Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Small cafés and cosy restaurants, delightful boutiques, lively terraces, elegant squares, theatres and museums are no doubt the great contributors to the dynamic and charming ambience of historic Old Quebec, cradle of French civilisation in North America. It remains predominantly a European city in North America today! It’s probably the most beautiful city in the world as claimed by the locals.

Quebec or Quebec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about 233 kilometers to the southwest.
http://youtu.be/bIrCbTYkB0o
Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America, and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the 'Historic District of Old Québec.

Saint Lawrence River; the narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River approximate to the city's promontory, Cap-Diamant (Cape Diamond), and Lévis, on the opposite bank, provided the name given to the city, Kébec, an Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows".

Saint Lawrence River and surrounding beautifully cladded with winter snow.

Place-Royale; the spot where Samuel de Champlain landed in 1608 and founded the first French settlement in North America, now converted into a postcard-pretty public square. Nicely covered with snow and Christmas festive decorations.

Notre-Dame-des-Victoires; is a small Roman Catholic church in the Lower Town of Quebec City. Construction was started in 1687 and was completed in 1723. Originally dedicated to l'Enfant Jésus, it received the name Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire following the Battle of Quebec of 1690, in which an English expedition commanded by William Phips was forced to retreat. In 1711, its name was changed again, to Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, after bad weather sunk a British fleet commanded by Hovenden Walker.

The church was largely destroyed by the British bombardment that preceded the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in September 1759. A complete restoration of the church was finished in 1816.

Rue Sous le Fort. There are many lively boutiques lining along both sides on the stretch of road.

Funiculaire (at far distance); you have the ease to commute between the upper and lower towns in the Old City by Funiculaire. $2 will get you from near the base of the Breakneck Stairs (l'Escalier Casse-Cou) back up to the front of the Chateau Frontenac.

Chateau Frontenac; located at Haute-Ville (or Upper Town), Quebec City’s icon as claimed to be the most photographed hotel in North America!

Restaurants; you can choose from French to Italian to Japanese (happened to found one there!). Most of the menus come typically in French but English version is available upon request.   

3 Brasseurs Sauerkraut; German and Frankfurt sausage, grilled ham and potatoes

Top Honeymoon Destinations of All Times

Searching for the dream honeymoon destination? Well, after spending all the headaches and stresses on your very own biggest day, you are definitely deserving a top of the world getaway holiday for only two of you. It is a good idea to check out the favorite destinations of most newlyweds. There are many world's acclaimed all time favourites and hotspots for honeymoon-goers. It is advisable to choose a honeymoon destination based on the criteria of what the newlywed likes and the theme should be one of total relaxation! Get ready to indulge yourselves in the tranquility of a world of your own! Here are some of the recommended hot honeymoon destinations;

HAWAII - Aloha! This is undoubtedly top of the list of many newlyweds. It is also by far the most recommended for the incredible natural wonders and beauties. Renowned for its many world class resorts, exotic islands and sandy beaches, this is the place to let loose and enjoy the tropical breezes, majestic volcanic scenery and hospitable Hawaiian culture. Sign up for the diving course with your newlywed at any of the numerous training schools to enjoy the wonders of the undersea world. Otherwise snorkeling along the coral reefs is another marvelous experience for the faint hearted. Indulge yourself into a romantic Hawaii!

BALI - On top of Indonesia list of 17,000 islands is none other than BALI. It is probably best known as the sunbather's paradise. The many resort styled villas and spa are magnificently carved to blend into the lush tropical forest, warm Indian Ocean waters, scenic volcanoes and rice paddy fields. Experience yourself to the many local favourite delicacies. And not forgetting the abundances of the wonderful seafood it has to offer. Be ready to immerse yourself into the laid back vibe while in BALI with the beautiful sun, sea and sand over a sumptuous lobster meal!

MALDIVES - Another dream honeymoon destination not to be missed! Renowned for its underwater activities, white beaches besides the elegant tropical coconut palm, Maldives boosts almost 1200 islands set in an oasis of tranquility and harmony in the Indian Ocean. Be amazed by the underwater scenery if you care for a dive in any of the hundreds of diving sites or walk along the many coral islands and tiny islets, the smallest which will probably takes less than 5 minutes to cover the perimeters! Get a meal set out on the sandy white beach against the backdrop of the graceful coconut palm trees. While you enjoy the meal on the beach try dipping your toes into the cooling Indian Ocean waters!

SEYCHELLES - Probably planet earth's most preserved and protected islands in the Indian Ocean. Most of the islands are uninhabited. Another tropical favourite honeymoon destination with the rich flora and fauna, along the stretch of beautifully carved coral reefs set beside sandy beaches. Renowned for its underwater activities, white beaches besides the elegant tropical coconut palm. You can choose for the underwater diving experience if you are adventurous or simply drift along the sandy coast during the sunset with the elegantly decorated palm trees as the backdrop!

