Its always good to get out of the city for a week and get to somewhere with fresh cool air, as there are many places within driving distance of Shanghai to do this.

The place I have always wanted to go was Wuyi County to do camping on platformed tents at the top of a mountain.

We hiked around a small village for a couple of hours to see how they still practice Daoism and how this village is still very traditional in a sense that it still has many of the old houses and streets which made it a very quaint experience…

Going to the mountain to camp proved pretty fun except my curse continues with it being cloudy and rainy on every mountain excursion I have been on in China.  As you drive up to the mountain you run across an old village from the time of the Cultural Revolution still intact with all of the propaganda pictures and houses that look like a throwback to yesteryear……

Finally going up the mountain the weather never subsided and was very rainy and cloudy the whole time.  As the story goes during the cultural revolution, students were sent up to this area to work, as China modernized in the future, these same people came back to build a magnificent campsite, zipline, and a glass bridge where you can see for miles (not with clouds).  The tents were platformed and comfortable and the area was quite isolated which I liked a lot.  Next time hopefully the sun will come out…

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Laoximen is an area of Shanghai that shows what Shanghai probably used to look like before the mass development that has engulfed the city and parts of China.  Walking down the streets and narrow alleyways, you can get a sense of what it was like to be in Shanghai many years ago.  As you stop out of the neighborhood, you will gaze upon skyscrapers and tall apartment blocks that are quickly sprouting around this quaint little neighborhood.  Some of the photos show how close it is to the Bund which is the popular part of Shanghai with many of the modern buildings….

Sadly, rumor has it that this neighborhood will be demolished to make way for something bigger and better.  Perhaps it is another mall or perhaps apartment buildings.  We did see signs that they were perhaps just modernizing the neighborhood a little, but it is anyone’s guess what will happen to this lovely neighborhood, as China quickly modernizes, all vestiges of its simple past will be slowly swept away with only photos to look at of what was….

City built up around Laoximen

Laoximen Neighborhood

 

Since I rarely take photos of myself for obvious reasons, I am putting these up that my friend I traveled with in Asia, Daniel Cruz took. 

Penang

Georgetown is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang.  A section of the city is inscribed as a UNESCO site fro 2008.  With its fabulous English Colonial architecture, a fusion of Indian and Chinese culture (from the trading), street art, and some of the best street food in the world, it is no wonder this place is on top of everyone’s list when they visit Malaysia.

Before you decide you are going here it is important to book a hotel that is centrally located in Georgetown and offers you a comfortable stay at a great price.  The Ren i Tang Hotel, offers you a comfortable stay at a low price. With 17 rooms all of different sizes with great air con and even a balcony room, this hotel has something for everyone.  The waitresses (Sophilia, Kaushy, Shoba) at the Hotel Bistro which offers local as well as international cuisine are some of the best waitresses I have ever had and always deliver your food or beer with a smile.  The manager of the hotel Uma Borah was there to answer all of our questions and book anything we needed without hesitation, as she also answered are emails beforehand very promptly. It is located near the heart of Georgetown on the corner of Lebuh China and Lebuh Penang.  Couple that is the history that this hotel has played in the city as it was the oldest traditional Chinese medicine shop in SE Asia, and operated that way until 2010 when with great renovation it was made into the hotel you see today.  A walk along the halls of this building you can see many relics of the past and a lot of the wood used in the rooms is from the original building.  The fresh herb garden in the courtyard offers a local touch to many of the food dishes.   It is almost like stepping back into history when you stay here and I would not even hesitate to stay here again. 

 

As I love cooking classes, I had to chance to join one that turned into a cooking class, market tour, and street food tour all in one.  Nazlina offers a cooking class through her website Pickles and Spices, she is an author of books on different malay dishes and has been featured in different newspapers and articles around the globe.  She first took us to the market area to look at the different spices and food we would be using…

When we returned we put our knowledge to use and made different dishes including coconut rice, sambal, Nasi Lemak, Char Koay Teow, Green Bean with Shrimp, and Pandam Crepe with Coconut and Palm Sugar filling.  This cooking class was informative and I strongly recommend everyone take it while on their trip to Penang…

Walking the streets at night of this city are amazing as you will get some truly great experiences viewing the street food vendors as well as the multitudes of people both locals and foreigners eating…..

