Short trip to Moganshan Autumn 2008

Moganshan is very close to Hangzhou .last year I had a chance on weekend go there for a short trip and it is kind of refreshing and relaxing and whenever you want to get rid of hectic life in Shanghai or Hangzhou jump in bus or drive your car and les than an hour you are there.

Moganshan has a great history in Chinese folklore culture.Moganshan was found in 1898 by some foreigners .As They were looking for summer camp and somewhere to pass the hot summers in shanghai.The Name of "Mogan" comes from a couple who devoted their life for the emperor and came here to work on the swords for battle ,and both of them died here and they were great lovers in Chinese folklors.




There were so many missionaries set their meeting and parties there as it is located on on the hills and enjoy fresh and nice climate.So they built a lot of houses and bungalows there and organized the town style as Western style.






That is very small county and the best things to do there is just get of out of the road on trails and walk around and enjoy the greenish , pure and untouched nature or can rent a bike and cycle around
You can get a bus and reach there and then there is a Lodge there which has some activities you can do there and get a drink and play some game sand rest a bit.there are plenty of small cottages form locals which you can hire and spend time there,but you need to negotiate first and cut the price.













It is really mind blowing and refreshing when you want to enjoy tranquil and peaceful and untouched nature.
I was talking for a short time with one of the locals.The day I arrived it started to rain ,but in fact it add the beauty there and nothing missing form that.

My trip to Malaysia Feb 2008

My trip to Malaysia started on the first of February 2008.I had a month off from work and I decided to visit Malaysia and Indonesia( Bali,specifically).



I had a direct flight from Shanghai to Kuala lumpur and when, I arrive there it was 2 o'clock in the morning.I booked a hostel in advance ,but I still had problem from airport reaching to the city which they overcharged me as they for the tourists.

For more information should mention Malaysia was under the colony of England in early18 century .The majority of people there are Malay and some other ethnic groups as Chinese and Indian live there with peace.

Malaysia has a wide range of tourist attractions. The sheer diversity of tourism destinations is astounding. These include the high-tech city of Kuala Lumpur, tropical island of Langkawi, colonial hill stations of Genting and Cameron Highlands, numerous pristine beaches, National Parks, and the world's oldest tropical rain forests. .


I haven't noticed any problems with communication to the people .This country has Muslim majorities and if you want to go to the bar and get any type of alcoholic drinks you will find it a bit difficult and more expensive than other neighbour countries.




To describe Kuala Lumpur is like a great book full of pictures and another important city is Malacca sea shore ,which is 147 km south part of capital and has Portuguese in heritage from the colonial time.



There is a city in South part of Kuala lumpur which is called Malacca which was under the colony of Portuguese.


Malacca was discovered 1200 and after that was pretty small city,Literally not that much attention to it but after Malaysia turn to a Muslim country and trade between India,Arab countries and Indonesia and China reached to a large scale this small town turn to a big trading zone in South East Asia.






During the time I spent in Kuala lumpur I visited few nice flower and butterfly gardens which were picturesque and unique on it's own.You could see more than 50 different types of butterflies there and was include the botanical gardens as well.You can visit the old train station which has a great foundation and structure.












If you a re interested in shopping and fashion there are pretty big department stores there with new style and unique clothes with reasonable prices compare to Europe.




There is a cave calls Batu cave which is 2 kilometer far from center of city and has a great history of Buddhism and Hinduism in Malaysia.specially so many Indians citizens regularly go there to pray.



There are few caves which are a bit far from center of city and there tours to take you there.I got a tour for whole day and we went by jetty .
In fact all the caves are on the top of the hills ,which needs much effort to climb up there.Inside of one of the caves The guide showed us plenty of bats nest hiding on the top and he sad they used to live there more as mire and more people going there so a lot migrate to some other unknown caves in remote areas.by the way as far as I remember this cave called Lang's cave which has so many stalactite and stalagmites.



the beautiful part was when you passed through the cave a path leads you outside you will realize the roof is like the floor as the roots of trees grow from top to down which was so interesting for me.It took us few hours walking after getting out of the cave and passed through a narrow path and jungle to reach to our jetty on the other side of lake waiting for us.


