Just wanna my title to have something human with little bit of gentleness. To me, the most beautiful moment in one's life is when his/her heart is touched which needn't be in a romantic manner, perhaps it could just be in a very casual and human manner, by someone's sincere whispers. So, this is what "My Heart is Whispering" made of. Hope u will at least like it if not love it :-)
WARNING:
WARNING : CLICK AND VISIT AT YOUR OWN RISK FOR ALL ADVERTISEMENTS THAT APPEAR IN ANY OF THE VIDEO CLIPS EMBEDED HERE.
Hunger, can make us forget of who we are and what we are :)
Hunger, can make us the 'hunter' or the 'victim' :)
Hunger, can lead us to a decision which could destroy our soul :)
Hunger, can blind us totally till we don't see whatever is left for us by our God :)
Hunger, can make our lives insecure and full of scary shadows :)
Hunger, can kill our self-esteem that we have built with lots of effort without a sense of mercy :)
Let's be calm and listen silently to our inner wisdom to fight against hunger :)
By the way, are we really that hungry? Hmm, the answer can be a 'no' if we make a good decision for ourselves, for our beloved ones, for the true love that we haven't met, for the real thing that hasn't come and of course, for a better tomorrow that is on its way to our door :)
Last October, I planned with a couple of colleagues to go Jiuzhai Valley, a UNESCO heritage, in the northern Sichuan/Szechuan province, north of Chengdu, southwestern China. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiuzhaigou_Valley .
It was a trip where I did the least survey due to 'a last minute'
decision to go ( about three months before the journey ) and
hectic routines. Almost everything was ready for me ( information
on hotels, transportation, maps and itinerary etc. ). Thanks to one
of my colleagues who has been to many places in China and was
eager to do the survey for us.
Very picturesque and calming...
( Jiuzhai Valley ) - taken with my outdated Sony DSC HX5V - a 'faithful travel companion' of mine ( outdated but still makes me proud honestly :D and of course, the advantage given by the nature counts too ).
Stunning!
Credit goes to the good weather and of course, the beauty of the nature in the valley.
( No need photoshop at all! )
The colours of autumn :)
From a hidden corner.
Fishes in crystal clear water ( Jiuzhai Valley )
A 'less homework journey' had made myself lazier and more dependent during the whole journey : ) . In my previous trips, most of the time I did my own survey and made my own choices but this time, I had to follow the flow in most situations ( this is inevitable sometimes, whenever we go travelling in a group ). I remember a trip where I went to Beijing with the agency- it was the first and the only one that I have ever tried ( was planning to go alone but was advised by friends to go with the agency since it was the first time going there, for safety reason ). During the Beijing trip ( 2002 ), the trip was an unforgettable one as I happened to meet some very nice and considerate people ( a couple who had enough 'yuan' to exchange with me when I was short of 'yuan' and a family whose children had brought much fun in the journey ). When we came back to Malaysia, one of them held a party at home and the couple who joined the Beijing trip, their three lovely boys and I were invited. It was a pleasure knowing these people. To protect their privacy, I would prefer not to publish their photos here :)
This time, I went with colleagues and two others. The experience was of course rather different. I had planned to spend 7 days with them before leaving alone for Beijing, to visit the Forbidden City for the second time. Yes, just the Forbidden City and yes, I was going solo, haha! ( Personally, I always prefer to go solo when comes to visiting museums or any historical destinations so that I would not have to worry too much on whether my friends are feeling bored or not. After all, not every individual visits a museum will have the same personal expectation. )
With AirAsia this time. Satisfied with the 'nasi lemak', it was good.
Again, a surprise out of a simple expectation :)
We took AirAsia to Chengdu on 22 October 2011, a Saturday and I left my colleagues on Friday, 28 October for Beijing. After a long journey from Chengdu to Jiuzhai Valley, a World Natural Heritage and World Biosphere Reserve by van, we took a rest at a budget hotel. In the town, almost every shop had Tibetan Buddhist symbols printed on its doors and there were quite a number of shops selling yak meat and beef. Majority there do eat beef. One thing I must say, everything in the trip was really 'a budget one', the credit must go to my colleague again. As 'shopping' was not our main purpose, I hardly bought anything except a panda cap for my niece, a few embroidered tiny bags for my sister and cousins ( the bags are still with me as everyone is rather busy currently ) and a small amount of flower tea balls ( bought at Beijing ). At Jiuzhai Valley, I saw a few stalls selling beautiful scarfs and they were so cheap in Jiuzhai Valley, but was not able to stop by to buy as we were a little rushing then. Due to the fast establishment of the tourism industry in China, I noticed that there was an obvious improvement on the hygiene in the hotels, public toilets and restaurants. China looked very different to me, after almost ten years never visiting the country.
