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Let me cut to the chase, and show you the pair of money shots first... then I'll share my super ardous journey, ala bro teo and his walk horse, see flower refugee style travels.. This is Jiuzaigou aka 九寨沟 and autumn is the time to visit. So I got an invitation to go to Mian Yang 绵阳 in Sichuan for some talks and work. I’ve never heard of it so some googling helped me discover it was the epicenter of the 2008 big Sichuan earthquake. But more importantly it was a relatively short distance away from the beautiful Jiuzaigou (JZG)! Now short in massive China is a relative thing but it was doable. However if you are planning a trip, the typical route is to take a plane from SIN to TFU (Chengdu airport) then you take a cab / bus and possibly a train to the Chengdu East Train station, then a high speed train to the newly opended Huanglong station then a cab to your hotel in JZG. But because of my time constraint, I had to do a faster route ala chop chop in out. So basically I will take a red eye flight to Chengdu then a driver will take me to Holiday Inn express in Jiuzaigou then rest for the night. Early next morning I’ll go inside the park with the aid of a guide then spend four hours looking for the five flowers lake after which the same driver will take me to mianyang hospital for my second leg which is the business part. Then a few days later I’ll take a train to Chengdu and a flight to HK for the debrief then home the next day. The trip didn’t get off to an auspicious beginning as my limo ride went awol and I had to hail a ride to hustle to the airport. It was a little disconcerting to see terminal three practically empty and that got me a bit worried. Everyone else had checked in apart from a handful of people at the business class queue. But Changi isn’t the top airport for no reason. Within 10 minutes I had checked in and passed customs, and was walking to my gate. Now my gate was right at the end of T3, being closer to T1 in fact. I tried a lounge in T3 but there was no food, however the kind receptionist suggested I go to the T1 lounges which were very close to my gate. The Premium Plaza lounge had decent chicken rice plus a mushroom soup and plenty of space at this unearthly hour. They served ? Breakfast about an hour and a half the flight and I’m glad I booked the chef. It is a full flight and the stewardess was very busy. So it’s a 480 km drive to JZG through some seriously mountainous terrain and many long tunnels. My original plan was to take a cab from the airport to the train station then a high speed train to Huanglong station followed by a car to my Jiuzaigou hotel. Thankfully my friend stepped in and provided a driver and car. If you think the 15-20 minutes inside the KPE tunnel is long, try stretches of more than an hour deep inside the bellies of huge mountain ranges. These feats of engineering have reduced the journey from more than 10 hours to around six. It also helped that my ride was a nice Audi A6L a stretched version of the already nice car which made the journey a lot less stressful. The 2l turbo is pretty economical too, it has enough fuel to cover my trip from the airport to Jiuzaigou then to mianyang and then back to Chengdu and then some. NVH suppression is also decent. The journey from the airport to my hotel took just about six hours with a couple of pee breaks and one lunch break. Somehow my first meal in China isn’t some fancy Chinese feast but a quite McDonalds meal haha. In the interest of time so that we can proceed with the long drive I grabbed a breakfast bun to munch along the way. The tunnel filled highway is a newly opened one, just completed in September, shortening a ten hour journey by four hours. Our lunch break was a mixture of instant noodles and a Siew Mai which was really nice and I had it daily during my stay in Sichuan. After a fairly long drive I got to my hotel - Holiday Inn Express Jiuzaigou. My friends were in Jiuzaigou a few months before me and they shared their recommendations but an online video suggested this place which was within walking distance to the park entrance. Plus it offered free breakfast and there was also a McDonalds on level one. Rates were $124 off Agoda. Now you might be asking why am I concerned about a fast food chain despite being surrounded by food ? Well I’m no good with chili and Sichuan is the epicenter of hot food. So it was an oasis of food in a land of killer chili. Now about the park There may be some important details to take note of Firstly the park doesn’t accept visitors after two pm. So for those flying in from Singapore into Chengdu , you can’t use Chengdu as a base to travel up daily. Basically you need to stay near the park. Second It’s pretty high up and only you will know if altitude sickness is an issue. Bring some prescription medicine called diamox or get the Chinese medicine called 红景天。symptoms can be a cough or a bad headache and do check yourselves because it can be fatal. I’ve travelled to four thousand meters with no symptoms but even then I took some as a precaution as I had a cold the week before. Tea is a diuretic that helps and I had a Chagee adjacent to my hotel that became my favorite place in Jiuzaigou and Mianyang. My driver walked around with me and I finally found a dumpling chain store with non spicy food. It was excellent and about 50m from my hotel. As temperatures were plummeting fast, a warm meal was most welcome. Speaking of temperatures, the week before it snowed in the park so I came prepared for a snowy reception but sadly it was cold without snow. Temperatures in the time were in the low teens dropping to almost freezing at night. So layering is vital and I had a base layer then a merino thin fleece followed by a 650 fill down and finally my new fleece lined waterproof and wind proof outer shell. For my legs I wore long johns then my thicken soft shell hiking pants and a pair of ski socks then my hiking shoes. I also had a fleece beanie, a bandana for my face and neck plus goretex gloves. When suitably equipped, you’ll find it comfortable even when the temperature drops. Layering also helps you adjust to fluctuating temperatures, removing layers when it heats up, eg when you exert yourself. I only had a four hour morning window to see the main attractions so the use of a good guide is worth the money. The entrance fee was 280 RMB which the guide can buy first with a pic of your passport. Her fees are 600 RMB during peak season and 400 after 16/11 when winter season sets in and the park opens later. I met her at 7 am but by then there are already hundreds of people queuing to get into the park. At least the queue moves pretty quickly and within 15 minutes you can enter and a good guide will take you to the important attractions before the crowd arrives. There are free bus shuttles to bring from one point inside the park to another. Do note that the park is about 2500-3000m depending on exact location. You may experience some altitude sickness so take the appropriate measures. Some spots require a little walking so wear good shoes and also bring a good pack with water and a little snack as food is more expensive inside. You can pack Mac’s or KFC which isn’t far from the entrance. Although I only had four hours my guide managed to show me about five major sights aka the money shots. A good guide is essential if you don't have time, as they will know how to avoid the crowds, and start your day early, because in autumn, it gets bright early, the park opens at 7 plus and it's packed at the entrance, so your guide will rush you to the best spots first. And my guide is a true local, with a place inside the park itself. Are they good? Is the park worth all the effort? Well for yourself, because a picture is indeed worth a thousand words... And she can bring you to places which make the park look deserted Will share more pics soon once I'm defrosted and I get stable internet... gotta use data, because wifi is pretty useless in China.

