Dangerous and Terrifying Trail of Hua Shan

The sheer photograph of the world's most dangerous hiking trail is enough to make your palm sweaty. The Hua Shan (华山) is a mountian located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi province. It is one of China's Five Great Mountains and has a long history of religious significance. When I was younger, I often hear about martial arts originating from Hua Shan being one of the best in those stories written by the famous Hong Kong writer Jin Yong. Historically, Hua Shan has been a place of retreat for hard hermits, whether Taoist, Buddhist or others. It is classified as having five main peaks, of which the highest is the South Peak at 2,154.9 meters (7,070 feet).

Part of the trail leading to the top

Standing on the plank, you would be in the best position to appreciate mother nature's beauty

It is on the South Peak that you will find the famous and dangerous cliff-side plank path. To get to the summit, hikers must scale the side of vertical cliff by walking on ridges that are less than a foot wide. Certain stretches of the path is made of shoddy wooden planks that are only a foot wide. Hikers are supported only by cables latched on to the chains that has been attached to the side of the mountain. For the less intrepid, there are gondolas to take you up straight away. The hike gives you not only the adrenaline rush, but also the unobstructed breathtaking view of the mountain ridges around Mount Hua. At the top of the mountain, there is tea house awaiting all hikers who braved through the dangerous plank paths.

Oolong or Longjing tea?

So, either these people really like dangerous climbing, or they simply like tea so much that they are willing to go through the scary hike to get to the top. Either way, I think it is worth the hike and is definitely a must-do once in your lifetime.

As I read on about other travellers' experience, I have made Hua Shan as one of my must-go places on earth. The experience described by fellow travellers is enough to make hearts stopped. Photos of people walking on the foothold carved into the mountain with only a strap holding them from free falling thousands feet below excites me. I only hope that when I am actually there I won't chicken out from the challenge I've set for myself.

Kuala Kangsar Famous Pak Ngah Laksa

On our way to Penang, we took a detour to Kuala Kangsar for a Laksa treat. The Pak Ngah Laksa has been around 50 years ago. Started off with only a small stall behind the Tsung Wah school, its customer are mostly students and locals from the surrounding villages. Today, the laksa is known throughout the the peninsula Malaysia.

A humble beginning who made it this far. He's probably earning more than an average salary man in KL. The soup of the laksa is slightly clearer and doesn't taste as fishy as the Chinese recipe while still carries the taste of laksa very well. The texture of the noodle is soft unlike the bouncy noodles you get in the Chinese laksa. Which is probably a good thing knowing the amount of food chemical needed to make the noodle bouncy. Put together with a bowl of ABC gives good after-meal satisfaction.

LAKSA PAK NGAH (HALAL)
(Behind of Tsung Wah Secondary School)
Jalan Dato Sagor,
33000 Kuala Kangsar,
Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 605-775 7986, or 6012-684 7986.
Business hours : 9am-7pm daily. Closed on Wednesdays.

How to get there? Exit North South Highway at Kuala Kangsar. Follow the sign and head towards the Kuala Kangsar town. Approximately 1.5km away from the toll exit, you should pass under an elaborately decorated archway and arrive at a traffic light. There should be a row of  shop on your right with a prominent Goodyear tyre shop. Turn right at the traffic light. Tsung Wah School is just right ahead of you. At the T-junction, turn left and immediately turn right into the slip road. This kampung road should lead you to Pak Ngah's Laksa!

Taking GREAT Vacation Pictures..

We have just made it through 2013 and ushered in the year of the horse. Some of us are already busy checking the calender for holidays and start rolling out plans for 2014. While some of us are still flipping through scrapbooks of the past years reflecting on nostalgic great getaways and some still ruing over missed capture moments. Speaking about captured moments, in this section, we'll talk about 7 great tips on taking better pictures during vacation.

1. Storytelling. You take on a storyteller role. Plan your day ahead to unfold with a story line. Take pictures of highlight moments at each place you visit, food that you eat or people that you meet. So that when you put the pictures together they form a story of your travel. They say pictures speaks a thousand words. Well it certain does if done right!
2. Take in the details. Its OK not being able to take every single shots that you/desire, but don't miss out on the things around you along the way such as signs, local cuisine, locals' activity, etc. These details help to remind and enrich the memory of your travel experience.
   