MAURITIUS - Mamamia! Coral reefs stretching across the extended coastline lay with glittering white sandy beaches, this is Mauritius! Mauritius is blessed with a vast cultural heritage and the colonial architecture is not to be missed. It boasts to have some of the most luxurious hotels in the world and their service standard a class above all! The cultural diversity gives sparkle to this island state and enriches the abundances of the local gourmet cuisines. Take a walk down the dazzling sandy beaches or spread your hammock across under the palm trees and enjoy the spectacular sunset to welcome the evening breezes.

MALAYSIA – Selamat Datang and this is truly Asia! This is becoming a regular hotspot appearing on the radar of many adventurous newlyweds. It boosts a rich cultural heritage comprising the three major races; Malay, Chinese and Indian. Endowed with huge tropical rainforests that lies along the equatorial region, you can go trekking or even a boat ride through the renowned rainforest river cruise. There are many tropical resorts in major islands located at Langkawi, Penang or Sarawak. Blessed by a rich and colourful marine ocean-world, it is another experience to explore the underwater world.

FIJI - Bula! Lies in the South Pacific Ocean is Fiji Islands, home to more than 300 islands in the archipelago about the Koro Sea. This is another honeymoon paradise renowned for its pristine white sandy beaches and coral reefs in warm turpuoise waters. Immerse in the crystal clear water off the South Pacific Ocean, pools or its many lagoons. Listen to the ocean breezes rustling through the tall and elegant tropical palm trees while enjoying a drink of vagona. There are abundances water recreational sports around to keep one occupied. Or just laze back to enjoy the tranquility of these honeymoon islands have to offer!!

http://youtu.be/bIrCbTYkB0o

New York City, United States

Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving today. I want to be a part of it: New York, New York....

Lady Liberty, iconic symbol of New York

New York is one of the most populous metropolitan in the world. It is where the United Nations is headquartered. The city consists of five boroughs; The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.

 Manhattan skyline

rubbles from the 9-11 sites were gathered and sculptured for display.

New York was founded as a commercial trading post by the Dutch in 1624. The settlement was called New Amsterdam until 1664 when the colony came under English control.

Wall Street in lower Manhattan, where money never sleep

Sky scrapers are a view to admire in its own respect in New York.

NYSE; New York Stock Exchange. World largest stock exchange by market capitalization of about US$11 trillion.

Ground Zero; the unfateful site of the 9-11 attack in 2001 whereby the Twin Towers collasped.

United Nations Headquarter in New York City.

The twisted gun barrel which was a gift to UN by Luxemburg. It symbolizes peace.






















Madam Tussauds; the renowned wax muesum in New York City.

If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere,

It's up to you, New York, New York.....

Taizhou in mandarin means “peaceful prefecture”. This city is situated on the north bank of yangtze river, bordering nantong to the east, yancheng to the north, and yangzhou to the west. taizhou has a population over five million and its land mass is 5,793 square kilometer.

Taizhou city is one of jiangsu thirteen prefecture-level cities which administers two old municipal districts and 4 county-level cities, jingjiang, jiangyan, taixing, and xinghua.
dubbed “china’s medical city”, taizhou has become a national hub in attracting more and more major international and domestic corporations to lcoate their subsidiaries and facilities in the r&d and production of pharmaceutical, biomedical, biochemical and bio-tech related fields. it happens to host the international medical exhibition commencing 13th Dec.

Flight is decorated for coming christmas festive season. getting to taizhou in jiangsu was a bit of a trouble considering that there isn’t a direct international route. there are direct train services from nanjing that cost about 13rmb and journey takes approximately 2 hrs. however the train station is located far from city that requires at least another bus ride costing about 26rmb and 30min to reach the city. train operates about 6 trips per day. taxi services are available as well and it shouldn’t cost much.

i chose to endure the direct 3 hrs cab service from shanghai to taizhou for about 1500rmb including toll charges after a direct 5hr flight in to shanghai pudong airport.

the manmade lake besides the hotel, wind was strong and daytime temperature was 4deg cel. from the horizon you can find there isn’t many tall buildings.

there isn’t really much to see except that this is a pretty clean city, and the birth place of the current president of china, hu jintao 胡锦涛 among the other once famous peking opera artician mei lanfang 梅兰芳.
most local students study in nearby nanjing and yangzhou. both neighbouring provinces are within 2hr by car.

coal powered generating plant. at its peak could burn up to 10,000mt of coal daily!!! we need to look for cleaner and greener energy before it’s too late!

on returning, it was the same route and weather looks gloomy along the way…….the trees lining up both sides along the road had shed its leaves during winter season adding the gloomy scenery of a foggy, hazy and greyish journey. adding to magnitude is the winter chills

crossing the yangtze river by the jiangyin highway bridge, which was opened in 1999.

every city has a story to tell, and i guess taizhou tells it in its very own unique way.

Hongcun (宏村) @ Anhui, China

The architecture and carvings of the approximately 150 residences dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties are said to be among the best of their kinds in China.

Together with xidi, it was made a UNESCO world heritage site in 2000. hongcun was a location where the film crouching tiger, hidden dragon was shot.

