Beijing & Tianjin in Winter

14th December 2011

The long waited trip has finally begun. My travel buddy, Onah, and I finally fulfilled our wish to visit Beijing, especially the Great Wall of China. I just couldn't believe that I was already arriving Tianjin Binhai Airport at noon. Oh by the way, we purchased this trip with AirAsiaGo which was cheap and worth the money spent. There were 30 people in this trip and our tour guide, Aron (not Aaron Kwok OK!!) was a good tour guide and his English was good and clear. It was very cold in the arrival hall, and even colder when we got out from the hall. I think the temperature must be below 5'C. Glad that I have everything prepared, though I need something to warm my hands better than the layers of acrylic glove and mum's leather glove. We got into a bus and head to Beijing. That took around 2 hours, due to the traffic on the expressway.

When we arrived Beijing, we were taken to a Chinese restaurant. We were separated from the others as we requested for vegetarian food. All dishes were vegetables, mustards, brinjals, celeries and a few others. I have no complain on the cooking because I just love any vegetable dishes. It was weird though to be a strict vegetarian for dinner of that day. After dinner, we were brought to the City Inn hotel and checked-in.

15th December 2011

Good morning Beijing!! The temperature for this morning was below 0'C. We put on our warm clothing and as I expected, I have problem warming my hands and my fingertips started to numb. But that didn't prevent me from taking some pictures around the hotel. We had breakfast (horrible one) in the hotel cafe before we boarded the bus. Today, we were taken first to the Jade factory, the amazing Great Wall of China (Juyongguan pass), Summer Palace and Beijing Acrobatic Show.

One of the watchtowers/barracks of the Great Wall

Our first stop was the jade factory, which was
actually a government outlet selling jades and various other souvenirs at sky-high prices. I was told that all tour packages to any part of China must include visits to government-owned outlets, be it jade factory, silk factory, pearl market and traditional medicine outlets. However, the best thing to do is, never ever buy anything from these outlets if you think you can get the same item but far a lot cheaper outside. This may sound harsh but my Chinese friends have approved on this matter. Don't get easily conned especially at the traditional medicine outlets (known as Bao Shutang) or massage centres where the workers there are very convincing in promoting their products. At some places, one will be approached by a 'shaman' or their own version of medical practitioners, requested to check the palms or neck for free, and come out with their own diagnosis on your health problem (if you know you are healthy, ignore whatever they may say about your unreal problem).

After an hour or so, we departed for the most awaited site to be visited, the Juyongguan Great Wall of China, or Badaling. Weather was sunny with a clear, cloudless sky. It was just perfect for my photography minus the coldness that numbing part of my face. The route to the entrance gate was awesome, something that I have never seen before. Landscape appeared like golden carpet, which made me thought it was summer, instead of winter. By the way, Great Wall of China is one of 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, and I am glad that I finally get the chance to be here.

It was built during the Qin dynasty to protect the northern Chinese empire from intrusions of various groups. However, most of the remaining sections of the Great Wall were built during Ming Dynasty. According to what I have read from Wikipedia, this Great Wall measures 8,851.8 km long. There are actually 4 sections that are regularly visited 1) the Juyongguan Pass, 2) the Jiayuguan Pass 3) the Shanhaiguan Pass and 4) the Jinshanling Pass. The nearest to Beijing is of course the Juyongguan (Badaling) Pass. Great Wall were built from rammed earth, lime, tiles, stones wood and bricks.

There are shops selling various souvenirs, of course at a excessively marked up price and coffee shops which are more expensive than Starbucks. There was a moment where I couldn't handle the freezing of my fingers, so we entered the coffee shop and get a cup of hot chocolate, while warming ourselves for awhile. Of course, I was more than happy to take pictures at this place and this was the most expensive moment to be kept in my photo album. I didn't explore hte Great Wall as most of the visitors did. It was not easy to walk about the wall while bringing my tripod and on top of that, the steps  were irregular and steep that if I didn't be careful, I might slip and fall. The cold weather did not trigger my mood to walk and stroll around Great Wall. Most of the time was used to snap pictures. I prefer neat and clear pictures, so I have to wait until other tourists were not visible on my camera viewfinder. I thought there wouldn't be many people visiting China during winter but clearly I was wrong. Russians, Indians, British, Indonesians...you name it, all were there to visit this ancient structure. After about an hour and a half, we got back to the best and it was time to say goodbye to Great Wall of China. I am not sure if I can return in other season, but I hope I can return.

