More China Pics

Sorry haven't taken the time to write much so I guess I will post some of my other China pictures. Actually I feel like writing but my thoughts are not very organised right now.


Monk's Ritual, XiangCheng, China. I managed to sneak a picture of a monk shaving another monk's head in this lovely and tranquil temple.




Bustling Marketplace, Litang, China. A typical, Tibetan-Chinese style marketplace. Another place to find some exotic and strange foodstuff for the typical city-dweller like me.




Temple Courtyard, XiangCheng, China. We were stuck in this little town for a day and we were grumbling a little because the town was not pretty. Moreover, it seems like the whole town is going through major reconstruction. However, the huge Tibetan temple at the place was enchanting. Tourist-free except for the four of us, quiet and the monks and the people were really friendly.




Head on a pedestal, China. Buddha head sitting in a Tibetan temple somewhere in Western Szechuan. After a while, I lost track of some of the temples that I have been.

The Journey to LiJiang

As with most trips I have done, sometimes the journey is more interesting than the destination. I didn't write much about my week long detour to Lijiang via the Sichuan-Tibet highway but the trip was very memorable. Yes, there were daily bus rides which most of the time were not so comfortable but the trip, the scenery, the company and the friendly people that I met made it memorable. Here are some pictures.


River towns, Yajiang, China - Many towns were situated beside a river. With a raging river, beautiful mountain landscapes, what more could a town ask for?


Kid Games, Litang, China - Kids playing at a monastery compound at Litang. Better than video games, if you ask me.


Blue Skies and Sunbeams, Yajiang, China - Blue skies, fresh air and vast open lands, this is the part of China that captivated me more than the industrilisation of modern China.


Monk's house, Litang, China - This friendly monk invited me in to his house for a chat.

Final few days: Hong Kong

I reached Hong Kong this morning and it means I have reached my final destination for the trip. I wanted to come over so that I could meet up with some friends and also to go to church for a Sunday. Somehow, one Sunday probably will not make up for the months or years of neglect of my spiritual life but at least it is a try.

Anyway, Hong Kong and its previous British rule means no more toilets that can't take toilet paper, no more spitting everywhere, no more smoking in the buses and those are very welcoming thoughts. Also, with all the Falun Dafa protesters in the Kowloon harbour area means I am kind of out of China.

I checked in to another el-cheapo Mirador Mansion beside the infamouse Chunking Mansion because it was cheap. It was also rather sleasy - about 10 bunk beds cramped together in a little room with 2 toilets in the side. After I agreed to the place, I was wondering why I had to sleep in a sleasy place like this since my flight is only 3 days away so I promptly checked in to the YMCA beside the Peninsula hotel. Now, the Peninsula hotel would be nice but the price of one night would be equivalent to another China trip.

Today there is a level 3 typhoon warning in Hong Kong and the walk around the Tsim Tsa Tsui promenade was nice and breezy. Hopefully, the level would go up a little so it will get a little breezier in Hong Kong.

Day ??: Guilin & Yangshuo

Guilin had a beautiful 7-star park. I was pleasantly surprised when I climbed up the Sky Pavilion to see a gorgeous view of Guilin. Also, since the pavilion isn't heavily touted on the tourist map or the lonely planet, there was only one other person there. Guilin definitely has its charm - gorgeous scenery and interesting food. I was thinking that some of the small limestones hill can be compared to Ipoh but Ipoh doesn't really have much to snare the tourists. Too bad. My hometown should be more interesting. Yangshuo lies an hour and a half south of Guilin. Another gorgeous little town, absolutely catered to the tourists. I knew I was going to face a rough time with the touts, when an 'Auntie' followed me from the bus and down the whole of West street - their most touristic street- despite numerous demands that I wasn't interested in whatever rooms she had. I did a little cycling around the vicinity of the town to the some scenic spots and the place was very interesting. We passed through padi farms and little lakes to reach the popular Banyan tree and Moon Hill. I'm glad the French tourists that came along with the trip didn't want to do the parks nor the bamboo rafts nor the caves, as I did not want to get wet at all. I did not have a guesthouse or clean clothes so I wasn't very interested to take the bus to HK all grimy and muddy. Maybe I did miss some interesting sites, but then Yangshuo is really near to Singapore/Malaysia and I can always come back for a prolonged weekend trip. Anyway, after the bicycle trip - I was all sticky and grimy so I would have to look for a shower before the bus trip. Maybe drop down the local Giordano and get a cheap t-shirt.

