Ontario foliage : golden time before cold winter

When you live in Canada, you can easily feel the seasonal changes by observing the colours of the nature - from colourful spring to green summer, golden autumn and white winter.  It has been one of my favourite journeys in seeing the Ontario foliage along its country roads.  This year, my wife and I tried the same journey in the second week of October. 

(Wilket Park, Ontario near the Edward Gardens)

(Brown, golden and yellow on the green background)

This time, we travelled to the Algonguin National Park, the Haliburton and the Muskoka areas.  We drove through the scenic roads of Highways 35, 60, 118 and 169 in three days.  Ontario foliage came slightly late this year as the weather was still warm in October.  It was the peak time around the second week of October for foliage in the Central Ontario areas.  You can look up the colour report from the Park Canada to find out the ideal time and places.

(Clear blue sky and the red Maple)

With clear blue sky and evergreen trees as background, the red Maples, the brown Oaks and the yellow Alpines formed beautiful pictures of the mother nature.  We climbed up the viewing tower in Dorset to have the grand view in the surrounding.  We also revisited the Spectacular Lake for its peace and calm in the golden autumn. 

(Scene from the Dorset viewing tower)

(Motor boats with colourful foliage in the background)



(Fallen leaves formed the carpet in the backyard)

We prefer to drive through the country roads and to enjoy the scenic spots along the roads.  Alternatively, you can join the boat tours in the Georgian Bay or the Muskoka Lake.  You can enjoy the Ontario foliage in leisure. 

(Stream boat in the Muskoka Lake)



Inner Mongolia, China : steppe and desert

The common images of Mongolia are herders overlooking their animals or horsemen riding in the endless steppe.  These are the usual pictures for the tourists.  After more than thirty years, I made another trip to this interesting place.  This time, I came across not only steppe but also desert.

(Herder riding his horse after a herd of goats)

(Mongolian man in traditional dress)

Mongolia covers a large area that is comparable to Europe.  Its southern part is now called Inner Mongolia within China.  Mongolia Republic stands in the north between Russian Siberia and China.  The steppes have accommodated many nomadic peoples for thousands of years.  Mongols, Turks, Tartars and many other tribes have found their living in this massive land-locked territories.

Archery, horse racing and wrestling are associated with the nomadic civilization in Mongolia.  Each year in mid July, the Mongolian people will held their annual competition, called Naadan. 

(Mongolian wrestlers)

(Horse riding performance)

(Three men on two horses)

The weather in Mongolia is quite extreme.  The temperate in Summer can reach 40 degree Celsius while Winter can be minus 40 degree Celsius.  You need to be strong in order to survive here.  The top soil of the steppe is quite thin.  It is not suitable for large scale farming.  However, we can still find many lovely wild flowers in the steppe.

(Wild flower in the steppe - can you find the caterpillar?)

The Mongolian plane is covered by steppes, deserts and mountains.  In the pre-historical time, Mongolia was a home land for dinosaurs. 

(Dinosaur unearthed in Mongolia)

(The approaching desert sand dunes)

(Camel ride for tourists in the desert)

Behind the tourists scene, Mongolia is undergoing many economic and social changes.  For those who are interested to know more, can read Bruun, Ole. Precious steppe: Mongolian nomadic pastoralists in pursuit of the market. Lanham, UK: Lexington Books, 2006.

Bavaria, Germany : tour of Ludwig II's palaces

Bavaria is the largest state in Germany.  It is in the Southern part of Germany with Austria, Switzerland and Czech Republic as its neighours.  The beautiful Alps region lies between them. 

This spring, we went to Munich, Bavaria's state capital.  Munich is one of the beautiful cities that we have visited.  It is also the headquarters of many world famous Germany companies, such as BMW, Siemens and Adidas.  Besides Munich, Bavaria also has many beautiful towns as well as countryside resorts in the Alpine region. 