Semi frozen lake at Summer Palace

 Next, we had our lunch at a restaurant where I could only see Malaysians left, right, behind and front of me. This restaurant served halal food and they were really nice for hungry people craving for food. I couldn't remember the dishes served but I ate a lot to restore the energy used to overcome the winter coldness.After lunch, we were brought to Bao Shutang, listened to whatever the staff have to convey and wait for other tour members to shop. I didn't buy anything except for two reusable hot packs costing RMB 5 each. It will be very useful for my next trip to cold places. The next attraction for this day was the Summer Palace.

Wrapping nose to avoid excessive dryness

The Summer Palace was inaccessible and we can only view it from across the semi-frozen lake. It was almost dark, which means the temperature was getting lower, and to add the 'flavor' to the readily unbearable coldness, wind blow so strongly. By the way, the pinkish-orange sky at the horizon was really beautiful. I started to snap the nicest view possible without thinking too much on the ice cold breeze.

It was getting colder, and colder, and colder. I was fortunate to put on 2 layers of snow cap, or else I might suffer brain-freeze. But I still need another pair of gloves to reduce 'finger freeze'. So I bought a pair of over sized purple glove. A lesson to learn was, be careful when you buy anything from the street vendor. They may cause you to lose some money if they get the chance. Please remember to check the balance they give you because it appeared that they may give you either fake money of other countries notes which are easily devalued (i.e Taiwan notes, Russian notes). Don't ever let them see you holding RMB100 notes because they will try to change them with other notes they have in many ways possible.

We had dinner at a Muslim restaurant. The dishes were nice but a few of them were salty. I thought it was not too bad, so I ate till full, and drank lots of water to remove excessive salt from blood. After dinner, we went to see the Beijing Acrobatic Performance. It started at 7.30 pm. Awesome!!! That is the only word

Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)

 I can say about this performance. The kids and teenagers must have been trained since they were small. They were amazing not only for their ability to control their physical movement, but also they were very focused, accurate and precise. One small mistake may lead to serious injury. They have a good teamwork too.

I thought it might be better to record this performance on my camera. But funnily, I couldn't figure out how to change my camera setting to movie mode. So I have no choice but to get still pictures of this performance. It was quite easy though the composition of the pictures were not so good. I increased the ISO (3200) and shutter speed to freeze the performers actions. On top of that, I set the camera to multiple shots. The show lasted for 1 hour, and we returned to the hotel.

16th December 2011
The tour for today started with a visit to the Temple of Heaven. It is a temple where the Emperor will go on his way to Summer Palace, and pray for a better harvest during the harvesting season. The morning temperature was even colder than the day before and scattered of ice were found on the compound heading to the temple. It was another lovely day though, sunny and cloudless sky. After the visit to Temple of Heaven, we went to the Silk factory. I have no idea that a set of pure washable silk bedsheets (they claim it's pure) costs up to thousands of ringgit. For those who do not

know, there is no way you can wash 100% pure silk, unless you send them for dry-clean, but sometimes they can't be washed at all. That's the fact you must keep in mind. Everything in the outlet was expensive. When we about to get on to the bus, there was a guy selling silk (at least he didn't say it's pure) totebags, 10 for RMB100 and free 1 bag. That was a great deal but I didn't buy it. It occurred to me that the next time I come to China, I will definitely bring more money for this kind of thing.
Next, we went to Tiananmen Square. It is the 3rd largest square in the world after Merdeka Square in Jakarta and Square of the Sunflowers in Brazil. The Tiananmen gate separates Forbidden City from Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square holds a significant history where hundreds of protesters died in a pro-democracy movement in 1989. The gate was built in 1415, during the era of Ming Dynasty, but the square was only designed in 1651. Mao Zedong mausoleum was built near the Tiananmen gate after the demised of President Mao in 1976. Besides the Tiananmen gate, there were also other iconic buildings within this square. This include the National Museum, National Grand Theater and a few others, which I can't recall. 

Passing through the Tiananmen Gate, we headed to Forbidden City, another UNESCO World Heritage. It was a huge complex consisted of several halls.

At dusk, we proceed to Wangfujing shoping street, a place where shopping malls selling original branded items were located. We were a little confused, having thought that this was the place where we can shop for dirty cheap items. Unfortunately, this is not the place. The two of us were the earliest to return to the bus and while walking along Donghuamen food street, I saw a stall with Muslim/Halal written on the display. From the look of the seller, I know they are Uygur so I have no doubt on the status of the food sold. Despite the warning by our tour guide on the cleanliness and hygiene on the sold food, we didn't really take it too deeply and decided to buy the tempting kebabs. After all, microbes are killed during the grilling. We approached that stall and ordered 6 pieces of lamb kebabs and 2 pieces of chicken kebabs. They were perfect to ease our hunger and delicious too. After an hour or so, we were brought to a halal restaurant, serving spicy food (most probably Sichuan food). They were really nice. That was double dinner for me. Hehe....

