tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35588901309361600212024-03-20T23:12:29.784+08:00My Nikon and IThis blog is to help me remember and to share the places I've been, the beaches I've walked, the people I've met, the food I've tasted, the wine I've savoured, the scenes I've captured and all the beauty that GOD has created ....Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-79090050228431106112016-04-21T16:20:00.000+08:002016-04-21T16:20:18.048+08:00A NEW HOPE WITH EACH SUNRISE<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am always mesmerised by sunrise and sunset. As the sun rises from the horizon, slowly illuminating the skies with her light, it signifies a brand new day with new hope and new aspirations. It also signifies another chance, as if were, given by the Great Almighty to us, to live right, to make things right and most importantly, to make that one new day counts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I particularly enjoyed sitting there in total darkness just waiting for the sun to emerge. In the silence of the night, gazing up towards the heavens, if the skies are clear, the twinkling stars and the darkness of the universe has the effect of drawing you further and further away, deeper and deeper into her grasp. This is especially true if you are staring at the Milky Way which I had the opportunity to see and capture at Aaroki, Mount Cook in New Zealand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Capturing sunrise by the beach is even mesmerising. In the silence of the night, the sound of the waves splashing against the beach, followed by a split moment of silence as they retreat, only to give way to another roaring splash. It is moments like this that one feels the smallness and fragility of a human soul against the vastness and magnitude of the universe at large, giving us a moment to reflect on what life and our mere existence is all about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sight of a very dim orange light at the horizon often invokes that excitement that the long wait is soon going to be over and the arrival of that fiery red sun is imminent. For a photographer, often times, this is the final moments of tweaking the camera settings and angle and composition to make sure that we are ready for her grand entry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was still in my early days of taking pictures, I often wish for a cloudless sky, hoping to catch only the bright red sun emerging from the horizon. I would often lament even at the slightest form of clouds floating by. However, as I matured in my photography journey, I adore interesting clouds formation just before the sunrise, because the clouds as they rolled by will add drama and interest to an otherwise plain sunrise. Often times, life is as such. The storm clouds which never really stays forever but merely rolls by are there to add spice, interest, drama and colours to our lives and the sun will always without fail follow suit, if only we patiently wait it out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The excitement that builds up as the light over the horizon brightens, lighting up the skies with different hue of blue, indigo, red, orange and yellow reminds me of the many sunrises that I have painted likewise when I was still in school. The vast canvas before you changes right before your eyes as each second passes by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And all the anxiety of waiting patiently and the building up of the excitement finally climaxed as that bright red orange sun emerges from the horizon and break through the thin layer of clouds, her yellow orange rays illuminate the sky, overpowering the darkness of the night and shed light over the earth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel a deep sense of rebirth and renewal. A new day has dawned and with it a new hope and another opportunity to live right. The problems of yesterday might still be there but at least we have been given another shot and opportunity by the grace of the Almighty to resolve, to learn, to overcome and to triumph.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I packed my gear after each sunrise photoshoot, I often walked off with sense of joy and hope, thrilled that I have been granted the gift of living and witnessing another sunrise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following are the shots that I captured as I went through all the feelings above as I sat there, waiting for the sun to emerge over the horizon while holidaying at the Club Med Cherating, Kuantan, Malaysia. It all started with gloomy skies and rolling storm clouds but I walked away with the sun smiling upon me. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2lGB9xr8w3q8_95nthqlY5-Me626eKKOVVqBUcbkT0lfNh05mHWS6kMYwtLooFw5zbDxQWMDNLzDDzxgwdy74Dhjpntoy-JTH7FaQLspLC64JjMPgM-0me8DJm7UitHtFBPL6vch2ZdY/s1600/SUNRISE-1-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2lGB9xr8w3q8_95nthqlY5-Me626eKKOVVqBUcbkT0lfNh05mHWS6kMYwtLooFw5zbDxQWMDNLzDDzxgwdy74Dhjpntoy-JTH7FaQLspLC64JjMPgM-0me8DJm7UitHtFBPL6vch2ZdY/s640/SUNRISE-1-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May the sun smiles on you everyday.</span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-44893469291128225522016-04-21T13:14:00.000+08:002016-04-21T13:14:28.024+08:00THE POWER OF SNOQUALMIE FALLS<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been Seattle a couple of times before. I have seen pictures of this magnificent waterfall before but hardly had the time or made the time to visit it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During the recent visit though, we made it a point to drop by and have a look and I was definitely not disappointed. With the winter just over and spring setting in, the warmer weather has started to melt the snow and the ice, bringing along huge torrents of crystal clear water pouring down the waterfall to the rapids below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This the the Snoqualmie Falls, approximately a 20 minutes drive from Sammamish, a fall of over 82 meters or 268 feet tall, crashing with such awesome power below. Most of the water are diverted into the power plants to generate electricity but when it rains or when the snow and ice melts, the abundance of the water clearly demonstrates the sheer power of it's flow.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibk7QRuvREb7eX3dTa0fUWa9cQUTsA5X7buM0zLWEt-BVg-gxPF33uTv92krlkNmAbGqx0RszCYjTeMHSFpw7bfZP8YbJ-FJbvjvXVwwylfRejZpAo145pw69R6JHYc7o0FL8Z-ptHoS2/s1600/waterfall-1-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibk7QRuvREb7eX3dTa0fUWa9cQUTsA5X7buM0zLWEt-BVg-gxPF33uTv92krlkNmAbGqx0RszCYjTeMHSFpw7bfZP8YbJ-FJbvjvXVwwylfRejZpAo145pw69R6JHYc7o0FL8Z-ptHoS2/s640/waterfall-1-13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Taking a slow walk to the another viewing spot at the bottom of the falls is also another must for it is here that one could see the waterfall from a different perspective nestled among the cliffs and pine trees and the fast flowing rapids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I must give due credit for these last two shots because it was my wife who pointed out this angle of taking the waterfall between the towering pine trees. It was a difficult shot to take, considering that the sun has already set, light was fading and the brightness of the waterfall in the background totally overshadows the interesting pine trees that frames it. I took a couple of shot. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-80472142070174676692016-04-20T23:16:00.000+08:002016-04-20T23:16:50.301+08:00GREAT WALL - FIRST SNOW IN AUTUMN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am back but briefly unfortunately. Living in China is great but unfortunately the GREAT FIREWALL of China meant updating blogspot or wordpress such a pain even with paid VPN.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since I am back in Malaysia for a short one week, I thought I will take some time just to add a post to this blog of mine. I actually missed updating it but unfortunately, I have been having so much problems updating pictures to this blog and since this is a photography blog, it would be rather meaningless to update it without being able to upload any pictures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For this one entry, I would like to share the one moment of a lifetime I had recently and it had to do with the Great Wall of China.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since moving to China, I have been very impressed with this magnificent structure and has went to different parts of the wall to photograph it, from summer, spring and winter with the snow. The one season that I had not been there was autumn when the leaves turned yellow and orange and I heard that it would be nice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hence, during the last autumn last year, I waited till it was rather late in autumn making sure that there would be some orange leaves to make my trip. I wanted to hike the wild sections of the wall and I called my trusted guide, Aaron to arrange for a short hike from Jiankou to Mutianyu, a 2 hours hike along the wall. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The morning came and when I woke up, Beijing was snowing!!! Snowing in Beijing is rather rare considering that Beijing is dry. It can get bitterly cold but without water moisture, there were hardly any snow in the past 3 years. Not only was it snowing, we are officially still in autumn and it was snowing hard and it was cold! I was apprehensive and was considering cancelling the trip because I was afraid that it would be too cold to hike the wall with snow. Concerned friends advised me to cancel the trip as it would be dangerous, all the more that I would be hiking the wild unrestored walls. Some called me 'crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, I was thinking that this would be a chance of a lifetime, to not only photograph the Great Wall with all the autumn leaves but also to photograph the wall with fresh snow in autumn. I called Aaron and asked if he has any concern of safety. Aaron being Aaron is always super confident and said that it would be perfectly safe on the stretches we intend to hike that day. Taking his advice, we pushed on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was snowing throughout the 2 hours car journey to the section at Jiankou from Beijing. As we near the wall, I can see from afar, how thick the snow has covered some parts of the wall and she looked absolutely enchanting. The drive along the slippery road to the drop off point was far from easy. There were times, when the car could barely get a grip on the slippery road considering that the snow was so fresh and the driver was not prepare to drive that morning in the snow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">What a view the trip turned out to be. It was still snowing and since this is the first snow of the season and we were probably the one people out there on the wall, there were literally no footprints on the wall but ours. I had both my wishes fulfilled in one morning, photographing the Great Wall of China in autumn with the autumn leaves and fresh snow of winter. This is definitely a chance of a lifetime and I was there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a trip it turned out to be. I was mesmerised with the breathtaking view of this magnificent structure in all her majesty covered with that white blanket of snow dotted with yellow, orange and red leaves of autumn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have finally seen the wall in all her four seasons and more.</span></div>
<br />Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-49114002088420073582015-08-07T10:19:00.001+08:002015-08-07T10:19:12.748+08:00I am still Around .. (Tanjung Jara Resort)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZU3Lq9U-q3fw9gOTW7qq-1EdhVJLeEt5N0kMP3r68Q1FKVAeshf2-X4gVxgMtaEb5oyQsaXsis7Mi0dYCmRokmG-gE9OUfCmiYZ1AGIHqXQsPNqOKYjvTEwMxw2qIKH5SgO1ysspiZCu/s1600/sunrise-1-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A rare Double Rainbow caught over the horizon as the sun sets.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It has been quite awhile now since I updated this blog and the main reason is that I have been having problems loading pictures to this blog via a VPN since blogspot is being blocked in China. What is a photography blog without pictures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since I am currently back in Malaysia for a short holiday, I thought I give this blog a try to see if I could load a picture and viola, here I am.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since my last update here, I have already traded in my trusty Nikon D90 and most of the lenses with my current Nikon D610 and have even got myself my dream lens, the Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 VRII. From a passion, I am now working as a free lance photographer in Beijing, shooting for several hotels on a regular basis besides fulfilling one of my dreams and wish which was to use my skills for Charity. In my 2.5 years now in Beijing, I have helped some Malaysia students in their charity work in Xian, an Malaysian cultural event held by the Malaysian students studying in Beijing as well helping to photograph the beautiful progress of a special dance project known as the Inspiring Dance Project, also initiated by a fellow Malaysian aimed at bringing dancing as a mean of expression, motivation and inspiration to children (especially to the less fortunate) around Beijing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, as you can see, I am still very much alive and kicking and love to continue to update this blog as much as I possibly can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back to what I do best, photography. My family and I revisited Tanjung Jara Resort in Dungun, Terengganu recently while we are back in Malaysia for a 6 nights getaway. It was awesome as usual with good service, cosy and comfortable room and plenty of space for the children to run around. The last time I was here, I barely got my D90 with only one kit lens which was the Nikkor 18-105mm. I did managed to capture some pretty amazing shots then but I was determined to see if my skills have improved over the years and if I could capture a different side of this resort or the sunrise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of the six nights that we were there, I was a little too lazy to get up for the early morning sunrise, of the three mornings that I did, one particular morning was simply spectacular. I have done some survey of the beach when I arrive to pick up some interesting place to photograph the sunrise, hence, when I went down to the beach, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have always been interested to photograph the golden hours of photography especially by the beaches and the waves but during my early years of photography, I hardly knew how. I had a little practice when I was in Hawaii and New Zealand and I was determined to try that out again here at Tanjung Jara. These are some of the shots ....</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Using long exposure to capture the flowing and splashing waves around the rocks.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sunrise over the horizon at Tanjung Jara Resort, Dungun, Terengganu.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
Over the years, I have also noticed that by having someone in a picture lends a more interesting story to the picture. I have an old picture of Tanjung Jara when I first came here 5 years ago of a lone fisherman walking along the beach. This time around, I have a lone fisherman walking and fishing on some rocks out in the sea which I find interesting.</div>
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However, the best moment of the entire trip was something totally unexpected and that probably is why photography is so mesmerising. As we were playing on the beach and walking back to our rooms on the very last evening before we are due to leave, my daughter noticed a rainbow over the horizon at sunset. Everyone was so excited. Luckily I had my camera with me and my lens had the CPL filter on. I captured several shots before the rainbow quickly disappeared. To my surprise, what we have witness, when I was processing the pictures, was not one single rainbow but a double rainbow captured over the horizon during the golden hours. I was a happy man and this will probably be my only opportunity to capture this rare moment for many years to come. </div>
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Till then, I will try to update this blog as I possibly can. Rest be assured, even if this blog is not updated as often as I would like to be, I am still around and clicking away.....Cheers.</div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-87252590400220395902014-01-20T13:25:00.001+08:002014-01-20T13:25:58.578+08:00Wuzhen at the Breaking of Dawn<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"You should catch the sunrise here tomorrow morning from one of our bigger bridges." the restaurant owner said. "It is beautiful and much better than sunset." he added.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"What time does the sun rises nowadays?" I asked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Around 6 to 6:30 am." he replied.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With that information, I told my son to set the alarm at 6 am the next morning and went to bed, hoping for a spectacular sunrise over the ancient water town of Wuzhen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was cold when the alarm went off at 6 am. What do you expect since it is right in the middle of winter. My son rolled over after switching off the alarm. He is definitely not an early riser and no amount of sunrise is going to get him off that warm bed. I was struggling too and almost dozed off when my wife reminded me that it was already 6:30 am and I better get my ass off the bed if I ever wanted to catch the sunrise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I picked up my gear, put on my winter jacket and ventured out into the cold misty morning. Any hope of getting that perfect sunrise was dashed when I walked onto slippery wet walking paths as it has been raining the night before apparently. The sky was gloomy and downcast and more rain was forecast for the day. I was somewhat disappointed but as I stood on one of the stone bridges looking towards the two rows of houses lining the water canal and a mist covering the rest some distance away, I realized that I was presented with a different perspective of this ancient water town in the morning. One that is cold and damn, sleepy, quiet and tranquil, and that was exactly what I was feeling right that moment, standing on the bridge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The wind has not picked up and the water was calm. At 6:45 am, before the harsh sunlight breaks through, I could still get decent long exposure shot without using any big stoppers to cut down the light.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I did not manage to get a lot of shots during the day when we first arrived the day before with two little toddlers tagging along, although I did managed to capture what I wanted to see at night. Being alone now, with just my camera and my gear and without having to rush through every shot, I could go about checking each shot through different angles and settings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The town was practically deserted at this hour. Most of the overnight visitors were still in their warm bed. I guessed none was as crazy as I am, braving the chill and the freezing temperatures just hoping to get some good pictures. Many, I guessed, just as I was, initially, thought that there were no opportunities to catch a good sunrise with the gloomy weather and hence gave up the idea. Whatever their reasons were, I was glad as I get to have the entire town almost to myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I took shot after shot, from this bridge to the next, I began to realize that these are scenes and atmosphere that I wanted to capture of an ancient water town. Not just the bright lights and their reflections on the water, but the dreamy feel of a sleepy ancient water town, without the commercialisation, in all her serenity and tranquility, allowing your imagination to go back hundreds of years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The "Bridge In Bridge" during the day with both bridges in view as well as their clear reflections on the calm waters.....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As day brightened, this sleepy town started to wake up with some residents getting their shops ready for the day. Workers started to arrive, bringing along their breakfast for yet another busy day, hoping that the crowd would be larger since it is a weekend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>As the day brightens, I caught this little boat starting his round to start off another day down the river .....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By 8 a.m. the rain had started to drizzle, signalling me that it is time to head back to the hotel. As I walked back, I saw more tourists now, coming out from the hotels, taking a walk among the wet walking paths, taking pictures here and there. I had my fair share and I would like to believe the better parts too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the time, we walked over for our breakfast around 9:30 a.m., the slight drizzle has got heavier and so has the crowd, both from those staying overnight and those arriving for the day, all decked in raincoats or umbrellas, jostling around the narrow alleys and bridges for their pictures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I walked past them with a grin and a smile on my face, knowing deep inside, I am a contended man and having had the best moments of a misty dreamy Wuzhen, an ancient water town of over 1200 years history at the breaking of dawn.</span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-48264191309409576052014-01-15T14:24:00.000+08:002014-01-15T14:24:36.238+08:00Wuzhen at Night<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sunrise and sunset are termed as the golden hours for any landscape photographers because the light is not direct and harsh and the often times, the multi color skies added with some dramatic clouds formation, sometimes accompanied by a round red or orange sun captured made almost a postcard like picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was hoping for the same, as I hurriedly walked about Wuzhen to find a right spot where I could spot the sun going down, checking the direction constantly with my iPhone compass. However, the downcast skies during the day and the clouds obscure any chance whatsoever to see a dramatic sunset for the day. I was lucky that at least, it was not raining as the day before or the day we left Wuzhen. But sunset is not all about dramatic colorful skies or bright perfect orange sun, as I found out here in Wuzhen. As dusk approached where the sun had already set, this ancient water town was cloaked in a shade of yellowish orange light and a slight mist in a distance, with almost perfect reflection of the houses on still and calm waters adds a dreamy feel to this historic town.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Dusk falling upon this ancient water town of Wuzhen ..</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Calmness and tranquility at dusk ...</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But the real beauty of Wuzhen is when the lights come on at night. That was the whole reason we ended up in Wuzhen. We were supposed to visit another ancient water town somewhere else, nearer to Suzhou but when I specifically told my guide that I wanted to take night photography, he recommended Wuzhen instead and insisted that we must stayed a night. His recommendation was spot on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>As the night approaches, the lights began to come on, one after another, and the entire place takes on a totally different feel. In fact, it comes alive ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the night sets in, the lights came on and the entire town takes on a different perspective, feel and atmosphere. It comes alive. The crowd began to swell, bearing in mind that it was winter with temperature in low single digit and it was a weekday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I just got my D610, my new Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 lens and my new tripod just before I made this trip and I was eager to try them out for the long exposure shots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wuzhen is a string of islands all connected with stone or wooden bridges, some small and some magnificent ones like the one below. Capturing them with their reflection on the water below was something that I was hoping to do when I first decided to visit an ancient water town.