新鲜人第一次领薪

儿子旭正毕业后参与台湾观摩团二十多天, 不久就华人新年, 三月才开始在中环广场一家公司负责网站设计工作, 试用期月薪RM1,500.

三月廿七日领了他人生第一张靠自己赚钱的支票, 扣掉不足月及其他, 实得RM1,198.05.

我们要他感恩, 将第一次的薪金其中RM100给公公, RM100给婆婆, RM100给外公, RM100给外婆, 还有RM100给小时候照顾他的三姑, 他照办.

剩下RM598.05如何花费? 停车费每天RM6, 过路费RM1, 一个月约RM200. 汽油费一个月RM300. 早晚餐在家里吃, 午餐每餐RM5, 一个月RM125. 总共RM625, 已经超出剩余的薪金. 不足的我们会支持.

希望他这一生常常心存感恩!

知知港小吃--狗仔鸭

知知港距离吉隆坡不太远，只需一个小时车程。靠近河边的餐馆「旺角小馆」平时下午三点才营业，逢假日提早在中午开始。餐馆四面通风，几把风扇全力吹送，没有多余的装饰，家乡味浓厚。

招牌菜除了狗仔鸭之外，还有芋头扣肉、木耳炸肉、五香炸肉等，都是传统客家菜。热腾腾以瓦煲盛着的“狗仔鸭”，炸过的鸭肉夹杂着嫩姜及八角等卤味香，口感松软而不烂，我们连嫩姜都不放过。年轻老板萧记和向我们讲解狗仔鸭的由来：「以前客家人喜欢吃狗肉，后来年轻一代不吃狗肉，就以鸭取代狗，所以叫狗仔鸭。」

另一道“木耳炸肉”以五香粉、生抽、味盐等腌制花肉，沾上面粉及薯粉炸香，然后以木耳焖至柔软。最特别的是酱汁浓而不稠，味道适中，原来秘诀是最后加入以碳火烤香左口鱼磨成的粉调味。以诚意换来远近顾客的支持，我们最欣赏这种经商之道！


旺角小馆Sin Wong Kok Restaurant
Pusat Rukun Tetangga, Jalan Baru Hosapa,
71650 Titi, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan.
Tel: 06-611 3481

Ethnic Scents In Titi Eatery

It was a beautiful afternoon as we took an hour抯 drive from Kuala Lumpur to reach Titi in the district of Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. We gathered at Sin Wong Kok Restaurant located near the riverbank to sample the local food available. On a normal day, the eatery starts from 3 p.m. but during public holidays, they start from 12 p.m. Dining at this spartan place may be a no-frills affair, but it is nevertheless a good experience under the few circulating fans. It provides an opportunity for us to try native Hakka food. The absolutely must-try dishes are "Doggie Duck Dish", "Taro Braised With Pork", "Hakka Char Yoke", "Five Spice Deep-Fried Meat". Hakka cuisine's essence is captured by the young cook, Siow Kee Foh.

The "Doggie Duck Dish" had chopped duck meat deep-fried and braised with ginger, star anise, sauce etc... One bite into the meat reveals soft tender flesh. How did this dish got its unusual name? Well, Siow talked briefly on the cultural background of Hakka being a nomadic tribe, they savoured dogs in the olden days as a source of meat and to keep their bodies warm. But the younger generation of today no longer partake in such rituals anymore. Dogs' meat are replaced with ducks but cooked in the same manner. Hence this dish has a blundering name.

The other dish of "Hakka Char Yoke" had sliced belly pork marinated with five spice powder, flavoured salt, soy sauce and a coating of flour. This goes through a deep-frying process before being braised further with black wood ears till the meat soften. With the gravy coming to the right degree in consistency, a sprinkle of toasted halibut(sole fish) granules gets mixed in. It gets our top marks for this final effort. The two Siows give their personal touches to food prepared so it becomes a bonus to all diners as quality is consistent and good.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE PASTRY at Titi And Their Famous Snack Ma Chi Chang

The drive to reach Titi, a small laidback town in the Jelebu district of Negeri Sembilan took us an hour from Kuala Lumpur. At the old trunk road off 9th miles, Cheras, we drove past the Pekan Batu 14 area and the Semenyih dam. The sign B32/ N32 lead us to Kuala Klawang and it is hard to imagine how winding but serene this stretch can be, before Titi town can be seen.

