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Category: Travel Page 37 of 43

MAS tambah penerbangan ke Yangon, MYANMAR mulai September 2010

Semenjak AirAsia menyerang Yangon, MYANMAR dengan penerbangan tambang rendahnya setiap hari mulai Jun 2010, MAS mula terasa bahangnya. Laluan KUL-RGN (Yangon ialah nama baru bagi Rangoon) yang sebelum ini hanya popular dengan pelancong bisnes (business travelers), kini semakin kencang dengan pelancong kasual (leisure travelers) dan tidak boleh dipandang sebelah mata oleh strategis MAS.

Justeru itu, MAS membuka kedua-dua matanya dengan menambah penerbangan KUL-RGN setiap hari. Sebelum ini hanya 5 hari seminggu sahaja. MH740 berlepas dari KUL ke Yangon pada jam 10:05 pagi dan MH741 berlepas pulang dari Yangon ke KUL pada jam 12:15 tgh. setiap hari. Masa penerbangan ialah 2 jam 30 minit dan kadang-kadang 2 jam 45 minit.

Selamat datang ke Yangon, MYANMAR.

Welcome to Miri, Sarawak, MALAYSIA

18 August 2010:

Early MH flight to Miri was an aging Boeing 747-400. Seated at 19A seat, I could see clearly stained metal patches on the wing, over the scratches window. The engine made some rattling noise when taking off but quietened down when cruising. The sky was cloudy but no rain. Most passengers felt asleep the entire journey over South China Sea, 33000 feet above at the speed of 800 km/h. After 2 hours 15 minutes I could see the shoreline with rivermouths full of muddy waters from the interior of Borneo. The plane was circling a couple times along the shoreline beneath which are at one side green plains and zig-zagged rivers and at the other side are muddy beaches. The pilot Jeff Azman went on air saying some problem at Miri Airport which did not concern us. He managed to land safely eventually. Airport terminal was a straight line building with 2 or 3 contact piers, just like Yangon International AIrport. Immigration was a breeze as I presented my intenational passport to the officer behind the counter, and she stamped the ‘visa’ on a blank page which allows me to stay up to 90 days on social visit to Sarawak.

Unlike Yangon arrival, nobody was waiting for me. This is my home country Malaysia and I was expected to know this country well. People speak my language and eat my foods, so whats the big deal. That what my new company thought, when I called them last week to tell them of my arrival date.

I went thru typical airport arrival procedures  — immigration checkpoint, collect baggages, custom checkpoint, greet&meet area. After custom checkpoint, I exited to the greet&meet area. At your left there were many car rental counters and one of them was a taxi counter. Bought a coupon here, only Rm20 for 15 minutes drive to Mega Hotel in downtown Miri.  Took and presented the coupon to the waiting taxi queueing for passengers outside the arrival hall. No taxi touts at this airport.

It took about 15 minutes from Miri Airport to Mega Hotel in the city center, along tree-lined boulevards.

Welcome to Miri, one of the youngest city in Malaysia.

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to Shenzen by bus

June 2010:

If you are in Guangzhou, you should not miss Shenzen, the youngest city in China. There are many ways to get to Shenzen from Guangzhou.  The most common advice is by train from Guangzhou East Railway Station. But Last June 2010, we took  a bus ride from Baiyun Airport, a service provided by Baiyun Airport Express.  The coach is spacious and clean. En route you can enjoy many Chinese cities, towns and villages along the highway. You can buy a ticket at the ticket counter at Baiyun Airport and wait for the bus outside the airport terminal (I think at Gate 7 Arrival Hall). There many buses from the same company  going to different destinations, so make sure you go the right boarding place. You must buy a ticket prior to boarding.  The fare was 88 Yuan one way. The journey took about 3 hours with one quick stop at Shekou, just before entering Shenzen city limit. In Shenzen, the bus made a final stop at Bagualing Road. From here we took a taxi to our hotel near Louhu. A the final stop, beware of many touts waiting for the bus to arrive. When we got down the bus, they rushed to assist us with the luggage. TIPS: Hold your things to yourself and just pretend you know the way even though you do not know.  Stay cool and pretend talking to somebody on your mobile as if there is somebody is coming to pick you up even though nobody is coming. After a while these touts will go away and you can find a real taxi — colored red and silver. The place the bus finally stops is in fact a small decent hotel operated by the same Baiyun Airport Express. The hotel lobby serves both as a ticketing office for the same bus going back to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, and the entrance to the hotel. To get to the lobby,  go around the building and enter through the main entrance. There was a clean toilet at the lobby if you need to ease yourself. You can hail a metered city taxi from the main road right in front of the hotel lobby to anywhere in Shenzen. Again don’t forget to add fuel surcharge to the amount listed on the meter. Welcome to Shenzen everybody!

Halal restaurant in Shenzen, CHINA

June 2010:

Mencari masjid dan makanan halal di negara asing seperti China bukanlah sesuatu yang mudah. Satu cabaran berat bagi pengembara poket nipis (budget traveler) yang tidak datang dengan pakej. Yang penting ialah persiapan awal atau groundwork. Sebaiknya, tanya kawan-kawan yang pernah sampai ke sana. Atau buat carian di internet — cari laman web yang mempromosi hal ehwal Islam di negara tersebut. Antaranya zabihah.com yang mempromosi restoran halal di seluruh dunia. Masukkan nama bandar yang anda akan lawati dan insyallah laman web ini akan menyenaraikan semua restoran halal di bandar itu. Anda perlu sokong laman web seperti ini dengan memberi feedback jika anda ke sana. Mereka memudahkan umat Islam membuat kebaikan semasa musafir.

