Browsing Posts published by tikus

Kunming, Yunnan – Overview

February 21, 2012 No comments

I booked my accomodation via agoda.com and Booking.com

Kunming, Yunnan – Overview

Kunming Airport

Mon 10 Oct 2011 arrived from Singapore at Kunming Airport. The airport is very busy as in any Chinese airport. I had learned some Mandarin so it is slightly

Local Fruits

easier for me as compared if I don’t speak the language at all. The people at Kunming are still not as good as their friends at Peking or Shanghai in their spoken En

One of Kunming Hotel

glish language. Maybe they are just shy and didn’t like speaking

English much. I know for sure they can

SarNi Dance

understand English better than their spoken English.

Local Fruit

A tip to note…. Some Chinese are superstitious and do not like their photos taken, especially the older generation

and babies. Some believe that the devils from the other life will come to take them away if their picture is exposed. I was told that some of the young minority’s girls also do not like

their photos taken.

Kunming (pop 7.2 million) means City of Eternal Spring.

Climate is temperate. Temp average 24degree C in Summer and in Winter it is an average 9 degree C. I have been wearing T shirts all day and wore a light jacket when I am in certain higher parts of the county where it can be cool. It is such a relief as I was previously in Singapore on a stopover.

Kunming is the capital of Yunan province and is situated in a basin. Yunan means Beyond the clouds in Chinese. Kunming has many fascinating ethnic minorities living amongst the breathtaking landscape. There are in total 52 minorities in Yunan out of the 56 total in whole of China.

Today we went to the Stone forest and saw the SarNi minorities, where some of the families still lived in the Stone forest and arm in the Stone forest ( as evidence as by Yak dungs as we walked around in the forest). The SarNi people love to have dark skin and love multi colour customs. SarNi are considered the “Happy” people. They love drinking. Even babies are feed with alcohol with chopsticks dipped with alcohol and put in their mouth. The touch festival is their main festival where the spring festival is the main festival among the Chinese Han people (not minorities).

The headdress of the girls/women signified their married status. If you see the women folks wear 2 horns on their headdress, which means they are single. One horn means engaged and if the horn is flatten in front, it means they are married. I was informed that the SaNi women are not particular if the men are married or not but if you touch the single women horns and f they like you, or whatever race you are (Caucasian or Chinese), they will take you back to be village to be married to them. So men beware…. I was told that the reason they don’t mind whoever is because they are not as educated as most Han Chinese people.

For people who are interested in the living standard of the people in Kunming, check out this statistic first. Prices of petrol are very reasonable. 7 Yuan per litre and a dozen roses costs 5 Yuan. Due to the temperate climate, flowers are one of their main exports to the world especially to the South East Asian countries. Unless you work for the government, you have to pay for your kid’s kindergarden education. That is approx Yuan 1,500 a month. High school is free and that includes school books. However parents have to pay for University education. An average graduate salary is approx Yuan 36,000 per year. Private health insurance is approx Yuan 9,000 a year. A small apartment rental is approx 1,800 yearly, private car expenses Yuan 1,500 yearly. Not much let if you have 2 children o kinder age. Most people tend to take public transport as that only cost Yuan1 per trip.

One of the locals told me that they take the children to feed seagulls in the park as these seagulls migrate from Siberia in thousands since 1985. The Chinese viewed these seagulls as a good omen and does not shoot to kill them for food. The government infact told residents not to the gulls’ human food as that is bad for the bird’s health, so residents purchase and feed them with special bird bread.
We love to hear from you. Give us your feedback on this article. Leave us a comment


China , , , , ,

Teine Ski Fields, Sapporo, Japan Part 1

February 12, 2012 2 comments

I booked my accomodation via agoda.com and Booking.com

Teine Ski Fields, Sapporo, Japan Part 1

18 Feb 2011- After a wonderful day trip to the snow at Ban-K yesterday, we were really keen to ski on those beautiful white powder snows, so we decided to head off to Teine Ski slopes. We took the JR train costing Yen 5,850 (adults normal price and pensioner is 5,250 to Olympia zone.

The JR train ticket includes a 4 hours ski pass, hire of skies & train & bus pass. It took 10 min from Sapporo station by JR to reach Teine Station (go to South Exit) and then we took a bus from Teine to Olympia (18 minutes only). If you don’t take up the package fare, take the JR train from Sapporo station to Teine, then take the bus (260 yen) or a taxi (about 1000 yen). This takes only about 45 minutes from Sapporo station to chairlift.

