TRAVEL | Hiking from Jinshanling to Simatai

If you are looking for breathtaking views in relative isolation combined with some exercise on the Great Wall, then the hike between Jinshanling(金山嶺) and Simatai(司馬台) is perfect for you, giving you a truly "authentic" wall experience. This section of the wall is further away from Beijing than other more popular parts such as Badaling(八達嶺) and Juyongguan(居庸關) , making it considerably less crowded with tourists.

Located about 125 km northeast of Beijing, the JinShanling section of the Great Wall wonders through fantastic natural scenery and connects to the Simatai Great Wall to the east.

The hike from the east Jinshanling Great Wall to the west Simatai Great Wall takes about 4 hours with a total length of 12 km. The route will span over 30 towers (15 towers in East Jinshanling and 15 on west Simatai). It's a perfect day trip outside of Beijing with some of the best scenery of the Great Wall.

Jinshanling Section

Jinshanling Section

Jinshanling Section

Some of the terrain we will need to be covering

TRAVEL | Sydney Opera House

In just a little more than two weeks I will be in Sydney and I was thinking how exciting it will be to visit the Sydney Opera House on its Open Day on Sunday the 25th October. It is a free event running from 10am to 4pm, raining or not. Just a little bit about the House, it was designed by a Denmark architect Jorn Utzon. In June 2007 it was inscribed in the World Heritage List.

TRAVEL | Mount Huang (黃山)

Located in the Anhui province of eastern China, Mount Huang is one of China's major tourist attractions, well known for its scenery, sunsets, peculiarly-shaped granite peaks, Huangshan Pine trees, and views of the clouds from above. Mount Huang has been voted as one of China's top ten scenic spots, the only mountain range on the list.

There are four major attractions (黄山四绝) that are found in Mount Huang:

1. Pine trees 奇松

The pine trees found here are famous for its peculiar shapes and many are more than a hundred years old. Due to the shapes, many pine trees have been given their own names. The most famous is the Welcoming-Guests Pine, thought to be over 1500 years old. The trees here take roots on rocks, instead of soil.

2. Strange Rocks 怪石

The mountains here are a body of granite, often with vertical joints and are known for the lofty peaks and deep ravines caused by constant erosion and fractures. Within an area of 154 square kilometers there is a crowd of peaks, 72 of which have names indicating the shapes they resemble. Lotus, Brightness Apex, and Celestial Capital Peaks are the three major ones, all rising above 1,800 meters. When it is cloudy the pinnacles loom in mists as if they were illusionary, and while the sun is shining they unfold all their majesty and splendor.

3. Sea of Clouds 云海

Most famous mountain peaks offer the view of clouds as seen from above. In Huangshan, the peculiarly-shaped granite peaks and pine trees shrouded in the clouds make the scene particularly surreal. Here, clouds and fog cover the peaks of Huangshan 250 days of the year, producing imagery that change in the blink of an eye.

4. Hot springs 温泉

Huangshan has multiple hot springs, most of them located at the foot of the Purple Cloud Peak (紫云峰). The water stays at 42 °C all year and has a high concentration of carbonates, and is said to help prevent skin, joint, and nerve illness.


In addition, Huangshan has moist climate all year round, facilitating the growing of tea leaves, making it one of China's premier green tea-growing mountains. Mao feng cha ("Fur Peak Tea"), a well-known local variety of green tea, takes its name from the downy tips of tea leaves found in the Mount Huang area.

"Thousands of feet high towers the Yellow Mountains With its thirty-two magnificent peaks, Blooming like golden lotus flowers, Amidst red crags and rock columns." - Li Bai

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TRAVEL | Whitsunday Islands

Along the Queensland coast of Australia, dotted with hundreds of tropical islands lies the Great Barrier Reef, the world's greatest Coral Reef system. And in the heart of the reef are the 74 islands of the Whitsundays, the largest group of offshore islands in Australia. It is said that the sand found here is so pure (99% white sand), that NASA uses it to make lenses for its telescopes.

The majority of the Whitsunday islands are designated national park, leaving them uninhabited and in their purest natural state. The azure seas, the white sandy beaches and the amazing reef make it one of Australia's must go holiday destinations.

