My Travel Diary.....Sharing With You Where I Had Been

Contiki-Day 1 Paris

2011-12-11T01:21:00.032+08:00

Today we start day 1 of the tour with an early departure to Dover to catch the ferry across the English Channel. The 90mins ride was rather pleasant. once the bus exit from the ferry, it was a bus ride to Paris with a stop at the service area for a bite. Pomme de Pain was where we practice our first Bonjour! I had a yummy club sandwich and a Cesear salad,which has a rather taste for the dressing.
The bus ride to Paris is quite pleasant, our tour manager has provided useful information along the way, keeping us awake and prepared for our free day in Paris tomorrow. 90% of the travelers are from Australia, even the tour manager. our driver is a funny bloke from Prague.
Dinner is included tonight at the Holiday Inn Saint Ouen, which is our accommodation in Paris. The room is tiny and would consider old style for a holiday inn standard but at least its clean and decent. The free wifi scores points too. Dinner wasn't really a french cuisine i suspect- for starter tomatoe salsa, main is pork slices with french fries and dessert is bread pudding. french fries in Paris doesn't taste nice.

we then head out for a night city tour and to make the Parisian traffic worse, there are cops everywhere, later we found out there is a protest in the city. The night was ended with a trip up to the top of the Effiel Tower, which has an excellent view of the city and a metro ride back to the hotel. Good first day but its too long for me, i was struggling to stay away after a 5am start.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 5)

2011-05-08T16:14:00.000+08:00

25 April 2011 Monday

Today we leave the polluted Hong Kong (hardly see any blue sky during our trip)

It was a mad rush trying to pack everything and check out by 10.30am. We took a taxi from the hotel to the Kowloon Airport Express Train station. Because we used all our HKD to pay the hotel stay, we were left with just nice to take a take and buy train tickets. The taxi ride is about 38HKD (the driver wanted us to take the ride all the way to the airport but we told him we don't have enough cash).

Surprisingly the one way train ticket cost lesser than I thought, so after returning our Octopus card to purchase the train tickets, we are still left some with extra cash (woohoo!)

Hong Kong airport is huge and there's many shops to look at , so make sure you give yourself plenty of time if you want to do some last minute shopping.

Home sweet home.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 4)

2011-05-08T16:01:00.000+08:00

24 April 2011 Easter Sunday

This morning we headed off to the History Museum. It is within walking distance from the hotel, about 15-20mins walk. There is free an English guided tour that starts at 10.30am on Sat and Sunday. I would highly recommend the tour (we had a very good guide) to anyone unless you prefer to take your own time. There is so much to see and we cover 2 floors of exhibit in 1.5hrs. The museum covers from dinosaurs years to cavemen years to the Hong Kong today. We also have free entry to the 1911 revolution exhibit. No photography allowed in most parts of the exhibits (I forgot to charge my camera batteries anyway.......)

Today is our last day in hong kong so we just want to take it really easy. Craig had his last pancake from the famous shop.

We wonder back to the hotel and spend the rest of the afternoon in the hotel, enjoying it's pool and jacuzzi pool. The pool overlooks the harbor and it's always maintained at a warm 28degrees temperature (so I was informed)

Later that evening, we are surprise to see a lovely gesture from the hotel.

Yummy Easter Eggs!

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 3)

2011-05-08T15:44:00.001+08:00

23 April 2011 Saturday

This morning there is a slight drizzle in the air. I took advantage of the free yoga lesson provided by the hotel. It was great as I'm the only person for the class so I got personalise lesson. The lesson lasted for 1hr. Went to have a look at the pool and it look so good, overlooking the waters.I need to get Craig to move his arse to the pool.

We are running out of money today so we had to look for money changes. Note that the money changes in TST doesn't give good rates. If you move further away to Yau Ma Tei you will get better rates. We decided to return to one of the restaurant that didn't offered Dim Sum last night. 3Floor in Carnarvon Plaza. Once you step out of the lift, you will see the restaurant entrance.

Since it is recommended by many on the internet, I would expect it to be quite nice. We've ordered the usual and here's our verdict (http://palatereview.blogspot.com/2011/05/tao-heung-tsim-sha-tsui-hong-kong.html)

Next we headed for a foot massage. 50mins for $108HKD. It cost more than most of the places(like $38, $58 or $88) but at least this place you can see from the street and it's definitely a clean one. There are mostly males doing the massage. Being scared by the experience in Macau, Craig wanted me to find out if we have to give tips and the manager said it's up to us. We told her our experience in Macau and she said she didn't have a good experience in the restaurant in Macau as well. They couldn't be bothered to serve her and told her she can leave if she want. She explained there are too many tourist in Macau and losing one person's business is not a big deal to them.

Typical Hong Kong housing

Next couple of hours are just roaming the shopping streets and markets and looking at (interesting) things.

Street Markets in Hong Kong

We haven't been eating proper meals at proper times these few days in hong kong. Craig's dinner tonight is 2 scoops of ice-cream at Galare (I had some of cos) and his favourite waffle egg. There's always a queue here at night and you need to get a token when you ordered. The staff will yell out your number to collect. It's freshly made on the spot and it taste absolutely fantastic. I went for the fish ball noodle soup again. It is so tasty(especially after adding some white pepper to the soup/broth). Good they have take away containers and it was a yummy late meal for me again. Muffin top becoming bigger in no time.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 2)

2011-05-08T15:25:00.000+08:00

22 April 2011 Good Friday

There is a Taiji class today that starts at 6.30am in the hotel, which Craig will never wake up at this time for such activity. There is another class conducted by the Hong Kong tourism board by the water at 8am and Craig can't be bothered for this as well. We missed the opportunity to make it in time for the Ngong Ping 360 tour that starts at 11.30am but ticketing has to be done by 10.45am. Because today is Good Friday, the queue for the cable car is extremely long. It took us nearly 40mins to get our cable car tickets. Those people who had purchase their tickets in advance gets the express lane to the cable car. We decided to get the standard tickets which is $115HKD return per adult. The cable car ride took about 25mins to reach Ngong Ping village.

Very long queue for the cable car ride

and the queue continues at the ticketing area

and continue again at the cable car boarding area

Ngong Ping Cable car

view of the Giant Buddha from cable car ride

Tingy enjoying his cable car ride

First and only stop to the Giant Buddha. I think this is my 3rd visit to the Giant Buddha. We didn't hang around too long as we are hungry for our vegetarian meal. We've got the general meal, which cost $60. More waiting at the restaurant but the food came out very quickly. The food is really tasty and I think they should give lesser rice unless more is requested. There's still a lot left after we both had 2 bowls of rice each. Craig thinks they reused the remaining rice. I doubt it.

At the foot of the Giant Buddha

Tingy did the climb too!

Long queue again for a seat in the vegetarian

Our 2 pax meals. Yummy!!

Because we left the place pretty early there isn't a long queue for the cable car ride back.

Nice view on the return cable car ride

There's still a massive queue for the cable car!!

Citygate is next to the MTR station and it's well advertised as a shopping discount outlet mall. The retail shops at Citygate isn't that cheap as everyone claims. Note that is only one money changer on the basement level 2 and his rates are very bad.