   

   

   Photo like this helps to fill in the gaps in your travel memories

3. Obsessive photographing. We all how important it is to capture every moments of your travel. But as much as you want to do it, refrain yourself from overly obsessive about taking every picture of every thing that happened every seconds. Give yourself some time and space to relax and enjoy the surroundings. Immerse yourself to the sound of a foreign environment and take in the splendour of the place has to offer. 
4. No-flash. Flashes are good in the occasion depending on how the light falls on your subject. Normally, an amateur would not bother too much about this.
   
   

   

   Flash creates unwanted shadow such as the above.

   The best solution for this is switch of the flash. Nowadays digital cameras come with higher ISO which enables users to take better pictures in low lighting conditions.
5. Fill up the photo.  A friend of mine who scrapbooks always says she “crops the crap”.  She cuts out the sky if there is too much in any photo and just gets down to the meat of what she’s trying to take.  I took this advice and decided to not take pictures of anything other than what I really want to remember.  So, if there is too much sky or people are too far away, I try to remember to zoom, etc. and “crop the crap” out of my pictures.
6. Candid shots. Try taking picture of event at the time when it happens. For instance, baker flipping roti on streets of India or customers haggling with street vendors on streets of Vietnam.
   
   
   
   
    Try not to make your subject pose to every pictures. This will add more life quality into your vacation photos.
7. Closer subjects. Too often photos are taken with a huge coverage of the background making 
   
   
   your subject look tiny as though like a smudge on an otherwise beautiful panoramic picture. Rule of thumb: fill up 2/3 of the picture with your subject. Turn on the gridlines option to better assist you.

Humility - Cambodia

I've decided to pack my bags and head off to Cambodia with my colleagues from PwC. We have been working in an long hours audit and thought we really needed a break.

A trip to Cambodia can be interesting yet emotional. The population has lived in poverty for so many years, overshadowed by their gruesome past. Pol Pot during his 4 years reign as the prime minister of the Khmer Rouge empire has slaughtered nearly 25% of Cambodia's population through a series of execution, forced labour and malnutrition. The 'killing field' in Phonm Penh is part of the testament to Cambodia's shuddering history.

Kids with their pet snake asking for money when tourists try to take picture with them.

Cambodia's glory lies in the past as it is one of the earliest civilisation in South East Asia. The Angkor Wat, built majestically in the fields of Siem Reap, is one of the icons of Cambodia and is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Angkor Wat is huge and is divided into a few sites. Walking from one site to another can be tiring especially due to the humidity and the heat. Entrance fee is USD 40 which left us wondering why is the country still poor given the amount tourist and money generated.

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Corrosion

Cars, bikes and pedestrians sharing this narrow entrance into the site

Vandalism or corrosion? There has been plenty of cases where statues were stolen and smuggled out of the country for sale in the black market. Some statues have missing arms or heads while some are totally damaged.

 Trying to be funny. Smelling the lion's ass.

Trees surrounding the side of the moat

Despite the beauty of the relic of Angkor Wat, the streets of Cambodia are still lined with poverty. Kids selling postcards to tourist when they'r suppose to be studying at school. Beggars lining the entrance of tourist attraction. Eating in restaurants has never been worse when you can see kids peering through the window with their hunger face looking at the food that you're eating.

Things in Cambodia aren't as cheap as i thought it would be. Most of business dealings are dealt in US dollars and a bowl of noodle can cause USD 2 which is appoximately the same price as a bowl of soup noodle in Malaysia.

Cambodian's tonic

We took a trip down to the Tonle Sap lake, the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia. Some facts about the lake: during rainy season, the lake expand and floods the Mekong delta through the Mekong River while dry season causes the water to discharge from the Mekong River back into the Tonle Sap. Along the bank of the Tonle Sap, residents live in floating houses that have sticks planted deep into the riverbed. This is to hold the house and prevent the house from being carried away by the tide during the dry season. The living conditions there is appalling with no proper basic necessity such as clean water and electricity. Many drink from the river water in which they wash their clothes and do their 'toilet business'. Government has been trying to create awareness by setting up booth to distribute clean water. Not sure to what extent the effectiveness of the campaign. Residents there generally work as fishermen although many recently complain that there are less fishes nowadays due to over-fishing. Some who can speak basic English works as tour guide in the area. While the men go out to work, the women takes care of house chore and the kids go to a floating school (how cool is that!). It's practically a floating village there. 