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>An almost symmetrical reflection of the bridge and building on the water below ....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are visiting Wuzhen, I would highly recommend that you insist on staying for a night. There are many day tours who might include this into one of the places you might visit from Hangzhou but to truly appreciate the beauty of this place and to experience her tranquility and atmosphere, an overnight stay would allow you to walk among the narrow streets and alleys and admire the beauty of the reflections of these ancient structures on the water. If you an early riser, you might even catch the sunrise the following morning before the rest of the crowd wakes up. (More of that in my next post ..)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>This is the famous Bridge in Bridge where at a certain angle, one could see another bridge through the arch of the first. Here, you can catch a bit of the second bridge on the left hand side of the picture. This two bridges are the Tongji and the Renji Bridge which apparently has been rebuilt 5 times over the years....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The beauty of night photography of an ancient water town lies in the mesmerizing reflections on the water such as the ones below :-</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Every corner offers a different feel and look at night ....</i></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Located near the Bridge in Bridge, is a street lined with pubs, cafes and bars where one could sit down to listen to some life music while enjoying your favorite beer or drink.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wuzhen offers more than just reflections of the lights on water. Walking along the narrow streets and alleys, lined by old wooden souvenir shops, guest houses, cafes and shops that offered local delicacies that are delicious is an experience by itself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The streets themselves offered delightful opportunities for night photography especially if you have a tripod set on longer exposure. Deeper into the night, when the crowd thins, you might find yourself alone along a lonely stretch of narrow alley, lined with old wooden shops that have closed. There is a eerie sense of quietness surrounding you and your ears suddenly becoming ultra sensitive to any `funny' noises as you go about taking that one picture that you hope is worth all efforts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A view of a shop opposite the other side of the river, captured here, between two walls with creepers ....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><span id="goog_1642562421"></span><span id="goog_1642562422"></span>A window in one of the dead end walls with overgrown creepers ....eerie ....</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DS7yJzUuyDr4VTBqLwiiXrKQ2YfaMgvpHDUIsFuYLme9Kr1nNWyzt2IFTjKP8vyV2Qq5W6B-AAS01K5dbLCPqrNxJ9Wbew88UyiI3WYKXGQDEm3cyuZLmjMUvAjfjfhPTw8oZKpi3qgv/s1600/blogwuzhennight5002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DS7yJzUuyDr4VTBqLwiiXrKQ2YfaMgvpHDUIsFuYLme9Kr1nNWyzt2IFTjKP8vyV2Qq5W6B-AAS01K5dbLCPqrNxJ9Wbew88UyiI3WYKXGQDEm3cyuZLmjMUvAjfjfhPTw8oZKpi3qgv/s640/blogwuzhennight5002.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The almost abandoned streets ....</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXS6hr7ZZfFtYgtHeyeLz9ob4oiFu_0ED_LizgHBxc-mMIbXiGuwvVgeDmxTf4u32rSaguC3nyv4fjCDX0TVAY7_va6pDKEDzVFKkfKUBhf55EOPGjdvDKZnJxsu0C9OGYLyxVhA7wqHh/s1600/blogwuzhennight1007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXS6hr7ZZfFtYgtHeyeLz9ob4oiFu_0ED_LizgHBxc-mMIbXiGuwvVgeDmxTf4u32rSaguC3nyv4fjCDX0TVAY7_va6pDKEDzVFKkfKUBhf55EOPGjdvDKZnJxsu0C9OGYLyxVhA7wqHh/s640/blogwuzhennight1007.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides the streets and the river, there are also other interesting historical sites that literally glow in the dark such as those below :-</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK89mGzQA0sKVC-vP3qZ0i1sL6AXEnRp-y8VtMijjQI7dPn2DK8BAkt3k91u9HpHWpIrftIFiS-t5Kp9hs053o1AODm3Rl-tgMZQa1_9cvEwGKBwu8g7CNJAepEan2nO30HtsTObDuwiZx/s1600/blogwuzhen911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK89mGzQA0sKVC-vP3qZ0i1sL6AXEnRp-y8VtMijjQI7dPn2DK8BAkt3k91u9HpHWpIrftIFiS-t5Kp9hs053o1AODm3Rl-tgMZQa1_9cvEwGKBwu8g7CNJAepEan2nO30HtsTObDuwiZx/s640/blogwuzhen911.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The old post office .....</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSPp_ZsnjmCeHZkaPzboj1izC40CfQGw5RIw_oHa3nXtAMWZ37P3ZAbuQ6ZA87Z_lbsQWJN3t6Kg6Ks8o_G73KXjCqksatbJE-I2uS1UHkSb3Shz0uo8IdxO1ibwwtpM4riFyWfnUOFGW/s1600/blogwuzhen908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSPp_ZsnjmCeHZkaPzboj1izC40CfQGw5RIw_oHa3nXtAMWZ37P3ZAbuQ6ZA87Z_lbsQWJN3t6Kg6Ks8o_G73KXjCqksatbJE-I2uS1UHkSb3Shz0uo8IdxO1ibwwtpM4riFyWfnUOFGW/s640/blogwuzhen908.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpyEO3brL6IEneWbaLxnmTtj7BGaNFke4niqTY5pBXHLN4nO7nL2mBM78Z-7naLRqTnuXi0YKsfkC3CCaNuplv5JFDGp-PvWx91WonLTW_a0_i8XLGhJMttZKgRVluX7M1dWiNNcpHYj4/s1600/blogwuzhen912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpyEO3brL6IEneWbaLxnmTtj7BGaNFke4niqTY5pBXHLN4nO7nL2mBM78Z-7naLRqTnuXi0YKsfkC3CCaNuplv5JFDGp-PvWx91WonLTW_a0_i8XLGhJMttZKgRVluX7M1dWiNNcpHYj4/s640/blogwuzhen912.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGnQHnTeB_uLHnFg7hbgl7xW-9S8gO8SYQPAGvia3IhJvXggxg77tFsiwQAVlKDfG6FZ3KZwEwMvcRkMEJh9aQmE4IPvGvMp6Vnbx8ThURCtQdZRNkESNdJWGcn7uBGA3UdOqXufk0rFQ/s1600/blogwuzhen906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGnQHnTeB_uLHnFg7hbgl7xW-9S8gO8SYQPAGvia3IhJvXggxg77tFsiwQAVlKDfG6FZ3KZwEwMvcRkMEJh9aQmE4IPvGvMp6Vnbx8ThURCtQdZRNkESNdJWGcn7uBGA3UdOqXufk0rFQ/s640/blogwuzhen906.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG07AiYBH3fgOveGoeEFOjsgSqzmyFdN0zd0BeNe-P3YVN_U-Co9T_2btqIFTbL20SU28xIva47bFsFP8Ox1e1T5eeq1wuSBo0HCdvwxTpTImSAdjf2uXsVciw_oehT_TY-Cg08h_SWpwS/s1600/blogwuzhen907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG07AiYBH3fgOveGoeEFOjsgSqzmyFdN0zd0BeNe-P3YVN_U-Co9T_2btqIFTbL20SU28xIva47bFsFP8Ox1e1T5eeq1wuSBo0HCdvwxTpTImSAdjf2uXsVciw_oehT_TY-Cg08h_SWpwS/s640/blogwuzhen907.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the time I finished the above pictures, it was closed to 9pm and we have not had our dinner. Most restaurants have close by now and the only shops that remained opened are the pubs and bars. We gave the owner of the shop we had our lunch earlier a call and asked if his is still opened. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"I was waiting for you guys to return" he said "..and I was surprised that you didn't turn up till now ..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Well..we are coming right now .." we told him. We have little choice as there are no restaurants that were still opened by this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were no regrets. We ordered a few other dishes, and they were just too eager to serve us. The food was delicious and hot. As we attacked the food with vengeance, the owner's wife was there chatting with us and sharing about their lifestyle and how the restaurant were being run. The bill came to RMB156. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With our stomach filled, we made our way back to our hotel and settled in for the night. Both my 5 years old boy and my 2 years old daughter was fast asleep by this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tired but satisfied, the alarm was set at 6 the next morning as I was eager to go out early in the morning, hoping to catch the sunrise over the ancient stone bridges, reflected on the clear calm waters....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">....but that was not to be .......more in my next post ...</span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-57804113991701152112014-01-14T00:42:00.001+08:002014-01-14T00:42:35.620+08:00The Amazing Ancient Water Town of Wuzhen<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We made a trip to Suzhou a couple of days ago. Our first stop over was Shanghai for a night before we made our way to Suzhou for two nights with our driver that we engaged in Shanghai. I have always been mesmerized by the beauty of ancient water towns in China, such as the one I visited at Zhujiajiao about a year ago and I was always thinking that the best ancient water towns would be those found in Suzhou or so I thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But my driver cum tour guide, Mr Loh, suggested otherwise. An experienced guide, he explained that Suzhou is renowned for her delicate and unique gardens though there is still a fair amount of water towns to see. When I told him that I am interested to photograph the ancient water towns at night, he suggested us to visit and stay a night at Wuzhen (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">乌镇) instead. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHreVYrJo-g3Lts87gMtNxuVhhM7t6GdZRSiydtU3kJUHZXb19_MaAiQcooRd-9lpKVV1QQasE-7wX8XfE3TLJAb1LABG_IvpzgqEjlsfv8Xk8V_vLD2owUqvJXevdHIxBsQ1ev27gIKzZ/s1600/blogwuzhenday1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHreVYrJo-g3Lts87gMtNxuVhhM7t6GdZRSiydtU3kJUHZXb19_MaAiQcooRd-9lpKVV1QQasE-7wX8XfE3TLJAb1LABG_IvpzgqEjlsfv8Xk8V_vLD2owUqvJXevdHIxBsQ1ev27gIKzZ/s640/blogwuzhenday1000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Xi Zha (West Sector) of Wuchen ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"If you have been to Wuzhen, you would never have to visit another water town ever again. " he proudly proclaimed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We did some research on the Internet and made a booking for a night at one of their 'so called' 5 stars hotel, known as Tong An Hotel, reputedly the largest hotel there. The rates are by no means cheap. A standard room will set you back RMB830 (with breakfast). A lady at the front desk at Marriott Suzhou who incidentally have worked at Wuzhen before, even suggested that we take the cheaper guest house for the local feel. However, since we were traveling with kids, we opted for the larger Tong An Hotel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The drive to Wuzhen from Suzhou is approximately 1.5 hours and the journey was pleasant. In fact, it would take only 45 minutes drive from Hangzhou which is nearer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wuzhen, an ancient water town boasting of an almost 2000 years of history, is located at the north the Zhejiang province and is part of the Beijing -Hangzhou Grand Canal, very much like Suzhou. Life at Wuzhen has been pretty idyllic and hence, much of the ancient lifestyle and uniqueness of this historical water town has been well preserved.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGDX9CeSx5IOobqD83EO2ufvVOaJmWyQOivUR-QX90T08z1KQNHmpV-0Mq7eJCwKnPpeNI9H3egtGxGFHp6VDDtTFS4JGsb1u-uKi6qx3eIWOiXW-BuSANrDqrMFy1xB8N95VIpciz1UH/s1600/blogwuzhenday1002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGDX9CeSx5IOobqD83EO2ufvVOaJmWyQOivUR-QX90T08z1KQNHmpV-0Mq7eJCwKnPpeNI9H3egtGxGFHp6VDDtTFS4JGsb1u-uKi6qx3eIWOiXW-BuSANrDqrMFy1xB8N95VIpciz1UH/s640/blogwuzhenday1002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Dong Zha (East Sector) of Wuchen. The old houses and structures are well preserved. Clearly a different view as compared to Xi Zha (West Sector) which has been rebuilt ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is two distinct sections of Wuchen, known as Dong Zha (East Sector) and the Xi Zha (West Sector). Dong Zha is smaller and consists of most of the original ancient houses and structures, many with the original residents while Xi Zha is larger, rebuilt with many guest houses, hotels and restaurants. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1xsc6iUDT-i4SV-TL3ovRSnzuRa7BEIZwPvYT6JeVFhtilIW1d5oLAtIgHwkcPALmtvUBPWXFbWBaz-zw03_n1ANGMMh0bZPuKyExaugV2-P5B7Sj5CnozVKZbm3w2cFPijEe69seRxN/s1600/blogwuzhenday1001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1xsc6iUDT-i4SV-TL3ovRSnzuRa7BEIZwPvYT6JeVFhtilIW1d5oLAtIgHwkcPALmtvUBPWXFbWBaz-zw03_n1ANGMMh0bZPuKyExaugV2-P5B7Sj5CnozVKZbm3w2cFPijEe69seRxN/s640/blogwuzhenday1001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The main canal at Xi Zha (West Sector). The place is almost deserted during the day when we arrived as it was a weekday and it was winter, just the way we like it ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Entrance tickets are required for both sections. RMB130 for Xi Zha and RMB100 for Dong Zha or a combined ticket for RMB150. (We purchased the combined ticket). Our hotel is located within Xi Zha since this is reputed to offer very interesting photography opportunities at night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Xi Zha apparently is a string of small islands connected with historical stone bridges. Upon arrival, we were ferried a short distance across to the nearest island on a single oar ferry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We checked into our room with a balcony view of a smaller canal. The room was basic and clean but definitely not the international 5 star treatment that one would expect nor the price we have to pay. In fact, we had a problem with water clogging in the bathroom when we took a bath resulting in the entire bathroom being flooded. We were later told that there is a design flaw with the drainage system in most rooms. The breakfast was nothing to shout either and service is forgettable. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju79vvFFf4-VTrlNhztlvTkRXiWiPd8P9ODKE2Y1HzWlNPQzoYZ5_nRpsNFp12-sasWNUCJ9KIJURDZvwVM1x0wDwcP1q-E93CQvaWqcBKa8nptdofDylAEfow_pyYraAhVM5TLi92pCfl/s1600/blogwuzhenhotel1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju79vvFFf4-VTrlNhztlvTkRXiWiPd8P9ODKE2Y1HzWlNPQzoYZ5_nRpsNFp12-sasWNUCJ9KIJURDZvwVM1x0wDwcP1q-E93CQvaWqcBKa8nptdofDylAEfow_pyYraAhVM5TLi92pCfl/s640/blogwuzhenhotel1000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Our room at Tong An Hotel that cost us RMB830 ..clean but basic </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After dumping our luggage in the room, we went out, ready to explore this ancient water town, along the narrow alleys and the shops lined up along the river front.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-ed5Dew4cJes6rkwnOhezFlC3QpTEJxeix8p1ECI0uAH2u9yjO_xtQTMDQ5xooRaShpgK4vWXO4DHFekFh4s1W4uSj_WSHSHBZ_ufnRLjOYpcEkQDCE-g9oVRegMJ6yToo3-c9mLZxpC/s1600/blogwuzhenday1007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-ed5Dew4cJes6rkwnOhezFlC3QpTEJxeix8p1ECI0uAH2u9yjO_xtQTMDQ5xooRaShpgK4vWXO4DHFekFh4s1W4uSj_WSHSHBZ_ufnRLjOYpcEkQDCE-g9oVRegMJ6yToo3-c9mLZxpC/s640/blogwuzhenday1007.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Xi Zha (West Sector) comprises of hotels, guest houses, restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops, some hidden among the many narrow alleys while others along the river front.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Besides hotels, guest houses, restaurants and cafes, there were also some museums of depicting some former craftsman and business here or well known people who grew up within this ancient township.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlxE0VjcW-fA60T3l31fJslgpNh_TBD881Fxy71JJfeZHkdTGuUAAvNFsRNKDYWrYRKhmwgiG36fEGM_hdpbrZGPMX0IRFlSWStmRlmaQPYbYT-F0O6IZreVshDc6TQD9WG2mvWIAhiDf/s1600/blogwuzhenday1008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrlxE0VjcW-fA60T3l31fJslgpNh_TBD881Fxy71JJfeZHkdTGuUAAvNFsRNKDYWrYRKhmwgiG36fEGM_hdpbrZGPMX0IRFlSWStmRlmaQPYbYT-F0O6IZreVshDc6TQD9WG2mvWIAhiDf/s640/blogwuzhenday1008.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Yichang Foundry Workshop with their largest cauldron forged in the world. Yichang was started by a blacksmith from Hangzhou in the 16th century by the name of Shen Ji and was the only forge in the western Zhejiang Province.</i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnXWUBgCDdVzuPVCs5G4hdgAmseGyFaTYIuSGHbtRxdRO99E4_obBi8IhFRn1qOgE8yMTrmK_It6BS3QTZjXaP_OtLqkc8xlxGzrShmncpJrpHrvwpwVvCp-mnEUevmaPIzrHzl3-9nlT/s1600/blogwuzhenday1009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnXWUBgCDdVzuPVCs5G4hdgAmseGyFaTYIuSGHbtRxdRO99E4_obBi8IhFRn1qOgE8yMTrmK_It6BS3QTZjXaP_OtLqkc8xlxGzrShmncpJrpHrvwpwVvCp-mnEUevmaPIzrHzl3-9nlT/s640/blogwuzhenday1009.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Food is still preserved traditionally here and fish, sausages or pork can be seen hanging to dry by the windows of restaurants or along the corridors of some guest houses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Fishes being hung to be dried ....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Pork being dried in the cold winter air. We are so not eating this after we see this hanging in the open air ....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is definitely plenty to see and explore here and without the usual weekend or summer crowd, one could walk leisurely among the narrow alleys, exploring all the restaurants, cafes, museums and occasionally stopped to buy some finger food to munch along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was way past lunch time, when our growling stomach reminded us that we have not had lunch after our heavy breakfast at Marriott Suzhou before we checked out. We started to scout around for a restaurant for our meal and chance upon this guest house. We walked in not knowing what to expect but the friendliness of the owner, his wife and his aging dad who helped to run his business made us feel so at home that we went back for our dinner later that night (he actually served us specifically although they were officially closed, since it was well past 9pm) and again for our lunch before we left.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The place was small with only two tables but clean. Not knowing exactly what to order, we took most of the dishes that were recommended with absolutely no regrets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We were quickly served with a pot of hot chrysanthemum tea which was perfect drink during the cold winter ...</i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"> Our first dish was the fried river prawns. Absolutely delicious but the only setback is that they were not really large. Although the shell is soft and can be eaten whole, I had to peel the skins off for almost the entire plate for my wife and two kids who absolutely adore this dish ....</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Braised Mutton which was out of this world ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A simple lcoal vegetable stirred fried with bean curd. We ended up ordering this for all our three meals here...</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-52JGoFDxEGSSUC-_0jgqNxayXxPeMqJELLsjXk2EVDXXhsrPtFGT2vZwkWxdbSYYJ94rSWzfIkNYRb86dp5D1tZ61cJeR62T3UCm_-HMVj6BHirON7Sjoid8HnnQ8c68zL-ccS2ym2v_/s1600/blogwuzhenday1016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-52JGoFDxEGSSUC-_0jgqNxayXxPeMqJELLsjXk2EVDXXhsrPtFGT2vZwkWxdbSYYJ94rSWzfIkNYRb86dp5D1tZ61cJeR62T3UCm_-HMVj6BHirON7Sjoid8HnnQ8c68zL-ccS2ym2v_/s640/blogwuzhenday1016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Chicken soup with Siow Bai Chai, especially for the children....yummy.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Local river fish simply with soy sauce and some chopped chives...good to the last piece....</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVKjBaPtmL2fb_dywbTaTgykt1WJerVopw6SwNLsT_yYmn_9tpGxlaFyfTtmcl9-dPKFviVEvMMhMhvVnLMZDNGhQ2uNwiUPQZV-NtQItRljlE4o94av7ITM72a9QXDZrrqmrrLhrgC7e/s1600/blogwuzhenday1018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVKjBaPtmL2fb_dywbTaTgykt1WJerVopw6SwNLsT_yYmn_9tpGxlaFyfTtmcl9-dPKFviVEvMMhMhvVnLMZDNGhQ2uNwiUPQZV-NtQItRljlE4o94av7ITM72a9QXDZrrqmrrLhrgC7e/s640/blogwuzhenday1018.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Even the plain rice taste good ....maybe because we were hungry or maybe because we were made to feel so at home ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was definitely a memorable meal for us, not only because of the food but probably more because of the hospitality and the friendliness of the innkeeper and his dad who served us. The bill came up to about RMB230 (RM115) including a bottle of Tsingtao beer and we were well fed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With our stomach filled, we were ready to continue to explore this ancient historical site. The sun was ready to set even though the clock showed that it was only just a little past 5pm since it was winter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was excited not only anticipating sunset over this ancient water town, the canals, the old antique structures but also hoping for a fruitful night photography opportunities with great reflections of these structures on the calm waters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And I was NOT disappointed....more pictures of this charming place at night in my next post, coming right up....</span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-61527024318633774412014-01-13T10:09:00.002+08:002014-01-13T10:09:56.518+08:00Autumn charm at Po Feng Lin<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Autumn is a beautiful season, with mild weather and the air getting cooler by the day, a big relief from the hot, dry and dusty summer in Beijing, made more beautiful as the leaves changes color from green, to shades of yellow, amber and red.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2R7LdFQ3ByCnEZbYpemSXpGxy_HcTHiIwXbk7jkPhhsQNdE7d3iCtXG1ZPIby_lApaJXbz8lc-6u9yq7rI7ZfelgNKmeAA0ffQO-WnHQ3AwcHzK2tLK_bi5iTwi6S0KLDRxt8PJHfsOem/s1600/blogpofengling0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2R7LdFQ3ByCnEZbYpemSXpGxy_HcTHiIwXbk7jkPhhsQNdE7d3iCtXG1ZPIby_lApaJXbz8lc-6u9yq7rI7ZfelgNKmeAA0ffQO-WnHQ3AwcHzK2tLK_bi5iTwi6S0KLDRxt8PJHfsOem/s640/blogpofengling0020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The lovely mountains and valleys at Po Feng Lin</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't believe that there will be no one out there who would not be enchanted and mesmerized by the beautiful artwork, crafted and painted by nature.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to see red leaves within Beijing city center and hence, many will throng to several well known places to witness the changing color of the leaves and one such place located near to the city center is Fragrance Hill just next to the Summer Palace near Haidian. Unfortunately, due to her popularity, getting there and back meant braving massive traffic jam and getting squeezed by hundreds if not tens of thousands of local tourists, all eager to have their pictures taken with the sea of red leaves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are not talking of one or two of hours of traffic jam to get into the park. We are talking of stand still jam that could be as long as three to four hours during the peak of the season, with no guarantee of getting a car park and another three to four hours to get out from the park in the evening. We were stuck at the highway interchange for over an hour one weekend, on the way to the Botanical Garden located next to the Fragrance Hill due to the massive crowd going to Fragrance Hill. We made a wise decision to detour that day because the news over the TV later that evening reported a jam so massive that it took over ten hours for people to go in or get out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, where could we go to experience a red leaves autumn near Beijing then without getting ourselves stuck in a traffic jam so bad or having to brave the local crowd.