JiuZhai Valley- one of my favourites among the photos I snapped.
Okay, let's back to Jiuzhai Valley, a World Natural Heritage and World Biosphere Reserve, my comment for this place is, "It is a paradise that we don't see every day." In Chinese I would use "世外桃源" to describe it, meaning: the Land of Peach Blossoms - a fictitious land of peace, away from the turmoil of the world; or a haven of peace. I have learned this beautiful proverb from one of the wu-xia novels - kungfu novels written by Jin Yong ( my status for the Chinese language is, only able to recognise some of the characters which enables me to understand the main idea of a whole text but am not good enough to write independently. Also, lots of wrong pronunciations sometimes due to either have forgotten or not yet learned about it ). The only thing which was not so perfect when we were in Jiuzhai Valley was, too many tourists and it was a little too rushing for us despite the fact that we had almost one day there. This reminded me of the Forbidden City I visited in 2002, the tourist guide only gave us three hours to visit such a huge palace, it was like riding a horse watching the flowers, 走马看花. That was why I had been wanting so much to revisit the world heritage, Forbidden City again. I am sure if we were given ample time there, the journey would certainly be a more relaxing and self-inspired one.
The white yak.
( Dropped by half way to look for washroom and to buy some fruits. Managed to steal an opportunity to snap this pic for free while the owner didn't notice. )
The next place I must mention here is, the Huang Long Valley, another world heritage in Szechuan. We walked until we limped to reach the top of Huang Long but it was worth it! When walking down Huang Long after enjoying the magnificent view, met a few asking me the same thing, "Is it still far away?" and I replied, "Yes, it is still far away, it took hours to reach the top." A lady asked, "Anything to see up there?" and I replied, "It is very beautiful up there, very far away but worth it!"
Huang Long Valley ( took this while on the way up the mountain )
We stayed overnight at a small town called, Maoxian. Nothing much to see here. Then, my colleague planned for us to go BiPeng Valley 毕棚沟 and so we went. BiPeng Valley was less strenuous as they provided us bus to arrive at certain point and small vehicle which carried us up there with a small charge. A few of us including myself were more than willing to take the service after two days of long heavy walk while others still prefer walking up there. Up there, I was truly speechless! But, again ...this was another 'a little rushing' one for us. How I wish to have more time to picnic there, take some time to stop and have a meaningful conversation with each other, really!
Scenic! ( Bipeng Valley )
Speechless moment... ( Bipeng Valley )
Wanna to have picnic here :) - Bipeng Valley
( Bipeng Valley ) This gave me a peace of mind :)
DuJiangYan ( The famous river )
Strong current of the river.
Then, we headed back to Chengdu. On the way, we dropped by DuJiangYan, famous for its irrigation system built in 256 B.C., was recommended by a friend after back to Malaysia from Beijing in 2002. Always thinking to go one day but alas, this time, we needed to buy tickets to visit it and also we needed to rush back to Chengdu, thus I did not make it. In spite of that, I was still glad to be able to see the model prepared by the authority at the entrance before boarding the van for Chengdu. Although my mind was fed with just a little touch of the ancient wisdom, inside me...I was strongly touched by a human's wisdom of 256 B.C. I managed to get the panda cap for my niece at one of the stalls that was a few streets away, with a reasonable price.
Eight Babies
Up Close and Personal with A Baby Panda :)
Lazing...
While walking in the Chengdu Panda Base, saw a beehive.
A Proud Peacock
A black swan sitting on gold fish.