17th December 2011

A panda was about to have a nap after series of scratchings

View at the lake in Beijing Zoo

Our day started with a visit to Panda Garden which is located at the Beijing Zoo itself. The lake at the zoo was frozen but small birds and a pair of white swan wandered on the icy smooth surface. The beautiful scenery around the small lake/pond was really nice and breathtaking. And we went to see cuddly, cute and plushy Giant Pandas. According to the information board, pandas are active in the morning. They are fed in the morning and later they become less active and sleep most of the time. No wonder there were not many pandas on display as they have gone for long, or short nap. I took many pictures of these cute creatures but quite disappointed that I missed the baby pandas when they were playing among them. It was really cool to look at pandas here, but would be more interesting if I could get a picture of me holding baby panda.

Infamous Bird's Nest Olympic stadium

Next, another time wasting activity and pocket damaging event at Pearl market/factory/outlet...whichever word you prefer. This place is located near to the Bird's Nest stadium. The pearls sold here were freshwater pearls. There were some useful knowledge I have gained. I now know how to differentiate between freshwater oyster and saltwater oyster. how to differentiate between the fake and real pearls, types and qualities of pearls produced. Well, thank you for that. On top of selling jeweleries made of pearl, there were also skincare products derived from pearl. Oh, by the way, this place used different strategy in attracting us to purchase items here. Each of us were given a pearl ring. I'm not sure if it is real, but it didn't fit my finger, so I gave it to my sister-in-law.

The Water Cube

Actually, I just couldn't wait to photo-shoot at the Bird's Nest Stadium and the Water Cube. So I finally got the shots that I want. In less than 1 hour at these two modern structures, we were brought to a Massage Centre which is within the old stadium near the Bird's Nest stadium. The massage was free but we didn't want it because it would be a hassle for us to remove layers of socks and leg warmers. Another possibilities to get conned here!! At dusk, we were taken to the most awaited activity of the day that is shopping at Qianmen Street, or also known as Silk Street. It was a 6 storey building selling various items from souvenirs to imitation of branded items (clothing, bags,gadgets etc). My mission was to get silk tote-bag for my sister and painting in the bottles for myself (psssttt...would have more missions if i have more money on hand...hehe). The best person to have at this place would be my darling, or his mum. Ngeeeeee......they can bargain extremely well that the sellers may end up loosing. After doing some small shopping, we had dinner at the same restaurant on the first day we arrived Beijing. That's the end of the day.

Cherry trees by the road side

18th December 2011

This is the final day for our trip. We checked out from City Inn and the bus took us Tianjin city. There was nothing much to see (there must be more but we were not informed about it) but we had awesome lunch at a Muslim restaurant. We were served with Tianjin style steamboat. It was tasteless according to some of the group members but I have no problem with that. That's what we call healthy (unfortunately, this can be accepted only for a limited time). After lunch, we thought of surveying any shops selling souvenirs but we couldn't find any except for shops selling local product like sweets, liquors etc. A few photos of the place would do. At 1.15 pm, we were already at the airport and it was time to say 'adios' to China.

China Touch & Go trip, Shenzhen, Hong Kong & Guangzhou - 30th November to 4th November 2011

It has been very long since the last time I blogged in. And today, 25th December 2012, I have made my mind to resume blogging which I think is the best way to reminisce my journeys exploring every country, every continent on Earth. I am glad that You still let me live on this temporary beautiful heaven you created for me, to other human beings and creatures. Praise be to you...

30th November 2011

A Uygur lady selling various types of nuts

I boarded AirAsia flight to Shenzhen at 6.30 am with mum. A wee bit of nervousness appeared as we are going to a country where English is not a common language spoken here. On top of that, we did not book any tour package for this trip and decided to rely on translations (especially on places I decided to go) copied from Wikitravel. Owh, by the way, it did help us a lot and next time if there is any 'requirement' to travel to China, I must keep this in mind.

