M y trip in May2008, to Guilin and Yangshuo village and Longji village

The way to go to Longji village....The path was pretty messy and harsh to pass .Old,creaky woods under your feet on the 200 meter high is not very pleasant.


Back street in Guilin are pretty nice as you can find plenty of handy crafts,art and tea houses to hill out ans enjoy your free time chatting ans hanging with locals when they say Lao wei..Lao wei..

I got a Friend who was mixed Indonesian-French who came for a short vist to China and go to mother land and move back to France.We met in the bust as I can speak some Chinese and live in China without being able to speak Chinese is pain in ass and pretty harsh.Sometimes Lao Wei stuff goes pretty bad and nerds around and try to cheat you ..Anyway I helped her for bust ticket and destination and we passed few days in Yangshou and guilin together.



It was May holiday( CHINESE HOLIDAY) 2007,when I have got a chance to travel to south.I got plane ticket to Guilin . From Hangzhou city to Guilin takes more than one day by train I had just 7 days holiday,so I decided not to destroy my off.

Guilin is the capital of Guangxi province and one of modern cities in China.It has a good reputation for mild climate and unique scenery's and located on Li river.

Being in big cities has never been my intention of trips.I just stayed 2 days in Guilin which apparently was more than enough.There are some places can visit in the city districts ,as a big Elephant trunk hill.That resemble of an Elephant make the river in 2 part with his gigantic trunk,actually nowadays they have made that place as a park and a lot of locals and tourists got here on weekends to rest and wonder around.

Another nice place to go is Reed Flute Park,Situated at a distance of 5 kilometers from the city center, Reed Flute Park, Guilin is one of the popular Tourist Attractions of Guilin. The park features a splendid fairyland of karst caves with landscape and rural surroundings.
There are 77 stone inscriptions inside the cave.
I had decided to go to Yagnshou,There are 2 ways to reach there from Guilin,one with bus which takes 2 hours and another way which mostly people choose is using ferry on Yulong River which is really amazing and worth spending few hours on new lovely ferries.The path on the river we passed through was amazing fascinating green hills with unbelievable shapes and lovely sunshine.
Yangshou is very small village but has quite plenty of small and nice and clean Hostels as so many tourist every year visit there.

I went to a local hostel which has a site on net to book online and the owner was really warm and friendly person we had homemade food all the time and all tourist gather together for food.They have some mountain bikes which you can rent and cycle around.I cycle around 13 km to go to small village around yangshuo .we were a groups of 10 people and we had such a great time.There are some paths which you can cycle and get to the river bank and rent Bamboo's raft and with your bike on it go for rafting ,but remember some seasons are peak time and pretty hard to find an empty one.




Yangshuo is famous for oranges,pomelos,tangerines, sweets and candies.














The time I was in Yangshou I decided to rent a bike and go to another small village around and it took me 4 hours the return way and about 13 kilometer and this road is one of the paths I cycle over that path and realized one way I wanted to go there is no ferry or boat to take me on the other side and i had to go back all the way and choose another directions.



There is another county which is famous for paddy terraced fields which are amazing .

The terraced build in Yuan Dynasty and completed in Qing Dynasty.
The time we arrived there was raining and a big clouds of fog around.That village is famous for their women with uncut hair some of them their hair is almost 2 meters long and even dare to say loner that their height ( approximately150) .They have a performance of washing their hair which is really interesting.Their show is include traditional dance and folk music and calls"dragon Track Show".

There is a Mud cave close to Yangshou which is amazing is located in Longmen village which is 3 kilometers far from Guilin and close to yangshuo
,actually this cave is not so far from town and when you get there ,there are boats which take you inside the cave cause it is on the river and you should have your swimsuit with you cause jumping into mud with clothes is out of mind.Moreover you need to take a guide and torch with you cause it is too ark and long enough to get lost.As well as you need to take care of your head due to having so many stalactite.
Well the mud is pretty clean and like chocolate and then you can take a cold shower there and all the way leaking go to the end of cave and face with a beautiful water fall.This cave build by the time that war started between China and Japan and used in world war II.

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.