Later at Chengdu, we paid a visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Panda Breeding or Chengdu Panda Base and also the night market to buy souvenirs, the ones I told you earlier, the tiny embroidered bags. A good place to train my bargaining skill. Thought this place was the cheapest but then later, when I saw the same ones at the night market in Beijing, they were even much cheaper, haha! I bought three embroidered bags in Chengdu and three in Beijing. Also, a few tiny perfume bags for a few yuans. Early in the morning of Friday, the day when I left Chengdu for Beijing, I went for the local noodles and wantons soup ( locally named 'chao shou- 抄手 ) nearby with them before taking the taxi to airport.
The Chao Shou I tried before leaving Chengdu. Not that bad.
The map I got.
Looking out from my room.
I arrived at Beijing in the afternoon and the hotel room I booked earlier during promotion, was such a big convenience as it was so near to Forbidden City and also nearby night streets and markets. As I was not there for 'hard travelling style' - staying in a budget hostel, sleeping on beds with bugs, sharing a room with many strangers, queueing for a bathroom etc. like what my brother did long time ago when he was in India, neither did I want to boast about 'how superb was I to have a 'hard travelling style' to friends; and so, I was truly on cloud nine when got this wonderful hotel for myself ( At my age - neither too young nor old, I do think that my then request for a little more comfortable and pampering trip was probably reasonable and acceptable :D ). The room came with a TV monitor which could also be used to online. I went to internet to search for some famous food in the street and also, a map with full of information on the streets and popular destinations was provided by the hotel staff. Thus, I had no problems at all to find a good place for dinner. It was really as easy as ABC! I went to take a long queue to try the famous Peking Duck at Quan Ju De ( was given a number while queueing, exactly like how we normally queue in our local banks waiting for our turns ). The restaurant was not too far but still need to do some walking. Em... the duck meat was a little overly fat but nice, the staff would cut the meat in front of you and a bowl of soup cooked with the duck bones was served too. My comment is, "Very, very expensive! My heart a little aching while paying the bill, lolz." Personally, I still prefer the Peking Duck I have tried in the restaurants in Malaysia.
The number I got for queueing.
The famous Peking Duck - to be eaten with pancake and onions.
If you like, you can dip it in the sweet black sauce served.
Some will find it more satiating when eating it with the sauce.
Still think that the Peking Duck served at a number of the restaurants in Malaysia is better.
The leftover.
After a good night sleep, early in the morning, took a fine breakfast at the hotel ( free breakfast was included in the booking ), I brought along a few Peking Duck and pancake slices, the last night's leftover, packed in a plastic box, walking to the Forbidden City ticket counter to avoid long queue. The ticket counter was still closed, still not many people there. I enjoyed this very moment at the Forbidden City, it was like 'it is mine now! Even the air!' The counter opened at 8.30 am, I bought the ticket for about 60 yuan, I even rented a multi lingual guide recorder ( an audio guide device ) for about 40 yuan, I took the English version one as I hoped that I could understand the story lies behind every part of Forbidden City more. But, I must say the audio guide device did disappoint me a little. The way it functioned was not so flexible and also not practical enough, eg. once it was played, it would continue automatically with the next spot when I entered a new section and it detected the area. I just couldn't replay it when I remained at the same area, like how the hands move in the clock, no U-turn. To enable the repetition, a cycle must be finished first in order to get back to the first spot, I suppose. Or perhaps, it would work when I left the area and re-entered it but that would be seriously time-consuming. Well, to make it short, I did feel a little regret renting it. :)
A river between the Forbidden City and the local residential area.
The houses near the South Gate of Forbidden City.
A misty morning.
Beautiful trees alongside the river.
The entrance.
Still very early.
The beams after repainted.
( While waiting for the counter to open, took this. )
The ancient designed roof.
Still waiting...
Like this moment!
Not many people yet.
It seems like the cats there are living a rather luxurious life, haha!
Well, put aside the audio guide device, this second time of my visit to the historical palace was really an enjoyable one. Very relaxing indeed as I had almost the whole day there instead of three hours! No rushing at all. I even managed to find a spot where I could sit down relaxingly for my lunch. I had all the time of the world to taste every slice of the leftover Peking Duck meat while enjoying the view in the Forbidden City. The last night leftover, the Peking Duck and pancake slices suddenly had turned into 'a royal meal of mine' though they were already cold, haha! Saying so is not because of the grand buildings around me but a kind of satisfying, relaxing and soothing feeling inside me. Very rekindling.
