故宮的夕陽 A sunset in the Forbidden City

明十三陵 – 這是於皇帝成祖朱棣和皇后徐氏的合葬陵寢。他們就埋葬在此。

我經常聽到別人說中國人的一個習慣，當進入陵墓，你需要說“我來了！”，

當你走時，你要說，“我回來了！ ”。如果你不這樣做，

你的靈魂就不會返回你身體，它仍然在陵墓裡。

如果你問我，我會覺得有點嚇人，所以我沒有花太久在這裡！

Ming Tombs – The tombs are mausoleums belonging to Emperor and Empress Xu Zu Zhu Di.

It’s where they’re buried. I have often heard that it is customary among the Chinese,

that when entering a tomb, you to need say "Here I come!” When you exit, you say,

 "I'm back! ". If you don’t, your soul won’t come back to you- it remains in the tomb.

 A bit scary if you ask me, so I didn’t spend too long here!

[ pix. 1 & 2 ]

明十三陵 Ming Tombs

北京的藝術 Art of Beijing

798藝術區 - 我從一本雜誌看到這個地方，然後我做了一些關於它的研究，

從互聯網上收集更多的信息。本來這地方是無線電設備廠。

建築大多數是在東德國包豪斯(Bauhaus)風格。現在，它成為一個北京藝術家的集中地。

我覺得這地方的佈局非常有吸引力和有趣。抵達之後，我有吃了一個美味的午餐，

然後在這四處走，細心走過多種多樣的藝術商店，每家店都展示了不同的藝術品。

在此之後我發現了一家紐西蘭土產(Kiwi)咖啡店，供應為建立良好健康的紐西蘭食品，

我發現這咖啡店的氣氛非常舒適和友好。顯然，店主在新西蘭有一家咖啡店，

他想分享這種氣氛給當地人。我真的沒有想到798會這樣，整個環境設立得很獨特！

798 Art Zone – I read about this place in a magazine and then I did a bit of research about it,

gathering more information from the Internet. Originally the place was a radio equipment factory.

 The construction is mostly done in an East Germany Bauhaus style.

Now, it’s become a concentration of Beijing’s artists. I find the layout of the place really attractive

 and interesting. After arriving, I had a delicious lunch and then walked around,

scouring through a wide variety of art shops showcasing the different works each shop had on display.

 After this I found a Kiwi café serving up good wholesome Kiwi food and I found the atmosphere in the café,

 really comfortable and friendly. Apparently the owner had a café in NZ and he wanted to share that

 ambience with the locals. I really didn’t expect 798 to be like this. The whole set up was really quite unique!

[ pix. 1 & 2 ]

北京的回憶 Beijing memories

在2008年12月27日我終於到了一個非常重要的旅遊目的地，

無論如何對我來說都是很難忘 - 北京。

也許中國人說：“不到長城非好漢”，使我感到內疚，

因為我一直在亞洲各地旅行，但我從來就沒到過北京。我一直想來，

但我並沒有真正作出努力行動。直至這一刻 ...

近年來，在某些部分，因為奧運會，這個古老的城市經歷了一些重大變化，

它已經成為一個非常現代化和有吸引力的城市！

在北京有很多的景點，古代和現代，每個這些地方留下長久的印象，

引起強烈的感情，都在我心內。我希望用照片描繪我的這些感受，與大家分享。

因為在北京有很多景點，我只能到我想要的地方參觀，

這些是我在的那裡拍的'照片故事'。

On the 27th of December 2008 I had finally arrived at a very important travel destination,

 unforgettable for me anyway – Beijing.

Perhaps the Chinese saying “You’re not a hero if you haven’t been to the Great Wall”,

 made me feel guilty because I had been traveling all over Asia but I never quite made it to Beijing.

 I’ve always wanted to come but I just hadn’t really made the effort to come. Until now…

In recent years and in some part, because of the Olympic games,

this ancient city has gone through some major transformations

and it’s become a very modern and attractive city!

In Beijing there are lots of attractions, both ancient and modern and

 each of these places have left lasting impressions and they evoked strong feelings within me.

 I hope to portray these feelings in my photos and share them with you all.

 Because there are many attractions in Beijing, I can only show the places I wanted to visit

and these are my ‘photo-stories’ of those places.

 

天壇 - 這是我見過最美麗的中國建築。

我一直想在這裡拍照。天壇是一個能代表的中國建築。

我拍的所有照片都把這個標誌性建築顯示在冬天蔚藍的天空框架中。

The Temple of Heaven – This is the most beautiful piece of Chinese architecture that I’ve ever seen.

 I have always wanted to take pictures here.

The Temple of Heaven is a symbolic representation of Chinese architecture.

 All the pictures I took here show this symbolic building framed by the brilliant blue winter sky.

