mouvo078

Cannot update Livejournal anymore

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:35:11 GMT

Not that it matters much but I will not be able to update because China blocked livejournal.

So see you guys when I am back in Singapore : >.

Am using an anonymous website. Dont think it will work, but this is a trial.

China Tour - Guilin, Yangshuo

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:04:08 GMT

I once mentioned to fellow tourist that I met that I like Yangshuo the most, because its a good balance between nature and night life. And somehow when I look at these photos again, I realised it did not managed to capture that. But as a whole now I prefer Lijiang. Guilin, Yangshuo has its natural beauty, but somehow I think it lacks hidden gem which I found in Lijiang.

First impression, when i got on the cab I saw basically this and I got excited and I must say the place is just full of such protuding rock structures.

Then I took the famous ferry ride on Lijiang, which is when I learnt ... never go on big tours. Basically I only managed to capture a couple of photos without someone's else's hand head etc. And somehow the whole ferry trip, though beautiful, was kind of disturbed by hordes of tourist bumping into you to get themselves into the pictures, shouting about how to get the best angle.

Comparing that to this ...

A boat ride in Yangshuo which I enjoyed a hell lot more. A quiet boat ride alone with my boatmen and a young 20ish local guide. It was so quiet and peaceful. The guide told me he never gets sick of this ride because he feels like he is inside a Chinese painting and I agree with him. But then I also had a hang over from yesterday night.

Talking about hangover, I based myself in Yangshuo. Its a happening backpacker place where there are many foriegners，situated in the midst of all these strange rocks (Though less charming than Suhe, Lijiang). One bar which I visited, RuGuo, as in "If" is the only one that boast that they play Hip Hop, Drum and Bass. Not really true but the owner is very friendly, introduced me to a few of his friends. We played games, drink, got drunk and I have forgotten all their names and did not even remember when and how I got back to my hotel. The owner invited me to dinner the next day but I was too tired to socialised so I did not join them, and felt kind of bad.

Okay then there is also this nice alfesco cafe where you can have dinner and this view.

I went to this cave, Water Cave, its worth mentioning because it huge and still relatively undeveloped. But at the same time it reflects the depressing state of China Tourism, basically, they did not manage to emphasis the size of the cave which is the main feature of the cave, and the tour guide was uneducated not able to explain the various scientific facts of the formation but instead keeps pointing out what each of these formation looks like. When asked who found this cave by one genuinely curious tourist, she said "Our Ancestors" We all laughed.

And it is very obvious they do not really care about the future of the cave. Instead of discouraging visitors from touching the formation like in New Zealand Australia, because it would basically destroy the natural composition of these formation and cause it to stop forming, turn dull and ultimately be destroyed. The tour guide encouraged visitors to touch, rub, climb on top of all these shiny sparkling formation. So throughout the tour the tourist were clamouring over these formations.

Then there is YueLiang Shan (Moon Sun) a curious whole in the middle of the hill will turn into an eclipse as you walk around it.

On my last day, I did a leisurely walk around Yangshuo determined to find a quiet place to spend my time. Walked along Lijiang River and relaxed at this place further off town overlooking the river. Deserted and the whole track is mine. You can walk here naked and no one will notice : >

Finally the only picture of Guilin, Yangshuo which I am happy with : >

China Tour - Hakka Ancestors - Yongding

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 07:25:42 GMT

Okay, back to my roots and for anyone else who is Hakka. Here is Yongding, the only place where they stil have these strange Horbit lookalike habitat. When I stepped into one of these home. I was like, wow, its real. This small town was given a pass in the travel guidebook, but for me it was worth it.

What is even more amazing is that many of these TuWu still has real residence (unlike Zhouzhuang) so I was actually walking in someone’s house as they were brushing their teeth, having their tea. I was given a tour by the real building master of the house. And I had tea in his house.