The other ski mountain is “The Highland” which is another 10 minutes bus ride, (28 min from JR station). We decided that we will just try the first mountain on our first ski day in Japan and see how we go. We could have the 6 hours pass instead of 4 hrs pass if we wanted to (just add another Yen400).

If you only have a short time in Sapporo, just head off to Teine Ski slope. It would be wise to forget about skiing at Ban –K (takes too long to get there and more expensive to get there too)

Skiing is Japan is like a dream come through. The Japanese Alps aren’t just about ski slopes. Hot springs, snow monkeys, dramatic autumn foliage and villages frozen in time are all part of the magic.

Such a contract between Tokyo city, greyish in colour and texture and its train packed with commuters, all going in one direction (either going to work or returning home) and these Mountain and villages frozen in white sparkling ice and the forest vivid with ambers and reds of autumn. We didn’t see any snow monkeys unfortunately. It may not have been as good as the Nagano ski fields but since this is my first skiing trip to Japan, I am totally satisfied.

According to my brochure, Sapporo Teine is one of the best hills close to Sapporo consisting of two connected areas, Highland and Olympia. It is one of the best places to start skiing in Hokkaido as the conditions are good, the facilities modern.

In my opinion, the advantages of Teine and skiing in Sapporo is the fact that the ski field is easy to get to, has excellent powder conditions for most of the season, is very affordable due to the joint ticket and time based pricing (especially when transport is considered), has great night skiing and superb views over the city, superb off-piste powder areas in the Highland area below the ropeway, and a good beginner section in the Olympia area.
I was informed by authorities there that the lodge and restaurant facilities are not great, the vertical drop is not very high so you need to spend a lot of time on lifts when concentrating on black runs, and the 6 kilometres run is too flat to enjoy – skiers will need to use poles/stocks and for snowboarders getting from Highland to Olympia via the connecting course is a real pain at times.


We love to hear from you. Give us your feedback on this article. Leave us a comment


Japan , , , , , ,

Sematan, Kuching

January 15, 2012 No comments

I booked my accomodation via agoda.com and Booking.com

Sematan,Kuching

Sematan, a quiet little sleepy seaside town, approx 127km (about one and a half hours driving) from Kuching is set against the backdrop of the picturesque Gunong Gading, with beautiful beaches and vast countryside.

The Sematan town is an old idyllic wooden bazaar by the sea with white sandy beaches. It started as a Chinese trading outpost of four families near the Cape of Tanjung Dato adjacent to the West Kalimantan coastal town of Paloh. Today there are 100-strong Chinese community in Sematan. This little town prosper during the 1950s when the British colonial government set up a bauxite mine in 1958. During the Confrontation period, Sematan became an outpost of British Gurkha soldiers looking for Indonesian invaders from across the border.

The long stretch of beach north of the town is a popular weekend getaway and picnic spot for residents of Kuching. Sematan faces the South China Sea and is a great place for boat fishing, snorkelling or diving at Talang-Talang Island to see turtles, or visit the World War II Japaneses ship wreck.

Many locals visit Sematan for the weekend especially when it is a school holiday season or just for a day trip. They mainly visit these 2 resorts:-

Holiday Chalet – this resort is as expensive as Palm Beach but the facilities and services are not as good.

Palm Beach Resort – I stayed in the single chalet, sleep 4, has a newly built but small pool.

The local & tourist love to visit these areas of interests:-

CRAB FARM – is located at Kampong Trusan Jaya, about 30km from Lundu Town and 120km from Kuching. These crabs reared in the crab pen are mud crab or locally known as “ketam kalok”. Plank walk for visitors has been constructed at the farm to allow easy movement. It is also equipped with facilities such as rest area and electric lighting.

SILK FARM – is located about 110km from Kuching City, this is the only silk farm in the whole of Malaysia. Over 50 hectares of the farm have been planted with mulberry plants and another 20 hectares housed the production buildings, office staff and workers’ quarters. The production process, although entirely manual, adopts scientific technology to produce a luxurious, sift and quality finishing. Entrance Fee is RM5.00 per person.

SEBAT WATERFALL – just a half-hour bicycle ride from the resort. Along the way, we enjoyed the beautiful village scenery of paddy fields and pepper farms. We also stopped by the watermelon farm nearby to quench our thirst with this juicy fruit.

TALANG TALANG ISLAND – The famous giant turtle sanctuary is about 2 hours boat ride from Sematan.