Next stop, we headed to Central and caught a ride on the tram. I always find the "Ding Ding" very interesting and there's so many sights to see while on the tram. There are many lines that go to different places and it's a flat fee of $2HKD anywhere. We just jump on the 1st one that came and it brought us to Happy Valley. We took the tram back to Central again and hop on the Bus 15 to the peak. The driver is either rushing for time or busting for a pee. He was driving like a nut case. There is a lady in the front row of us and she is terrified during the journey up to the Peak. Again, because it's public holiday, there's just crowds everywhere. The queue for the tram was really long and because it's only a single way up and down, it takes a long time. It was just about to get dark so we caught the non-lighted and lighted version of the city. Craig didn't want to queue up for the tram so we caught the bus back to Central again.

View of the Financial district and harbor from the Peak

For the next hour, we are on a wild goose chase for Dim Sum to have for dinner. Note to all, we had been to 3 restaurants that was recommended in food blogs and despite the information that Dim Sum is provided till late, it is NOT. These restaurants stop serving Dim Sum after around 3pm. We end up back at TST, at Tsui Wah for dinner. Craig had the club sandwich which he said it isn't too bad and I had their famous fish ball noodles soup, which I think it's really good and cheap too ($28HKD)!! Being a glutton, I've also ordered their shrimp wanton soup, which i don't think it's very nice. I actually suspect there's MSG used in this dish.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 1)

2011-05-08T11:47:00.001+08:00

21 April 2011 Thursday

I'm really excited today as we are heading to HongKong. We left Macau and catch the First Ferry to Kowloon Hong Kong. Bad move. It's a slow bumpy ride. Should have gone with Turbojet instead because they are much quicker. The ferry ride made me giddy and sick. I'm so glad to get off after 1hr and about 15mins.

Waiting Hall for First Ferry

Inside First Ferry.

Getting off!!

Taxi ride to the beautiful Intercontinental cost $25HKD. The check in experience is the 1st I had. The staff brought us up to the room to check in and showed us all the features in the room. It was really personal yet bizarre. I wonder if they only do this when it's quiet.
I discovered the room has no kettle or coffee and tea. You have to asked for a kettle and instant coffee if you want any. They do brew you (well, just stick a teabag in a pot of hot water) a choice of 5 different teas(Jasmine, Oolong, Green Tea, Peppermint and Chamomile). Problem is each time you wanted some tea, you got to ring Instant Service and request for it. Free mineral water is provided each day which is really handy as you are not advised to drink water from the tap in Hong Kong.

Hallway and seriously large bathroom

Big spacious bed!

Great desk but i find it rather crampy

Sofa is very comfortable

After settling down, we headed out to look for lunch. There are just so many Indians hassling you to make a suit, buy fake watches and bags up and down Nathan Road. First we get harassed by mainland Chinese, now Indians. We had lunch at this franchise cafe called Spaghetti Place on Peking Road. Service wasn't that great, Craig ordered a chocolate milk shake which was left out of the order, then it takes another 15mins to arrive after Craig pointed out it was missed out. Food isn't that great either. Think it's an overkill for a so claim fresh Italian place.

We decided to head to Temple Street Market since it's the nearest one to us but we are too early for it (at 5pm stalls are still being setup). Halfway through, Craig went for a haircut. it cost $57 HKD (7AUD) for a men's cut, which is really cheap. The nice barber even offered a hair wash without extra charges.

One stretch of Shanghai street has many stalls that sells sex toys. It's kinda odd the government would allow sex toys to be sold so openly in public. I would thought because it's an Asian country they would be more discrete about it but nope, sellers are both man and woman, young and old.

Having SOGO so near the hotel is an advantage, they have some cheap bread for sale after a certain time that is out breakfast for tomorrow morning.

2011 April Guangzhou, Macau (Day 2)

2011-05-08T10:40:00.000+08:00

20 April 2011 Wednesday

Breakfast buffet at the Cafe Deco was really disappointing. The food has quite poor quality and most of them just doesn't taste nice. I would expect more from the Venetian even though this is a mass production food service.

Next we walk to the City of dreams to have a look at their Casino. Hard rock shop is truly small and disappointing. I usually will get a t-shirt but I didn't get anything this time.

We then catch a shuttle bus and to Sands and walk to the holiday inn Macau. On the way, Craig spotted a massage place which is rather cheap. MOP 110 for 1hr (but it says on the board 1h=45mins) and 100MOP thereafter.

Holiday Inn Macau is tiny and sad after coming from the Venetian but it's in a good location. We took a bus (No 32) that only cost us MOP 3.20 to the Macau Tower, which is rather plain and simple compare to the towers I had been to (not as bad as the Kyoto tower though). Entrance fee is 120MOP. Bus 32 from the same bus stop we alight at earlier will bring us to the Red Market. From there you can walk to the 3 Lamps, which is really nothing but a lamp in a roundabout circle. From there you can catch bus No 5 to the St Paul Ruins, which is always busy with tourist. We took a short hike up to see the old canons guns left behind. you get a good view of the city as well.

Craig in public bus

inside the Macau TowerSendo Sq

This is a flat pancake shop and there's a line queuing for it. We bought some to try as well, when it's cool down, it taste like biscuits. The old man in the picture handmade every flat pancake using charcoals.

Tourist Street signs

The famous St Paul's Ruins

Remaining guns at the Fortress

Tingy's been to the Ruins and a photo with the famous Hotel Lisboa

We decided to walk back to the holiday inn, which is not that far away, probably about 15-20mins walk. The Tree Spa in the hotel has very expensive rates and the area recommended by the concierge seems rather far away. So we decide to go to the massage place Craig spotted this morning. It's has a purple signboard and its called something like "Sincere massage". It's "clean" and the boss claims they do not provided "happy ending" . We wanted 2hr of body massage but I think the boss did not inform her staff and neither we or the masseur bothered to clarify the duration as well. They placed us together in a small room. The lady who did me was smaller but she has massive strength. There is a pole where they hand on to on the ceiling when they stepped on our backs. I had to asked her to go lighter several times. After 1hr, they realise we wanted longer and the 2nd hour was just get over and done with kind of service. I've asked for a foot massage instead but i still get charged the same price(Foot massage is 80MOP). The fat lady who did Craig was whining and whinging about how big he is and how she need to exert a lot of force. She made his whole arm red and sore in the end. I think we should just stick to one hour.

At the end of the 2hrs, I was caught off guard by the lady who did Craig, she was standing by the door and demanding for tips. She said hurry up, the other girl is coming (the one who massage me). She demanded for 100MOP which I don't have enough at that time. I explained to her I will be short to pay the bill if I gave her 100MOP. I offered her 20MOP instead and at this time the other lady came in with warm water. I explained to her and she just took the money with a grumpy face. The other fat lady was bitching and going on and on about she wanted 100MOP. it's starting to annoy me a lot and i actually had to give her the 20MOP tip. We paid and ran out of that dodgy place.

Craig didn't have a good experience in Macau. I think the attitude and mentality of the people puts him off.

Coffee/Tea and mugs hanging off the wall.

Bathroom is very small

Room size is small as well

2011 April Guangzhou, Macau (Day 1)

2011-05-07T22:12:00.001+08:00

19 April 2011 Tuesday

After breakfast at McDonald (yeah....we needed something quick and there are everywhere!), we headed off to Landmark hotel to catch a bus to Macau Gong Bei Port Customs. They are 2 bus companies at the hotel and we took CTS (because that's the one the hotel portal boy pointed us to). The bus fare cost 70RMB and it departs every 30mins. They don't take reservations and the assigned seat doesn't mean anything. People just take whatever seat they want on the bus(if you are quick and 1st of cos). Aircon bus and there's 2 TV screen (where they just played some HongKong movies), one at the front and the other in the middle. I guess for 70RMB you can't really expect a luxury bus. The journey is about 2.5hrs. After Landmark hotel, the bus makes another stop at another hotel and it's highway to Macau. No toilets on the bus so it will be wise to visit the bathroom in Landmark hotel before departure.