Moon Pool (月沼); there was the epic fighting scene made here from the film crouching tiger, hidden dragon…it’s only route to the outer cities got this village isolated from the various “wars” since the earlier dynasties to the civil wars so much so that its architectural heritages were able to preserve so well…

宏村“牛肠” Hongcun water canal also called as “ox intestines”; every street has a water canal running along it, filling the village with the soothing sound of rushing water. they channel water to every building in the village and is finally directed into a small lake near the entrance to the village….marvellous works! can one imagine the “dirty” water is collected into a small lake next to the entrance to the village?!

宏村 敬修堂 Jing Xiu Hall, Hongcun; a place for some quiet time….the vase “瓶” on the extreme right and the mirror “镜” on the extreme left draw from its sound-alike chinese characters “平静”, which means peaceful…..

rich in its carving, this window screen was carved from a solid slab of stone. it was learnt that a foreigner offered an amount for this stone carving but fortunately it was turned down

rich in wooden carving as well……it can be seen in almost every panel of doors and windows in the buildings……brilliant!!!

well you can guess it that this is the meeting hall whereby the family matters were discussed and resolved….the livings sit around the main hall…….

well visited by the top ranking officials within China itself.

 Ancient well within the city

Door alley in a very rich person's resident.

Water lillies blossom abundantly in the water pond around the village.

Bumi Khayangan, Adventure Camp, Bandung, Indonesia

                          

Bumi Khayangan is located on the top of the hill of peaceful mountain manglayang, jatinangor region, bandung city, west java, indonesia. surrounded by beautiful forest, primitive kampoeng, presents one with a peaceful mind, fresh mountain air, panorama view, and a fantastic sunrise it takes 30min from bandung and about 150min from jakarta to get there. well we left from jakarta 0700hr in the morning under a rainy day along the way and reached “base camp” about 1130hr….270min!!!

a good place to have a personal or group retreat for all ages. We got sunny sky upon reaching camp site though….but again it pours in the late afternoon and that brings with it the night chills, and it was a cold night up in the mountain!

                                

fancy a romantic meal overlooking the peaceful mountain range….beautifully carved!

                             

long houses with multiple attached bathrooms within, water is cold and no heating facilities provided. water comes from within the mountain areas and is yellowish to greenish in colour…..cool!

  

interesting toilet signage….in a predominantly muslim city.

suit for honeymoon couple is available!

Huangshan, China - Yellow Mountain (黄山)

The famous scrolls of chinese black and white paintings of high mountains, rocks, trees and sea of clouds come alive in huangshan mountains in the south anhui province. It is a marvelous mountain area, now on the UNESCO World cultural and natural heritage list. there is an old saying well known throughout the country "no need to see any other mountains after huangshan!"

There are 5 famous mountains in China. There is no other need to view the other mountains in China if one has seen these top 5. However, if one has been to Huangshan, there is no other need to see any other mountain within China! Huangshan or Yellow Mountain as it is renowned as the number one mountain in China and for it to be accorded with this title is not without a reason.

Huangshan has spectacular landscape with its four unique scenes: interesting shaped rocks, waterfalls, unique shaped pine trees growing out of rocks, and its sea of clouds. huangshan has it all, the steepness, the grace, the elegance, and so on.

Cable car runs from the foot of the Yellow Mountain all the way to the mountain top. The ride takes about 20 minutes there or so. It was another 10 minutes way to the lodging area which is as good as a 2-stars hotel in China! Not that spectacular whihc one would expect, but for one that is way up the famous mountain, this is rather acceptable. It comes with all necessary facilities with breakfast.

From the hotel, it takes probably a stone throw for one to view the magnificient and spectacular scenery on top Yellow Mountain. There are various routes that will bring one to an area of specific viewing spot. Each routes take different time and ennergy level as the cemented steps go up and down each routes, with some very tiny routes of about a person's shouldner width without any hand-rails! Not for the faint hearted at some route crossings. However, they are plans to fence up these routes that all young and old will be able to travel and enjoy the beautiful scenery up in Yellow Mountain.

The time taken to cover each specific routes depends on individual as well as the distance. The longest and most challenging route to the very top of the peak takes probably about an hours for an average person. For the seniors, there are the carriage services which charges a rate of about 150 Chinese Yuan to shuffle from one point to another one way.

There is also a massaging service back in every hotel located at the mountain and it's worth the money to get relaxed for the expert hands to sooth your aching muscles or joint pains after a day's hardwork on top of the world at Yellow Mountain!

                                

“五岳归来不看山，黄山归来不看岳”. There are 5 top famous mountains in China. And it says there is no other need to view the other mountain in China if one has seen these top 5. However, if one has been to Huangshan, there is no other need to see any other mountain! It is renowned as the number one mountain in China for a reason.

                                             

return of the transformer @ yellow mountain?

                                      

villa at a distance…..being tranquil!

more pictures to share here…

one of the few hotel available and located up at the mountain

the weather is ever changing and the scenery changes as well, magnificient!

cable car rides available from the foot of the mountain