These turtles come to Talang Talang island to lay their eggs. Snorkelling and diving can be arranged for visitors who wish to have a close up view of the undersea world. This area has sparkling clear water with corals growing right by the shore at Tanjung Datu National Park. Visitors to Talang-Satang must obtain a permit and pay any fees at the National Parks Booking Office in Kuching. Pulau Satang Besar, the largest of the islands, is open to visitors.

Taxi Fare Kuching to Sematan : RM140 one way

We love to hear from you. Give us your feedback on this article. Leave us a comment


Kuching , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Best Toilet in the World

January 14, 2012 No comments

 booked my accomodation via agoda.com and Booking.com

Best Toilet in the World would be the Japanese toilets. I am totally amazed by the technology that had not spread to any other parts of the world that I had traveled to and I had traveled to most of Europe and Asian countries. I also met a fellow tourist who had traveled to over 30 countries in both Europe. USA, Africa, Australia and Asia and her experience is similar to mine. She indicated that she had not experience such clean and “well trained” toilet as some of the toilet knows when to open the seat covers if previously closed ! Most toilets in Japan are fitted with an antiseptic wipe for the toilet seats. Most are also fitted with 2 types of wash for our precious parts.(mind you fitted with warm water as well, not cold water, which is very much appreciated.) Most toilet seats are heated and as mentioned previously, some toilets are even equipped with self opening seat cover and self flashing. That way one does not even need to touch any part of the toilet surfaces at all. That to me is very clean and hygienic. In Muslim culture, they used water to clean themselves after going to the toilets. If they had used the kind of toilets that the Japanese used, their toilets and surroundings will be clean and “DRY”. I must admit that aside from tourist sights and the people, toilet facilities are one of my enjoyable and memorable part of my trip to Japan.


Interesting Facts, Japan ,

Sapporo Ski Fields

January 14, 2012 1 comment

I booked my accomodation via agoda.com and Booking.com
Sapporo Ski Fields

Ban-K

 

After lunch, we went to the tourist information centre at JR Station, just near Daimaru shopping centre. The staff there speak good English thus we managed to get good maps and find out about travel to snow fields and train/ski packages.

We then took a train to the end of line at Makomanai station and was told that we can take a bus to Ban-K snow fields ( one of the smaller ones, which is only 1 hour away, although the brochures says it is 30 minutes away from the heart of Sapporo!) Ban-K ski field looks like a great place for beginners skiers. Ther are the Peak Connection Course and the Orange Connection Course. There is also a snow kids park, near the Centre Lodge ski rental area. The snow kids park is a mini amusement park popular among kids and sightseers alike. It cost Yen500 per adult and children over 3 years old. Child minding room is also available for parents who need to be up the slope learning how to ski ! A normal 3 hour ticket cost Yen2,500 and 4 hours Yen2,800 and all day include night skiing $3,600. Flat rate all day use is only yen2,000.

Upon our arrival at the end of the train station, we realized that there is only 1 bus stop and buses are not very regular, approx 3 hours apart. Our timing wasn’t properly executed thus we would have to wait almost 2 hour before the next bus. We decided to take a taxi instead. That taxi ride cost us Yen2,730 for 4 people. If we had taken the bus, it would have been much cheaper. Ski hire at Ban-K with food in their restaurant and ski pass for 4 hrs is Y5,500 yen. That is quite reasonable. The powdered snow look very inviting but we arrived quite late in the afternoon, we decided that we only have 1 hour or so before we have to head back home. We did what tourist does, took photos, drank hot chocolate, Yen 600 per cup. (quite expensive)and watch the skiers while we drink. We figured that drinks might eb more delicious infront of a crackling fire ! There are 3 eating places to choose from.

Ban-K ski fields is approximately 20 minutes from Odori Park. We didn’t get to go there. When it is time to head home, we took a bus to Marumaya subway. Only cost us yen200 each for one way bus trip. Then we use our daily ticket for the subway back to Susukino station near our hotel.

We all decided unanimously that we all wanted hot food, as the weather was fairly cold. We all ended up in a noodle shop. The noodle was really nice and had quite a variety too. After dinner, we went for our walk (as usual) and stumbled across the same type of noodle vending machine shop that we just visited yesterday lunch. We didn’t realized that it was a franchise. I reckon the food for a franchaise is not too bad at all. I really don’t mind going back again.

We love to hear from you. Give us your feedback on this article. Leave us a comment



Japan , , ,

subscribe

Cheap 3D Movies, Free Delivery at Amazon.UK


In Association with Amazon.co.uk

My Favourite Travel Websites

If you like this article, Click the +1 Button

© 2012 Travel Tips for Holiday Around the World Articles By travelbugholiday.com