Shanghai - Hangzhou

In April, 2005, our group, comprised of 7 members - P.Oy, P.Ohm, Peaw, P.Ou, my Mom, Na Noi and I, took a trip to Shanghai. Arranged by P.Oy and P.Peaw, we planed to visit a few remarkable places in Shanghai and traveled by car to Hangzhou and 2 Local guides were hired to lead the tour for each city. Besides these 2 cities, we went to Zhouzhuang, the water townships, which appeared to be one of shooting location of MI-III.

I knew nothing about China, just heard only its reputation of tourism and recognized the movie "Shanghai Godfather" which I was addicted to when I was young.

We stayed 2 nights in a very nice hotel on shopping area, Nanjing Rd., in Shanghai and 1 night in a 4-Chinese star hotel in Hangzhou. It is a notable trip of which we still talked about crowded people, serious bargaining, different food, and no-English .

See pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/Shanghai2006#

Shanghai

We stayed in a hotel on Nanjing Road, China's historic No.1 shopping and walking street. I took this picture from my room.

We visited Jade Buddha Temple, a fine Burmese white jade Buddha is the main attraction.

We took a quick walk through Yu Garden & Bazaar, established in 1577. Yu Garden is a maze of classical Ming & Qing Dynasty. Pavilions, rock gardens, arched bridges & sparkling ponds are surrounded by a lively and crowded bazaar.

The house was built as if it was one of the king's palace; dragons, the king's symbol, are placed on roof ridge but all dragons are a bit different from the king's, otherwise the owner and whole family could be executed.

In the old day, wealthy Chinese noblemen had their owned opera house which was designed and built acoustically.

The Bund is the must visit place in Shanghai. It is Asia's former golden water frontier of finance, commerce and trade and is now enjoying renaissance with the opening of new up-market entries and emporiums from early 20th century.

The opposite side of the river is Pudong New Area which people can transport from the Bund by underwater train. The area has developed in just five years, and Lujiazui in Pudong has become one of the foremost world class financial and trade zones in Asia. The landmark construction is Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Seeing skyscrapers where, in MI:III movie, Ethan Hunt climbs and flies among these buildings, he also flies across the wide river to the Bund, anyway it is mission impossible!

We went shopping at Xiangyang Fashion Market, an outdoor market with hundreds of stalls selling designer label clothing and accessories. I was offered catalogs of bags and watches since I got off a cab. I was scared to buy things with great bargain, and I bought nothing.

Zhouzhuang

Zhouzhuang, one of the most famous water townships in China, situated in Kunshan City which is only 30 kilometers (18 miles) southeast of Suzhou. It is noted for its profound cultural background, the well preserved ancient residential houses, the elegant watery views and the strong local colored traditions and customs.


In an area of half a square kilometer (124 acres), 60 percent of the Zhouzhuang's structures were built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which is from 1368 to 1911. Taking the most convenient form of transport in Zhouzhuang, a gondola, we will present some of the breathtaking sights one by one.

Both sides of narrow road are food stalls and handicraft shops.

It is its famous food, gammon stewed in gravy, and I bought one home.

Seeing locals enjoyed Tofu dessert, P.Ou tasted one and said it was different.

Hangzhou

Hangzhou is one of the important tourism cities in China, famous for its natural beauty and historical and cultural heritages. The city located on the low reaches of Qiantang river in southeast China, with a distance of 180 kilometers to Shanghai.

The must visit place is Xihu-West Lake with the area of 5.6 square kilometers. We went in a boat which was packed by the Chinese to the other side of the lake, and I felt a bit uncomfortable since everywhere was overcrowded.

After getting off the boat, People walked by the flow to take their bus at the meeting point.

It is the Six Harmonies Pagoda which the name 'Liuhe' comes from the six Buddhist ordinances and it is said that the reason for building this pagoda is to calm the tidal waters of the Qiantang River, and as a navigational aid. It was also packed so we decided not to stop by.

We went to see the show in a theater built in Song Dynasty architecture. The theater was full with more than 10,000 audiences, and the performance looked magnificent except they spoke only in Chinese language.

The Longjing village produces one of China's most famous varieties of green tea. They show different stages of production and sell tea. It is said that Longjing tea contains vitamon C, amino acid, and has one of the highest concentration of catechins among teas, second only to white tea. The name of Longjing means dragon well.

Surprised Birthday at Chieng Mai

During November 11-13, 2005, I went to Chieng Mai with P.Ou, POy, P.Ohm, Noon, and Pum+. We went to Wiang Kum Kam, the two Napamaytanidol Chedi, Doi Inthanon, Mae Ya Waterfall, Phra That Doi Suthep. We also walked thru night weekend market which all traffic halted, people are free to walk without hassle and stress of cars and motorcycles whizzing by.

November 12 was my birthday, I wonder a bit why no one said happy birthday to me. In the evening, we dropped by a few places, supermarket, bakery, Italian restaurant named Giorgio to book a table for dinner, then went back to refresh ourselves at the hotel. At the restaurant, I was surprised that dessert was a birthday cake, they bought and brought to the restaurant before went back to the hotel without my attention. It was all planned by P.Ou.