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Po Feng Lin (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">坡峰岭) is one good and still relatively unknown alternative. Located approximately 50 kilometers from Beijing with an altitude of 6000 meters, this is still currently one of the many hidden gems to see the beauty of autumn, but I believe not for long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unlike Fragrance Hill which has been overly commercialized due to her popularity, Po Feng Lin is still relative cheap both in terms of entrance fees and food at the foot of the hill. The air is clear and fresh and the view of layers of mountains beyond is beyond words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of many 'illegal taxi' driver cum friend, Seow Fei who recommended us this place took us there early November. The journey took about an hour from our apartment near Chaoyang Park. As we approached the site, we were greeted with layers of towering hills decked in colors of late autumn. There were patches of red here and there but unfortunately, we were a little late this year as the best window to view the red leaves had just past a week or two ago and most leaves had dried up and had started to fall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We got our entrance ticket which was relatively cheap compared to some of the prices we paid elsewhere, we started our climb. The climb to the peak we were told would take approximately 3 hours or so but with my 5 year old son tagging along, the hike up would be almost impossible. To start with, I was not even sure how far he would climb before he would want us to carry him which will make the trip more difficult. Surprising, he hiked and walked over 1,000 meters of the trail up which was no small feat for a 5 year old boy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We could go no further beyond this, as he was already tired and it was already way past noon at this point in time. However, we promised ourselves that we would be back next year (if we are still in Beijing) in late October without the kids and make the hike to the top to admire the beauty of autumn, painted by GOD ALMIGHTY Himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the foot of the hill, we stopped by the rest area and ordered some noodles for our lunch. Surprisingly good and inexpensive (less than RMB5). It was indeed an experience having your meal and a bottle of cold Tsingtao beer with a clear view of the Po Feng Lin mountains right before your eyes, in a very traditional Chinese settings.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJxagTlBgaWgAfmarw2qEfF-F1XzsM72gq-qcCtcO60o8seWL9FBfZPKBX8rF9V-CxdxeVsTakEgMDTadPxzflrQsX-PHt0rWpGwtvVQJfEfOlwIF-upLaSRd0wMskFpwnm59ruS6Q1QD/s1600/blogpofengling0030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJxagTlBgaWgAfmarw2qEfF-F1XzsM72gq-qcCtcO60o8seWL9FBfZPKBX8rF9V-CxdxeVsTakEgMDTadPxzflrQsX-PHt0rWpGwtvVQJfEfOlwIF-upLaSRd0wMskFpwnm59ruS6Q1QD/s640/blogpofengling0030.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The resting place to stop for a hot bowl of traditionally prepared noodles with a view ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Noodles being prepared the traditional way. Dough placed into the wooden contraption and being pressed into thin slices of delicious noodle, right into the boiling and steaming hot water in a big pot below ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>My huge bowl of noodles that costed less than RMB5 as at now ...</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XyJ3QXqzXIOwZMe1dBVl4ZuC31aHqP1U3_jequ1-lKHBzwi1nNbQlLPUJK3JgF0Kvw1_nm_s8fxZPRe1QJ8yEpJbag04NM8o1JqSsdwr_RSF0sn5da5KFer5nQeMRf5ciUiy_g-1gaaT/s1600/blogpofengling0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XyJ3QXqzXIOwZMe1dBVl4ZuC31aHqP1U3_jequ1-lKHBzwi1nNbQlLPUJK3JgF0Kvw1_nm_s8fxZPRe1QJ8yEpJbag04NM8o1JqSsdwr_RSF0sn5da5KFer5nQeMRf5ciUiy_g-1gaaT/s640/blogpofengling0024.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We called this fruit "Chi" in Cantonese. Back in Malaysia, all these were imported from China and extremely expensive. We can also get the dried ones. Here, we see them still hanging from the branches without any leaves due to the fast approaching winter ..</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDeUJ9Ij_HXmd_RMV6ona_HKH3wNDw7ha0-hFk83dWiTGe7Mq-yreYtzTAE3YkNT43UrDR-qQmDTp6kLCnzqkU5arPlp_vEvnVvDPMLErZPJwqNseQnHQ7PGZOt-C678y74xW3WS8krPE/s1600/blogpofengling0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDeUJ9Ij_HXmd_RMV6ona_HKH3wNDw7ha0-hFk83dWiTGe7Mq-yreYtzTAE3YkNT43UrDR-qQmDTp6kLCnzqkU5arPlp_vEvnVvDPMLErZPJwqNseQnHQ7PGZOt-C678y74xW3WS8krPE/s640/blogpofengling0027.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_zrOBPtCHfQQcOFxMAHfWvaqhRnnQHHtjATKFFFMZkQVfq0uMPjinucZOQ6tD5ggvIbav_45oc6f6Lm3f6ArK9ZwRiqoZy4JtG4rikDUPjEFcG-T22c-Fq8EKEvu1uR2xV416guWn3nx/s1600/blogpofengling0028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_zrOBPtCHfQQcOFxMAHfWvaqhRnnQHHtjATKFFFMZkQVfq0uMPjinucZOQ6tD5ggvIbav_45oc6f6Lm3f6ArK9ZwRiqoZy4JtG4rikDUPjEFcG-T22c-Fq8EKEvu1uR2xV416guWn3nx/s640/blogpofengling0028.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>As I have mentioned earlier in one of my earlier post, photography is just only confined to the main character, which in this case, the magnificent landscape, but also the supporting casts which can be found all over the place, which offers some interesting photography opportunities too ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All in all, we definitely believed that this is a place worth a second trip and longer drive out from Beijing to experience autumn in China.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">However, given a few more years and judging from the increasing crowd that I was told, this place will soon be packed too. Hence, it would be a good idea to visit this place before that happens and gets all tainted by the tens of thousands of loud local tourists, all eager to get a piece of autumn to bring home.</span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-6271105422148142772013-12-16T22:55:00.001+08:002013-12-16T22:55:22.493+08:00Autumn In Beijing<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Asked anyone anywhere what they know about Beijing in China and the first thought that crossed their mind would very likely be "the most polluted city on earth" and rightly so. There are days when the sun is totally hidden behind this thick smog and where the obsession of the people, foreigners in particular on a daily basis is to check the pollution index, to decide the type of activities to plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A huge city densely packed with so many residents which continues to grow every year, both via the migration of locals from other cities in China, hoping to find a better life as well as the influx of more foreigners, hoping to tap into the huge business potential of the China market. Despite measures taken by the government to curb the volume of cars on the road each day, there is still a steady increase of number of new vehicles added onto the already congested roads around Beijing, spewing more carbon fumes into an already very polluted city.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The reason as to why environmental friendly vehicles such as electric or hybrid vehicles are not aggressively encouraged or enforced escapes my simple logic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With the winter's arrival, pollution would be expected to be even worse with more small businesses and household switching on their heating systems, many of which still uses huge amount of charcoal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But Beijing can be beautiful too. On days when the air is clear, the skies are blue and the sun is out, a walk in one of their many public parks early in the morning can be a wonderful experience.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnqcoKfygSvbrcbrEPzDtJzucX4Pce_O0IHVXwd_fOS5spw7iCdGJnrFLgIHwDmD7H5fJXgODdVBMaP9pe6AroniziLwCQEt6JQByZsNkValSl-Nfs7f2jv17iv-7kjo40G61VdMAcXds/s1600/BLOGAUTUMN2013(01).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnqcoKfygSvbrcbrEPzDtJzucX4Pce_O0IHVXwd_fOS5spw7iCdGJnrFLgIHwDmD7H5fJXgODdVBMaP9pe6AroniziLwCQEt6JQByZsNkValSl-Nfs7f2jv17iv-7kjo40G61VdMAcXds/s640/BLOGAUTUMN2013(01).jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Beautiful reflections of the autumn leaves ..</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Such was my experience during one autumn Sunday morning. I had wanted to capture some shots of Beijing in autumn. My wife woke me up early one Sunday and told me that the weather looks excellent and encouraged me to take a walk at the Chaoyang Park, located just opposite the place where we are staying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A view from Chaoyang Park, and one of the city most iconic building, the CCTV building (on the left) can be clearly seen. I did not realise that I am living so near to CBD ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Clear blue skies is something that is rather rare in Beijing ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Lovely trees in autumn with their reflections on the artificial lake at Chaoyang Park ....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Chaoyang Park is the largest public park in Beijing and taking a walk early in the morning can be a rather peaceful experience....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While many flocked to Fragrance Hill, located near to the Summer Palace to view the beauty of autumn in Beijing, resulting in massive massive traffic jam, a simple morning walk around Chaoyang Park during a clear bright sunny autumn morning proves to be equally rewarding ...</span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-49230850213245987432013-12-10T13:34:00.001+08:002013-12-10T13:34:47.652+08:00Crouching Tiger Great Wall Hike<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After spending a night on the watch tower in freezing temperatures and howling wind at Gubeikou and hardly any sleep, our legs and bodies were still aching from the hike the day before. But we were excited with the itinerary before us. We were going to hike up a section known as the Crouching Tiger (Wohu Mountain) </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">卧虎山长城 </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">at Gubeikou.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Crouching Tiger Great Wall from a distance. The hike to the peak from the foot hill is approximately 8km.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our driver drove us for a quick breakfast at a nearby restaurant near the Crouching Tiger. We could see her from a distance and it definitely DOES NOT look like an easy walk in the park. In fact, our guide was telling us that it is going to be even much tougher than the day before, because it is so much more steeper and the path more rugged. We simply do not have enough time or probably the energy to hike all the way to the peak and down again that day. What we could do is hike as far as we could go with the time that we have since we have to be back in Beijing by 3pm at the latest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By 9am, we were already at the foot of Wohu Mountain, getting ready for our hike. We were not the only ones. It seemed that this particular location is rather popular with the locals because we saw other hikers already half way up while there were more groups gathering at the foothill getting ready for start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After crossing a railway track, we commenced our climb upwards. The path is definitely more rugged and steep. It is also more slippery with lots of loose gravels making the climb so much more difficult. Our guide was right. This was definitely a hike that demands more stamina and fitness, something that both of us are seriously lacking. However, we were determined to climb as far as we could since we had come this far.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After 60 minutes of climbing upwards, our guide scouted for a path to cut across the hill and a valley to get to the wall to reduce our climbing time needed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A view of the valley as we cut through the hills, taking a shorter route to access to the wall. As it was autumn, the slopes were `painted' in orange, green and yellow and you can see a watch tower some distance away.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The state of the wall here is even more crumbled than those at Jingshanling or at Gubeikou where we hiked the day before. Most parts lie in ruins and deteriorated, beaten by time and forces of nature. There were many parts where the wall could no longer be seen. What is left is just a sandy rugged walking path of loose gravels. There were sections where the walking path was as narrow as 1 foot with steep banks on both sides where extreme care has to be exercised.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>This is not even one quarter way up to the peak. We do not have the time to hike up the peak and had to start our hike down from here ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With clear bright blue skies and the sun beating down on us, we were sweating even in the cool autumn temperatures.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnG3aB9PF86UllmQSnse-ozGYWp0PhLe9M3oUxcfOKhTCxYJ98Lthl1oVp2d4WvGWPt5OGuRz48xqYjWJiwXvg8EsT-lYpSUdDqmhhvmGz3DsfxCmGfZ7TE94GLUzs3r_ZcQJQiFRCTAl2/s1600/blogtiger400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnG3aB9PF86UllmQSnse-ozGYWp0PhLe9M3oUxcfOKhTCxYJ98Lthl1oVp2d4WvGWPt5OGuRz48xqYjWJiwXvg8EsT-lYpSUdDqmhhvmGz3DsfxCmGfZ7TE94GLUzs3r_ZcQJQiFRCTAl2/s640/blogtiger400.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Part of the trek that we took to hike down ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The hike down was not strenuous as we took our time taking some breathtaking pictures of the landscape and the watch towers against backdrops of layers of mountains...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A broken watch tower and very narrow wall or whatever that is left of it against the backdrop of mountain ranges ...vast and majestic....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A crumbled watch tower in the foreground and you can see the great wall on top of the mountain ridges snaking into the horizon, as far as your eyes can see...can you trace where it ends?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here, at the Crouching Tiger section, you can, at certain vantage point, such as the one in the picture above, see the magnificent and awesome great wall on top of mountain ridges for as far as your eyes can see and the feeling is simply indescribable. Just imagine, smoke signals going out from one tower to another during the ancient times, signalling an imminent attack by forces from the north, and how the watch tower soldiers rushed the news to their superiors, generals frantically drawing up defensive moves and hundreds of troops moved along the great wall to their defensive position. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>This is just some samples of how narrow and broken down the walking path on this section of the Great Wall. There were some other sections where both sides have completely eroded, leaving only a 12 inch path to cross...like the one below ....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Great Wall, since it stretches over 8000 km across China, over different terrains, mountains and valleys, the materials used to build the wall also varies. While some areas were built of mud and clay, most of the sections here at Crouching Tiger seemed to have been built using rocks and stones held together by clay.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9scXvBbqfMICizAChecbany4V64QOG1jJ_puUvYILuF6Rn3mopytB_0mCNSNAmTv3AFBPLmi3PR0ALBzu3xpIl56FGI5L0xpnCYdz1bSmhJ4aNb3Xus8-MuS4LimBvFaUMzi9evprsXG/s1600/blogtiger317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9scXvBbqfMICizAChecbany4V64QOG1jJ_puUvYILuF6Rn3mopytB_0mCNSNAmTv3AFBPLmi3PR0ALBzu3xpIl56FGI5L0xpnCYdz1bSmhJ4aNb3Xus8-MuS4LimBvFaUMzi9evprsXG/s640/blogtiger317.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With one final glance at the watch tower and the deteriorating wall, crumbling under the pressure from time and forces of nature, we made our final descent. By the time, we got down to the foot hill where our driver was waiting for us, it was close to 12:30 pm. We were hungry, tired and thirsty and we were yearning for that cold bottle of Tsingtao.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After a quick lunch, we made our way back to Beijing, trying hard to avoid the massive jam every Sunday, created by thousands of Beijingers and tourists getting back to Beijing after a weekend away. I did not pay much attention to the traffic jam on the way back as we were both so tired that we dozed off barely 10 minutes into the journey home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our legs and backs were aching the next day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"My piku (backside) hurts so much!" Yuki texted me the following day. "Let's do it again!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was a tiring adventure but one that I am glad that I did. Now, I am busy planning for my next hike to another section of the wall ... the section that have been submerged in water. Just got to wait till April when spring is here.</span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-77273166472061299522013-12-06T11:17:00.001+08:002013-12-06T11:17:32.531+08:00The Great Wall Hike (Part Three)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We picked up our pace as the sun began to set at the horizon. Our legs were growing weary and heavier with every step we take. Some of the paths were rather narrow, steep and slippery due to the loose gravels. We have been walking, climbing, hiking, crawling (yes at certain stages because the climb was a little too steep) for over 3.5 hours by now.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_I7lOLVMnkVQEXWMDfS__eDMi0E6gx81yHbZmBxTx-us5txrHGdDu8_pNeB0xkZN4S4du398umnrS9OivG4DvyXBD7xa1x9UXLK4YokpVL1F0kwsmZxGKGGx6dmzioqBXD9KQOIdx2UCK/s1600/bloggubeikou150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_I7lOLVMnkVQEXWMDfS__eDMi0E6gx81yHbZmBxTx-us5txrHGdDu8_pNeB0xkZN4S4du398umnrS9OivG4DvyXBD7xa1x9UXLK4YokpVL1F0kwsmZxGKGGx6dmzioqBXD9KQOIdx2UCK/s640/bloggubeikou150.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Andy! How much further?" I shouted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Over two more hills!" he replied</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"WHAT?? Two more hills?" I puffed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Yes. You guys better hurried up. Otherwise, we would have to hike in the dark." he replied.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, that would be the last thing I wanted to do. We summoned whatever strength we still manage to muster and push our butts forward. We could see the section of the wall at Jingshanling some distance away as we hiked past some local villages and some empty parcels of land, littered with dried corn plants, which would very likely be the last crop to be harvested before this year's winter.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJTkUi_L9b0cXkqDJXT9ECsBj5n_RYqChImtKDpfDJEap1QIocEeuLzSlkFVI-Z4HiyV5NkY4fH4OZ_gaaiZ-k2IysYfFpt8I7XXg8c2jzHhpXkpqHQMOCCIM4ZfOOnXO56M9ghaNdelp/s1600/bloggubeikou302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJTkUi_L9b0cXkqDJXT9ECsBj5n_RYqChImtKDpfDJEap1QIocEeuLzSlkFVI-Z4HiyV5NkY4fH4OZ_gaaiZ-k2IysYfFpt8I7XXg8c2jzHhpXkpqHQMOCCIM4ZfOOnXO56M9ghaNdelp/s640/bloggubeikou302.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>An empty corn field that we walked past on the way to Jingshanling. You can see the wall and watch towers some distance away and although they seemed near, they are still a good 1.5 hours hike away.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The sun was setting fast as daylight faded. Soon, it will be winter where the sun will set by 4:30 p.m. I was a little disappointed, with the thoughts that we would miss photographing the sunset over the Great Wall, something that I have also been thinking of doing when I first visited Jingshanling late last year. We were still one hill away and although we could see the wall from here, we still have to negotiate our way down from the hill where we were and climb the next one before we could reach the nearest watch tower.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmodR-g1KcOW-V7VBVJ0u5vQGKb60kU2JHbgaHI1t4TT_bYt7dkr9LW7LoMKQcru1skZ2mA1xcfCpUkgPU8qYtKLcHPK02Z6DAB4W0OPSeJRPfHvb-Dgk_F7w1SXIBT7l0EPbjWdtTFyO/s1600/bloggubeikou304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmodR-g1KcOW-V7VBVJ0u5vQGKb60kU2JHbgaHI1t4TT_bYt7dkr9LW7LoMKQcru1skZ2mA1xcfCpUkgPU8qYtKLcHPK02Z6DAB4W0OPSeJRPfHvb-Dgk_F7w1SXIBT7l0EPbjWdtTFyO/s640/bloggubeikou304.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The sun was setting behind us as we picked up our pace, racing to reach the nearest watch tower at Jingshanling.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I took the picture above, I realized that there was a high possibility that we would miss the sun set on the wall. I looked back, into the sun and there she was, the sun setting behind the wall. Yes, I was NOT on the wall but what I really wanted was to see the sun setting over the wall. It does not matter whether I was on the wall or not. I yelled out to Yuki to get her to turn around.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRl-fQulrxkHAZsdkpJ8RjdK2xE4hAE8yQpj-h0GhYW4Qub8AsFUjC64hu-iobWTP03dFk17obF4o4i8P7YScrNvrCvNmCrC7YmGFSjS24Xz4XMSkh8OvIXZjkIvnoplAC1UGhqQ06iM2/s1600/bloggubeikou303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRl-fQulrxkHAZsdkpJ8RjdK2xE4hAE8yQpj-h0GhYW4Qub8AsFUjC64hu-iobWTP03dFk17obF4o4i8P7YScrNvrCvNmCrC7YmGFSjS24Xz4XMSkh8OvIXZjkIvnoplAC1UGhqQ06iM2/s640/bloggubeikou303.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The sun setting at Jingshanling...</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fEO-PuIQjcazIgfbJz0MySi_RTFsV98sAcBZRAYVHfbYjVxfrXOELFOsGtVnCTld77qpnN6WIlWUQZO999xXg6zxMBlFsJSLI7Zbkv1Bm4OQTWJPyTr8dzgWv3iYssInR-aAeYcfBufi/s1600/bloggubeikou308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fEO-PuIQjcazIgfbJz0MySi_RTFsV98sAcBZRAYVHfbYjVxfrXOELFOsGtVnCTld77qpnN6WIlWUQZO999xXg6zxMBlFsJSLI7Zbkv1Bm4OQTWJPyTr8dzgWv3iYssInR-aAeYcfBufi/s640/bloggubeikou308.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The valleys and hills at Jingshanling, basked in the golden sunlight of the setting sun ...</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJB9Ibp14EEaPjWw_xxqqUA4HUbw5u4dlsfXK8aNRLOL0qhmZolH69d5rvPC5XE8jhMi0vIZCxWitWTVh9P_WB5Clv37g-SNdZtLeWLTkymp44jUSr1whDgHC7KQ6KUa7dEBEhTZyyl-_/s1600/bloggubeikou305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJB9Ibp14EEaPjWw_xxqqUA4HUbw5u4dlsfXK8aNRLOL0qhmZolH69d5rvPC5XE8jhMi0vIZCxWitWTVh9P_WB5Clv37g-SNdZtLeWLTkymp44jUSr1whDgHC7KQ6KUa7dEBEhTZyyl-_/s640/bloggubeikou305.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had some pretty decent pictures of the sunset after all. It was indeed an amazing experience, watching the sun slowly setting behind the wall, even better where we were, away from the crowd of other photographers at Jingshanling. There were only us on that remote hill top and we had the entire sun set as if to ourselves.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoRy2HdMnBfpKvhoICZuHeURWspkMjAliKWRGSO9yG1MWdrCHN-9D0JZAVhS3NXV7iklTPH3ta4w9PXqgGdWK0NZzycshwGKD5mvAejcuWAJNfYUHEPPeaMyMZFHjsaQ2B8v9chlCsyvX/s1600/bloggubeikou154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoRy2HdMnBfpKvhoICZuHeURWspkMjAliKWRGSO9yG1MWdrCHN-9D0JZAVhS3NXV7iklTPH3ta4w9PXqgGdWK0NZzycshwGKD5mvAejcuWAJNfYUHEPPeaMyMZFHjsaQ2B8v9chlCsyvX/s640/bloggubeikou154.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A section of the wall and a watch tower some distance away at Jingshanling as the sun sets over the horizon beyond the mountains.....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the time, we reached the nearest watch tower at the section of Jingshanling, the sun has set but we were hopeful that we could still catch a glimpse of it. The last steps climbing up that watch tower were agonizing for me at least. However, Yuki who has been panting and puffing for quite a while now, suddenly sprinted like a deer up the watch tower, eager to catch a glimpse of setting sun. The burst of energy and the sheer will of her determination to see what she has come to see was simply amazing. By the time I caught up with her on the wall, she was already busy clicking away with her brand new Nikkor 14-28mm wide angle lens, that she has bought just for the trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I set up my tripod because the skies were too dark now to get any good shots without the stability I needed. There were so many other photographers on the wall, some with equipment and lens that I can only dream for a life time. I trained my humble Nikkor 18-105mm kit lens towards what I initially thought was the sun. Then it dawned on me that we were not looking at the sun setting.... we were looking at the full moon rising from the horizon!