China Trip - Part 6

This morning we biked around the Xi'an city wall (above). It was a total of 13.7 kms! I didn't get any pictures of us on the bikes though....
Afterwards, we flew to Beijing. Do you see the spikes sticking out above one of the chairs? That's Edmund!

Upon arrival in Beijing, we saw the Water Cube (for the Olympic Swimming...)

And the Bird's Nest Stadium (for Track and Field)

Random Pic ;-P

Another Random Pic =D

Alright, the exciting story of the day? We arrived in what we were informed was going to be a four star hotel, only to discover that...well...the rooms weren't exactly up to standard. Shall I delve further? Peeling paint, dirty walls, missing headboards, moldy sheets, dusty floors, cigarette stubs....it was horrible. Fortunately, they moved a few of us to larger, slightly cleaner rooms. In fact, we ended up having half the group in our room!
Naturally, Ke Lau Shi and Zhang Lau Shi complained to the tour agency, and we were moved to a Best Western the next evening....

Note: slight update on the previous post

China Trip - Part 5

This morning we went to visit the Terracota Warriors outside of Xi'an.

I guess Vanna was a bit tired ;-)
First, we visited a factory where they made models of the warriors. Outside you could pose as if you were one of the warriors. I think this is the best shot ;-P

The warriors were located in this HUGE pit! And this was only one of three!

This was the best shot I got of the warriors ^^^^

Originally this is what the soldiers looked like when dug up. The ones in the previous picture had to be reconstructed.

POSERS!

This is what happens when you lend Jonny Kuan your camera....oh well it's a pretty good pic ;-P

He also got this nice one of our guide, Nina

Jonny and Edmund, posing, on the bus

Another Jonny Kuan shot. She looks pure evil....

This photo isn't bad

Only one of the various times Vanna got piggyback rides ;-) This was when we went shopping

For dinner we had 16 variety of dumpling!

This is Empress Soup. Inside were 10 dumplings, and the number you got in your bowl meant something. I got two dumplings, which meant "double happiness".

Our overall description of the soup (as stated by Jonny Lim):

HOT HOT BURNING BURNING SPICY SPICY SPICY PEPPER PEPPER!

Jonny playing with his new monkey. Doesn't he look like a little kid?

Player! ;-P

This evening, we chilled in Jonny's (Kuan) "crib" till after midnight! When we realised the time, we returned to our rooms. 5 minutes later, Jonny Lim knocked on our door asking if he could sleep in our room. Reason? Martin (whom he was rooming with) was already asleep! So he couldn't get back into the room! And when he tried the other boy's room, nobody answered...

Tutong Beach

A short break from China posts....

Tutong Beach
Preparing the kite....

Up, up, and away!

The Sandcastle

Today we visited Tutong Beach (at least, I think that's what it's called....). It was just a really pretty, calm place to relax. You know, a real beach with gentle sandy slopes into choppy water. A place you can just sunbathe or take long walks, or swim, or fly kites....a family sort of place.

After having a picnic lunch, we did just those sorts of things. And, at the end of the afternoon, the worst we all ended up with were mild sunburns and sand encovered bodies. Seriously, there were no sand-flies, jellyfish, or much driftwood!

To finish up the trip, we went to Dairy Queen ;-)

China Trip - Part 4

After getting off the train in Xi'an this morning, we headed to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This statue was supposed to bring you good luck if you rubbed it. Jonny Lim started taking it a little too literally and began perving on the lion....
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda. What's the story? There was a young Buddhist monk who had a desperate craving for meat (because, as you may know, Buddhist monks can't eat meat). So he prayed that he would get some meat. That night, a flock of wild geese was flying over that spot, when one suddenly dropped down dead. The temple was built in the goose's honor.

A lovely little pagoda

A pretty flowering tree of some sort (I think it might be camphor)

This is a cute picture. Don't they look like brother and sister?

Next, we visited the Xi'an Foreign Language School, where we talked to some of the students and recieved a tour of the school.

Afterwards, we went to the Tang Dynasty Theme Park. These camels pulling this cart started flirting with Jonny Lim :-P

A dragon boat...

We saw a very boring dancing show, and then a very boring water show. I started COMMENTATING the whole time! This pagoda was quite nice though...

Then I started "stalking" Vicky =D

China Trip - Part 3

This morning we went to the victory garden, in which used to be restriced to Chinese citizens and dogs. They managed to break through the gate at one time though, so thus, victory garden.
This was our tourguuide in Shanghai, Lucy.

We had to go through the "Time Tunnel" under the river to get to the Oriental Pearl Tower. It was basically a tunnel with lots of light displays.

The Oriental Pearl Tower, in which we got to go inside. The elevator was really fast, and my ears popped, but I think I prefered the Eiffel Tower in Paris ;-)

There was a museum at the bottom of the tower about the modern history of Shanghai. I just thought the YinYan looked nice...

... and there was this screen which you went behind and then you showed up in the front. I mainly took this picture because Vicky went behind.

After lunch, we went on a night train from Shanghai to Xi'an. This was our compartment ^^^

just playing around ;-)

Jonny enjoying his Double Meat Subway Sandwich (with cheese but not vegetables) That thing seriously weighed at least a pound!

...and Vicky posing for a "Deo Advert"

Only about half of us ended up sleeping in our assigned compartments! But overall, the night train was a really memorable and different experience, however pleasant or not it ended up being :-P

Sacred Legacy

Edward S. Curtis

A short break from the China Trip posts...

If you get the chance, visit the Scared Legacy Exhibit at the Brunei National Museum. We went for the opening today, and I tell you, it was amazing.

Edward S. Curtis was an American photographer who took pictures of Native American Indians in the early 1900s. Not only are the pictures brilliant, they are important historical documents. This is definately a great thing to do, especially if you're interested in Culture, History, or Photography.

Organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports and the US Embassy Brunei

On display in the lobby of the Brunei National Museum

China Trip - Part 2 - The Pics I Deleted....

This was the pot...
...and THIS was the WC sign! Sick-minded people....