Sharing some photos I took of West Sichuan. Hope you all like it. This is Bipengguo (毕棚沟). I would be posting more photos as we go along. So, please follow this thread.

Some rich businessman like to 'give back' to the society to show off, not bad to the people there

http://www.google.com.sg/search?site=&...-hp.-xkZJje-Egc 7.0 mag. As of now more then 132 had passed away 5500 injured and still counting

China clinched 51 gold, 22 silver, 28 bronze in Beijing Olympic! What does 512228 stand for? When does the China Sichuan earthquake happen? 5月12日2点28分 So Coincidence

I was clearing my email and comes across this, any comment ?? -----Inline Attachment Follows----- Was Sichuan earthquake caused by this mysterious plasma weapon? Terrible if true.Scary and fascinating. Those of you who have broadband, please do review the video cited below. China Sichuan Earthquake Man-made ? * Video* Added: May 29, 2008 Benjamin Fulford investigates a mysterious plasma weapon seen prior to the Niigata earthquake in July 2007 and Red, White & Blue HAARP lights near the epicenter prior to the recent quake in China. Taiwan satellites measured a 50% drop in ionospheric energy above the Sichuan epicenter on the day before the quake. Both earthquakes targeted nuclear military facilities

Sichuan, China was hit with the worst earthquake at a powerful 8.0 magnitude on May 12th 2008 in the past three decades. This event is initiated by Surin Tan, a young and passionate Singaporean who really hope to do something to help the victim of Sichuan earthquake. Surin ropes in her office, friends, contacts on this meaningful initiative. The path to get approval, an non profitable organization, venue, sponsor prove to be very difficult in Singapore context. There are tons of rules and regulations we need to take note of. Ideas being shattered, criticized, rejected but our determination keep us going. Our principle is, 100% of the ticket proceeds MUST go to Relief. We ensure that all the money that we going to raise will be handled directly by a non-profitable organization. There MUST be absolute transparency. With Averil (Project Superstar) effort, she has gathered a full support from a group of young people who are passionate about singing and doing something meaningful too. They are performing for no fee... not even transportation and food allowance. 17 music enthusiasts have come together on 25th May, despite their busy schedules, for photo shoot, song selection and discussion. We have completed the 1st milestone of the project. More warmhearted individuals are joining us on this meaningful journey. We are working very hard on preparation and getting this going. Its everyone's effort, gather for a common cause. We are not getting any rewards out of this, just a pure intention, sing to raise funds for the Sichuan's earthquake victims. We sincerely hope that you would give us your support by attending the event. This event is happening on Venue: EZ50 - One Neil Road (diagonally opp Maxwell Market) Saturday, June 7, 2008 7:00pm - 10:00pm Ticket Price $20.00 (sales at door) *admission to 16 years old and above Give us your greatest support! Come to our charity concert. Be a part of this meaningful cause. Sing For Love! We sing to raise funds for the people who were affected by this natural disaster and hope for your generous donations to the earthquake relief. Our stellar cast of performers: (coming from Singapore Idol, Project Superstar and Campus Superstar) Averil Chan, Chanel Pang, Dawn Wong, Elaine Ng, Jasmine Tye, Javin They, Jeremy Kwan, Keely Wee, Levin Ng, Lee Ein Ein, Nathaniel Tan, Ngeow Zi Jie, Norman Then, Primero Ang, Ruth Chua, Tay Kewei, Veron Yang, Student from SRMC. Please visit http://singforlove.blogspot.com/ for updated details!

have u donated? I just donated $1K

This pic will haunt you for the rest of your days........... A HEARTBROKEN husband takes his wife