... Jocelynnchoo ...

World Environment Day

2010-06-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

Today on June 04 2010, in conjunction with the World Environment Day (WED), the world celebrates the diversity of life on Earth with the theme :

Many Species. One Planet. One Future.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in his WED message, warned that thousands of species, from frogs to gorillas, from huge plants to tiny insects are in jeopardy. Species are going extinct at the fastest rate ever recorded, and he stressed the need to raise public awareness to halt this "mass extinction."

"I appeal to everyone - from Kigali to Canberra, from Kuala Lumpur to Quito - to help us sound the alarm."

Hornbill

Wow, a surprise to me that he mentioned Kuala Lumpur! It is either because Malaysia has the second richest biodiversity in the world, or it may be because many of us lack awareness in biodiversity preservation! Third possibility might be that at that instant, the name KL just stroke his mind!

Xiang and I were lucky to 'participate' in this event as we just happened to be at Ikano in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Here, the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park organized an Aviary exhibition to celebrate this WED.

It was a surprise and an exciting event for us. We had the opportunity to spot so many types of birds, in a very unusual but convenient setting, haha...., at Ikano, with the added comfort offered by a cozy and air-conditioned shopping complex. There was quite a long queue of people waiting to take up-close-and-personal photos with the birds. Each shot of photo costs RM 10/-.

Xiang was excited at the close encounter with the colorful parrots. They have such fascinating combination of colors. The red one amused everybody very much when it repeatedly shouted:

"Apa khabar, apa khabar ?" (How are you?). When Xiang threw back the same question, it answered "Baik, baik, baik" (Good!). Everybody, especially the kids, was laughing with joy with its prompt and parrotic reply.

I definitely found it worth the money. How often do we get a chance to to come that close to the owl and the parrots at one go. Xiang noticed that the owls seemed not in the mood to participate in this photo shooting! Of course, they are nocturnal and only stay awake at night, which means that they sleep during the DAY. Moreover, the big crowd of a shopping complex on an eventful Saturday is obviously to much for its social ability!

Interestingly, with each pose, the owl needed to be patted or repositioned, probably to wake it up from its dreams! Not far away from here, one owl was in its natural biological clock time, sleeping on a tree twig.

With owl Titi perched next to my ear, I felt a bit uncomfortable. I would prefer it to be sleepy. Can you imagine if it were awake, it might have pecked off my ear, my nose or even my eyeball!

In this shopping aviary, on exhibition too were the magnificent peacocks, the wild rooster, and many other types of birds. When comes to names of birds, I must admit my inadequacy. Bear in mind that this is a make-shift aviary within a shopping complex, so do not expect to see many species (flamingo, horn-bill, ostrich, etc)

The KL Bird Park, within the Lake Garden

If you are keen to explore further, then I suggest you visit the KL Bird Park, which is just 10 minutes drive from the city center. Sprawling approximately over 21 acres of verdant valley terrain, it houses more than 170 000 of fauna and flora species, 3 000 birds of 200 species.

I am quite sure many Malaysians, including those who are just some miles away from the KL Lake Garden, are not aware of existence of this world famous bird park.

Here is a map to show the way:

You may also hop on to the Rapid KL Bus No. B115 or take a cab, it is absolutely very easy if you are in Kuala Lumpur.

Former US President, Bill Clinton, tops the honorable guest list of this Park.

The KL Bird Park resembles the world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary. This tropical forest with lush foliage houses more than 3 000 birds: scarlet ibis, yellow billed stork, magnificent peacock, purple heron, and adorable lovebirds, to name but a few. As you enter, you can witness at close proximity the bird community in an almost natural sanctuary.

yelloow billed stork,

The romantic mandarin ducks live in pair, never get separated, like Romeo and Juliet

white parrot with yellow tinge

The KL Bird Park offers some very attractive packages, catering for all categories of visitors:

Bird shows daily at 12.30pm and 3.30pm

Field trips as School package

Company seminar

Birthday party

Company family day with guided tour

Contacts: Tel: 03 - 2272 1010 visit its website. http://www.klbirdpark.com/

I Found My Mum's Hair Cream

2010-05-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

The hair is the richest ornament of women
- by Martin Luther.
To me, this is only true when your hair is colored, not decolorized or grey, at least for a Chinese lady!