Chieng Mai

Wiamg Kum Kam is a recently discovered ancient city, believed to have been built during the reign of King Meng Rai in 1286, the city was once the capital of the Lanna Kingdom until the Maenam Ping flooded and wiped out the whole city. Explaining by local guide, there are more than 20 ancient ruins inside and around Wiang Kum Kam including Wat Chedi Liam, Wat Chang Kham, Wat Noi, Wat Pu Pia, Wat Ku Koa, Wat E Kang, Wat Hua Nong, and Wat Pu Song which are dated from the 21st 22nd Buddhist centuries.

Doi Inthanon is Thailand's highest mountain which is 2,565 meters above sea level. On the main road to the summit of Doi Inthanon stand the two Napamaytanidol Chedi. These temples were built to honor the 60th birthday of the King and Queen in 1987 and 1992 respectively. The mountain forms many beautiful waterfalls, namely Mae Ya, Mae Klang, Siriphum, Wachirathan, Mae Pan.

Before went back, we visited Wat Phratat Doi Suthep because it would say, you haven’t really gone to Chiang Mai unless you have been there. This place is the most important and famous Chiang Mai landmark. Built in 1383, the temple is 3,520 feet above sea level, and can be reached via a steep Naga staircase comprised of 290 steps or railcars. This mountaintop temple has a pagoda that houses holy Buddha relics, lies in the middle of a square marble-tiled courtyard. The four corners of the pagoda are adorned with parasols which represent royal regalia. The temples courtyard is lined by a cloister, which contains images and murals depicting Buddha life. There are also two viharns situated in the middle of the east and west sides of the cloister.

More photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/ChiengMaiNov05

USA - California and Las Vegas

I, P.Ou and Noon went to USA during December 20, 2004 to January 3, 2005. We landed at LAX, Los Angeles. As usual, we booked hotel via internet from Bangkok so we had fixed itinerary. We drove like a loop from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Monterey, Solvang, and back to Los Angeles. At Los Angeles, we visited many places, such as UCLA, Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, Hollywood Blvd., and Santa Monica.

See all US trip photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/USA2004#

Las Vegas

Las Vegas was so cold at night during our visit, but it was worth to go out at the Strip and saw lights, Bellagio’s dancing fountains, and Mirage’s volcano, etc. We stayed at New York-New York and went to Aladdin, the Venetian, Madam Tussauds’ Wax Museum, Caesars Palace, Glitter Gulch, and Hoover Dam. No gambling in this trip.

I was on the Hoover Dam, Nevada side, the other side is Arizona.

Yosemite National Park

There was snow at Yosemite National Park by the time we were there. We took lots of photos with El Capitàn, snow field, creek, and waterfall. El Capitàn is the world’s largest exposed granite rock standing at the western entrance of the valley. It is named by US soldiers, who in 1851 were the first white Americans to visit the valley. El Capitàn is the Spanish phrase for capitain. We stayed at a hotel western side of the park on Christmas day.

P.Ou and El Capitàn.

Mii, Snow, Creek, Tree, and Mountain.

Yosemite Waterfall.

Small Mii and Big Trees.

San Francisco

We stayed in a boutique hotel in San Francisco and heard about Tsunami hit South of Thailand from CNN, we were stunned and thought about our dive master at Koh Phi Phi, how he was. We went to UC Berkley, Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park, Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf, Palace of Fine Arts, and Museum of Modern Arts as well as ate at China Town and took a San Francisco’s Cable Car.

UC, Berkley.

Cold! Golden Gate Bridge.

Palace of Fine Arts.

Monterey

We selected a room with fireplace in Monterey. We went to see Monterey Bay Aquarium, there are many interesting exhibits, including hand-feeding live shows by diver, jellies, shark, etc. It is a big aquarium, we wish we should have more time to appreciate all the exhibits. We walked along Cannery Row which used to be the famous location of sardines processing in the past, currently the factories turn to be shops and restaurants.

Jellies in Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Cannery Row, it name comes from its past popular fish cannery factory.

In front of Bubba Gump Restaurant, there is Forrest Gump's shoes, suitcase, and chocolate box.

The 17-Mile-Drive

We spent a few hours at Carmel-by-the-Sea, the city surrounds art galleries, shops, and restaurants. We drove via a toll road called the 17-Mile-Drive which offers spectacular views of Del Monte Forest, Bird Rocks, Spyglass Hill, Lone Cypress, and beautiful coasts, these attract wealthy people to have their houses in this area. Pebble Beach Golf Links is also in top rank of the world. We took many photos here, especially with the Lone Cypress, which it is said that it may be the most photographed tree in the world.

P.Ou and the Lone Cypress.

