A 'Wild Rat, Frenzied Cancer'Adventure1-Tips Sharing

Sorry for being so stagnant after coming back from a week-long holiday. Initially I intended to keep silent on my adventure till I finish my C7 speech. Thanks to the constant requests from many fellow peers, I'm more than happy to disclose the veil of my ‘mysterious’ trip, but from different perspective which I assume will considerably differ from my C7 speech. That’s the most beneficial part of traveling, which will not only broaden my horizon, but also be objective in my point of view. (Btw, for those who are new in my blog, please check out the following links to understand what Toastmasters Club is: )http://joyw.blog.sohu.com/36619290.html
http://joyw.blog.sohu.com/40128490.html

Without further due, I will walk you through my adventure hand in hand. I'm a gal who loves adventure, but no one was born with this interest. Especially for those who were born under the year of rat, attached with the zodiac of Cancer, neither fortunetelling books will tell this person would be born with the sense of adventure, but much more lean towards family dependency, well, believe or not, I'm the exception in this case, nicknamed "Wild Rat, Frenzied Cancer". I certainly believe everyone is inherited some parts of the gene from their folks. But I assume the rest is gradually being generated for the sake of your living environment/culture, family pedagogy and inner observation other than the innate characteristics. My folks unfortunately are nowhere close to the word ‘adventure’, which might associated with the twists and turns they have gone through, thus stopped them from even thinking of this word. Present Satisfaction is more likely to describe their attitude. For a Kdult like me (Kid adult, to describe a young adult in his/her early 20), I give my full support to outing, go as far as you could, explore the world in person, only by seeing, can you remember by heart, only by walking, can you open up your mind to more tolerantly accept the rest of the world.

Before diving into my travelogue, I believe it's of great necessity to harp on about the importance of adventure, as well as the notion behind it, therefore, you would not readily give up half a way.

Let's fasten our seat belt... time to take off...

Malaysia and Singapore are both countries that I should have set my foot to a couple of years ago since I used to tackle many cases with them in my Overseas Study Project back to 2004. Pitifully, I had a barrel of knowledge of these two peninsulas’ history, culture and education system, I didn’t grasp the chance to at least fly there to take a glimpse. Incubated for so long, time eventually allowed me to rest myself by taking a vacation over there. As an adventurer, words such as a plethora of Luxury, Leisure, Lavishness doesn’t usually suit myself. In another word, I couldn’t afford being so spoiled by just listening to the moaning of the ocean, doing the unnecessary shopping, nor watching the first splash of the sunlight. I hatched a fairly tough plan which in the end kept me on the run all day long albeit the considerable amount of excitement and fun.

The best weapon for being a successful adventurous backpacker is
"Budget Airline”,
"Guesthouse/Youth Hostel”
"Good guidebook”.
Fully geared with the above tools, I was almost ready to set out. But not quite yet... Booking as EARLY as possible will be more likely to help you save!!!! The normal plane fare from Shanghai to Singapore may cost you 5000rmb/round trip, from Singapore to Malaysia, 1000-1500rmb/round trip, West Malaysia to East Malaysia, 1000-1500rmb/round trip in the condition that you take normal Singapore Airway or Malaysia Airway… (Price varies with seasons). Roughly you might have splashed more than 7000rmb on transport, while not even starting your journey. Being a backpacker is really that costly??!! The answer for sure is NO… I have cut my overall transport fee down to HALF by a sophisticated combination of diversified transportation vehicles:
I first bought the plane ticket from Shenzhen to Singapore from Tiger Airway, (
http://www.tigerairways.com/) one of the most famous Low-fare Airlines in the world) which I only set back approx 1500rmb/round trip (including tax). Then I was learnt from other experienced travelers that overland service has been offered from Singapore to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), besides, it’s fairly easy to purchase the tickets on the spot. After doing a bit time calculation, I worked out my date of leaving from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia Peninsular and happened to detect another budget airline served intensely in South East Asia, namely, Air Asia Airline (http://www.airasia.com/), which is crying out for its short-term low-fare service, the fare from KL to Kuching only cost 440rmb (including Tax) at that time. However, I was pretty disturbed after finding out the expense on the flight from Shanghai to Shenzhen (2000rmb/round trip before tax), what would you do? Hands down, face to the reality?? NO, what have I told you at the early beginning? By holding a strong notion in your mind, never stop trying!!! Followed by an intensive consultation among my friends who travel back and forth frequently, compared with a range of airline companies, a civil budget Airline “Spring-Autumn” Airway (named Chunqiu Hangkong in Chinese) has finally drawn my close attention (www.china-sss.com). With limited discounted seats, I undoubtedly took out my credit card for my seat reservation; 900rmb/round trip was the best deal I could get at that time.