Some people are very lucky, blessed with a head of black or brown hair(for Asians) even till the age of 70, belief it or not. In this case, need to exclude the blonds. Aren't blonds lucky, the strands of greying hairs can turn out to become pretty strands of silvery highlights!

My friend, Anthony C proudly claims that his dad has a head of natural black hair, without having to resort to dyeing. Oh my god, I just wish that I am that lucky! However, I should not complain too much if I were to make a comparison with those who have premature greying due to many reasons: genetic, vitamin deficiency, stress, anxiety, tension, excessive intake of tea, coffee, spices or deep-fries.

Put A Dead Stop To Gray (Grey) Hair Now

Premature Greying (Gray) Hair Remedy

Many of us begin to spot grey hairs at early 40's. On a head of black hair, these few strands of grey, though insignificant in numbers, may appear to be so significant to reveal the secret that you are not young anymore.

For some people, greying occurs beneath the top layer of hair, and as such, is not so obvious. As for me, alas, this happens at the center parting, right at the top of my head!

Aiyo, I don't think there is a natural way to hide my grey hair/my age! For many years, I have been dyeing my hair dark brown every month. Things would have been alright after each dyeing, as I used to look into the mirror and enjoyed a new look that was younger by probably10 years. But every time, there was this increasing fear of the cumulative carcinogenic effect of chemical dyes. Just wandered when they are going to bring miseries and regrets into your life!

Suddenly one day, I remembered how my mum managed to delay this greying. She was one of those lucky ladies who only started to see grey hairs in her 60's. As a vain woman, she was upset, of course!
One day, I saw she rubbing some cream onto two spots of gray hair, one on each side of her face, near to the ears. She was told by one of her friends that it would darken her hair once again. I was very skeptical about what that bottle of cream could do (no idea how the bottle looked like now)?

After about 10 days, (probably after I had forgotten about the whole incidence), my mum showed me the results of her effort: Wow, my mum's hair had turned brown! It was really wonderful! You got to see to believe. It's brown, not grey anymore!

How nice if I could remember the name of the cream, or least, the look of the bottle. Frustratingly I could not! As a last resort, I went to the pharmacy, seeking the shop attendant's help.

" Excuse me, is there a cream that helps to prevent the greying of hair?"
Without me having to further elaborate, she showed me a product:

Restoria Discreet Hair Colouring Cream.

So I bought a bottle for Rm 25, bearing a luxurious hope that it was the same cream my mum used, and still in the market, not turn obsolete.

I followed the instructions carefully and started applying the cream. Suddenly I could smell that familiar unpleasant and 'sulphury' smell. That's it. Can't be wrong. Of course, what I most wanted to know is:
Is Restoria Discreet safe?

So I visited the Q&A of Restoria at the following website:
http://www.restoria.com.au/discreet-natural-looking-color/hair-cream-faq.html
And here goes the answer:

Yes - perfectly safe when it is used as directed. Restoria Discreet meets all the requirements of the Australian NH & MRC and the USA Food and Drug Administration. It has also been tested by several independent laboratories and pharmacological authorities

Faithfully thus, I followed the instructions closely and applied 3 times a day. After about 10 days, the same wonder that worked on my mum happened again to my hair. It's starting to brown again! By two and a half months, I am 75% satisfied with the restored brown hair. It would of course be impossible to turn to original dark brown(or black). But I am more than satisfied with the results. It has been almost 3 months since I last dyed my hair. I intend to continue using it till I find a better or safer product later. For the moment, I am more than satisfied.

I have to clarify that I have no vested interests in this products. I only want to share my mum's 'secret' (and mine) with all my friends and readers. Good things and happiness are meant to be shared. Ain't I generous?!

Chinese New Year Celebration de la Taiji

2010-02-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

It was almost 6 months past after Chow's sudden passing. Daughter Xiang and I are slowly struggling to pull ourselves out of the vacuum Chow left behind. It is not an easy task, but we manage it, with the help of each other. Equally important, are the supports from good old friends, colleagues and my new found friends of Taiji enthusiasts.

I have a friend whose husband passed away about 6 months earlier than Chow. She told me that life is meaningless. I shuddered and realized the important part friends play in life.