The best thing to do here is just walk the streets and enjoy the plethora of colors of the buildings and the history that encompasses this area…

 

A main attraction in this area is the steel rod caricatures found on buildings (sometimes hidden) around the area.  These depict a scene from Georgetown’s past with a comical spin on it and offer an easy way for you to understand what happened on the different streets in this area in the past centuries

And one of the other tourist attraction is the blossoming street art culture found here.  If I missed any street art then it was by mistake as I went up and down these streets to find the most popular ones and the ones that are hidden in alleys which are not on tourist maps.  Just like the street art of Djerba in Tunisia and Athens in Greece, this offers a view of local culture and lifestyle which give insight into some of the cities history.  There are maps available for the most popular ones, however some of them, you just have to get lost looking for them….

 

And of course a trip to the Botanical Gardens outside the city center will not only give you a glimpse of the many types of plants and trees offered in this area…

But also let you see the many Long Tailed Macaques that roam here freely doing crazy things like all monkeys do…..There will always be Monkeys…

 

 

 

Santubong River Cruise- The rare Irrawaddy Dolphin and intro to “Big Nose” Monkey

The intro into Borneo was nice and easy.  A wildlife Cruise down the river at the Santubong Peninsula to see if we can see any wildlife. 

This turned into a fantastic time with great scenery….

 

As we rounded the bend, we noticed jumps in the water and were greeted but a school of Irrawaddy Dolphins and what I believe to be a baby.  These Dolphins, not as shy as the Gangetic Dolphins, still move very fast and you have to be on your A Game in order to photograph them….

 

We got to see a few birds and a saltwater crocodile….

 

The main attraction on the Cruise was of course the reclusive proboscis monkey.  We saw a few of them just sitting up on the trees with not a care in the world while they stuffed their faces.  This was a great intro into seeing them as now we know how they move and swing in order to photograph them…

 

Orangutans and Longhouse Villages

Longhouses are what the native people uses(d) to live in.  It is a huge house set up on different planks in which families live and probably share responsibilities.  Some longhouses are a few hundred feet long and offer the a tight knit community a place to stay.  It was interesting to see the human skulls there as it was explained that these were taken from the enemies by head hunters and given as somewhat of a sacrifice.  Of course most of this happened before Christianity arrived in this community…

 

The Orangutan’s are what Borneo is known for and what most people come to the island to try and see.  Even at a sanctuary like Semenggoh, it is not guaranteed to see them.  Many of them are very territorial and the sanctuary is not a zoo and is a place for them to live with a lot of fruits away from problems.

We had the chance to go to two attempted viewings of the Orangutans and only were able to see them once.  While I would of liked to see them more as it was a short time we saw them, I am happy that they are staying in the jungle away from people or crowds as this shows that they can survive…….

 

Tanjung Datu National Park- A rare female turtle lays eggs, the release of hatched turtles, and CIVET!!!!

If you come to Tanjung Datu National Park for a guaranteed sighting of animals and a safari, then you have come to the wrong place….

Tanjung Datu is a narrow strip of forested hills and isolated untouched beaches.  It is one of the smallest national parks in Sarawak but also the most beautiful.  It takes about an hour by boat to get there and because of its remoteness, means that the beaches are beautiful and unbothered and the rain forest is not disturbed. 

Even for a person who hates beaches (as in me), I found myself spending time there taking photos and enjoying the water…..If you do not believe me, please see the pictures below….

 

Of Course you will see some monkeys, but they are not aggressive and very shy

 

During night walks in the park, you can see lizards, chameleons, spiders, sometimes frogs, or little birds hiding under leaves….