1500rmb+440rmb+900rmb=2840rmb+150rmb(Return ticket fare for Express train from Guangzhou to Shenzhen)+200rmb (round-trip bus fare from Singapore to KL)
3190RMB!!!

That's my total transport fee! Consequently I saved more than HALF of the expenditure by simply bettering the usage of various vehicles, but covering TWO cities and TWO countries! You might linger a bit longer on the road, nevertheless, massive panoramic view from the plane, tremendous plantation overland, and last but not least a subtle comparison along the way from country to country might inspire you to the fullest.

As related above, my second weapon to make my adventure come true is “Youth Hostel”. There are many not-for-profit websites offering this type of online room reservation. But this time, I made a big mistake by disregarding the location of the hotel. Notwithstanding, some websites did present a very clear list of the available overseas hostels; double checking the existence of your hostel, as well as the living condition would be of great use prior to your departure. Citing myself as an example, I booked a hostel in Singapore online before I literally set my foot to this country. When I was told the location of my hostel was very close to the second notorious Safari in Singapore—Red light district where boasts of brothels and prostitution, my heart sunk, with my chin dropped… misfortune never came alone, we walked all the way on Gaylong till our feet started to kill us, finally located the street number. A dash of morning breeze shivered me slightly. A narrow corridor was laid in front of us, where was hardly squeezed through if two people walked shoulder by shoulder. Frown crept on my forehead, I held backwards, feeling pretty reluctant to walk upstairs, my friend at that time happened to take a glance at a small piece of paper stuck on the right side of the wall, the name of the hostel seemed altered, the listed cell phone was out of service, in a sudden, a cluster of chill rushed into my back spine, which even more terrified the entire atmosphere. In the end, I had to waste my deposit to buy a safety for myself. Critical thoughts need to be carefully conducted before every leaping, what I gained in return is better not book any hostels beforehand unless other travelers or your mates recommend you accordingly, or select the hostel where obtains walking distance from the place you’ve been dropped. The following website is laudable and reliable enough for you to book online safely:

http://www.yhachina.com/
http://www.1rest.com/
A practical and fun guide book will not only tell you where to enjoy most, where to avoid going… I’m loyal and fanatic of LP—Lonely Planet, which is deemed to be the bible for international backpackers. The first time I backpacked to Cambodia, an isolated land with many hidden beauty and danger. I had not only enjoyed reading the history of this country, as well as the specific information ranging from district map to detailed address of some recommended hostels & restaurants. Even though the information sometimes won’t be updated as fast as its alteration, an objective comments embodied in the LP booklet would add much more creditworthiness up to this publication. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Mark Twain used to say " The lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting the shoes on." I will say " the change can travel half way around the world while the plan is putting the shoes on. " which in another word, a perfect plan will always have its drawback when applying it into reality whatsoever. Remember, 10% of your life is what happens to you that might be out of your control; your REACTION will make the other 90% different. Hopefully my tips could pull your ambitious travel dream upfront bit by bit. Don’t forget to buy me a meal in return while you are beguiled with the joy of fulfillment.