Day 3 in Yuntai Shan (云台山)

It took us almost 2 and a half hours from Kaifeng to Jiaozou (焦作）where Yuntai Shan (云台山) is located. Before signing up for this tour, my wife and I actually checked around with some other tour agencies but the main difference was NZ Nangfang included Yuntai Shan in their itinerary, while other agencies were not covering this AAAAA mountainous scenic area which was among the first included as World Geological Park.

Entrance of Yuntai Shan

5A national tourist attraction

Ladies cleaning up maize

Prior to signing up to this tour many told us that the tour to Xian was mainly visiting temples apart from the famous Terracotta Warriors. Quite true, if you are going to visit the ancient cities such as Xi-an, Louyang, Kaifeng, which inherent rich history of more than 5,000 years, places of worshiping such as temples surely will be the major attractions as these are the places that were well preserved over time. So including a scenic mountain in the itinerary will be a good idea, breaking the monotonous of seeing temples.

Beautiful waterfalls aplenty

Yuntai Shan didn’t disappoint me but some of the elderly tour mates of us were not able to withstand the approximately 2 hours of walking cum climbing the stairs just to cover the most popular scenic area namely Red Stone Gorge (红石峡). This alone required us to walk up and down for almost 2 hours on a narrow path and steep stairs over-crowded by tourists. Taking photos will be a great challenge as the scenic areas were so crowded that strangers could be blocking you before you could snap a nice view. My friend said that it didn’t worth the effort to walk for so long but for those who do not mind walking; it will be a good experience. Three of our tour mates including one 80-year old auntie and her daughter and one lady who injured her leg didn’t join us and they were sent back to the entrance where there were some souvenir shops.

I would say that the scenery there was splendid, mountain and water combined so naturally and it was so different with the waterfalls that can be seen in our country where we do not have such crystal clear water falling from high cliffs.

There are many other scenic areas in Yuntai Shan such as Tanpu Gorge (潭瀑峡), Quanpu Gorge (泉瀑峡), Cornel Peak (圣顶), Wanshan Temple (万善寺), Baijia Cliff (百家岩), Zifang Lake (子房湖), Macaque Valley (猕猴自然保护区), Qinglong Gorge (青龙峡) and Diecai Cave (叠彩洞), each has its own unique features and beauty but alas because of time factor we only allowed to cover the most popular one and that alone required us to walk for 2 hours. By the way, the ticket allows you to cover all the scenic areas once for the 2 days period and there are busses that ferrying the tourists from one to another scenic areas. If you were to cover all areas, you need a minimum of two days, putting up a night at the resort on the mountain.

Climbing the steep steps

Red cliff

Day 2 in Kaifeng

Touring China, the first thing in the morning is to get up early so that you could avoid the big crowds for breakfast. Some of my friends were jokingly saying that it was like going to the battle field and if you are late for breakfast, there would not be enough food and there would not be any seat for you. The thing is, the local tourists from mainland China are always too big a crowd and you could forget about enjoy seeping your coffee or tea and slowly and leisurely getting your stomach filled. It is China, my friends, unless you go to very expensive 5 or 6 stars hotel otherwise, be a bit early for your breakfast to avoid an empty stomach.

On the second day, we first went to the Henan Geological Museum (河南地质博物馆) in Zhengzhou where there were the fossils of many types of dinosaur and other ancient creatures found in Henan on display. There were also a lot of rare stones which were indigenous to mainland China. The museum is interesting if you like ancient stuff especially dinosaur but some of our elderly tour mates found that it was quite boring. It was fairly interesting for me though, I like dinosaur.

Henan Geological Museum

Skeleton of Dinasour

Fossils

Skeletons of Dinasour

After visiting the museum, we then proceed to Kaifeng (开封), where the ancient office (包公祠) of the famous Justice Bao (包青天) located. We also went to the Iron Pagoda (开封铁塔) and YuHuangTai Millennium Ancient Park (禹王台千年古苑). 包公祠 was built about a thousand year ago to commemorate Justice Bao, the honest and upright official, qingguan (清官) who served during the Northern Song Dynasty. A set of guillotine which Justice Bao used to execute the criminals were also on display (狗頭鍘, 虎頭鍘, 龍頭鍘). If you like the dramas of Justice Bao, you will like this place as there were some pictorial presentations of a few famous cases handled without fear and favor by him.

Drawing of Justice Bao

Statue of Justice Bao

A set of guillotine comprises of 狗頭鍘, 虎頭鍘, 龍頭鍘

The iron Pagoda which is also known as "天下第一塔" which literally means the world’s first pagoda was built with clay bricks and traditional Chinese wood structure but as the bricks used given the reddish appearance reminiscent of iron, it is also called Iron Pagoda. This pagoda was built about a thousand year ago and you will be surprise how could it survived the natural disasters such as earthquakes over such a long time.

Iron Pagoda "天下第一塔"

The YuHuangTai Millennium Ancient Park was built to commemorate Da Yu (大禹), the ancient emperor famous for his efforts to alleviate floods caused by the Yellow River.

