I love to travel, whether it's for a business trip or for leisure. But travelling has always been a bittersweet experience for me. I look forward to seeing new places, and trying out their native dishes. The minute I step in a foreign airport though, I can't help but compare other countries' airport to ours. I have yet to see an airport that looks worse than NAIA. It's just sad how advanced and modern other airports have become. Our airport still has that 1970's retro look. It's dark, dingy, and is obviously in dire need of renovation. And you have to go through all sorts of lines before you reach the plane. There's a line (for vehicles) before entering the airport grounds. Then there's another line before entering the airport building. Plus a line to weigh the luggages. And a line for checking in. Yes, airport management now requires passengers to weigh their luggages BEFORE checking in. The weighing scales are placed in the middle of the airports; one weighing scale for each airline counter open, I think. Have you ever lined up in Jollibee during lunch hour? That was how the airport looked to me. No kidding.

First stop was Xiamen. My parents wanted to go to this shyong-miya person. That's Chinese for one who reads your life based on your date and time of birth. The shyong-miya person read our pasts accurately. He missed out on some important events, but generally, the readings were detailed and specific. We stayed in Xiamen's Hua Kiyaw Hotel for just a night. It's a four star hotel that did not disappoint. I couldn't resist taking this picture:





It's a small wooden sign that sells different types of tea. Note the rectangular box on the lower right portion of the picture.





It says, "This product is for sale. Prize inside."



For a brief nannosecond, I was tempted to open the tea bags. Maybe there really was a prize inside! For a package that small, maybe the prize was a ring? A pendant? Hehehehehe.

We were within walking distance of a small shopping area, where we were able to buy pirated DVD copies of TV series like The Simpson's, The OC, CSI: Miami, etc. For less than half the price they're being sold in Greenhills. Wheeeeeee!


The next day, we were off to Canton to attend the Canton Fair. My brothers initially did not see the point of going to the fair. But once they stepped in the exhibit hall, they couldn't stop raving about the fair. As I was walking down the main aisle with Richmond, he said,


R: "Okay ito ah. Dapat kausapin din natin government natin na mag hold ng fair na ganito."
me: "Oo nga, kaso lang, dito sa Canton fair, puro products manufactured in China lang pwede. Pag sa atin, baka wala masyadong exhibitors kasi halos imports na yung mga products natin eh."

We were silent for a while, as the thought hit us. There are only a few manufacturing companies here, most of whom are not doing so well due to labor problems, threat of cheaper imported products, plus the steep cost of doing business.

Anyways, some pictures I took from our China trip:
From left to right:
1. Mangoes that are bigger than Richmond's hand! The taste? Eh. Nothing beats our mangoes.
2. The banner for the Canton Fair. Most of the hotels in Canton had a similar banner welcoming the fair's visitors. Some stores even offered discounts to visitors.
3. This is a picture I took of one section of the fair. The new building houses about eight sections with sizes similar to this one.

And this one's my favorite:


It's a picture I took of Momon while he was sleeping in the airplane.