[ pix. 1 & 2 ]

天壇 Temple of Heaven

長洲的夕陽 A Cheung Chau Sunset

上週六 1月16日，天氣晴朗，但有點冷。這是外出散步和拍照的最佳天氣！

我到香港中環的渡輪碼頭，30分鐘的船程，目的地 - 長洲。

在這一天，出現了罕見的藍天，雖然有點煙霞，但從渡輪看九龍及中環的景色，

也相當漂亮。許多乘客都被深深吸引，並拍下大量的照片。

長洲渡輪碼頭總是這樣煩忙！我無法想像在夏季的太平清醮會有多煩忙。

真的希望來看看在這擁擠的街道進行的飄色巡遊。我一直想參觀遊行多年了，

但一直怕太多人和炎熱 ...也許我會在今年去看看...

從碼頭，左邊是一個美麗的海灘，而步行到右邊是海港長廊和張保仔洞。

在這裡很多很好的地方看日落。還記得我第一次到張保仔洞，當我進入洞內，

真的是漆黑一片，但通過它時感覺真的很有趣。如果大家到長洲，

我建議您們一定要去這個洞穴，但要帶備一個小型手電筒。

當走過港口人行道時會看到很多海鮮餐館和一些漁民在曬乾和準備他們的海鮮。

在這裡有一個身型相當巨大的老年婦女，她的樣子很有趣，她在賣她的蝦米 (蝦乾)。

她喊叫“買啦! 買啦! 可以平D架!”，真的很有趣！

下一次我會為她拍照和買一些她的蝦米！

到下午6時，已經可以看到壯觀的日落初現！又大又明亮的太陽鹹蛋黃，

吸引大量的遊客拍照。當我們拍攝到美麗的夕陽，我們便去了吃海鮮晚餐

（這是另一個在長洲必須做的！），但是這一次，價格是略高於上一次來，

但是食物是好的，也是值得的，而且價格仍然低於南丫島。

由於渡輪往來是直至晚上，我們喜歡可以慢慢享受食物和體會島上的夜生活。

這次我用了魚眼鏡頭來的照片，我很高興我做對了！

我非常滿意這次拍到的照片！大家覺得如何呢？

On Saturday the 16th of January, the weather was sunny but cool. It was perfect weather to go out

 for a walk in and, to take pictures! I went to Hong Kong Central ferry pier,

 for a 30-minute ferry ride, destination, Cheung Chau.

On that day the sky was a rare blue and a bit hazy, but the Kowloon and

Central scenery from the ferry, was still quite beautiful. Many of the passengers were

 soaking up the views and taking lots of photos.

Cheung Chau ferry pier is always so busy! I can’t imagine how busy it must be in summer and

 during the Bun Festival. I want to come to see the parade drifting along the crowded streets.

I have wanted to attend the parade for many years now, but I’ve been too scared of the huge crowds

 and the usual hot temperatures…so maybe I’ll do it this year…

From the pier, to the left is a beautiful beach, and walking to the right is the harbor walkway and

 Cheung Po Tsai cave. On the walkway there are many good places to see the sunset.

I remembered my first visit to Cheung Po Tsai cave. When I entered the cave, it was really dark inside

 and I had fun feeling my way through. If you go to Cheung Chau,

I recommend you visit the cave but take a small flashlight.

When walking along the harbor walkway you will see many seafood restaurants and

 a number of fishermen drying and preparing their seafood. There’s a rather large older woman,

 she looks so funny and she’s selling her dried shrimp. She shouts out (in Cantonese of course)

something to the effect of “Buy some and it can be cheaper!” it’s really interesting!

Next time I will take a photo of her and buy some of her dried shrimp!

By 6pm, already you can see a spectacular sunset take shape! A large and bright salted egg yolk sun

 has attracted lots of visitors, taking pictures. After we photographed the beautiful sunset,

 we went to eat a seafood dinner (which has to be another must do on Cheung Chau!),

although this time, the price was a tad higher than last time, but the food was good and

 well worth it AND it’s still cheaper than Lamma Island. Because the ferry runs through the night,

 we enjoy our meal and soak in the nightlife on the island. I used the fisheyes lens to take my photos and

 I’m glad I did! I’m very satisfied with the pictures I took! What do you think?

[pic.1]

香港中環的渡輪碼頭，30分鐘的船程，目的地 - 長洲

 Hong Kong Central ferry pier, for a 30-minute ferry ride, destination, Cheung Chau

沙巴的海島 Sabah Islands

如果您們來到沙巴當然不能錯過體驗陽光與海灘。

碼頭就在沙巴市中心，您們可以從這裡出發體驗海島陽光和海灘。

在這裡您們可以乘快艇出去各島嶼。主島是個大島，

 Manukan島和其他島包括Sapi和Sulu。還有其他的島嶼可以遊覽，但這些是主要的。

我們的船去的第一站是在Sulu，有一個家庭帶備了野餐籃落船去享受他們的一天。

我的第一站是Sapi，在那裡有我的燒烤午餐，其中包括魚、蟹、蝦及雞翼。

環島有很多蜥蜴在散步，遊人把一些食物殘渣對牠們餵食，並為牠們拍照。

這裡的水是如此清澈，這使我想起了我在幾年前到浮羅交怡(Langkawi)遊覽的

珊瑚島(Coral Island)。那裡也是陽光充沛，美麗的海灘，

所以我建議大家一定要來這裡享受陽光與海灘呢！

If you come to Sabah of course you can’t miss the experience of the sunshine and the beach.

