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Jiuzhaigou: The Struggle Was Real (But it Was Worth It) | From Nasi ...

Posted: 09 Aug 2014 03:29 AM PDT

My trip to Jiuzhaigou started in the afternoon of August 4th, with a flight from Chengdu. Now, this leg of my 40-day journey around China has so far been the most testing struggle. Not a day goes by without questioning why on earth did I voluntarily get myself in this situation.

Let's back up a little. Getting into Jiuzhaigou was actually quite alright. We got out of the tiny airport and figured out how to get on the minibus instead of paying a whopping 300RMB for a taxi ride. It was all fine and dandy until the minibus dropped us off in some hotel's parking lot and not a single taxi around wanted to drive us down. We finally got on some random dude's car and paid 40RMB for what was supposed to only be about half an hour drive down.

But, clearly that didn't happen because there was a massive traffic jam. And I mean, 堵车堵得很厉害. It was as bad as Puncak on a weekend where they had to divert into a one-way traffic (my fellow Jakartans would totally understand this). Anyways, we ended up getting off halfway through and walked our way to our hotel. The driver was nice enough to walk us to it, though.

As soon as we got there did we realise how Jiuzhaigou is just crowded with people . So basically, that sums up the bulk of our trip.

Queueing to buy tickets? Crowd. Queueing to enter the park? Crowd. Waiting for the bus? (Pushing, shoving and shouting) Crowd. Trying to take a nice picture? Crowd. Need to use the shitter? Crowd. Getting out of the park? Crowd.

That, ladies and gents, was when I realised how many people China has. I mean, I've seen it in pictures and stuff, but being in the middle of it all was one hell of an experience. Every time I got stuck in long queue and crowd with obnoxious people, I swear I started conjuring diabolical plans to release a biological weapon and annihilate people or something.

As soon as I entered the park however, I was greeted by these views and suddenly everything was OK again.

Panda Lake Waterfalls

五花海－Colourful Lake

诺日朗 – Nuorilang Waterfall

镜海－ Mirror Lake

Jiuzhaigou really is something else. Stretching over 72,000 hectares, it's no wonder why people flock to this park. The clear, blue, colourful water of its lakes is really captivating. It's a very well-managed park as well, it has plank walkways for visitors to enjoy the picturesque beauty and preserve it in photographs. It's a very pleasant walk too, even under the heat of the sun. The walkways are surrounded by trees, so it stays pretty nice and cool as you walk around the park.

So, yes, it was indeed a struggle to get into Jiuzhaigou and enjoy its beauty. But, once it's right in front of me, I forgot all about the noisy crowd, and all I wanted to do was just sit there, take in all the beauty Mother Nature has blessed this earth with, and silently wish I could jump into that crystal blue water.

PS: My struggle didn't just end with the Jiuzhaigou crowd, by the way. Apparently, it followed me even as I tried to leave Jiuzhaigou! 真倒霉啊！

Jiuzhaigou Facts & Tips:

There are two ways to get into Jiuzhaigou, by bus or by plane. Buses from Chengdu roughly costs 145RMB and leaves from Chadianzi （茶店字） or Xinnanmen （新南门） station (I heard the busses from Xinnanmen are express buses, therefore more expensive, however). If getting in by plane, the Jiuzhai Huanglong （九寨黄龙） Airport is about 2 hours away from Jiuzhaigou, a shuttle bus costs 45RMB, but you'll have to taxi it to your hotel.
Tickets are ridiculously expensive. Regular price is 220RMB, student price is 110RMB (intl student cards are applicable here). Due to its vastness, buses are required to get around at 90RMB per person. I heard you can just forgo the bus tickets, but it doesn't seem to be possible in peak seasons. At least that's what they told me when I bought my tickets.
Bring enough food and water, everything is ridiculously overpriced in the park. Cup noodles are 15RMB and a bottle of water is 5RMB.

Tibet in Words and Photographs | From Nasi Padang to Dumplings

Posted: 03 Aug 2014 03:51 AM PDT

I travelled to Tibet with my family for 6 days. Sure enough, Lhasa is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever travelled to in my life. Here are my Tibetan experience expressed in words and photographs.

Bakhor Square, Lhasa

The heart of Tibet's capital. At its end is Jokhang Temple, considered the holiest temple in Lhasa. As I walked to the temple in the morning, many locals were already gathered to pray at the gate of Jokhang and many more were lining up to pray and give offerings to the temple. Surrounding the square are numerous shops selling touristy stuff. Despite the mafan-ness of having to go through a security checkpoint, the square is where you'll enjoy Lhasa and all its colour.

Bakhor Square is one of those places where you first realise how tightly the Chinese government is attempting to secure Tibet. Security checkpoints is located at every entrance of Bakhor Square, and I swear I've never seen so many police stations in one area in my life. It doesn't disrupt your sightseeing or whatever, but it certainly does give you a feeling of Big Brother watching your every move.

Potala Palace

This grand majesty is the landmark of Lhasa. Constructed by King Songtsan Gampo in 7^th century and was added into what it is now in the 17^th century by the 5^th Dalai Lama. The palace was Dalai Lama's residence until the 14th Dalai Lama.

It contains 1,000 rooms, over 10,000 shrines and hundreds and thousands of statues. Its walls are about 3m thick, keeping it cool in the heat of the summer and warm during winter. The view from the top of the palace is beyond magnificent.

Drepung Monastery

The largest of all TIbetan monasteries. If I'm not mistaken, it currently holds 6,000 monks in residence. Although I'm don't understand a single thing about Tibetan Buddhism, the monastery is a pretty amazing place to visit. Like most places I've visited in Tibet, I marvel at the view as I climb up to get to the main building.

Monks Debating at Sera Monastery

This has got to be the most interesting sight I've seen in my trip to Lhasa. In Sera Monastery, visitors can witness monks participating in a lively debate. These monks spend the day reading scriptures, then in the afternoon, they gathered in the courtyard to debate what the scriptures. It is such an astounding sight for me, mainly because I grew up in a society where faith is hardly ever debated, and what is written on holy books are not to be criticised or doubted. However, these monks spend 1.5 hours everyday questioning their holy scripture.

I didn't have a clue what these young monks were debating about, as they spoke only in Tibetan. Regardless, it appeared that they partook in a very lively debate. I can see in their expression how serious they were, yet still had the time to have a laugh about it in between.

A Glimpse of Tibetan Countryside

On our last two days in Tibet, we were supposed to visit Tsedang, however, due to every one in my family except for myself suffering from some sort of illnesses, we had to cut that from our trip. Instead, my tour guide, Nobu took us to a Tibetan country side, just 2 hours away.

Despite my disappointment of missing out on Tsedang, it was still a great experience. It was so peaceful in that village, and we visited a monastery that is never mentioned in Lonely Planet of Fodors. Almost no one was on site, so I just took in the majestic sights and listened to the birds chirping away. It definitely was a nice change from the sound of beeping cars and chaotic traffic.

Blog Nasi Padang

Saturday, 16 August 2014