Titi has a certain rustic charm with an environment very close to nature. This town is home to a population of 3,000 residents with the Hakkas being the majority clan. The allure of Titi has always been associated with its agricultural crops like tuber plants of tapioca and sweet potatoes. The Sarawak variety of pineapples has been successfully grown here and sweet juicy sugar canes is another good crop found.

About two years ago, a big group of the younger generation had left home to work in the big cities. Not everyone likes to till the land and this marked very deserted streets during the day. We walked past the bank, the sole one in this town and found the Siew's family workshop on the opposite side of the road.

They manufacture a traditional snack known as "Mah Chi Chang" which is very similar to the famous Bidor snack, "Sak Kei Mah". The eggs fragrance is stronger than "Sak Kei Mah" and has a rather crisp bite. Toasted sesame seeds and groundnuts thrown in gives it an extra crunch. We detected a touch of lemon juice flavouring in the sugary molasses used to bind the ingredients together.

As senior lady, Mrs. Siew weighed the flour and butter ingredients, she explained to us, how authentic this snack is to the Hakkas. She then mixed the ingredients together with another mixture of beaten eggs and yeast. It was poured into a processor and mixed for 10 minutes to form a dough. The dough was kneaded manually before covering it, to allowed fermentation to take place. In the midst of the waiting period, senior Papa Siew briefed us on his two other 'prized' snacks, namely Miah Chang (a dried rice, nutty snack) and another Yin Yeong Paeng. The latter is actually a combination of the first two snacks, thus the merge of this wonderful biscuit.

After the fermentation period, junior lady, Mrs. Siew placed the dough on a clean tabletop. She sliced it into pieces, flattened them before allowing her husband to compressed them into thin slices with an electric machine. The dough slices were shredded further before younger sister, Miss Siew hands them to her mother for the deep-frying process. The golden-yellow fried pastry shreds were mixed with nuts and sesame seeds. Accordingly, special care is taken to clean the sesame seeds and nuts to ensure they are free of grits as it passes through sieves. A big wok is used to cook a sugary syrup and the nutty fried pastry shreds were mixed in. this mixture is then poured into custom-made moulds which has been coated with extra sesame seeds at the base. Four pairs of hands compressed it tight before slicing to the desired sizes whilst still hot. Packaging was done immediately to sealed in the crispness.

This strong bonded family delivers good stuff and we sincerely hope, cottage industries like the Siew's family will always remain significant. Traditional snacks should remain forever.


MA FATT TRADING
97, Jalan Besar, 71650 Titi, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. Tel: 012-762 4827


知知港传统马仔橙

知知港位于森州日叻务县，开车由吉隆坡往蕉赖走，到达蕉赖9英里转入乌冷路至牙吃14公里新村，爬过一个山头，途经士毛月蓄水池，进入一条九曲十三弯毫无人烟的B32/N32号公路，大约一个小时即可到达目的地。

这里以出产黄梨及甘蔗闻名，居民大约三千户，以务农的客家人占多数，而年轻人大多往外发展。中午的大街看不到行人，走至大街尾只有一间银行，银行正对面就有一间家庭式制饼公司马发贸易。“马仔橙”是这家饼家的特产。眼看像美罗名产“萨其马”的“马仔橙”，浓浓的蛋香味比“萨其马”更加脆口，多了炒香的芝麻及花生更添特色，而将蛋散等料黏在一起的糖浆甜味适中，还带有柠檬的清香果酸味。

