Cindy Can Travel: travel blog

To South Africa for Philippine Passport

08:43:00

Mount Danxia in Guangdong, China

07:12:00

During the last week of October, I with my dear colleagues had the chance to spend a weekend in Danxia. Mount Danxia is located an hour away from Shaoguan City in Guangdong, which is reachable through train from Shenzhen. Mt. Danxia consists a series of reddish interestingly shape mountains. Here is our our recommended itinerary if you would like to have a weekend getaway from Hong Kong.

Friday: Leave work place in Hong Kong and take the train to Lok Ma Chau Shenzhen station (70 mins. from Central). Take a five mins. walk to Water Cube Massage & Spa Centre. (We enjoyed 2 massage services and we will stay overnight here. There is a free flow of fruits from the fruit bar, sauna room, gym room and complimentary wifi).

Saturday: Wake up early and take metro to Shenzhen north station after breakfast. We will then take the high speed train to Shaoguan.

Shenzhen/ Shaoguan G 74 0850/1031 (1H 41M)

Upon arrival, you will be picked up by your guide and transfer you to Nanhua Temple, one of the five great school of Buddhism where Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch of the Chan School of Buddhism, once lived and taught. After lunch, proceed to hotel to settle down the luggage (1h drive), then walk 10 min to the main entrance of Danxia Mountain Geo National Park and explore this beautiful site! Located in the northeast of Shaoguan city in Guangdong Province, Danxia Mountain is called "Red Stone Park of China". Because of the brilliant red color, the red stone group covering a total area of 282 square miles is called "Danxia Mountain", meaning "red rays of the sun" in Chinese word. Formed of the red sandy rock, Danxia Mountain area is characterized by the red steep cliffs with precipitous landform of even peak, sheer body and flat valleys. In geography, it is also the name place of "Danxia Landform".

This afternoon, we first visit the Yangyuan Mountain Scenic Area (陽元山景區), where you can see the iconic Yangyuan Stone (陽元石), named as it looks like a male genital. It is 28 meters high and 7 meters in diameter, and is famed as the "First Marvelous Stone in the World". Then take a 30-min boat ride along JingJiang River and enjoy the pretty idyllic sceneries and many other beauties for example the Elephants Crossing River (群象过江), the Golden Turtle in Worship (金龟朝圣), the Monster Seized in Six Fingers (六指擒魔), the Sister Peak (姐妹峰), the Tea-Pot Peak (茶壺峰) and the Goddess of Mercy Sending a Baby (觀音送子). Return to hotel after a long day and have dinner in the small Danxia town. Hotel offers hotspring where you can enjoy if you wish (self-paid).

Sunday: After breakfast in hotel, we proceed to Danxia Mountain again to visit the Zhanglao Peak Scenic Area (長老峰景區). Enjoy a cable car ride to the peak level, where where is a good place to fully enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Danxia Mountain. Climb the Red Ladder and Iron Chain down to the middle level - Biechuan Temple view level, contains the Mandarin Duck Tree and the Biechuan Temple famous as one of the top ten Buddhist Temples in Guangdong and Guangxi areas. Then finally end at the carven temple in Jinshiyan Cliff.

Leave hotel after lunch , we drive back to Shaoguan city (1 hr) and visit the Feng Cai Temple (风采楼), which is built since the Ming Dynasty. You can spend your free time in the Walking Street and hunt for some souvenirs. Finally drive back to Shaoguan Train station and take the high-speed train back to Shenzhen North.

Shaoguan / Shenzhen G1013 1810/ 1938 (1H 28M)

Arrive Shenzhen in late evening and take metro back to Futian station, cross border to Hong Kong and dismiss.

And here are some pictures I have taken during the trip - although I enjoyed taking photos, I don't really owned a nice camera.

We stayed in Danxia Mountain Hot Spring Resort which is a 10 min. walk to Danxia Mountain park entrance. It is already the best in the area yet it's only decent enough - you even have to bring your own toiletries as the room does not include it. (So much for it being a hotspring resort!)

There is not much choice in this area hotel and restaurant wise, I was also surprised that I didn't see any tourist of other nationalities here aside from the local Chinese. You will also need to hire a guide as everyone speak in Chinese (okay, maybe a few English translations but it's not really essential).

All in all, it's still offers a different kind of experience - a different China. The mountains are spectacular, the sunset is lovely and the walk is challenging as well. The air is indeed fresher compared to any other Chinese cities and the weather at that time is very cooperative, October is a nice season for hiking in China. Our guide said that it sometimes snow in this area, wouldn't that be nice?

Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh Trip

09:48:00

My main agenda in Cambodia was to visit the temples of Siem Reap and have a bit of relaxation as well, but while we were there, I found out that Cambodia has a lot more to offer. I never thought Cambodia has a rich history and painful past regarding Khmer Rouge and Polpot. Men, I really need to review my history!

Since Cambodia is just beside Vietnam, we've also decided to visit Ho Chi Minh, also known as Saigon City. It is famous for its French buildings and the bloody World War II relics. Vietnam, like a lot of other countries in Asia is a developing country but in the city, I can really feel the fast paced life. What's quite amusing is their sweet coffee which my taste buds always wish to have every morning. Another must do is crossing the street with all the motorcycles going your way! That's quite a quick adventure in the city!

Anyway, let me first start with the logistics in going to Siem Reap from Hong Kong. There are two options which I recommend:

Hong Kong - Ho Chi Minh - Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific & Ho Chi Minh - Siem Reap - Ho Chi Minh via Vietnam Airlines
Hong Kong - Bangkok - Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific or Thai Airways & Bangkok - Siem Reap - Bangkok via Bangkok Airways

We took the first option arriving in the afternoon, around 2 pm. Schedule must have changed now so you can just check whichever will be suitable for your schedule. There's also another option of taking Dragon Airlines to Phnom Penh, but that is only recommended if you will visit the capital which is popular for its historical museums.

We were trying to hit two stones in one go and so here's our skeletal itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in the afternoon, check in at Le Meridien Hotel and rest for a while. In the afternoon, proceed to Quad biking.

Day 2: Temple full day tour and spa in the evening.

Day 3: After breakfast, proceed to the airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh. Upon arrival at the airport, driver pick us up and transfer us to Little Saigon Boutique Hotel. Rest for a while and in the evening, proceed to dinner cruise.

Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City tour.

Day 5: After breakfast. transfer back to the airport for flight back to Hong Kong.

This is just an introductory post. In the following post, I will go further in detail about our trip which we did last year August, 2012 to celebrate our 4th Wedding Anniversary.

To be continued...

Our Journey from Christchurch to Greymouth

22:24:00

On the third day of our New Zealand trip, we went to the train station that travels to Greymouth. We didn't take it though because we've got a car with us. After eating breakfast at mcdonalds, we star our drive to Greymouth. This was one of the very memorable days because not only the drive was very scenic, I've also tasted the best pie in this world. They can be found at the Sheffield Pie Shop. Andy mentioned that this town take their pie very seriously. Even if my pie was cold, because we ate it 2 hrs. after we purchased it, it still taste so delicious!

We also saw the famous Castle Hill that was one of the location of the Lord of the Rings film. We were supposed to do some hiking here but because we were running out of time, we have decided not to. Instead, we stayed for several minutes for taking photographs.

The weather was very friendly to us. It was all sunny and a little bit of chill. Everything went well that day.

My realization with New Zealand is that, I can see myself living in the South Island all of my life. But you know what I thought? I have always live in the city so maybe it might take a lot of effort and adjustments before I get used to that kind of quiet life. What I saw with New Zealanders is that they are really friendly. They greet everyone and you can really see that they enjoy life. It was very different from where I live now. (I live in Hong Kong where everyone's so competitive and everyone's in a rush).

Anyway on the way to Greymouth, we also passed by Grassmere Lodge, one of our favorite luxury lodge. There are a lot of activities that can be done during summer season, including horseback riding but during winter season, a lot of activities will not be available because it's too cold.

Hi Deer!

The Dining Area

The pool

One of the biggest rooms and is suitable for children

The scenery of one of the family lodge

We also stopped by "Wilderness Lodge" and met the owner's son. We also met Maggie, the first sheep dog I ever saw and she was great with her job, gathering all those sheep!

Wilderness Lodge is definitely in the wilderness. Usually the package rate includes all the activities being held in this lodge and that includes the farm tour, several hiking routes or just simply gaze at nature from your room.

One of the rooms at Wilderness Lodge

Imagine gazing at nature from your bath tub

Hiking routes at Wilderness Lodge

That day wasn't finished yet as we have continued our journey to Hokitika before we went back to Greymouth and stayed in a motel there.

It was such a long day, but my favorite part will probably be seeing those funny and cute (and a bit stinky) sheep in the fields and the unforgettable way Maggie do the ship dogging. It's just too funny! Oh, it really made my day!