 

The real surprise came at the end of the night walk, when up in the palm tree we shined the light and you can see a civet!!!!  This cat is almost as rare as spotting a leopard and ranks up as one of my top finds as far as animals!!!!  Although the pictures are not good because it was pitch black and I was trying to hold a light while snapping pictures, this will remain as one of my favorite moments.  I just wish I had more time to photo him before he ran away…

 

Perhaps what the Park is known for and also other islands in this area is the different types of sea turtles that come on the beach to lay their eggs.  While this is not the laying season as it was 2-3 months passed, we were lucky enough to have one out of nowhere come up to the beach and lay some eggs in the sand.  The Park rangers took measurements on her and tagged her and removed the eggs to the hatchery to guard them from animals to try to sustain the population……

 

As this is hatching season for the little baby turtles, and they only hatch at night, we were lucky enough to see them TWO nights in a row.  As the mom comes and lays eggs and leaves them, never to return, these babies are born knowing what to do.  They from birth follow the light (usually moonlight) into the water and float away.  Unfortunately, not all of the babies will make it as they are often predators for fish or birds, but the ones that do will grow up to go to their own beach one day…THE TURTLE RELEASE WILL RANK UP THERE AS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS FROM ALL OF MY TRAVELS.  I am a lucky person to see this!!!!

 

Bako National Park- Proboscis Monkeys, Watermelon Monkeys, Vipers, and Flying Lemurs

Bako National Park

Bako is one of the best places to see wildlife while staying near a beautiful beach.  The park has mangrove forests, heath forests, tropical swamps, cliffs, and of course beach.  The only way onto this island is taking a boat ride for about ½ hour from a local village and you are in complete isolation from any roads.  We thought it would be smart to stay the night in order to maximize our chance to see wildlife as the rooms were basic and we were staying pretty much right in the jungle….

 We saw a few hermit crabs a few birds and some mud skippers to start off small…

 As we moved around on nature walks through the camps and in back, we noticed the wildlife was everywhere, including a bearded pig that I had never seen before…

 I was able to get very close to a green viper and take some amazing pictures.  There were two different ones that I saw as I rotated between the two.  I was careful obviously not to get to close to upset it.  There was also a common snake just making his way along the path….

 One of the main attractions of this park is the possible sighting of a Proboscis Monkey.  We not only got a sighting of them we were able to get some very good pictures as we followed them around for several hours watching the every move.  We also got to witness them leap from tree to tree….

 I followed a Monitor Lizard around in order to get some photos of him with his tongue as he let me get close, but not to close as he ran off from me..

 One species of monkey that I had never seen before was the Silver Leaf Monkey.  These monkeys travel around in rather large troops and feed on some of the mangrove trees just like the Proboscis!  There were some that were moving between the beach and the camp as they came very close to the ground.  My main focus of attention, was the “Orange Baby.”  The babies of this species are born orange and turn silver over time.  Trying to get a good photo of this little guy was a challenge that was very difficult….

 Another Species I had never seen before which I really lucked out, was the “Flying Lemur” or “Flying Galago.”  This nocturnal animal is very difficult and rare to spot.  To my surprise, there was one perched about 50 feet up on a tree sleeping.   After getting a few shots off with my camera, I noticed that she had a baby with her.  While the lighting was bad, I got a few goods shots and while they may be fuzzy, I was happy to see this animal during the day, although it disappears and flies from tree to tree at night…

 One of the enjoyments at the park was of course the Long Tail Macaques.  These monkeys are often seen up in the trees around the camp trying to cause trouble where they can.  Some had battle scars, while some had babies, while some decided to just fight with each other and steal food from people

 As one got a piece of watermelon, and the background was perfect and lighting was great, I could not help snap off a few shots of just how perfectly and greedily he ate this watermelon….

Top Spot- Hands down the best seafood in the world!  Nothing else comes close

I like to think of myself as a person who knows his seafood pretty good.  This is one of the first things I try when I get to a country that has an ocean and I am anywhere near the ocean.  I do not know how many countries I have tried different types and ways of cooking seafood, but I definitely do not want to try to count.  In the US, there is different places known for their seafood, and one that comes to mind that is my favorite is the Bay Area in San Francisco, which was my favorite seafood in the US and my favorite in the world is different countries like Greece, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Japan.  These were my favorite seafood countries and I have my favorite restaurants in each place, however the following place blows the rest of these away….

