Travel Guides and Stories

After joining Mafengwo, I can’t help but be inspired by the travel templates—“Should I write about the roads I’ve traveled?” Especially after reading qy’s “Commemorating Xiaodao” series yesterday (please forgive me, I didn’t mean to), and borrowing a quote: “When people are gone, as long as words remain, memories still linger in this world.” Every trip, I bring the thought, “Maybe this is the last time in my life,” because who knows how much I fear flying. Maybe, on some journey, I’ll become just a memory—so before then, I have to leave something behind.    
   Since I started working and earning my own money, I began to spend it with a clear conscience, and started my journey to understand the world. There are two huge maps on the wall at home, surrounded by my photos taken around the world. There aren’t many yet, but I hope one day the wall will be full, so when I wake up, I’ll see all those beautiful memories.
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   Let’s talk about Australia… Ever since I learned about budget airlines, I’ve traveled all over Southeast Asia, thinking: “Life should be broader, right?” I planned for Europe and America, but thought Australia would be cheaper and a good first step (turns out I was wrong—I’m poor ). During a business trip in May, I was in Shanghai and got totally distracted by AirAsia’s big sale, running around trying to find a travel buddy. Finally, at the end of the sale, I found someone to go with—though the tickets I bought weren’t the cheapest, I felt that the chance to travel was what mattered, so I finally took a real step toward Australia. (Thanks so much to Miss Ma for traveling with me!) That was just the start of the story. Then came the long wait, during which the thought of going to Australia became one of the most wonderful things in my life to look forward to. After planning, we set out in March.
   The power of travel is obvious in people’s reactions—our flight was from Chengdu to Kuala Lumpur, then on to Australia. We got the earliest train ticket to Chengdu, planning to arrive at the train station by 7:30, but in our excitement, we arrived just after 7. Everything went smoothly, and at the airport, we realized we were way too early, so we just waited... and waited... until the plane, which was delayed, finally took off. Only when it did did we really feel: Ah, we’re on our way.
   Our first stop was Kuala Lumpur. I’ve been to KL a few times, but Miss Ma hadn’t. Since we had an overnight layover, we decided to leave the airport and spend the night in KL. (Maybe that’s why we had a little mishap later.) “Night tour” of KL basically means seeing the Petronas Towers. Anyone who’s been there knows that nightlife in Malaysia isn’t much—besides clubs, there’s not much going on at night.

   
   Petronas Twin Towers

But this was my first time seeing the towers at night—haha, a little rain, humid and sultry Southeast Asian air. As expected, with little nightlife and big appetites, we just looked for food. So we had our first meal in a food court across from the plaza.

I was most impressed by this oxtail—just as big as a beer mug. That must have been a huge cow!

(Forgive my laziness—just reposting these from Weibo.)
   In Malaysia, the smell of curry fills the air, and I reminded myself I’m not actually that into curry. But their ice lemon tea—I drank so many cups! After eating, we wandered. Wearing northern hemisphere clothes in the tropics, we had to get some ice cream to fit in.

We ended up at a famous local bar—lots of fancy cars parked nearby, but jerks are jerks everywhere: late at night, noisy, and cars parked everywhere.

(This is the bar—according to the black taxi driver, one of the top bars. Miss Ma wanted to check it out, but sorry, I chickened out.) Since we couldn’t really walk around, we decided to head back to LCCT (the low-cost terminal), so we experienced a night at LCCT. The only good thing there is the internet—if you have power, you can survive until your flight. After searching, we found a spot by the door with a socket and just camped out. Another Weibo photo:

(Remember this pose—it never changed!) Games, naps, Weibo, more games... With the company of other travelers, we made it to morning. We’d agreed to have breakfast at Old Town, so we saw the purple-red sunrise outside the airport—what a great mood! I was finally about to head to Australia, but as always, things weren’t that easy.
   The trouble started at Gold Coast Airport. After clearing immigration and waiting for our bags, we watched as everyone else picked up theirs. What we saw at the end was:

Yes, we arrived, but our luggage didn’t. For two women—everything was in our suitcases. How would we survive without them? Huge thanks again to Miss Ma, whose calm attitude comforted me—at least we made it to Australia, so be happy. We filed a missing luggage report as required. Anxious to know what happened, we asked the airport staff to check, but they just calmly said, “We never call. We just put it into the system.” Sigh, I lost. “You’re getting off work, can we know anything tomorrow?” “We have no flight on Monday, we get one on Tuesday.” So we’d only know on Tuesday if our bags would arrive. Well, time for a tragic but happy trip.
   Because of all the delays, there were no buses running, so we had to splurge on a taxi to the city. Thanks again to the Gold Coast airport staff for helping us get a taxi. (Later, after figuring out the geography, I regretted how far we stayed from both airport and city center—the taxi fare was a huge expense.) Taxis really are part of the service industry here. Since we had nothing, we went to 7-11 for essentials. On the way, the only shop open was McDonald’s, so we worried whether there’d be a 7-11 near our hotel. The nice driver circled back after dropping us off to tell us it was still open. At the hotel, we were amazed again. Because we booked on Agoda, it was run by locals, not a big international chain. At night, there was no receptionist. We had to ring the doorbell, the staff verified my ID, gave me a bunch of English instructions, opened the door, and I just kept thinking, “Just get inside first.” I remembered something about a box on the table and “123, 123XX” (XX meaning I didn’t catch that part). I really couldn’t find the box, so I told Miss Ma to look for one—I didn’t realize it meant the safe. Luckily, she spotted it at once. She asked if that was it, and I tried “123, 123, then #,” and it worked! Inside the safe was a letter, a key, and a reminder to check in the next morning. Finally, we got to our room. Thanks again to Miss Ma for being so picky—the hotel was great, and it had a dryer (which proved vital for the next two days).

   
   Maldives Resort

Our room was really nice—a suite, though maybe most rooms in GC are like this. There’s a kitchen, balcony, all the cookware and tableware you might need—perfect for a family holiday. My camera couldn’t do it justice. Highly recommended: Maldives Resort.

   
   Maldives Resort

The room was decorated with beautiful Aboriginal ceramic bowls. I saw the same for sale in Sydney’s The Rocks, but they’re hard to bring back—so I just admired them. On our trip to 7-11, I’ll never forget: a regular toothbrush cost more than RMB 40! With prices so high, we only dared buy the essentials. Aloe gel, face mask, sunscreen—all musts. When I muttered about the prices, the American 7-11 clerk understood and said “OMG”—so embarrassing. Of course, we bought the famously cheap Australian milk. 2 liters a bottle, get one free. Later, we realized just how hard it is to finish that much milk.

   
   Maldives Resort

Haha, big jugs of milk. Back at the hotel—since we hadn’t showered the first night, tonight it was a must. (PS: Australia isn’t like Southeast Asia—most hotels provide toiletries, which saved us money.) After showering, we tossed all our clothes in the dryer—next day, same outfit! Honestly, I was still feeling off, so I decided to skip surfing the first day. Miss Ma still wanted to go, but I would just lie on the beach with her. But she couldn’t get up in the morning, and the weather wasn’t great, so we canceled surfing and went shopping instead.

We stayed at Main Beach—at first, I thought “Main” meant downtown, but actually Surfers Paradise is the center. The picture is mainbeachcenter, but it’s really just a crossroads, with two cafes and some shops. Remember—in Western countries, there aren’t many people, so staying in the center is best. Only where people are is there nightlife (and even their “crowds” are nothing like China’s), otherwise, it’s just time to sleep. Thanks to Xiao Hua for her advice in Chongqing: to reduce luggage, she suggested I layer my clothes! So, with no luggage in Australia, my clothes sufficed. Except for shoes… And with no makeup, I looked tired, but my skin was fine—thanks to the local sunscreen we bought last night. It’s probably a “swimming” version; it goes on thicker than foundation and won’t wash off, even after three scrubs. My clothes were covered in it too. The instructions guarantee four hours’ protection in water—amazing!
   GC’s commercial center is called Fair—there are three big Fairs, like walking streets in China. The hotel owner suggested we go to Harbour Fair, but due to various reasons, we ended up at the closer but smaller Australia Fair. Why? I’ve been spoiled by Southeast Asia maps, which exaggerate distances; in Australia, especially GC, places are much farther than maps suggest. I underestimated GC; even our glow worm tour guide later told us it’s a “big city,” not a fishing village. Also, buses run on the “wrong” side, so at first we missed a bus standing on the wrong side. Then, checking the schedule, we realized you might wait 45 minutes—no wonder locals don’t use buses! So we walked toward Harbour Fair, but stopped at Australia Fair to rest. Here’s a GC bus stop:

Note the “translink” logo in the corner—public transport in Brisbane and GC is mostly run by this system. Travel is expensive, so get a gocard to save money; plus, transfers within the system are free for two hours (which we only learned much later). But honestly, we hardly used it. Besides shopping, eating and drinking are serious business. Miss Ma chose a Japanese ramen shop—it was the best ramen I’ve ever had!