At the cultural village, I am also delighted to find that its actually a real town with people farming and going about their daily chores as you intrude into their farms and house. There is an understanding among all the residence which is why they will not even bat an eye when you climb around the TuWu eventhough you might feel terribly intruding. But its an amazing experience. At last I feel that I am in China that you see in guidebooks and tacky Hollywood movies.

This is a cute one ... supppose to the smallest round Tuwu to be built

This is suppose to be a special one, squarish and layered.

China Tour - Suzhou and ZhouZhuang

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 06:29:13 GMT

These are side trips I took when I was in Shanghai. Nothing spectacular. Infact I thought they are the most boring places I have been during the trip.

Zhou Zhuang

Small “traditional” water town one hour drive away from Shanghai. Also known as Venice of China.

No real villagers stays here, the streets is lined with shops and its so fake that it hurts. No charm when its biggest selling point was its charm. Go JiangXi, the other smaller water town used in the movie “Mission Impossible 3” before it turns into Zhou Zhuang.

SuZhou

City famous for its numerous poetic gardens.

You learn about the amazing details that goes into constructing a garden during ancient China. I can imagine all the Chinese scholars walking around the garden reciting poetry rotting away.

This a technic they use which makes use of the reflection from the pool.... Okay ...

Okay this is some technic they use where they plan a nice picture when you look through their many round doors ... Okay ...

It’s a place to rot. What do you expect to do here. And I do not know how to appreciate Chinese gardens and Chinese poetry so all the significance of the layout is baffling to me. In the end Suzhou bores me but not as boring as Xiamen

China Tour - More of Lijiang - LaoShiHai, WenHai, the view from City

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:27:48 GMT

View from the City
This is my first impression of Lijiang. In the morning, in the cab on my way to this small garden. Black Pearl Pool. I saw this and I gave a small exclaimation of wonder "Wah" and the Taxi driver smiled. Hmmm. He must be used to this, but I am Sua Ku. Oh yeah it was very cloudy when I first arrived in Lijiang.

Mountain taken together with Black Pearl Pool.

Wenhai
I was at Baisha and I heard from a Cafe owner that there is a lake up in the mountains, Wenhai. I was curious so actually wanted to do a hike up on my own, but I was short on time and I was lost along the way so I took the next alternative. I hired a horse rider to bring me up. It does not show so well on the pictures but the ride was delightful. It was snowing mid-way up the mountains. The path is laid with snow and I feel like I am in Brokeback Mountain on a horse going up the mountain... Haha

There is a lake in the middle but it did not show up so well on pictures.

There is even a village up here ... according to the horse rider, they cant really do anything here because the soil is not fertile and its cold and dry, but the fishes in the lake ... strange that theres fishes ... but according to him, the fishes are the best anyone have tasted, cause the lake is cold and not polluted, but as there is no restaurant here, only lucky few get to taste them when they are invited as guests in one of the villager's house.

LaoShiHai
On my way to Tiger Leaping Gorge I passed by this beautiful looking lake with a village around it. I managed to find out that its LaoShiHai. So after I came back from TIger Leaping Gorge I asked around and booked another trip up there. I also took a horse ride up their natural reserve which holds their source of water.

The ride up to the source is a delightful forest track with sound of runing waters through the way, with ...

waterfalls

and lakes

Reaching a meadow up in the mountains.

And I drank the water from the source ... My guide poured my mineral water away and asked me to fill it up with their source. I drank it and I have never drank cleaner water. : > And its cooling as well. Look at the water shown on the picture here ... its so clean that you can see right through and it seems that there is no water here at all.

The track and mountains are owned by consolidated effort of the villagers. They told me that they are renting the land out to the enterprising big corporate soon. They say that they fear the water and environment will be contaminated but they also told me that it will benefit the village as a whole. sigh .... another natural beauty which will be destroyed soon, but then noone should be selfish and deny the villagers of a possible better life

Then we make our way down to the Lake which I saw. Its nice. The water level rises and drops, the bunds here used to be their farmland, but now flooded. Its beautiful and the weather is so good, they call this "1000 miles with no clouds"

China Tour - Lijiang Old Town

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:22:41 GMT

Basically if you are in Lijiang there is something that you will not miss, their old town. The main one is of course Lijiang Old Town which is the main one, and also with the most tourist, which is also the one which I like the least.