Day ??: Kunming & GuiLin

I have lost tracked on time so I am not sure what day it is but I did zoom past Kunming and will likely fly pass Guilin just the same. Anyway, Kunming was a nice change after some days in small cities. The city has almost the same type of shops, like Singapore - Carrefour, Giordano, U2..., so I guess I am not missing too much. It seems like I might be rushing a little if I am to make it to HK. That will depend on whether I can contact some friends else I will have 2 more days to spend in Yangshuo. Tried some Kunming food which was quite good but really didn't do the city justice as I stayed only 1 day. The same will go for Guilin. All I did so far was had bad food in Guilin which was supposedly a very good place for food. It seems like with their menu I can only read the simple dishes and the stupid waiters can't understand me enough to make recommendations so I end up with really plain and horrible dishes. The next time I will just do what I normally do and point at what the locals are eating but first I have to find the places to eat. GuiLin does have really nice lakes, rivers and mountain backdrops. Also, at night they block off the main street for a night market. However, it seems like there don't seem to have a large backpacker crowd here so I had a hard time looking for a cheap hotel. I ended staying in a 100 yuan room, which was quite nice but it has been the most expensive lodging I have paid so far. Also, I took the 25 hour train from Kunming to Dali. Wanted to fly but they didn't have a discount so I decided to savour the experience of taking a China train. I can't visit China and not take the train. The trains were more comfortable than the buses and there were attendants cleaning every so often and reminding the Chinese not too smoke in the cabin. Not too bad but the place was really packed with people and I had to worry a little about losing my stuff. For your info, most internet cafes in China block blog sites so I haven't been able to look at any of the blogs I have written or reply to any comments.

Day 13: Dali

I reached Dali in the afternoon and there was a little rain. The horse carriage that was suppose to send me to my guesthouse stop me in the middle of the city and I had to make my way to a guesthouse that I had in mind. Unfortunately, I was sidetracked by some of the touts along the way and stayed in another guesthouse that was affiliated. I found a Swiss guy, Patrick, that was on my bus from Lijiang staying at the same place and so we decided to share a room and cut the cost.

Dali (Old town) is a neat town, built somewhat like an ancient Chinese fortress built with four main gates. I suppose in more ancient time a wall would have surrounded the city but now only the gates remain. Also, there is a huge inland lake right beside the city. The main hotels are all in a satellite town to the south, Xiaguan, so there are not a lot of local Chinese tourists with their little flags crowding the streets.

I liked Lijiang better as Dali is a little more 'Chinese' which means it is a little dirtier. However, it does not mean that Dali is not a charming city. I had a really good time taking the chair-lifts to the top of Zhonghe Temple and there were no tourists once I hiked up the steps a little more. I found a great cafe on the top and had a really good time just reading and chilling out. I also did a little tour of the Lake in the rain but the places the boat took us to was not that interesting. The boat trip was nice as the rain made the trip very cooling and the raindrops dropping on the lake was very serene.

Day 11: Lijiang

I finally reached Lijiang after grabbing my bags from Qiaotou. It would be nice to stay in a place for a little longer than the short hops that has been happening. China is a big place and even in little places, it takes a few days to visit some of the sites.

Anyway, the old town of Lijiang is a very interesting place. The place is very nice and has a lot of friendly people. However, after a while you will see that the place is full of tourist. The old town is a little like a theme park with everything catered for tourism, which was fine with me since I am a tourist. This also means that there were clean toilets and the public toilets were impeccably clean. It was definitely cleaner than my guest house toilet so I paid the 5 jiao to use the toilet beside my guest house.

It felt a little touristy but I loved the place. The old town had 3 little streams running across the town and the water was clear. Staying a little longer just chilling out seemed more like a holiday than the bus rides but each journey has its own beauty.