Penang is the Oriental pearl of East Asia,is located on the north West and has mild climate compare to South and less tropical and you can enjoy variety of sea sports there,lush greenery,golden beaches and very close to Langkawi .



When I arrived to Penang it was almost dark and after spending 2 hours I found the hostel.I stayed there few days.Penang is small coastal city but you can find enormous travel agencies to get jetty ticket or a short tour around or send you to the north Langkawi.


Actually in Penang I had so much adventure with motor and almost everyday I had my Honda motor and used to go to the beach with it .hiring motor there is like renting Bike in China ,pretty common and women there ride motors pretty well.I learned there a bit,but I had a bad accident with exhaust pipe with my leg and it burn severely.Unfortunately the shape might stay for ever in my leg's skin which is not good.

I was so sad cause I wanted to use sea and swimming and scuba diving and other water sports .Locals helped me to find some sea cucumber oil which has a miraculous effed on my leg and salty water was good to prevent form infection as well.

There is a seven storey pagoda which has a great bird view and a great influence of Chinese,Thai and Indian architecture .

Moreover a snake temple which has a reputation of sending the snakes out of the city after completion of the temple.There is a bird park which is gigantic and has variety of different type of tropical,Asian and European birds.A perfect collection for bird spotters.Even more you can take some photos with birds and some of them would perch on your shoulder which is amazing if you don't have any bird phobia.

Langkawi is very close to South part of Thailand and in fact by jet boat can reach there less than half an hour.This coastal city absorb so many tourist from Russia and north Europe as well and Asia.It is a tax heaven land ,so you can find anything by bargaining.

I stayed there for a week and that was memorable.In fact East part of Malaysia with West part is totally different in the matter of climate .I went there in Feb and it was end of hot season and peak time for West and opposite starting peak time and Hot summer season in East coast.
As we know this country is on the Equator but the fact is they heave seasonal rainfall and typhoons which could be really severe.It is worse in Indonesia,s o travellers must be careful of choosing the right season for all these things

The cuisines are mixed with Thai and pretty spicy .Langkawi has a great resort team which can help and guide you for diving and travel agencies have jetty to take you even to Thailand,but it needed 2 or 3 days till entry visa issues.
There is a hill in penang which has tram and you can get up to the hills and take amazing photos of the whole city,it is the first tram and rail station in Malaysia.



More over there plenty of tropical forest which you can go for trekking.I did it and it took me 3 hours,but be sure you are taking mosquito's spray with you otherwise the next day you don't recognise yourself.




Trannganu is another city in East Coast which is totally has different cultural heritage from Langkawi.It is more quiet and cozy .

Between May and September each year, at Rantau Abang, 60 km south of Kuala Terengganu, the state's capital city, visitors gather to watch giant Leatherback turtles clamber ashore to lay eggs.
Terengganu compare to th other state in Malausia has developed less and lesss improvment and a bit slow ,but it is a perfect destination for tourists who are looking for relaxing time with white ,sandy beaches.

When I arrived there was almost half closed the beaches.Terengganu is the capital beside the sea and there are plenty beaches and small Islands around which tourist according to their desire and budgets can rent.I was totally disappointed As I moved from Kua la lumpur 2 times and went to the North East and came back to Cameron high land which was great to see and a lot of casinos and bars and gamblers ,then again from capital got the ticket to North East and discovered the East and West have totally different peak and low seasons for water sport ,related to tide and typhoons.
Anayway I was lucky found a small Island half open with cheap price and go the tour for 4 days and everything include plus guide for trekking and scuba diving.well I have got some nice photos from that Island ad sea animals .

