reached Diamond Beach. After paying Rp10k for parking and Rp35k for entrance (receiving a bottle of mineral water in exchange), we made our way to the cliff overlooking both Diamond and Atuk Beaches. The view was spectacular. I decided to go down to Diamond Beach - many people stopped along the way down to take photos - before coming up again. My thighs were already screaming from the steps at Kelingking  Beach the day before and were in agony by then. But hey, this would likely be my one and only trip to Penida, right.

After that we drove to nearby location for a view of Raja Lima (a group of islands) and Tree House. I paid another Rp10k for parking and Rp25k (smd received another bottle of water), we walked down (yes!) to the tree house. There are actually three tree houses but the staircase to one was dilapidated while another was abandoned. You have to pay Rp75k to have your photos taken at the tree house which I didn’t feel like paying so I just took photos of the tree house sans me.

We were ready to leave but the car battery decided to die on us and after trying to restart the car with another car’s battery, Dhika decided to borrow his friend’s car battery. He borrowed a motorbike and went to his friend’s house. It started raining then stopped then started again. I sat in the car but it was hot and suffocating so I held my foot out to hold the door open, closing the door when it rained.

We finally drove back and I told Dhika to bring me back to my guest house. It had rained very heavily in west of the island and the lane leading to my guest house was submerged and I had to wade my way through. Good thing I decided to pack my old Crocs instead of Converse or Skechers!

After prayers, I went out to find lunch. I bought some titbits then waited to have a massage. Oh by the way, there was another power trip so I had to wait for the power to be restored before I could have my massage. I had chicken noodles for dinner then returned to my room. It started raining again in the evening.  

Monday, 10 February 2025

I left the guesthouse at 07:15 and walked in the drizzle to Semabu boat office. I had received a message reminding me to arris an hour before the boat trip and was not amused to find the office hadn’t yet opened. It started raining on and off and finally I went to wait at the port. The boat from Sanur was late and we only boarded at 08:48. We reached Sanur at 09:30 and I was so glad that I asked the driver to come at 09:45.  It started raining heavily just before I reached the car and I jumped into the car. It rained all the way to the airport. My flight was retimed from 12:00 to 12:15 to 13:20 and finally 14:00. I walked to the domestic terminal to find lunch then back to the international terminal. The rain continued.  After a gate change, we finally boarded a bus to the plane. The airline had some umbrellas for us to share. I dozed off and wa not amused to find we were still on the runway when I woke up. We finally took off and landed at KLIA at 18:15. What a tiring day!!!

And that was my trip to Nusa Penida.

Lombok Trip

 I was dithering if I should buy the ticket back in October, before I’d sorted out my work future. Then I thought, sod it, if I had to wait, nothing would ever get done so I went ahead and bought the ticket. I thought of taking a boat to Nusa Penida but the boat ride would take too long for comfort so I had to ditch that plan. I then looked for hotels and booked one in Senggigi, however, as the trip approached, I decided to stay in Mataram city instead. I managed to get a room at a guesthouse on Trip.com. Alhamdulillah. 

Wednesday, 29 January 2025/Chinese New Year

I woke up for prayers and packed after prayers before tackling outdoor chores. After cooking breakfast, shower, prayers and breakfast, I made my way to Cyberjaya where I would meet my sister and family for lunch. They then drove me to Putrajaya Sentral for my train to KLIA T1.  

We took off slightly later than scheduled as we had to wait for a group of umrah pilgrims. So we only landed close to 20:00 and it was 20:30 by the time I had cleared health check, immigration and customs. The driver, Endy, was already waiting and we set off for TNC Residence Syariah Guesthouse. The driver stuck to 60 km/hour, indeed no one sped over there and we arrived at the guesthouse at around 21:15. My room was basic with furniture that looked like it was about to fall apart. After checking in, I went out to find water. I walked up to Mataram Mall before turning back. The majority of the island population are Muslims so I was disappointed to find the locals patronising McD. 

Thursday, 30 January 2025

I ventured out after 07:00 to find breakfast and finally bought packed rice at a stall along the road to my guesthouse. They sure eat a lot of rice there. It was spicy, not my cup of tea.

Endy and I had agreed to meet at 08:00 and we set off at exactly 08:00 for Sembalun at the north of the island. It was quite a drive to get there, going up and down hills and we were even stopped at random by policemen (they stopped many people) who insisted on inspecting the car registration and insurance, etc.  

We stopped first at Kedai Sawah. It’s a big restaurant with dining area on the ground floor and a platform style dining space on the first floor, overlooking fields of vegetables and hills in the distance. I had a plate of fried rice, yet more rice, alas! And a mug of hot tea which cooled down quickly. It had started raining by then. We left after about an hour and the rain came swiftly down. It was so heavy and torrential that Endy had to drive very slowly as the fog limited visibility to about three metres at most. I’m not kidding. Was so glad that I didn’t include island hopping because it definitely would be a rough day at the sea. 