Huge bowl and delicious—miso was the best. Haha, I changed shoes. These flip-flops cost me 70 RMB, the most expensive I’ve ever worn, even at a 70% discount—but they’re great, very comfy, and ready for my next trip.

We were going to Harbour Fair after resting but something funny happened. We got on the bus, realized we didn’t have enough change, apologized to the driver, and got off. Only later did we learn the driver also sells tickets and can give change—rookie mistake! And public transport is expensive—5 AUD for a few stops, 30+ RMB. We wandered around Australia Fair a bit more. GC has lots of language schools. We tried to walk but it started to rain, so we gave up and found a cafe to rest; Miss Ma even fell asleep.
   Speaking of Miss Ma, she had to call home. We bought a SIM but never activated it, so she used a pay phone to call internationally. First words: “Hello, hi, it’s me…” I was shocked at her formality! By her third sentence, the call dropped—30 RMB gone already. After her nap, an Aussie uncle tried chatting her up—she’s got endless charm! We decided to take the bus back, but since the fare is the same for three or ten stops, I suggested we go to Broadbeach and walk back—after all, you can't visit GC and not see the beach! So off to another beach.

BB’s center is bigger than MB’s.

In the center is a small park, plus you can see people cycling along the coast—very relaxing. Here we met a girl from Taiwan who asked why we weren’t working here. I said we were just traveling; she regretted our stay was so short—she said black market jobs here pay at least 50 AUD a day. Later, in Melbourne, lots of people told us there are plenty of illegal jobs, and in Australia, I only had to show my passport once in a hostel; domestic flights and trains don’t check, so some people even destroy their passports. But as small-time tourists, we stick to the rules.
   On the beach, the weather was the worst of the trip—dark clouds, big waves, only pros out surfing. Few people on the beach, but lots of loving dads with six packs!

There were lots of seagulls, but it was really hard to get a lively photo with them.

No one—absolutely no one—on the beach. We trekked for over two hours and still weren’t near our hotel, so to avoid being late, we finally took the bus. People say free travel gives you lots of time, but there’s just so much to see and do—no matter how long you stay, it never feels enough. When we got off, we realized we’d walked to Surfers Paradise. It had taken us over two hours to do just one beach—too ambitious! But it was a rare chance, since we’d have little time to return. We kept walking, always looking for food.

This liquor store had a cute bear and motorcycle decor in SP, and lots of Japanese tourists—no surprise, they have money and many are on school trips. Miss Ma wanted to buy a bikini, so we shopped, but as it approached 6pm, the staff cheerfully let us take the catalog to browse and come back tomorrow—time to close up! So punctual! At 6pm we were shocked—we had to be at the Versace Palace by 7. We scrambled, realized there were no buses, and—luckily—caught a taxi (hard to hail outside the center). After another scramble to change clothes, another taxi, we arrived at Versace. So fancy!

The Medusa Palace isn’t tall, but it’s grand. That night, we went to see the glow worms. From GC it’s a two-hour drive. We’d hoped to eat on the bus, but the tour guide said Australian law forbids eating on buses and you must wear a seatbelt. We followed the rule right to the end of our trip! So in a panic, we wolfed down some McDonald’s—thank goodness for Maccas, even in the middle of nowhere. The tour bus had just six people, all Chinese, but we’d booked an English-language tour for “authenticity.” The guide normally hosted Japanese groups, and at the site, we saw lots of Japanese too. The glow worm tour was the start of our experience of Australia as a land where people and nature coexist. Even in the nighttime rainforest, the experience was amazing. Throughout the trip, we marveled at how well Australia protects its unique creatures—there are tours to see them, but always with reminders to protect. For example, no photos allowed—something almost everyone followed, except a few Chinese. The magic of glow worms is in experiencing their uniqueness. The world is truly big and wonderful—so happy to experience it firsthand.