It was really bad luck that my Canon EOS camera is stolen right between my feet during the journey. The professional thief/thieves had managed to take the camera and it's twin zoom lens out of the camera bag while it's still being sandwiched between my legs. They had cleverly put in 3 bottles of water so that the weight is the same. I only realise this when I wanted to take some pictures during the journey, about 15mins before we reach the bus station. In the end we had to spend 2 hours in the police station making a statement, which they never give it to me. I only received a report that says I have logged a report. We rang the travel insurance company right away to check if this is sufficient to make a claim. Accordingly to the customer service, so long as we have the receipt and the report, it should be sufficient. Let's hope so as it's bloody expensive camera!

By the time we reach the Venetian, it's already after 6pm. The entire hotel and shopping mall stinks of cigarette smoke, even the rooms hallway and lifts there are guest smoking. There's a huge flood of mainland china tourist everywhere as well. I was told it's close to labour week holiday. Most of the eating places are expensive, unless you happy to settle for McDonald. We tried Fat Burgers (Grill burgers, onion rings and chocolate milkshake). Craig said the milkshakes is yummy. We didn't had much time to walk around as the ZAIA show start at 8pm.

I'm quite impressed with the whole ZAIA setup, music and songs. However most of the performance isn't the best we had seen. Still it's a good performance and definitely worth the time.

The venetian room is huge with 2 TV and a big bathroom! The check in customer service was very nice, the entire place is huge however, unless they improve the air quality I'm not sure if i would return.

Thank goodness I took a spare camera with me so I am still able to take continue taking pictures for the rest of our trip. Definitely a good lesson learnt and I will continue to bring 2 cameras for future holidays now.

Venetian on the outside

Royal Suite

Tea and Coffee

Working Desk with printer??

Room Hallway

ZAIA Polar Bear with Tingy

Royal Suite Bed

Royal Suite Bedroom

Powder table in the bathroom

Huge Bathroom

Inside the shopping mall

Famous Venetian deco

2011 April Guangzhou, China (Day 3)

2011-05-07T21:34:00.005+08:00

18 April 2011 Monday

This morning we headed off to the Lian Xiang Lou restaurant for brunch. The restaurant is another one of the famous locations along the ShiangXia Jiu Street. Dim sum is one of its popular must have.

We've ordered BBQ pork buns, pork dumplings (Siew Mai), Prawn dumplings (Har Gao), Prawn Rice noodle (Chee cheong fun) and my favourite turnip cake. We've asked the service staff to have the food out ASAP (as we are hungry plus the previous night experience tells us we need to inform them in advance). However the service staff said these food are made to order, so it may take as long as up to 20mins!!! Luckily for us, we didn't have to wait too long (maybe 10mins). The entire restaurant has a sleepy atmosphere. It seems like the local comes in for morning tea and take their time to enjoy their food and Kung Fu tea. Having dim sum is more like a social event where they catch up. The brunch totals to 68RMB. As famous as it claims to be, I'm not rather impressed with the pork dumplings, its quite plain and oily. The BBQ pork in the buns look less and the buns are rather small. (Craig said it's not the best he had before).The only tasty one is the prawn dumplings. The prawn is rather big. I'm pretty sure they uses MSG or some similar form as I'm left thirsty for 3-4hrs after the meal.

Next we headed to the Pacific Digital Plaza via the train (Chang Shou Lu station to Gang Ding cost 4RMB). There are several shopping complex that sells mainly computer and IT stuff around this area. Street side shops sell laptop bags, mobile phones, printer cartridges. There's a 2storey high building that sells all the old company stuff as well, as though they live in the 90s. Craig wanted to have a look at electronic shops but we couldn't see any around this area. Most of the shops here are pretty similar, unless you have something in mind to purchase, you'll get bored after 10mins.

We decided to head back to the hotel and go for a massage instead. There is a spa or health club opposite the Holiday Inn hotel on the ground floor. For 298RMB you can get a 90mins Chinese massage, which we are told by the reception it will only be a back massage. We decided to go with the Thai massage which will be the whole body, which cost 328 for 90mins. The hotel gives out a 15% discount card for hotel guest. Be careful if you are going to be using this discount. There is a serious translation problem for the terms and condition. In English it says 15% will be given for each transaction. However in Mandarin, it says one card per person is required. So we have to go back to the hotel front desk to ask for another card as the spa reception insist we must have one discount card per person per use. The tourist pay upfront but the locals pay after their service is finish. (not sure why). We are both given a tracking hand-wrist that opens up our assigned locker. This is where the females part from the males. I didn't enjoy it as much as Craig did. My masseur said she had a relaxing 90mins since I was really "easy" to massage. Well I'm glad one of us enjoy it. Craig enjoyed his massage. He had a slightly bigger lady who had more muscle and strength. She even ordered him a massage on his manhood! She told Craig a lot of local guys asked for sex as well.

Dinner was at Saiberya, a western/Italian fast food place. It wasn't very tasty but definitely cheap. I've ordered grilled chicken, egg and spinach rice and Craig had a chicken pizza and a drink (it was a drink buffet but it's very low quality powder mixed drinks). All up 58RMB. Final shopping for the Guangzhou trip.

The things sold here are really cheap but the fashion is just not fantastic to me. If you are a sparkle lover, you could buy the entire street. Everything is sparkly and shiny here, shoes, belts, especially clothes.

That's it for Guangzhou for us. I think 2days 3 nights is just nice for us. We didn't do any tourist stuff. My greatest joy for the last 3 days is that we did not get mugged. (I wrote this a bit too early and I think I had self-cursed myself, for my camera is stolen the next day on the bus)

2011 April Guangzhou, China (Day 2)

2011-05-07T21:31:00.001+08:00

17 April 2011 Sunday

Today we head off to High Sun String and Cloth Market (Taxi from hotel 20RMB). It is more posh than I expected, it's quite clean and has aircon as well. Only downside is despite the "No smoking" sign you will find there are still inconsiderate people who smoke (you get that a lot everywhere, even in train underpass). There are plenty of shops selling materials but only a few shops doing tailoring. They do not tailor it in one day time(as i was informed on web), minimum is 10days! Craig thinks they will it to elsewhere to tailor the clothes. There are also a lot of tailor made curtains too. It wasn't a fruitful trip for us so we left pretty soon.

Next stop Beijing road(via taxi). It was actually raining intermittently the whole day and we had to duck in and out of the side lanes. Beijing Road has more hawkers and Craig was hassled by men asking him to buy watches, luggages, bags and wallets. He gets that almost every 5mins. It's a very long road and there's side streets as well. I think the hassling from the illegal hawkers puts me off and I can't be bothered looking at the shops. We went into this mall where the basement is the preservation of the Water Gate in the olden days. Towards the end of Beijing Road you can see the preservation of old streets in Tang and Song dynasty. However the glass is so slowly you can hardly see much or take pictures. Lunch at a sushi train restaurant.

