The Unseen Chengdu

This is the last post about my trip to Chengdu which contains some random photos. 

You can say that it is my lazy short cuts to wrap up my China's trip before I fly off.

 1. "Wide & Narrow Lane" (Kuan Zhai Xiangzi) ~ 

This is another preserved ancient hub which is a very posh & upscale 

neighbourhood like Bangsar with rows of traditional shops & trendy cafes. 

You will walk on the original granite slab paths which the warriors of 

The 3 Kingdoms have traveled on horse carriages. 

Their wall murals are so interesting!

2. Mount Emei Bus Station - It was a 4 hour long wait for our bus and the freezing temperature was 1 Celcius. I took out my Maggi's Cup Noodles to pamper myself. 

The curry flavour was Oomph! Enak Rasa nya!

3. This couple had a big terrible fight and shouted their lungs out swearing all ancestors! 

Suddenly his mobile phone rang and all forgotten.

4. The Starbucks in downtown Chengdu is fully decorated with Chinese Antiques!

5. All the subway stations in China's big cities conduct very strict security checks on all commuters. The handbags, luggage and hand carry items like drinking bottles are scanned through X-Rays with body checks on every slightest "beeped" commuters!

 

6. The novice monks played badminton behind the temple's courtyards. 

They were so strong to brave the cold weather in light clothing. 

7. I will be away for a week and hope to blog some photos from there.

Have a Happy Weekend!

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"Yummy" Jiupin Street @ Chengdu

This will be my 2nd last post about Chengdu - China and it covers the yummy snack food sold along the famous Jiupin Street. Its existence dated far back to the Qin Dynasty during the reign of The 3 Kingdoms. Some granite paths and concrete walls are still there.

 

1. This short food street is located outside the areas of the Emperor Liu Bei's Mausoleum. It measures at a winding 200 metres long and attracts thousands of local Chinese folks who would throng the narrow lane daily.

 

2. This is the prominent landmark arch that connects to the next trendy hub of Jin Li Street. I will not be posting it because it looks similar to other ancient streets in China. You can google "Jin Li Street" images.

 

3. The food sold here were all Sichuan's hot and spicy snacks besides the roasted exotic meats of animals. 

 

4. They have sweet tooth! They eat lots of sugar coated snacks after having the fiery spicy hot pots that could spit flames from your mouth.

 

5. The skewed fruits sticks were dipped in caramels. 

All the fresh fruits are unbelievably very cheap there.

 

6. The Sichuan folks love to eat Rabbit Heads everywhere.

The poor Bugs Bunny's heads would be chopped into halves and deep fried! Argh!

 

7. They also eat roasted young & wild birds.

 

8. The Fried Peanut Crackers. Very sedap & bagus!

 

9. I had to stand in the cold to eat my snack food as those loud families would not share tables.

 

10. What was that? I have forgotten.

 11. Pretty grandmas clad in Sichuan's native costumes, waited for hungry customers.

 12. These are delicious bowls of Spicy Rice Cakes, Rice Noodles and Bean Curd Dessert.

 13. They sold skewers of pickled vegetables and animal organs!

14. Fried Mashed Potato Dumplings.Very Sedap & Bagus!

15. Neat bowls of Rice Noodles with slices of mutton and egg. 

They eat a lot of rabbits, beef and mutton!

 16. These dishes are Fiery Spicy Hot vegetables that could numb your throat and tongue. 

Their peppers are flaming hot enough to spit out flames. Jangan Main-Main!

  17. Another hot and spicy Bean Curd Cubes on skewers for the brave ones.

18. I ate this soft white beancurd dessert and it was very GOOD.

19. This is the Sichuan's Rice Cake Rolls which is Chee Cheong Fun to us.

 20. It was always crowded in all public places of China. Everyone wears dark and grey attires in Winter. How did I look out for my honey in the crowds?

21. Easy! She was the only one who wore the UniQlo's Summer Apple Green Pants.

My next last post would be "Unseen Chengdu" random of photos.

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Cosplay 2013 @ KLCC

The older I get, the more my wife would drag me to indulge the lifestyles of the young and trendy ones. I joined the gang to watch the Cosplay and Anime fans who flocked by the thousands to KLCC in December 2013.

1. This was an eye opener to see hundreds of supporters cheering for their friends who competed the online games live on stage. It was so exciting and thrilling to hear thunderous screams & cheers!

2. What do you call these Action Heroes? They looked so macho and ready to save the earth!

3. This half naked guy held a huge weapon and pretended it was SO HEAVY by bulging his abs!

4. He looked nice like a cross Penguin Robot. Anyone knows this character's name?

5. They had so many booths doing rousing business that catered to every fans' needs and whims. These characters looked so Gay where the 2 males were always intimate and in under wears etc. In reality, I saw some guys that really imitated them inside the convention hall.