(Left: Elsie, Jocelynn, Carmen, Jenny, Anne, Lilian, Elaine, Veronne, Gene, Eric, Johnny and Susan)

I am lucky to come to know few friends in Taiji. Though the time we got to know each other is not that long, but somehow or rather, i could feel the growing concern among ourselves. We seem to be sharing quite some common interest, like Taiji, views and some philosophy of life.

So, i had a small gathering with these new founds friends of warm hearts, all are Taiji enthusiasts, my si jer and si heng. They give me a much needed hand to go through a new phase of life without Chow. To share out the work, we agreed to have a pot-luck party.

Warming up slowly, blessed with a cool and breezy night, as compared to the sizzling warm night the day before. Should consider ourselves very lucky.

Let's toast and welcome the Year of the Tiger with zest. Bye the way, everybody liked the garden party setting.

Everybody was in a happy and jovial mood.

A very serene garden setting for gathering, all were feeling very relaxed.

My plants were playing their part too, adding a touch of green and a feel of nature to the party.

Too much of food left. Not that the food was not good, but that everyone was very generous. All were excellent cooks. Moreover, Isabel & Tan, and Sng also took the trouble to bring over some food, though they were unable to attend. Earlier, Xiang was worried that there might not be enough food for all, so she was relieved to see the amount of left over!

Elsie was late, as she had to send her daughter to KLIA. Veronne was bad enough to pester her to send off the daughter as early as possible. Shy to say that it was in my mind too, but i was smart enough not to say it aloud, haha...! Finally, poor Elsie turned up passed 10 pm, hopping from hubby's car into her car, and came darting to meet us. Well, she had to rush as we only would start to 'lo sang' with her together. Good things in life are meant to be shared.

Veronne and Eric were seen busy helping me to prepare the Yee Sang, while Lilian looked on, waiting to be served like a queen!

Anne and Jenny looking for 'hou swee kween' for Jocelynn. Xiang and Kevin were with us to average down the age!

Everybody 'lo sang', tossing chopsticks as high as possible, chanted out as many wishes as possible. Somebody commented that we were wishing for the impossible. Well, never venture never gain! It is better to wish for more so that you get more wishes answered by the number, within the same percentage. The Yee Sang was delicious, if not too sweet, as i added fresh fruits like apple and pear too, besides the normal ingredients.

For Yee Sang preparation, refer to: Fa Cai Yee Sang for Chinese New Year Celebration

Finally came the celebration for Jenny's 1-day belated birthday. Gene, our cake expert, had a rich chocolate cake ready for her. Lucky Jenny, how i wish that all of you celebrate my birthday too!

Eric was in elated mood, turning romantic and finally received a loving kiss from the wife.

I told Jenny to have the first piece of cake, as a birthday girl.

Our initial plan was to have some dancing and card playing, but we had so much to chat about, or maybe we were too lazy to change from our comfortable position, that we did not have time for those. Jenny was in her flare skirt, all geared to release her 'chi' in dancing, but alas...!

It was a very enjoyable night. Before the party came to an end, everyone insisted helping me to clear the food, wash the plates, put back the chairs and tables and 'tar pow' the excess food. My fridge was too full to take in any extra then.
We planned to have more gathering in times to come.

The Copenhagen COP15 - Change Climate Change

2009-12-04T02:07:00.000-08:00

The Crucial Conference on Climate Change

4.5 billion years ago, the planet was created
540 million years ago, life first stirred the oceans,
The rainforests have been growing for 130 million years,
Our coral reef for 18 million years
200 000 years ago, human emerged and settled on the Earth,
It took only one century, to put our planet in danger!
Now is the time to act.
Raise your voice to change climate change!

The rainforests have been growing for 130 million years,

Our coral reefs for 18 million years

Monday Dec 07 2009 is the Day, the Copenhagen conference COP15 on climate change.

Little Mermaid of Copenhagen

Every country will put forth their team of best negotiators to commit its affordable share of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, without jeopardizing its development and economy.
Just a brief explanation for the novice in climate change terms and developments.

The Intergovernmental Panel ( IPCC ) on Climate Change 2007 Assessment clearly demonstrated that climate change is already occurring, and that warming greater than 2^oC presents a severe danger to environment, forest, glaciers, ecosystem, biodiversity and ultimately human destruction!. Without governmental commitments and immediate action, mankind may loose the ability or methodology to contain warming to below 2^oC.