During this trip, we also made a tour of the beautiful palaces of King Ludwig II.  Ludwig became the King of Bavaria in 1864.  He saw the expansion of the German Empire under the powerful Prussian King, William I, and his Ministry President, Bismarck.  Bavaria became part of the Germany Federation.  Ludwig retreated himself to the splendour and solitude of his palaces.  Ludwig spent a lot of money in building his dream palaces and castles.  He ended up in a tragic and mysterious death.  His partial completed palaces now become the most popular tourist attractions in Bavaria and Germany.

Ludwig II spent his happy childhood in his father's Hobenschwangen Castle.  It was reconstructed from the medieval Castle Schwanstein.  Here, Ludwig built up his dream of Swan Knight. 

(Hobenschwangan Castle)

(Picturesque surrounding of Hobenschwangan Castle)

Later, Ludwig built his new castle opposite to the Hobenschwangan Castle.  The new castle is bigger and more magnificent than the former one.  It is now opened to the public as Neuschwanstein with millions of visitors each year.

(Neuschwanstein - the New Swan Castle)

(Entrance to Newschwanstein)

Ludwig completed the Royal Villa at Linderhof during his life.  He spent more time here than in his other palaces.  Linderhof is a good example of Rococo style.  Its house is full of grand facades and decorations.  Its beautiful garden and landscaping mix well with the natural environment.

(Linderhof from hilltop)

(Water fountain in the garden)

Ludwig was a distant relative of the King Louis XIV of France, who built the famous Versailles.  Ludwig was his great admirer and he wanted to build a similiar French royal palace in the Herrenworth island on Lake Chiemsee.  The project was not completed before Ludwig's death.  The royal palace at Herrenchiemsee was later completed and opened to the public in 1926.

(The royal palace at Herrenchiemsee)

 

(One of the many beautiful fountains in front of the palace)

Rothenburg, Germany : a romantic medieval town

There are many old towns in Europe.  I like to travel through these small towns better than big cities.  They can remind us their history and heritage.  Recently, we have chance to visit Rothenburg in the South of Germany.

Rothenburg is a well-preserved medieval town in Germany.  The town is next to the River Tauber.  Its town gates and walls are maintained in good shape.  Many of the houses inside the walled town are over hundred years old.  You will not see any modern building within the town.  By walking down the town streets, you can feel like going back to the sixteenth and seventeenth century.

(Entering Rothenburg through one of its town gate)

   

(Historical town wall for defense purpose)

(Looking outside the town wall - a bridge over the River Tauber and few old houses)

The key landmark of the town is its town hall.  Major social events are held in the town square in front of the town hall.  An interesting clock house is next to it. 

(Town hall of Rothenburg)

(Interesting clock house built in 1768)

The tallest building within the town should be the St. Jacob's church.  The church is a reconstructed building after its destruction in the second world war.   Many of the old houses were owned by rich families or noble class.  Their original structures were strengthened and redecorated.  Many of them have now been used as gift shops, restaurants or hotels.

(St. Jacob's Church)

(A family house built in 1692)

(A gift shop full of toys and Christmas decorations)

(A hotel converted from a historical house)

Bali, Indonesia : a paradise in Asia

Bali is a beautiful place and a great destination for travellers.  It is a tropical island lying between Java and Lombok in Indonesia.  It has many natural beauties, great tourist hotels and friendly local folks.  Luckily, I had several opportunities visiting Bali for both business meetings and vacations.  Recently, my wife and I made another trip to Bali.  This time, we stayed in a small resort villa near Ubud.

Many tourists like to stay in Kuta and Nusa Dua for the lovely beaches and water activities.  We prefer the peaceful and calm country side.  Our hotel is in the middle of paddy fields, coconut and palm trees.  We can watch birds weaving their nets in the tree tops.

(Resort villas and paddy fields)

(Water pond inside the hotel)

(Bird nets in the palm tree top)

Balinese people are friendly and happy folks.  Their skillful hands created many beautiful arts and crafts.  Farming, tourism and handcraft light industry support the local economy.  If you travel through the country side, you can see many paddy fields along the valleys and hill slopes.  You will also see many beautiful stone sculptures and temples.