Had my lunch here. There were a few benches and rubbish bins as well.
Two very beautiful pigeons standing handsomely on a flowerpot.
Rows and rows of people
walking from hall to hall.
Slowly, the number of visitors increased and I saw rows and rows of tourists rushing towards the main halls of the palace and heard one of the tourist guides holding his microphone telling the tourists from other province of China, "Come, let's go straight from head of the dragon till the tail of dragon, we don't want U-turn!" - meaning : smooth sailing, no obstacle in life, I suppose. By saying so, the tourists most probably would not slip into any other secretive corner to explore or make a U-turn to re-visit the halls. Haha! What a lovely trick to save time! ( Remember, they didn't have all the time of the world to explore every corner of the museum, see! ) Seeing people squeezing with each other to steal a good spot either to take a look or to snap a picture of the main halls made my heart ache a little suddenly, it was a moment where everyone had suddenly become like school children pushing here and there for a seat in the school bus.
People!
A Chinese proverb.
This section of the Forbidden City has not be repainted and thus, giving me
a very authentic ancient aura.
Time to go! The area was cleared.
Walking towards the exit door.
I stayed in the Forbidden City, exploring every corner of it especially the parts where seldom people know or go, until I heard the announcement telling me that it was closing, it was already 5 pm ! The closing announcement reminded me the one we heard when Jusco was closing, thanking the customers for coming. On the way leaving the palace, saw bing tang hulu 冰糖葫芦, candied haw on the stick. Sweet and sour taste. Very cheap and delicious. Enjoying my walking with the bing tang hulu as my companion while enjoying the lovely view around, the beautiful and calm river with beautiful willow trees alongside. When arrived at the hotel, made an enquiry to the counter staff for some information on calling a taxi and the taxi fare as well. The staff was rather rude and hesitated to reply me with more details, no eye contact at all as he was writing while replying me with a rather rude way. I immediately made a complaint to the manager, he allowed me to enter his office to type the letter. My anger had improved my typing skill and creativity in an instance! Then, I went to the night street nearby ( WangFuJing street ), walked into a very huge bookstore and bought a book that interested me, '101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People' by Yi S. Ellis with Bryan D. Ellis. At the WangFuJing night market, tried the famous 'stinky tofu', very, very stinky but the taste was ok. After taking the tofu, the stink remained in my mouth for rather long, even myself could smell it! Oh my... Later, bought the three embroidered tiny bags which I have mentioned here earlier.
Video clip taken while at the Wangfujin night market :
Scorpions, insects etc... Dare to look at but still dare not to try :)
( This reminded me of Japanese delicacy, poisonous fugu/ pufferfish - eat at your own risk. )
When back to my hotel room, I saw a plate of fruits, wrapped beautifully on the dressing table attached with an apology message from the manager and I was given another free breakfast for tomorrow morning. I was so happy and I did think I had made the right choice to book the room from this hotel through one of the hotel booking websites. The next morning, the staff at the counter appeared much more friendly and the rude guy I saw last night had turned into a gentleman in one night! Fantastic! ( When I was back in Malaysia, I left a very positive comment in the hotel booking website for this hotel especially the manager in spite of the fact that I did not know whether did he backstab me for the complaint I had made or not, but the thing I saw was, he really did a good job! :D )
The next morning, I managed to steal some time to walk around the town nearby and get some meat buns from the famous Tianjin GoBu Li branch in Beijing. The hotel arranged a taxi for me, and I left for the airport on time. Overall, it was a very pleasant journey. I finished the buns before boarding the flight home.
Well...I do think I am a late blossom. So, actually I am quite thankful to God coz I am given a second chance in the journey of my life. I always wish that I could go visiting interesting places around the world with my cup of tea one day..keke. I also hope that I will be able to improve my granny's life to a more comfortable one in the near future. I have always had a liking in beautifying house. Choosing doors, windows, curtains, sofas and other parts of a house is something fun to me. Hence, I really hope I will have my own cosy house one day :-)