Day 9 & 10 : Tiger Leaping Gorge

It has been a few days of just moving quickly through some really nice Tibetan-Chinese towns. The bus moved through some magnificent mountain passes and scenery was absolutely beautiful. However, the bus rides were not very fun. 7-8 hours of bus rides on the average everyday, with a bus full of smoking and spitting Chinese is not an enjoyable journey. Some kept talking to me despite my crappy Putonghua and I really had difficulty understanding their Sichuan hua, which is something like a mix of Mandarin and Cantonese. Anyway, after a few days of waking at 6am to catch the bus was quite enough for me so I was glad when I reach Qiaotou, the start of the trail to the Tiger Leaping Gorge.

I stayed one night at the Gorged Tiger Cafe which was run by Margo, an Australian lady. The Australian and American ladies that were travelling with me seem to think she was crazy but I thought she was really nice. Also, she gave us accurate advice on the conditions of the track and advice on what to take and wear for the track.

We took the upper road and found very few travellers, maybe because it wasn't the peak season. Six of us started out together and we planned to reach the Walnut Garden about 8 hours walk away. I really liked the trail as the view was gorgeous. Along the trail there were magnificent mountain backdrops, waterfalls and sharp drops down from the cliff. What didn't help was my el-cheapo shoe that seem to have no traction at all when we were walking through wet areas. The gorge trail was one place I didn't want to slip because one slip and quite likely my dad could collect on my travel insurance. Slipping wouldn't be fun. As we walk along, the ladies kind of rested for too long and by nightfall only Neal, a british traveller and I reached the Walnut Garden.

Also, Neal made some adventurous decision that kept getting us lost. First was deciding to go back to the trail from the road at 7:15pm when we were 30 minutes away from the guesthouse we were planning to go. So we had to track in the dark for a while because the path wasn't very clear in the dark. On the next day, we track down to the river and we decided to come up through the landslide. We quickly found that we could get lost even in short bushes. Walking through thorns were not very fun, we found out soon enough but managed to find the trail back after half an hour. Of course, we were never in any real danger because we could see the river below and the roads not too far ahead of us. It was tiring, getting off the trail, but it was fun.

Day 6 - Litang

Ok I am not going to be long as I have splitting headache from the altitude here about 4000m above sea level. Anyway, I am in Litang and will be making my way to XiangCheng on the way to Lijiang. Also, some technical glitch happen with my harddrive backup machine and I lost all the pictures from the first day till today. Will write more when I get more comfortable.

Day 3 & 4 : Emei Shan & Le Shan

I did a rush rush job to see both Le Shan Giant Buddha and Ermei Shan. There were a lot of construction going on in both places. Particularly, the summit of Ermei was closed due to construction so that was a little dissapointing. Ermei is a beautiful place but I did not get to see as much as I did not hike up. Most of the places are only accesible if you do a few hours of walking. The day I thought was really cloudy because I couldn't see many of the surrounding peaks but I overheard some other tourist say that the day was especially clear. I managed to stay up at one of these guesthouses to catch the sunrise and thankfully a screaming and rude monk awakened me by screaming for the receptionist at 6am in the morning. With most of the Chinese places I have seen, too many places have been artificially touched up or reconstructed. The museum at the foot of the mountain was nice as well. Whenever, I look at something like that and realise how young Singapore and Malaysia history is. History here goes to the BCE era whereas Malaysia history goes to the 16th century.

I also had to rush Leshan because I decided to do a detour in the route and go west toward Tibet before heading towards east again. The detour will probably eat up 5-10 days of my time so I will probably be in a rush for the remainder of the journey and probably have to fly in to Hong Kong. Tomorrow, I will head to Kangding and then to Litang near the Sichuan-Tibetan border.

Day 2: Chengdu city

I was overjoyed when I landed in China. It seems at last I have made my
way to China, the homeland of my forefathers. Some friends that I met as
I made my way to Chengdu asked me if I was going to kiss the ground. I
pondered on the idea for a while and then decided it was a little out of
character for me to kiss the ground. Also remembering that I do not have
a hepatitis jab, kissing the ground might transmit some unwanted
diseases. I expected the place to be a bit wilder with cars not obeying
traffic rules and everybody trying to get a few more of my hard-earned
dollars, but I was pleasantly surprised that people it Chengdu were
generally honest and traffic abiding. I was expecting India but guess
nothing really beats India.