At the west end of Kuala Terengganu, Jalan Bandar forms the centre of Chinatown, where you'll find the excellent Teratai, no. 151, selling local arts and crafts. Kuala Terengganu's Central Market (daily 7am–6pm), a little further down on the right, close to the junction with Jalan Kota, also deals in batik, songkets and brassware. For other good craft buys, check out the small brassware workshop (daily 8.30am–6pm) on Jalan Ladang in the east of town.

My apartment in Hangzhou and Halloween and Christmas 2007,2008

The scenery of West lake is amazing and I took this photo in spring time .West lake was so close to our apartment,approximately took 15 minutes by bike to reach there.
West lake is surrounded 3 sides by hills and approximately 100.40 acres ,has 2 causeways3 small island and 10 scenic spots.
There are ferries any seasons ,especially in summer to Cruise on the lake and it takes you around 5 hours ,include visiting Islands and drop you on the first spot at the end.








The last apartment I had in Hangzhou was quite nice though.The style and the foundation was old but despite that me and Wijbren( my Fiance) both are interested in art .
we went to artificial flower and plant market few times and got the branches and leaves and waxes and with the tools we had at home,we were quite busy few weekends to decorate and make art crafts for our ugly walls and covered them with art stuff we had .
These photos are result of our experiments.There was a sea food shop very close to our apartment which most of Saturdays after work we used to go there and make a hard task eating Lobsters.they were so scrumptious and juicy and Worth struggling the spics and dirty hands.
our school usually organised parties for Christmas and Halloween .We had to prepare and dress up and organized some activities for students and free dinner.How that sounds!
But to be honest that was really great BEING WITH FRIENDS ,HUMMING SONGS FOR FEW DAYS WHICH WAS STICKING IN YOUR HEAD .
MAKE UP AND HANG OUT WITH COLLEAGUES AFTER WORK TILL MIDNIGHT AND THE FOLLOWING DAY,WELL FEELING HANGOVER RAND LOUSY AND CLUMSY SHOW UP.



More over you can imagine if you would receive some especial gifts as well.
Some of were more creative in decorating clothes and arranging some songs and lyrics and sometimes they were a little sarcastic in their hymn and songs...
I remember in this photo we were so excited and a bit merry as well.
In this photo I am with my students and i helped them with their face painting and masks ready for Halloween.

A memorable trip to Singapore and Maldive, August 2008

When I use to work on EF school We had just 2 weeks off( Annual leave) and last year I really wanted to visit Maldive.I do love travelling and especially to nature and do water sport.
In my last trip to Malaysia as I stayed there for a month I had chances to do some scuba diving.and I wanted to practice it in Maldive as I hear a lot about underwater mysteries and turquoise blue and coral riffs in Maldive.


I took a photo from airplane before take-off and that was great joy and success as I discovered later which I have to pay $500 dollars for just 15 minutes to be on the sky-propeller plane to get some photos from the Maldive Islands.




My trip started in the second week of August and I had a direct flight from Shanghai to Singapore and decided to stay there overnight .










I don't like big cities like Beijing ,shanghai,Singapore( capitals) are always crowed,expensive and noisy and a lot of thieves around..Anyway,flight from shanghai took me to Singapore and I booked a common hotel in Singapore.



Brief about Singapore,This small country used to be part of Malaysia and especially in 11 century and after that around14 century Melecca ( a district in South of Malaysia) which was colonised by Portuguese and if you go to art district and look for Chinese sits and some handy crafts ,you will see a combination of Chinese ,Malay and Portuguese culture in art and building constructions.
As you know majority of people in China can't speak English but in Singapore is totally different.


A lot of Chinese and Malaysian migrated to Singapore and as I am artist,I mostly look for art districts and art activities.There are local Singaporean dance similar to Malay dance which is amazing ,covering face with Mask and especial movement of hands ,like talking to the people by beckoning.In China town in Trennganu Street you can see Beijing opera,Cantonese opera.
If you like to try Chinese food I suggest first go for Cantonese as you might have much variety and taste in reasonably similar to international taste.
If you feel exhausted from your long way walking and your trip ,the best medicine is go for foot massage .In China as I live ere is pretty common ,but to be precise as I have seen and been to these countries,most of South East Asian countries are popular destinations for tired tourist and a great ,relaxing one- hour foot massage is your remedy.