Climate change has occurred, manifested in more frequent occurrences of
extremes of climate, like

severe drought,

forest fire

excessive and torrential rainfall, coastal flooding,

glacial melting,

If we act quickly, we can contain the risks from warming and adapt in ways that are consistent with goals for sustainable growth and development. The technologies required to shift from current high carbon path to a low carbon, climate resilient path are available and the costs are manageable at this moment.

Negotiations to seal a climate change treaty at the upcoming meeting COP 15 in Copenhagen have been dogged by numerous issues. The most challenging of them being: disagreements over targets for cuts in carbon emissions; and a fund from rich nations to help developing countries tackle climate change as stipulated in the Kyoto protocol.

IPCC reports states that current state of climate is primarily the outcome of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by the developed nations during their industrialization and uncontrolled deforestation.

China, India and other developing nations have urged developed nations to honor their international duty to cut emissions by 40% - 45% in view of their historic greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for today’s global warming. They too have been putting up stiff opposition to binding emission targets imposed on them by developed countries, as they said that could harm economic growth and poverty alleviation.

Brazil's president Lula observed, "A country that started its industrialization process 150 years ago has more responsibility than one starting yesterday; the United States has more responsibility than China, and Europe more than South America or Africa."

They also called for the payment of the historical debt owed to developing countries due to their overuse of the carbon space in the atmosphere, transfer finance and technology resources and promote sustainable development in developing countries.

China has reiterated the principle of " common but differentiated responsibilities". In simple words, every country needs to reduce emissions, but the developed nations must reduce more because they pollute more.

The European Union meanwhile has only agreed to reduced emissions by half the target requested by developing countries, and maybe more, if the 20% is also agreed upon by other developed countries. It is not likely that the US will agree to that. US only want to commit a 4% reduction of the 1990 level.

They pressure China, to come out with substantial reduction targets, saying that without China's substantial commitment, any reduction effort would be futile. Though China is not an Annex I country thus not bound by the Kyoto Protocol to meet reductions target.

China is in a very special category by itself, as it had by 2007, overtaken US as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

With the major emerging economies ( China, India and Brazil ) taking a common stand on one side of the Copenhagen negotiation sea-saw, and the developed nations the other side; each party stiffly adhering to their justifications and numbers on binding targets, the war to combat climate change would have appeared bleak, not until the visit of US President Obama to Beijing in November 2009, that might start to cast some light at the end of the tunnel.

US and China together emit 42% of the global greenhouse gas, commitment and cooperation between the two is essential for reaching a new treaty in Copenhagen. Both countries have recently agreed in principle to boost investment and cooperation in energy efficient green technology to fight climate change.

US President Barack Obama

US President Barack Obama on returning to US, announced that he would attend the Copenhagen conference, with an offer to cut US emissions by 3% below 2005 levels by 2012, 17% by 2020 though still fall short of the blueprints drew up in Bali in 2007.

China, almost immediately after US announcements, on November 26, 2009, says it is taking a voluntary action based on its own national conditions to airm for energy efficiency, to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by up to 45% by 2020.

India, the world's 4th largest carbon emitter, initially refused to set any binding target, too, follows suit to announce that it would reduce emission intensity by 20% -25% of its 2005 level by 2020.

Climate change is a global crisis, all parties, developed and developing, need to talk to address this crisis at earliest possible time frame. Beyond the 2^oC rise target, the extent and magnitude of impacts are likely to be dangerous and irreversible.

Mt. Emei - Chinese Kungfu and Buddhism Heritage

2009-12-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

This visit was to Mt. Emei.

Mt. Emei is one of the four famous Buddhist Mountain in China with an altitude of 3066m. This was where Samantabhadra Bodhisattva practiced his meditation, for which his statue in the Wannian Temple on the mountain has become the most famous.

We had morning call at 6 am, traveled in a cozy environmentally friendly coach for 2 hours to reach the foot of Mt Emei. Mt. Emei lies in the SW Sichuan, 130 km from Chengdu.

To go to the summit of Mt. Emei, we took a cable car from here.
It was unforgettable, as the journey was windy, scary with the bravado stunts of the reckless driver! Moreover, with increasing altitude, air became thinner which began to take its toll on us who were poor traveler with poor balancing ability! Finally, a 10 minute cable car ride (packed with passengers) took us to the top (not the summit yet) of Mt. Emei.

