Saturday, December 27, 2003
~*2003 family holiday trip*~
Finally, my family and I have bought four tickets for a free & easy tour to Hanoi, Vietnam. Before this, knowing that pricingfor to and fro tickets can mount up to RM 10,400 ( RM 2,600x4 ), we almost thought it was impossible for an overseas holiday. Thans be to our Lord Jesus Christ for through His Grace, there was an existing MATTA fair in PWTC, K.L. during mid October. " Great idea for a much cheaper fair and great discounts!" exclaimed my mum.
On the very day, ( second day of the exhibition ), tens of thousands of people ( not only Malaysians ) flooded the exhibition floors. As we stepped in, people walked in and out. However, ticketing to enter place was Rm 3 per person. Wow! Anyway, it was cheap. After that, we found ourselves squeezing through a multitude of people in the hall. It was all pushing and shoulder-clashing while walking slowly. Careful also we were to watch our feet as we kept our eyes focused on the signboard of each booths. I remembered the last MATTA fair, this guy bumped into me and I was wearing a pair of heels. My toes were exposed and his toes hit mine. Ouch! My toe nail broke and yes there was blood. He didn't realize the accident anyway and no sorry was uttered. We rushed to this nearby Ken Air Travel booth. Thank God the lady had plasters with her.
Anyway, back to my story. We passed many booths. Actually, my mum wasn't sure of either Hanoi. Perth, Adelaide, some places in China or Korea. The main reason for traveling this time was to shop. Looking all over the place, we found many famous and not so famous travel agencies. Of course, most of those expensive ones were famous and vice versa. After checking out Reliance, May flowers and a few more, mum was still undecided. So we went home with many flyers that day but with no booking of tickets at all. Upon arriving home, mum narrowed down her choice to just China or Vietnam. She was convinced that Australia and Korea was out of her and dad's budget. Without much hesitation, she served the Internet on China and Vietnam. Her search included the fascinating places, shopping centres and the weather forecast.
There after,I recalled her saying that China might still be endangered of SARS. So the thought on that was obviously canceled. The last resort and also the one she loved and mentioned most was Hanoi. Her looking forward to that was mostly the cloth material sold there - e.g. Vietnamese Silk, Thai Silk, Organza, Satin and etc. Most of all it is cheap. Finally, we settled down for Hanoi in the end. Besides, thank God for His Kindness that only the next day was the last day of the exhibition. Phew!
The next day, we hurried down to K.L. to get the tickets booked. The cheapest among the most famous for reliability and service? It was obviously Reliance Travel and Shipping Agency. NO.1 in Malaysia. Anyway, the pricing for was RM 1,075 ( much cheaper, right? ) per person. Included in was the hotel accommodation payment, airport transfer, breakfast for all the days and of course it was a to and fro flight with Malaysia Airlines. That is my favourite Airlines! And by the way, the free and easy tour was for 4 days and 3 nights. Wow! I thought it was worth it. From the 13/11( Thurs ) to 16/11( Sun ) 2003 were the days.
On the day of booking, we were promised a call from Reliance in two weeks time. Eventually, no one called. On the other hand, mum was worried that Holiday Hotel was just an inn or a resthouse. She had give them a call to change the option to Galaxy Hotel which was listed in the Internet. Taking the opportunity, in this phone call, she questioned them about the call delay. It seems that Krista, the lady in charged for our holiday went for a tour herself. Okay. That was fine. However, Monday the 10th of November, they still haven't called us to collect the tickets. Mum called them and they said it was ready and we could collect already. Then, she scolded them for not informing us on it. Since my college was next to Sungei Wang Plaza ( the shopping complex where Reliance is situated in ), she sent me to collect them. At last,I got the tickets the next day and we were so glad that the hassle was over.
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Olivia blogged @ 12/27/2003 06:14:00 PM