Halal food shop at Gangxia eat street

The flight took around 4 hours to arrive Shenzhen Bao'an airport. Visibility was not that good, most probably due to the status of Shenzhen as an industrial city. Temperature was around 30'C though expected temperature to be 24-25'C at this point of time. We took a shuttle bus that brought us directly in front of Vienna Hotel. The room was small but facilities are basic and enough for us. There is a small shop (or small 'semi-convenient' store) where I purchased a local starter sim pack. This is the most important thing that I need to have so that I can keep in touch with the closest ones at home country. Later, we took a bus to the Longhua Metro station. Mum complained that she was starving and need to have proper meal. With the list of places I prepared, we head to Gangxia where there is a place called 'eat-street'. At the exit of the Gangxia Metro station, we passed through several carts selling various nuts, breads and kababs. The sellers are easily recognized as the Uygurs, one of Western Chinese

Muslim communities. The lady selling various kinds of nuts was talking to us as if we understand Mandarin (Putonghua). Luckily body language is a universal language that everybody on Earth can understand. So mum made a 'eat' sign so she showed us direction to the eat street.

Freshly prepared noodles

Honestly, we felt a deep relief to find a small restaurant (shop is better) selling halal food. The owner is a Chinese Muslim and I don't think they are Uygurs. We ordered 2 plates of noodle, or precisely freshly made noodle, with spiced beef topping. I will always remember it as 'mee tarik'. And mum ordered a plate of mushrooms cooked with capsicums and egg tofu. It was such a big portion and we didn't finish them but it's super yummy. I wonder how can the Chinese ladies (well, MOST of Chinese ladies) are slim and slender, when they eat that much every meal. Arriving Shenzhen in less than a day enabled us to make conclusions on the question. Firstly, they walk really fast, as if there is no tomorrow, which means they are exercising whenever they walk and slash off the excessive calories. And secondly, their foods are less fatty and they eat raw garlic as a salad. These may be hold true, and may be not. Whatever!!

Before we return to the hotel, we bought some boiled groundnuts, fruits (longan and banana), 2 pieces of Uygur style bread and a pack of walnut, just in case if we feel hungry before bedtime.

1st December 2011

Cute Stitch

We woke up and started to feel that chilly winter was about to begin. Thank God I packed light warm clothing (though they didn't really fully warm me up). And the best part, mum didn't bring any sweaters or jackets for this dry and cold weather. We started our day by traveling to Luohu border, heading to Hong Kong Disneyland. We didn't have time to get a proper meal for breakfast, so we

pack the edible stuff we bought last night. We took a metro to Luohu, went through immigration clearance, and took the MTR to Disneyland Resort which costs HKD51 per person, per way. Pfffttttt....it's seriously expensive and to add the damage, we paid HKD399 for the entry ticket to Disneyland. Nice, really nice. But it was worth to visit the land full of fun and joy. I always love Walt Disney cartoons and movies, and I love all Disney's characters; Mickey, Minnie, Stitch, Tinkerbell and

Sweet and cute Tinkerbell

others. I was hoping to buy souvenirs for the people I have in mind. And the cheapest item bought was a fridge magnet, costing HKD40, which is equivalent to RM16.

Mickey & Minnie

Yaikkkssss....which means that I can't afford to buy more Disney stuff. This day was a perfect day to practice my photography skills. Not many pictures taken but at least I have something nice to include in my photoalbums. It would have been perfect if the weather was sunny, and it would have been more interesting if we arrived Disneyland much earlier. And it would be far less comfortable if there was less Disneyland visitors. The time that I enjoyed during the parade where all Disney characters came out on colourfully decorated wagons with lovely songs played as background musics.

However, we missed the starting of the parade and I couldn't get perfect shots during the parade. But all in all, I did enjoy Disneyland and there are reasons to visit Disneylands again. Witnessing the parade at night would be marvellous too. However, since we need at least 2 hours to return to Shenzhen, it was best to say goodbye to Disneyland before night approached. Looking forward to checking up Tokyo Disneyland in February 2012.

On our way back to the hotel, we disembarked at Gangxia metro to have another meal at the halal food restaurant. This time we ordered a plate of rice with beef topping, and a plate of sweetsour egg and beef. It was really delicious.

2nd December 2011

Today, we decided to return to Hong Kong and head to the famous attractions such as the Peak, Stanley market and Victoria harbor. With a cup of black tea and Uygur bread, we head to Luohu border,and mum said she needed new cloth or something that can warm her up a bit. So, we wasted some time to do the unnecessary shopping at Luohu commercial centre. The unnecessary becomes a little beneficial when I got myself a pair of leather glove and a snow cap at a very cheap price. And just beside that shop selling all winter accessories, we shopped for several souvenirs i.e 2 paintings, 2 hand fans and 2 trendy watches. I was looking for a fridge magnet with Shenzhen written on it but couldn't find it anywhere. I wonder where did those FM collectors got it. 