Few managed to reach the top. Shy to say that none from our group belongs to this high achievers.

The word Emei always conjures up a picturesque and misty landscape, with a Chinese kungfu master displaying his skillful martial art, on a steep cliff, overlooking a a sea of cloud, pierced through with sun's rays.
This is exactly what Mt. Emei is:

Notice the sun's ray, the temple at the tip overlooking the cliff, the walk track - characteristic of the Emei
It is well-known for its picturesque landscape, spectacular scenery of sunrise, sunset, cloud sea, Buddha's halo, rich Buddhist sites and Chinese martial art. The martial art of Mt Emei is one of the three main Chinese genres and is famous internationally too. Mt. Emei was made a UNESCO World Heritage in 1996.

Omg, I still need to toll up hundreds of steps to reach the summit. Look could be deceiving - I was still very far from the highest point in the background, with the most famous 7.3-meter tall bronze statue of Bodhisattva Puxian or Samantabhadra on elephant.

Many of us turned out to be losers, giving up climbing long before the destination. Air was thin, weather was cold, with dizzy coach ride....what else? But this guy put all of us to shame:

This man served as means of transport for goods and commodities, from the cable car station to the shops near the summit. And he did that 20 times a day, everyday, for livelihood. Live is tough and he is tough. Here we are, a group of highly pampered tourists, many had to stop 1/10 of his way to destination. We are lembek!

We finally reached the peak of Mt. Emei, at the Jingdin or Golden Summit. Right behind us is the famous 7.3-meter tall bronze statue of Bodhisattva Puxian or Samantabhadra on elephant, built in Wannian Temple, classified as a Class 1 protected cultural relics of China.

One of the first Buddhist temples in China was built in Mount Emei in 1 AD. Today there are about 30 temples, among which the Baoguo Temple, the Wanian Temple, the Qingyin Pavilion, the Crouching Tiger Temple, the Huayan Temple are amongst the most famous. These temples abound with Buddhist statues made of materials like clay, wood, jade, bronze and iron. They are vividly sculptured, many of which are national treasures.

Continued from yesterday when we took a cable car to the mountain top; today, we started from the lowest level of the foothill of Mt. Emei.

Caddy took us to the foothill from our Hotel, 5 minutes of comfortable, breezy ride in early dawn.

The first temple we reached at the lowest level of Mt. Emei, was the CrouchingTiger Temple.

On the way to the Huayan Yemple. Xiang helping the village lady to sell the local kiwi from the jungle. Smaller (of course, without fertilizer), sweeter, and healthier organic kiwi.

In case you don't know, Kiwi fruits was native to China, called Mihou Tao (Macaque peach). It was introduced to New Zealand, due to its gooseberry flavour, was named the Chinese gooseberry, and finally got its name as Kiwifruit in 1959.

The Huanyan Temple at the second level of the Mt. Emei foothill. It houses the oldest relics in the temple, the 7 m copper pagoda, built in the Ming Dynasty, with exquite and vivid sculptures of Buddha, bodhisattvas, figurines, lions and elephants.

With the back facing me was tour guide Choo Liang. I should say that he was a very good tour guide, his story-telling talents made our journey very interesting and informative.

He was a great story teller. Take for example, while we were on our way to the jade outlet, he started telling us stories about jade, quoting a few incidences when broken a jade helped to buffer off some misfortune; how to distinguish a real jade from a fake one, the different classes of jade, the latest developments about jade...etc. In the same way, we listen attentively to his stories of silk, of 'bian nian' or change face, the Leshan Buddha, the 2000 year old irrigation structure of Dujiangyan, the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, his interesting and touching life as a patriotic soldier in the Chinese Liberation Army, a nationalistic Chinese of Mongolian origin.
As a compliment, a tour under his guide would be one that is worth the bucks, interesting, informative, unforgettable and enjoyable, and full of suspense!

Last place before we depart Mt. Emei was the Baoguo Temple: magnificent, ancient in culture and antique in look, like all other temples here in Emei.

Baoguo Temple, name by the emperor of Qing Dynasty, at the foot of Mt.Emei, housing the precious Buddhist statue.

This 'Ding' at the Baoguo Temple has the name of (Chow) Kok Kee as you can see, ha !

After visits of the three temples, we gathered around the waterfall to take a few final shots.