We somehow made it to Tiu Kelep Waterfall and I went down to the first waterfall with the guide. We decided not to go to the second waterfall as it required wading in the river and the heavy rain may cause fast flowing river water. We were about to head back when it started raining cats and dogs and everything in between again. We sought shelter at a rest place then decided to move on regardless as the rain may continue for some time and I sure didn’t want to be stranded there for long.  We left and drove back passing through Senggigi and stopped a a view point. The wind was strong there. We spent about twenty minutes there before continuing on. We reached the guesthouse at about 17:30.  I ventured out after evening prayers to find dinner.

Friday, 31 January 2025

I ventured out to the same stall to get breakfast. I was dismayed to find small ants had attacked the buns I brought from KL so I had to throw the rest of it away.  

Endy and I had agreed to meet up at 09:30 today and we set off shortly after. We drove first to to Sukarara Village where there was songket weaving and of course a big shop where the finished products were sold. I dithered if I should buy some songket for my nephew but the shop assistants laughed at me when I misheard them mentioning something so feeling offended, I left without buying anything. We then drove to Sade Village, a traditional Sasak village where 150 families still reside. I even climbed a platform for a bird’s-eye view of the village. I browsed at some sarongs but I felt like I was being made to feel bad about not buying anything. I know I should contribute to the local community but I’d already paid for the tour and I’m sure the village would receive some amount.

We then drove south to Tanjung Aan Beach and had to pass really bad roads to get there that made me wonder why the roads (you couldn’t really call them roads) was never repaired. We were rewarded with a beautiful view though. We spent about half an hour there then Endy dropped me near Merese Hills before driving off for Friday prayers.  I spent about an hour climbing and exploring Merese Hills. You enjoy a gorgeous view of the surrounding landscape from the hills. There were some goats and I some cow droppings although I didn’t see any cows up there. I had a great time going up and down the hills.

I went down and met up with Endy and we drove back to Mataram, stopping en route at the Islamic Centre. I performed prayers there then Endy asked if I wanted to buy any souvenirs. I thought about it and said no because I wasn’t going to check in my bag. 

I had chicken soto for lunch and ventured out to a nearby restaurant for dinner,

Saturday, 1 February 2025

An early start. Endy arrived before 07:00 and drove me to the airport. I paid him equivalent to Grab fare. The flight took off on time but the door opened too slowly so I missed the first available KLIA Transit train and was subsequently slightly late for my 15:00 physiotherapy.  So that was my trip to Lombok.

Nihao, Henan And Shaanxi! Part III

Sunday, 29 December 2024     

I decided to walk the whole length of the City Wall today. Browsed Trip.com before breakfast and bought my ticket there. I left after 09:30 and went into a drugstore en route. I should’ve brought more body lotion so I needed to find and buy some. I entered the City Wall from the South Gate and headed east. At first, there were a lot of people and even vendors but the more I walked on, the fewer people there were as some opted to exit the wall along the way. I started at exactly 10:00 and finished just before 15:00. Of course, I spent time reading the plaques, looking out of the wall, taking photos, using the facilities… I was in no hurry. It was a hazy sunshiny day and in the afternoon, there was cloud cover.     

I exited at the South Gate and crossed over to SKP, an upscale department store nearby. Then I ventured to a neighbouring mall and finally located a shop that sells cosmetics and toiletries. I located body lotion finally! Only I had problems paying it by card and finally had to use cash. I was in a fine mood when I left. Back to my room and rested. Ventured out after evening prayers for dinner. Had dinner at the previous evening’s eatery before buying some nougat to bring home.     

I walked more than 37, 600 steps or 26.7 km today.     

Monday, 30 December 2024     

I finished packing and went for breakfast. I checked out and left the hotel at 09:15 and took the metro to Xi’an Railway Station. We were only allowed to proceed to the platform at 10:15 for our 10:24 train. I had booked a second class hard sleeper and was assigned a middle berth. I could not sit up in my berth, one could one lay down. I somehow managed to perform prayers there though. I read my book and an hour before reaching Zhengzhou, I had some ramen. We arrived at Zhengzhou at 16:41 (ETA was 17:00) and from there, I took the metro to the airport. The train I took terminated en route and we had to alight and wait for the next train. I arrived at the airport after 18:00 and performed prayers there. Then I waited and waited until I could drop off my bag. I had mushroom noodles for dinner. It seemed to be the only vegetarian option available.     

The display board still hadn’t displayed the check-in counters by 21:30 so I decided to find them and found them at the other end of the airport from the food court. There were already passengers queuing up to check in and drop off their bags. I went in immediately after having dropped off my bag to clear passport control and security. I recall only one duty-free shop opened then on my walk to the gate.     We boarded eventually and took off. I was waken up for my meal and couldn’t sleep thereafter though I tried hard to.     

Tuesday, 31 December 2024     

We landed at KLIA T1 at 04:20, alhamdulillah. I waited for the 05:52 KLIA Transit train so that I could perform morning prayers at Putrajaya MRT station.     

So that was my solo trip to China. I wouldn’t discount another trip there, despite the language barrier.

