Train Ride and The Hanging Monastery (Xuankong Si)

At last I was able to go to Datong. Mel and I have been planning to go there for ages. We went last weekend with Day and Mario (Susy is otherwise occupied...). I got us 27 yuan train tickets from huochepiao.com delivered to my apartment. I can't believe how cheap the fare was - imagine 27 kuai for a 7-hour trip? (140 pesos lang 'yun, kulang pa papuntang Batangas!)

I should have known better. I immediately regretted being cheap when I saw the old train. It was crowded, the seats are narrow, people smoke, and it DIDN'T announce the stations it stopped at - we ended up counting the stops. It's kinda scary because Datong is only a stop in the 1185 train line, not a terminal. (I keep imagining waking up in Batou which is like 6 to 7 hours away from Datong, 13 hours from Beijing).


We arrived at 3:30 in the morning, asked a cab driver to take us to the hotel the elong reserved for us. Along the way, we called the hotel for directions only to be advised that there are no rooms available, and they have given our room away. It's a good thing that our cab driver knows this hotel near Jiu Long Bi (Nine Dragon Screen). We slept for 3 hours, and then we're off to the Hanging Monasteries.

From Wikipedia: The Hanging Monastery stands at the foot of Mt. Hengshan and is one of the most dramatic sights at Hengshan - a wooden temple clinging to the cliff side, appearing to defy gravity with only a few wooden posts as support. The Hanging Monastery, built in 491, has survived more than 1,400 years. The extant monastery was largely rebuilt and maintained in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The buildings were restored in 1900 and there are 40 wooden halls and structures linked by an ingenious system of pillars, posts and walkways.



The Hanging Monastery is an hour and a half ride from Datong City. Tickets cost 60 yuan plus 1 yuan insurance (in case you fall off the cliff, i think). The place is amazing but fell short of my expectations. We took a lot of pictures, though.

Beijing World Park (Around the World in 4 Hours)

I went with three friends to Beijing World Park (Chinese: 北京世界公园, Shijie Gongyuan) last Saturday. We took a cab from Changchunjie Subway Station (exit A2) after we got tired of waiting for the #7 bus which goes directly to the park. Cab ride took 30 minutes and 43 kuai.

at the park entrance

different angle

From Wikipedia: Beijing World park is located in southwestern Fengtai District, and is about 17 kilometers from the City center and 40 kilometers from the Capital International Airport. The park opened in 1993 and is estimated to receive 1.5 million visitors annually. The park displays about 100 tourist attractions in a scaled-down version from nearly 50 countries around the world, including the Tower Bridge in London, the Eiffel tower in Paris, pyramids in Egypt, as well as the Twin Towers in New York, which were destroyed on September 11th, 2001.

smelly elephant

Lyndale and Hazel had a lot of fun posing with the naked stone people at the Italian garden. We saw MichaelAngelo's David, Armless Venus (photo not included) and several other naked statues.

at the Italian Garden

copping a feel

si 300 daw???

Hazel's David

Then we went to Japan where checked out a wooden tower and the Katsura Palace. Liza and Hazel practiced their karate skills at a wooden bridge.

wooden pagoda

not sure what this one is...

practicing their karate skills

Next stop is the Taj Mahal in Agra, India...

Taj Mahal

At the gate of Babylon... I got tired of waiting for Hazel to take the shot.

blue gate (ngalay na...)

Somewhere in South East Asia... nameless temple, Angkor Wat and a palace in Thailand.

great poses!

Angkor Wat

Thai Palace

Day's boyfriend

Then we're of to Australia to see the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

quick stop

A photo shoot in Africa. My new models for a jeans commercial. You'll never think that Liza doesn't know what to do with herself before the shots were taken...

show your left knee

hand in your pockets

show your right arm

petting the rhino so they can ride it

After Africa, we went to Egypt to see the Great Sphinx, the pyramid in Giza, the Abu Simbl place and the temple in Karnak.

Great Sphinx

Giza Pyramid

boobs

Abu Simbl

Karnak Temple

jumpin'

Other Sights...

London Tower Bridge

Aztec (fhm poses)

hamsters in a bubble

Manhattan

Victoria Falls

Stonehenge, England

Eiffel Tower up close

ran out of ideas for poses

Vatican City

Wonder Girls in Rome

Leaning Tower of Liza

Acropolis, Greece

Hazel of Troy

France

church

moonlighting at the Red Square

I also got to satisfy my Godzilla tendencies...

George Washington Monument

some church

We went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant near the gate (in the International Street) afterwards. The food is passable though we had to guess what to order because they don't have an English menu. The menus are only in Chinese and Russian...