Our visit to Beijing

I made my first visit to Beijing 2 weeks ago, and it was amazing.

Beijing is a place that i need to go once, and never go back for a very long time. I went with my girlfriend for a week. We did all the main sight-seeing and that was truly amazing. We packed for w inter as we heard that autumn can be very cold, so it was better to be safe than sorry. We had planned this trip for quite a while, as I had one last trip on my visa, the choice was easy. Beijing and The Great Wall.

As the time came closer, I had began to get excited as not only would I actually get to take lots of photos to keep and cherish, but more importantly to touch and feel one of the great wonders of the world.

The plane journey from Hong Kong to Beijing took 3 to 3 and a half hours, which was very quick, which made it even better as it gave us more time to explore. As soon as we arrived, the first thing you usually notice off the plane is the weather. the weather in Beijing at this time was very dry, it reminds me of the uk. Dry and fresh, which is perfect compared to the humidity of Hong Kong.

We were lucky to book a hotel near the the centre of Beijing and also right next to one of the MTR stations. Since the Olympics, Beijing's MTR system is cleverly planned out for the tourist, it would be very hard to imagine how it was before when there was no underground stop to the tourist attractions. This I am very relieved for, as my mandarin is pretty much non-existant (!)

Even though there are stops for pretty much the main attractions, Beijing is still very big, and walking across the road can take a bit of time.

I have to say, looking back at the whole trip, out of all places we visited, The Great Wall is by far the best the most memorable and exciting. Even now, Can't really believe that I still walked some of it. I slowly learnt through this trip that its better not to have any high expectations of Beijing, as Beijing is still the same large city but with a polished exterior. In good and bad ways.

Overall, like I mentioned before, if you have never been to Beijing, then you have to go to see the sights, its a must, but once you've been, staying longer than a week, getting used to the people, food and customs may take much longer, and even then it may be not to your taste.

Achieving something important....

When I was young, like all young people, watching tv was my life. It was everything and everything after that. I loved watching sports as well, and while at school, apart from football, swimming was something that was heavily emphasised. All through school, all the swimming lessons i took inside and outside school didn't really do it for me. Whether it was the teaching or the location or the people, i was never able to get a focus properly. So even at this age (you are never too young or old to start learning, l always say!)  I never thought about learning to swim now or in the future. It happened as my girlfriend was going swimming at her workplace during the summer and me not having much to do after work decided to join her for some dip and batheing.  What a simple dip in the pool turned out to be a mission to learn to swim, once and for all. By observing others and the technique used and some research, i began to understand more and found that its really more about having the confidence to try and of course beating that fear of water.

Once you put your mind into overcoming the fear of water, you are already half way there. Our regular routine would be to go about twice a week. And everytime i would try abit more and learn and understand more. Now after 2 months, I am very happy to say that i can swim without my trusty float. For me that is a gigantic milestone. I allowed myself to just enjoy it as well. There was no pressure to learn it quickly either. I wouldn't have been able to do it so easily without my girlfriend. She has the patience to teach and explain things to me. For this i am very truly grateful.  I find myself very fortunate to have someone who can do so much for me.  So to finally achieve swimming, is amazing, but whats more important is finding that someone who you can share it with. Thanks my pretty :-)

9/11 Anniversary

Its been 10 years since 9/11, and the memory of that day is still fresh for me as I am certain also for the whole of America and even the world. With 10 years gone, its amazing how the threat of terrorism and unrest seems to be getting worse. Countries are going through a economic crisis, and so many people are unsatisfied with the way their governments run the country.  The future looks bleak.  I think if there is a lesson to be learnt is that we must not be the first to cast stones upon those who do not share our beliefs and ideals or who are different to us. We must learn from events and not follow them. To do so, we are no better then the people who did these acts of hatred cowardice. It is so much easier to hate then to welcome and embrace those who are different, but we can embrace this change and welcome it. There is a future and it is up to us to determine what sort of future we want.

In the midst of the 9/11 disater, there is also a lot of good, as well when we delve down inside ourselves, we can put aside our differences and help others who may need our help. We are willing for that second to decide to risk ourselves for their safety.  So there is always light where there is darkness.

Photos around hk

Photography is one of my hobbies, that I like to do whenever I have time. Have been getting b&w lately. Abit strong on the contrast but it makes it more superior.I feel.

My football habit- 3 games.

The start of the new premiership is upon us. We are already into our 3rd week and my beloved Liverpool are doing ok. Well, with must playing 3 games, you can't really much into it, can you? Hmmm...after just 3,games of the premiership, my instincts tell, that me that united are going to be hard to beat (again), chelsea and arsenal aren't looking too good, man city are the ones who could be the only one to win the league apart from united and I think we will have a cracking season, that we will finish at least in the top six.

The good things about Liverpool after 3 games, suarez is looking good, Adams and downing are looking good. our overall play is looking more passionate and positive.

The not so good things after 3 games, Andy Carroll is not so good, Henderson is not so good, therefore they look way overpaid. Partnership and understanding needs to be worked on more and our defence is looking abit old.

Things are not bad but can improve. I'm optimistic.

A moving story.

Watch "天梯 C AllStar 原裝MV (1080P HD)" on YouTube

Recently I have watching and learning about the story behind this great song. I found that not only is this a very good song but the meaning and story make it extra special.

Roughly the story is about a young man falls in love with a woman who was recently widowed with 4 children. Being in a time of set traditions, the main problem was that she was much older than him. It is something that we rarely think about nowadays, but remember at this time, this proved to be a major problem with Chinese traditions.  They decided to move away from the gossip and rumours that followed them to a more remote place. For his dedication and love for this woman, he made and carved out roughly 6000 steps and where they lived because there was hardly anything around. This was their new life together. I gathered that the steps took them to the town, and it was to make it easier for her to travel. These steps took him around 50years to make with just his bare hands. It's quite a moving story to show ones love for one another. She still lives in the same house they built together. Sadly the man died a couple of years ago but no doubt without regret and much happier.

My small photos

Photography has been something that I find great delight in. I always like look at different types of photos whenever I have time. What's even better is sharing my photos with my friends.no matter whether its from my phone or from my dslr or even film.