Top Spot in downtown Kuching is not what you would call a restaurant but about 7-8 shops that sell fresh seafood.  People enter, pick their table and order from that stall with more types of seafood than you can imagine.   It is not enclosed; it is a rooftop area in which more than a hundred tables are packed in.

They have just about anything to drink that you want there including beer and fresh juices which you pay for as they come, so that your food bill is only SEAFOOD!!!!

The two shops that we frequented the four times we went was Shop 25 and Ling Loang Seafood.  Both of these shops are located on the opposite side of the main entrance toward the end.  In my opinion Ling Loang Seafood is the best one there.  They have enough space to move around, and their service is excellent as the lady knows exactly what you order if you are a returning customer.  They have every type of fish you can imagine, plus prawns that make anything sold in the US look like canned baby shrimp.  The prices are very reasonable as you can stuff yourself senseless for about 15 USD (not including drinks).  You pick what you want and how much of what you want

They cook everything to order.  If you want your shrimp grilled, fried, boiled etc, they can do just about anything.  The fish they serve can feed a family and it is very well de-boned and you can even pick your own vegetables to have them fry up or serve fresh.  LITERALLY THEY CAN DO ANYTHING.

Malaysia

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE SOME GREAT WILDLIFE AND SCENERY

Malaysia is one of those rare countries in the world that pretty much has it all if you are a traveler.  From great food from the mixing of different cultures, to beautiful scenery, to some of the best wildlife out of Africa, to scenery that will make just about anyone jealous from the rolling jungle hills to the pristine white beaches….

The country has fascinated me for some time because of the animal viewing on the island of Borneo as well as the different types of macaques on the mainland.  I have heard from countless people how much the love this country so I wanted to give all the hype a look.

As I love photographing animals, I decided to spend a week on different national parks on the island of Borneo……

Santubong River Cruise- The rare Irrawaddy Dolphin and intro to “Big Nose” Monkey

Bako National Park- Probiscus Monkeys, Watermelon Monkeys, Vipers, and Flying Lemurs

Orangutans and Longhouse Villages

Tanjung Datu National Park- A rare female turtle lays eggs, the release of hatched turtles, and CIVET!!!!

Top Spot- Hands down the best seafood in the world!  Nothing else comes close

,Penang- UNESCO city with English Colonial Architecture and street art

Kuala Lumpur- Financial City with big skyscrapers and Petronas Towers

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur just like Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore is a very big city that serves as a major financial hub in Asia and the world.  While it is a city that is spread out geographically and has a population of almost 2 million in the city and the greater area about 7 million.

To see this city by night is amazing, as the Petronas Twin Towers (seen in the daytime below) are amazing lit up as are the other buildings in this area which is surrounded by the convention center and a beautiful park

The sunrise here is just as good as the sunsets…..

Its iconic symbol is the Petronas Twin Towers that was once the tallest structure in the world and towers above the other buildings although there is some skyscrapers that will catch up to it when they are completed….

 

As the city is pretty spread out, the best way to do it would be the hop on/hop off bus which takes you around the city and you can hop on and off at your leisure.  I took the China Town and Central Market stop, the Botanical Gardens, and the Petronas Twiin Towers stop.  This is a good way to see the city and how everything changes depending which districts that you go into.  The big buildings are even more amazing when you are under them then looking at them from a distance and China Town is….well a China Town…

A stop at the bird sanctuary in the Botanical Gardens proved to have many beautiful birds such as ibis, and pelicans among others….

