Greece part II: Ancient Ruins

If there's only one thing that Greece is known for, it's ancient history. No journey to this ancient civilaization can be complete without a visit to the Acropolis or one of the many ancient ruins scattered across the country, and so, here we have it- pictures of rocks, rocks, and more rocks. We spent days after days under the scorching sun exploring many of the 'must-see' archeological sites. There were just too many, so again, i've only selected a few here.

Big daddy of all Ruins - The Parthenon at the Acropolis

The pic does'nt even deliver 1/100 of the awe of seeing the Acropolis under a full moon

Centre of the world - Ancient Delphi

One of the Naxian lions guarding over the sacred island of Delos

Sunset at the Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion

Minoan vases at the palace ruins of Knossos, Crete

Greece part I: Cyclades

Kalimera! Finally back from Greece - it's such a beautiful place we took more than 2000 pictures. Even after a long long time selecting the pics, i still have to do this in segments, so now here's the first part: the Cyclades. Trust me, some of the islands like Santorini and Mykonos are so gorgeous that anyone who even knows how to operate a camera can take picture perfect shots. The architecture of the buildings and the layout of these island villages just have to be seen to be believed. I'm pretty confident about our photography skills, but seriously, check out the pics below, we've got tons more where these came from.

One of the many blue-domed churchs at Santorini

Disused windmill at Santorini

Hotel Katikies- Prettiest and also the most expensive in Oia or even the whole of Santorini

Shops along the winding labyrinth-like streets of Mykonos

One of the views of Paraportiani Church in Mykonos

Residential area in Paros

童话世界九寨沟

Always wondered why young Singaporeans have an aversion to going to China for holidays, dismissing it as a retiree's destination. I think it's got really gorgeous natural scenery at very affordable prices. Check out Jiuzhaigou and it's amazing scenery- it's got pristine forests, stunning lakes, beautiful waterfalls and majestic snow-capped mountains, all in one place. These pics were taken in mid spring; i'm already quite amazed by what i've seen and yet the locals say it's a lot more pretty in autumn where you really can get to see lots of vibrant colours...hmm, i can only wonder. Oh well, in any case, doubt i'll come here again, as all the locals i've spoken to say there's a place that's a hundred times prettier than Jiuzhaigou. They call it Yading- the 'last Shangri-la', and it's situated in the tibetan region of china. That's where i'll be going in future, just gotta beat the altitude sickness...

Primeval Forests abound

Lots and lots of pretty lakes

Crystal Clear Waters

Maybe it's the Tiger lake

Another lake

卧龙海 Sleeping Dragon Lake

Panda Lake? Long Lake? Too many, i can't remember

Maybe it's the mirror lake?

树正群海 Shuzhen lake group

New Useful Links Section & 'Singapore Chic'

I've got a new useful links section! 5 new links.

Couch Surfing project, Hospitality Club & Global Freeloaders.com let u stay for free at a member's place when you travel around the world- Cool! Of the 3, my favourite is the Couch Surfing project coz of its snazzy interface and security measures, but the Hospitality club has more members. I just hosted a great Lithuanian couple, Arvydas and Jolita(check out the picks in my new 'Singapore Chic' Blog) through the Couch Surfing project, and am currently hooking up with couchsurfers in Greece for my trip in June. Try it- it's fun and it's a great form of cross-cultural exchange.

Igougo's a website offering independent traveller reviews. I wrote a couple as well. Check them out under 'ExtremeWanderlust'. Also, don't forget to check out my new blog on Singapore.

白い世界 - East Hokkaido in Winter

Finally, after a long while, pics of my own. Staying in Akanko for 3 weeks really gave me lots of time to explore the many nice places in Eastern Hokkaido and to find just the right time to take photos of them, well, at least most of them. どぞ...見て下さい. I'm quite proud of them, and it's going to be at least 2 months before i can take pretty photos like these again.

阿寒湖 - Pier on Lake Akan

霧の摩周湖 - Mysterious Lake Mashu

屈斜路湖 - Migrating swans on Lake Kussharo

雄阿寒岳 - Mt Oakan

冬の弟子屈 - Teshikaga

タンチョウ（丹頂鶴) - Japanese cranes

釧路湿原 - Kushiro Marshlands

森 - Forest along Akan Lakeside

Note: Eugene in Akan-ko, No pics for February

Sorry guys... no pics for march. Can't upload my pictures here, i'll put them all in when i'm back in March- just imagine a totally white (and oh so cold) world...