It didn't take us long to have enough of Beijing Road and our final stop is the Wholesale markets near the Railway station. We took the subway from Gong Yuan Qian to Railway station (2RMB). BaiMa is obviously the more popular one and there are like 8 floors of shops. We went to Level 4 and couldn't go on anymore. Unless you have a lot of patience to go through every single shop and walk through the maze(and remember which aisle you had been down before), it's much better to just shop in a normal shopping mall. The prices are not that cheap either if you are just buying one piece. Level 1 and 2 you get hassel by the sales people and the further level you go up the less they bother you. We didn't get anything from here at all. There is a side street market that sells shoes, bags and belts. It's a tiny walking space between the shops on the left and right and you can hardly walk. The crowd is huge and there's people trying on things on both side of the street. I just walk one lane and I had enough. We then walk to MeiBo Sports Center from the railway station (about 10mins walk but caution, you got to dash across the street as there's no lights and zebra crossing is useless to pedestrians in Guang Zhou. Again, I was informed (from travel forums) Meibo Center sells wholesale sports wear. correction! only wholesale jersey(mostly football/soccer)!!! Some shops are empty and some shops are just blank t shirts where you can purchase to print something on. That's enough disappointment for the day. We decided to head back to the hotel

The street in front of the hotel sells pets in cages such as kittens, puppies, birds, mice, rabbits, tortoise and even squirrel!!. Poor animals are crying for their life and I don't think they look very healthy, probably not vaccinated too.

We didn't really had a proper dinner tonight, just couldn't find something that Craig fancy (end up in KFC in the end). Shangxia Ju road just seems like a warmer shopping place, there isn't anyone hassling you to look or buy watches. There is enough space to walk around and look at shops. There are plenty of sales people screaming and shouting out sales to catch your attention, which I guess it's just contribute to the vibrant feeling of the streets. Definitely wouldn't mind coming back again.Good that the rain stopped too.

(no pictures again as camera was stolen)

2011 April Guangzhou, China (Day 1)

2011-05-07T21:26:00.002+08:00

16April 2011 Saturday
Today we start out 21hrs travel marathon. we depart home at 9.30pm for a 0005hrs flight with Jetstar. Only description I can give is bad. We landed in Singapore T1 at 0530hrs. Because it is not a connecting flight, we have to exit immigrations and travel to T3 to check in for our flight to Hong Kong. After landing in Hong Kong at 1220hrs, this is the start of a on road marathon to final destination Guang Zhou. My original plan was to take a 3hr coach from the Airport to GuangZhou Landmark Hotel. However Craig suggested another option(from someone from work) that is to take the train instead. I did a quick search at Perth Airport (thank goodness for free internet) and found out you can take a train from the airport to Shenzhen, cross the border and take another train to Guang Zhou. Because there are more frequencies for the train departing at Shen zhen than the train departing at Hong Kong Hung Hom, we decide to take the train instead, thinking it will be a quicker (more costly) option.

Upon our arrival at HKIA, the ladies at the Tourism Board counter informed us it will be quicker to take the bus instead. So we hop on AirBus number 43 and it was quite a pleasant ride for about 45mins. We got off at the Sheung Shui stop (2nd stop in the journey) and took the MTR to the next stop at Lo Hu. It was a very expensive one stop costing at 20.50HKD (19.50HKD if you use the Octopus Card). It was a mad crowd rushing from the Lo Hu MTR station to the Hong Kong customs, then crossing the border (by foot) to the Shen Zhen customs. I'm not sure the massive crowd is due to because it is a Saturday or because it's the 2nd day of the Canton Fair in Guang Zhou. The madness (of tons of people) continue on to the purchase of the railway ticket from ShenZhen to GuangZhou. There's at least 5-6times of seriously long queue of people. I am really unfortunate to be in queue where a argument breakout with the next queue(long story short, the queue was never open but mainland Chinese decided to queue there for some reason and when they realise there isn't anyone going to sell tickets at that counter, they turn nasty and merge into my queue). Poor ticketing lady had to fend them off and got verbal abuse from very nasty and rude men instead. It is definitely a ugly 1st experience in Shen Zhen for us.

The train ride took 1.5hrs to reach Guang Zhou station. If you want to get off at Guang Zhou East Station there's more frequencies (about every 10-15mins). Do not hesitate to purchase the 1st class seat!! it's absolutely worth every single cent as the next lower class does not have guarantee seats. You will see alot of people standing at the gate waiting to do a sprint to the train as soon as they are allowed. Some cheeky fellows decide to come into 1st class while the ticket inspector is not around but they got busted in the end. (Don't worry, they still put up an argument to try to win their rights). The absolute madness continue when we arrive in Guang zhou railway station, there's hawkers everywhere trying to "help" you get a taxi. Ignore them unless you are game for it. There's people everywhere!!! We later found out from the taxi driver that it is due to the Canton Fair. The taxi queue (walk towards the bus terminal and you will see it) is the most organized queue I had experience today since we stepped into Shueng Shui MTR. There is a guard distributing traffic so you can rest assured there's some sort of order. While queueing for our taxi, a little girl pee (squatting down) in front of us with the encouragement from her mum.

Next more dramas with the hotel check in when we arrived but it was soon sorted. Dinner at Tao Tao Ju was another semi disaster. I was told by the service staff that this couple is settling their bill and will leave soon and we are asked to sit with them. We ordered only 2 dishes (Fried rice and BBQ pork). The pork came almost 5mins later . After 30mins it doesn't seem like the couple at our table is going anywhere. We later realised that they have also ordered fried rice and it just rocked up. We waited almost 1hr for the fried rice and decided not to wait anymore. I've told the service staff to cancel the order as we had been waiting for a very long time. She then reply it will come in 2 mins time. After 15mins, the dish hasn't arrived yet. I've told the service staff another time to cancel the order and this time the dish came straightaway. The local couple sitting in the same table later then informed us this is very normal in Guangzhou. For large numbered tables they will keep their service up and for tables like ours (only 2 pax) they will not bothered about us until you informed them you want to cancel your order. I was shocked to hear that as I would expect they will want us to have our meal and get our so they can turn over the tables quickly. The couple said they had waited for their fried rice for more than 1hr too.

Shang Xia Ju shopping street is massively long and extremely busy, not to mentioned noisy too!! I would suggest someone spend at least 1/2 day here if you are serious about buying some good bargains!! Note you will need to forgo quality. I bought a belt for 5AUD and it was wearing out after a few wears.

Day 1 finally come to an end with me resting my feet up. The impression I get today from mainland Chinese are they don't really care about their country cleanliness. We witness a bus driver threw paper out of the bus, a few spitting cases including our tax driver, peeing in public area. Looking forward to what Day 2 brings us.

(I have no photos to upload as my camera was stolen on the way from Guangzhou to Macau)

Hidden Valley Eco Lodge, WA, Australia

2011-01-16T16:32:00.000+08:00

Hidden Valley Eco Lodge is about 20-30mins drive from the Perth Domestic airport (depending on traffic). I got this accommodation on special (usually for weekend it's about $495) and the only time I can get on a Saturday is this weekend. So off we go for our little weekend getaway.

The place is rested on the Perth Hills, which surroundings are quite peaceful and quiet. Check in time is 3pm but we rocked up slightly later at 4pm.

Reception and Spa

Craig wondered off for this 50mins massage (yes they have massage services as well) while I wonder off into the environment.

