small general travel tips

1. I forget to bring the shorts with me to Malaysia: check the clothes!
2. The Hostel of Green Hut Lodge does not provide toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towel, slipper or blanket. Other hostel may be the same.
3. The free tourism map of Malacca is not complete. The express bus station is not in the right location of the map, maybe because it is a new express bus station. So asking the way together with the help of map is the best choice in finding ways in a strange city.
4. When I try to locate myself on the map, it is easier to find the rivers, if any, first if the road name is not easy to find on the map. Use the geographic info such as river, mountains, even the position of the sun to help locate myself.
5. I walked from the Malacca express bus station to the downtown, which is a long way. But the next day I found out that there is a “domestic” bus travel between the express bus station and the downtown. Remember to use the convenient public transportation to save my energy when traveling. There should always be bus shuttle between inter-city transportation stations such as airport, railway station or express bus station and the downtown area, if those stations are not in downtown.
6. Note the way of my generalization of the tips—from specific to general. It is a form of thought that I am not used to.
7. I read the local newspaper Star in Kuala Lumpur and the 东方日报 in Malacca. Two pieces of important info: media watchdog: reporters without borders and www.project-syndicate.org. Critical thinking helps me to get more from reading local news, especially the ability to see behind the surface. Keeps alert when reading newspapers, it is completely different from reading science articles in that nearly all the information is subjective.