梦迴阿凡达

>> 07 October 2011


感觉…
九寨沟的美像是大家闺秀的,
而张家界的美则是小家碧玉的;
所以别问我哪个比较美?
总而言之,
张家界的山,九寨沟的水,
都是能让您为之惊艳的。

张家界,
这幅美丽的风光,
一直默默竖立于中国湖南省西北部…
直到全球第一部3D影片《阿凡达》的热播;
人们疯狂的争议着那美轮美奂的“哈里路亚山”在哪里?
它,才慢慢的苏醒于全世界人类的眼球里。

武陵源景区门口


踏进张家界武陵源风景名胜区,
我们乘搭景区的环保车抵达了百龙电梯口。


老实说…
如果这世上真的有Transformer(变形金刚),
我会真的以为Decepticon(狂派)来到地球,
很愚蠢的伪装成电梯藏身在山林里…
因为真的太突兀了,
但相信这就是为什么他能号称世界第一电梯。


围绕着百龙电梯周围的是被称为“神兵聚会”的张家界著名景点之一。



百龙电梯,果真气势恢弘,垂直高度335米,
不需2分钟的时间就把我们运送到了山顶;
据导游说,从前从水绕四门到达天子山和袁家界至少费时4个多小时。

先进的科技真的方便了人类不少,
缩短了一个地方和一个地方间的距离,
但却疏远了人与人之间的距离。

蒙上一层白纱的天子山风光





三分形像,七分想像;
越想越像,不想就不像。
旅游过中国的人应该常听见导游说这话吧?
来到了张家界,上到了天子山,
您能更深切的体会到想象力的美好。
这里每一处都是美丽的风景及雕像,
抬头一望,你会遇见情深的夫妻、私语着的姐妹、吟着诗的屈子…;
也许你还可以自己去发现还有哪些人也来到了张家界。


袁家界的精华景点—天下第一桥,
真让人不得不惊叹大自然的鬼斧神工。





















湖南,人杰地灵,
自古名人、英雄多;
毛泽东、刘少奇、雷锋、朱镕基…
还有,中国十大元帅之一的贺龙也都是湖南人。
天子山上,就建了一座贺龙公园。





















或许你也和我一样,
搞不懂什么十大元帅、弄不清谁是贺龙,
但没关系,贺龙公园一样是您必须来到的地方,
因为这里是天子山西海的最佳观景点。
















你看到纳威人骑着飞龙前往潘多拉了吗?
















出发前就听人说,
天子山像位害羞的小姑娘,
常常蒙着白纱,不愿让人看见她的真面貌。
这次就算在山脚天气是如此的晴朗,
上到了天子山真的不知道是该看景,还是看雾。
同伴友人突然很感触的说:
“雾里看花,花最美。”
的确,在现实生活中,
有许多事情朦朦胧胧最美,
太清楚反而会显得现实是丑陋的。

悠哉悠哉的走走看看,
彻底忘记工作上的压力,
这才是旅行的意义吧~

沿途我们还发现一个奇怪的果实,
因为只有在腊月才有,所以叫做“腊果”。
很奇怪的果实,而且很酸、很酸。
















下午,我们终于带着不舍的心情,
乘搭缆车下山了。





















回头再望望天子山、袁家界,
突然想起一首诗:
“谁人识得天子面,归来不看天下山。”
说的可就是我当下的心情。

潘多拉很远,张家界很近。
如果有机会,
我还是会再来的。

(Contributed by Daphne)

Experience the wonders of Zhangjiajie like Daphne! Join our Dreaming Avatar tour now!
Special dep on 24 Oct 2011: http://www.newshan.com/tour/PackageTour/China/8DCSXOCT24.html
More dep dates at: http://www.newshan.com/tour/PackageTour/China/8DCSX.html

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My Hokkaido Trip

>> 04 October 2011

I have been dreaming of going to Hokkaido for ages. I remember watching Japan Hour that featured Hokkaido’s beautiful natural sceneries, world-class and family-friendly winter skiing facilities and activities, and mouth-watering fresh seafood caught from the cold deep waters off Hokkaido. My lust for Hokkaido was fuelled by friends regaling me with stories of their wonderful trips to Hokkaido, and never once did I hear anything negative about that place.

An opportunity surfaced to visit Hokkaido on a familiarization trip, and I smilingly ticked off one of the major items on my to-do list.