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcM0rnl11RsPYtfn6UOPNJxfM7eDEbXZj5w-eO7uLMMxcnD5I-an9FjHN54_BZEqi6tJ7Ar9okTKuefHDU-xG0M3rI8OFE9EWUPl4fcbUQTN997PZU7AtQ6Qn6jxgHJUimq1nIyN6nU7d5/s1600/blogjingshanlingmoon100Enh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcM0rnl11RsPYtfn6UOPNJxfM7eDEbXZj5w-eO7uLMMxcnD5I-an9FjHN54_BZEqi6tJ7Ar9okTKuefHDU-xG0M3rI8OFE9EWUPl4fcbUQTN997PZU7AtQ6Qn6jxgHJUimq1nIyN6nU7d5/s640/blogjingshanlingmoon100Enh.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The full moon rising over the horizon and over the great wall that stretches toward the section at Simatai....</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ8nSRpaA3FOdTuNIkfJWyvnp6eRpPRJaOwju_rkHdFXGM9-6ZKLSEDl2qfLRxgV8pZqyTtgGg01_Ys5nVftNnuJMQAqQzIPMuDPTcRZ1oFx9TIwIJwJ2lsGBlhVa4V753qYSuBRzZnG6/s1600/blogjingshanlingmoon101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ8nSRpaA3FOdTuNIkfJWyvnp6eRpPRJaOwju_rkHdFXGM9-6ZKLSEDl2qfLRxgV8pZqyTtgGg01_Ys5nVftNnuJMQAqQzIPMuDPTcRZ1oFx9TIwIJwJ2lsGBlhVa4V753qYSuBRzZnG6/s640/blogjingshanlingmoon101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What more could I ask for. I came to the Great Wall of China, expecting to see the sun set and the sun rise the following morning. And the heavens gave me a bonus, the chance to see the arrival of the full moon. I might not have the best gear or lens required to capture the true beauty of the moon in all her clarity but for now, the experience and the memory that stays engraved in my mind and heart will last me this entire life time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One parting shot before we hike down the wall at Jingshanling for our dinner, a bath and get ready for our hike to our camping site at Gubeikou ...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7lAsWAdGcd2ToOZhrowaqlSx-awbYaGdFawLcwzptrDWZEsPiosNbT3rhpof9Iou8olibhu8c7clfsNj4PJL90xfs6y-ksS6-gDsvgcDy_Bwm4x1hdARMVlh1CSE9DJwLf4r7uzuErZE/s1600/blogMoonrise1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7lAsWAdGcd2ToOZhrowaqlSx-awbYaGdFawLcwzptrDWZEsPiosNbT3rhpof9Iou8olibhu8c7clfsNj4PJL90xfs6y-ksS6-gDsvgcDy_Bwm4x1hdARMVlh1CSE9DJwLf4r7uzuErZE/s640/blogMoonrise1000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The full moon rising over the mountains and the great wall. At a distance, on the upper right, you can see a recently rebuilt section at Simatai all lighted up. This section was still closed to the public when we did the hike, scheduled to be reopened soon ...</i></span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-64877530744607445702013-12-05T11:01:00.000+08:002013-12-05T11:01:09.562+08:00The Great Wall Hike (Part Two)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was as excited as a kid who just could not wait to open his first Christmas present on Christmas morning, when I reached the crumbled watch tower where we were to begin our 5 hours hike from Gubeikou to Jingshanling. After all, I have been dreaming about this hike since I heard of it's availability when I arrived in Beijing. I scrambled up the broken steps as fast as I could. As I walked out from the watch tower, the Great Wall before me was everything that I had expected and more, definitely nothing compared to those pristine conditioned walls found at sections in Mutianyu and Badaling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were not proper walking paths. There were no retaining walls as these have probably crumbled and fallen down decades ago. The walking path were not well laid out stone slabs. The path was just a sandy path overgrown with scrubs and weeds on both sides. One wrong step and one could end up several meters straight down below the wall, probably with some rather serious injuries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The walking path on the Great Wall at Gubeikou where we were to start our hike towards Jingshanling. No nice rebuilt walking path or retaining walls. Rugged and wild, just the way I have imagined her to be...Simply amazing.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And something is noticeably missing here when compared to Mutianyu and Badaling or even Shanhaiguan. No souvenirs peddlers, shoving things right into your face. No huge LOUD mainland Chinese tourists scrambling for the best spot to have their pictures taken, in totally mismatched outfits and clothes they called fashion, complete with the bright red, pink or orange umbrellas to protect their `delicate' fair white skin from the harsh sunlight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes. There were still some other local hikers and they were still loud, even from some distance away but far and few in between.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sections between Gubeikou, Jingshanling and Simatai are reputed to be the best and most scenic sections of the Great Wall and probably the most photographed section as well. In fact, if you ever see a picture of the majestic wall in her natural grandeur, chances are that it was taken somewhere along this route. Without a doubt however, the Jiankou section, located at the Huairou District approximately 80km from Beijing is still considered the best section of the WILD GREAT WALL. Due to the nature of the landscape, the great wall at Jiankou were built on ridges with steep cliffs on both side. (Jiankou in chinese meant Arrow Nock). Sections like The Nine Eyes Tower, The Beijing Knot and the famous Stairway to Heaven were reputed to be some of the most beautiful and captivating sights. However, they are equally dangerous to hike and required a good degree of fitness. There is a section known as the 38 Big Steps that reaches up with no good foothold on an 80 degrees angle. There have been many reported injuries and death over the years from those who attempted to scale this particular section.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gubeikou is the section that had seen many battles over the centuries. The most recent being the invasion of the Japanese with high casualties reported on both sides. Gubeikou is located at the Miyun county, approximately 125 km from Beijing. Stretching 20km, the Gubeikou section consists of 148 watch or beacon towers, averaging one each at every 156 meters apart, the closest being just 30 meters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I have mentioned in my earlier post, the storm clouds that rolled in gently as we began our hike proved to be a real blessing in disguise. Instead of clear blue skies that would render our pictures a little dull, the storm clouds gave our pictures an added dramatic twist and created more visual excitement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes, in our travels, we can be so engrossed with what that is before and in front of us that we forget to look around us. In fact, sometimes, the best scenes are those behind us. Such was the case as I was hiking forward towards the section at Jingshanling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I stopped to take a breather, a little voice told me to turn around and have a look of what lies behind me. I saw the wall snaking downhill from where I was standing and disappeared over several ridges and peaks in a distance. The skies were overcast with interesting storm clouds formation. Then, my eyes caught sight of this magnificent moment. Suddenly, the bright sun rays broke through an opening of the storm clouds ahead, shining down on the valley and the Great Wall below her. It was as if heaven just opened a little window and with her light, presented this magnificent structure in all her grandeur and charm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could not have ask for more. These are the very pictures I have come for. These are the very pictures I have envisioned in my head even before I start and the Great Wall was posing for me in her own very unique way, in all her glory and charm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last visit I made to Jingshanling was in winter where the slopes of the mountains were bare and still covered with snow. I have always wondered what it would be like to be standing on the broken ruins of the Great Wall during autumn, where leaves were changing colours, preparing for the onslaught of winter. I was a little too early when I went in mid October. The leaves have indeed started to change colors but they were not red yet. I was told that the slopes will be covered in orange and red by early November. I have to be contended with the following picture .....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hike between Gubeikou to Jingshanling would normally take around 4 hours and not considered to be an overly difficult hike. The hike will start at one of the watch towers of Gubeikou, upwards past several watch towers on the way to Jingshanling. From here, we left the wall and hike below the wall, past through several small local villages and over several ridges and valleys before joining back the wall near Jingshanling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, we took much longer than the normal 4 hours. Firstly because, both of us have not hike much before this particular trip and secondly, we were just too busy taking pictures, at almost every turn, which was one of the main reason that I have turned down the offer from the tour company to join another group which would be cheaper. The last thing I wanted was some strangers who do not understand the true passion of photography to put unnecessary pressure on me to hurriedly finish the hike in record time. I wanted a hike where I could stop and pause wherever and whenever I wanted, just to catch that one picture that speaks to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our aim was to reach Jingshanling by sun down to catch the sunset there. But days are much shorter now as winter approaches. The sun sets much earlier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"You guys better pick up your pace and walk faster if you want to see the sunset at Jingshanling" Andy, our tour guide reminded us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite our best efforts, we could not reach Jingshanling in time to see the sunset but that does not mean we did not witness the beautiful golden sun setting behind the Great Wall. We did and not only did we see the sun set, we witness the full moon rising over the horizon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stay tuned for more ....</span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-51849902322869110592013-12-03T14:54:00.000+08:002013-12-03T14:54:11.930+08:00The Great Wall hike (Part One)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first heard that I had a lateral meniscus tear on my right knee back in October this year after doing an MRI scan, and the only apparent recommended remedial action was to do a surgery that could take well over 3 months to fully recover, the first thought that came to my mind then, was "Oh No! How on earth am I going to do my dream hike along the Great Wall now? Am I ever be able to do that hike again?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I told the specialist that I was preparing for my hike in mid November and asked him if that would be alright for my knees. His answered without giving an answer! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"You tell me." he replied. "Huh" I went on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"You tell me. If it hurts so bad, then obviously, you are not going to or can do the trip. But, if the pain does not bother you that much, then you could do it...It's up to you..." he said nonchalantly...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I was determined to do it because I reckon that if I do not get this done now, while the pain is bearable, I might never be able to do this if and when my knee situation deteriorates further. With that in mind, I rested my knee as much as I possibly can and bought myself a good sturdy knee protector to get ready for hike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The night before the hike, I felt as if I was a teenager going for my first ever overseas trip. I was excited and kept checking my gear over and over again, making sure that I had all the necessary items packed, in particular, my camera equipment. I went over my memory cards and batteries several times, just to make sure that the memory cards were empty, ready for my highly anticipated pictures and that my camera batteries were fully charged to last my two days trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The driver finally came to pick me up around 10:30 in the morning. We had a pleasant 2 hours drive to Gubeikou, made one stop along the way for my hiking partner, Yuki to get her mandatory morning coffee fix before proceeding for lunch near the foot of the Crouching Tiger Section of the Great Wall. I made a request that we include that as part of our hike the following day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was not really hungry or maybe I was just too excited to eat. I was just too eager to get started. Besides excitement, there was also a element of fear, the fear that either my knees or my fitness will give way somewhere along the hike as I have not been doing any serious hiking nor exercise for ages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a hurried lunch and my bottle of Tsingtao to quench my thirst, we got back into our car and by 2:30pm, we were driving along a narrow dirty village road, passing by small local village houses, towards the foot of the hill where we were to commence our hike at Gubeikou.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The path up to the Great Wall took us past some local villages and houses of those who lived just beyond the Great Wall of China. Here, were dried corn plants, uprooted from the fields after being harvested in summer and autumn.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The car finally stopped at the end of the dirt road. "We go by foot from here" Andy, our tour guide said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I put on my backpack, I looked around for the sight of the wall but there was none to be seen. "Where is the wall?" I asked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Another 20 minutes hike up that way!" Andy said pointing towards a small muddy path that leads into some bushes some distance away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Winter has started to kick in by the time we start our hike in November. Corns which were aplenty during the summer had mostly been harvested. What that was left were hard dried corn, stacked up as seen here, ready to be used as seedlings once the winter is over.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have learnt from my many photography trips that there are always good photography opportunities everywhere, as long as your eyes are opened to observe and to appreciate them. With my trusty Nikon d90 ready, my eyes were peeled for any good picture. This might be my one and only hike, considering my age and my bad knee. I am not going to let this opportunity slipped by me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Piles and piles of cut dried tree branches, neatly tied and bundled up and stacked along the walking path we took as we hike up to the Great Wall.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soon, we leave behind the village and civilization, as it were, and began our climb up a hill towards our destination, the Great Wall of China. As we started our hike, I noticed that the clear blue skies that greeted us had slowly but surely turned grey and storm clouds were coming in fast. I was fearful that the weather will dampened any good photo opportunities that I was so looking forward to. Little did I realize until much later, that the storm clouds were a blessing in disguise, a special gift from the heavens above, to make every picture so much more interesting and captivating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our spirits were high as we marched on, hiking upwards. "This isn't so bad." I shouted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Of course NOT!" Andy replied. "We have not even started!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that was comforting but we were determined to finish what we have started and conquered the Great Wall we will.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Leaving behind the villages, we started our hike uphill towards the Great Wall, as storm clouds started to form overhead.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a 20 minutes or so hiking upwards, I could finally see the crumbled sections of the Great Wall. Words just cannot describe the excitement that welled up from within. All this while, after experiencing the Great Wall at Mutianyu and Jingshanling, I have been dying to see the wall in her natural state of despair. And there she was, just meters away, waiting for me. She was everything I envisioned her to be and more, much more majestic, much more enticing, beckoning me to climb on her back and take me places where I have never been. Yuki was feeling pretty much the same way. I could tell because she was practically running the last few meters to get to the wall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>We finally made it to one of the crumbled watch tower of the Great Wall at Gubeikou. From here, we will start our 5 hours hike from Gubeikou to Jingshanling.</i></span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-40916814645200977072013-11-27T15:25:00.003+08:002013-11-27T15:25:45.892+08:00Sunrise over the Great Wall<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The alarm on my iPhone finally rang at 5:30 am as set. Not that I was awaken by it. In fact, I have slept much the entire night. By the time, I finished shooting some night photography of the wall, it was already almost 3 am. The temperature by then was freezing and my fingers have already gone numb. The wind had picked up significantly and howling. Although we were camping inside the watch tower, our tents were still shaking quite a fair bit, blown by the wind that did not seemed to stop. Coupled with the fact that the ground was hard and my over sensitivity to every single noise that went on outside my tent through the night, each conjuring images of some ancient souls, going about their normal lives, keeping vigil on the watch tower centuries ago, it was rather hard to fall asleep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I crawled out from my tent, I could see through the broken openings of the watch tower that the sun was already preparing to make her grand entrance. There were traces of dull red and orange tinge on the horizon beyond the layers of grey and blueish mountains.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I popped a stick of chewing gum into my mouth, picked up my camera and tripod and took a walk on my wall. I checked the compass application on my iPhone to confirm the direction of which the sun was going to make her entrance, took note of it and proceeded to scan the horizon to savor and absorb the feel, the smell and the atmosphere of a fresh new morning on the Great Wall of China. I have always wondered what it would be like to wake up on the Great Wall and here, I was, standing on the wall itself, alone, serene, quiet and tranquil, with my eyes feasting upon the magnificent landscape before me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>As the sun prepares her grand entrance, the skies on the horizon appeared in a dull tinge of red, orange and turquoise, over the layers and layers of grey and blueish colored mountains.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could still see the full moon on one side of the skies, slowly but surely making her graceful retreat, while on the complete opposite direction, the tinge of red, orange and yellow over the horizon has grown brighter and brighter as minutes ticked by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>On the opposite side of the skies, I could still see the bright full moon, slowly making her retreat.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suddenly, I remembered that I had to wake up Yuki, my hiking partner for the sunrise. I ran back to the watch tower and called her. Apparently, she did not have much sleep either which was of no surprise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Together, we walked up to the nearest and highest watch tower and scouted for the best position to wait for the grand entry of the sun.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSvK2xNi062B2KYIdOJo2gM-4TT6DMiYef8aK6WqF9WYNT3UHfpNNXyavsZvh6XtXG5MR6xXo87f35uyuYrwNxcxPw_pbrd2KSS5Y8aLLk2rfiGsbRMAa0ZNmrijtyKaQlpaz5PmJKyFzo/s1600/bloggubeikousunrise104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSvK2xNi062B2KYIdOJo2gM-4TT6DMiYef8aK6WqF9WYNT3UHfpNNXyavsZvh6XtXG5MR6xXo87f35uyuYrwNxcxPw_pbrd2KSS5Y8aLLk2rfiGsbRMAa0ZNmrijtyKaQlpaz5PmJKyFzo/s640/bloggubeikousunrise104.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Getting ready for the sun to rise beyond the horizon, behind the watch tower some distance away.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have anyone told you that waiting for the sun to rise beyond the horizon can be quite agonizing yet exhilarating and exciting at times. You just sit there, eyes peeled towards the horizon, waiting in anticipation and time slows down. Every minute seems like eternity and colors on the horizon does not seemed to change much except a littler, yes, just a little brighter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when she arrives, the moment is nothing short of spectacular. Suddenly, after apparently almost hours of anticipating, the horizon seems to brighten quite significantly. And then, her rays of light appeared beyond the hills and behind the silhouette of the wall and the watch tower in the distance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Suddenly, the skies lightened up and the intensity grew. The SUN was making her grand entrance.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such was the feel that morning. My heart rate increased just as intense as my excitement. The skies lightened up. Time seemed to flip on to the reverse at this juncture. Minutes which seemed like hours moments ago, now seemed like seconds because, at every tick of the second hand of the clock, the skies made a dramatic change in colour, hue, brightness, contrast and intensity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The sun finally emerged from behind the hills and the watch tower and the Great Wall.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Shooting right into the SUN.....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My finger was busy clicking away, checking the picture taken on the LCD screen and the histogram, making slight adjustments to the camera settings and clicked again. Just as fast she arrives, suddenly, there I was, looking at the now, bright and fresh new morning of another great day. I could just think of one word, (not that I have a powerful grip of the rich English vocabulary) - BREATHTAKING!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I glanced at my watch and it was closed to 7 am. I packed up my tripod, took a few more shots around the watch tower and began making my way back to our camp site. By the time, we got there, to my relief, someone from the tour agency had already hiked up earlier while we were away, and help to pack up our tents and carried them down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Yuki, my hiking partner, grabbing a few last shots before making our way down from our camp site....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Taking my own shadow ...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We quickly packed up and made our long hike down the way we came from the previous night. The scene was definitely a complete contrast of what we saw the night before, where everything was covered in darkness. I could see the path down, the waist high scrubs we had to push through last night and the next hill, we had to climb before reaching our transport, already there waiting for us. Although, both of us had not had much sleep the night before, our spirits were high and refreshed as we made our hike down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we negotiated our way down, only then did we realized how high up and how far we have come the night before. As I have mentioned in our previous post, it was a blessing in disguise that we did not really see or know where we were climbing and hence, we just went on and on. If we have known how high up the camping site was, given the fact that we were already so tired after the 5 hours hike we had earlier and with the volume of camping gear we have to carry ourselves, I must admit that it would have been a much tougher quest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By 8:30 am, we were already making our way for our breakfast and getting ready for our next hike for the day, the wild and crumbled walls at a section known as the CROUCHING TIGER.