 The pier in Sabah Town Centre is where you can go to the islands to experience the sun and beach.

Here you can get speedboats to go out to the islands. The main island is the big island, Manukan,

 and the other islands are Sapi and Sulu. There are other islands to visit but these are the main ones.

Our boat’s first stop was Sulu where families got off with their picnic baskets to spend the day.

 My first stop was Sapi, where I had my barbeque lunch,

which consisted of fish, crabs, shrimp and chicken wings.

There were lots of lizards strolling around the island,

with visitors feeding them their food scraps and taking pictures with them.

The water here was so clear and it reminded me of the coral Island of Langkawi

 that I visited a few years earlier. That also had brilliant sunny days and beautiful beaches,

I recommend that people visit here to enjoy the sunshine and the beaches too!

乘快艇出海島  Speedboats to go out to the islands

沙巴的森林和沼澤 Sabah Forest and Marshland (HDR)

在這一天，我們預訂了酒店，參加了沼澤地和河船參觀，

看到沙巴土著的三種猴子，螢火蟲和沙巴的自然風光。

由酒店出發大約兩個半小時的車程，我們終於來到了沼澤。

然後，我們乘船遊覽，歷時約一小時，我們看到各種野生動物，猴子和水牛。

參觀完結後，我們吃了晚餐，之後便返回酒店。這次旅程於下午二時三十分開始，

最終大約在晚上九時才完結。這是漫長的一天。

這條河和森林令我想起電影“阿凡達”，是我們最近剛剛看過的。

這些風景和自然環境真是偉大。特別是聽到所有不同而迷人的聲音在這沼澤地，

鳥類，昆蟲，猴子和其他野生動物都在這裡出現。

這是非常平靜，更使我意識到，我們必須保護和維護這些地區的自然生態環境。

沙巴絕對是一個自然愛好者的天堂。在我們的旅程最後回酒店時，

離沼澤不遠之處，我們看到一棵樹的螢火蟲，照亮了！

它們看起來像聖誕樹的燈，這真是令人著迷。大自然的聖誕樹，真是十分神奇！

On this day we booked in to the hotel and we did a marshland and riverboat tour,
to see three kinds of monkeys indigenous to Sabah, fireflies and Sabah’s natural scenery.

The tour was a two and a half hour drive from the hotel and when we finally arrived at the marsh.

We then took a boat tour, which took about 1 hour, and we saw various wildlife,

the monkeys and water buffalo. After the tour, we had dinner and we then returned to the hotel.

The trip started at 2.30pm and we finally finished the tour at around 9pm. It was a long day.

The river and the forest reminded me of the movie “Avatar”, we had just recently seen.

The scenery and natural environment was great. It was also fascinating listening to all the different

sounds in the marshlands - birds, insects, monkeys and the other wildlife there.

It was very tranquil and it made me realize that we need to protect

and maintain the natural ecological environment of the area.

Sabah is definitely a nature lover’s paradise. On our journey back to the hotel

and not far from the swamp, we saw a tree lit up by fireflies!

It literally looked like a Christmas tree with lights and this was very fascinating.

Natures own Christmas tree, it was quite amazing!

沙巴的市中心 Sabah Town Centre

這次來到沙巴的市中心, 距離Philipino Market步行大約5分鐘就是市中心的海港,

在這裡可以看到一個海豚石雕, 在附近的十字路圓形地有一座劍魚雕像,

也是沙巴拍攝日落的最佳地點, 在這裡看海吹風真是很舒服的!

由海港步行大約15分鐘就是Sunday Market, 但注意它在中午1時半就會完結,

在市中心商場酒店林立, 飲食購物都十分方便, 距離海港步行10分鐘左右就是碼頭,

這個碼頭就是出海島遊玩的地方, 這裡泊滿了快艇, 也有餐廳和咖啡室。

注意買出海島的船票, 要另外多付一個tax fee,

購票處在碼頭入口,  如果忙了付tax fee就要多行一次了!

先看看沙巴市中心的風景, 之後再給大家看看海島遊的照片吧!


Firstly we went to the Sabah Town centre and from here we then proceeded to the Philippine Market,
which is about a 5-minute walk from the harbor. From here you can see a stone dolphin
 and near the crossroads, there is a statue of a swordfish.

This is also the best place to shoot the Sabah sunset as you get a good view of the sea,
and the wind is quite refreshing! Approximately 15 minutes walk from the harbor is the Sunday Market,
but go early because it closes at 1:30pm.
In the Town Centre there are hotels and shopping malls. Eating and shopping here is very convenient.

There is a pier about 10 minutes from the dolphin and swordfish statues.
From this pier, you can travel to the off shore islands and there are many boats to choose from.
The islands offer an array of water activities that you can participate in
and there are lots of restaurants for you to choose from. Please note that besides paying for tickets
 to travel to the islands, you also need to pay a pier tax fee, which you can pay for at the pier entrance.

Take a look at my pictures of the Sabah Town Centre. I will share the island pictures later!

沙巴漂亮的海港