Life's Lesson - DLTS
Posted On Monday, October 27, 2008 at at 1:09 AM by AlvinDLTS - One of Life's many lessons - Don't Laugh Too Soon.
The world is now embattled with the "Financial Tsunami, "Crisis of a Life Time", the "Lehman Bros Incident", "The Credit Crunch", "The Sub-Prime"... What a year from when last October, the World was mesmerised with record-breaking indices, DLTS is the word.
Beautiful Hunan West - 湘西
Posted On Sunday, June 8, 2008 at at 2:35 AM by AlvinThe western edge of the Hunan Province (湖南) is known as (湘西) and is well known for the beautiful limestone-quartz formation of Zhang Jia Jie (張家界) and the picturesque village-by-the-river of Feng Huang (鳳凰古城).
Zhang Jia Jie (張家界)
ZJJ is a huge national park which really warrants at least a week's stay to explore the entire park. With three days, we saw the main sites with the help of the internal "green" shuttle buses and a couple of medium-effort (3 hours) stair cases. The park was not as packed as we had thought for this time of the year, as we were told by local villagers that the Sichuan earthquake a few weeks back had deterred many of the would-be tourists. The mountain formations were just stunning and they looked like three-dimensional water-color Chinese paintings !
Feng Huang (鳳凰古城)
Feng Huang (鳳凰古城)After three lovely days exploring ZJJ, we moved on to the ancient village of Feng Huang (鳳凰古城). This village-by-the-river oozed character aplenty ! We explored the narrow winding streets behind the river and they reminded us of our times in Lijiang (麗江). One word though, this was a very lively and young town as amongst the quiet and characteristic village houses were some major drinking holes with heavy R&B music- the most densely packed we had come across for this trip.
We planned to take a bus to get back to HKG via Hengyang (衡陽) and Shenzhen . So we stopped for 2 nights at Hengyang and visited a few interesting sites which included The Hengyang City Park (衡陽生態公園) where we saw Big Head ! No idea who this guy was !
We planned to take a bus to get back to HKG via Hengyang (衡陽) and Shenzhen . So we stopped for 2 nights at Hengyang and visited a few interesting sites which included The Hengyang City Park (衡陽生態公園) where we saw Big Head ! No idea who this guy was !
Land Of The Three Kingdoms - 赤壁 And 荆州
Posted On Thursday, June 5, 2008 at at 10:36 PM by AlvinAlong this part of the Yangtse lies the many famous cities and battle grounds during the Three Kingdoms. We visited the picturesque wall-city of Jingzhou (荆州) where we met some friendly people and visited a few eye-opening museums. The unassuming, down-a-back-alleyway Jingzhou (荆州) Museum was so rich in artifacts; it housed numerous fascinating ancient weapons and even a set of skeleton dating back to 2000 BC !
On the other hand, although made famous by the many Three Kingdoms novels and the latest film - Chibi (Red Cliff, 赤壁), the battle site was a slight let-down as there was only a platform showcasing "the view" across the part of Yangtse, where supposedly the burning of the battle ships took place. The museum was informative though.
The following day we took a bus from Chibi to Yue Yang (岳陽) and we were greeted at the Chibi bus station by a gigantic Mao-era wall painting that must have been installed there at the bus station since the 60s', take a look !
On the other hand, although made famous by the many Three Kingdoms novels and the latest film - Chibi (Red Cliff, 赤壁), the battle site was a slight let-down as there was only a platform showcasing "the view" across the part of Yangtse, where supposedly the burning of the battle ships took place. The museum was informative though.The following day we took a bus from Chibi to Yue Yang (岳陽) and we were greeted at the Chibi bus station by a gigantic Mao-era wall painting that must have been installed there at the bus station since the 60s', take a look !
Yangtze's Famed Towers 江南名樓
Posted On Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at at 7:32 PM by AlvinYellow Crane Tower (湖北黃鶴樓)
In the Province of Hubei (湖北), the mega-city of Wuhan (武漢) boasts one of the most famous towers in China - Yellow Crane Tower (黃鶴樓). 