Then there is the wonderful Baisha which is undeveloped and still have real farmers, real Naxis working in their traditional clothes plus some real street vendors selling live fishes on the street. The nice quiet village is situated near the beautiful snow mountains, is laid back and is just a wonderful place to wander around.

Okay, this remarkable person here is Dr Ho, he is like the village doctor who have also been hailed by many famous overseas visitors for curing leukemia. Many thank you letters, Newspapers articles about him and according to him, he did not charge them any money. These people however gave him some donation as a token. This guy is for real, there are real reknown magazine naming him one of the top 100 most respected person. Well some fellow tourists told me they were irritated by his constant bragging about how famous he is. But for me, I think he is old, genuinely kind and I think he deserve to brag.

Real Naxi women in their half traditional costumes. The Naxi women are known to be very hardworking, you will always see them carry these baskets behind their back. A simple but useful backpack. Looks even more comfortable than the usual backpack we carry.

I also like SuHe which I only had one day to enjoy, smaller than Lijang Old Town, bigger than Baisha but with nice coffee houses
and hostel with lots of characther. Highly recommended to stay base yourself here instead of Lijiang Old Town.

This is the cafe, bar which I went to - really cool tibetan theme, with young tibetan owners playing cool tibetan chillout groove which I fail to find when I came back to Beijing, I regreted not asking them for the title of the CD. Imagine sitting there in a bed like chair, with the farm outside the window, tibetan music, this eagle perched on the balcony, smoke rising below from the BBQ Pork they are cooking. Damn, wish I was there longer.

There is another bar, Vietbar, which I did not manage to capture in picture, plays cool post mordern ambient rock and looks like a set from Andy Warhol movie and owned by again a young hip tibetan

This is the queiter area not often visited except by crazy tourist like me

View from a Bar called 37.2 Degree that have live local punk band playing below, would prefer something quieter but then the view is great.

My accomodation for the night, a hip modern hostel with cheap clean rooms, ethnic decor and room with the view of the stars. I dont usually stay in hostels with shared toilets but this one is fantastic.

China Tour - Shangrila - Tiger Leaping Gorge 15/02 to 19/02

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:33:12 GMT

Okay, I am skipping a few days because I love this place so much that I think I should share my experience first before I forget the wonderful experience.

I started my hike along Tiger Leaping Gorge from Qiaotou and took the harder and less touristy upper route. Its really like Shangrila. I also met a couple of friends along the way, stayed in rooms with mountain views and views of the stars at night. Again, these pictures only managed to capture a fraction of the beauty of Tiger Leaping Gorge. I did not regret spending 4 days in the gorge. Will visit it again. Maybe with a partner : > but I can imagine someone complaining about the hike.

The First Rest Stop, Really friendly people, the Naxi Family and really good food

View along the hike ... its so unreal !!!!

My accomodation for two nights

The journey continues

Walnut Groove my second accomodation... so charming

The Power of Yangzhi River

The way back ... as pretty as the way there

Finally the last picture of my view from my room for 2 mornings in the Gorge

China Tour Shanghai (26-29 Jan)

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:19:57 GMT

Shanghai

The most modern and exciting city in China

Good: It’s the most modern and exciting city in China. Basically you do not feel like you are in China. Its full of lights and action, and man the lights … Its exciting, contemporary, snobbish and always crowded with good looking people. You feel like you are in a ….. giant designer club … haha

China Tour- Qingdao (22/01 -25/01)

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:10:03 GMT

Qingdao　（青岛）

The city of all famous Qingdao beer and Laoshan water. As well as famous Laoshan Daoshi.

Good : Its really a refreshing city which reminds me of Adelaide. Somehow I feel like I am in a western city. Its also romantic in its own way. The street is lined with interesting old colonial building, the legendary Laoshan has very interesting sculptures and pictures drawn by nature. I love it.