And of course as we left to get on the bus some monkeys were there to greet us.  There will always be monkeys…

Batu Caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan, who is one of the Hindu deities.  It is a huge limestone cave with three main caves and a few smaller ones.  People come from all over to give offerings and be blessed as there was a lot of colorful people in there and many priests at the small shrines in different places.  Very beautiful place…

And of course to send us off on our merry way was monkeys on the stair hike up and also in the cave as they were not the most aggressive monkeys we have met this trip, but they were very hungry and loved to try to find food….one in particular looked like he had been in several fights as he was missing part of his upper lip…..

 

Brunei

 

 

Brunei is a country that does not often pop up on a map of places people would like to travel to.  As a matter of fact, most people do not even know it is a country as it shares the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Indonesia and makes up less than 1 % of the land on the island and is roughly half the size of Qatar with a population of just over 400,000 people.  It has been ruled by a Sultan continuously for the last 700 years (more or less).  As it is an oil rich country, the Government provides subsidies for the population to live and also medical care and everyone seems to be very happy here, even though to me the prices were very high on items.  CNN had a very good article sometime back on Brunei located here, which talks about Brunei’s move toward ecotourism and I believe with the wildlife they have to offer here, that they will turn into a major destination to see many of the animals that are endemic only to Borneo. 

It is a Muslim country with very strict laws on alcohol and tobacco with neither of them being sold in the country and tobacco is taxed heavily if you bring it in as a foreigner.  Alcohol is not allowed to be drunk by locals, but foreigners are allowed to bring in an amount for “private consumption” only and must be finished while in the country. 

Most of these things would scare away and individual from visiting, but this is a place I have always wanted to visit and since I was on the island of Borneo, I thought I would swing by, and I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED one bit.

As we took a land crossing from Miri to Brunei, we had to pay our duty on tobacco and alcohol and made our way to the capital of Bander Seri Begawan.  This may be one of the smallest capitals I have been to in population (200,000 plus people) and land size, but it is also one of the most cleanest capitals and countries I have ever seen with harsh fines for littering and smoking in most public places.

A nice trip to the market is always a good way to see the people of a country….

A trip to the National Museum (no photos), but it was one of the most impressive museums I have ever been to, and then a trip to one of the newest mosques and the biggest mosque in Brunei.  I have been to many mosques in my life and these two seemed to impress me as I was fond of their slightly different architecture they used, with most materials being imported from Europe…

The main attraction in this capital city is of course the floating villages which have been around for many years (after being burned in fires), they have been rebuilt and remind me something of Inle Lake in Myanmar.  While we did not see many people there as it was a holiday, we took a chance just to marvel at what they looked like and how many were built together being connected…

 

Night shots of the mosques are great here as the city is rather quiet after 8 PM and you can get some lovely shots as the main places are very lit up….

River Safari

I believe that in the next ten years, Brunei will be a major tourist attraction for their wildlife as the country is covered in 70% forests with some of that mangrove forests along the salt water river.  I had the opportunity to take a river safari boat for a few hours to get a glimpse of this and I was not disappointed one bit…..

We saw many animals including a salt water crocodile up close, as well as a monitor lizard, some nice birds, and a squirrel….

Of course the mangrove scenery is always beautiful with the trees built right up against he water….

There will always be monkeys hanging around here….the Long Tail Macaques that we have seen before are known as the “Gangsters” of the Monkey World, these were quite shy and were not looking to bother us, as they were just going on about their own way, probably waiting to invade nearby houses for food….

Of course the main attraction on this river safari if you are lucky enough to see them (which we were) is the Proboscis Monkey or as people call them “Big Nose Monkey.”  We saw a few different troops of them and they were playing up in the trees and eating the young leaves of the tree as this is their main source of food.  What was different about this troop that we photographed was that it was mostly females with a few babies.  The previous Proboscis we saw were only troops of males, looking for females…..If you look closely you can see the babies, however the monkeys were very high up and in a bad position to photograph….

We got to see one of the rowing teams hard at work on the way back for the Regatta coming up in a week….

Finally, it would not be right leaving Brunei without some monkeys right across the street at our hotel messing around with each other, and giving the locals coming to and from the market a hard time.  Some of the faces they were making were priceless as you could definitely make memes out of them….