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Turkish Bath
For a tourist on his/her first visit to Istanbul, he/she will rush around and barely cover all the must-do things. For a fourth time visitor, I have opted for a restful holiday to recuperate from my 11-day trip in Iraq. I took two cruises and discovered (or rediscovered) the beauty of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. I went to Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. But the thing I enjoy most is my time in the hamam. Read more
Temple of the Underworld. Uruk
Iraq, home of the earliest civilisation namely the Sumerian civilisation in the fertile Tigris-Euphrates river valley, is the birthplace of writing and wheel. Modern Iraq corresponds to the Mesopotamia (Land between the rivers) of the Old Testament. Iraq with its legendary Babylon has been on top of my must-see list. My friends thought I was crazy to join an 11-day tour to Iraq. I had an unusual holiday visiting Baghdad, Babylon, holy shrines for Shia Muslims at Karbala and Najaf, fabulous archaeological sites at Uruk, Ur and Lagash and a nature wonderland, the Marshes. Read more
Chıldren safe behınd fence, Iraq
Iraq, home of the earliest civilisation namely the Sumerian civilisation in the fertile Tigris-Euphrates river valley, is the birthplace of writing and wheel. Modern Iraq corresponds to the Mesopotamia (Land between the rivers) of the Old Testament. Iraq with its legendary Babylon has been on top of my must-see list. My friends thought I was crazy to join an 11-day tour to Iraq. I had an unusual holiday visiting Baghdad, Babylon, holy shrines for Shia Muslims at Karbala and Najaf, fabulous archaeological sites at Uruk, Ur and Lagash and a nature wonderland, the Marshes. Read more
Dr Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum & 1911 Revolution Centiennial (photo taken on October 10, 2011)
I have been travelling on my own most of the time as my friends are still working. This time I was delighted to travel with three old friends. It turned out to be a great blessing as I suddenly had back pains and could hardly carry my suitcase. I abandoned my plan to make a second visit to Huangshan黄山. Instead I had a most relaxing 8-day holiday in Nanjing 南京 (in Jiangsu江苏), Tunxi 屯溪, Hongcun 宏村 and Xidi 西递 (in Anhui 安徽) and Hangzhou 杭州 (in Zhejiang 浙江).
Mt Qingcheng, Taoist holy mountain
Sichuan 四川 meaning four rivers is also known as the ‘Heaven’s Granary’ 天府之国’. It has an area of 485,000 square kilometers and a population of over 80 million. It provides the natural habit for pandas and is known for its rich history, culture, cuisine, stunning landscape and scenery. I took the Sichuan-Tibet Highway and visited Daocheng 稻城 and Yading 亞丁 on my way to Chengdu. I went to Mt. Emei 峨嵋山, Mt. Siguniang 四姑娘山 and Mt. Qingcheng 青城山 (all World Heritage Sites) before taking an 18-hour train to Kunming, Yunnan 云南昆明. Read more
Part 2: September 8-14
After my eventful and unforgetable journey to Western Tibet, I had a pleasant trip to the Shannon Prefecture with five social workers from Hong Kong before taking a 8-day journey from Lhasa to Chengdu on the Tibet-Sichuan Highway with a side trip to Daocheng and Yarding. Read more
Mt Kailash (Holy Mountain), Lake Manasarovar (Holy Lake)and Yerngo Monastery ruin
Qinghai 青海 situated in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has a history of over 5,000 years. The Yellow River originates from the southern part of Qinghai while the Yangtze River and Mekong River both have their sources in its southwestern part. Durimg my 8-day stay in Qinghai, I visited Xining (the capital of the province), the Qinghai Lake, the Kumbum Monastery, Rebkong (a historical town) and Labrang (in the Gansu Province) before taking the train to Lhasa, Tibet. Read more
Laos, a land-locked country eclipsed by its neighbours, is often forgotten or seen as a laid-back, under-developed and poor nation. I have been to all the Indochina countries except Laos and am keen to see this lost ancient kingdom. I spent 19 lovely days in northern Laos and visited the Provinces of Luang Nam Tha, Luang Prabang, Xieng Khuang and Vientiane. Read more
Sky tree
Yunnan Province with an area of 394,100 square kilometres and a population of about 46 million (2010), is famous for its landscape and scenery, biodiversity, ethnic groups and their culture, tea and natural resources. I have been a frequent visitor to Kunming, capital city of the province since my brother Lawrence moved there in 1999. I have travelled fairly extensively in northern Yunnan. This time, I decided to travel south to Xishuangbanna and overland to Laos. Read more