Perlu diingat di China walaupun restoran terdapat tanda halal, kadang-kadang minuman keras juga di jual sama. Makanan dan minumam ringan sahaja halal, tetapi yang berat-berat tidak halal. Jadi kena hati-hati.

Berikut beberapa restoran makanan halal yg sempat saya jumpa sepanjang lawatan saya ke Shenzen pd June 2010, mudah-mudahan memberi manafaat kepada semua pelancong muslim.

Restoran KFY dekat Louhu, Shenzen, CHINA

Restoran muslim KFY ini pakar dalam masakan dari Xinjiang (muslim di northwest China). Daging lembu dan kambing menjadi menu utama. Kebab dan dimsum pun ada. Nasi goreng dan mee goreng pun ada. Anda kena cuba. Restoran sangat bersih dan dekor luaran seperti KFC outlet sebab merah menjadi warna pilihan. Harga berpatutan. Ada tandas sekali. Servis baik sekali. Buku menu diberi bila anda sampai, siap dengan gambar dan harga. Waiter lengkap beruniform akan mengambil pesanan dengan menggunakan alat canggih sebesar telefon bimbit. Pilih sahaja menu yang berkenan. Teh Cina diberi percuma.

Restoran ini berdekatan dengan Days Hotel, Louhu metro station dan juga Louhu Commercial Center.

Selain Louhu, ada beberapa restoran halal di sekitar Masjid Meilin di Shenzen. Pada hari Jumaat, banyak gerai-gerai makanan beroperasi di hadapan Masjid dan suasana sangat sibuk sebaik sahaja selesai solat Jumaah.

Klik di sini:  Masjid Meilin Shenzen.

Juga terdapat sebuah hotel Muslim di Shenzen dan di tingkat atas hotel tersebut terdapat sebuah masjid. Cuba google “muslim hotel in Shenzen” untuk dapatkan maklumat hotel ini. Saya tak sempat ke sini sepanjang lawatan ini.

Mosque in Guangzhou, CHINA (Abi Waqas Mosque)

June 2010:

Sejarah kedatangan Islam di China bermula pada zaman Khalifah Uthman Al Affan (RA) di mana bapa saudara Nabi (SAW), Saad abi Waqas telah diutuskan ke China melalui jalan sutera laut kepada Maharaja Dinasti Tang. Utusan ini pertama mendarat di Canton, ketika itu pelabuhan perdagangan utama di China, selepas itu menuju ke ibukota dinasti Tang di Xian dan diterima baik dan Maharaja memerintahkan sebuah masjid dibina di Canton (sekarang Guangzhou) buat mengingati peristiwa bersejarah ini. Inilah Masjid Huai-sheng, masjid yang pertama dan tertua di China. Saad abi Waqas kemudian kembali ke Guangzhou dan meninggal di sana. Sebuah monumen dibina dan dikenali sebagai maqam Saad Abi Waqas di kota Guangzhou. Saya berkesempatan melawat masjid ini baru-baru ini.

Alamat / Address:

Assahabi Abi Waqas Mosque (Muslim Sage’s Tomb)
No.901, North Jiefang Road
Tel: 020-86692743

Bagaimana untuk sampai ke sini? / How to get here?

Access to this mosque is quite tricky as the entrance is located at the edge of crowded intersections.  The mosque is located inside the small park (there was a construction work at the entrance to the park during my visit). For adventurous, you can take Guangzhou metro and stop at Yuexiu station.  In the metro underpass, exit toward Li Hua Hu park (opposite side of Yuexiu Park).  NOTE: There are many parks around this area. When you come to street level, turn right and walk ahead along North Jiefing Road (not toward China Hotel). You will see a small park at your left, and of course the famous Yuexiu Park to your right across the street. Keep on walking and the road will curve to the left.  The entrance to this mosque is to your left at the curve.  If you walk more than 15 minutes from the Yuexiu metro station and still cannot find the mosque, you are lost already.   For conventional people, you can take taxi to this place, but make sure the address of the mosque is written in Chinese. Ask your hotel’s concierge to do this. Some taxi drivers will just dump you in front of the entrance to Yuexiu Park and tell you that the mosque is just across the road, pointing to the direction of the small park. (Thats what happened to me. In this case you must cross the road via metro underpass.)

Facade of Saad Abi Waqas mosque from North Jiefang Rd in Guangzhou CHINA

A well which never dries at the Abi Waqas Mosque in Guangzhou, CHINA

Entrance from the small park in the front of Abi Waqas mosque in Guangzhou, CHINA

Ancient tombs of sahabat (sages) in the Abi Waqas mosgue in Guangzhou, CHINA

Maqam Saad Abi Waqas di Guangzhou, CHINA

A small building housing the tomb of Abu Waqas in Guangzhou, CHINA

Tomb of Saad Abi Waqas (may Allah be pleased with him) in Guangzhou, CHINA

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