采访时，萧妈妈一面秤面粉及牛油，一面向我们解释说：“马仔橙是客家人的传统糕饼。”然后倒入打散的鸡蛋，再加入酵母。搅拌大约10分钟后取出面团，双手使劲将面团搓、揉、折、叠，然后盖着，让面团发酵一个小时。在等待这段时间，萧爸爸透露：“除了马仔橙之外，新年还做米层，及将两种混合成的鸳鸯饼。”

当面团发酵好，萧太太将面团倒在桌上切小块擀扁，萧先生接过后以电动擀面机擀薄切幼，萧妹妹则将面条传递给站在油镬前等待的萧妈妈炸至金黄色，再将炸好一大箩金黄色的蛋散以花生及芝麻掺匀。萧先生补充：“买的花生及芝麻往往含有小石子，我们必须小心筛选，以确保不含杂质。”接着，萧先生换了一个巨型镬煮糖浆，再将炸好的蛋散倒入拌匀，乘热倒入撒满芝蔴的长型钢模，四个人八只手铺的铺、压的压，再乘热切块，取出包装密封以防漏风。

将传统家庭小食发展成一门生意，除了保持水准一致之外；一家人合作无间，掌握商机更加重要。


马 发 贸 易 MA FATT TRADING
97, Jalan Besar, 71650 Titi, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. Tel: 012-762 4827

My favourite foodie spots in Kuala Lumpur

When we emigrated from Johor to Kuala Lumpur 16 years ago, it was our choice to work and live here. In my field of work, it was always related to food. So obviously it should not be a puzzle to anyone, why I take such an obvious insight on the subject of food.




Migrants from other states make up half of the population in the city. In recent time, the food-line is facing a stiff competition. The number of food places have sprung everywhere, be it in upmarket restaurants, family-meals restaurants, fast food joints, small eateries, hawker stalls, mobile food vendors and food courts of all sizes. Gastronomically speaking, the good ones can withstood time as they have tasty food, plentiful choices, fair pricing though speedy service may not be an attributing factor. But a fair number of them, whose food are poorly prepared can never get that far. Good food is always spread by word of mouth and bad ones are always etched in the minds of the public too. This is adverse publicity, no matter whatever promotions, cannot undo the problems.



Many times, friends are rather curious why we travel interstates to have write-ups on the food there. Yet we have not covered much on Kuala Lumpur itself. Frankly, I find this quite a challenge. If you throw a stone in town, it will probably hit an eating place. Foodwise, the selection is too big so I have to resigned myself to my favourites. The ratings are chosen on taste, food quality control, pricing but definitely not on ambience.


When I started working in Kuala Lumpur, it was at an office located in Pudu Plaza. I had little choice for breakfast as it was either a simple meal of noodles or one at the nearby mamak stalls. If time was flexible enough, my office mates and I would adjourned to Peel Road for a Bak-Kut-Teh meal at Restoran San Wah (see page 56).




The stall located underneath a huge tree for shade drew many regulars. The boss brewed the soup to a nice, light delight unlike those with too strong a herbal taste. Meat is soft but never a messy sight. Four years ago, this stall was relocated to Jalan Cheras but being very palate pleasing, many customers still patronize the eatery. The lady boss treats every regular as a friend.

But if we are unfortunate enough to be caught in some traffic snarl, Restoran Ng Hong at Taman Lensen, Cheras was our next choice. The senior lady sells a good dry-version of pork meehoon. The blanched noodles are tossed in dark soy sauce, lard and fried minced pork. The business commences from 7a.m. to 11a.m. The swift action of blanching and tossing the noodles has not slowed down for the past 10 years. The outstanding value here is, the taste remained coustant, never changing the slightest.

Another brisk establishment for good noodles is at Hon Kee Noodle Stall at Jalan Maharajarela. The former name of the road is Birch Road and the stall is not far from the Mandarin Court Hotel, on the opposite side of Stadium Merdeka's back portion. The two sisters take turns to run this eatery. Fish balls are springly, made from fresh wolf-herring fish or known as ikan parang.