Bad: Hmm … its quiet and relaxing during winter but its terribly cold. But its so crowded in the summer that swimmers on the beach looks like Dumpling going into the water.

Feel Like I am in Europe

Familiar Logo of Qsingtao Beer

China Tour- 22th to 22nd - Taishan

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:46:12 GMT

TaiShan (泰山）

According to Chinese legend, life was created at Taishan and its almost poetic that I am starting my China Tour in TaiShan.

Good: Main selling point in my opinion is the numerous interesting temples that lies along the way up to the mountain. And the view from the top is at least one which I have never seen in my life.

Bad : Somehow, the Chinese seems to be too enterprising for its own good. Basically I am amazed at how they managed to build a mini city in the sky, plus all the touting vendors up at the peak. The stone stairways and corridors seems to destroy the natural beauty of the mountains. And the climb is so terribly strenuous that in the end the view did not really payoff the effort I made to reach it.

Going Up

Long Way Up

View from the top (Looks a bit blurry but none digitally touched up

City in the sky

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:46:40 GMT

I regret leaving Singapore : )

Infernal Affairs Vs The Departed

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 05:57:16 GMT

Very happy to be able to watch "The Departed" in China. Through pirates of course ... My take ?

I thought the Ang Mo version lacks certain kickass factor though many things seems to fall better in place. Jack Nicholson was exciting to watch. The thing that kind of struck me is that Leonardo seems to have taken some acting lesson from Tony Leung's protrayal, especially the scrowl when he gets angry or when he looks tired. I am surprise the Ang Mohs did not change the story flow too much ... they even keep the two goons trying to identify which person is a cop scene. - The beginning monologue by Costello about taking life into his own hands ... is just a very long monologue of Sam's opening speech in the Chinese version. I also do not like The Departed's ending and I like the Chinese version's theme of leading double lifes, rather than the Ang Moh's version of betrayal and thought the Ang Moh version is a bit too straight forward. I also enjoy the kickass morse code scenes which "The Departed" did not have, infact there isn't a lot of very exciting scenes in "The Departed". One thing great about is that they merged the female characters but they added another totally irritating and unbelievable character played by Mark Wahlberg.

I am surprised Martin Scorcese did not do a better job than the Hong Kong counterparts but then a remake never escape the "Original is still better" fate.

Animal League Calendar Dress up for the Season

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 14:28:37 GMT

Thought it would be difficult to keep him warm but it only took me about 10 mins to dress him up with the help of a staple, some cheap caps and scarf. Appropriate for the weather at Beijing now, as it gets as cold as 5 degrees. Since its not pasted onto the doggie, it also means I can dress him up according to the season. So Fun ... Haha

Beijing's Creativity Flea Market

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 13:52:14 GMT

There is a shopping mall near my area call Creative Zone but other than being a mega bookstore there is not much creativity there, but last weekend they organised a creativity fleamarket, like MADD in Red Dot Musuem. I think the quality is OK and they come at cheaper price too... I manage to buy ...

A new friend for Vincent ... Leeka, see more leeka here

Some notebook that I remind me of Xiao Ming in my primary school text book. It comes in a set of 5 plus a sticker set

a T-shirt ... http://www.wazzap.com.cn/

And some notebook from these guys ...

Are we bad Chinese ?

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 10:56:28 GMT

They remind you that Singaporean are just such bad Chinese
The Chinese here are surprised when I speak chinese and say I speak good mandarin (Though half fuck), even when they know I am Singaporean. But aren't majority of Singaporean chinese too ? Are we the only Chinese in the world that do not speak good Mandarin or think that its not cool to speak mandarin ? Funny thing is that when you are in Australia, they also look surprise and say you speak good English. So what is Singaporean suppose to be good at ?

Singaporeans ask me why I want to study in China. I guess its just not as glamorous. If you speak good mandarin, you might be called Chin Chong : ) But you should count yourself lucky if you can speak good mandarin. I see how the Germans, British, Americans, Korean esp, Japanese here struggle to communicate. Yes they are willing to come here to study inspite of their language barrier.