Panda Panda You Are Cuuute....

2009-11-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

The 7th day of tour in Chengdu was more relaxing, not so demanding to our heart compared to that of Huanglong and Mt. Emei at high altitudes with accompanying harsh weather. Here, temperature was warmer, around 8 - 10oC. We visited the Silk, then the Jade outlets. I anticipated poor response from team-mates at the Silk outlet. To my surprise, there were 6 purchases of silk mattresses, pillows, blankets, each package costing RMB 6 900 eah! And I almost bought one set too, if not for Xiang's objection. Equal purchasing power was manifested at the Jade outlet. This time, I bought a jade pendant for Xiang, the shape of a butterfly, reasonably priced. A few others continued their frenzied buying spree until being reminded repeatedly to proceed to the Giant Panda visit!

Xiang was very excited at the Giant Panda Research Center, Chengdu, because giant pandas are her most favorite pets.

Xiang was all geared to go inside the center.

This Center was set up replicating the pandas' natural habitat to provide the best possible near natural environment for pandas, black-necked cranes, white storks and also for other rare and endangered wild animals. A great variety of plants and around ten thousand clumps of bamboos and bushes have been cultivated to provide for the giant pandas' diet and habitat.

It should be borne in mind that the Giant Panda Center was established for wildlife and habitat conservation purposes, not as a zoo or as a tourist attraction. Adjust your mind set and you'll learn a lot from it, and enjoy the trip.

The world's most endangered and rarest animals, the giant pandas, endemic to China, are found in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan, and in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. According to a 2007 report, China has 239 Giant Pandas in captivity, 27 living outside the country, and around 1,590 in the wild.

Pandas lazing around and munching bamboo.
Giant Pandas are the national treasures of China. They are the luckiest creature on Earth, being amongst the most adored and best recognized animals.They are simply cute and charming, with their characteristic 'malas' mood.

Pinkish baby panda, fragile but in good hands
Newborn pandas, which weigh only 90 - 130 g, or about 0.1% of the mother's weight, are under very intensive veterinary care.

Panda panda I love you.

According to a survey in China, most kids want to be a panda as pandas are under tender care from the moment of birth, and they do not need to worry about livelihood, and best of all, no need to take exams

Xiang posing in the forest of special bamboo, minus the kingfu stunt. This forest is no ordinary forest spot. Remember the very entertaining fighting scene in the show Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon? Well, it was filmed here.

Adult giant pandas spend 10 to 16 hours a day finding and eating bamboo, may eat up to 20 kg of bamboo daily. Giant Panda may eat other foods such as honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, and bananas when available.

Funny isn't it, even the flowers also looked pandas! All of us agreed to name it the panda flower!
Tour guide, Choo Liang (by the way, he was a very good tour leader) asked whether anyone was interested to take a shot with the panda. For that, you need to pay RMB 1000. Moreover, it is not that simple: you need to wear special gloves, special attire, and sterilized all over, means you can't even touch the pandas with your bare hands, worth the money?

He also told us about an incident in China, that for the death of one giant panda, 3 people were executed. This number certainly shows that as far as China is concern, Giant panda' life's is more valuable than the human's! It is obvious that the Chinese government, in its conservation effort, wants a very strong message sent to deter panda gaming for monetary returns (skin and paws).

Panda Sneezing on You-Tube:
You must not miss this, already entertained 3,354,477 viewers by Nov 27 2009.

Jocelynnchoo's Facebook

Australia welcomes giant pandas from China with city party, bamboo-filled zoo enclosure

Huanglong the Yellow Dragon in Sichuan - World Heritage Site

2009-11-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

Whilst most people were indulged in their sweet dreams, the 37 of us had to wake up in reluctance on morning call at 4.30 am. We were on our way to board the internal flight from Chengdu to Huanglong, another world famous landscape in Jiuzhaigou, China. On arrival, we were transferred and traveled in a coach, still half-dazed!

The journey was an eye-opener to me who for the first time, was so close to snow-capped mountains. The sacrifice of sleep was worth all the while.

The long and windy journey up Huanglong mountain was lined with majestic snow-capped mountains. Huanglong is continuation of the Himalayan Alpine range which is located in Asia in the countries of Nepal, Tibet (China), India, Pakistan and Bhutan.