I remembered for some reasons, I normally visited this place on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays. My normal order was a dry-version of yellow mee which is always blanched to the right firm bite, never soggy. Deep-fried lard cubes are sprinkled on top. This is tossed with dark soy sauce and fried minced pork. Together with the bowl of fish balls, this was indeed a simple yet delightful lunch. The sisters are still running this business till today.



Another popular noodle haunt with a never-ending stream of customers is at Restaurant Hai San, opposite the wet market of Overseas Union Garden, off Old Klang Road. There must be six to seven people helping to run the stall. Three noodle masters skillfully blanched the noodles. A wide choice of assortments are available for you to pick on. They have pork slices, minced pork, livers, lalal, squids. The rave factor lies in the sweet stock, it has good flavour.

Restoran Ful Lai sells nice, fluffy Fookchow paus, located at Kuchai Entrepreneurs' Park. It has always been me, sitting underneath the tree sipping tea and eating the nice pau while watching the hurried atmosphere whizzing past. This is a short streak of leisure.



Lunch has always been a lovely time to check out Pudu Plaza's food stalls at the lower level. The Hainanese chicken rice here is not a bad choice. Next to the food court, Restoran Teochew Lao Er (page 62) makes wonderful Teochew porridge with a wide selection of braised assortments. My son who was a former student at SRJK Chong Fah Pit Chee, paid frequent visits to the restaurant for its Char Siew Rice. He earned a nickname of 'Char Siew Fun' by the boss because he buys this rice ever so often.





Out of the plaza, you have Tim Kee (page 53). The boss is very picky on hygience and every dish is prepared on demand, never precooked. His place is well-established.






Another place famous for fish is the Chan Sow Lin Fish-head (page 50). Their equation for success is largely attributed to the delicate Soong Yee Fish-heads cooked by the brothers. The washing off the mud taste with lime juice makes it a worthy effort. Business is so good, all fish-heads are sold off daily.


Around Taman Supreme, Cheras, there is a place worthy to mention. The stall sells authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice and nice stir-fried dishes.


The simple noodles at Tian-Ya-Ker Panmin (page 64) in the Chow Kit area is an ever-popular spot for a one dish meal. The addition of lime juice over the noodles gives it a special tangy perk-up.



I may have left Pudu Plaza but still haunt for good food. Restoran De Maw Chinese Food nests behind PGRM building in the Pudu Ulu area, is quite a new establishment, perhaps only a baby as the place is slightly more than one year. This is a restaurant fitted with nice Chinese decor, air-conditioned and food prepared by a gold medal winner former chef of the old Ming Court Hotel. Chinese cuisine at easy prices is one winning formula. Another restaurant specializes in Hakka food within this area is Restoran Yap Chong. The special prominent Hakka featunes are Yam Braised Kow Yoke and Long Beans Bbq Pork.



Not far from PGRM building is a Petronas petrol station. Next to Petronas is a coffee shop. Sitting in this coffee shop is a stall that has the Hokkien Mee and Mee Hailam, all cooked on charcoal stores. This is a rare gem of a find and the authentic touch makes the noodles just nice. They add the sinful lard crisps and over the years, it maintains a constant standard. Regular patrons always make a comeback somehow or other.



At times, I like to visit the shop near the Kuchai Lama area, which sells very nice Fried Tunghoon and Fried White Rice Sticks. It is not difficult to locate the place, there is a used car dealer shop near an overhead bridge in Jalan Kuchai Lama before the exit to Old Klang Road. Wind through the side lane of the shop and right behind is the simple shop - Lim Kee Noodle Store.

Recently, Mr. Lee of Triang introdced us to Chef Lim Fook Kwee, known as Ah Fook Khoh too. He is the Head Chef of Restoran Rainbow Palace at Campbell Complex, Kuala Lumpur. His signature dish is the Glutinous Rice With Crispy Piglet. The melt-in-the mouth and non oily dish has a large following especially politician, Y.B. Yew Teong Look. Nearby, there is Ong Lai(Goh Kee)Restaurant at a backlane of the Chow Kit Road. Towards nightfall, the seats are all filled up as the biggest attractions are the Steamed Fish, Fish-head Meehoon and Fried White Rice Sticks.