Kowloon Mosque, Hong Kong

After an hour or two, we took the MTR heading Tsim Tsa Shui where the Kowloon Mosque is located.The Tsim Tsa Shui station is super huge and there are many exits too. It took us some times to get out at the right exit. Too much walking and mum couldn't do it any further.  Mum  was tired and needed a lunch, and according to her, it was better to fulfill the stomach and do the 'exploration' after that. We had lunch at this restaurant owned by Arab guy (my guess) and as expected, it was bloody expensive. I think I should have surveyed places to go for cheaper food in Hong Kong. After meal, we planned to go to the Peak and embarked the Metro to the Central. Too many people and looking at the traffic, we felt uncomfortable because it was not easy to get to the places we intent to. And time didn't permit us to go to any of the places, so with disappointment, we headed back to Luohu. It was already dark when we arrive Luohu, and since we had a little more time, I wanted to do some photography thing. The only clearly visible landmark was the Shangri-La Hotel Shenzhen. It didn't look easy to get a nice picture during night time, which means that was the time to apply the concept of ISO, shutter speed and f-stop. Many shots were taken and I managed to get the shots that I want.

3rd December 2012

Guangzhou, here we come!!! Another chilly and sunny day, just perfect to see Guangzhou at a glance. We took an express train at Shenzhen Railway Station (just opposite Luohu commercial centre). The train ticket costed RMB 80 per way and it took about 1 hour 45 minutes to arrive Guangzhou East station. The ride was pleasant and the train was nice too.In Guangzhou, we didn't have much time because we got out from the

Flower Pagoda @Temple of Six Banyan Tre

hotel quite late. The places we went were only the Liurong temple (also known as temple of six banyan trees) and Huaisheng Mosque. While we were trying  to figure out which way to go from the MTR station, there was a Chinese uncle approaching us. I tried to ask people around that area how to get to Liurong temple, and showed them the address but all of them didn't know that place, until that uncle came and offer his help.Wow, he knew that we are Malaysians!! He didn't really know the

location of the temple but he helped us by asking people around in his language, Mandarin I guess. And we got the direction. That uncle told us he was in Malaysia before for 6 months (if not mistaken) and from there he knew how Malaysians look like. My guess was that he must have been treated nicely by our Malaysians during his stay in Malaysia, and that was the reason why he was more than willing to help us though we didn't even think to ask him. Thank you so much uncle.

Huaisheng Mosque prayer hall

We walked for a few minutes and finally arrived the temple. The entry ticket was RMB5. I just love to photograph any unique buildings (according to my own definition of uniqueness).  Lucky me that mum didn't complain much while I was photographing at the temple too long. It wasn't easy to get nice pictures for an amateur like me, so sacrificing some times for such purpose were worth the try.   After spending a few minutes at Liurong Temple, we took the MTR to Ximenkou to get to the Huaisheng Mosque. Our stomachs start to growl

Chinese Muslim women attending Qur'anic studies class

the moment we saw lamb kebabs on the grill. A young Uygur guy was grilling it and there was a Chinese guy enjoying the kebabs in front of the grill set. I wonder if he speaks English, and yes he speaks English. I think there are more Chinese who can speak reasonably well English in Guangzhou than Shenzhen.That Chinese guy told me the price of the kebab (5 pieces for RMB15) and said they were really delicious. So they were!!! 

I took this opportunity to ask the friendly guy if he knew how to get to Huaisheng mosque. And it seemed that he also knew the location of that mosque. It was not that hard to find the mosque. It was near to the kebabs stall. The road to the mosque was quite empty and quite. To confirm that we were on the right direction, we stopped at a shop where a Chinese guy stood. As I recall, his name is Burhanuddin. He gave Salam to us and that was a bit shocked for us as we didn't expect to meet Muslims that early. Burhanuddin is working in a shop, owned by his cousin, selling various products from Western China, to be precise, Urumqi. I told my mum that Burhanuddin would  probably a UIA student. And after several minutes conversation, it was proven that I am nearly correct. He is going to register himself as UIA student in January 2012. 