A number of poems had been written about this tower which is located on the banks of The Yangtze (長江), for the past thousand years. Here is probably the most famous one:
A number of poems had been written about this tower which is located on the banks of The Yangtze (長江), for the past thousand years. Here is probably the most famous one:黃鶴樓 - 崔顥
昔 人 已 乘 黃 鶴 去 ， 此 地 空 餘 黃 鶴 樓 。
黃 鶴 一 去 不 復 返 ， 白 雲 千 載 空 悠 悠 。
晴 川 歷 歷 漢 陽 樹 ， 芳 草 萋 萋 鸚 鵡 洲 。
日 暮 鄉 關 何 處 是 ， 煙 波 江 上 使 人 愁 。
We found Wuhan to be a huge and buzzling city with over 9 million residents but somehow the city had a welcoming persona and we had a very pleasant stay. We also ran into the Passage of the Olympic Torch Relay which caused a minor delay on our way to the peaceful East Lake (東湖).
Hunan Yue Yang Tower (湖南岳陽樓)
We moved on down South in to the Province of Hunan (湖南). In the friendly city of Yue Yang (岳陽), we spent a whole afternoon exploring the complex of Yue Yang Tower. The Tower was originally built as a naval tower where military officers oversaw the training of the Chinese navy on the lake shore of (洞庭湖). We had a relaxing time seeping tea from the nearby tea plantation (君山) which produces the famous tea - 君山銀針.
Wu Dang Shan - 武當山
Posted On Saturday, May 24, 2008 at at 12:21 AM by AlvinWu Dang (武當) is a sacred and premier Taoist religious monastary in China, located in a mountain range in the North of the Hubei Province (湖北省). Wu Dang (武當) is also well-known in the world of martial arts as being equal in its depth and skills as Shaolin (少林) - Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳) was reputedly originated from Wu Dang and was first practiced by the famed mythical Taoist priest Zhang Sanfeng (張三丰). All good guys in martial arts movies are either from Wu Dang or Shaolin, by the way.
To get to the famous Wu Dang Golden Top (武當金顶), we had to climb up thousands of flights of stairs which took about 6 hours - a good work out if you missed your stepmaster at home. But it was worth the effort as the view from the mountain top was serene.
The following day we took another hiking path (逍遙谷) at a more gentle pace and we only met one other hiker throughout the 6 hours' hike. The forest paths along the way were lush green with crystal clear streams guiding us down the mountain - a most wonderfully relaxing way to explore Wu Dang and to take in some much needed oxygen (away from the smog of the cities).Also we felt that we took in some much needed oxygen (and 靈氣) as Wudang gave us plenty of peace and quiet and it was a great feeling to be "one" with the atmosphere, greenery, mountains, temples, forests and even foods of this mountain area. We love it here !
The 3 Gorges - 長江三峡
Posted On Friday, May 23, 2008 at at 11:56 PM by Alvin
After the bright lights and extremely-hot pots of CQ (重慶), we boarded the ship at about 7PM which would take us down the Yangtze for the next three days. We looked very much forward to the relaxing pace and scenery along the famous Three Gorges and the journey lived up to its expectation. 
We visited temples along the way as well as small tributaries feeding the mighty Yangtze. One of these tributaries was Shen Nong (神農溪) and we had to change on to a smaller boat to maneuver and venture into the narrower streams. The scenery was beautiful and peaceful.
On the last night, our boat passed through the amazing engineering phenomena of the Three Gorges Dam in a series of flood gates. The following morning, we also visited the museum and saw up close the operation of The Dam and were awed by the sheer magnitude of such human endeavour.
We visited temples along the way as well as small tributaries feeding the mighty Yangtze. One of these tributaries was Shen Nong (神農溪) and we had to change on to a smaller boat to maneuver and venture into the narrower streams. The scenery was beautiful and peaceful.
On the last night, our boat passed through the amazing engineering phenomena of the Three Gorges Dam in a series of flood gates. The following morning, we also visited the museum and saw up close the operation of The Dam and were awed by the sheer magnitude of such human endeavour.