One of the first thing that I noticed very blatantly was that my Chinese
is not enough for me to communicate. Yes I could manage 'Where is the
toilet?' but how many times does one have to make their way to the
toilet. Anything more than that I found rather unmanageable. Luckily,
the friends I met will still be in Chengdu for 1 day before flying off
to Lhasa. I can still let them do all the haggling and taxi and the
ordering of food till they leave tomorrow.

Chengdu is a beautiful city - the most beautiful chinese city I have
seen. It has to be since it is the first Chinese city I have been to.
The food is on the spicy side and I got to visit a few cultural temples
and parks. The city is very old and historical but with my kindergarten
level of Chinese I did not get to understand too much about what is
going on. Tomorrow, I will try to make my way to Ermei Mountain on my
own and have not decided whether to walk up the mountain or to take the
bus. Judging from what the others say, I'd probably take the bus or the
cable car up.

Day 1: Cheng Du + flight delayed

The flight to Chengdu is delayed for 2 hours tentatively, possibly a little later. Fortunately, there seems to be quite a lot of shopping and free Internet stuff to distract me from all the wait. I am walking around a little like a zombie because last night, I started packing at 1am and finished packing at about 4am. Usually I am quite a fast packer but I was distracted by the laundry and trying to sort out my first aid bag so I spent a little more time. Also I had to clean up my room before my Austrian friend, Ulfred, takes over my rental room. So by the time I went to bed, it was something like 5am.

Anyway, the airport free Internet service here limits me to 15 minutes. Quite interesting - it does make me more productive in churning out one of these blogs. Maybe I should organise my life similarly, in chunks of 30 minutes. I'd get so much done or spend all my time trying to update my organiser.

New toys

Lately I got a bit more updated with technology and bought myself some new toys. For example, I just bought myself a wireless router and a new cable modem and so I now have broadband internet access at home. As with most new technology stuff, I find myself getting less time and sleep because now I have something to play new to play with. Also, I find myself checking my mail all the time when I am at home. Fortunately, I still haven't immerse myself into the world of instant messaging. As usual I am quite a late adopter of technology because I think technology should free us to do more things but this is usually not the case.

Right now, I am typing this message out as I am lying on my bed with this new wireless BenQ mobile phone that a friend lent to me. Quite a nifty device. It is one of those new phones with a PDA. It also has a camera, voice over internet capabilities and has a mini keyboard plus a wi-fi connection. And of course, my hands will soon be cramping because I am trying to type out this message on the mini keyboard. Classic case of how gadgets suck up our time because there is a full size keyboard at the computer desk beside my bed.

Back to Ipoh

I went back to Ipoh to visit Grandma and family. She seems to be not as cheerful as she used to be. Maybe it's the aches and the tiredness from old age that is getting to her. Yet I am glad that she can still move around, watch TV and chat with the neighbours. It is still nice to go back for a visit. Wouldn't mind staying in Ipoh at all if I had a good job there.

Ipoh is a beautiful place - good food, great people and a nice pace of life. However, the city hasn't been able to generate enough income for many young folks and people like my cousins and I have all left the place to work in bigger cities. I wish I could do something to help the city. It really is a nice city. However, even some nice food stores will be closing down soon because the hawkers are growing older and the young ones don't want to take over the businesses. I truly wonder how the city will be when there are lesser and lesser kids growing up in Ipoh.

Everytime I come back to Ipoh, it is just a lazy time for me. I take grandma and uncle for food and shop. The majority of my time is spent watching TV and catching up on sleep. And I dread the time to go back to Singapore because it means work...

Sergei's principle

I have not posted anything in the blog for a while now. It seems like ever since I started doing the temp job the desire to write has slowly ebbed away. Anyway, I am still kicking and looking for a more permanent job. For now, I will just be doing whatever pays me money without breaking the law or my conscience. So no stealing or killing.

For now, I would leave you with some wisdom that an old traveller I met up in Chieng Mai shared with me about. Now it might not make any sense to you, so take it for what its worth. This old man, an American who decided to build his house in some remote part of Thailand, told me that after living all these years, his had a principle that he would like to share with me. His principle was that "Happiness in life is inversely proportional to the number of keys that you own." Of course the "keys" here doesn't refer to your miniature padlock key but rather to the big items in life that you own, for example, a house or a car. So his philosophy was that the more big ticket things one own the more unhappy one would become. So a person with 3 Mercedes and a Jaguar would be more unhappy than a person with a Toyota. If that philosophy was true than I would be a really happy person as I do not own any keys.