Sometimes I wander around Petaling Street and it never failed to amazed me, looking at the crowds at the Loh Hon Koh Sweet Drinks Stall. This must be the most popular drink stall in the peninsula. Behind the backlane of Sultan Street is Gerai Makan Sai Kee (page 59). The stall has been selling stir-fried dishes from the same spot for the past 30 years. Run by a family, it is now handled by the second generation. This is one of those test-your-patience outlet as a 45 minutes to one hour wait is nothing unusual.



Each good street food have their own distinct character. All have down-to-earth prices, tasty food and every place mentioned here offers value-for-money meals. Do not give them a miss if you are around the areas. I have shared my favourite spots with readers but as food differs considerably with each palate, give me your feedback.

Pig's Tendons in a Pot 生煲猪筋

We have an appointment with Feng Shui Master B. E. Loh at 10 a.m to try out the speciality at a bah-kut-teh shop in Kepong. As we like some surprises, so we did not asked him what the speciality was. It was 9 a.m when we left Cheras and though there was a bad traffic jam in the city, we managed to be there 15 minutes ahead of appointed time.

Leong Kee started in 1977 and has been in business for 31 years. The shop commences for business from 6 a.m to 1.45 p.m. They get many loyal fans who come braving rain or shine. Lady boss told us that in order to have a consistent taste, her husband brews a huge pot of sweet stock first. After taking down orders, he ladles the stock into smaller claypots to brew with uncooked meat.

Master Loh ordered the pig's tendons, foochook braised with pig's trotter and ginger wine cooked with pig's kidneys. We waited for 20 minutes. The main character was not what we had thought it to be. The tendons here comes from the embedded part of the backbone and loin meat or ribeye. It's a short tendon so there are not enough to go round the market unlike the normal tendons of the pig's legs.

The white short particles of three inches in length and half-inch in width are the tendons. These are sandwiched between two thin layers of lean meat. One bite, you get hooked. Bah-kut-teh stock is very sweet, non-oily. A good recommendation for friends who do not like oily stuff.

罗木勇约我们早上十点到甲洞一间肉骨茶餐馆用餐，我们不问特色在那里，抱着期待的心情赴约。上午九点由蕉赖出发，虽然经过吉隆坡市中心时遇到交通阻塞，我们还是提早十五分钟抵达目的地。

良记由1977年开市至今已经三十一年，每天早上六点开始营业至中午一点四十五分，老顾客风雨不改来捧场。老板娘告诉我：「为了控制口味不变，一大锅猪骨汤预先煲好，待顾客点菜后才盛在瓦煲加入生猪肉煮熟。」

罗先生点了生煲猪筋、腐竹卤猪脚及姜酒猪腰。二十分钟后，早餐的主角“生煲猪筋”上桌，我们问：「是不是猪脚筋？」罗先生向我们分析道：「猪筋并非猪脚筋，而是介于脊椎骨及里肌肉（俗称肉眼）之间的一条筋脉，数量稀少，一般上在菜市场很难购得。」

瓦煲内盛满颜色清淡的肉汤，隐隐约约可以看到锅内一条条颜色雪白，约莫长三寸、宽半寸、比五毛硬币厚一点的猪肉片。每片猪肉都如三文治般由两层薄薄的瘦肉夹着一层状似肥肉的猪筋，入口有咬劲却不会韧，味道带甜热腾腾的汤，清淡不腻，最适合讲究健康又喜欢吃肉的朋友。

良记肉骨茶 Lieong Kee Bae Good Teh
19, Jalan Development, Taman Kepong,
52100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-62750102, 012-9702946
（每逢星期一休息，假期照常营业 Closed on Mondays. Remains open during public holidays）