A typical floating house

Layout is pretty much like a small house with a common area, kitchen and toilet

Floating church

Notice the stick sticking out at the side of the house. 

Floating school

Drinking water station

Tonle Sap!

So here's my post about Cambodia, away from the much talked-about Angkor Wat to a glimpse the life of the people in the Cambodians' floating village life.

I want to go to Bali/Yangon with Travelar!!

Came across Digi Nuffnang's Competition on the blog writing that highlights the destinations of Yangon and Bali. So this is my virgin post entry for this competition!

I want to go to Yangon with Travelar SIMPLE BECAUSE....

Note: The Myanmar government has published a guide to travelling in Myanmar and can be found in the following link: http://www.dosanddontsfortourists.com/

An interesting place to visit given the controversies that surrounds the country’s political situation. A predominantly Buddhist country, Burma’s early civilization is influenced by Theravada Buddhism, giving birth to interesting temples such as the Shwedagon Pagoda. Legend has it that the pagoda has existed for more than 2,500 years ago and has relics of the past 4 Buddhas enshrined within. The history also states that the pagoda was destroyed several times and has been rebuilt to its current state in 1970. That leaves us wondering if the relics are still safely enshrined within the pagoda. Nevertheless it is an amazing structure and is definitely the highlight of the Yangon. 

There are also a couple of such religious sites in Yangon such as the Sule Paya and Botataung Paya. These sites consists of a stupa that were built more than 2,000 years ago. Another highlight in Yangon is the Karaweik palace in the Kandawgyi Lake. The Karaweik is majestic and it looks like a golden palace in a lake backdrop during the night. Karaweik is a palace on the eastern shore of Kandawgyi Lake that was designed by Burmese architect U Nghwe Hliang. Besides this, if I have the time, I would certainly like to visit the Aung San Suu Kyi Mansion.

Nightlife in Yangon is nothing comparable to Bangkok’s Khao San Road, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to do at night there. 19^th Street caught my attention as the place to go to at night. From the pictures, it seems similar to our very own Jonker Street, with plenty of cheap cocktail bars and street food peddler around. I would also like to visit the Vista Bar, which is essentially a rooftop bar that offers a good night view of the city with the Shwedagon Pagoda in sight.

19th Street

Despite not being adventurous in food, I would like to explore the food of Yangon. Myanmar, just like most South East Asian countries, has unique and exotic flavors for their food. I am a lover of street food when I travel simply because they are cheap and usually come in big portion. But most important of all, it brings you closer to the everyday lives of the locals. It is interesting to eat what the locals eat, where the locals eat and how the locals eat.

BBC wrote: “A tendency towards a strong sour flavour is common and most dishes, even a simple meat curry, will come with dozens of side dishes, such as herbs, dips and sauces, which add texture, spice and flavour. Sample the basics of what the country has to offer by wandering around downtown Yangon, feasting at the food stalls that are crammed against a backdrop of colourful colonial buildings.”

So here’s some interesting food that I would like to try in Yangon:

Burmese fritters or Vadai?

1. Burmese Chinese food – a variety of them ranging from roast duck (pretty similar to Malaysian style) to exclusive Burmese Chinese food such as Kyay-Oh. Kyay-Oh is a mixture of thin rice noodles, tofu and vegetable like broccoli. Another Burmese Chinese food is Nga Acho Chin which is an adaptation from the Chinese sweet and sour fish. 
2. Fritters – ranges from Calabash to Shrimp, the style is pretty similar to our Vadai.
3. Shan flavors – Shan stalls are identifiable by their large blocks of Shan tofu. Shan are an ethnic group with their own state of the same name in the northeast Burma.
4. Deep Fried Bugs! – Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta, an area largely used for rice cultivation. Similar to Cambodia and Thailand where large number of the country’s population are employed in the paddy fields, Burmese loves their deep fried bugs. To get rid of the pest (crickets, grasshoppers, scorpions), they catch them and cook as a free source of protein.