Uygur guy selling grilled lamb

Finally, we reached the mosque after confirming the right direction from Burhanuddin. The mosque is small but tidy and clean, as should all mosques in the world do. It is the oldest mosque in Guangzhou, according to the guide, Abdullah. There are 4 mosques in Guangzhou alone and the tomb of Abu Waqas, a Muslim who was responsible to spread Islam in Guangzhou and other parts of China. Here, was where I heard they recite the calling for prayer (azan) in Chinese way, for the 1st time. I couldn't describe my feeling when I heard azan in a part of a country where Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Confucius are more dominant than Islam. We met a Malaysian, Mohamed, who married to a Chinese Muslim and settled in Guangzhou. He suggested that the best way to travel around China is by train. He did give a very important tip which I have already start to plan my trip to China, starting in Chengdu, and end in Hangzhou. It will take maximum of two weeks, and I am ready for this adventure. We chit chatted with Mohamed and later had dinner in a restaurant in front of the mosque. It was getting dark and time to return to Shenzhen. We didn't have time to buy souvenirs at the place suggested by Mohamed (I forgot the name of the place..it's something with Square).

It is true what my sweetheart has told me about visiting many places at a short time. I was hoping to visit Sun Yat Sen memorial hall and several otherplaces in Guangzhou, but we didn't get the chance to do so. Time passed very fast and our time management was bad. I concluded that we might have more time if we stay at a hotel located in the Shenzhen uptown, went out earlier i.e 8.30 from the hotel and spend less time at the places of attractions.

4th December 2011

Our trip to China was about to end. We head to Luohu once again, hoping that we could find any fridge magnets there. We had lunch at a restaurant, owned by Indian, in  front of City Plaza Hotel (or something like that). On our way back to the hotel, traffic congestion was horrible. No cabs were seen to pass by the bus stop where we normally waited. The buses were not passing through our hotel so the only option was to take the cab. We were worried that we couldn't return to the hotel on time. Luckily, there was a Chinese version of tuk-tuk passed by and we showed the tuk-tuk rider the hotel card. We arrived the hotel, get our luggages, and waited for the taxi to the airport. There was nothing much to see or to buy in Bao'an Airport. We boarded the flight around 10.15 pm and touched down LCCT around 2.15 am. Glad to be back home. Phewwwww 

Surakarta (Solo) & Jogjakarta : November 2011

Prambanan Temple

18 November 2011: KL-Jogjakarta

Two ladies traveled together on AirAsia flight to Jogjakarta. Everything was arranged by Lintang Buana Wisata Nusantara which costed us Rph 2,142,000 but exclusive of meals.So this was a simple trip but simple enough to cheer us up from the not-so-interesting activities back in Malaysia. Met Pak Murtejo on arrival at Adi Sumarmo airport. He is such a nice and friendly tour guide which kept on communicating with us in English . I thought of communicating in bahasa Indonesia but had to put that aside.

Parangtritis Beach

On arrival, we were brought straight to Prambanan temple which is in ancient Hindu temple and one of UNESCO World Heritage sites of Indonesia. I think this place used to be the most important landmark by looking the original plan and structures before the massively damaging earthquake in year...I couldn't remember. We were told that the main 3 temples (Trimurti temples) are the temples of Brahma, Vishnu and Krishna whereas the other 3 temples in front of each Trimurti temple is called the Vahana temple (Nandi, Garuda and Hamsa). Details can be read at Wikipedia. I think I couldn't enjoy the beauty of Prambanan temple that much because it was starting to rain and I couldn't risk my Mr. Cam to get wet. And I would return to see Prambanan temple at sunrise and sunset.
Next, we went to Parangtritis beach. This beach is facing Indian Ocean and according to our guide, this placed was hit by tsunami in the earthquake a few years back. There is a huge cliff which can be very picturesque with proper natural lighting. This beach is quite dangerous as it is steep, judging from the pattern of the waves.As with other places famous for beautiful sunset view, we didn't get to witness this
amazing moment here because it was cloudy. It is not a white sandy beach here but sand texture is really fine. Visitors can do various activities other than soaking in the water, such as horse-riding, riding on a horse-carriage and ATV. By sunset, we headed to Grand Rosela hotel in Jogjakarta, and had our simple Javanese dinner at one of the 'lesehan' near the hotel. We were also introduced to Aries, the tour guide for our next days in Solo and Jogjakarta.

Kraton, Jogjakarta

19 November 2011: Jogjakarta City Tour and Borobudur temple

Nice ceiling @ Kraton Jogjakarta

After a simple breakfast, we started our day by visiting Sultan Palace, also known as Kraton. There were several pavilions which were decorated that simple, unlike other castles or palaces around the world which were decorated lavishly. It has Dutch influence in the architecture. One nice thing about Kraton Jogjakarta was, it was planted with trees with gives cooling effect within the palace compound. There were also rooms displaying all gifts from
various countries and awards and medals presented to the current and previous sultans. Before we went off, I bought 'belangkon Jogja", a traditional head wear for Jogjakarta men.