After visiting the destinations, we put up a night at Kaifeng.    

Tour to the ancient cities of Zhengzhou (郑州), Kaifeng (开封), Luoyang （洛阳）, Jiaozou （焦作）, Dengfeng （登封） and Xi-an （西安）

Day 1 at Zhengzhou (12 October, 2011)

We were lucky, I guess, the first day we reached Zhengzhou (郑州) and cruising the Yellow River on a hovercraft, it was very hazy and gloomy but the weather improved the next day onwards and we had all the way clear sky until flying back to KL via Shanghai on 18 October, 2011. Our local tour guide Siow Lee, vividly told us that we were the Fu-Xing (lucky stars) as before we came, it was hazy and raining but upon our arrival, the sun shined so in time.

Hovercraft

I guess we must be very lucky indeed as during our Yellow River Cruise, it was so misty and gloomy and it was so cold in the early spring but when the sun risen the next day, the weather became so likeable, not so cool and not so hot hovering around 15 to 20^o C and some of our tour mates, those elderly gentlemen especially were not even putting up their jackets, wearing short sleeves and enjoying the chill but not cold weather.

Our local tour guide was well aware of our tiring flight which started at 2.00 a.m on 12 October and after a 5-hour flight, we had to rush for a connecting flight to Zhengzhou and there were very long queue to clear the immigration as foreigners not only from Asian countries but also the Europeans were flocking into the ancient city of Xi-an for the well known Terracotta warriors, so it was only the yellow river cruise and visiting the YanHuang （炎黄） statue and YanHuang square on the first day. After the early dinner, we were then checking in a hotel in Zhengzhou. I went to bed early at 9 p.m. So tiring as I was not able to sleep on the plane from KL to Shanghai as there were loud snoring from the front and back of my seat.

  

Boarding a hovercraft

Hovercraft speeding on the river bank 

Hovercraft approaching the river bank

YanHuang Statue - Yan Huang (炎黄）

 the ancestors of Chinese inhabiting at the river basin of Yellow River   

Zhengzhou railway station

Retirement age

Frankly speaking, if I have the money I would probably retire tomorrow.

I think most of the wage earners will share my view. Working life is a rigid one, you wake up early, going back late, reaching home with a tired body and exhausted mind, hardly have any time to spend with your family and you started to get sleepy, you then go to bed and wake up the next morning following the same routine again. I like my present job as it is on a 5-day week and therefore not as stressful as there are 2 days off in a week. The worst part is that after getting use to waking up early on working days, even on your rest days also your biological clock will remind you to wake up early. That’s why I always chose to sleep late on weekend so that the next day can enjoy the good feeling of waking up late a bit.

If you’re businessman maybe your schedule will be busier as compared to a wage earner but the satisfaction is higher, you work harder, you earn more. For wage earner, you work harder but your are only getting the same amount of money at the end of the month until your boss give you a pay rise perhaps a year later. Sometime such routine make you wonder what’s the meaning of life but we simply can’t help it as if you stop working, nobody is going to feed you.

The government in its 2012 budget had risen the retirement age of the government servant to 60 and now our retirement age for the public sector is on par with the rest of the Asian countries. Nevertheless, there was no mention on the private sector. Not denying, such move is logical in tandem with the higher life expectancy of the people in the country. Retiring at 55 will be too young for the people with better health conditions as compared to 20 or 30 years ago but the main reason is that with higher life expectancy and early retirement at 55 or 56 years, then money will be a problem.

Civil servants will get their pension until they die but for private sector, the employees will have to make sure that they know how to preserve their retirement fund carefully or else may end up become poor men or women at the old ages, and that will be such a pitiful thing to happen. Imagine when you’re old and your children are all on their own struggling to feed their own families and you the one who raised them up are running short of money to treat your ailing body? That will be a disaster. The EPF had done the study for many years and discovered that most of its members exhausted their EPF funds within 10 years after withdrawal and thus risking the possibility of slipping into poverty at old age. Most of us do not know how to manage money I must say especially if you have a huge sum of it.

So the private sector should also follow suit the government to extend the retirement age to at least 58 if not 60. At the same time, flexibility should also be given to those with sufficient retirement savings which may opt for an early retirement to enjoy life. 


Come on, life is short; why not make it a win-win for all.

Shit....income tax

End of last month I received my bonus. It was significantly higher than the previous financial year but somehow many of my colleagues were still disappointed after getting theirs. Perhaps the expectations of staff were too high as the management had painted a picture that it would be a very good year as the company recorded a whooping increase in revenue. I was not too disappointed as I know my rating wasn’t that good, so I didn’t habour high expectation prior to getting it.

Some of the plantation companies were giving a higher range of 6 to 8 months bonus as it was a windfall year as cruel palm oil was at very good price last year. But as a GLC, it is not so possible. Perhaps for big bosses, it was quite possible but for ordinary staff, with their meager income, the bonus is normally not so impressive. So after a year-long waiting, you can’t blame them if they voice out their grievances especially if their colleagues are getting much higher than them. It all goes down to your appraisal rating after all, if you score high rating, then your bonus will be higher than the rest. That’s the norm for most of the company.