</span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-32492735442729599332013-11-18T22:52:00.000+08:002013-11-21T11:26:00.266+08:00Overnight on the Great Wall<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our car drove into a small path and the only light I could see was the headlight of our vehicle. After about 10 minutes, the car stopped and our guide told us that we have arrived near the place (somewhere in Gubeikou) where we were to set up camp for the night. We got out, put on our winter jacket as the temperature was freezing. We were given our tent for the night, a sleeping mat and our sleeping bags. To be honest, I was not really expecting that we have to carry our tents and sleeping bags ourselves and was actually expecting those to be set up , ready for us when we finished our 5 hours hike in the afternoon, especially with the price we were paying. Maybe I was expecting too much and maybe the website selling this adventure tour was not clear enough. Anyway, this is after all, an adventure tour. We gamely took up our gear which were quite a handful besides our own backpack with our cameras. My hiking partner, was actually carrying 7 cans of 500ml beer plus a bottle of single malt whisky, ready to party for the night on the wall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>I was hoping for more stars but the light from the bright full moon made it almost impossible. Set at 20 seconds exposure and taken with a self timer. There was a faint orange light in a distance, which I presumed came from a village nearby.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we left the path of which we came, darkness surrounded us. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness around us, I could see that we were hiking through some secondary forests, heading uphill. The moon was full that night and the entire landscape was eerie to say the least. We took out our torch lights to shine the path in front of us as the path became steeper, narrower and more treacherous. After our 5 hours hike in the afternoon, where almost every part of our body was already aching, every step became slightly more difficult than the last, especially with us carrying so much more gear over our shoulders. The temperature was freezing cold and the air we breath in, chilly. As we huff and puff up the hill, we really could not see where we were going except keeping our eyes fixed on our guide in front lest we loose sight of him. Soon, the trees gave way and we find ourselves hiking uphill among waist high bushes. Suddenly, at a distance, there she was, the silhouette of our destination, the watch tower of the Great Wall where we were to set camp. We have been hiking for over 20 minutes now and the watch tower does not really look that far, or so it seemed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Another 30 minutes at least, at the speed you guys are walking." Andy, our tour guide replied when he was asked how much further. Every part of my leg and thigh hurts as I take another step.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"My 'piku' (backside) is killing me!" my half Japanese hiking partner puffed as she pushed herself up another small rock, and our laughter broke the eerie silence of the night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking back, the darkness of the night did us a big favor and hid the sight of the steep and long climb from us. Because we could not see where we were really going, we just kept on going and going and going. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Glad that we finally made it the camp site, here we were, with our empty beer cans and a bottle of single malt whisky.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After closed to an hour hike, we were finally there, on the watch tower where we were to set camp. It was close to 11pm by the time we got there. We quickly set up our tents and our sleeping bags and settled in. Out came our beers and our whisky, and as we sat around our tents, we had a little celebration of sorts, proud that we had to an extend `conquer' a small section of the wild side of the Great Wall of China.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The temperature had drop even further by midnight to almost zero degrees by now and my fingers were numb from the chilly air. We quickly finished our remaining beer and prepared ourselves for some night photography. Walking along the wall in the bright full moon was both eerie and exhilarating. I could see the distant watch towers and the crumbled wall slowly vanishes into the darkness. Beyond the hill where we set camp, I could see the silhouette of layers and layers of grey mountain and valleys. Some distance away, I could see some faint lights of a village. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The watch tower where we set camp for the night. Taken at around 2:30 in the morning when the air was chilly and the temperature freezing.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The skies were clear but the moon was full and bright, and that is bad news for far as star gazing and photography is concerned. There were hardly any stars to be seen and all my initial hopes to capture some amazing pictures of a star filled sky with the great wall in the foreground, disappeared. If only we timed our hike 3 nights later, it would have been a perfect night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I was not prepare to go back empty handed. I wanted to try my hands on a new technique known as light painting, which was why I brought along my torch in the first place. I set up up tripod along the wall, set the camera to her full manual mode, adjusted the necessary aperture, a 20 seconds exposure at low ISO (to hopefully reduce as much noise as I could), set on the self timer and there I was, painting the wall and the distant watch tower with the light from my torch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Light painting in photography involves using a light to `paint' an object while the camera is set on long exposure mode in night photography. Here, I have used the light from my torchlight to `paint' the watch towers and the path, with the camera set on a 20 second exposure.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By 2 in the morning, everyone has already turned in and there I was, alone, standing on the wall, looking out over the valleys and dark mountains as far as my eyes could see. There was not a sound to be heard. Just dead silence and your mind tend to play tricks on you in such a situation. Every 20 seconds I took for another picture seemed longer. As the faint light of my torch glided over the watch tower, making sure that I covered every inch, I was dreading that the light would fall on `something' that was not part of the wall structure. Every time I bent down to check on my camera settings, I was imagining `someone' else from centuries ago, peeping over my shoulders, wondering what on earth was I doing in the wee hours of the morning. Coupled with the chilly near freezing air, I could feel goose bumps beneath my thick winter jacket.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAg_Wp0N5WUJP2-P2xXnvDzWQVlnbuxV_7MrxcHy9oiFuYz9ymqm7_98CPerBloYzbDdaH18F9Ep28m0nX1iU-bIKo23RWPNyJ3vQ7dAAiHKKWfCFQffEX3oN5u1K9NuTpPvF_Lo-3zGvF/s1600/bloggubeikoustars301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAg_Wp0N5WUJP2-P2xXnvDzWQVlnbuxV_7MrxcHy9oiFuYz9ymqm7_98CPerBloYzbDdaH18F9Ep28m0nX1iU-bIKo23RWPNyJ3vQ7dAAiHKKWfCFQffEX3oN5u1K9NuTpPvF_Lo-3zGvF/s640/bloggubeikoustars301.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The watch tower where we set camp, captured with the bright moon directly overhead, bad news for star gazing and stars photography. As the light from my torchlight glided over the tower, I was apprehensive of what else I would ended up 'painting'.......eerie..</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soon, contended that I have had all the shots that I could possibly take for the night, not to mention an accelerated heart beat, a result of my imagination which by this time was as wild as the wall herself, I decided to wrap up for the night, crawled into my tent, carefully zipping it up to prevent the wind, which has picked up quite significantly by this time and curled myself up in my sleeping bag.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAcdeu5voj5YYtWKjSImsvWJnhTyr9H8DJaEtlSFK9hBbmTwhtYmwlv_OxxBjw4OkkJ-a3APdCMzbF2yPfmD9C6gFP1nqh_EC5mPha3Z8-b6ww5R4LsW-8gT7z3i9ppanBA4ZWF9dpuiT/s1600/bloggubeikoustars302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAcdeu5voj5YYtWKjSImsvWJnhTyr9H8DJaEtlSFK9hBbmTwhtYmwlv_OxxBjw4OkkJ-a3APdCMzbF2yPfmD9C6gFP1nqh_EC5mPha3Z8-b6ww5R4LsW-8gT7z3i9ppanBA4ZWF9dpuiT/s640/bloggubeikoustars302.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Inside the watch tower where we set camp.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did not catch much sleep that night, mainly due to the freezing temperatures, the howling wind in the night and the supposedly imaginary noises and shadows outside my tent. When my alarm finally went off at 5:30 a.m. I was only too glad that soon, the sun will be up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, this is one night that I will remember for a long time to come, and very likely, forever. This is something that I have dreamed about when I first heard that camping overnight on the Great Wall was possible and here I was, experiencing it first hand, an experience that not many would ever have the opportunity I had.</span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-942797972236910772013-10-15T10:12:00.002+08:002013-10-15T10:12:59.531+08:00Let the Picture Speaks<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The moment you got out from the car, the beauty before you overwhelms you completely. The excitement and the expectations that had been building up throughout the journey getting there is just waiting to burst forth. Your mind goes through the numerous images that you have seen before from postcards. Without wasting a second, with camera in hand, you jumped straight into the scene and shooting wildly, taking hundreds of pictures within minutes, burst after burst.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, when you got home and downloaded the pictures into your laptop, only to realise that you have taken hundred of pictures of the same thing or location, some from a slightly different angle but many that looks exactly the same. Then a sense of regret or disappointment sets in and you wanted to hit yourself in the head for being so stupid and wasting so much time capturing the same scene and you wondered if there were more to the place than what you have captured, and you knew deep within, that being there was probably once in a lifetime opportunity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been in this situation far too many times than I can remember, especially earlier on when I first got my camera, not that I am not guilty of it even now. One possible reason could be that I was so fearful that I would miss out that perfect angle that I ended up spending so much time taking shots after shots of the same scene.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as time goes by, I am learning, yes, learning to remind myself to remember to look at the bigger picture and also to pay attention to all the supporting casts. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides frantically shooting the main cast of a particular location, which I still do (after all, that was the main reason that I was there in the first place), I am learning to spent more time looking at the surroundings, allowing the image captured within the frame of my view finder speaks to me. There are times when I have to close my eyes to break my tunnel vision, so that I could view the entire scene from hopefully a different perspective.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was at the National Cathedral at Washington DC, I was busy photographing the cathedral itself but at the same time, I was glad that I actually took the time to walk around the grounds of the cathedral and stumbled upon a small quiet garden and gave me shots that spoke to me even today as I looked back at them, still reminding me of the feeling that I actually felt when I was wandering through the small little path among the bushes, trees and scrubs.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVSd1nGeD5nxkGmPfHxyn5CZstEZSVn6MFtHbtSuEH8_tJC1M12H9JOls23q41XWok8cbr9aCPvXISYC4fDXcEiugggRZS8H4QB-GteYzBLSp0GfXtrZHxHjqztMTCbLx6lrS4D0tYBCy/s1600/bloggarden102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVSd1nGeD5nxkGmPfHxyn5CZstEZSVn6MFtHbtSuEH8_tJC1M12H9JOls23q41XWok8cbr9aCPvXISYC4fDXcEiugggRZS8H4QB-GteYzBLSp0GfXtrZHxHjqztMTCbLx6lrS4D0tYBCy/s640/bloggarden102.jpg" width="424" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let the picture speaks. </span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-10042167993352473392013-10-14T11:14:00.000+08:002013-10-14T11:14:01.189+08:00Autumn In Korea<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is something magical and romantic about autumn. I do not know exactly what it is but even a boring and simple place can be magically transformed into an interesting scene with a touch of romance in the air amidst the amber, orange, yellow and green leaves turning red.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have seen pictures of beautiful autumn from pictures of my friends who had the opportunity to visit New Zealand. The colours of the trees and hills were amazing and breathtaking. Ever since then, I harbor this deep desire and hope that I would have an opportunity to experience autumn in all her colours and grandeur.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Coming from Malaysia, a tropical country with only two seasons, namely the dry or the rainy season, the only way I could see or experience the four seasons is to get out from the country and that I did three years ago, when I had to opportunity to visit South Korea in October. I was all excited yet at the same time, worried that I would miss the beauty of autumn as I was told that the period of which the leaves actually changed colours before dropping off as winter approaches is rather short, namely only a couple of weeks. I had to be there at exactly the right moment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Taken at a park at the heart of Seoul</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I touched down in Seoul, the leaves was just about to change but most were still green, slowly turning yellow. The time was not yet right. I was a little disappointed and I was worried that I would miss it as I would be traveling to Jeju Island next and then back to Malaysia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">A spring at the foot of Mount Seoraksan</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My dream came true when I made a day trip to the magical Mount Seoraksan. The higher attitude meant that autumn reached this part of the country a little earlier than Seoul and hence, the leaves were already changing. Luck was with me as I was there right in the middle of it all and I must said that I struck with awe, seeing these yellow, orange and red leaves with my own eyes. The scene looked so surreal to me and likened to one that has just came out from a post card that I have seen years before. Yet, there I was, absorbing the atmosphere, touching the leaves and breathing in the fresh autumn air.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiksF62jr3fQ-voQbiXqgX6m0vzddffplGq2jeEbG0Exm5eqouI_HQk2k4scOU_egoEfanT2Z4SRTqhEbjFO1lo3aLwg6iGZgIxZOyp1lyDxjg4CZZIgM1aj9n9op69qkd77-wL9p7El4h/s1600/autumn110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiksF62jr3fQ-voQbiXqgX6m0vzddffplGq2jeEbG0Exm5eqouI_HQk2k4scOU_egoEfanT2Z4SRTqhEbjFO1lo3aLwg6iGZgIxZOyp1lyDxjg4CZZIgM1aj9n9op69qkd77-wL9p7El4h/s640/autumn110.jpg" width="424" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">That was my first autumn and was three years ago. Autumn is now in Beijing and I was told that the leaves would change colours in the next couple of weeks. I will be heading to the wild side of the Great Wall for a 2 days hike and an overnight camping trip and I was told that the leaves should be changing colours around this time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">A serene and quiet walking path at Mount Seoraksan</span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbIA2FxRiqVxHtVHw-kwKoTS310aA34B0uHLahJfkbBYEeZgAyrt5ErvIpqpqpqB5N_4htsoF6Fykosqry_3EMcMy9N0LRGmmqqk73frnn1XRLI56V3uG8A8XdbMyp_VXO6AjT9TdCeAa/s1600/blogautumn111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbIA2FxRiqVxHtVHw-kwKoTS310aA34B0uHLahJfkbBYEeZgAyrt5ErvIpqpqpqB5N_4htsoF6Fykosqry_3EMcMy9N0LRGmmqqk73frnn1XRLI56V3uG8A8XdbMyp_VXO6AjT9TdCeAa/s640/blogautumn111.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just like a little kid looking forward to visit the circus for the very first time, my excitement is building by the day as the weekend approaches. I have checked and rechecked my camera gear for the umpteen time to make sure that I have everything ready and even bought myself an additional 16GB memory card for this trip.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have a date with autumn! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am not the only one mesmerized by the beauty of autumn. I caught this very talented man capturing the beauty of autumn, the way he sees it on his canvas, as I captured him in mine. He was not too happy when he found out but this remains one of my favorite shot. Hahahaha</span></i></span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-61994281675510113102013-10-08T09:57:00.002+08:002013-10-08T09:57:56.439+08:00Rides and Performances<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mentioned Universal Studio and images of adrenalin pumping and death defying rides come to mind. And yes, you are right. There are plenty of those and I just cannot fathom myself sitting in any one of these life threatening thrill rides. I would have if I was in my early twenties but not when I am in my late forties and with a phobia of heights that high. I am not even sure if my heart will take the pounding or my body could recover with all those adrenalin pumping.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGc6Yfx_uIiSFiojM7qB8BYxYIfPdrEC8CeaR1zzCugJm-ed7THfmqihRvZ_Xvijq5SMPyQBMzirwS2ewd-qoWthDt3Ml9-ih3Sg09cTwY8ywHJt7pdqRgtV03RJCzVE9j56ZUExSrjbdT/s1600/blogrides201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGc6Yfx_uIiSFiojM7qB8BYxYIfPdrEC8CeaR1zzCugJm-ed7THfmqihRvZ_Xvijq5SMPyQBMzirwS2ewd-qoWthDt3Ml9-ih3Sg09cTwY8ywHJt7pdqRgtV03RJCzVE9j56ZUExSrjbdT/s640/blogrides201.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you are game for rides, I am sure you will have the best time in the world. I visited Universal Studio Singapore in 2011. Now, there is the new Transformer Ride which I heard which is simply awesome.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, if you are not into rides like yours truly, there are still the various street performances to keep you entertained and engaged. There are normally held at specific times during the day at various location. Hence, keep an eye out and you would not be disappointed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_TcCebMTSKxCFo11a6BI-oPeHbA4RtPHE6I5xYRJlEkmmPCy1DSRTlzV06bsgJAW6Sgvs4_dFOJXBDjW8JUza9_ga129yrz9lGwR_Rg27rs2TuNmWPaFx8Ln7hSUvPQoiJGY4HXLrnWc/s1600/blogcharacter105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_TcCebMTSKxCFo11a6BI-oPeHbA4RtPHE6I5xYRJlEkmmPCy1DSRTlzV06bsgJAW6Sgvs4_dFOJXBDjW8JUza9_ga129yrz9lGwR_Rg27rs2TuNmWPaFx8Ln7hSUvPQoiJGY4HXLrnWc/s640/blogcharacter105.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lively dances by a group of voluptuous beautiful ladies</span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysMEMb7bW-QtV8SBOhuA5l1b9eYvYqM5v7UrWZ0o0DwXwu4w1GHV6qW2DDrumjVVsU3cupZQ3UBZqU4vu-U7CaTllFETb-TKV-J6Srld3aJBEd_uy07GFr2IVe9fcXbMwvor3MkD35hug/s1600/blogsingers100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysMEMb7bW-QtV8SBOhuA5l1b9eYvYqM5v7UrWZ0o0DwXwu4w1GHV6qW2DDrumjVVsU3cupZQ3UBZqU4vu-U7CaTllFETb-TKV-J6Srld3aJBEd_uy07GFr2IVe9fcXbMwvor3MkD35hug/s640/blogsingers100.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> or the fantastic harmony of these group of dashing gentlemen that will surely make you weak at the knees....</span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7Hee1Iut2BZJxgJbwb_3AzCUc-vRzKTdaj7nct0zZpjea0vLXnCVm_N-Sk7mxtuUvDOFdiHTynFP7gqid7hOqc8dTaaW8NbdC-azBWTY8fFpHwVjVTwKx93NzgTCDTyc3dHxuSENJqkx/s1600/blogsingers101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7Hee1Iut2BZJxgJbwb_3AzCUc-vRzKTdaj7nct0zZpjea0vLXnCVm_N-Sk7mxtuUvDOFdiHTynFP7gqid7hOqc8dTaaW8NbdC-azBWTY8fFpHwVjVTwKx93NzgTCDTyc3dHxuSENJqkx/s640/blogsingers101.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">enjoy the pure youthful energy of these guys performing their street dance.</span></i></span></span></div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-50438913962445027752013-10-06T21:06:00.001+08:002013-10-06T21:08:19.870+08:00Characters at Universal Studio<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I first visited Universal Studio at Los
Angeles in 2008. I was not back into photography yet
and hence had very little pictures to really remember the trip by. 2 years ago,
when my wife has having a conference in the Sentosa
Island in Singapore,
I had to opportunity to stay on the island. I made it a point to spent an
entire day at the Universal Studio Singapore
and this time, with my trusty Nikon d90.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Knowing that there would be lots to see and experience and
since I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel on the Sentosa
Island, which is within walking
distance to the Universal Studio, I was one of the very first early few to make
my way there. It was indeed pleasant with the cool morning air before the hot
and humid Singapore’s
weather kicked in and with lesser crowd.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I remembered the rides when I was in Universal Studio LA
years ago but with my camera now, I start to notice that there were a dozen
characters from the various Universal Studio movies that will pop up here and
there when you least expect it. And there I was, hunting these characters to catch
a picture to remember them by and I was certainly not disappointed.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwKlO4TOhMU9549mLHetROnofWwEMMqag02M_Dxb6AcV_raE5jkRGdo_FSBb1a9qT-28OwJW-FYdiWdogUsWLolRs8559AGfYiKsiMcWM8M4DoEpQ4EbjMj-ph4wsAjbww9BJCezhH251/s1600/blogcharacter101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwKlO4TOhMU9549mLHetROnofWwEMMqag02M_Dxb6AcV_raE5jkRGdo_FSBb1a9qT-28OwJW-FYdiWdogUsWLolRs8559AGfYiKsiMcWM8M4DoEpQ4EbjMj-ph4wsAjbww9BJCezhH251/s640/blogcharacter101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The evergreen and famous Charlie Chaplin making his appearance ...</span></span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIlXMWtGwef5JJFi1rT_01P3cmYWHjFTTC0_S8Evsx3jLLOXIkRs0Ahk8ZLpII5TpdkIS6snwZDBkP-SKrSpFN3w5IQ20F6w9N7qTMXYNytW8aRuCaRQmuSRpx3K2Xu0JTUgQ-h9gKyeQ/s1600/blogcharacters100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIlXMWtGwef5JJFi1rT_01P3cmYWHjFTTC0_S8Evsx3jLLOXIkRs0Ahk8ZLpII5TpdkIS6snwZDBkP-SKrSpFN3w5IQ20F6w9N7qTMXYNytW8aRuCaRQmuSRpx3K2Xu0JTUgQ-h9gKyeQ/s640/blogcharacters100.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>and there was Marilyn Monroe of course in white with her famous wind blowing up her skirt pose </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf0DGJ6JPewcGpNjrRZfV71dlRBJlVK-CzbMvh6a-4INJlsaxmv7AWWPecn2UjjEEYdjm2Q9tywOiyGHNW0vNjQeMwgOGB9kyHBVeYP4QKXnNS8NiwXRgC6b6twATRlMuwPi3WT8ERWPs/s1600/blogcharacters110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf0DGJ6JPewcGpNjrRZfV71dlRBJlVK-CzbMvh6a-4INJlsaxmv7AWWPecn2UjjEEYdjm2Q9tywOiyGHNW0vNjQeMwgOGB9kyHBVeYP4QKXnNS8NiwXRgC6b6twATRlMuwPi3WT8ERWPs/s640/blogcharacters110.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
<i>and then there was this character - BeatleJuice, scary but colorful</i><br />