(Paddy fields along the hill slope)

(Stone sculpture in a garden)

(Stone sculpture for fountain)

Travelling in Bali, you will not miss seeing the temples.  Probably, Bali has the highest number of temples per capita.  There are family temples for individual households, village temples and many Hindu and Buddhist temples for the communities.  Everyday, Balinese folks make offerings to their ancestors and gods.  They also have many festivals keeping them busy all year round. 

(Balinese women carrying offerings to their village temple)



(Offerings ceremony in Lake Bratan)

Jiuzhaigou, China : Valley of nine villages

We made our first trip to Jiuzhaigou during the last Christmas holidays.  Jiuzhaigou is situated in the north of Sichuan near Tibet.  Motor roads to Jiuzhaigou are still being repaired from damages made in last earthquake three years ago.  We took a flight from Chengdu to the Jiuzhai-Huanglong Airport.  The airport was built at a high latitude of about 3,500 meters.  When we first landed in the airport, we could feel the high mountain effect.

Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong are both famous for their natural beauty and karst topography.  Recent years, millions of tourists are attracted to these places.  Local administration authority has now imposed stricter control on the motor traffic and tourist flow in the park areas.  If you want to avoid the crowd, winter will be a better season to visit Jiuzhaigou.

(One of the water sources of Yangtze River is from the Min River head)

Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong are in the southern part of the Min Mountains.  Water from the glaciers flow down the Min River and into the Yangtze River.  Within half an hour bus ride from the airport, you can reach the Min river head.

Jiuzhaigou has different faces for each of the four seasons.  Autumn is colourful and the busiest season.  The beauty of Jiuzhaigou in winter is ice and peace.

(One of the Tibetan village in Jiuzhaigou)

If you like hiking, you can plan for two-days walk along the Y-shaped valley in Jiuzhaigou.  The karst topography forms beautiful landscapes and scenery.  Well maintained walking paths are built along the valleys.  Proper signage along the road can help you to find the way.  Sometimes, tourist crowds can be disturbing.  We prefer to avoid the crowds in order to enjoy the natural scenery in peace.

(Image of mountain range reflected in the calm water surface)

(Frozen lake in the upper range of Jiuzhaigou)

(Ice and snow covered the waterfall)

(Beautiful ice crystals formed along the river stream)

Calcium carbonate deposited in the surface of fallen trees along the lakes.  With light reflection, it formed colourful coatings.  

(Five colour pond in Jiuzhaigou)

 
Another karst topograhy that we have encountered before is in the Plitvice Lakes, Croatia.  In comparison, the areas covered in Jiuzhaigou is bigger in size.

(Photo taken in Pilvice Lakes, Croatia)

Emei Mountain, China : a great destination for hiking

Emei Mountain is about 3,100 meters in height.  It is situated in the north-west of Sichuan basin.  Going further west, you can reach the Tibet plateau.  Emei is one of the four, and the tallest, scared Buddhist mountains of China.  In the past Christmas, my wife and I had great experience climbing up the Emei mountain.

Emei Mountain is rich in vegetation.  There are water streams and rapids along the walking paths.  If you love hiking, you will enjoy the journey walking up to the mountain top.  There are local hostels along the way for those who like to stay over night in the mountain.  Due to time constraint, we took the eco-bus and cable car to about 2,500 meters level.  Then, we walked up to the mountain top.

When we walked out the cable car station, snow had covered all buildings, trees and walking paths.  We had to move slowly and to avoid the slippy ice along the paths.  However, the scenery was just great.  Here are few photos that we took near the mountain top.

(Evergreen trees covered by snow)

(Snow covered walking path to the mountain top - beautiful and peaceful)

(The silver temple in Emei top)

(The main temple)

(The famous Emei gold peak)

(The snow cap indicated the wind direction)

Emei Mountain is a great place to watch sunrise.  With good weather, cloud can be seen floating below the mountain top.  It is a magnificent picture with the Emei gold peak shining under the early sun rays.  We look forward to coming back to Emei again.

Sichuan is home of the world famous pandas.  During our trip, we did not miss the chance of seeing these lovely creatures.  Here are their photos that we took in Chengdu.