TIBET AND MT. EVEREST BASE CAMP - 11-21 May 2014 - PART 1


"Tibet?  What, you went to Tibet?  Wah, so nice, it is one of those places that I would love to visit..."

The above seems to be the general response I got from friends and acquaintances when they heard that I just got back from Tibet.

Tibet here we come!
However, many are wary of visiting because of the 'warnings' they heard - the high incidence of acute mountain sickness (AMS), the unhygienic conditions of the toilets and concern over food hygiene.  Most of them are true except that food poisoning isn't really that rampant as, maybe, compared to Nepal or India.  But of course one has to be careful to order food freshly cooked and steaming hot when they are served.

The whole time we were there, we had food prepared by the locals and there were no incident of diarrhoea among our group, and neither did we hear about it from any other groups. 

However, one can never be too sure about AMS, though, as it seems to hit quite a number of people, including those in my group, although the symptoms may be just mild headache to severe pain and vomiting.  Nevertheless, even for those who did not experience AMS like myself, the thin air effect is still felt, and this was more acute as we headed towards Mt Everest Base Camp (EBC), i.e. needing to draw deep breaths now and then.  I was reminded time and again by the guide to walk slowly on the first 2 days until our body acclimatised.

The mountain range flanking the Lhasa airport tarmac gave us a glimpse of what to expect.

My advice?  Seeing how my travel mates suffered, I would advise others to be safe rather than sorry.  Take the high altitude medication (diamox) as a percaution before AMS hits you!  The side effects may be a bit discomforting but it beats the suffering should you get AMS.  (I understand from my travel mates that they felt some numbness in their finger tips or tongue felt funny but these effects were not too distracting.)

On our train ride from Lhasa to Xining on our way back toChengdu, we shared a car with a group of senior citizens from Taiwan.   Of the 16 of them, 12 were stricken by AMS and had to take injections in Lhasa, costing them RMB880, which is close to RM450 for that one jab!

Arrived! Adorned with the khata* presented to us by our guide, Jamba
*Khata is a traditional ceremonial scarf used in Tibet and Mongolia.  It symbolizes purity, goodwill, auspiciousness and compassion. It is usually made of silk. Tibetan khatas are usually white, symbolising the pure heart of the giver, though it is quite common to find yellow gold khatas as well.  It is a Tibetan custom to offer a Khata greeting scarf to another as a way of indicating your honourable intentions, and wishes of happiness.





Travelling along the Friendship Highway from airport to Lhasa city.

May 2014

TIBET AND MT. EVEREST BASE CAMP - 11-21 MAY 2014 - TOILETS


Toilets - the one item whose reputation precedes it well and was proven right. 

Having been to the outskirts of China and having 'patronised' some of its primitive toilets, I thought I would be well prepared for what to expect during our overland journey from Lhasa to EBC.  


'Do not judge a book by its cover', so neither should you assume the inside of the toilets is ok from its exterior - because they look ok, right?

Was I in for a surprise!   

The first one that hit me stank to high heaven, leaving me feeling paranoid over the duration of journey.  I ate just enough, not full, and was also very careful what I ate so as to avoid having to do the long call...

Avoiding the need to make the long call in these toilets became such an obsession with us that whenever we checked into a decent hotel, the first thing we greeted each other the next morning at breakfast after asking "how was your headache?", was "did you manage to do it", or "got good news?"  Meaning, did you do the long call?   And if you do, you got the envious look from those who can't because it meant for the rest of the day, you don't have to worry about having to spend more time than necessary inside one of these toilets below - and these are the better ones!


You wouldn't want to spend more time than necessary inside one of these!
We always sent the braver ones to check out the 'holes' first...

May 2014





PHUKET - 7-11 December 2013


Travelling free and easy in a big group, especially in a city, is never easy as the logistics of trying to keep everybody together can be rather challenging and frustrating at times, even among great friends!

But the fun of being together, doing things together, just being together, many-a-times outweighed the hassle of making sure everybody gets to a destination quick and safe.  And that's how it was when our group decided to go overseas together for a free-and-easy trip to Phuket.  As this was the first time our few families travelled overseas together the free-and-easy way, we choose Phuket as it's a small city, assuming that it will be easy to get ourselves organised.  But we forgot that many heads (some impatient ones at that!) coming together to try to decide on a destination or route of journey, does make the idiom 'too many cooks spoil the broth' so true!  Or realised that to a group of teenagers holiday is holiday hence keeping time should be the least concern!   

But all said and done, it was still 80% fun and maybe 20% frustration.  And would we do it again?  You can bet your last dollar that we will!  :D

PHUKET TOWN
What amazed me and caught my attention the minute we enter the city were the electrical wires upon electrical wires that lined the streets from end to end.  How in the world would the technician knows which wires belong to which point in the event of a short-circuit, or was it a lazy way of just lining new wires every time one gets burnt off?