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<i>How can we missed out the lovable characters from Madagascar ....</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb47NPZgZrsY4smZeu6AeQSpKqRtwyLtSOVEkdczWXdHYEP3c-6wcUFOesRDhaSEUvSA8sjwVfkT92y12mpFcAAd-pffJvFugAy9xwM7lTp4I0J1XNzcsNfaBRqbdN-HoLk6ofjqcDwqat/s1600/blogcharacters109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb47NPZgZrsY4smZeu6AeQSpKqRtwyLtSOVEkdczWXdHYEP3c-6wcUFOesRDhaSEUvSA8sjwVfkT92y12mpFcAAd-pffJvFugAy9xwM7lTp4I0J1XNzcsNfaBRqbdN-HoLk6ofjqcDwqat/s640/blogcharacters109.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbzL2FHyu4gdM-RJwLSbyhib2PRIRZCK1q6tJIh-aruTSLly0YgfskOdd-Obqc9jZtWo1ZEXO_43Q-HHAarYpOuzekMgavAEpGeWbkozi6iUAp8eNibLWRelj4LJXdImn5KrVSl5kKt1w/s1600/blogcharacter104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbzL2FHyu4gdM-RJwLSbyhib2PRIRZCK1q6tJIh-aruTSLly0YgfskOdd-Obqc9jZtWo1ZEXO_43Q-HHAarYpOuzekMgavAEpGeWbkozi6iUAp8eNibLWRelj4LJXdImn5KrVSl5kKt1w/s640/blogcharacter104.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /> </a></div>
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<i>One of the characters that I grew up with ...Beep Beep the Road Runner</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Besides characters from movies, there were also a host of other colorful characters from the different the themes ....</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbeEiPL3e6pOP4DXBxPVdy-HVOlzXDDQcYcSWggevowBKMRuxtGCJ4KtIuehPHIOlOZ3iGmQVi71W4RVl2b_kS80eFeADMtT-xHCFWLSarEY4wLRrTvHQtyWACr9xyWMmxRqza7rwqZzDu/s1600/blogpharoahs103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbeEiPL3e6pOP4DXBxPVdy-HVOlzXDDQcYcSWggevowBKMRuxtGCJ4KtIuehPHIOlOZ3iGmQVi71W4RVl2b_kS80eFeADMtT-xHCFWLSarEY4wLRrTvHQtyWACr9xyWMmxRqza7rwqZzDu/s640/blogpharoahs103.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><i> </i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">From the movie THE MUMMY</span></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_PqYilBdCmdkiqSC9R8MZFfA9icIfm4mA3YVryR13ovirOje1aIf1gpUvyRmfFoW6uvJ59_bWkqd8ABXEIgBsXOaiTufMf1ij4jsD_NVk9fZc3nXaxxO6C1ZfKqtliXlLoZX89xndyCf/s1600/blogcharacter102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_PqYilBdCmdkiqSC9R8MZFfA9icIfm4mA3YVryR13ovirOje1aIf1gpUvyRmfFoW6uvJ59_bWkqd8ABXEIgBsXOaiTufMf1ij4jsD_NVk9fZc3nXaxxO6C1ZfKqtliXlLoZX89xndyCf/s640/blogcharacter102.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></span><i>Ladies from different time zones ....</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdU_RY8RpMjEI4aEjoI35UjiIxoPbEyfJ5Lm8xMFaQ7e2on509gNwWfBtcxBVN9Mn6bhXDLZv9XLwialbcHxacm3MNLLoBpJ6sdkG109qtlE2Lal2cG4pyWv0yczaciAO6Dl1CP9_fciL/s1600/blogcharacter107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdU_RY8RpMjEI4aEjoI35UjiIxoPbEyfJ5Lm8xMFaQ7e2on509gNwWfBtcxBVN9Mn6bhXDLZv9XLwialbcHxacm3MNLLoBpJ6sdkG109qtlE2Lal2cG4pyWv0yczaciAO6Dl1CP9_fciL/s640/blogcharacter107.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /> </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VQdrcUjeNgXbgEOL573v96gp-2LdPcAxzK9f-qXsCiPtooigIOxFoc9GSL8CPge72QUDRcBj7_mIdRMu9bgfbDVUD_u0v8Bv2wEwbbDEb3140JaSF5uT4GuHcexhaGEKVfKxtFOPheek/s1600/blogcharacter103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VQdrcUjeNgXbgEOL573v96gp-2LdPcAxzK9f-qXsCiPtooigIOxFoc9GSL8CPge72QUDRcBj7_mIdRMu9bgfbDVUD_u0v8Bv2wEwbbDEb3140JaSF5uT4GuHcexhaGEKVfKxtFOPheek/s640/blogcharacter103.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, one thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment at the Universal Studio and if you keep your eye out, there are bound to be different characters popping out here and there. So, keep that camera ready because you just might not know who you would meet next .....</span></span> </div>
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Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-23529145279243993872013-09-30T15:29:00.000+08:002013-09-30T15:29:30.038+08:00Happiest Place on Earth<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The moment I walked through the gates, I was magically transformed into a little kid, all excited and eager with anticipation of the paradise that awaits me. After all, I am in the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH - Disneyland!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEEkV0EiyfUBDjRO-jGj7IdE6TGi7RxNxAwnL7kpaOXytdUDx-ZJBeoGQj7dO5OZeiNTM2JQ8M43PAynmTdhOw8JRf_atAv7dLHqNBgc4VGVGjnEmmHuuyu6k6kfT5kvORODvlwqcy5Zs/s1600/2012Disney000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEEkV0EiyfUBDjRO-jGj7IdE6TGi7RxNxAwnL7kpaOXytdUDx-ZJBeoGQj7dO5OZeiNTM2JQ8M43PAynmTdhOw8JRf_atAv7dLHqNBgc4VGVGjnEmmHuuyu6k6kfT5kvORODvlwqcy5Zs/s640/2012Disney000.jpg" width="524" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>The MOUSE that started it all !!!!!</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have all grown up with Disney's characters as long as we can remembered. In fact, I guessed that the first cartoon character that we were ever introduced to from our childhood would very likely be a Disney character. I even remembered drawing and painting so many of them when I was young. When I was about seven or eight, I remembered Caltex running a Disney's character sticker promotion where for a certain value of fuel pumped, you get a Disney's character sticker. Well, I don't have the privilege of getting my hands on any of them but my neighbor has because his father was a nationwide delivery driver for a certain cooking oil company. I remembered vividly the excitement both of us shared everytime his dad came back with different stickers. I remembered the seven dwarfs, Dumbo the flying elephant, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse of course!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was early October 2012 and Halloween season. Disneyland was decked with colorful Halloween decorations with bright orange pumpkins all over the place, making it even more magical.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3k4225G3Ty44c-CzIiRjkmLWDoVRUBC4EzUty7oNgCJkIrRTqF3YJGpISMGZiLx_uKSzv7pYiQSHu0NLy9VSq8xl1_8fBFRK0z6gMqb_I4RNjfSmoFjE-glGbt2febAUm_XM1rAZ3EAhO/s1600/2012Disney103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3k4225G3Ty44c-CzIiRjkmLWDoVRUBC4EzUty7oNgCJkIrRTqF3YJGpISMGZiLx_uKSzv7pYiQSHu0NLy9VSq8xl1_8fBFRK0z6gMqb_I4RNjfSmoFjE-glGbt2febAUm_XM1rAZ3EAhO/s640/2012Disney103.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Walt Disney and his partner who together had given us so much joy and delight</span></span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdFQzlDBzU0D0jcLvWuqSABQdE7kk-daT_aFs0fxm2hP9jN2ZOJ1baxAf2okDcg8mw1F4hqFAyIJjAqO69uw7Bj7B2RhLVANwJTIHfNwFBS3-4w83NiTrrD49x2ZSN0PcHES60blR5R2J/s1600/Disneylandhalloween500blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdFQzlDBzU0D0jcLvWuqSABQdE7kk-daT_aFs0fxm2hP9jN2ZOJ1baxAf2okDcg8mw1F4hqFAyIJjAqO69uw7Bj7B2RhLVANwJTIHfNwFBS3-4w83NiTrrD49x2ZSN0PcHES60blR5R2J/s640/Disneylandhalloween500blog.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Standing in front of the Main Street USA that runs straight down between two rows of colorful and interesting shops and looking directly at the Disneyland Castle at the end of it some distance away, was a dream come true for me, and I am sure to many who have stood in that same spot. How can one forget that scene of the Castle with all the fireworks and Tinkerbell flying with her magic wand and the catchy Walt Disney's jingle.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LhGsyTh-c6vUk38S3fRFAo47cgFMMcLKziTZKk16EnBFcOENvGBQFXjYhcu-vYM4rCjAr3PUNFOrjh1UxcIvcx3taV007VizQjCgWsJjHJJXB69gmqobjGTvLuenHRrjNA4yyFY_O-uz/s1600/2012Disney105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8LhGsyTh-c6vUk38S3fRFAo47cgFMMcLKziTZKk16EnBFcOENvGBQFXjYhcu-vYM4rCjAr3PUNFOrjh1UxcIvcx3taV007VizQjCgWsJjHJJXB69gmqobjGTvLuenHRrjNA4yyFY_O-uz/s640/2012Disney105.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The famous Disneyland Magical Castle, seen here with her clear reflections around</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the stream that runs around her</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Disneyland, Anaheim is HUGE with so many interesting theme parks, each unique and exciting, filled with rides catering from children to those that will get your adrenalin pumping and definitely not for the faint hearted.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPQ2Ry2GYGA4_X38kllhO6Hd6H9RGev7bib3iV_fuLABW8eHyZ7_GxfY4Gx0FMgI6Ejwzbn_shJ8RMqJlRqYgJZtiJPAXwnP3MT38VKiEfT8_U3EMXSIMkLPObtA02pdajg3W-P8KRQze/s1600/2012Disney106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPQ2Ry2GYGA4_X38kllhO6Hd6H9RGev7bib3iV_fuLABW8eHyZ7_GxfY4Gx0FMgI6Ejwzbn_shJ8RMqJlRqYgJZtiJPAXwnP3MT38VKiEfT8_U3EMXSIMkLPObtA02pdajg3W-P8KRQze/s640/2012Disney106.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4tZWjPPzi_rrHvwCV7AxyDwtmSgxzFOUwhe0VI8gNY7qCxpmFaZU9YMrUX5lyURVPFVXQsPcYsJ3lDgD3_9PYTgGMJzDI5uFDxNzoehui-oJ9BxVh9A54QDtjvmUQKi5qXlSVu0-vdxE/s1600/2012Disney108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4tZWjPPzi_rrHvwCV7AxyDwtmSgxzFOUwhe0VI8gNY7qCxpmFaZU9YMrUX5lyURVPFVXQsPcYsJ3lDgD3_9PYTgGMJzDI5uFDxNzoehui-oJ9BxVh9A54QDtjvmUQKi5qXlSVu0-vdxE/s640/2012Disney108.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtOQZL3TuDkR3L0PX2WQW6pdgm3L8cqoZj5tLFLPH8mZTnaJuYFlVWFgRh44unkYWoiMwuESK2mFsjeqh0KBgiXsMUgT7R-ibm5lrhZOF4lX9GxETAO_LEIjIAFgDeCmlptJVcYsFu5J8/s1600/2012Disney111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtOQZL3TuDkR3L0PX2WQW6pdgm3L8cqoZj5tLFLPH8mZTnaJuYFlVWFgRh44unkYWoiMwuESK2mFsjeqh0KBgiXsMUgT7R-ibm5lrhZOF4lX9GxETAO_LEIjIAFgDeCmlptJVcYsFu5J8/s640/2012Disney111.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This place is definitely crowded and I would strongly advise that you arrive early, firstly to avoid having to wait in long lines to gain entry, to get to the rides besides enjoying the cooler temperatures in the morning. October's afternoons can be rather hot here although the temperature will cool down somewhat towards the evening and night.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EHXSnocGU5sBiI-3tc3QcDlgeM17T2YTgQkyurkRt9aJeOziU8uH8iP10rChZnpF0qGY4OC7mVJRHKusUANzqENUNIGajOd91HQh9nQiSXYSifVu6B6ARr1W6ER0-YVgEuSLj6KkbHPx/s1600/2012Disney112blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EHXSnocGU5sBiI-3tc3QcDlgeM17T2YTgQkyurkRt9aJeOziU8uH8iP10rChZnpF0qGY4OC7mVJRHKusUANzqENUNIGajOd91HQh9nQiSXYSifVu6B6ARr1W6ER0-YVgEuSLj6KkbHPx/s640/2012Disney112blog.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can spend the entire day at Disneyland and as the sun sets and the lights comes on, Disneyland presents a different kind of FUN and magic!</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stayed as close as possible to the park and if possible within walking distance to beat having to wait in line for the shuttle buses. We were staying just across the park's main entrance which was only less than 10 minutes walk away. There are some rather reasonably priced hotels which have partnered with Disneyland around the area. Don't expect 5 stars treatment nor furnishings but then you are not here for the hotels nor are you going to spent countless hours in your hotel room. You are here for DISNEYLAND!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrmEl1WKMCM8gMQXdGUO0CSlMfRubt3aK3kVfqFF2FCAuXZV6fCdiyFOk-NcXvvr20_5p4tSFBjVTkw9oAHQovZyt5g-jA3unphnt-wDNWwp1xTjnYQforuAFkCp4DdyQrHv34d3WaYBu/s1600/fireworks100blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrmEl1WKMCM8gMQXdGUO0CSlMfRubt3aK3kVfqFF2FCAuXZV6fCdiyFOk-NcXvvr20_5p4tSFBjVTkw9oAHQovZyt5g-jA3unphnt-wDNWwp1xTjnYQforuAFkCp4DdyQrHv34d3WaYBu/s640/fireworks100blog.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The spectacular fireworks displayed at the Magical Castle on weekends. Be sure to catch this ..</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can never finish Disneyland in one day. In fact, you would need a week if you are to really to appreciate and try everything that she has to offer. I would suggest purchasing the 3 days pass and if you can, and if possible, at least one day in the weekend. Yes. The crowd would be even larger during the weekend but it will be worth your while because of the weekly night firework display that is simply spectacular and magical.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are definitely two things that you must not missed. In fact, you should not missing anything at all when you are there but be sure that you catch Disney's Stars Parade along the Main Street USA and the Firework Display at the Disney's Castle. Be sure to be there way before the scheduled time to grab a good spot, which often meant sitting on the pavement for hours even before the event starts. I was sitting patiently on the pavement for both events some 3 hours before the show began but it was worth the while being on the front row!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErOf6I00sYfkVXKnmqLn1X_EduNlEp8vCpTK2uX6YFonST4_Wyw5kSUiGWLOvDPmzU9oVI5MkE7fGzz_5OGm3a8bWsHTTA_4Mc2_p-e1RfOg9pJkEZJ5QDU0XaMgWgQdSocn-DCUR-iCB/s1600/2012Disney001blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErOf6I00sYfkVXKnmqLn1X_EduNlEp8vCpTK2uX6YFonST4_Wyw5kSUiGWLOvDPmzU9oVI5MkE7fGzz_5OGm3a8bWsHTTA_4Mc2_p-e1RfOg9pJkEZJ5QDU0XaMgWgQdSocn-DCUR-iCB/s640/2012Disney001blog.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Beautiful dancers with colorful costumes of every design and the Disney Stars joined in the Disneyland Parade at night, to lively music and popular and evergreen Disney music scores!</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDC7jp4OBh7IzPqNFIaa7hr8mSFK4imqxu37H32UgnYPMnHSMQkX3x-k3cpoGHFcqdlIX2aZjA7s3_gHAu6-BJsN6K_Avru-D_vZRBy0QoQbwyJPwv85EHdUDU_CPUU7LYel6EUNW-w-g/s1600/2012Disney002blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoDC7jp4OBh7IzPqNFIaa7hr8mSFK4imqxu37H32UgnYPMnHSMQkX3x-k3cpoGHFcqdlIX2aZjA7s3_gHAu6-BJsN6K_Avru-D_vZRBy0QoQbwyJPwv85EHdUDU_CPUU7LYel6EUNW-w-g/s640/2012Disney002blog.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>"Chim Chim ney, Chim Chim ney, Chim Chim Cher-ee, A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be .."</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Disney's magic is truly undeniable here. Why? Because I find myself, someone close to fifty, getting all excited when the Disney's famous stars kept popping up, out from nowhere. I find myself chasing after them to grab a picture. And of course there was MICKEY MOUSE in person! WOW!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnLM2QVufQj5iOX-2vKej6mhfJDyDxdZXpb8GLKoxIEBsyH-iCccDXuWCmkddDTEbmpfM1TCHCvwwOkNpKiQTpEM0w-idR7l_sjidD2gk_K5zGVIhg4TW8fBTiFg44ASxXQjkjsdM_Gfv/s1600/2012Disney102blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnLM2QVufQj5iOX-2vKej6mhfJDyDxdZXpb8GLKoxIEBsyH-iCccDXuWCmkddDTEbmpfM1TCHCvwwOkNpKiQTpEM0w-idR7l_sjidD2gk_K5zGVIhg4TW8fBTiFg44ASxXQjkjsdM_Gfv/s640/2012Disney102blog.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You know that you are in the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH when even your breakfast comes with a waffle in the shape of Mickey Mouse.....</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Breakfast with Minnie and her friends is definitely worth thinking about. It is not exactly cheap for the kind of food that they are serving buffet style but you get to meet and hug your favourite Disney character.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After three days, I left with a heart contended, knowing that one of my earliest childhood dreams had been fulfilled and tune of M..I..C..K..E..Y....M..O..U..S..EEEEE....(from Mickey Mouse club show) ringing in my head.</span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-15318135001034375562013-09-25T10:50:00.001+08:002013-09-25T10:50:33.130+08:00The Beauty of Winter<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
temperature in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is plummeting the last few days. It was just like
yesterday that we just had the hottest summer. However, I was shivering last
night sitting outside a café while having a glass of wine with a dear friend.
The thought of wearing a sweater never did occur to me. By </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">9pm</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, the outside temperature had already plummeted to
only 11 degrees and we are currently mid way through autumn. Soon, the cold
bitter winter will be upon us again, lasting for the next three months.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjnN2sdyGTnHt5xvm9NHW6a_joNVA5fyyJaz4PllU80lXOt9pb37X30mwYUKjlLcGVKDyRfwKv17CSawwmshrWRd86O3u59Q1eyxUaq5de2Yo8OOByoS-pcAjvYlCugMoIGkyHlAYXGmA/s1600/sunrise111s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjnN2sdyGTnHt5xvm9NHW6a_joNVA5fyyJaz4PllU80lXOt9pb37X30mwYUKjlLcGVKDyRfwKv17CSawwmshrWRd86O3u59Q1eyxUaq5de2Yo8OOByoS-pcAjvYlCugMoIGkyHlAYXGmA/s640/sunrise111s.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Fresh 4 inch deep snow at a remote village at the Miyun County, at the foot of Wuling Mountains in the middle of winter. </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6qOEvtH7zrgcjNs7ZmY9WXXbcvDBm0DTcUPW4csGqXTk33_XVCazsgJOPq_vQ-5df-IwqawUH-CoMj8jxg4yWqDt-obeFdxfovCC4YTbaQwF-SFp8_UUIuZmbFINjUwIc1UpPxlUIp1j/s1600/sunrise115s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6qOEvtH7zrgcjNs7ZmY9WXXbcvDBm0DTcUPW4csGqXTk33_XVCazsgJOPq_vQ-5df-IwqawUH-CoMj8jxg4yWqDt-obeFdxfovCC4YTbaQwF-SFp8_UUIuZmbFINjUwIc1UpPxlUIp1j/s640/sunrise115s.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Captured
in sub zero temperatures while the sun rises over the mountains,
casting long interesting shadows over the vast snow covered landscape.
Before this, I could only imagine such scenes in my mind yet, here I
was, taking it all in before my very eyes.</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">For
someone coming from a hot and perpetually humid country like </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Malaysia</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, experiencing the full cycle of the four seasons was
truly amazing. When I came in November 2012, I was just in time to see leaves
dropping and the winter setting in. It was a cold cold winter last year with </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> reportedly experiencing the most number of snowfalls
in any winter for the last decade or so. I had a taste of winter before in
Europe during my business visits there but nothing beats the chilling biting cold
that I had in Beijing last year, with temperatures hitting -15 degrees at night
where I had to walk my toy poodle.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PXKdcDW1fVOZFXz3tyJZ0VthGfpSCHVI8WoOV6mSKRviCpAs1c-nVVsYUCPCE6Eioszbzhf8qVeiAoO5ROHRcicf0UXZvMymGbtYkQS3qTtu3VZnkUxZ_xojJGglGfrj40JPofKN7kqO/s1600/sunrise116s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PXKdcDW1fVOZFXz3tyJZ0VthGfpSCHVI8WoOV6mSKRviCpAs1c-nVVsYUCPCE6Eioszbzhf8qVeiAoO5ROHRcicf0UXZvMymGbtYkQS3qTtu3VZnkUxZ_xojJGglGfrj40JPofKN7kqO/s640/sunrise116s.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Taking pictures during winter is not without it's risk. My son and I was walking all over this seemingly frozen path, only to realize later to our shock when we heard the cracking sound of ice beneath our feet that this is actually a totally frozen stream.</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaaNdIN1S6t8mGJ_l4uGZ4jzTrvYMspI-tszFjopzNB-uk251KluOuFr5TtD0tIzC-GilNS5T9j6wBpHb9BVY37O204X_XXOiPCXOi4HyoEml2v-IKN-CSCtxdtSnu87YuWWlVKlsp_mC/s1600/sunrise121s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaaNdIN1S6t8mGJ_l4uGZ4jzTrvYMspI-tszFjopzNB-uk251KluOuFr5TtD0tIzC-GilNS5T9j6wBpHb9BVY37O204X_XXOiPCXOi4HyoEml2v-IKN-CSCtxdtSnu87YuWWlVKlsp_mC/s640/sunrise121s.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></span> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But
winter was also something I enjoyed despite the cold. As a keen photographer, I
had always admired beautiful pictures of white cold winter Christmas. It has always
been my dream to be able to stand knee deep in fluffy fresh snow, capturing
vast white winter landscapes or frozen streams.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Although
I enjoyed looking at the many historical sites in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, the one thing that I really desire was to capture
them with snow capped roofs and snow covered pavements and alleys. Somehow, I
personally find a sense of romance with winter.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3FBGxNNwvFkr8QjN6x6A5SRtzvhyphenhyphen7ooDG1HYpO7bY5cHTR7pTY1PecTWVL_o0_INdLFXlRJpv07JbwC94yLlDJyk54HhWpSma4WHUfOT5370ySwsdGWRRtR6raA8qV8I0MUkiENAczcQ/s1600/forbiddencity527N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3FBGxNNwvFkr8QjN6x6A5SRtzvhyphenhyphen7ooDG1HYpO7bY5cHTR7pTY1PecTWVL_o0_INdLFXlRJpv07JbwC94yLlDJyk54HhWpSma4WHUfOT5370ySwsdGWRRtR6raA8qV8I0MUkiENAczcQ/s640/forbiddencity527N.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Forbidden City captured in February 2013 towards the end of winter and the start of spring, still with snow on many of her rooftops and ancient pavements. Due to the cold, places like this which are often over crowded are now practically deserted, hence, allowing me to enjoy the peace and tranquility of this ancient structures as they were hundred of years ago.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C8LdW_viIAESxbtAVrq2PoR3Bli_HAyQZPgYw89OxmuRqGxw67oZS2igtmkPmy3FZrzrajmreW6AcYBO6XwSVVD2sya0xbBeY0430sbsjw7YdmQYSJYmpauLtxqlAR0060TEdr95b0Sf/s1600/hutonginwinter502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C8LdW_viIAESxbtAVrq2PoR3Bli_HAyQZPgYw89OxmuRqGxw67oZS2igtmkPmy3FZrzrajmreW6AcYBO6XwSVVD2sya0xbBeY0430sbsjw7YdmQYSJYmpauLtxqlAR0060TEdr95b0Sf/s640/hutonginwinter502.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Snow covered old ancient dwelling places of the hutongs in Beijing.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I
was glad that part of my dreams has been realised when I managed to go about
taking some winter pictures during my last winter. Seeing The Forbidden City
with her ancient roofs and pavements covered with snow, or the old boring
hutongs in grey, suddenly coming alive as if time stood still hundred of years
ago, or the great wall at Jingshanlin, deserted, looking out towards snow
covered ridges, mountains and valleys as far as the eyes could see are still
images that have been deeply carved into my mind that no words could possibly
described their true beauty and awe.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJBmRCUyoXCACbiiKJJM9vhJ8Y_VgIG2o8i-77FjZgFLzu0gaHnzXpNx1vGZOTnPNnz5-kTYosJ2DD0x9-QLCUmSsVVX3EG0rJjYr3Zz9MTkuJz0AZiTNVNN4X54N67DRzc2jFfTrILzs/s1600/jingshanlin106N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJBmRCUyoXCACbiiKJJM9vhJ8Y_VgIG2o8i-77FjZgFLzu0gaHnzXpNx1vGZOTnPNnz5-kTYosJ2DD0x9-QLCUmSsVVX3EG0rJjYr3Zz9MTkuJz0AZiTNVNN4X54N67DRzc2jFfTrILzs/s640/jingshanlin106N.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Great Wall at Jingshanlin during winter. Deserted without the crowd, she allows herself to be captured in her natural self, peaceful and tranquil, yet majestic and imposing, overlooking every valley from the most vantage points on the sharp mountain ridges. This photography expedition was also exceptional meaningful to me. Seen here is my son, sharing that same passion with me last year.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jdQKbWgaA0rr8yyLRzSgnRYwMPuqeH8fHoFUk9ygsOulCoWPnK8JbaJeyHtAD-wBboyGQIzrD5SFpiEDz-RZo6KtZpsGosccdHt6F07rkDNR-VFgtIFIOzTdMxpUBScGJ77aMPMGznmJ/s1600/Wulingwinter2012a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jdQKbWgaA0rr8yyLRzSgnRYwMPuqeH8fHoFUk9ygsOulCoWPnK8JbaJeyHtAD-wBboyGQIzrD5SFpiEDz-RZo6KtZpsGosccdHt6F07rkDNR-VFgtIFIOzTdMxpUBScGJ77aMPMGznmJ/s640/Wulingwinter2012a.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Captured early spring at Wuling Mountain as the snow and frozen stream began to melt.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">With
autumn passing, I am gearing up myself for another romantic rendezvous with the
coming winter, to immerse in her bitterly cold yet mysteriously mesmerising
charm and beauty, to capture her in all her splendour, a living testimony of
the awesome greatness of the ONE who presented her to us ….. </span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-51332282976634378322013-09-19T17:30:00.001+08:002013-09-19T17:30:40.439+08:00Ancient Alleys Called Hutongs<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This
is definitely one place that intrigues me from the first day I landed in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> last year. The Hutongs. I was curious what they
actually are and from all the descriptions written about them in various blogs,
articles and websites, they sounded exciting, ancient, interesting, dating back
several hundred years and to a certain extend romantic.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7L2NhSj4UTLqPog6gsKE_tH6aWqDN_0G-gKlVCod8khUwMhztvTF24ZvaOl519vI7kVyzINmOzgE-onm8xfqvhOeZjJ51JyhImPuwCOq4oW4evXjrRHC8v5ZSFUzjp9lUkCPYZo-zj-Z/s1600/hutongwinter100N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO7L2NhSj4UTLqPog6gsKE_tH6aWqDN_0G-gKlVCod8khUwMhztvTF24ZvaOl519vI7kVyzINmOzgE-onm8xfqvhOeZjJ51JyhImPuwCOq4oW4evXjrRHC8v5ZSFUzjp9lUkCPYZo-zj-Z/s640/hutongwinter100N.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Unfortunately,
