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| Ten BIE mates on a trip to Yunan. This shot was taken in some park in Kunming, which name I can't remember for nuts. We engaged SA tours to guide us in the Yunan leg, and managed to get an entire bus and guide to our own - which made the formalities to touristy shop houses alot easier to bear. Kudos to Tunkai for liaising and planning the Yunan trip! |
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| The stone forest in Kunming, Yunan. It is here where I first realised the boundless imagination of the chinese. Elephants, tortoises, people and even the occasional Pigsy from journey to the west have been externalized here. |
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| After Kunming we travelled to Dali, above 2000m above sea level. My first memories of this place was sprinting up a long flight of stairs, only to be gasping for breath halfway through. I also loved Dali's building artistry. Much of the houses had calligraphy upon white based walls, which I totally loved. This image shows a catholic church, with a chinese touch. |
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| Moving on to Lijiang, >3000m sea level, we managed to catch a spectacular performance by the minority races - by far the best one I've ever seen. The stage was vast, and the cast easily numbered over hundred. Set this with a snow mountain backdrop (which was covered by clouds due to rainy weather) and a director named Zhang Yimou, and you've a masterpiece. |
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| The view up in Shangrila mountain reminded me of hermit Tibetian monks. I was then told there were truly those who lived their lives in seclusion in these mountains, enduring the cold harsh conditions with mediation. The scenery up there wasn't the best, but it still a sight to behold. |
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| We were made to buy oxygen tanks (Shangrila peak was around 5400m above sea level) as the air was thin. But given our young able bodies none any of required it. And thus we held oxygen parties to pass the time back down in the cable car. |
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| The tour in Yunan ended with a trip back to Kunming. Our tankering group of ten then heaved ourselves over to Guangzhou. Guangzhou was a shopping paradise, and we literally shopped till beyond limits! A high point of mine was bungee-jumping in Baiyunshan, a pretty cool experience I thoroughly enjoyed :D And with a good budget too. Kudos to Andrew for making the Guangzhou leg possible! |
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| I flew all the way up to Beijing next, to meet up with Phoebe, Fukhai and Fangzhou. FZ had relatives in the area, which was to our great advantage, accommodation and exploration-wise. Besides visiting the usual touristy Tiananmen square, forbidden palace etc, we managed to climb up a unrenovated portion of the great wall. I liked that alot, as it consisted of climbing hills and slopes of insane angles. Great that we left behind the crowds too! |
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| I finally got my first taste of fried insects, and even tried a seahorse too. Live ones were definitely out of my league, save for the random fly back at home. |
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| Halfway through Beijing, we traversed the Kangxi grasslands of Hebei. Here I am with my white horse :D This guy is a stubborn little one with a wild streak. I know, as I tried another 2 horses in that trip. We rode for 5 hours, and I got my first butt abrasion after that. It's a great place and I really hope to return there someday. |
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| We did as the mongolians did, and tried our hand at axe-throwing and arrow-shooting. We tried grass-sleding and bumping down a little stream on inflatables, although I'm not too sure if the mongolians did anything like that. Here we are acting all barbaric with our guide on the left. |
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| Shanghai was the next phase after Beijing. I flew back with Phoebe, before being joined at various dates by FK, FZ, Yongshan, Benedict and Siyuan. Thankfully she took care of our accommodations, which is great because I spent a large deal of time in Shanghai. Here I am at the Germany pavillion in Shanghai expo (a must see)! Spent a lot of wasted time queuing, but hey... Everything's an experience. |
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| Beside the expo, I managed to explore other touristy and shopping places in Shanghai. If you're looking for an adrenaline rush, this roller coaster ride which drops you down beyond 90degrees can be found in Happy Valley Amusement Park. |
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| We took a short break from Shanghai to venture on to picturesque HuangShan. It is definitely a must-go if you're around the area. The scenery seems to pop right out from a traditional calligraphy painting! Just be sure to train up a little before making the trip. |
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| Proud to have conquered Huangshan!!! Although with the aid of man-made steps :) It was still pretty tiring though, and quite an experience balancing on steps made for giants. The stairways are not only steep, but narrow. A definitive nudge to the guy on your side will send him hurtling down beyond the cloud cover. On the bright side, you'll be too far to hear the splat. |
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| I left shanghai for Haikou in Hainan thereafter, and met up with a talented friend I met about a year plus ago. I didn't explore Haikou much, having been there before, but roamed about the local shopping malls and eateries. Made a trip to the Hainan medical university too. The ice-cream cone is a hand-made gift from Fenghuang. |
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| I met up with some relatives in Haikou's bus terminal, and set foot to Qionghai. Qionghai where my grandparents used to live, and it was truly an interesting experience to be able to find your roots. This picture was taken in the village farm where my grandpa grew up in. |
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| I spent a day in my granduncle's place in Qionghai, and then moved on to Wenchang. Met the entire families of my two aunts living there. It was a surreal experience, having meals with relatives so used to rural life. They were very very good hosts, and I was truly touched by their sincerity. I was also pretty intimidated by all the guys, for their dark and toned bodies made me feel like a flabby white chicken. Shawn the city boy! |
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| I returned to Singapore next, to a heartwarming welcoming committee compromising of my beloved family and loving Yun. Truly thankful for what I have :D Here's one of the gifts I got from Yun, courtesy of her adventure in Europe. My return to Singapore was only a short intermission however, as I flew back to China a short week after. |
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| Onward to Macau!!! With Yun and Bob. Bob's a little rabbit I got for her in China and it has somehow became our adored little pet, minus the pooping and feeding and such :P |
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| Despite being my second time there, Macau was no less enjoyable. This was taken at Monte Fort, a reminiscence of old times on my part heh.. The ruins of Macau may be tiny compared to the worlds', but still rich in history and kooky photo opportunities. |
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| Casinos are a must see in Macau! Even if you don't gamble (which we didn't). They have the best shows and performances! Speaking of which, we caught a spectacular resident performance, Zaia, in the Venetian. The performance was absolutely surreal, and we were both captivated by the enchanted dream-like world we were lured into. |
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| Remember Bob? He's an important figure in today's global politics... But only in Madam Tussuad, Victoria's peak, Hong Kong. |
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| Finally managed to get an unobstructed view of the symphony of lights! Torrential typhoon rains utterly destroyed the view last I came here. But managing to catch the sunset more than made up for it. The display wasn't much to wow about though, and we ended up chatting more than watching. |
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| An unlikely pitstop you'll find Shawn in is Disneyland. But lo and behold!!! Disneyland HK did exceed my expectations in the end, doing a great job in creating an atmosphere unique to Disney's. I thoroughly enjoyed myself there. |