I’m a geek at heart when my first instinct was grab a screen capture of a Google 404… <grin />
Technology
It was another clear blue fine wintery Sunday day in Sydney and I cannot resist taking pictures of this beautiful city. I lived here for almost three years and I maintained a love-hate relationship with this place. As a student, I depend on much on public facilities for most services and Sydney’s public transport and infrastructures is absolute basket case.
However each time just when I want to give up on this city, around the corner there will be an quintessential Sydney scene or experience that reminds me what a fantastic city can be particularly if you are affluent and do not depend on woeful current state government.
This weekend I took pictures from the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens (Sydney Botanic Garden) including views from Mrs Macquarie’s Point. Hope you like the small selection and be encouraged to view the entire set.
A Sunday cyclist along the Sydney Harbour Bridge by Berno (bernardoh3rd at gmail)
This week at the Lowy Institute’s Distinguished Speaker Series, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser shared candour and shrewd insights into meaning of liberalism in the global context, small countries’ relations with super powers and the importance of due processes adherence .
Click here to listen to his presentation entitled “Liberalism and Australian foreign policy“.
Last month in a period of three weeks, I visited five China cities. This trip could be sum up in three phrases: physical exhilarating, cultural enriching and geo-political awareness enlightening.The visit included UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Huangshan (often referred by Chinese as “The number one mountain under the Heavens”), the ancient Chinese Village of Hongcun, the classical gardens of Suzhou, the burial ground of the founder and first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty – Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and Hangzhou’s West Lake (featured on the RMB 1 dollar note).
Despite making this trip by myself, I never felt alone. I had the good fortune of travelling and interacting with many kind, helpful and interesting people (backpacking tourists and local residents) in every city along my journey. There is always a friend company in a hostel or along the streets. Such are the joys of backpacking 
My travel began from Anhui Province (Tunxi, Huangshan, Yixian, Shexian) to Zhejiang Province (Hangzhou) to Jiangsu Province (Suzhou and Nanjing) and finally China’s largest city – Shanghai. These authentic sights and the opportunities to interact with the local residents are captured in the following highlights.
 |
A. Shanghai – Huangshan Overnight Sleeper Train
My journey began when I caught an soft-sleeper overnight train from Shanghai to Huangshan (K8418, cabin interior). During the 15 hours journey, I chatted and shared my travel plans with many other travellers from different countries including Japan, USA, Sri Lanka and of course China. Soon I got acquainted with a young Chinese couple and we decided to hike Huangshan together. |
 |
B. Tunxi Old Street After a long train ride, I decided to stay overnight in Tunxi town (where the Huangshan railway station) was located. I stayed in Old Street Youth Hostel, where the area’s old architectures were preserved and now transformed into tourism-oriented enclave.
|
  |
C. Huangshan
Huangshan in Anhui’s province is one of China’s most scenic spots. The mountain range is characterised by numerous gravity defying odd-shaped pine trees, steep trails, deep gorges with lush greenery and grotesque rock formations representing the arch-typical Chinese landscape (shanshui) paintings. With my new founded Chinese friends, we began our 2 days hike from the Western Steps (also known as the back entrance) and exit from the Eastern Steps as recommended by the hostel. The Western Steps landscape is filled with numerous strange and interesting rock formations such as Monkey Gazing at the Sea, Fairy Lady Flower and the Mobile Phone rock. The Eastern Steps is more steep and gives you the opportunity to appreciate the majestic mountainous range. Many other celebrated sights include Yingke Song (Welcome Guest Pine) and the Tiandu Feng (Apex of the Celestial Capital Peak).
|
  |
D. Hongchun and Tangyue Memorial Archway
Apart from the Huangshan, there are another two popular tourist attractions which can be easily managed by oneself without booking those overpriced guided tours. They are Hongcun village and the Tangyue Memorial Archways. Just travel like the locals and use the long distance public buses from Huangshan long distance bus terminal to get to Yixan and Shexian counties respectively.
D1. Hongcun Village Hongcun with its water features and distinct Anhui architecture has becomes a popular subject amongst many Chinese art students. In 2004, this cherished village was commemorated as part of a China Post “Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui” stamp series.