Way back to Los Angeles and Disneyland

We drove along Highway 1, and spent a night in a Danish Inn, Solvang, a small Scandinavian style town, and stopped at Santa Barbara before going back to Los Angeles. We celebrated 2005 New Year Eve here. I also had a chance to lunch with my relatives, ArTik and David, at a Thai restaurant on Hollywood Blvd.

Since the plane departed late at night so we decided to go to Disneyland. At Disneyland, we enjoyed Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, etc. P.Ou could join only kid adventures otherwise he said his organs would come out. We went to dine with one of my relatives, P.Nana, at her apartment in Orange County. We arrived at exactly 2 hours before the plane departed, the airport was crowd and I had to return the car, we almost missed the planes.

Danish Inn, Solvang.

Main Street, Santa Barbara.

Main entrance, Disneyland.

Parts of Christmas Fantasy Parade.

Japan

I and P.Ou has been to Japan during September 14-19, 2004 with a travel agent. We went to Universal Studio, Nagoya Castle, Lake Hamana-ko, Mt. Fuji, Hakone National Park, Owakudani Valley, Asakusa, Meiji Shine and Harajuku, Narita-san Shinsho-ji Temple. We experienced riding bullet train, Shinkansen, and also spending a night in yokan and onsen which was enjoyable a true Japanese atmosphere, completed with tatami mats, yukata dresses, and hot baht tub. Food with tour was OK but it was better with our own choice. The following is the story of some places that we visited.

See photo of my Japan trip at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/Japan2004#

Universal Studio Japan

The Universal Studio Japan covers a huge area of 54 hectares on the opposite side of the river from Mt. Tenpo-zan. It is a very popular spot, we enjoyed the world of popular Hollywood characters such as Spider Man, Jurassic Park, Back To The Future, E.T., Terminator, Shrek 4D, Jaw, etc.

Nagoya Castle

Nagoya Castle is almost in the center of Nagoya, and is famous for the golden dolphins that adorn the roof of its castle tower. The castle was built in 1612 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the then-shogun of the Edo government. Until the revolution of 1867 it was the residence of the Owari Tokugawas, one of the three Tokugawa houses. Much of the castle was burnt down in 1945 during the World War II air raids, but the tower was rebuilt in 1959 as a reinforced concrete building with seven stories above ground and a basement. Since then, it has continued to be a beautiful symbol of Nagoya. Floors 1 to 5 inside the castle have been opened up as exhibition rooms.

Mt.Fuji

Mt. Fuji is 3,776m high and is the highest mountain in Japan situated at the border of southeastern Yamanashi and Shizuoka. With its unrivaled magnificence and beautiful conic shape, Mt. Fuji has often been selected as the subject for paintings and literature. It is the world famous symbol of Japan.
Mt. Fuji has long been the center for the mountain worship of ancient Japan. Today, it is a popular mountain to climb, and many people climb Mt. Fuji to watch the sunrise called Goraiko from the top. To access Mt. Fuji depends on weather condition, however the path to the 5th station is well maintained, and because of the time constrains, so we just went up to this point and enjoyed the magnificence of Mt. Fuji by just looking at the beautiful scenery without climbing all the way to the top.

Hakone National Park

Owakudani Valley
The crater, which was formed in the last vaporous eruption of the Hakone mountains when the highest mountain in Hakone, Mt.Kami erupted 3000 years ago, has spouted out hot vapor and sulfide to this day. Once known as Oojigoku("hell"), or grand hell, it was renamed "Oowakudani" before the Meiji emperor's visit in 1876 since it was not a good for the Emperor to visit a place called "hell". There were black eggs boiled from hot vapor and sulfide which it is believed that eat one egg can make your life 7 years longer.


Lake Ashi
Lake Ashi, 20km in circumference, is a slender lake formed in the Hakone caldera some 400 thousand years ago. The inverted reflection of Mt. Fuji viewed through the pine avenue in the southern shore is picturesque scenery. Lake Ashi abundant in pond smelt, trout, black bass and other kinds of fish, many people enjoy fishing there.

Senso-ji Temple and Asakusa

Located in Taito-ku along the west bank of the Sumida-gawa River, Asakusa once thrived as a temple town for Senso-ji Temple, and now it is a downtown that rivals with the Ginza, Shijuku, Ikebukuro and Shibuya. The history of Senso-ji Temple goes back far into the past. The legend has it that fishermen brothers discovered an image of Kan'non (the goddess of mercy) in the Sumida-gawa River around 1,370 years ago and they were inspired to enshrine it. Its symbol is a large red paper lantern that bears the word "Kaminari-mon", or a thunder gate. There is a constant flow of visitors and worshippers throughout the year. Numerous shops along Nakamise-dori Street that runs in the approach way to Senso-ji Temple carry a variety of small articles made of the Japanese paper and other traditional flavored goods such as folding fans. It is a lovely shopping street that attracts many foreign visitors.

P.Ou and red lantern on front of the temple.

Many interesting shops along the road to the temple.

Large censer outside the main building for followers to burn incense.

For the followers to wash their hands before paying their respects to the God.

Traditional Japanese pagoda