Taman Sari (Water Castle)

Next, we went to Taman Sari (Water Castle as they call it). This is another fascinating place to visit though it was very decent and less tourists. This place was a place the previous sultans swam and soaked themselves in. There were many pools here, and of course there was one meant only for the sultans and their wives. This castle was alot more interesting than before where water was surrounding the castle. Since the severe earthquake a few years back, destructive damages occurred and this castle were abandoned. There was a round building which was used as a mosque and protective place from invasions.

Stupas in Borobudur Temple

After Taman Sari, we stopped at Malioboro street, to do the fundamental shopping. Fundamental as in getting fridge magnets and some batik clothing for ourselves. And then, it was

time for another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Borobudur temple. Before entry to this amazing structure, we had dinner at one of the small food outlet near the temple. My

1st visit was in November 2011, and as I recalled, the entrance fee was USD 11 for foreigners. But this time, the fee was increased to USD 17. But it was worth paying, and most importantly, worth visiting. This temple was maintained and sustained to the fullest. This temple faces Mount Merapi, which has erupted in 2011 which has killed the key-keeper named Mbah Marijan. He was said to be responsible to ensure that the spirit of the volcano kept appease. There were rituals where people (I'm pretty sure they are the  Hindu local people) will bring offerings to foot of the mountain (or maybe to lip of the volcano) and present them to spirit of the volcano. This is similar to the rituals in Mt. Bromo in Sukapura, East Java. Borobudur temple is a 7 floors structure where the first 5 level, one can see carvings on the wall, depicting the birth of Buddha and other teachings of Buddhism. It takes more than a day to see the learn all messages from the wall carvings. It is said that the higher the floor, the higher the knowledge level of a pilgrim, and at the top of the temple, it is a place where one achieved Nirvana. It was quite complicated to absorb all information on the teachings of Buddhism though.

Mount Merapi

Candi Mendut

We had quick photo stops at Candi Pawon and Candi Mendut. These are also ancient Buddhist temples which is a lot smaller and simple. But I like the appearance of the walls which does indeed show the long ages of these structures. It was raining since arrived Borobudur and it was still raining until the end of the day. It was completely difficult to do the photography thing in this condition but it was somehow brought different atmosphere.

Sukuh Erotic Temple

Next, we passed through Mount Merapi passing the south route. According to Aries, we were considere lucky because the view of Mount Merapi was clearly visible. Most of the times, tourists got disappointed as they couldn't see the volcano when the cloud was thick. And I did a mistake for taking the chance to stop by the road and snap proper pictures, when I was offered by the driver for such purpose. I took picture in mobile which was why the picture here is awful. I thought we would stop for a longer time somewhere near Mt. Merapu but the driver headed straight to Solo which was quite a distant. I enjoyed the scenery while passing by the foot of Mount Merapi. I admired the hardworking Javanese men and women. They were still at the vegetables patches, working on the patches though it was almost dark. It was the oldies to earn, but the youngsters nowadays were money-spender. That was what being said by our driver. We arrived Solo around 8 and checked-in Hotel Arini. This hotel is not meant for unmarried Muslim couples. We had dinner nearby the hotel at one of the 'lesehan' and enjoyed simple food,

One of the carvings depicting god knows what

20th November 2011: Solo City Tour, Sukuh Erotic Temple & Cemerolawang Waterfall

We visited Mangkunegaran Palace and anique market nearby the palace. The palace was still under renovation but I could see it was not so lavishly decorated compared to other palaces of the world. There were collections of earrings, rings, genital protectors, weapons, and other interesting artifacts on display. The antique market sold many stuff which I didn't have interest at all though I was looking for small souvenirs from Surakarta to be brought home.

Cemerolawang Fall

Next, we went to Batik market, and I was so dizzy looking at the batik products, especially the dresses and the skirts. I didn't buy any though because I tried not to spend unnecessarily. After all, I bought a piece of batik skirt at Borobudur. I'm not sure of the quality but as long as the price is OK, it's not a big deal at all.