Well, just thought I'd write something to share with you. Maybe there is a little truth in his philosophy if we reflect on it a little more. It is a little difficult for me to judge as I have not owned much in life.

Mountain Preparation

Rudolph Giuliani said in his book "Leadership" that one of the key points to an effective leader is to prepare relentlessly. In that sense, I am a little ashamed to say that preparation has never been a strong point in most parts of my life. Sometimes, however it is not the lack of ability to prepare but to choose not to be too prepared as I feel that too much preparation in something like a holiday trip takes away the sense of adventure in it. However at other times, the lack of preparation hits you in the face hard.

I had a sense of this feeling a couple of weeks ago as I climbed Mount Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in South East Asia. The climb was supposedly a walk in the park for many but I was rudely awakened to the fact that I am getting old and very unfit. I came to Kota Kinabalu without any preparation as I just thought of coming the week before and was told by friends that going up the mountain usually requires 3 to 6 months of advance booking. The climb was also said to be rather tough for an unfit 30 something year old person who leads quite a sedentary lifestyle.

The park was beautiful and pleasantly cooling as it was situated higher at around 1800m above sea level. There were jungle trails and guided nature walks. I spent a night over at the camp so that I could put myself on the waiting list for any cancellations the next morning. I thoroughly enjoyed staying at the hostel there and having tea and chats with 2 backpacker there. The next day, there was a cancellation and thus began my painful journey...

Australia Road trip, Part 2

Too lazy to summarise my Aussie trip so as promise, I have decided to pull 2 entries from my journal. Some parts are a little exaggerated.

Recap of my journal before New Year's day...

(Dec 31, 2004)
One day more to the New Year and what have I accomplished? When I started off 2004, I'd probably didn't imagine I'd be out wondering like a vagrant across Australia. My resolutions if I made any was probably to settle down and to play with my grandchildren. The year however turned out to be quite different. Not that every part of the year was bad. Too many of my years have been spent doing things I did not enjoy, so in that sense this year was rather different.

Well the year sure turned out different. I am now cooped up in a Hyundai Getz on my way to Sydney. 2800+ kilometres. I have been sleeping in the car for the past few nights, taking showers at petrol stations and bus terminals. It has been quite a different experience from travelling in South East Asia. We've covered a lot of ground and it has been an experience of a lifetime - something to tell my grandchildren about. Now, if only...

(Dec 28, 2004)
We've been cruising through quite a bit of Eastern Australia - from Brisbane to Cairns and now Cairns to Sydney. We took the inner road away from the more popular coastal road as we will be taking that road back up to Brisbane, on our way back. Anyway, the trip on the inner road has been quite exciting. Daily we face the risk of adding to our road kill count as many of Australia's marsupials like jumping in front of our car. Up to date my sister has managed to hit kangaroos, koalas, numerous other little mammals, hundreds of tree toads and hundred of thousands of insects. This means that I am constantly worrying about how much the car company is going to charge us for the dents and scratches to the car. To be fair, I probably added a few counts to the road kill but comparitively (to the other driver beside me) I am quite a driving saint.

Quote for Students

Here is a quote from Ecclesiastes that I related to a lot while I was studying.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

Ecclesiastes 12:12b

I realise after my last stint at school, I am a little too lazy to study with my own schedule. I need some tests to keep me accountable.

Books and stuff

Kid sister at the park - Somewhere, Australia. One of the many stops that we went down to take a picture. I think beside this park is a beautiful art gallery. I just can't recall the town name.


I have been reminded to finish the story and I know I have been leaving a few hanging stories here and there. Anyway, the travelling is finish for now and it is time for me to get on with other aspects of life but fortunately, our life story continues. I will look through my journal for something on the Australia trip which I think will be again most likely about how my sister is messing things up.

Anyway, I started off the year reading Les Miserables. Yes, I loved the book but can't pronounce nor spell it. I like it because it is a book that helps me want to be better. I think about Jean Valjean and ever since his repentance from crime he has on both times that were important chosen to live true to his principles than take the easy way out of things. That is so difficult for me. Also, Hugo makes me want to do aware that I might be able to contribute something to society.

