Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Singapore ever changing city skyline from my bedroom – 010909
My June 2009 Holiday in China: Huangshan, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai
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.
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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. |
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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.
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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).
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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You can view my additional China holiday pictures trip from my 2009-Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangsu-Shanghai-Trip collection.
Never illegal park in Sydney!
You have been warned! The City of Sydney council does not treat illegal parking offence lightly and they make sure you get the message.
Picture taken in Dawes Point, Sydney facing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Singapore Marina Barrage in the Evening
- 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.
My 2009 Calendar of Sporting Events: Fun runs, long distance, biathlon and triathlon
This page (mainly for my personal record keeping) will be regularly updated as I sign up (confirmed) for more events.
- 22 Feb 09- Singapore Tribob Sprint Aquathlon (750m swim, 5km run)
- 7 Mar 09- Singapore Biathlon (1500m swim, 10k run) Absent
- 24 May 09 – PAssion Run 2009 (15k run)
- 30 May 09- Adidas Sundown Marathon (42k run): Timing (), Photos(Here), Report()
- 28 Jun 09- Kuala Lumpur Marathon (tentative)
- 1 Australian race (tentative): Geelong Half Marathon (19 Apr)/ Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon (17 May)/ Gold Coast Marathon (5 July)/ Sydney Running Festival (20 Sep)/ Melbourne Marathon (11 Oct)
- Singapore Army Half Marathon – tentative
- Borneo Marathon 2009 (11 Oct) -tentative
- OSIM Singapore Triathlon – tentative
- Angkor Wat International Half Marathon 2009 (6 Dec) – tentative
My Top 10 Sydney Photos
Sydney is expensive, the overall public system is failing and they don’t do very good lattes over there … despite all her shortcomings.
Here are my personal Top 10 (unranked) Sydney related photos from my Flickr collection. Just click on the pictures to see them in their original resolutions.
– Each time I looked at this picture, I feel very calm and at ease.
– This was taken when I lived in North Sydney.
– A view of the city from Milson Point
– Along the Sydney Harbour Bridge towards the City.
– I love the occasional rides to Bondi Manly beach on board the Sydney Ferry.
– This is Sydney.
– An evening shot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (The Coathanger) from Kirribilli
- George Street
– What is Sydney without its famous Mardi Gras parade?
- The essential weekend late night kebab along Kings Cross
** Bonus
– The real estate shop Christmas receptionist.
Pictures from my Oct 08 New Zealand adventure
Last month, I took a personal holiday back to Australia (surprise!) and New Zealand. It was mainly to catch up with my friends in both Sydney and Melbourne and also try something new before I turned 29.
The highlight of my New Zealand stay was my trip to Queenstown. If you are into adventure holidays and winter sports, Queenstown is your place. This place is just action packed, naturally beautiful and simply worth the money and time to get there. There are so much things to do and to see there.
During this trip, I took the plunge (literally) and tried bungy jumping of the original Kawarau Bridge. I even had a dip when I free-fall into the river. It was such an exhilarating experience!
The second highlight was the trip to Milford Sound. It is a 12 hours day trip but the view along the way is quite special on its own. Miles and miles of flat green pastures, spring lambs with their mums, thick snowfall on the way to Milford Sound makes the trip rather enjoyable. Milford Sound takes the experience another level up. You feel in awe of nature.
You can find the remainder of my New Zealand (including Auckland) pictures from here.
Melbourne Half Marathon 2008
Three weeks ago, I was back in Melbourne to take part in one of my favourite runs – the Melbourne Half Marathon. Last year, Adam also took part in the same event, how fast time flies. Once again, I finally overtook him along St Kilda road (a repeat of last year’s performanc, along the same road) and led all the way to the finish line
This year’s timing:2 hours and 14 secs
My Personal Photo of the Day – Cemetery in Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown Cemetery from my Queenstown, New Zealand photo set.
This picture was taken in the local cemetery in Queenstown, New Zealand during a recent holiday. The cemetery was located on a hilly slope with breathtaking view of The Remarkables. The cemetery was a beautiful and peaceful final resting place.
The picture was taken a bright clear fine day but I decided to tone down the colour with the BW features of my camera.
Photo of the Day- A Raindow over Sydney Harbour Just after a Storm
A rainbow spans the sky as a storm passes over Sydney at sunset.