Fear Factor Challenge

Oh I find this interesting when I was searching for interesting food in Yangon. Go-Myanmar.com has a review on a restaurant named PYONGYANG KOREA. What’s fascinating is the restaurant is owned by the North Korean government.  It is located in Saya San Road in Bahan Township. Tripadvisor reported that there isn’t a lot variety in the food and price is pretty sky high. But it is definitely worth a visit for the dining experience.

So if I win the trip to Yangon (which I most certainly will ;)), this is how my itinerary will look like:

Day 1:

•  Arrival
• Shwedagon Pagoda
• Kandawgyi Lake and its surrounding area

Night: 19^th Street

Day 2:

• Sule Paya
• Saint Mary’s Cathedral
• Aung San Suu Kyi Mansion

Night: Dinner at PyongYang Korea and chill in Vista Bar later on

Day 3:

•  Ciao, Yangon!

I want to go to Bali with Travelar SIMPLY BECAUSE

Compare to Yangon, Bali is a whole different place to visit. There are so many places to visit and things to do in Bali. 2 nights won’t be enough to cover them all. Nevertheless, lets look at the highlights of the island.

Balinese are predominantly Balinese Hinduism and its cultures owes much to its history dating as far back to 2000BC. The Besakih Temple is one of the examples of majestic temples found on the ‘island of thousand temples’. The Besakih Temple is known as the Mother Temple and is over 1,000 years old. The second most important temple after mother temple Besakih is Pura Bratan which is dedicated to Dewi Batari Ulun Danu, goddess of lake and river. There are also lots of temples worth visiting such as the Goa Lawah Temple, Royal Temple of the Mengwi Empire and the Tanah Lot Temple.

Prayer in Besakih

Of course, visitors to Bali are not only confined to temple visits. I would of course like to visit Kuta Beach and indulge in diving activity in Nusa Penida. Nusa Penida is identified as the world class dive site due to its rich water that supports no less than 247 species of corals and 562 species of fish. Nusa Penida is considered an off-beaten track from the main Bali island so if I’m there, I might as well indulge in bird watching as the island is considered a bird watching sanctuary by the Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF). Watch out for the endangered Bali Starling which is found only in Nusa Penid.

Bali Starling

Another place to visit is Ubud, a town in central Bali. This town is famous for its arts and crafts and also its rich architecture of its temple. I want a visit to Gunung Kawi which has structures carved into the sides of a steep river valley. The site is presumed to be the burial site of King Anak Wungsu and his many wives. And then, I want to head over to Tirta Empul for a hot bath in the hot spring.  This temple is one of the holiest temples in Bali and is built around hot spring that still bubbles in the central courtyard. Well, “too much good thing can be wonderful” – by Mae West. 

Vespa Hippies in Ubud.

Nightlife:

Bali is considered to be Asia’s Cancun. Nightlife here is one of the best that you can find in South East Asia. People go to Kuta to sunbath, surf, and drink. I have never been to Cancun and won’t be going there in the near future, but how about a taste of Cancun in Asia? I certainly don’t mind.

My research on Bali shows that Bali produces its own local wine. It is available in white, red, rose, and sparkling varieties. However, the quality is said to be inconsistent although the rose one is said to be usually okay. Put these aside, the good part is we get to bring our own bottle in with them. Certainly something worth trying!

Balinese wine Hatten

Bali is also home to the Hard Rock Café chain of restaurants and hotel. Being a pin collector, it would be a must to visit the Rock Shop to trade and buy pins.

Hard Rock Cafe Bali

How about trying out Kopi Luwak in Bali? One the most expensive coffee in the world, the Kopi Luwak is coffee brewed on beans that has been through the digestive system of civets, which has recently raised a lot of controversies on how the civet are used as money making machines. Civets have been reported to be kept in cages and are fed nothing but coffee cherries. However, coffee producers denied such false claims and us consumers are left to decide what is right or wrong. Right or wrong, I wanna hear from you guys who read my post.

So this is my summary highlights of Bali. I would certainly like to visit both places in the future. I think Yangon is a city full of cultural and political history that was not known to us until the last few decades. Whereas Bali is a holiday paradise where people go there and chill and have a time of their lives. Two different taste, two different experience, but equally exciting.

So tell what's your choice of destination in the voting poll at the side!

End.
-Jaric-