Another fiction I read was Pride and Prejudice. A painful read. I took such a long time to go through I was wondering if it would just be better putting the book back on my bookshelf. The english was tough because a lot of the words that author used are hardly used nowadays. However, I must admit I did love the ending and can see why and how it has been an inspirational book for thousands of women. Ah! so worthwhile an ending. Don't we all love happy endings.

I do realise now that I have a half an hour travel to my temporary job, I do get through books a lot quicker. Not that I have improve in reading speed, but because I get about an hour of uninterrupted reading a day. Unfortunately, a fair bit of my pay goes toward the purchase of books. Otherwise there are too many distractions to get to reading.

Dam Sen park lizard

Godzilla? - Saigon, Vietnam. Dam Sen Park in Saigon. No matter how much Lonely planet tells you to go, you would not be missing anything much if you went. I think I was the few foreigners who got con into going. Can anything be more cheesy than this lizard?

Letter to Addie

Dear Addie,

From what I know, it seems that you are bored with life. Maybe not to the point of death literally but you find something lacking. Or like me, you are looking for something but you don't know what that is. I know exactly how it feels. Living in a first world country, as written by Thoreau, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." Yet, I am convinced that searching for a solution within you will prove to be in vain and for that I write this letter.

I believe that you are looking for a solution outside of the church because you feel that within the church there are restrains to inhibit your happiness. Thus you have come to the conclusion that in removing these restrains - be it in time, freedom of expression, sexual, social choices, etc - there will be a remedy to the desperation that has crept in. If you didn't think along these lines, I did and still do. As you have known, for a time I too removed some of these restrains in an attempt to find some meaning in life. Some purpose to existing other than just to survive for the next day of work. I wanted to live life and enjoy - go around the world, meet people and feel alive. And yet today, I have not found the answers that I have desperately sought for and am still seeking.

There was a person who has done much more than we in removing the restraints - seeking pleasure, success and laughter and at the end of the day still came to the same conclusion. (Solomon in Ecclesiastes.) That conclusion was that only in a relationship with God can an answer be found and to look for an answer to boredom in success, pleasure or laughter is a chasing after the wind.

I have no quick answers for you and I feel that you have quite resolutely made up your mind on certain matters. As the father knew it in vain to stop the son from leaving (Luke 15), you too must seek out to learn your own lessons. Yet I hope in all these that you will not forget about your God who loves us more than we can imagine. And, that we can come to the same conclusion as the author in Ecclesiastes did.

With Love,
Ong

Road trip in Australia

The mighty Getz - Misty Mountains, Australia.

Before I absolutely forget about the details of the trip, let me just jot something down about my Australia road trip. My sister and I decided to take a road trip after our family members left Brisbane. We decided to drive from Brisbane to Cairns on the popular coastal highway and then return from Cairns to Sydney on the innerland highways. A journey that was about 6000 kms (at least on the little Hyundai Getz above) and we did the trip in only about 2 weeks. So the pace was a little too rush for my liking. Still I had an incredible time, other than the times I had to look for a hot shower for my little sister.

We stopped by a lot of little towns that now seem rather difficult to recall. Of course some town names are easier than others, for example the town of 1770. Oh, I think we didn't stop there. But we did sleep at some lesser known towns like Cardwell. I remembered this town because when I came down from the car to pee during the middle of the night I saw a sign warning people of saltwater crocodiles by the beach. I had to quickly finish up my business and jump back into the car for safety. I didn't want some ugly crocodile chomping off my foot while I was peeing.

Our protocol for finding a place to sleep was that it had to be dark enough to sleep but still relatively safe. Also, we didn't mind having a toilet nearby. Showers would be most welcomed. So we ended up sleeping by tourist information centers, surf clubs parking lots, 24 hour petrol stations, mall parking lots, etc. Our food initially started out on the cheap side, IGA roasted chicken with stuffing - 8+ and enough for 2. However, we realise we were spending quite a bit on groceries because we often shopped when we were hungry. At times, I was quite sure that it would have been cheaper eating at a restaurant than buying food at the local Woolies (Woolworth). At least, we constantly had premium quality fruit juices and candies which once melted on the dashboard. Thanks again to - you should have guessed by now - my sister.