Nihao, Henan And Shaanxi! Part II

Friday, 27 December 2024     

We arrived at Xi’an Railway Station (not the Xi’an North Railway Station) at 05:25. I made my way out of the platform and stood looking at directions. I also asked at a convenience shop. I waited until 06:00 then went to the washroom to freshen myself and perform ablutions. No prayer room to be seen so I just chose a quiet spot. No one gawked, no one disturbed me. After prayers, I went to ask the guards the way to the bus stop as I wanted to take a bus to the Terracotta Army Museum. The guard pointed at something and said I could take a train instead. Then I went to the other exit and this time fared better as one of them spoke English. I even went back to him again when I tried to communicate to the officer at the metro station that I wanted to buy a three-day pass which cost RMB40. He actually came with me, helped me with my bag, spoke to the officer and even showed which way to turn to the platform. Syukur Alhamdulillah. (Note: on hindsight, I was better off not buying the three-day pass as I didn’t take the metro all that often and the fare was quite low.) By the way, passengers need to check their bags through security and if you have water bottles, remove them from your bags and show them to the guard.     

After changing trains and lines twice, I finally reached the last station, Qinlingxi (Qingling West). Again, another round of asking around and I was shown to Exit D. the station guard helped write down in Chinese the bus number and destination. I went out of the station and saw the bus pulling up. I wanted to pay my fare in cash, however, the driver didn’t want to accept it. I waved my note around but it seemed everyone paid using their phone tapped to the fare reader. One elderly woman kindly got up and paid my fare and when I insisted on paying her in cash, she refused. I thanked her.     

The bus trip took 25 minutes and we had to walk about five minutes across the car park to get to the ground entrance. I was immediately approached by a staff who asked if I wanted a Chinese or English guide. I said English and another girl came over. She told me the cost was RMB300 and when I asked if that was the final rate, she showed me a card stating the cost ranged from RMB300 to RMB500. Rightttt. After storing my bag (no charge), we walked to the entrance to the pits. I had bought my ticket beforehand on Trip.com and had my passport scanned. We walked first to Pit 1. There were a lot of people here and we walked around the pit. The soldiers were damaged by earthquake and fire over the centuries and the local archaeologists had to spend time painstakingly brushing the statues off the dust. Some had ‘merged’ with other soldiers and had to be disentangled. After Pit 1, we headed for Pit 3 then to Pit 2. There are also glass displays of intact soldiers, some who bear resemblance to current people. After that, we walked past the shops to the main entrance (different route to entice tourists to shop!). Farms outside Xi’an plant pomegranates and persimmons so those two were the top items on sale (pomegranate juice and dried persimmons).

     

I decided not to go to Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum and made my way back to the bus stop for the bus to metro station. Again, the driver waved away my attempt to pay for my fare. I rode the metro to Guangjijie Station and took exit C and after deciding which way to go, turned right and walked to Campanile Hotel. Check-in was a breeze and I was in my room within minutes. I showered and rested and decided to leave at 17:30 for the Great Mosque. I was happy to see that the Drum Tower was only six minutes’ walk away and on the way to the Great Mosque. I walked along a covered bazaar and came upon the Great Mosque. I took some photos before a local man gestured to me the way and then showed me where to sit. It turned out that I was the only female - and I don’t think there’s a designated women area. The congregation prayers were at 17:50 and I saw a group of men which I surmised consisted of the imam and his entourage. I stayed for a short while after prayers before leaving to explore Huímínjiē (Muslim Quarter). I must have walked a few km that evening alone, exploring. I finally had a bowl o noodles at a restaurant in a side street. A bowl of noodles generally cost more than in Zhengzhou. Mine cost RMB12 and it was good only that I didn’t enjoy the meat fat and soup taste.    

I explored further before returning to my room. 

I walked more than 25,800 steps or 17.6 km today.     

Saturday, 28 December 2024     

I went down for breakfast and lingered over my meal. The hotel didn’t serve halal food but there were vegetarian options. I left after 09:30 and took the metro to Dayanta station. I walked around the park before getting to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 A.D., and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There were people twirling ropes and as I neared the pagoda, there were people dancing in a square. The locals are really good at socialising and keeping fit. I bought the entrance ticket (RMB30) then went into the grounds (you’d need to pay extra to enter the pagoda). I spent about an hour there before taking the metro to Yongninmen station. I went in search of Beilin (or Steele) Museum and asked for directions. One hotel I went to informed me that the museum was closed for renovation but as the girls at the tourist information kiosk didn’t mention this, I decided to find it to satisfy myself. Well, a few thousand steps later, I found that the museum was indeed closed for renovation. So I turned back and headed for the Bell Tower. I bought a Bell and Drum Towers combo ticket for RMB50 and went to explore the tower.     

Next, I headed for the Drum Tower. There’s a daily performance (09:30, 10:15, 11:00, 11:45, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 – if my memory serves me right) so I stayed to watch before returning to my room to perform prayers and rest. I ventured out after evening prayers to find another mosque and then had dinner at another eatery. Tonight, I had dumpling soup. Then I browsed the shops and stalls, pondering what to bring back home.     

X

I walked more than 29, 500 steps or 20.5 km today.

To be continued