下半生怎么过? Trundling into Twilight Years

走过年轻时代步入中年，孩子毕业后步入社会，感觉到担子慢慢减轻了，不仅在想下半生应该怎么过？这是一个相当严肃的问题。

五十、六十、七十、八十、九十…。四十多岁是人生的中途，五十岁是下半生的开始，精神及体力已大不如前，然而智慧及财力则有过之而无不及。

从事建筑业的朋友周剑昭人到中年事业有成，在目前经济不景气的年代依然弹药充足，干脆过着半退休的生活。

除了到处旅游之外，闲暇时弹奏乐器，太太是知音。他向来事业与家庭兼顾，在众人皆醉我独醒的情况下脚踏实地生活，我们打从心里佩服他。

另一位即将步入六十岁的直销界朋友陈万吉曾经数度在事业上面临大起大落，即使在最失落的时候，对华文小学依然不离不弃，只顾付出不问回报。

最近到处经济萧条，他的事业却如日中天，甚至进一步发展至中东，夫妻俩终于熬过寒冬，进入丰收期，我们在心里默默祝福他们：好心有好报，越老越好！

何克赞夫妇是另一对在华小家教协会认识的朋友，淡薄名利，正直不阿是他们给我留下的印象。

过去从事运输业，高龄七十依然身强力壮，搬搬抬抬不是问题。

最近孩子青出于蓝更胜于蓝，媳妇孝顺邀他们同住，两老乐得含饴弄孙过退休生活。

我的双亲皆年过八十，父亲壮年时患上心脏病及高血压，当时孩子又多又小，有感于责任重大，从此在饮食起居方面严格律己，过着淡雅规律的生活，目前依然健康良好。

母亲则在十多年前患上各种文明病，坚强的性格从不诉苦，新年前跌断腿，在新年期间腿伤引起其他并发症入院。

我们在心惊胆跳情况下过完新年，每天祈祷她长命百岁，身体早日康复。

我们将如何度过这些未来岁月呢？

曾经担心过，然而发生在身边朋友及亲人的一切给了我们不少提示：以正面的态度对未来抱着希望，把自己的经济、身体及心灵顾好，关怀身边的人与事，年纪大已经不是问题。

Parenthood may be a pleasure though not an easy task. But as the years advance and children start to leave home, an empty nest syndrome can start to build-up. It makes one ponder about the next phase of life.

After reaching middle age from 50 onwards to 60, 70, 80 or even to a ripe old age of 90, you will go into a physical and mental decline. For many people, the secret of a satisfying old age can be combination of an active mind in a sound body.

Take the case of my good friend ?Chow Khim Chew who is in his early fifties. Retirement need not mean of narrowing horizons as he has done well in life and with the new found leisure, Chow and wife travel abroad often. He enjoys playing Chinese and Western musical instrument and his wife provides good companionship. We always look up to him as he has run his business to a good level and being middle-age, he is not too old to reap the benefits of a loving family relationship.

But another friend Kennedy Tan involved in direct sales is not so lucky after making a fortune a decade ago, he went through a lot of turmoil. Now approaching sixty, he can look back at those unhappy times. But during the worst crisis period, he was not dampened in spirits and continued to put in a lot of efforts for the Chinese education issue of primary schools. He asked for no benefits but today even with world economic gloom everywhere, he and wife are both doing very well locally and expanding their business to the Middle East. Optimists are happy people who expect good things to happen.

More and more people are taking their pre-retirement skills to voluntary organizations and our friends, both Mr. & Mrs. Ho are remaining active in the PTA and they are well into their seventies. Both are very sprightly and can testify to the truth that old age need not be filled with depression. Their son is holding a fine job and lives with the parents. Daughter-in-law is a lady laced with filial piety gestures.

My parents are now into their eighties. When my father was young, he suffered a heart problem and had hypertension. But with a brood of children to care, he paid careful attention to his diet and medication. Thinking positively about health has helped him to keep sickness at bay or working to cure it when it arises.