(to be continued...)

A Hard Life

A hard life - Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The poor are really poor in the slums of Cambodia. What you see over here is almost the complete room that this family have. It is their living room, bed, kitchen and all.

Tanah Merah

Where is Tanah Merah? - Brisbane, Australia. It seems interesting that not so far from Brisbane is Tanah Merah. Feels almost like Malaysia.

Lakes in Kashmir

Boats at Dal Lake - Kashmir, India. We were suppose to stay at a houseboat on Dal Lake but ended being moved to 'small' Dal Lake due to our ignorance. Small Dal Lake turned out to be a small overflow lake that seemed more like a drain than a lake. Now we know where Dal Lake is.

Sleeping confirmed.

Sleeping Lady - Sydney, Australia. I was hesitant to take her picture but my sister just clicked along.


Vagrant Lady - Somewhere, Australia. After too many days in the car, my sister was turning into a vagrant. Also, shows that she's sleeping through most of the journey.

Brisbane at Night

Brisbane at night - Brisbane, Australia.

Job Applications

I haven't been writing much lately because I have been stuck in places where internet connections were very difficult to come by and when they did come by I was busy doing something else. Anyway, I have been mildly depressed as I have come to a stage where I need to apply for jobs. In the time being, I have been surviving on temp jobs, begging, pestering friends for free meals and so forth. It is still rather scary having to hear the clacking of high heels as I walk out of the subway tunnels everyday on my way to the temp job at the business district. I'm not sure why that particular sound frigthens me but maybe I imagine the horde turning into mindless zombies with dead conscience doing what they hate doing everyday. Or maybe it is the collective mood of the Singapore morning blues. My mood fluctuates between being grateful that I have some money for the day and I wish I was somewhere else or doing something else. Yet, reality is we need to work. And most of the time, I am happy to be doing something after such a long hiatus from work. However, that doesn't mean I like the interviewing process and all the farce that is involve in it. Might have to bite my conscience and pretend that I am really smart or really capable or both. Guess, being interviewed and job applications are necessary evil we have to endure in life. Now, if only an interview comes...

Sunset at Halong

Sunset at Halong - Halong Bay, Vietnam. Halong Bay is a magnificent place. Many have said that if you have not seen Halong Bay, you have not seen Vietnam. Unfortunately, I stayed only one short night at Halong Bay.

Tibetan temples at Ladakh

Tibetan temple - Leh, India. One of the tibetan temples near Leh, Ladakh. I have heard it said that if you wish to see Tibetan temples, India might be a better place to see them than Tibet. I am not sure how true that statement is as I have not been to Tibet.

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne Library - Melbourne, Australia. My brother, sister and myself in front of the Melbourne Library.

It is no wonder why Melbourne has been named one of the most livable cities in the world. Melbourne is a beautiful city with activities and places that can cater to anyone. If you want a nice place for a cup of coffee, there are numerous cool coffee places. If you want beautiful scenery, the Great Ocean Road is not very far off. It has its share of beautiful parks and cool night spots as well as nice historical sites. Also the pace of life there is not as hectic as many Asian cities. I can imagine if you were to work there, you would still have some time for your leisure and to pursue your hobbies. Also, unlike places like Singapore, there are actually many places to drive to.

After we arrive at the Melbourne airport, one of our relatives, Tom, drove us to some wonderful Chinese restaurant for our morning tea - a dim sum session. Secretly, I was thinking about why I had to travel all the way to Australia to eat dim sum when there are numerous stores in Malaysia selling dim sum at a fraction of the price. However, dad, grandma and uncle were quite delighted at the food. Dad refuses to eat Western food unless he is forced to by circumstances. So throughout most of my stay in Australia, we ate Chinese or Asian style food when we dined with the family. Personally, I wanted to try something very Australian but couldn't seem to pinpoint what is a mainly Australian-styled food. Even in retrospect, I can't figure out what is the main Australian diet. My ignorance is probably due to the fact that I didn't get to eat any home-cooked Australian meals while I was there in Australia.

Cave Buddha

Cave Buddha - Vang Vieng, Lao. This sleeping buddha was found in the Pakham Caves. To see the Buddha, I had to travel 6km of dirt roads, walk and climb 20 minutes up a steep slope.