6. This group was very popular and cameras were clicking away non stop under the blazing sun & heat. What are their names?

7. This lady was hot and popular like a mannequin. I only realised that she was alive when she pushed her hair back.

8. Yes this is the Culture of Japan. 

I saw many youngsters walking all over in Osaka wearing their favourite costumes! 

It was such a common sight there. 

Someday your kids here might be wearing these costumes during wedding dinners 

and Chinese New Year!

9. The guy and gal looked so cute selling stuffs! I love the hair! 

I have been thinking what I should dress up for the coming Cosplay 2014.

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Everyone Is Flying

I had to buy my special priced bullet train tickets for my trip next weekend. 

I went to the recent MATTA Fair at the Putra World Trade Centre and it was so packed 

with thousands of holiday makers. My first visit to this fair was like 10 years ago 

and it was at smaller scale then. This 2014's fair was expanded many folds 

and made me speechless!

We both brought an aunt & her rich husband who tagged along to look see while 

we purchased our train tickets. Tourists visiting Japan could only purchase 

discounted fares outside of Japan and that's a bit strange to me. 

We could always use our passports to prove our foreigner status to purchase them 

inside Japan but they don't allow.

We had to wait for so long to get our tickets as we were the first customer 

looking for train tickets to tour the regions of Kyushu Island while everyone else 

aimed at the popular Osaka & Tokyo areas.

The whole travel fair was like a colourful carnival with so many freebies and mascots walking everywhere! 

 

The crab on display was so huge and attractive but No Thanks! 

The recent Fukushima spills really scared me and I better be safe than sorry.

We met up with my aunt & hubby later and they bought tickets for themselves for vacations.

They persuaded us to go along with them for ONE TRIP and we agreed. 

HAVE FUN & GUESS BELOW!

Yongling Mausoleum @ Chengdu - China

I still rate myself as a "Hopeless Blogger" who often overlooked in updating my own posts until some kind bloggers would kick my ass to start moving. I can never blog and post at their mighty speed! At least I am a good supporter and busybody who would pry into almost all blogs daily. Pat my head!

I love to read blogs more than unreliable newspapers. These days I only trust their Obituary Ads in newspapers.

I checked my photos and got a little shock that I could still post another 2-3 topics about my recent visit to Chengdu in China besides the recent visit to see the local Cosplay @ KLCC, Penang Trip and also the crazy MATTA Fair.

Now I will be sharing about this visit to another royal tomb of Emperor Wang Jian (Year 847-918) who ruled during the ancient Shu Dynasty. This royal tomb is the only Emperor's Tomb that was built in China, above the ground and accessible from the road. All the others were buried many storeys below the ground level and topped up with huge clumps of hills above. They often closed the tombs and filled up with poisonous mercury to prevent grave robbers.

The burial grounds of Yongling Mausoleum are neatly and beautifully landscaped within a huge plot of land in the heart of Chengdu's city. They would always line stone carvings along the paths leading to the royal tomb.

 I saw huge horses and heavenly lions that stood majestically and guarded the Emperor's tomb.

 Even several famous scholars were included and lined the paths too.

Honestly, I always felt a bit scared and chilly to visit the royal tombs in China. Those places were often so dead quiet that you could hear mosquitoes sucking & slurping your blood! I had goose bumps all the time and my bladder would suddenly become full.

No photography was allowed but someone posted this in their website, so it's not mine! You could see that inside the mausoleum has 3 tiers before reaching the raised lighted platform where the Emperor's coffin was supposed to be. The heinous grave robbers had robbed this place several times over the years. I was feeling scared inside, looking around the granite stone carvings and carefully walked along the narrow spaces. Suddenly I reached the back of the coffin's area and saw an empty throne chair on the platform. My hair stood upright and my legs were trembling like punctured rubber tubes! What was that chair for? I had wild thoughts and quickly ran out in cold sweats! Muahahahaha I was so sissy!

 

I quickly exited from the royal tomb to get fresh air and saw many elderly folks practising Tai Chi, Wushu and modern dances in the bitter cold winter! They looked stronger than me to withstand the cold.

 

I saw some panel photos on their fences that showed some of the Emperor Wang Jian's personal precious jewels being exhibited at the Sichuan Museum!

Voila! 

We jumped into a passing cab and headed to the Chengdu's Sichuan Museum which has similar layout with the museum in Shanghai. 

I was glad that I found the Emperor's Jade Belt on display!

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