Enchanting 白川郷

Ying made a trip to Shirakawa-go. As expected of her, she took tons of nice photos(check out her clip)... it's making me really really excited about flying off to Hokkaido. 3 more weeks to go- can't wait. Also, i think i'd better start taking more photos to put on my blog soon; it looks like more than half of all the photos in my blog are taken by everyone else other than me... gee...

Winter Wonderland

Gassho-style thatched-roof houses

The 3 famous cottages

Looking back at 2005

Dragostea Din Tei

Let me digress from my theme a bit - My colleagues were crazy over this today and i just can't resist posting this in my blog, so here we go, altogether now! (In case you're asking, it's a Romanian Song)

MA-IA-HI

MA-IA-HU
MA-IA-HO
MA-IA-HAHA

Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma, nu ma iei,
Nu ma, nu ma iei, nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai

Christmas Light-up

It's Christmas season again! Carols, presents, Christmas shoppin', pretty lights - it's the season to be jolly! Sadly, this year's Christmas light-up at Orchard Road does'nt seem to be all that pretty. Sporting a classic red and green theme, it's really quite lacklustre when compared to the gold or the blue and silver themes in the past years. Moreover, having giant M&Ms wearing santa's clothes just does'nt do it for me at all.

Sigh... it's making me reminisce about the wonderful Luminiari light-up at Kobe that i saw last year. Prettiest Christmas light-up i've ever seen, i think photos can never do justice to it. There's just a certain sense of awe and... and... and magic that overcomes you when you walk under the entire stretch of the brightly-lit street, only to find yourself ending up in an enclave where you're surrounded on all sides with more of the intricately designed lightings. It really is an experience that makes my entire trip to Japan last Christmas worthwhile.

Wonder what it looks like this year- must be just as pretty, if not prettier, i'd reckon.

Luminiari at Kobe - Prettiest light-up i've seen yet

It's a long, long road

loss of words to describe its magnitude - immense?

終わりなくつづく歌

I'm absolutely hooked on Japanese rock bands now. I think their lyrics are absolutely poetic, and sometimes, they can even get quite graphic as well. When coupled with the amazing guitar riffs, i think they're so darn emotionally charged & liberating that i just want to shout out 'Freeeeddomm' (a la William Wallace)

Voila, a couple of stanzas from 太陽は夜も輝く(the sun also shines at night) by Wino.

この太陽は夜も輝いて　夢を見る
そして急ぐ君の目に　焼き付いてはなれない

終わりなくつづく歌　想いさえ越えてゆく
君の目に映るように　胸の奥開けたまま

No pics this time round; tried to take an artistic shot of my Ibanez, but a black electric guitar with white as a background just does'nt make an interesting pic. If only my house has blood red walls...

Autumn Colours

Ying took some of the prettiest autumn pics i've seen in a while- Go check out her blog! Here's a sample:

紅葉

Huangshan, China

Sadly, our trip to Huangshan in April turned out to be quite uneventful. It was really hazy, no blue skies, no pretty colours. Worse still, we did'nt get to see the sunrise, nor did we get to see the famed 'sea of clouds' spectacle. By themselves, i did'nt think our pictures were really nice, so here i am trying to do a little editing, making this one look like a chinese ink painting.

"五岳归来不看山 黄山归来不看岳"

Beautiful Philippines

Somehow or rather, the Philippines just does'nt seem to be a hot spot for travelling to us Singaporeans, even though it's about the same distance away as Thailand. I reckon it's because of the frequent demonstrations, or maybe the riots, the reports on terrorist group activites, social insecurity etc etc... but hey, Shirley did come back, and with some of the prettiest photos i've seen of the South East Asian region.

Fisherman mending nets along the coast of Colong-colong, Aklan

Authentic encounter with the locals - Priceless

Boracay Beach

Field in Kalibo

Beautiful Song by Rie Fu

Life is like a Boat - Rie Fu

Nobody knows who I really am
I never felt this empty before
And if I ever need someone to come along
Who's gonna comfort me and keep me strong

We are all rowing the boat of fate
The waves keep on comin' and we can't escape
But if we ever get lost on our way
The waves would guide you thru another day

遠くで息をしてる　透明になったみたい
暗闇に思えたけど　目隠しされてただけ

祈りをささげて　新しい日を待つ
鮮やかに　光る海　その果てまで

Nobody knows who I really am
Maybe they just don't give a damn
But if I ever need someone to come along
I know you would follow me, and keep me strong

人の心はうつりゆく　抜け出したくなる
つきはまた新しい周期で　舟を連れてく

And every time I see your face,
The oceans heave up to my heart
You make me wanna strain at the oars,
And soon I can see the shore

Oh, I can see the shore
When will I.... can see the shore?