We headed to Sukuh Erotic Temple. I kind of excited to visit this place because I thought there would be sooooo many things to see and I thought it was a big place. But it was not what I have expected but still it was a nice place to relax because of the cooling air. From this temple, we moved on to Cemerolawang waterfall. It was raining so the beauty of the waterfall was not at its greatest. We were starving so our way to the fall site, we stopped at an under-tree sitting-on-covered-dirt area and grabbed 10 pieces of 'sate kelinci' (grilled small pieces of rabbit meat) each with sliced onions and cucumber, dipped in hot peanut sauce. It was extremely delicious (though I'm not into rabbits...because they are soooo cute to be served on the table).

It was quite a long day for us, so we checked in Arini Hotel in Solo, and rested for awhile. We went out to the nearest shopping mall, hoping to find some nice souvenirs but couldn't see what we wanted. Then we just hang out at J.CO, having  doughnuts and ice-blended, and logged in to our FB accounts.

Charming Laos : September 2011

Brief description on my trip to Vientiane and Vang Vieng, Laos

20 September 2011

Arrived Vientiane by AirAsia in the evening. 

Checked-in at Malinam Phu hotel.

For the rest of the day, only photography skills were practiced.

Met many Muslims in Vientiane and halal restaurants are available, mostly Indian food. 

Enjoyed Indian food so much for the entire trip

21st September 2011

Started the day by strolling around the city, visiting That Dam Stupa (Black stupa).

Later, rented a Laotian style tuk-tuk from morning till evening, and headed to Buddha park which is located outskirt of Vientiane. The Budda Park is located at the riverbank of Mekong river, which is at the border of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Road condition was horrible and it was a bumpy ride once entering the village.

Later, visited That Luang stupa, or also known as the Golden Stupa, a very famous symbol of Laos.

Next, head to Patuxay, resembling Arc de Triomp of Paris. 

After a full afternoon, we dropped by at the waterfront to have late lunch

Strolled around Vientiane city and return to the hotel.

At night, went to the night market, bought the must buy items and shawls.

22nd September 2011

Took a bus to Vang Vieng which took 3 hours ++.

Vang Vieng is a small city which is full of foreigners seeking fun here.

Checked in at Riverview Hotel. Our room is in the middle of Vang Vieng river which is cool.

Reached Vang Vieng at noon and surveyed for activities possible to be done today. We decided to do kayaking from the upriver (can't remember the name) until Vang Vieng small city.

Thought of going for tubing but the tour agent said it's not good for us. I couldn't understand why is that so but that the guy said it is meant for drunk people who do not have anything else to do. And it seemed that the guy knew both of us were not drinkers. 

Kayaking along the river is fun and the view along the river is really amazing. It is a feel in a real village with no pollution and development.

After kayaking, returned to the hotel and had dinner at an Indian restaurant.

Planned itinerary for next day, and finally decided to go caving and visiting the Blue Lagoon (sad, sad, sad,that Blue Lagoon happened to be white-tea lagoon due to rain).

23rd September 2011

Took a half bumpy ride to the Blue Cave and Blue lagoon. It was raining so not many photographs were taken accept in the cave and nearby area. After caving, passed through a village and saw women were weaving shawls and the shawls made were displayed. They are for sale!!! We stopped and bought a few pieces as this is something authentic and made by the locals. 

Couldn't afford to waste anymore time because we've booked bus  ticket to return to Vientiane at 2 pm.

We did a quick packing up and checked out. It was really frustrating to stay in Vang Vieng for a short time. 

If time and financially permitting, I would return to Vientiane and headed straight to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang and spend more time doing outdoor activities in Vang Vieng. 

Arrived Vientiane and checked in at Mixay Guesthouse (veru cheap) in the evening and there was nothing much to do except that visiting the night market again, looking for typical Laotian skirts.

24th September 2011

We spent our last day in Vientiane by visiting the day market and Laotian Museum. There are many souvenirs and Laotian handicrafts here and many shops selling the skirts that I wanted to buy earlier. 

\And next, we took a tuk-tuk to the museum. This museum is located in front of the National Cultural Hall.  It is not that big but tiring enough to walk from one end to another end at two floors.

There were traditional items on display but couldn't remember those items because my spine was signaling me to slow down and sit.

By afternoon, we returned to the hotel, checked out and headed to the airport for departure to KL

@ Buddha Park

Many hands Buddha statue

Leaning Buddha and other figures

Nice view of Golden Stupa

Patuxay

Golden Stupa, famous Vientieane icon

The way they fish in Laos

Tenagers in Vang Vieng

Half drunken tubers

Kayaking in Vang Vieng

View of paddy field at foot of  mountain

In the cave

Natural spring water in the cave

View from our room

Weaving apparatus

Handmade shawls for sale