It would be a dream come true for me to be able to go scuba diving in the coral reefs, seeing the variety of wildlife that exist here, and then spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the white sandy beaches.

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TRAVEL | Halong Bay

Often claimed by the Vietnamese as the world's eighth wonder, the Vinh Halong Bay (or The Bay of the Descending Dragon), is famous for its spectacular seascape of limestone pillars on its 1600 or so islands and islets. Because of the islands' precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and have been unaffected by human presence.

Together with Nha Trang Bay and Lang Co of Vietnam, Hạ Long Bay is recognized as one of the 33 most beautiful bays of the world.

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TRAVEL | Preah Khan

This will be the last of the temples I will be introducing in the Angkor archeological park. Preah Khan (Sacred sword) is a Khmer temple built by the king Jayavarman VII in honour of his father, and is architecturally in harmony with Ta Prohm. Like Ta Prohm, the temple itself has been left largely unrestored, allowing nature to mix with man made structures. The temple was originally used as a Buddhist monastery and school, engaging over 1000 monks.

Today, the Buddha carvings/images in the temple have been vandalised or destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under the proceeding King Jayavarman VIII.

TRAVEL | Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm (Ancestor Brahma) is a Khmer temple approximately 1km east of the old Angkorian capitol Angkor Thom. Founded by the King Javaraman VII in the late 12th century, the temple was built as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the mother of King. The beauty of this temple lies in the fact that it has been left in the same condition as it was found, showing the dynamic interaction between nature and man made art.

Because of its natural state, visitors are able to experience the wonders of discovering a real ruin like early explorers did in the nineteenth century. The photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.

This was the site where the first Tomb Raider movie was filmed.

TRAVEL | Angkor Wat

Situated in Angkor, the Angkor Wat is a grand temple complex built for the king Suryavarman II as his state temple, in the early years of 12th century. The Angkor Wat is unusual in Khmer temples in that it faces the west, instead of the east, leading many to speculate that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple. Based on the decorations and structures found there, scholars believe that the temple is dedicated to the worship of Lord Vishnu, a supreme god in Hindu religion.


Angkor Wat, which means city temple in Khmer, demonstrates the epitome of high classical style of Khmer architecture. The temple itself was designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology. The quincux of towers in Angkor Wat represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, while the surrounding walls and moat represent the surrounding mountain ranges and seas. This style of temple design was the dominant scheme for the construction of state temples in the Angkorian period, and was known as temple mountain.

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TRAVEL | Temple of Preah Vihear

The Preah Vihear temple (meaning sacred temple in Khmer) is situated on the edge of a plateau, on a 525-metre cliff that dominates the plain of Cambodia. Dated back to the 11th century AD, the temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by pavements and staircases over a 800 metre long axis, showcasing outstanding Khmer architecture. The site is very well preserved, being in a remote location, on the Dangrek Mountains, border between Cambodia and its neighbor Thailand. It is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east.

In July 2008, the Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.





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TRAVEL | Jiuzhaigou Valley (九寨溝)

Situated in the north of the Sichuan province of China, Jiuzhaigou valley is a nature reserve known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes. A UNESCO world heritage site, Jiuzhaigou's best-known feature is its dozens of blue, green and turquoise-colored lakes caused by different residues formed in processes of Carbonate deposition.

Legend has it; that long, long ago the deity of mountain named Dago had a crush on the goddess Semo, and he gave a mirror that was made from wind and cloud to the goddess. However, the devil appeared and made trouble to Semo. Inadvertently, Semo broke the mirror into 108 pieces, which fell down to the earth and then turned to 108 colorful lakes in the area.

Jiuzhaigou Valley is a great masterpiece of nature, having dreamlike scenery and abundant natural resources. It combines crystal clear lakes, waterfalls, verdant forests, snow-covered mountains, and the folk customs of the Tibetan and Qiang peoples.






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TRAVEL | Sydney Opera House

Built by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon, the Sydney Opera House is one of the most well known multi-venue performing arts centre in the world and definitely one the most distinctive 20th century buildings architecturally. It was made a UNESCO world heritage site on 28 June, 2007.

The opera house houses two main venues, the Opera Theatre and the Concert Hall, together being defined by the two larger shells.

The designer, Jorn Utzon, received the Pritzker Price in 2003, architecture's highest honour.

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