I did not have the opportunity to visit any of these during the first several
months until winter last year when my eldest son come visiting from </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Christchurch</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">New Zealand</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. I took the opportunity to take him around the
hutongs at Houhai and those near the Drum and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bell</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tower</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">When
we got off at Houhai, we were immediately approached by a dozen rickshaw
paddlers offering us a rickshaw tour round the hutongs. Not knowing what and
where the hutongs are, we agreed at a price of RMB100 for about an hour
ride.<span> </span>We got into his rickshaw as he
carefully unfolds some warm blankets to cover our laps and legs as the air was
chilly and cold.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2oTBxQyEPnlNXoouG1-8_fycCLfNRAERq99YmcFdXODgo1R8oz5gTW_2iD4Tbd5zaQtjEC_d9sU6G2tdm-7TNKZxA8exhfoaUgJTJbSGnXkl3cT0RvhXxEl8shbjkzL8ZnLg1W0By_Yo/s1600/hutong105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2oTBxQyEPnlNXoouG1-8_fycCLfNRAERq99YmcFdXODgo1R8oz5gTW_2iD4Tbd5zaQtjEC_d9sU6G2tdm-7TNKZxA8exhfoaUgJTJbSGnXkl3cT0RvhXxEl8shbjkzL8ZnLg1W0By_Yo/s640/hutong105.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Rows and rows of rickshaws lining up at Houhai, waiting for customers.</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As
he paddled furiously away, he was screaming on top of his voice, giving us a
briefing and introduction of the little alleys and rivers that we passed,
unfortunately, in Chinese (Putonghua) which I have just started to learn while
my son, a `banana’ has absolutely no idea of what the driver was rambling
about. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the scene as we took us deeper into some
winding and narrow alleys, passable only by rickshaws and bicycles, with both
sides lined with old greyish buildings with faded red wooden doors that had
seen better times. He would occasionally points out selective larger buildings
and said something to explain that those were residences of some well known
figures or officials several hundred years ago.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdV0hoyIdB61KzmF9B_ZB8vn80ZHOe8Am_qGs5tORMhEnDTZUq7CEFrXnGyMzhFoP5LqLITo0TzBUZazkDlTL6MtR8NVKizBt8F-LVOUN3wrB36xkEJlW6bNqZLy1gsMFlNmhbXJM5KeKR/s1600/Hutong100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdV0hoyIdB61KzmF9B_ZB8vn80ZHOe8Am_qGs5tORMhEnDTZUq7CEFrXnGyMzhFoP5LqLITo0TzBUZazkDlTL6MtR8NVKizBt8F-LVOUN3wrB36xkEJlW6bNqZLy1gsMFlNmhbXJM5KeKR/s640/Hutong100.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Many
of these dwelling places have been converted to cafes, restaurants and souvenir
shops nowadays while those that have not been converted looked almost identical
in every aspect. But if your passion is photography, then they offer amble
photography opportunities, subject matter and angles, if you only have time to
slow down and absorb the atmosphere, something that you would not be able to do
while sitting in a rickshaw.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2CzxY8QlX1JH411b_ygMhQsFa1FfMy9vhCeWxABki3CJ7Zoxn9jKK09HwKW9M6bMZX3X_vJoTHsPlM6UMB5g3kLKi7fBqvk0uohxssSpROQjF-TmQ5EnCAZr-Q8nYIu-fFnMLXmRFhLR/s1600/Hutong1003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN2CzxY8QlX1JH411b_ygMhQsFa1FfMy9vhCeWxABki3CJ7Zoxn9jKK09HwKW9M6bMZX3X_vJoTHsPlM6UMB5g3kLKi7fBqvk0uohxssSpROQjF-TmQ5EnCAZr-Q8nYIu-fFnMLXmRFhLR/s640/Hutong1003.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="568" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Old styled hot water warmer, a teapot of Chinese tea on an old jaded wooden stool found at the entrance of one of the houses here during winter in Jan 2013.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_Rf8vDOyiymM6OCDu4WsFKhujWiVhmmft5oKzmgt0A4WjqEcoTnXeBPSbhd77ytNRWY-FeJ8rzUEz_4Q7pyDPmJVPNHhmyuYDhYQ4pxakXVuahBombFyOU7aBSUjQyJOp9lQCk-yHsnj/s1600/nanluoguxiang101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_Rf8vDOyiymM6OCDu4WsFKhujWiVhmmft5oKzmgt0A4WjqEcoTnXeBPSbhd77ytNRWY-FeJ8rzUEz_4Q7pyDPmJVPNHhmyuYDhYQ4pxakXVuahBombFyOU7aBSUjQyJOp9lQCk-yHsnj/s640/nanluoguxiang101.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Spotted these old tools repairing shoes, apparently they have been there for quite a number of years judging from the writeup they put up at the back at Nanluo Gu Xiang</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImuZxfdcSbtpqdRnIm7C5eVwZ_2a-FSFxc_AAqkG9MJ1jcVYS5AggWErFkuxouKict9oCEY8ol2v1kiYLjtJYQvwcHTyv1_HdgeIVjKpnfUcsVUsiP7bvjtZnjLu_ojr78EjBTh9KTXtG/s1600/hutong502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImuZxfdcSbtpqdRnIm7C5eVwZ_2a-FSFxc_AAqkG9MJ1jcVYS5AggWErFkuxouKict9oCEY8ol2v1kiYLjtJYQvwcHTyv1_HdgeIVjKpnfUcsVUsiP7bvjtZnjLu_ojr78EjBTh9KTXtG/s640/hutong502.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the houses that have been converted to a embroidery shop at Nanlou Gu Xiang.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We
made another trip to visit the Drum and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bell</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tower</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> a week later and had more time now just to walk
among the narrow alleys and slowing down whenever we see something interesting
to capture. It was snowing lightly which made the whole experience even more
incredible although the skies were gloomy and dull.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCthk69I6zKteJUDAbSA29OoUpH2lQYPWNqU7U3XppEq98Lbp5jyNZnSU1Y-uFSE1thxRj2P1G_2RXJ8qFMLGF3cEYc0ocvO1nzlWCGB7zmPVt46Cn5GfpGniNC6f9dXYrS198IQdV4EVk/s1600/Hutong1001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCthk69I6zKteJUDAbSA29OoUpH2lQYPWNqU7U3XppEq98Lbp5jyNZnSU1Y-uFSE1thxRj2P1G_2RXJ8qFMLGF3cEYc0ocvO1nzlWCGB7zmPVt46Cn5GfpGniNC6f9dXYrS198IQdV4EVk/s640/Hutong1001.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="420" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the entrance to some of these siheyuans along the hutongs. The gloomy and dull winter with snow tends to bring out the color of some of these ancient red wooden doors.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I
must said that photographing the hutongs in winter is definitely much more
interesting than any other seasons, because the snow covered roofs and alleys,
will bring some nostalgic feel to these ancient structures.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiceI_XYdU-sk7y0O4zSMWzg2ax44PCKFHf11ohwlX6nm5zbzkA6Aqm0BAy94v0xNs59SqCnrRnBusOSkOlSfZ4qqpMPWCIp73CIxl1dpBPSbR2ptGc4EspE4HserKghjX02ko1AOSZTmx/s1600/hutongwinter103N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiceI_XYdU-sk7y0O4zSMWzg2ax44PCKFHf11ohwlX6nm5zbzkA6Aqm0BAy94v0xNs59SqCnrRnBusOSkOlSfZ4qqpMPWCIp73CIxl1dpBPSbR2ptGc4EspE4HserKghjX02ko1AOSZTmx/s640/hutongwinter103N.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Snow covered hutongs after a heavy snowfall during winter, near the Drum and Bell Tower</span></span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Another
interesting and more famous alley along the hutongs to visit in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is Nan Luo Gu Xiang, apparently one of the oldest
and most well preserved hutong in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, dating back 700 years. Today, most of these hutongs
have been converted to trendy cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs and shops. This is
not the place to get that authentic feel of the hutongs but still warrants a
visit and dropping by for a drink in one of their cafes and pubs if time
permits.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">What
are hutongs exactly?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hutongs
are narrow streets and alleys and the ancient dwelling places of court
officials and commoners around the palace in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. They consist of lines of siheyuan, the traditional
courtyard residences joined to each other, forming a hutong. One hutong is then
linked to another, creating a maze of inter connected narrow hutongs that gave
this place their unique flavour. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">All
hutongs are built around the </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Forbidden
City</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and the status of a
person is determined by how close his residence is to the </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Forbidden City</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. Court officials normally resided on the east and
west of the palace, while commoners, wealthy merchants and artisans will live on
the north and south side of the palace.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Siheyuan
or the traditional courtyard residence consists of a large courtyard in the
center with 4 to 5 dwelling places surrounding it, enclosed in a wall. Over
time, some of these siheyuans have become living quarters of several families.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0Gmz8LL-KELRG_NjVtSD49rOMvwcZP40TFMzMBQOC6835zGzROZIrc3wzF6e4om4knqrjseq6AgQLfZPXeSniVmP3uR6bN2mKBKTe4_3Uy7dYAjCj_yjOkdiqJSlOVP1_FizGKpJtaMR/s1600/siyehuan100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0Gmz8LL-KELRG_NjVtSD49rOMvwcZP40TFMzMBQOC6835zGzROZIrc3wzF6e4om4knqrjseq6AgQLfZPXeSniVmP3uR6bN2mKBKTe4_3Uy7dYAjCj_yjOkdiqJSlOVP1_FizGKpJtaMR/s640/siyehuan100.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Typical layout of a siheyuan with a courtyard in the center, surrounded by dwelling places within a wall.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Some
of the hutongs (alleys) are named after a trade. This is because in the olden
days, it is believed that all the merchants of the same trade stayed along the
same road (hutong) hence deriving the name.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ9tfcRuCJNuxak8PnzxttGN75CV-bgaAfEfyAFHjhEB6g41ik0_fl1i_4ao2phxrj0PQL-QXLWi7LuuELBy4i4pes667127bd5Gk4mAlHaOGfbYItQsso1saObW-AU-NTK5RVrDN9qVe/s1600/hutongwinter108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ9tfcRuCJNuxak8PnzxttGN75CV-bgaAfEfyAFHjhEB6g41ik0_fl1i_4ao2phxrj0PQL-QXLWi7LuuELBy4i4pes667127bd5Gk4mAlHaOGfbYItQsso1saObW-AU-NTK5RVrDN9qVe/s640/hutongwinter108.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="424" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKs55ygA448v-gJMfWYSxAWked3TCvrle7nhVrwj7d9HhBD5OT3loPiptqTtJA_bUn20PWeH64C0G5auWjk0u1ltifi2iRdrjHE3rw-XSM8fIwiY1C_Dm_VCK_KEtPE3KfTw4sB6lK58F/s1600/hutongwinter109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKs55ygA448v-gJMfWYSxAWked3TCvrle7nhVrwj7d9HhBD5OT3loPiptqTtJA_bUn20PWeH64C0G5auWjk0u1ltifi2iRdrjHE3rw-XSM8fIwiY1C_Dm_VCK_KEtPE3KfTw4sB6lK58F/s640/hutongwinter109.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="432" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bicycles are a common mode of transportation among the narrow hutongs. Found a couple of these among the snow covered alleys.</span></span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Venturing
into the less trotted hutongs, which have not been converted over to become a
pub, café or shop will give you a glimpse of the everyday lives of a common
beijinger making a living in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, a great metropolitan city that can be rather
unforgiving to many less fortunate.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">All
in all, you stay in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> will not be complete without a visit here.</span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-92072167398216231832013-09-18T11:02:00.001+08:002013-09-18T11:02:10.927+08:00Nanjing Road Shanghai<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nanjing Road</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is a premier shopping street in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shanghai</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> which every tourist would end up one way or another.
Our tour guide brought us there on our very first night in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shanghai</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMA4lHgrnFfCD0GWMmpAFHOE0dhogITtVuf8VqgNeEy9-FrQ1wFnv_eD3x4NleMgj6e7JFrBA23GGTfgVjgDV-3DpXQiPKOdQ7iBYAzdwzgws2DiRMch8Tqnm-eHBocEYV54sPAr6fa6U/s1600/Nanjingstreet100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMA4lHgrnFfCD0GWMmpAFHOE0dhogITtVuf8VqgNeEy9-FrQ1wFnv_eD3x4NleMgj6e7JFrBA23GGTfgVjgDV-3DpXQiPKOdQ7iBYAzdwzgws2DiRMch8Tqnm-eHBocEYV54sPAr6fa6U/s640/Nanjingstreet100.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Stretching
3.4 miles, it starts from the Bund on the east, ending near the junction of
Jing’an Temple and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Yan’an West Street</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> on the west. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nanjing Street</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is reputed to be the first and the earliest shopping
street in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shanghai</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, right after the Opium War (1839-1842).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This
street has been mostly rebuild over the years and today is a modern shopping
pedestrian mall with trendy outlets lining both sides of the street. You will
find all the high end trendy premium outlets such as </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dunhill</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mont</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Blanc and Tiffany that would bleed your pocket and
wallet as well as outlets offering a range of other specialty goods. There are
also a host of cafes, trendy restaurants and pubs for a meal, a snack or simply
a drink.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Be
prepared to be `harassed’ by the numerous street vendors, offering all sorts of
products and items, many that would definitely be enticing especially to the
little ones. If you are thinking of buying some, do not buy from the very first
vendor who approaches you and be prepared to walk away if you could not get the
price you want. You will be surprised that you could actually buy what you got
from the first vendor (even after a hefty 50% bargain, which you thought was
superb) even cheaper if you have only waited and walked further down the road.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdao3zFRP23koPyYMWjMjGayu7zRhWk2DxWwytDgqfdfU_Kc1LGErRuEdXP_WZ_UE0a4oXLaWXp6lcGciLx3zcp5CCbqUx_etYYpErd6i2B3C6hd0vgBktgXGJYh2d6Qey6rIon0sWLij/s1600/Nanjingstreet101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdao3zFRP23koPyYMWjMjGayu7zRhWk2DxWwytDgqfdfU_Kc1LGErRuEdXP_WZ_UE0a4oXLaWXp6lcGciLx3zcp5CCbqUx_etYYpErd6i2B3C6hd0vgBktgXGJYh2d6Qey6rIon0sWLij/s640/Nanjingstreet101.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nanjing Street</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is definitely more attractive with all the flashy
neon signs illuminating the night and be on a look out for the occasional
street performance or music which could be rather interesting.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_23saB5K-SFnhM-o0nhC1cSJL13pcpdq5NKUeUL2GDbUCQq4s77KHvcamWRUZ-R8xCYJbr1kdFqeW-rI-I3EYrH1kk6YLpJugikqn1N4tC23C90o8Lq6CZ5bgGow197__YIutfrHHepz/s1600/Nanjingstreet102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_23saB5K-SFnhM-o0nhC1cSJL13pcpdq5NKUeUL2GDbUCQq4s77KHvcamWRUZ-R8xCYJbr1kdFqeW-rI-I3EYrH1kk6YLpJugikqn1N4tC23C90o8Lq6CZ5bgGow197__YIutfrHHepz/s640/Nanjingstreet102.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I,
for one, did not find anything particularly interesting about this street.
Maybe I am not a keen shopper or maybe my pocket is not deep enough for me to
walk into all those high end quality boutiques to grab an </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">LV</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> bag or a </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mont Blanc</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> fountain
pen. I find this street no more exceptional than the Wangfujing shopping street
back in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. It is good for one visit just for the ‘Been there,
done that’ reason but nothing interesting enough to draw me back the second
round. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Your
female other half might beg to differ. So, get that credit card ready.</span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-63187050300271864542013-09-13T13:12:00.002+08:002013-09-13T13:12:41.576+08:00Palace or Prison<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I
have visited this particular location three times so far, once in the summer,
once in the winter and the last visit was the beginning of spring. The Forbidden City (Gugong), also known as the Imperial Palace is a must visit place when one comes to Beijing and every tour would very likely include this into
their itinerary and rightly so, because this place bears the history of the
various emperors that have ruled China for hundred of years, 600 to be exact.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50S2oorfMOWPDQY2dZkLZqP2z_DkGHkiqtO8nHK8IH3VB2yj9c_trMFNfXaVSLHsYmiNV3XpVC3XEyIftxKJ7PNTfFjin9euTXCnEhAohyphenhyphenBC4CIbmtd-YQi5IDnwrF5ZgrIX4pTYOAkQG/s1600/forbiddencity509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50S2oorfMOWPDQY2dZkLZqP2z_DkGHkiqtO8nHK8IH3VB2yj9c_trMFNfXaVSLHsYmiNV3XpVC3XEyIftxKJ7PNTfFjin9euTXCnEhAohyphenhyphenBC4CIbmtd-YQi5IDnwrF5ZgrIX4pTYOAkQG/s640/forbiddencity509.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Forbidden City, The Outer Court during winter where the crowd is much lesser and the skies are clearer.</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This
is the center of Beijing literally speaking because all major roads, in
particular the famous `ring’ roads of Beijing are built around this one location. The nearest and
innermost is the 2<sup>nd</sup> ring road and then 3<sup>rd</sup>, the 4<sup>th</sup>,
the 5<sup>th</sup> and finally the 6<sup>th</sup>. Hence, it is common for
someone who is familiar with Beijing to ask direction based on the ring roads of which
one particular place is located.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zsO-MiNvcdJFj8K_eHeD95YpQYIgc9i53l0MK8uB0u3DCBfF5m8beIfDLU9CeFFtdDUEz5ssffFR6ZVLx7hxoXLAEtMzXM6110Y_ZugLj9qIkFQxGZF1RX9yJnH6LKRS4LQIk2Cqi2sb/s1600/forbiddencity527N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zsO-MiNvcdJFj8K_eHeD95YpQYIgc9i53l0MK8uB0u3DCBfF5m8beIfDLU9CeFFtdDUEz5ssffFR6ZVLx7hxoXLAEtMzXM6110Y_ZugLj9qIkFQxGZF1RX9yJnH6LKRS4LQIk2Cqi2sb/s640/forbiddencity527N.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">Forbidden City during winter which is probably the only season where one could capture a picture of her without the maddening crowd of tourist. This picture almost speaks of the tranquility that must have gone through this structure during winter hundred of years ago where the general public was forbidden to enter, hence the name - Forbidden City.</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
Forbidden City was the home of 24 Ming and Qing Emperors with a history of
almost 600 years (1401-1911), covering a land of over 178 acres, surrounded with
52 feet wide and 30 feet high walls, stretching over 2,428 meters. There are
over 800 buildings within the Forbidden
City with a total of 8,707
rooms in total.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She
was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and due to the wear and
tear, a direct result of the huge amount of daily visitors, is currently
undergoing a refurbishment project aimed to be completed by 2020.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErQ1w4eaGMA05E6SkU5ur22rVQCAAzjXZAzykvbtdQXY4whCSc2GjeQCmV_Ksn4iMwZX9DR4tRXJnHPvglNlEocRb7Pk9QXKpnW30MmhEj12pZE-eKLs5KwJMu4eM_0USQTECcj42kn3h/s1600/forbiddencity505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErQ1w4eaGMA05E6SkU5ur22rVQCAAzjXZAzykvbtdQXY4whCSc2GjeQCmV_Ksn4iMwZX9DR4tRXJnHPvglNlEocRb7Pk9QXKpnW30MmhEj12pZE-eKLs5KwJMu4eM_0USQTECcj42kn3h/s640/forbiddencity505.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">A pair of large bronze lions found guarding the entrance of the Hall</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Emperor
Yongle of the Ming Dynasty moved the then capital from Nanking to Beijing and oversaw the construction of this magnificent
masterpiece, the same spot used by the great Kublai Khan 150 years before him
as the winter palace. As the largest palace in the world, the Forbidden City stretches 960 meters from north to south and 750
meters from east to west, with a circumference of 3,430 meters. There are four
main gates, the Meridian (Wumen) Gate at the south, the Gate of Divine
Prowess (Shwumen) at the north, the East Flowery Gate at the east and the West
Flowery Gate at the west. All visitors today will enter through the Meridian Gate
which is the largest and the main gate and will exit through the north’s Gate
of Divine Prowess.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQw9a0NmfgReHfBfPH9AA2nBglY-xmQCRdjN3gITwH4lh1RL3vyVKZs5xFELW_R6tySYlRN-j7qEFHrEtqathYe2d1aZvhkvtIE3EobuMHXl1emvPc5oWM_KxjT9um4cFoSCmqq__2PAl/s1600/forbiddencity500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQw9a0NmfgReHfBfPH9AA2nBglY-xmQCRdjN3gITwH4lh1RL3vyVKZs5xFELW_R6tySYlRN-j7qEFHrEtqathYe2d1aZvhkvtIE3EobuMHXl1emvPc5oWM_KxjT9um4cFoSCmqq__2PAl/s640/forbiddencity500.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">The Meridian Gate (Wumen) located at the south is the largest of the gates, with five entrance. The center entrance which is also the largest is used solely by the Emperor himself.</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Entering
through the Meridian Gate, you will be greeted by the Golden Water River with five marble bridges, simply known as the
Bridges over the Golden Stream.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFyUDQ7_bNcyxALGKIgLS8bjDy709UNVFaJjegqNlmlrMRudk-HQ85uJZ9XNZXUMUPWSxK9lki15CDvUjyeg3KbAMpKeWvT6zcPABYCoJ8wmekm_7X_f1Oqg6j_XEW6-mLgnFU1x6whU3/s1600/ForbiddenCity101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFyUDQ7_bNcyxALGKIgLS8bjDy709UNVFaJjegqNlmlrMRudk-HQ85uJZ9XNZXUMUPWSxK9lki15CDvUjyeg3KbAMpKeWvT6zcPABYCoJ8wmekm_7X_f1Oqg6j_XEW6-mLgnFU1x6whU3/s640/ForbiddenCity101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">Reflections of the five marble bridges that span across the River of Golden Water once you entered through the Meridian Gate</span></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
entire Forbidden City is divided into two main sections, the Outer Court and the Inner Court. The Outer Court is where the Emperor handles court affairs and
ceremonies and consists of three main halls, namely the Taihedian, (Hall of
Supreme Harmony), Zhonghedian (Hall of Middle Harmony) and the Baohedian (Hall
of Preserving Harmony).</span></span></div>
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</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmGXyU9yKWKwaLWTlikzch7N8lWLDMGDZ8HbCLPFMI4mhR2bYS0DBWHUziHZ31W2xskEXl2lgCkllJnzAlQAQIJJfNyK381wHQ7yQMH-IyedpBedYOBUX0YHHuu8X9IYkameONjybCbqw/s1600/forbiddencity510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmGXyU9yKWKwaLWTlikzch7N8lWLDMGDZ8HbCLPFMI4mhR2bYS0DBWHUziHZ31W2xskEXl2lgCkllJnzAlQAQIJJfNyK381wHQ7yQMH-IyedpBedYOBUX0YHHuu8X9IYkameONjybCbqw/s640/forbiddencity510.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony) where the Dragon Throne is located</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUlbg2c3HhQZuUGHVpdS882CgFY33QHmhw8tjTCPqvvBGOs_dmd81nJaBY0KdAosEwUmIE7_esUw9jp3iiY7JWtnhY6BU2uXuM1X1n7220_N8aVDrVCXfzNm3AzS2OIeBvf0Z4CygaH0-/s1600/forbiddencity511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUlbg2c3HhQZuUGHVpdS882CgFY33QHmhw8tjTCPqvvBGOs_dmd81nJaBY0KdAosEwUmIE7_esUw9jp3iiY7JWtnhY6BU2uXuM1X1n7220_N8aVDrVCXfzNm3AzS2OIeBvf0Z4CygaH0-/s640/forbiddencity511.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Dragon Throne located in Taiheidian, where the Emperor governed his kingdom and consult his officials on the daily affairs of his subjects</i> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of
these three, the biggest and the most significant is the Hall of Supreme
Harmony (Taihedian) which is also the largest surviving wooden structure in China. This is where the throne of the Emperor is located.