Falls Near Luang Prabang

Top, Falls at Luang Prabang - Luang Prabang, Lao. One of the waterfalls, I visited at Luang Prabang.

Mid, Fall Buddies. We hired a tuk-tuk for a day to visit the 2 waterfall. From left, Me, Cesar, Kate, Liz. Superb travelling buddies.

Bottom, Falls with many pools. I forgot the name of the falls but this fall was short but wide. It had many little pools for short dips and some pools that were quite large. Kate went back the next day so that she could have a swim when it was sunnier.

Australia, Family trip.

Family Portrait - Melbourne, Australia. A family picture taken at the airport in Melbourne.

Our family flew over to Melbourne to attend my sister's graduation. Of course, my dear sister would remind us till the day we die that we absolutely missed her graduation. We flew all the way there but missed her graduation. We were happily eating at the Victoria Market and lost track of time. When we arrived at the stadium where the graduation was held, it was all over. Of course there was also the drama of grandma getting lost in the stadium. Dad had to piggyback my uncle up a steep flight of stairs while both the sons were happily finding a parking spot. It was all very chaotic. Grandma was trying to ask for directions in Malay in Australia. Naturally, nobody understood what she said. We were fined $100 AUD for parking at a 'No Stopping' zone. The sign honestly looked like a 'No Money' sign to me.

Travelling with family is definitely a very different experience from travelling alone. I was more accustomed to going wherever I like but a lot more coordination is required. We have to consider the likings and capabilities of everyone. Also, we have to consider whether the journey is too long for grandma or whether the venue is wheel chair accessible, things that I have never had to consider.

Some days grandma was so cold she was shivering. Also, she said she couldn't breathe when she walks too fast. And this was summer in Melbourne. Summer! I thought it was going to be like Malaysia but seems like I was very wrong. I was totally unprepared for the weather as well. I came down the plane in shorts, t-shirt and sandals and the temperature in Melbourne was 13C. For some that is totally acceptable but am have been quite used to 32C all my life. Now, I need to go looking for a jacket in case the weather gets more chilly. The only jacket I had was left on a bus in Bangkok.

Ladakhi girl

Ladakhi Girl - Leh, India. We met this girl in the middle of the highway. As with many parts of the Himalayan region, walking is sometimes the only means of transport for many. She seems quite used to the walk and must have been walking for a long time.

Faces at Bayon

Faces at Bayon - Siem Reap, Cambodia. The beautiful faces at the Bayon intrigues and inspires.

Sunrise Over Angkor

Sunrise over Angkor - Siem Reap, Cambodia. The serenity of sunrise at Angkor Wat cannot be captured entirely in a picture but must be felt.

Temple Guardians

Temple Guardians - Bangkok, Thailand. Garudas line the wall of the famous Wat Phra Keow in Thailand.

Journey Down Under

The Van - Tamborine Mts, Australia. The Toyota Tarago was the family mobile for a brief 2 weeks.

Just as the Indochina trip ended, I embarked on another trip with my family to see my sister graduate in Melbourne. That was probably an excuse for all of us to go to Australia for a while. I was a little reluctant to go at first due to certain obvious reasons but decided to go anyway as all had been thoroughly planned by my dad. My thinking was that I have already squandered enough time journeying around Asia and Indochina and I haven't had any income for the last 6 months. Compelling reasons to stop wasting more of my life away. However, the thought - I might never get to go again with nearly all my family members - prevailed and I asked my dad to book the flight tickets. Little did I know, the flight ticket was just a minor expenditure and I would find out frighteningly fast how expensive things are in Australia compared to my part of the world - South East Asia. Guess money can be made back, but opportunities for adventure seldom come. And seeing that I would be using up a lot of money, I might as well make it big and extend my stay Down Under for 2 more weeks. My plan was to see a good part of the Australian east coast.

The Sleeping Pigs

Top, Sleeping Pig - Bangkok, Thailand. This is a picture I took of the murals at one of the temples.

Bottom, Sleeping Babi - Surfer's Paradise, Australia. My travelling companion and dear sister that cannot be awaken in the morning. Notice the similarity with the picture on top.