Reached the foothill of Huanglong after 90 minutes of coach ride in a cold harsh weather of 5o C. Huanglong is about 3,000 - 3,600 meters above sea level. Tourists can choose to climb to its top, alongside a 4.6 meter-long plank road. This normally takes an average 3 hours. Very often, due to its altitude, mini-oxygen tanks are made available for critical use, or for the weak hearts. An easier alternative is to take a cable car up to the top of the hill and climb downhill to enjoy the scenery.

Tourists climbing a 4.6 meter-long plank road. Even with the help of this facility, up-hill climbing is still very demanding and challenging. Most of us had to carry our mini oxygen tanks to standby in case of emergency.

The Huanglong National park is famous for its thousands of colorful, crystal clear ponds along its 3.6 km long yellow river meandering through the mountain valleys. These colorful ponds are like the scales of a dragon, and thus the name Yellow Dragon.

Jade-like crystal clear water reflecting the soft green hue from the bottom of the calcite ponds. Just within this small plot, there were about 15 smaller ponds as I counted.

The colorful pools of blue, yellow, white and green formed by calcite deposits not only make the park scenic, but unique, constituting one of the most magnificent landscape in the world . Huanglong was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992. The most spectacular view is the Wuchaizi or (Five-coloured Pond), at the highest point of 3600m, is studded with terraced, colored limestone ponds in shades of blue, brown, yellow and green.

More majestic colorful ponds at the mountain tops. Unfortunately only a handful of us managed to conquer! Excuse: Lack of time and cold weather, ha..excuse?!

Equally well-known here are the diverse forest ecosystems, luxuriant forests, multi-hued flowers, snow-capped peaks, canyons, waterfalls and hot springs. Huanglong is also home to many endangered species including the Giant Panda and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey.

Stopped at a sunnier spot to appreciate the multi mini waterfalls trickling downhill. In winter, one really treasure the presence of the Sun.

We were in thick clothing to combat the harsh weather. Lucky i brought the 'Russian' hat with me. Though too big for my head, was much needed to cover my EARS! From left: Kong, Lan, Me and Xiang. Behind are the yellow-colored calcite ponds.

While waiting for other team-mates to return, we happy very delighted at the sighting of a wooden shack, serving authentic local villagers' food.

This beef noodle which I ate was sooo....delicious. Just served with the simple Chinese chili oil made a noodle lover like me still thinking of having more and more, though now back in Malaysia!

Kong's food exploration. Notice the roti-chanai-like pancake. It looked simple, but it was really very delicious, one of the ingredients was a locally grown vegetable, called 'qing ker' vegetable

More Huanglong pictures to lure you there

More Huanglong pictures in my facebook

Szechuan - Food Glorious Food

2009-11-23T05:28:00.000-08:00

Szechuan Cuisine of western China, constitutes one of the four major cuisine in China.

In Szechuan cuisine, chili is almost indispensable. Szechuan food is famous for its hot spicy "tongue numbing and eyes tearing" dishes. Their uniquely hot, pungent flavor is created by a mixture of red hot chilies, Szechuan peppers, garlic and ginger in the ingredients. Some well-known Szechuan dishes include "Kung Pao Chicken" and "Fish in Water".

According to our tour guide, Szechuan people's glassy complexion is thought to be strongly linked with this chili diet.

I strongly agree to that, because chili promotes blood circulation, besides its many other positive attributes.

"Kung Pao Chicken" - Chili fried with chicken, spicy and delicious. Enjoyed this dish very much. But my friends found the dish a lurking bomb! They struggled with the seathing hotness, with nose running, tears and sweat rolling, lips swelling and some almost coughed their lungs out!

Although many Szechuan dishes are spicy, there are some famous dish that are not spicy at all, including recipes such as "Tea Smoked Duck".

Most tourists to China have one common complaint about food being oily.

I remember way back in the early 70s, my mum used to bring over lots of fatty pork pieces(preserved with salt) when she went visiting her relatives in China. According to her, not only food but also cooking oil were very scarce. These relatives really looked forward to my mum's visiting, especially to the food rationing time!

Combination of mushrooms, leek, corn, spring onion and frog in hot sauce. Unique and tasty. Mushrooms are abundant and varied. Real treat to mushroom lover like me.