Chongqing - 重慶
Posted On Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at at 2:28 AM by AlvinChongqing - China's Fog City (重慶 - 霧都)
After saying a few prayers for those who perished in the Sichuan earthquake, we packed our bags and hit the road again. Our first destination was Chongqing (重慶) - one of four municipalities in China, located to the East of Sichuan province (四川省). Chongqing is the meeting point of the two great rivers of China - Yangtze River (長江) and Jialing River (嘉陵江). CQ is famed as the City of Fog and we ventured across the Yangtze River in a cable car on exactly such a day ! We also had the famous Chongqing hot pot which was red hot chlli peppers with everything !
Dazu Rock Carvings (大足石刻 - 宝顶山)
About 2 hours bus journey West of CQ lie the Dazu Rock Carvings which are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th Century A.D. The site is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a fun day out before we boarded the boat to cruise down the Yangtze Three Gorges (長江三峡).
Dazu Rock Carvings (大足石刻 - 宝顶山)About 2 hours bus journey West of CQ lie the Dazu Rock Carvings which are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th Century A.D. The site is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a fun day out before we boarded the boat to cruise down the Yangtze Three Gorges (長江三峡).
Blue Blue Hwy 1 - Yosemite and Sacramento
Posted On Thursday, April 17, 2008 at at 8:35 PM by AlvinWe picked up our car in downtown San Francisco at Bush and made our way through Geary to Ocean and then on to Hwy 1. What a great feeling it was to be driving again after all these years (since Holland in 2000 !) The sky and the Pacific was so blue along The Big Sur. We stayed at Monterrey and Santa Barbara for this short trip before heading on to Sacramento and Yosemite.
Spring time in Yosemite was spectacular as the waterfalls were in full flow as the ice on the Sierra mountains began to melt.
Spring time in Yosemite was spectacular as the waterfalls were in full flow as the ice on the Sierra mountains began to melt.
When we managed to catch Gabe grounded and having a break from one of his flying duties (think Tom Cruise in Top Gun...), it was such a nice occasion to travel to Sacramento and meet up with Gabe's folks in Sac and here are a few pictures of the crowd in the lovely sunny garden.
It felt so great to also finally meet up with my nephew and niece (Nico and Nati), they were just so adorable and full of characters and also very 鬼馬 !
Northern Malaysia
Posted On Thursday, February 14, 2008 at at 1:51 AM by AlvinTai Ping - Cool Hill Station !
In the friendly town of Tai Ping (which was actually not very friendly back in the gangsters' years) lies the first British Hill Station (afternoon tea, old boy ?) - Bukit Larut (a.k.a. Maxwell Hill back in the British days) and the lovely and peaceful Lake Gardens. We hiked the 10 km and more than 80 hairpin bends up to the hill station and were rewarded with a fine view and cool air. Surprisingly it did not rain on the day as Tai Ping is known to be the wettest place in Malaysia.
Pulau Penang - An island so big that it is a State, impressive temples though.
Pulau Penang - An island so big that it is a State, impressive temples though.Moved on to the friendly island of Penang which is the Malaysian State with a major Chinese presence - famed for its Chicken Rice, elegant Buddhist temples and of course the delightful colonial feel around town.
Pulau Langkawi - Da Beach !
Pulau Langkawi - Da Beach !Say no more and just sit back with a few duty-free beers and watch the beach life, yeh, it's tough.
Ipoh - Where can we eat tonight ?
We spent two nights in the Majestic Hotel which used to be part of a train station. The hotel building is truly "majestic" as it evokes the grandeur of colonial architecture at its best. We did have problems finding a decent place to have dinner as downtown Ipoh was deserted after office hours - surprisingly, we found a shockingly-gigantic Chinese restaurant (comes with a performing stage fit for a few school choirs) when hunger beckoned and we ran into a local function where they even performed a lion dance during their banquet. What a meal !
Kuala Kangsar - A Royal Town.We spent an enjoyable day out from Ipoh and visited Kangsar. The town was clean, tidy and the royal palaces overlooked the pretty Sungai Kangsar.
KL - A better experience this time round.Back to the hustles of KL. We were here in 2002 but this time around the city felt more vibrant and modern with the many comfortable shopping malls - and of course shopping is an Asian obsession and favourite past-time.