OMG, which wire belongs to which property?

Colourful bunnies standing loud and bright at the roundabout - though eye-catching, they seems to stick out like sore thumbs in the middle of a busy road amongst not-so-clean, well-worn buildings.



The newer and nicer shops in the town.

Riding on the local bus.

Enjoying one of Phuket's huge night markets.  RM20 for a big, fresh steamed tilapia with special sauce - yummy!! :D


BIG BUDDHA
Phuket's Big Buddha is one of the island's most important and revered landmarks. The huge image sits on top of the Nakkerd Hills between Chalong and Kata and at 45 metres high it is easily seen from far away.

Known among Thais as the Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri Buddha in full, it is 25 meters across at the base. The whole body is layered with beautiful white Burmese marble that shines in the sun, making it a natural symbol of hope. The views, and the actual image itself are all breathtaking.   

From afar...

And up close but not personal... ;)

Close up to the image itself at the peak, it was very peaceful and the only noises you could hear were the soft, pleasant tinkling of small bells, hung up with wishes by those who came to pray, blowing in the wind amid soft background dharma music.




PATONG BEACH
Patong Beach is famous for its nightlife and 3.5 km beach that runs the entire length of Patong’s west side.   On December 26, 2004, Patong Beach along with many other areas along the west coast of Phuket and Thailand were struck by a tsunami.  Patong was one of the worst affected areas of Phuket but had quickly recovered as was clearly seen during our visit.  New shopping complexes have since been built and there was hardly any trace of the tsunami - except for the following tell-tale sign.

An inconspicuous sign set amongst the many signboards.  Can be easily missed if you are not looking...

After the White Buddha, we went chasing for the sunset at Patong Beach as we were told that the sunset at Patong can be quite spectacular if you are lucky.  So we planned our time such that we will reach Patong just in time to catch the sunset.  However, we did not bargain for the traffic jam, and our drivers taking us to the wrong look-out point!  Although the drivers frantically drove and tried to get us to the very peak, we were too late so we didn't managed to catch the sunset at its best. 


Clowning around in one of the shopping complexes in Patong before setting off to see the sunset.

Crowded street of Patong.
Patong is famous for its bars.
Guys night out? ;p  Or was it an educating excursion for the younger generation on Patong's nightlife? :)

Almost sunset but we were at the wrong look-out point.  We couldn't see the sun setting from here!
By the time we reached here, it was too late and this was the best we got. :(
Looking back towards one of the resorts along Patong Beach.

JAMES BOND ISLAND, PHANG NGA BAY
James Bond Island is THE famous landmark in Phang Nga Bay.  It became famous and a major tourist attraction after it was featured in the James Bond movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun' in 1974.

Ok, this is where we are going...

A boat that is similar to the one taking us to James Bond Island and it's surrounding waters.

Happily sunbathing!

On the way...
Almost there...
Finally...

And here we are - the much over-rated James Bond Island! ;p

Aunties and uncles trying to look cool, aka James Bond 'Golden Gun' look - epic fail! :D

The all-important group photo!


Our boat coming to get us after the walkabout on James Bond Island.

Say cheese! :D

From James Bond Island we were taken round the surrounding waters of a few other islands in the Phang Nga Bay, which were definitely much nicer.


You jump, I jump!  With such inviting clear, beautiful waters, who can resist?  :D


From the big boat into the canoes for some kayaking.
Err, but we don't get to kayak ourselves! :(

But it was still fun!  One for the camera!

The imposter - James Bond Island 2


Do you see the gorilla face?



And on to the fun part!  We had to lie down flat in the canoe in order to get past these stalactites, and the higher the tide, the more challenging it is for the boatman to manoeuvre!

How low can you go? :D

Got through without a scratch! :D

 See what the boatman caught!

Poor puffer fish looked like it was choking to death, but luckily it lived to see another day!


And then it was time to say bye-bye to James Bond Island!
Bye!

December 2013

AUTUMN IN JAPAN - 13-20 NOV 2013

Japan was one of the items on my girl's bucket list so the decision for this year's family vacation to be in  Japan was greeted with much joy.  It was a toss between Tokyo and Osaka and we finally decided on Osaka because of the slightly warmer autumn and it's more cultural essence compared to Tokyo.  Making side trips from Osaka is a must and after asking friends and searching through the net, it was decided that we will go to Kyoto and Nara, because of their known beautiful autumn colours.

The autumn colours were beautiful and we took so many pictures that it was difficult to choose which ones we like most.

The vibrant colours of red, yellow, green, orange and different shades of the same, combined with the pleasant autumn temperature, makes the whole experience of walking around Osaka, Kyoto or Nara a wonderful, enjoyable one.  




November 2013