Knowing the reason behind (pardon me if i am wrong) would certainly make us, the tourists, more accomodating to the oily food served in China. Moreover, with a better economy, most Chinese there who did not have enough to eat earlier then, might tend to make up for lost time by having sumptuous meals. With this understanding, i enjoy the oily food, and my stomach took it well too!

Cabbage soup, with colors of red from carrot dices and wolfberries to enhance its appeal.

Cabbage dish is very common in China. In the picture, the cabbage served was the inner tender part of the cabbage. This was a favorite dish of the once very famous Army General by the name of General Nean Kenn Yiau in the Ching Dynasty. He led his army to win many battle, and had the luxury of enjoying such dish.

Sweet corn with crispy prawns. Simple and yet appetising.

Another mushroom dish. Simple and non oily.

There is an unspoken rule in China for tour groups: You can request to exchange 1 bottle of soft drink like Pepsi, Coke or Sprite for 2 bottles of Chinese beer. In China, local beer is cheaper than soft drinks, I suppose this is a way to promote Chinese beer. If you want to know how good was the beer, i can tell you: Every time, we request for such exchange.

Pictures of more mouth-watering dishes of Szechuan
- 19 of them, all served at the first dinner on arrival at Chengdu

Jiuzhaigou : A Rare Beauty On Earth

2009-11-21T02:19:00.000-08:00

This poetic narration by CCTV (China Central TV) on the reflective effects of crystal clear water in the Lakes of Jiuzhaigou portrays vividly its wonders:

In the Lakes of Jiuzhaigou, you see fish swimming in the sky, birds flying in the lake, trees growing in the water and people living inside scenic drawings.

Jiuzhaigou is situated on the world's highest tableland between the Sichuan Basin and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China, about 2000 - 4300 m. It is endowed with beautiful lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and rich variety of endangered plants and fauna in virgin forests. Mainly due to its high altitude where man-induced pollution is minimal, and the preservation efforts of the local authority, the splendor of Jiuzhaigou is just simply beyond words.

In early dawns before the wind starts whistling, the Jiuzhaigou Five-Flower Lake (and other Lakes) is as smooth as a mirror.

With its snow-capped mountains, glittering waterfall splashed with rainbow-colored water droplets against the sun, and sapphire-colored lakes, crystal clear water to give a perfect reflection in water, Jiuzhaigou in winter is simply enchanting, in comparison to its colorful autumn hue.

Considering that 20,000 visitors flock to Jiuzhaigou daily at peaks, and 8.8 million visitors last year, I am amazed and thankful at how well-preserved are these natural resources. Just call myself lucky to be 'in' this breath-taking landscape (I mean, in the photograph!!). I must recommend that my readers pay a visit to breathe the cool mountain freshness and admire its uniquely beautiful scenery.

Weather was freezing cold but hearts were warm.

Jiuzhaigou has been awarded strings of awards: UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1997, UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, a National Geological Park, a AAAA Class Scenic Spot in China and a Green Globe 21.

Due to the unstable ground structure after the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008, the normal long distance bus route is now defunct. We had to travel to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan by air, then took a short ring route by bus. This mode of travel was less taxing, but we missed many of the captivating mountain features on the way.

Complementary to the nature component of the tour were the cultural performances of the local Tibetans and Qiangs which were very professionally done and absolutely entertaining. Costumes were rich and colorful, artistes were young and cheerful.

Xiang enjoyed her moments of being part of Nature, as a local!

In addition, I love the food here. Though they were a bit oily, they were delicious, with many types of mountain mushrooms and wild vegetables, tasty with natural sweetness and freshness. Colorful stones, ornaments and handicrafts of Tibet and Qiang origins are cheap (if you know how to bargain) and interesting, suitable as gifts and souvenirs.

One advice after this travel is : Travel while you are still healthy, do not wait till you find yourself too old or too weak to endure the harshness of weather and altitude and miss the captivating beauty of many remote landscapes, like that of Jiuzhaigou!

The Peacock Lake was behind us. The turquoise-colored water was not so crystal clear in the afternoon due to ripples created by whistling winds.

Jiuzhaigou has been blessed with some of the most captivating landscapes on earth and words simply do not do it justice, and so you are encouraged to visit at the earliest opportunity.

The whole tour group, cheerful and friendly, old and young.

More pictures

You Tube: The Splendid Jiuzhaigou Norilang Waterfall