The Chinese here are also very proud of their culture, and keen about their history. When they ask me whether I know where is the origin of my ancestors are. I gave them the blank look. They told me they most prop come from Fujian, cause I am Hakka. Do you know where your ancestors come from ?

Here is more picture of Vincent in the more cultural part of Beijing.

Vincent reflects on the futile fight for democracy at Tiananmen and cries

Vincent in forbidden city

Did you see Vincent ?

New D50 Nikon

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 17:14:29 GMT

Got myself a new Nikon SLR and have some fun taking these photos

For full album go www.photoclub.com and search for kenneth_wong078@yahoo.com.sg

Sin CIty ... Coolest Movie in town

Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:39:20 GMT

Just saw the collest movie in town, though I think have been released in America since April. Now just waiting for DVD... to be released in Aug. Anyway, depending on how you see it... i think the directing skills is great ... he managed to pull off what he has intended. In an interview he said that he did not wan to take comic and turn it into a movei but instead take cinema and turn it into a graphic novel ... Why didn't anybody think of it first. Anyway, to see how closely he managed to do it ... see this cool site that did panel match with the movie ... Cool

http://www.filmrot.com/images/sincity-comparisons/sincity.html

Things I learn on a paid for symposium in Korea

Thu, 26 May 2005 13:57:24 GMT

Been in Korea for a Symposium for three days now. Its the first time that I am in the midst of Secretary to the emperor of Nepal .... professors from India, Sri Lanka and Vice-President of some Phillipino big shot company. Very interesting things you learn from these qualified professionals from around the world, other than the fact that I am small ... are :

a) Secretary to emperor of Nepal have never seen prawn before, when he asked me to show him how to eat the prawn I thought he was joking until he asked me again. I showed him and he was delighted... cool. They are so high up in the mountain that they have never seen prawns before.

b)Koreans eat KIMCHI for every meal ... KILLL ME PLEASE.

c) In Malaysia there are some school that practice only english day and fine student for no speaking English

d) Parkistanist have never seen green watermelon and do not even know that what is it ... its honey dew of course.

e) Indians do not eat octopus legs and is surprised and find it so funny that we eat octupus legs.... wonder what they did to the legs.... I mean there are like 8 of them ... so wasted.

f) Shops in this a boring province in Korea, Gwang-ju closes at 11 pm and you cannot believe how vibrant the night life is... but shopping is such a pain as they do not speak English at all .... and I mean at all... not even "a".

g) Jakarta population drop by 5 million at night because 5 million travel to work in Jakarta in the morning and leave at night.

h) In India there is a self-organised network (not even a company) that developed a system to send meals from your home to your workplace, its such a big business now that many other major companies are actually trying to learn from them. The network have a no mistake policy and its run by a bunch of poor out of job slackers now earning eough to feed their family.

i) Singapore's government policy and law is so out of date that if there are no social unrest in other counties we are already oust by Thailand, philippines, India long time ago. Civil servants here really need to buck up. And yet these people think we are like the best...

All and all it has been such a wonderful experience and I am glad to be given this chance. Will be staying in a more exciting town for the next 2 days ... Seoul, here I come ... : )

I Want Out

Sun, 08 May 2005 15:13:42 GMT

Decided to change my name to Mouvo ... does not make much sense but at least it does not sound like I am a "Hot Kisser"

Just managed to send out 6 letters request for a change of my career. 2 which I feel strongly for and 4 mainly just to see if there is any possibility of getting into the private sector doing event management.

Anyway, tomorrow is a start of a new work week. At the moment I can think of nothing else but dream of going to these places :

First Entry in Livejournal

Sun, 08 May 2005 15:10:06 GMT

Happy holiday everyone, This is my first entry. Those familiar with
alternative rock might find the user name familiar. Am spending the
morning browsing AMAZON for Flaming Lips sound alike CD. Just bought
their 2002 CD and its very good.

Recommendation welcomed.