Spa enterance

A day bed outside the spa....looks rather worn out

There are many trees around....and i spotted 2 lamas.....other than that....there's really nothing much.. It's a place purely for retreat.About 300m away from where our lodge is, there seems to be another 3 more lodges.

And this is our lodge, good location as it's tucked away at the back.

Inside the lodge, there's a king size bed (the bed is very hard and the pillows are rather high. We end up not having a good sleep)

Notice how close the cupboard is next to the bed? Not practical as you can't fully open the cupboard's door. Craig bang his knee while walking towards the bed in the dark at night.

Hall table with CD player and mini food counter for your paid consumption.

TV channels are free local channels. There is also a DVD player but we did not use it. (I'm guessing it's those that you slide into the side of the TV)

Bathrobes are handy!

Kitchen and dinning area.

Our Breakfast! (Bread, Cerals, Eggs, Mushrooms, Bacon, Tomato, Milk, Juice, Jams) Yes!! you have to cook breakfast yourself! Sort of defects the purpose of being relax.

Coffee and Tea

Kitchen/Stove

Toilets are simple and presentable.

Toiletries (shampoo,conditioner and soap)

Gas BBQ - real handy!

Outdoor dining table.

Bird cages with no birds.

Outdoor spa

Notes for spa users

View from veranda

view of lodge from the other side

Outdoor hammock- Very dirty with all sort of stains. We didn't use this.

Spa turned on. It's great!

Craig's back from his massage

Not a bad settings

Something to keep away the mozzies.

Ready to have our cooked breakfast!

It's not a bad place for a quick weekend getaway, however, I wouldn't return again as there's nothing very special about it. In additional the prices are very high for the quality you get. If you want a relaxing quiet weekend, I believe there are cheaper options elsewhere.

Caversham Park, Whiteman Park

2010-06-08T16:49:00.001+08:00

Caversham Park is definitely one of the best tourism place for family or animals lover. Most of the animals roam freely in the park within their enclosed area, especially the fun loving greedy kangaroos.

Make sure you set aside at least half a day for this park because there are shows going on throughout the whole day as well.

Australia Natives

Koala bears are found in eastern and southern parts of Australia originally.

So..what happens when a Koala bear is hungry?

these natives animals are working hard....

and I wonder what this Roo is doing.....????

European Red Foxes- Cute and Deadly.

Margaret River Region, Western Australia

2010-06-05T22:24:00.134+08:00

Margaret River Region is famous for its fine vineyards, beautiful coast and gourmet food. It takes about 3 hours to drive from Perth to Margaret River with the new freeway. This year, Margaret River host the Cow Parade and this is the last stop for the cows. I had only captured 11 shots of the cows and there are a about 89 of them spread around the MR Region.

Some of these cows are amazingly painted or decorated. Most of them are sponsored by the area where they are hosted.

Yahava Coffee places provides free coffee tasting, you can also buy the beans or coffee powder to take away with you. It is situated in a nice quiet location where one can enjoy a nice cup of coffee and let time slips past.

Margaret River Chocolate Factory is a all time favourite place in the region. It provides free samples on one type chocolate they made. There's heaps of choices to choose from and they are a great gift to buy. There's also a cafe in the shop for you to enjoy a cuppa after stressing yourself out what to buy. A huge viewing window shows you the kitchen side of the factory. Open 7days a week.

A lot of the Margaret River Region vineyards are located in Cowaramup but this famous and prestigious winery is located in Margaret River. The Voyager Estate is not only famous for it's wine but also it's beautiful gardens. Stepping into the Voyager, it brings one back to the classic Victorian time where you hear Mozart playing in your ears while the well groomed garden grace your entry. And if that's not enough, they have a huge tall mighty Aussie flag welcoming your visit.

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse conducts tours every day starting from 9.30am, departing every 30minutes. It brings you to the interior of the lighthouse and of cos, the top of it. You can also go without the tour and go for the hike around the lighthouse as well.

There is also a free museum where you can explore. It does have several interesting treasures.

Clear blue sky accentuates the lighthouse.

and there's a (baby) whale spotted!!

Japan(again) 2009 - Tokyo

2009-02-24T19:42:00.000+09:00

2nd time in Tokyo and it still feel the same(colder this time round). I tried to go to a few different places this time but some places are always worth a 2nd visit.

Akihabara- Largest Plasma TV!

Akihabara- Tokyo Anime

Aoyama- Honda Welcome Cente

Asimo the Robot

Another pancake making machine in Asakusa.

Cherry Blossoms in bloom... beautiful

A traditional japanese wedding ceremony at Meji Shrine. how cool....!

Odaiba(one of my favourite place)- Dream Bridge....

Odaiba- MegaWeb(iUnit)

Craig's favourite food in Tokyo. Mos Burger and Krispy Kreme.

Tokyo Stock Exchange. Make sure you sign yourself up for a tour otherwise you have no clue what's going in(unless you are a trader). Quite difficult to find its location too!

very expensive mangos!!

Yokohama-Tin Toy factory. What a gem!

Hmm, that's not made of tin....

view outside my hotel room- toilets of another building!

Japan(again) 2009 - Sapporo

2009-02-21T22:46:00.000+09:00

We only stayed 1 day in Sapporo. there is a 3hr coach that you can catch from Neisko to Sapporo and it stops at the Sapporo bus terminal. We stayed at the Crown Plaza hotel, which can be quite a far walk when its cold and snowing, not to mention wet as well.Sapporo is well known for its ramen, so I have to make sure I had a bowl at the Ramen Alley before I go!

View from the hotel room

Pancake making machine

I have no idea what this means.....

Unfortunately, there was heavy snow fall on the day when we are suppose to fly to Tokyo. The trains are delayed or cancelled. When we reach the airport, all flights are suspended and we had to wait in the terminal for 5hours. And there's nothing much to eat in the waiting hall(other than cold bento boxes with very ridiculous prices). So the camera is put into good use.

Train view: people clearing their snow piled driveway.

Pokemon plane! that's cool!

Look at the Q for checking in.

1st flight delay for 6hours!!

Japan(again) 2009 - Neisko

2009-02-14T21:52:00.003+09:00

Neisko is cool, its cold and its bloody expensive! to make things worse, I injured my ankle on the 2nd day on the ski trip....which means I have to limp around for the remaining 4days!

Food wise, they are scatttered everywhere, so you can walk to different places to have a meal or catch the free shuttle bus. The ski resort is packed with locals and Aussies!There's apartments and lodges everywhere, so you don't have to worry about accomodation, its a matter of pricing and if you want to share the toilet and bath with strangers.

Snow wise, its definately powder like...but only right at the top and not the lower ski slopes. (Craig says so....)

Nice view from the ski slopes

after a night of heavy snowing, that's how deep my feet sink into.

Accomodation- Kogen Hotel (Tiny room!)

Ski Slopes

vending machines for cigarettes..how UNcool.

Night view from hotel room.

Heavy snow one night..

Western Australia - Pinnacles

2008-03-03T21:35:00.001+09:00

The Pinnacles are located about a three-hour drive north of Perth near the coastal town of Cervantes. you can travel by car or you can take a coach or four wheel drive tour from Perth. There are also plenty of day tours that go to the Pinnacles. Basically, its all natural rock formations. Pick a day when its not hot!