During the Ming Dynasty, this was where the emperor governed his country,
discussing daily affairs. The emperors during the Qing Dynasty, on the other
hand, used it more for ceremonial purposes such as coronation and wedding
ceremonies.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo52YakA7_oD0L0UehR7_3UuWCgeiyKkWbahBoprICYJpvcWL0HK6G7U-xCkh-0cLEGzgnH7qezqs-G62VOxZT_4yVSSBgOsiDxhEVEaZXYMjd2e88Wy5NIXZlfjWlI1tvQjl5Q6qs70ue/s1600/forbiddencity508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo52YakA7_oD0L0UehR7_3UuWCgeiyKkWbahBoprICYJpvcWL0HK6G7U-xCkh-0cLEGzgnH7qezqs-G62VOxZT_4yVSSBgOsiDxhEVEaZXYMjd2e88Wy5NIXZlfjWlI1tvQjl5Q6qs70ue/s640/forbiddencity508.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The longest Dragon Pavement in front of Taihedian consisting of carvings on two pieces of stone. The largest is the piece on the north side of Baohedian made from one single piece of stone, making it the largest of such structure in China. The bottom design of the carvings are images of mountains and sea and as the pavement goes up towards the hall, the carvings depicts clouds and an ascending heaven. As the emperor ascends to his throne, it is likened to a dragon ascending to the heavens.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
steps leading up to all the halls, both on the south and north sides are
beautifully crafted with a ceremonial centrepiece ramp, also known as the
Dragon Pavements with delicate stone carvings. The largest carving from one
single piece of stone is the one on the north side of the Hall of Preserving
Harmony, measuring 54.4 feet long, 10.1 feet wide and 5.6 feet thick, weighing
200 tonnes, making it the single largest such carving in China.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3OB3ZKVgR7FEFxCkSHKaIRA9aNyjDvgxZma8OEjzp1VXJy-1erlV_d9aT9prTodowkrzeGnamqIBNMqREAhHhig3bUMGKzqxT6sRVSgQgESCCrmuYVvbPGDFvfgPXSPycnpgCf_ZdBcS/s1600/forbiddencity3003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3OB3ZKVgR7FEFxCkSHKaIRA9aNyjDvgxZma8OEjzp1VXJy-1erlV_d9aT9prTodowkrzeGnamqIBNMqREAhHhig3bUMGKzqxT6sRVSgQgESCCrmuYVvbPGDFvfgPXSPycnpgCf_ZdBcS/s640/forbiddencity3003.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">Ancient ornaments found on the massive red doors found at the Forbidden City. Just imagine what stories they would tell if they could only speak.</span></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beyond
the Outer Court is the Inner Court and this is the home of the Emperor, the Empress and of course, all his
concubines. It was said that during the Qing Dynasty, the emperor could have as many as 120 concubines at his beck and call. To ensure that the emperor (with yang energy) has all it takes to produce a male successor, it was believed that having sexual intimacy as frequently as possible with his concubines (with yin energy) without achieving orgasm was encouraged, to ensure better success rate with his monthly union with the empress. Easier said than done, I am sure.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are three main halls here, namely the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union and finally the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRydSUsgggC7L2zUgCFE_hLlpn80bmxN8s78s4ZzVMl84PZts79ncU-h_FmIgv4xAhBuBs5CgpLdenP_IwUHB-i4f1skKVoZrr9XaqSGqT0QZPK3Mn39u-P7NkonnP2rxhne2eWPsWjDGy/s1600/forbiddencity531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRydSUsgggC7L2zUgCFE_hLlpn80bmxN8s78s4ZzVMl84PZts79ncU-h_FmIgv4xAhBuBs5CgpLdenP_IwUHB-i4f1skKVoZrr9XaqSGqT0QZPK3Mn39u-P7NkonnP2rxhne2eWPsWjDGy/s640/forbiddencity531.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKdIHgPisbiT0HcrH2CdSEQhrV7_dEAvM6DZQGoyk1gQDhajeLwjUp2DuztetqoHlc9_Qgxpb3BB17te_uURIryqZc68RO0Xrn_2QjT60Wrgu_LxJBQgF6kPIiXXctJyOxl-iRMdM4tuu/s1600/forbiddencity533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKdIHgPisbiT0HcrH2CdSEQhrV7_dEAvM6DZQGoyk1gQDhajeLwjUp2DuztetqoHlc9_Qgxpb3BB17te_uURIryqZc68RO0Xrn_2QjT60Wrgu_LxJBQgF6kPIiXXctJyOxl-iRMdM4tuu/s640/forbiddencity533.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">Away from the main halls and palaces, there are many little lanes and doorways such as those captured above that are also interesting subjects for photography. Besides, can you imagine the types of gossips and conspiracy that could have been whispered along these lanes hundreds of years ago within this huge palace, which to many were nothing more but a massive fortress and prison with no way out.</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of
these three, the Palace of Heavenly Purity is of the most significance, being the living
quarters of the Emperor as well as his `modern working office’ so to speak.
Hanging above his working desk and throne is a tablet with the inscription
“Justice and Honour”. It is said that before an Emperor dies, he will write the
name of his successor in red ink and placed it into a sealed box that will be
hidden behind this tablet, only to be opened upon his death.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1QAcqj71tJUB5rg1MNUmcbcGL40I5OLX_OPQo6I4BD3Ekd-ExKclLqKmx5xENrs6cXnMUl7hh_vTZla09XtuvEG9kjh8sl8GgiC0RsnP_Y0qhSuJAws3Jlu0buZulO_GiSaD_4NIiPa3/s1600/forbiddencity3000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1QAcqj71tJUB5rg1MNUmcbcGL40I5OLX_OPQo6I4BD3Ekd-ExKclLqKmx5xENrs6cXnMUl7hh_vTZla09XtuvEG9kjh8sl8GgiC0RsnP_Y0qhSuJAws3Jlu0buZulO_GiSaD_4NIiPa3/s640/forbiddencity3000.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">The Emperor's `working desk' at the Palace of Heavenly Purity.</span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Behind
these halls, is the Imperial Garden where the Emperor and his family took leisurely walk
to escape the hustle and bustle of governing his vast kingdom.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There
is definitely much to see in the Forbidden City.
Although all the buildings do look rather similar and alike, understanding
their purposes and usage would definitely help you to appreciate them more.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I
had to privilege to capture them during different seasons in the year and I
must say that the best season that I enjoyed the most was in winter. There were
far lesser tourist to start with but seeing the palace covered with white snow
in contrast to the colourful structures was something that I had dreamt the
moment I set foot in Beijing. The down side of course, is that you would have to
deal with the freezing cold and slippery steps. Hence, thick winter clothing
and anti slip snow shoes would be of great help.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgO-DBd5pLJBSvy1w4l1YcFKaPVojlEToBuyT-ktdQPKI-acWLa72GElQk3fqCe-Gw_97Cc80Fm1wF1NmdKb5VqK9MsC-thOQh3yCmzs5cAmA65Doxp_aI7pWXKvRwYkkk8v6j95O9sc2/s1600/Gugong100N.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgO-DBd5pLJBSvy1w4l1YcFKaPVojlEToBuyT-ktdQPKI-acWLa72GElQk3fqCe-Gw_97Cc80Fm1wF1NmdKb5VqK9MsC-thOQh3yCmzs5cAmA65Doxp_aI7pWXKvRwYkkk8v6j95O9sc2/s640/Gugong100N.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;">The entire Forbidden City as seen from the top of Jingshan Park across the North Gate of the Forbidden City. </span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I
WOULD NOT recommend visiting during summer due to the heat, the crowd and the
constant and frequent smog that we experienced in Beijing, hence, rendering all
pictures dull and gloomy. If, you are avid photographer like I am, come when it
is cold and you will be rewarded with pictures that you would be truly happy
with.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
Forbidden City awaits you.</span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3558890130936160021.post-14666303940915245412013-09-11T11:34:00.004+08:002013-09-11T11:34:59.826+08:00Love and Betrayal at Shanhaiguan<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
Great Wall, built over a period of 2,000 thousand years and <span> </span>by different rulers and dynasties, resulting
in death of between 1 to 3 million people (as said in some internet articles)
stretches a total length of 8,852 km from the Lop Nur in the west to the east
ending 20 meters into the Bohai Sea at Shanhaiguan. It is difficult to really
know the full length of the actual wall over the years but there were even
estimates that it could well exceed 21,196km, taking into consideration of all
the different sections that are no longer in existence. The current wall as we
know it, is largely constructed during the Ming Dynasty.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6uHmY7Y2l27S09iOMEffis73onR8s6AUIFuQgG2-R5sXesFo1Gs9dFCGdNSnIBaKpjyGqcNPQBK46Wirp_Thyphenhyphenj5sma9GpphkhA9cXYOCnLae5tJb6kqzYPLKvK4-p_QHmwMni3IZqwLY/s1600/laolongtou1001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6uHmY7Y2l27S09iOMEffis73onR8s6AUIFuQgG2-R5sXesFo1Gs9dFCGdNSnIBaKpjyGqcNPQBK46Wirp_Thyphenhyphenj5sma9GpphkhA9cXYOCnLae5tJb6kqzYPLKvK4-p_QHmwMni3IZqwLY/s640/laolongtou1001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I
am particularly interested in the eastern section of the wall at Shanhaiguan <b>(</b></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "MS Mincho";">山海关</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">)</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">. Firstly, this is
apparently where the wall begins as she snakes westward and secondly, the wall
was built extending approximately 20 meters into the </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bohai</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sea</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Fortunately,
Shanhaiguan at the city of </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Qinhuangdao</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hebei</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Province</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is located approximately 3.5 hours drive from </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. So, when the opportunity came up for us to take a
weekend trip, we jumped at it. We were forewarned by our driver, guide cum
friend that this is a major tourist attraction among the locals and to expect a
crowd. The place was certainly crowded but I find it far more comfortable and pleasant
as compared to places like the Pingyao ancient town in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shanxi</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4Zy3lu_eOTIQMRqK3jHxmf3YnNm7TImpARTsKhtSI0Mi-6CVzzMme1hpIKFlXv_wsTxaOck9uZEwHJyYUqThiBlDHwjyCkuuYTPS5rdYoPpPPnWnCHu5i5JtilvzaUbZ6uSK3A2aY9_o/s1600/shanhaiguan5002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4Zy3lu_eOTIQMRqK3jHxmf3YnNm7TImpARTsKhtSI0Mi-6CVzzMme1hpIKFlXv_wsTxaOck9uZEwHJyYUqThiBlDHwjyCkuuYTPS5rdYoPpPPnWnCHu5i5JtilvzaUbZ6uSK3A2aY9_o/s640/shanhaiguan5002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shanhaiguan,
literally meaning “The Pass of Mountain and Sea” is where the first pass is
located known as the “FIRST PASS UNDER HEAVEN” (</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "MS Mincho";">天下第一关</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">). I have always been intrigued by the Great Wall and
living in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">China</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> now has given me the opportunity to visit her more
often. The experience I had at Jingshanling and Mutianyu has got me hooked.
Hence, standing there where she starts her journey westward and ending 8,852 km
in </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lop Nur</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> over numerous ridges an</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">d valleys and the very first
pass of the many multiple passes was a special experience to me</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-Pi8YyUBgBTG3QJ_4XTcwa0pAwuLFpgDC5CcKF-CC-bb5l4f4Jer0TKkfdsrQ29dhzNSpZESZ8djeo8XNQPnUUmfg08dE4XETjd2So4YYsedOy1U_mO4pGBW-GarXMhXQyvgf-_7X7Sc/s1600/shanhaiguan5008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-Pi8YyUBgBTG3QJ_4XTcwa0pAwuLFpgDC5CcKF-CC-bb5l4f4Jer0TKkfdsrQ29dhzNSpZESZ8djeo8XNQPnUUmfg08dE4XETjd2So4YYsedOy1U_mO4pGBW-GarXMhXQyvgf-_7X7Sc/s640/shanhaiguan5008.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagpd8nzGpvDvCHdXZh4WM-BXsMeIvQI5MpJakhyphenhyphen1HVafaJu-5p76Nu9j6xZiVz8hvzMWr4pissJScsZSMKP67zK8Mb7uoad0lyduIKbbm2n8VprzgL5xZJYcCiSZRaqzx25s_1NXSKw_A/s1600/shanhaiguan5007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagpd8nzGpvDvCHdXZh4WM-BXsMeIvQI5MpJakhyphenhyphen1HVafaJu-5p76Nu9j6xZiVz8hvzMWr4pissJScsZSMKP67zK8Mb7uoad0lyduIKbbm2n8VprzgL5xZJYcCiSZRaqzx25s_1NXSKw_A/s640/shanhaiguan5007.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">However,
the current day Shanhaiguan is mostly a reconstructed section since she has
been destroyed and plundered so many times over the centuries, speaking to a
large extend the strategic location and how important she is. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As
I do more research on Shanhaiguan, it appears that Shanhaiguan is more than
just the first pass of the Great Wall. This is where, the love for a lady and a
betrayal led to the end of the Ming Dynasty and the start of the Manchu rule in
China (Qing Dynasty) for the next 300 years, effectively ending the very
objective of which the wall was created 2000 years ago, which is to stop the
marauding Manchu armies from the north.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This
is also where the legend of a lady who wailed and cried for her husband who
died constructing the wall, till a section of the wall crumbled, apparently
touched by her sorrow.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wu
Sangui (</span><span class="nickname"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Batang;">吳三桂</span></b></span><span class="nickname"><span style="font-family: Arial;">) is the general in charge of Shanhaiguan, keeping
the Manchu armies at bay despite numerous attempts. Around this time, rebel
forces under the leadership of Li Zicheng has taken over Beijing, ending the
rule of the Ming Dynasty with the suicide of Emperor Chongzhen who hanged
himself on a tree (the tree still visible) at the Jingshan Hill in Beijing.
General Wu was about to seek alliance with the newly appointed new emperor but
news that his beloved concubine, Chen Yuan Yuan (</span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: MingLiU;">陈圆圆</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">)</span><span class="nickname"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span class="nickname"><span style="font-family: Arial;">has been taken custody by the new emperor, angered
him so much that he turned to the Manchu’s leader, Dorgon. His betrayal by
opening the pass at Shanhaiguan, resulted in the Manchu sweeping into China and
swiftly took over the land, established the Qing Dynasty that ruled China for
the next 300 years!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFlbg9HN-XPLp7E-ruJpvUJWL8BJZ5fxCu8HdoI8CJCl260AtKJMCoQetgKWVBZ4LCJ8cwuuljrP92yg6-dRYX2Lm-LUmojMlqGeTocAqw570uxHJn-wyzxmUlFkRmHGIbjblm8suoy7M/s1600/shanhaiguan500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFlbg9HN-XPLp7E-ruJpvUJWL8BJZ5fxCu8HdoI8CJCl260AtKJMCoQetgKWVBZ4LCJ8cwuuljrP92yg6-dRYX2Lm-LUmojMlqGeTocAqw570uxHJn-wyzxmUlFkRmHGIbjblm8suoy7M/s640/shanhaiguan500.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="nickname"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Another love story that surrounds Shanhaiguan is how the lovely Meng
JianNu (</span></span><b><span lang="ZH" style="font-family: "MS Gothic";">孟姜女</span></b></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-language: ZH;"><span style="font-size: large;">), whose newly married husband Fan Qiliang was
forcefully taken to construct the wall. When winter came, with no news from her
husband, Lady Meng went to the wall with new winter clothes only to find out
that her husband has died during the construction and was buried within the
walls. Legend has it that she cried in sorrow and the wall was so touched by her
sorrow that it came crumbling down, giving up the remains of her husband. A
temple has been constructed in memory of her love and dedication. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoyhWVc53MYY8DoBZYwjVeYaWFt2ydMw4LapH8tYeGDPJKAOeh5FYmGiqQPlImW1EsAJWE4lapSfkWJUrKNGVvi3I2zUwtCas1er8YOI4PN7bhzRlXd1ZgFPkgBwCph5oG9yosbtIfwB4B/s1600/shanhaiguan5005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoyhWVc53MYY8DoBZYwjVeYaWFt2ydMw4LapH8tYeGDPJKAOeh5FYmGiqQPlImW1EsAJWE4lapSfkWJUrKNGVvi3I2zUwtCas1er8YOI4PN7bhzRlXd1ZgFPkgBwCph5oG9yosbtIfwB4B/s640/shanhaiguan5005.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">The part where the wall
meets the sea is known as Laolongdou (</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "MS Mincho";">老</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: PMingLiU;">龙头</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">) or the Old Dragon’s Head. This is where the Great
Wall starts and she is called the Dragon’s Head and the rest of the wall, her
body stretching all the way westward.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGiZ1_Eilbfux1tA65XgvBU3WXKwpYQ4yvj_G1NMbWauiNijpLDZWg0zzDWEjAO9CMedJA1N0J74xlyBiNnYbEMfQ0bRZRi9ZORNNbtCFdGwBeep7hrPtyh74AZI5MAQ0E9UjA6o2VnQh/s1600/shanhaiguan5004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGiZ1_Eilbfux1tA65XgvBU3WXKwpYQ4yvj_G1NMbWauiNijpLDZWg0zzDWEjAO9CMedJA1N0J74xlyBiNnYbEMfQ0bRZRi9ZORNNbtCFdGwBeep7hrPtyh74AZI5MAQ0E9UjA6o2VnQh/s640/shanhaiguan5004.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i>This is where the wall ends in the Bohai Sea.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdqqpYEwqe_zK_l3OGOnONFoVdxGH7HCXQpKHR_aHRqxJNp59HqyH_fXwQhVDaO738lUcLd5PK8Uo2fXdHaJps4_1iGCyAKZ93AM_Y3VteMksr8osIUSU6sFu2ldvOegvO_BhbP7MzETA/s1600/shanhaiguan5011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZdqqpYEwqe_zK_l3OGOnONFoVdxGH7HCXQpKHR_aHRqxJNp59HqyH_fXwQhVDaO738lUcLd5PK8Uo2fXdHaJps4_1iGCyAKZ93AM_Y3VteMksr8osIUSU6sFu2ldvOegvO_BhbP7MzETA/s640/shanhaiguan5011.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>This is the part of the wall that stretches from Bohai Sea inland towards the mountains, westward through China, finally ending 8,800 km at Lop Nur.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv8j7-4eJUd-ktcAP-Q6oaTcoVHRP3vq8QbB6Ec4EQso3VZqI02zTd1gf25pEyRTKI9HiMqQTh7UO_7RtenxMPxqNxJGX1iDydwThzqG_sB22tjZaSn2914dFj03VY35HZPlixthGeLUj/s1600/shanhaiguan5010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv8j7-4eJUd-ktcAP-Q6oaTcoVHRP3vq8QbB6Ec4EQso3VZqI02zTd1gf25pEyRTKI9HiMqQTh7UO_7RtenxMPxqNxJGX1iDydwThzqG_sB22tjZaSn2914dFj03VY35HZPlixthGeLUj/s640/shanhaiguan5010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>The wall at "First Pass under Heaven" stretching towards Jiao Shan (</i></span><br /><span class="nickname"><span class="non-latin">角山<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">), <i>the first mountain she climbs in her journey westward.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This
is another attraction that not many foreigners would go due to the distance from
</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Beijing</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and I am glad that I have the opportunity to be
here, up close and personal.</span></span></div>
Daddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788745426293821924noreply@blogger.com0