D2. Tangyue Memorial Archway
|
  |
E. Hangzhou – West Lake, Lingyin Temple, Longjing Village
Around the prosperous city of Hangzhou lies one of China’s most popular attraction, the famed West Lake or Xihu. The beauty and the wealth of this city led to a claim that Hangzhou“beyond dispute (is) the finest and the noblest in the world” attributed to Marco Polo. When I was finally able to pull myself from West Lake sights, I visited Lingyin Temple (Temple of the Soul’s Retreat), one of China’s largest monastery and Longjing Village. Longjing Village is the famed green tea growing area that grows the popular Longjing tea (龙井茶). During my visit, I was invited to a farmer’s actual house and had the opportunity to sample the different grades of Longjing tea.
|
  |
F. Suzhou
This famous saying praises the beauties of Suzhou and Hangzhou. Suzhou often referred as the “Venice of the East” for its gardens, stone bridges and canals across the city. The beauty of Suzhou’s classical gardens was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage under the “Classical Gardens of Suzhou”. These gardens include Master of the Net Garden. The Master of the Net garden is the smallest of the classical gardens but because of its size, it was easy to appreciate the beauty of the garden.
|
  |
G. Tongli
About 27km from Suzhou, lies the small water village of Tongli. Within Tongli are picturesque waterways and bridges, famed garden (Tuisi Garden -Retreat and Reflection) and also China Sex Museum.
|
  |
H. Nanjing
Nanjing is capital of Jiangsu Province which include Suzhou. Nanjing (the Southen Capital), together with Beijing (the Northen Capital), Luoyang and Chang’an (now Xi’an) formed the “Four Historical capitals of China” (中国四大古都). Nanjing is also home to one of the largest concentration of tertiary institutions in China. This city is also the final resting places of major statesmen in Chinese history including Sun Yat-sen (founder of the post-imperial China) and Emperor Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang, founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty). Travelling to Nanjing from Shanghai is easy and comfortable via a 3 hours train ride on China Railway Highspeed (CRH) trains
|
    |
I. Shanghai
Shanghai, China’s largest city and the symbol of China’s growing economic stature on the world’s stage. Ever since the days of the Western nations trade concessions settlements, Shanghai has been one of Asia’s financial and trading hub. The modern Shanghai is now a buzzing, vibrant and energetic metropolis. The energy of this city is simply tremendous.There is something for everyone in this city. For arts fans, the Shanghai Museum is a treat. This museum housed an mind boggling first class collection of Chinese arts including pottery, ancient currency and sculptures. To appreciate the origins and the development of this city, the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre is a must, even just to see the mini model of the city sprawl. Fans of la mien and xiao long baos, you can finally have one’s fill in Shanghai. While you’re there, get introduced to shenjian too, a dish similar to xiao long. The Shanghainese cuisine is more noodles and bread based. Let’s just say, I had my fill of xiao long and dumplings for a very long time. For the defenders of the world’s economy (aka shopaholic), after your saving rounds in Ginza or Fifth Avenue, you will have your hands full in Huaihai Lu and Nanjing Lu.
|
You can view my additional China holiday pictures trip from my 2009-Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangsu-Shanghai-Trip collection.
Last Friday (Good Friday), in preparation for the upcoming Sundown Marathon, more than 50 runners from Team Fatbird and other Singapore running community groups took part in the 2009 Dusty Run organised by Keonz.
The Dusty Run began at 9.20pm and the route starts from East Coast Park (ECP) to the eastern suburbs via Tanah Merah, Expo, Simei, Bedok Reservoir, Kembagan, Opera Estate and back onto the ECP.
Along the way, Max and Jane provided a much-appreciated dose of encouragement and fun as the run photographer along route. In the end, I learnt that my group ran 33km instead of the originally planned 30km because we bypassed an earlier turning point. I thought I knew the Singapore eastern suburbs inside out but this “jogging tour” took my understanding to a new level. Looking back at the run, I really treasured the opportunity to meet other running enthusiasts from all walks of life sharing one common passion – running.
Check out this link to other pictures taken during the run.
- Taken on 040409 by Berno
The Marina Barrage located at the mouth of the Marina Channel is Singapore’s largest water catchment area. It offers a postcard-perfect vista of the Singapore Flyer and the city’s skyline.
Here is a link to my Singapore Marina Barrage collection of photos. You can also check out the Marina Barrage’s home page for more information about the structure and how to get there.
A picture of the Fullerton Hotel, Singapore taken on 31 Mar 2009. This picture was taken from the Asian Civilisation Museum.