I want you to know who I really am
I never thought I'd feel this way towards you
And if you ever need someone to come along
I will follow you, and keep you strong

旅はまだ続いてく　穏やかな日も
つきはまた新しい周期で　舟を照らし出す

運命の船を漕ぎ
波は次から次へと
私たちを襲うけど
それも素敵な旅ね
どれも素敵な旅ね

Boats at Redang Beach

Gunung Ledang (Mt Ophir)

Forest Lessons (abridged)- Jim Willis

I know a place untouched by sorrow,
where leafy bowers wave,
where Man has seldom left his mark,
where memories dwell in caves.

There in verdant pleasures i lose myself,
and ponder thoughts reserved
for quiet times of deep reflection,
where true feelings are preserved.

I contemplate the solitude,

vow to leave my life behind,

recall a primeval innocence,

the joys of a simpler time.

Too soon the dusk approaches,

and we must take our leave,

with backward glances we forge on,

rejuvenated and relieved-

of burdensome, worrisome thoughts,

of clocks and everyday concerns,

but we'll return soon one day,

and of more forest lessons learn.

Wanderlust acting up again

Exams in a few days time... causing self-denial symptoms again. The escapist in me has now chosen to edit a past photo instead of doing what i must do- study. This is a picture of the Meditarranean Harbour in Tokyo Disney Sea that i took 2 years back. Not that i'm really into Disney now, but looking at it makes me feel like travelling again. 3 more months to go, hang on...

Mediterranian Harbour

Buildings with Old-world charm

It's been some time since i've last posted and i really wanted to post something today, so... running short on inspiration, i decided to rummage through my picture files, and voila! - Old buildings. I'm quite sick of large cities(having lived in one for 27yrs) and its many imposing skyscrapers; i feel they exude a certain feeling of coldness and indifference, like they're the owners of the people in them and not the other way round. Even with all the activity going on inside, the building itself just seems so lifeless and devoid of character.

On the other hand, old buildings appeal to me somehow; they seem to exude a certain kind of charm, and i feel that one can see a manifestation of its owner's personality through the building itself. I can almost imagine what was going on inside them when they were occupied by their orginal inhabitants ages ago.

Anyway, the two buildings that i've posted are oriental buildings. The first one's a mini calligraphy museum in Lan Ting, a tourist attraction in Shaoxing, China. The second one's a building in Himeji-Jo, probably the most manificent castle in Japan. If i'm not wrong, this building's situated at an area where the samurai commit 'Seppuku', the bushido practice of ritual suicide. I kind of like the dappled patterns formed on the gray walls on these two buildings, i think they look great. I must apologize though, for my 'intrusion' in both of the pics. Like many of you, i initially thought i totally spoilt the rustic charm of the pics with my modern clothes and frivolous 'performance', but hey, seeing it in another way, it sort of reflects a cool contrast, does'nt it? Like the arts/literature students would say, "a juxtaposition of the old and new" ... Deep.

I was thinking of 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' while posing for this one. Can anyone find the one flaw in my picture? I actually attempted to remove a person from the background with my amateur photoshop skills.

The dappled pattern that i was talking about's more distinct here. Truly beautiful, isn't it?

C’est pour vous, Madame Bories!

Ça fait longtemps que je ne vous ai pas vu ou même contacté, mais ne vous inquitez pas- Je ne vous ai pas vous oublié, pas du tout. Vous avoir rencontrer est l’un des plus beaux moments que j’ai eu dans ma vie. Votre gentillesse quand vous avez invité deux passants chez vous, quand vous nous avez emmenés autour de la campagne, quand vous avez fait le steak haché pour nous, je me souviens chaque détail même maintenant. Comme on dit- Les gens qu’on reconcontre determine combien on aime ses voyages, vous êtes vraiment un des plus importantes raisons pour lesquelles j’aime tant La France.

Les Champs des Tournesols

Alors, ce blog est dedié pour tout ce qui est jolie. Naturellement, c’est tout à fait approprié que je dedie ce ‘blog posting’ spécialement pour vous, Madame Bories- la jolie dame que je n’inoublierai jamais!

P.S. J’ai tant écrié de vous que j’ai oublié de mentionner que Montélimar est belle.