More than 10 years ago, my mother started to be affected by all the illnesses of present day issue. With a strong character, she tries not to fuss over pains. But this CNY, she suffered a hip fracture and was hospitalized. We spent an uneasy CNY and prayed for her quick recovery. Let us hope she will have many more happy, healthy years to come.

Both of us are now preparing ourselves for healthy and active old age. Financially, we should remain independent as long as possible. Being in good health physically and emotionally can help us to enjoy our coming golden years.

Winter Holiday in Guilin (7)- final

桂林的最后一晚.
Spending the last night at Guilin.

腊肉挂在露台风干.
Waxed meat hanging at the balcony.

腊肉、腊鱼随街晒。
Varieties of waxed meat, waxed fish ...

虞山公园。
Yushan Park.

刘三姐大观园”，景区设备过时没保养，节目素质差强人意，下次来桂林可以跳过这个景点。
The unkempt site of Liu San Jie Landscape Garden. You can give this a miss if you ever step into Guilin.



桂林市步行街.
Night market at Guilin.

Waterfall hotel (day).

Waterfall hotel (night).

金银双塔.
Twin pagoda.

13-1-2009（星期二）晴天 （车游两江四湖）

精彩的行程接近尾声，今天的节目又是跑专门店后及几个不怎么吸引人的景点。早上十点到虞山公园，这是一个人造公园，没什么特色，倒是义务讲解的教授在最后一站摇身一变成为貔貅推销员，做了不少生意。

下午两点半参观过气的旅游点“刘三姐大观园”，景区设备过时没保养，节目素质差强人意，下次来桂林可以跳过这个景点。

桂林市最后一个晚上是车游两江四湖，江边建筑物灯火通明，树木以彩色灯光照耀得如梦幻般，不远处的石山在探射灯照射下更显壮观。我们不喜欢浓妆艳抹的桂林市，太多的人为装饰使它失去应有的自然风光。

14-1-2009（星期三）晴天 （桂林、吉隆坡）
早上八点半离开酒店往机场出发，八天桂林游即将结束，我们抱着期待与家人欢聚的心情离开桂林，回到吉隆坡。

桂林许多景点虽然已经人工化及导游素质使人失望，然而其自然景色却依然值得一再重游。我们对打算到中国旅游者的建议是：
1.参与本地信誉卓越的旅行社的团；
2.遇到不负责任的领队应该为你的权益勇于争取；
3.尽量不买专门店（羔羊店）的物品，价格比外面贵好几倍，品质往往没保证。


最贪心差劲的导游--小丽.
The greedy tourguide -- Xiao Li.


13-1-2009 (Tuesday) Sunny (Sightseeing of two rivers, four lakes)
All in all, today will be the last day left in our itinerary. We were shown more shops that sold goods at cut-throat prices and viewed a few non-spectacular sights. At 10a.m., we reached Yushan Park, but the whole place had an unnatural effect. Out came a professor who ran an introduction of the place. He spoke with such eloquence, many fell for his charm and bought goods put up on display. Wasn't that a good sales person talk?

We viewed the unkempt site of Liu San Jie Landscape Garden. You can give this a miss if you ever step into Guilin.

In the evening we cruised along two rivers and viewed four lakes. Indeed Guilin attracted many tourists but we only like its natural charms. The region may really prosper with tourism money but it is a real shame to see beauty being marred by the presence of artificial structures. Will Guilin leave behind a brittle legacy of her once worldwide fame for mystical landscapes and stunning beauty of peaks?

14-1-2009 (Wednesday) Sunny (Guilin, Kuala Lumpur)
Early 8.30a.m. was the departure time from hotel to airport. Our eight days trip had ended and there is nothing better in life than coming home to be with our loved ones.

As the Guilin landscape is changing and new development rising, it is still alright to enjoy what she has to offer but please note the following:
(1) book your tour with a reputable local agent.
(2) fight for you right if you meet some unscrupulous tour guides.
(3) do not buy from shops listed on your brochure. Prices are very high and there are no exchange for defaulted goods. Be wary of bogus deals.