South Korea - Seoul

2008-01-31T22:33:00.081+09:00

Seoul the capital city of South Korea was very much so so..... To see more of Seoul, one should really go when it is autum or spring, where the whole country comes alive in different colours. In winter, is pretty much dull and wet everywhere.

got a good deal and stayed at Inter-Continential. Good hotel in good location.

Bongeunsa Temple, just behind the hotel

Deoksugung Palace is one of the places to witness the traditional changing of the guards cermony. There is only one timings in a day so make sure you get there early and get a good spot right in front of the main gate. It is within walking distance from the City hall station.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is another place where you can watch the changing of the guards.They are pretty similar to the one at Deoksugung Palace. This palace had been destroy during the Japanese Occupation and is still under going restoration. It is much bigger than Deoksugung Palace and has more interesting scenes. So if you are running tight for time, I would strongly suggest Gyeongbokgung Palace instead. You can access the palace by subway(there is actually a station name after it). Enterance fee is 3000won and it's close on Tuesday(accurate at time of writing)

Main Enterance

Beautiful lake in the Palace

Pagoda in the Palace

Seoul has many interesting markets and the good thing(for shoppers) is that the markets of the same goods are located in the same spot. How convenient!! Why can't Australia be like this.

Herbs market

Night Market

Guess what animal I saw in the herbs market!!! Fruits and Vege market

Now this is a very odd design. It is a men's public toliet but you can actually see through!!! Can you see the urinal?

Korea War Memorial- I'm a big fan of war museums and memorials. So this is a no-miss for me. Take subway line 4 or 6 and get off at Samgakji Station, its about 5-10mins walk. Its quite a big place so make sure you allow yourself 1-2hrs for viewing, especially if you are a huge planes and tanks lover.

Statue of Brothers. It symbolise the divide between the north and south koreans.

one of my favourite momument in the museum. It is a tower for each country who fought hard for the Korean War.

Heaps of war aircraft everywhere on display. You can get into most of the planes as well.

And to top it all up for my visit to the war museum, guess what I saw?? a Korean traditional wedding!!! of all places.........

Spot the bridge and groom!

Not to forget....we celebrated Craig's birthday!

South Korea - Yongpyong Ski Resort

2008-01-29T22:14:00.020+09:00

Yongpyong Ski Resort is well know for the Korean drama- Winter Sonata. The koreans are proud of their this place and there's large movie posters of the lovely dovey lead (or maybe only ) couple in the drama. I can't comment much because I had never watch the drama myself.

try not to go to this resort during school holidays because there's massive number of school kids and they hold up the chair lift. Otherwise, this is a fantastic ski resort, there's entertainment and plenty of eatery around.

Very expensive room...and tiny as well!!!

Front view of the resort....and its snowing as well!

View from the Gondola

View from Gondola..look at the kids queuing for chair lifts!

no kidding.. it was -22degrees!!

Tingy blends well with the background....:))

overview of the resort

Snowboarding

South Korea - Gyeongju

2008-01-28T21:56:00.027+09:00

Gyeongju is the capital of ancient kingdom of Silla. There are alot of historical treasures and some are designated as World Heritage. there are coaches that travel from Busan to Gyeongju.

Bulguksa Temple

Bulguksa Temple- Korean way of making a wish

Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory at night

Seokguram Grotto

South Korea 2008 - Busan

2008-01-26T20:00:00.003+09:00

Busan is the port city located south of south korea. Its buzzing with seafood places and has a massive fish market. We catch a train (KTX) from Seoul to Busan.

Love hotel. Not bad actually! It's called the Big Apple. Mind you, its rather difficult to find its location. View from Busan Tower

Jagalchi Fish Market. These men are bidding for the fish that just arrived from the fishing boat.

More stalls inside Jagalchi Fish market.

pig heads at fish market????

Craig found Krispy Kreme!!! YUM....

Tingy at Haeundae Beach

Western Australia - South West

2007-12-28T22:29:00.000+09:00

Pemberton is famous for its tall trees and the best place to view it is at the Valley of the Giants, which is located in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. There are gigantic tingle trees and some are over 400years old. Valley of the Giants has some of the most enormous trees in the world. There is also a tree top walk(bridge) which is about 40m above the forest ground.

Albany is about 5hrs drive from Perth. Its famous landmark are the windfarms, the Gap and the Natural Bridge.

Beautiful scenary in Albany Albany Windfarm

Natural Gap Bridge- granite formation in the shape of a bridge.

On the way to Denmark, we found a blueberry farm, stopped for morning tea. YUM!

Denmark
Pentland Alpaca Stud and Tourist Farm. Enterance fee $10 but you get to cuddle and feed almost all the animals in the farm!

Victoria (Australia)- Mt Dandenongs

2007-06-03T21:56:00.001+08:00

One all time favourite place in Victoria.....

Oriental Beijing

2006-03-13T14:35:00.000+08:00

Beijing is so different from Shanghai. It has so much culture and flavour still. The people are different, the feeling being in Beijing and being in Shanghai is so different.
北京是很与上海不同。它仍然非常有文化和味道。人民是不同的, 感觉是在北京并且是在上海是很不同的。

Here are some of my favourites pics. the most amazing place i ever been to in beijing is the Great Wall. I always believe, as a chinese, i must climb the Great Wall in my lifetime. i'm glad i have a chance to do that. When i am up at the Great Wall, i suddenly feel so proud of my culture. My fellows ancestors can actually build such an amazing structure.

以下有一些我的喜爱照片。最令人惊讶的地方是北京的长城 . 。我总相信, 作为华人, 我必须攀登长城，我是高兴的-我有机会做到在我的一生里。当我在长城上, 我突然为我的文化感觉很骄傲。我的祖先能实际上建立这样一个令人惊讶的结构。
Forbidden City

Temple of Heaven. The highlight of the place was under renovation when i was there.

Summer Palace. Highlight of the place was ALSO under renovation.

This day when i'm at this temple- Yong He Gong, it was actually snowing and it was snowing so heavily for about 10mins.This is my 1st time seeing such heavy and beautiful snow.
i'm blessed.
这天当我是在这个寺庙他打锣的雍, 它实际上下着雪并且它下着雪为大约10mins.This 那么沉重是我的第1 次看见我保佑的这样重和美丽的雪。

Youth Hostel (YHA). Its not as good as it was reccomend in the review travel websites .
它不是象那些介绍青年顾旅行网站一样好。

长城 Great Wall Badaling.

Hangzhou Weekend(17-18Feb) getaway 杭州周末逃走

2006-02-18T14:27:00.000+08:00

Xiao yong and harry has been very kind to bring me for a trip to Hangzhou. It was such an enjoyable and memorial trip, even though its a short one, i had alot of fun and it was relaxing to stop thinking about work for 2 days.

晓勇和李鹏是非常亲切的，带我到杭州旅行。这是一样令人愉快和并且纪念的旅行, 虽然它是短的, 我有很多乐趣和也放松停止考虑工作2 天。

Lin Ying Si

6 Storey Padago

Xi Hu Lake 西湖

Lei Feng Ta

Australia Canberra Floride Beauty

2005-10-20T23:58:00.000+08:00

Theme of this year Floride is Tulips

Australia NSW- Port Stephens

2005-10-20T14:45:00.000+08:00

Dolphins & Whales Ferry Cruise (didn't get to see any at all........... :(( )

Man relaxing on the grass

Little boy with his border collie

Port Stephens Yachts

Australia NSW- Newcastle Beach

2005-10-20T14:31:00.000+08:00

Newcastle Beach (in front of the train station)

Newcastle Beach Sunset

Newcastle Beach (in front of the train station)

The Foreshore

Australia NSW- Hunter Valley Gardens

2005-10-20T14:04:00.000+08:00

Hunter Valley Gardens Village

Reflections.........