The question is how good can a company appraise its employee? Of course some will use key performance indexes as the yardsticks but even then there will be a lot of disappointments as some companies are adopting the “Normal Distribution Curve” whereby only small percentage of the employee will be scoring excellent rating and majority of the employee will be sitting in the moderate ratings while small percentage will be very low rating. In other word, not many people will be getting high bonus or increments, and majority of people have to endure with average bonus.

Of course we know that bonus is discretion of the company unless it is a contractual one. Nevertheless, it is a morale booster for the staff especially the lower income one. If a company is sticking with the concept of strictly following the curve or the pyramid system whereby only small percentage of the employee will get the excellent rating, than most of the employees would not contribute wholeheartedly, after all if they know that they are only average materials, getting average bonus while their bosses are enjoying all the perks, high pay, big bonus, big company car and so on. But if the company is only rewarding the top management which comprises of probably 10-15% of the workforce, I can tell you that such company would not develop a “sense of belonging” if 80% of the people are not happy. Such company would not be functioning at a full gear as the workforce is dissatisfied.

Well, it is a happy thing to get the bonus letter. When you look at the amount probably you can smile all the way but don’t forget there is a clause saying that it is subject to deductions, of course we don’t mind the EPF because it is the saving for our old days but the sickening tax will cut short your happiness. After checking your bank statement, then you realize that the government had deducted your hard earned money, and bloody shit, that is a hell lot of it….xoxoxoxoxox.

Great loss to Apple fans

As usual, I drove along the winding road of Jalan Labu this morning, switched on the radio while I was stopping at a traffic light in front of a primary school, and it was the time I heard the sad news of Steve Jobs’ death. I must confess that I do not own any of his products, but remain the admirer of his brilliant innovations and inventions such as iPhones, iPad and Mac computers. To me, the Apple products are too pricey as compared to those cheaper alternatives from Taiwan. I use Acer notebooks, HTC phones and these things serve me well. I like iPhones and Mac, but they are too luxurious for my need.

Bill Gates released a statement in relation to Steve Jobs’ death; "I'm truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs' death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work. Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.

Steve Jobs was a genius no doubt, but many people were also highly critical of his aggressive and demanding personality and also temperamental style. Perhaps it was his perfectionist attitude that was instrumental in churning out one after another surprise of his it gadgets that have millions and millions of followers around the world. It takes a genius to compliment another genius and as what Bill Gates put it, the world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had and his demise at such an early year of his life will be a great loss to the countless fans of Apple.

Sales have weakened Arsenal

Watching Spurs playing Arsenal last Sunday and I got my prediction just right as Arsenal went down 1-2 to the much spirited Spurs in front of their stadium-packed fans at White Hart Lane. After the defeat, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has thrown in the towel, conceding that the title is all over, and saying that the team is fighting for a better position instead. It sounds more realistic judging from the current position of the team which is far below the newcomers like Swansea and QPR. Arsene Wenger could still pull all the resources available to him to add in a few more quality players in order to have any chance of fighting for the Champions League positions.

However, if they continue playing with schoolboy errors at the defence, conceded 16 goals in just 7 games, then needless to say, Champions League position is also out of reach. Arsenal are too frail in the defense this season and the confidence level of the current bunch of young players is no way near the time when Fabregas was the captain. And I must say that their current captain Robin Van Persi is still fighting as hard as before but without the talented Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Robin is not getting the support he needed, and it is simply frustrating to see that happen on such a talented player. It will be a disaster if Arsene fails to keep Robin in his squad.

The sales of Fabregas and Nasri have weakened Arsenal, there is no doubt about it. They need to dig it really deep to get more world class players or else, Arsenal, once the sure top 4 team, once hailed by many for their youth policy, will be gone forever.

Big eats small

Like it or not, this kind of things happens every now and then. In the wild, big animals are preying on the small ones for their survival and in the sea the big fish are eating small fish. The same thing is also happening in the corporate world. Some brilliant businessmen slogged it hard to build up a business empire from scratch and when the empire is big enough, strong enough, attractive enough, lucrative enough, other big corporations which are funded by government start eyeing for a takeover or merger.

A takeover doesn’t mean bad, it can be good sometime. It is a free market after all and as an investor, you can buy over any public listed companies so long that you have the money; you can take over the control of a company as long as you acquire enough shares to be the major shareholder. It is just like some people have to start from scratch to build the business but those with a lot of money can skip that entire long and winding paths and hijack an instant successfully-run company simply because they have the money. Proton for instance, bought over Lotus in order to have access to the advanced technology owned by one of the renowned company with such a rich motor sport pedigree.

The question is, you can take over the company but can you helm it as successful as its original management team which had gone through the thick and thin together, which had a strong sense of brotherhood instead of just the “employer-employee” sort of relationship, which are so committed that they are on call 24/7?

So whether it is in the wild or in the business world, Charles was just right to put up the famous phase of “survivor of the fittest”. But the fittest must also capable of withstanding the challenge of time and only time will prove that whether it is fit or weak.