As the plane descended on New Chitose Airport on a cool autumn afternoon, I began to feel a sense of achievement, like realizing one’s dream. The drive from the airport to my hotel in Niseko took about 2 hours. What struck me on the coach journey was the wide roads in Hokkaido (in contrast to the typical narrower roads on mainland Japan) and the smaller number of cars on the roads. Without the Japanese signs, I would have thought that I was in Australia. We reached Niseko Northern Resort, An’nupuri at 7pm, just in time for a sumptuous Japanese buffet dinner consisting of sashimi and sushi.


Tempura, Sashimi, Chawanmushi and Miso Soup!

The next day, we proceeded to take a gondola ride up to Mt. Niseko Annupuri where we enjoyed sweeping views of Niseko, Mt. Yotei and Hirafu. By the time we got down, it was time for lunch. As you know, every meal in Japan can be an exhilarating experience.

After inspecting the ski facilities at Hirafu, we checked into Hotel Piano at Kiroro. Behind the hotel, there was a Hokkaido-style BBQ restaurant that serves the best BBQ seafood I have had.


BBQ seafood - Hokkaido Style

Next stop – Otaru Canal. In the early 20th century, this canal was part of the port area where larger vessels unloaded their goods onto smaller boats, which then flowed along the canal to unload the goods at warehouses located along the canal. When the unloading process became mechanized, this area was redeveloped into a beautiful canal and the warehouses were transformed into museums, restaurants and specialty shops. With traditional gas lamps lighting up the area, coupled with drizzling snow in the winter nights, it is a very romantic place for couples.


Otaru Canal on an autumn day

The Otaru Music Box Museum features the development of music boxes or “orgel”, as it is known in Japan. The main building can be recognized by its brownish-red brick walls and renaissance-style arch-top windows. You definitely will not miss the Steam Clock just outside the museum. Made in Vancouver, the Steam Clock is powered entirely by steam, chimes every 15 minutes and blows the main-steam whistles on the hour. In the museum, you will see one of the largest collection of music boxes or orgel in all shapes and sizes. You can even customize your own music box for a small fee.


Otaru Music Box Museum

Just three minutes walk away from Otaru Music Box Museum is Kitaichi Glass Museum. Founded in 1901, it was then known as Asahara Glass. The first president, Hisakichi Asahara, began to produce kerosene lamps in Otaru. Kerosene lamps were part of life's necessities because electricity supply was unknown at that time. In 1910, he began to produce floating glass balls for fishing and the rest is history. Their exquisite handmade glassware in many shapes and forms can only be made by skilled craftsmen. It also has a workshop where the manufacturing process can be observed.


Kitaichi Glass Museum - Fragile! Be careful. Once broken, considered sold!


Sushi music boxes! So real, you will want to eat them!


Maneki Neko or 'Fortune Cat' music boxes

Along the same street as Kitaichi Glass Museum, you will find many shops selling ice cream, confectionery and seafood. One shop that caught my eye was the one that was selling gigantic Hokkaido Crabs! The pictures on the left tell a thousand words.



These Hokkaido crabs are actually bigger than what the pictures suggest

There was no time to check out Ishiya Chocolate Factory so we headed to Odori Park where the landmark is the Sapporo TV Tower. Odori Park is situated in the centre of Sapporo City and is a green-belt area that provides a breather to the city dwellers. There are many shops around the area.


Odori Park with Sapporo TV Tower in the background


Dinner time beckons! We were going to have Shabu-shabu, which is a Japanese variant of the hot pot. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, in that both use thinly sliced meat and vegetables and are usually served with dipping sauces. As you can see, we had many servings of the freshest beef slices and generous refills of the soup base and ingredients. Service was top-notch as the waitresses replied “Hai!” to every request and fulfilled our whims and fancies within 2 minutes. Such shabu-shabu restaurants can be found in many places, and they are consistently good.


Next on the stop is shopping! We were brought to Mitsui Outlet Park in Sapporo. It is really huge and many international brands can be found there. For foodies, I particularly recommend the supermarket there where local farm produce can be freshly bought. It is called “Farm Village”.
Shabu-shabu, Japanese Hot Pot with thinly sliced meat

Aurora Town is an underground shopping mall with plenty shops and eateries
The many international brands available at the Mitsui Outlet Park



With an excellent shopping harvest, we checked into the airport hotel in order to catch the early morning flight home via Tokyo. With a heavy heart, I bid farewell silently to Hokkaido, but not before I ended my trip with a sumptuous sashimi dinner.


A sumptuous Sashimi dinner to end the trip!

The Farm Village is a supermarket that offers fresh local produce

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