Horse Riding at the Valleys

Foal

Pizza Lunch. Yummy

The good smell of pizza woke up the hunter dog............

Hunter dog resting on my thigh!! he wants my pizza..................

Look at his longing eyes......

Australia Canberra War Memorial

2005-10-20T13:55:00.000+08:00

Canberra War Memorial

They Gave Their Lives

Japan May/June 2005 Yokohama

2005-06-21T23:47:00.000+08:00

Yokohama is about 30mins bullet train ride from Tokyo, its my next favourite city after Hiroshima. Yokohama is Japan's second largest city. It has one of the biggest chinatown in Japan, located in central Yokohama. In the Chinatown of Yokohama, there's altogether 8 "dragon" gates. here's 2 below.

Yamashita Park- a public park at the foot of the Yamate hill, its also one of the famous park facing the harbour front and also the business district area.

The Yamashita Rinkosen Promenade is a nice waterfront promenade connecting Minato Mirai 21 with Yamashita Park

Marine Tower in Yamashita Park. 106 meter tall lighthouse

Nippon-Maru- a passenger ship which served on the Yokohama-Vancouver/Seattle and other routes from 1930 to 1960, is docked in front of Yamashita Park

Harbour view Park Bay Bridge .The Harbor View Park is a public park located on top of the Yamate hill, offering a nice view of the Bay Bridge

sleeping kitty

Japan May/June 2005 Hakone

2005-06-21T17:23:00.000+08:00

Hakone- is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, less than 100 kilometers from Tokyo. Famous for hot springs, outdoor activities, natural beauty and the view of nearby Mt. Fuji

Everything is expensive here, even the locals who come here are treated as tourist. There is a circuit which you can take in Hakone, it will cover most parts of hakone by railway, cable car, ropeway, ship and bus ride for a 1 day pass. I had tried to start off early for this day but still its not good enough, because i end up with not enough time to visit some places.

Unfortunately when i was at Hakone, it was very cloudy, i didn't get to see Mt Fuji at all. but i was impress with the place, it was very countrylike and the air here is very cold and fresh. A must place to visit definately.

First destination- Gora Park, it was a very long way up to Gora park, the path leading up is soooo steep.....Japanese old ladies and man really amazed me, they are super strong in climbing staircases and steep pathways. I have so many "O-ba-san" walking pass me. :O

This tree is everywhere in Gora Park, its very beautiful

Inside the ropeway

This place is call Owakudani - the area around a crater created in the last eruption of Mount Hakone 3000 years ago. Sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced on a walk around the area. Eggs, boiled in the naturally hot waters, are said to prolong one's life by seven years . you have to climb all the way up to see the sulpur production. There's eggs boiled in sulpur. taste like ordinary eggs. but its all black.

Last section of the circuit, taking the Pirates Ferry Ship across the Ashi Lake, its beautiful!!!
Lake Ashi (Japanese: Ashinoko) was formed in the caldera of Mount Hakone after the volcano's last eruption 3000 years ago. Today, the lake with Mount Fuji in the background is the symbol of Hakone.

tingy having a good time. he's not afriad of the captain!!

Japan May/June 2005 Miyajima

2005-06-21T16:54:00.000+08:00

Miyajima - literally called "shrine island" has been celebrated as a sacred island , is the most beautiful place in japan in my opinion. It is an island on its own, i have to catch a ferry to Miyajima. The place is so country like and quiet. The small island was stunning, people are moving slowly, there are deers everywhere, and its so peaceful and quiet. Its so unlike Japan.
When arrive, it was almost sunset, the Miyajima residents are returning home from their hard day work in the mainland. The children are home and the place is quiet. I had to go there the next day again early in the morning (which i don't mind at all) to see the famous Itsukshima Shrine, where the Torii stands right in the water.

sunset shots near the jetty

Oops....me again
This is a very hard shot to take..........guess what, i think the deer wants its picture taken as well............:)))

The next morning.......................

Its amazing.......there are deers roaming around everwhere..........

Beautiful morning

Off to the famous Itsukshima Shrine. The shrine, which is partially constructed over water and features the famous floating torii gate, was first constructed in the 6th century

Shopping streets in Miyajima

Famous snack in Japan- Momiji Manju redbean paste. For Miyajima, the shape comes as a maple leaf.

Heading back.......................Tingy in the ferry...................

Japan May/June 2005 Tokyo

2005-06-21T00:22:00.000+08:00

Tokyo- spend the longest time here. my accommodation was 6days long and it was outside the city. So i had to travel a bit to get into the city inside and also the accomodation room size was the smallest i ever get in the whole trip. the entire room size just fits my height and this was a Single B. I couldn't have imagine what does Single A looks like.

it was a friendly nice backpackers place and i'm contented with it, can't expect much in Tokyo if the accomdation paid is consider cheap. i had to stand outside of the room to take a picture.

Roppongi Hills is one of the most expensive areas in Tokyo, alot of expats lived there and its very Amercian style, very modern apartments, shoping malls, very unlike Tokyo city itself. There's a very strong flavour of western culture here. It is a city within the city
I found a mini showroom!!!!

Mori Tower - 54-storey skyscraper named after the company and company president that built it. It was very cloudy because it was raining that day

Mori Garden

Roppongi Hills Arena - new headquarters of TV Asahi.

Harujuku is Tokyo's teenager town, a shopping and entertainment district for the young and trendy.

Takeshita Street- this is where all the younsters dressed up gothic and parade around on Sunday. These costums cost alot and you can get them at this street. It is very crowded on Sundays and there's even a big SNOOPY store!!!!

$ 321 SGD !!!

she dresses up like some comic character i think

i wonder who's prettier :)))

Meji Shrine Torii- said to be the biggest torii made from wood. Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) is a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan.

Asakusa- This place is famous for its temple -Sensoji Temple. The legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida river, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was built there for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.
Again, when i was there, it was raining.

Sensoji Temple Kuminarimon Gate (this is only the front gate)

Sensoji Temple Nakamise Street - a very long street leading to the temple. 200 meters

Main temple

Ueno - This place actually has a zoo and i hate to say this, but this zoo is cruel to animals, all the cages are so small and the habitat for the animals are terrible.

Polar bears with no cold environment for them, its all fake surrounding which looks like ice.

Panda bear stuck in a small cage. Look at its unnatural surrounding.

Kangeroos locked in a small cage, no where for them to hop and roam about.

Hard rock Cafe in the Ueno Train Station.

Ebisu- one of my favourite place in Tokyo, when i stepped out of the train station, i thought i have return back to singapore. There's tall apartments behind the train station and the roads look so much like singapore style. This place has alot of western flavour too, feels very homely and sophisticated. There's a beer musuem which shows how beer is been made and there's also a beer bar that sells the local Ebisu beer.
Yebisu Garden Place is built on the former site of a beer brewery, where the still existing Yebisu Beer brand had been brewed since 1890

Marionette Clock Square

Chateau Resturant at the Garden place (look at the high rise apartments behind)

Garden Place Beer Station

Garden Place Central Square

The Beer Museum Yebisu commemorates the original brewery, displays exhibits about the history and science of beer brewing in Japan and the world and offers beer tasting.
Beer Musem Tasting Lounge

My yummy snack and beer. The beer taste really smooth

Different types of Ebisu beers on display

Odaiba is like the bays of Tokyo, you have to catch the Yurikamome train across the Rainbow bridge to get to Odaiba. This is another very interesting place to go, unfortunately, when i was there, it was raining heavily. i didn't get to the alot of sights.