Anyway after a night I got my plane to go to Maldive.,Maldive is located in North Indian ocean and is approximately seven hundred kilometre far from sri lanka.That is pity I couldn't got o Sri lanka.As it is a great destination for people searching for natural life and adv nature and hiking and jungle discoveries,but due to civil war around 30 years running there,pretty risky to travel there.
The was a tsunami in 2004 happened in Indian ocean which caused a lot of damaged and so many homeless in Maldive.Maldive hold the record of being one of the lowest lands in the world ,just few centimetres higher than sea level.
Majority of people in Maldive are Muslim and some Buddhist.
As Maldive imports all the product as other Islands so pretty expensive to get food and fruit there.Most of the ships land in Maldive harbor come from Sri lanka or India.There is a great local market in Maldive which I visited and I payed 5 dollars ,just for 2 mango's.

In local supermarket you could see so many tuna fish ,actually Tunas make there and export to Sir lanka and other neighbouring countries.


When I arrived there as a surprise I saw so many motorcycles,exactly like Bali and Malaysia.People use motor a lot.Unfortunately this vehicle destroy the green plants and fresh air there.I got a motor taxi ride to reach to my hotel and after the whole evening rest on the next morning went to the harbor to get the ferry to the Island that I wanted to go.There 3 ,4 and 5 start hotels and islands are pretty classified.I didn't want to send 400 dollars per night for nothing.so I chose a 3 star lovely and small Island which is famous for water sport.and cost me 150 dollar per night include food as well.Most Maldivians converted to Islam in 12 century due to Muslim traders,and When I wanted to visit the Musk they wanted to charge me and give me some scarfs,which pissed me off.
Maldivians economy entirely depend on fishing and marine lives and agriculture,but lack of cultivated area which is the biggest problem there.

As I got a tour package for one of the Islands i Maldive I had sport coach or better to say tour sport-guard who helped me a lot and made my life much easier,in matter of renting sailing boats , snorkeling,and so on.

There were so many craft and souvenir shops ,but the prices pretty high compare to other places .I was trying to get a pair of fin for snorkeling and they charged me for 100 dollars.




During the time I was there almost everyday I went for scuba diving and when I was in open water under 20 meters deep I could catch great and fantastic photos.Even though I was so panic first not floating in deep water and take good photos at the same time,but all worth trying in fact.I have found quite nice girl during my stay in Maldive and we were snorkeling and did some scuba diving together.It was a package for scuba diving 4 time pay and get one time trial.well in fact not a bad deal at all and we were all together .

In one of photos I saw some nice sharks,but luckily they were not interested in human meat and we were in a big group,as well.IN another photo we went for diving at night with professional divers ,thank god,and went to deep under 35 mete res and I have seen some crap and rubbish at them bottom on sea bed,which bring pity and sorrow as we see how we make our world so dirty.According to environmentalist Maldive has changed a lot and a lot of Marines already dead or dying due to so much pollution in the ocean.







There are different type of rare Marines in Maldive ,which alike Hawaii and the can range number 3 Bali ,Lankgkawi( In Malaysia) and South of Thailand are the best in the world.
basically Indian ocean has invited different type of dolphins,turtles due to coral reefs which are very important cause prevent erosion in land.



FOR YOUR INFORMATION THERE 4 DIFFERENT TYPE OF SHARKS IN MALDIVE AND NOT SOMETIMES QUITE FRIENDLY AND HAVE GREAT SENSE OF SMELLING.

There are plenty of sea animals and fish specifically are poisonous and it is very important for sea swimmer and scuba diver to know exactly where they go.You can't just say i am great swimmer let's start.
this picture shows one of the poisonous sea animal which is Guangdong province in China they eat it( some part d middle is edible) .







That was a great shoot from that huge,giganic turtle.I tried to touch him but he was a great swimmer much better than me.