Yurikamome train

Rainbow Bridge in the day

This is a really hard shot to take, it was raining and i was carrying my umbrella, protecting my camera from the rain and have to take the shot with my hands steadily. This is the best shot that came out from the rest, unfortunately, Mr Rain decide to hit my lens while i press the shutter. :(((

Odaiba beach

Part of Palette Town, Venus Fort is a shopping mall in the style of a 18th century South European town. This place is truly unique, especially the ceilings.

Mega Web is a Toyota showroom, where you can view and touch Toyota's newest models

Expo 2005 Aichi Mascots

Kiccoro(refers to Forest Child) on the left, light green color. Morizo ( Forest Grand Father ) in the middle and ME!! on the right.

This is the headquarters of Fuji Television, one of Japan's private, nationwide TV stations.Fuji TV Building

DECKS is a shopping mall_waterfront_ 1

115 meter tall ferris wheel

Zojoji Temple was built in the year 1393, and was moved to its present location in 1598

Tokyo Tower at the back of the temple

Tokyo Towers, 333 meters. It was completed in the year 1958 as a symbol for Japan's rebirth as a major economic power, and serves as a television and radio broadcast antenna and tourist attraction

Shinjuku Station Times Square

Metropolitan govt office

Marunouchi Tiffany&Co

The current Imperial Palace is located on the former site of Edo Castle, a large park area surrounded by moats and massive stone walls in the center of Tokyo. It is the residence of Japan's Imperial Family.

Nijubashi, two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds. The stone bridge in front is called Meganebashi (Eyeglass Bridge) for its looks. The bridge in the back was formerly a wooden bridge with two levels, from which the name Nijubashi (Double Bridge) is derived

Moat

Palace Guards

Me and Tingy in the Palace East Garden

Japan May/June 2005 Kyoto

2005-06-20T21:18:00.000+08:00

Kyoto is my 1st stop in Japan. I arrive in Osaka airport and took a train up to Kyoto. When i arrive in the morning, it was raining, so the 1st thing i bought for myself in Japan, is a yellow Umbrella. Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868, It is now the country's seventh largest city

I had to take a bus to my accomodation and this is my 1st encounter with asking for directions is english and terrible spoken Japanese. Luckily for me, i managed to find my accomodation, which is a very small family inn used as backpackers home. the pictures may seems very small but this is the BEST accommodation i had in Japan, with my own toilet and bathtub.

Below are the places which i managed to cover in 1 day in Kyoto:

1. Sanju-sangen-do Temple - a temple in eastern Kyotowhich is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple was founded in 1164 and its present structures date from 1266. Unfortunately, no cameras is allowed in the hall of the temple.

2. Kiyomizu Temple aka Pure Water Temple is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. It was founded in 780 and remains associated with the Hosso sect, one of the oldest sects within Japanese Buddhism.

3. Jishu Shrine . Behind Kyomizudera's main hall stands Jishu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deity of love. In front of the shrine are two rocks, placed several meters apart from each other. Successfully walking from one to the other rock with your eyes closed is said to bring luck in your love live.

Jinshu Shrine Love Rabbit

4. Kyoto_tower (waste of money, please don't ever go)

5. Kyoto_imperial_palace (the next morning)

Kyoto Imperial Palace used to be the residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868, when the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. It is located in the spacious Kyoto Imperial Park. The palace burnt down and was moved around the city several times over the centuries

Japan May/June 2005 Nara

2005-06-20T19:54:00.000+08:00

Nara- Japan's first permanent capital was established in the year 710 at Heijo, the city now known as Nara

From Kyoto, I had to take a train up to Nara. Nara is quite a small area and i only have time to walk time for 1/2 day. So i went to Nara park, which is more popular and closest to the train station, the walking was not easy, it was a long long long long long(i have no idea how long i walk) way just to reach Nara Park.

There''s a few key attractions in Nara Park, the most visible ones are the deers. Deers roam freely in the park and often fed biscults by the school children on school visits or by tourist. Isn't the deers cute.......

There's also the Kofuji_5storey_Pagoda, Kofuji_3storey_Pagoda, Kasuga_taisha_Shrine.

Look at this.....its a BUS-STOP!

Japan May/June 2005 Kobe

2005-06-20T18:16:00.000+08:00

Kobe- Kobe is the capital of Hyogo Prefecture and one of Japan's ten largest cities. It was my 3rd stop. Took a train from Nara to Kobe. By the time i reach Kobe, it was already evening time. I quickly check into the accomodation(tiny small room) and went out for night tour. I decide to go to chinatown and the Meriken Park. Got a bit lost trying to find chinatown at night.

i'm glad i went to Meriken Park (nearly gave up because it was drizzling). It was very beautiful at night. Meriken Park is a nice waterfront park in Kobe's port area. The park was devastated by the 1995 earthquake, but has now become a popular spot for locals and tourists again. A small memorial in the park commemorates the many lives lost in the port area due to the earthquake

Ferris Wheel in Kobe

Kobe Port Tower

Kobe Martime Museum with Port Tower

Maiko Marine Promenade- The next day got up very early and travel to see the longest suspension bridge in Japan. You can actually go to the middle portion of the bridge, its very cold and noisy inside the bridge because there are cars above you and the noise below you cause by the waves of the sea

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge was opened for service in the spring of 1998 as the world's longest suspension bridge (3,911 m).

At the foot of the bridge is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center and Sea Promenade. Maiko Beach adjacent to the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge commands a magnificent view of the world's longest suspension bridge

Its quite scary(i'm afraid of heights!!) to walk past this stretch of glass, you can see the water gushing below you

Japan May/June 2005 Hiroshima

2005-06-20T17:44:00.000+08:00

Hiroshima was one of my favourite stops in Japan. It gives me a very sub-urban feeling, the pace there is not too fast, nice people. It is also the stop where my camera battery runs out and i had to hunt for a japan charger as my charger cannot work in Japan(voltage 110v)

After checking into my accomodation, the 1st place that i must go is the Peace Musuem Park. This place brings back so much memories of what happen during WW2, especially inside the Peace Musum. I sypmathise with the victims but i felt the whole truth was not spoken, after visiting the musuem.

The Peace Memorial Park was built to commemorate the dropping of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and to promote a peaceful world. It is located in the area around the atomic explosion's epicenter, and houses the Peace Memorial Museum and many other a-bomb related monuments.

The Peace Memorial Museum graphically displays the atomic bomb's horrible effects on the city and its inhabitants

Children Peace_Mounment (there were many paper cranes at this area)

Atomic_bomb_dome (original building left behind after the atomic bomb)
The Atomic Bomb Dome is one of the few buildings around the explosion's epicenter that partially survived the blast, and the city's only remaining bomb damaged building.

Bell of Peace

Cenotaph - It contains a list of all the people who were killed by the explosion or died due to the bombing's long-term effects such as cancer caused by radiation.