I reached a clearing. I remembered walking through this clearing when I came up earlier. There were some man-made rock formations circling the edges on one side of the clearing.
Walking past the rocks, I reached a large open space where I remembered seeing these plants. They were as tall as me, some even taller. They filled up most of the open spaces.
I stopped and looked around me. Suddenly, I was not sure of my sense of direction anymore. Should I turn right or left?
I followed one of the paths further to the right but it led me to a dead end. It was as if the tall plants had blocked the path midway.
So I walked back and tried going the opposite direction. Another dead end. How could this be?
I walked back to the centre of the open space. Behind me were the rock formations at the clearing I mentioned earlier. I stopped to think for a while. From which direction I climbed up just now?
Somehow my brain wasn't working. I decided to just walk straight ahead. But as I followed the path surrounded by all those tall plants, I felt it was not the right direction. I quickly returned back to the starting position.
The tall plants in front of me were beginning to overwhelm me. I realised I was lost!
Looking around me made me feel dizzy. The view on my right....
and on my left ...
They were making my head spin.
I suddenly felt lonely. Very lonely. I was all alone in the middle of this deserted mountain forest.
Then I heard it.
Someone calling my name.
Was it my imagination? Maybe it's just the wind. Who would know my name in such a place? Besides, it was my Mandarin name that was being called. No one ever calls me by my Mandarin name!
My heart was beating faster by the minute. I was on the verge of panic.
I have heard about spirits in the forests and I sure as hell did not want to encounter any such things in the middle of nowhere in China!
Two hours earlier, I was having a nice time chit chatting with one of the counter staff at This Old Place Youth Hostel where I stayed. Before embarking on my solo trip to Xingping's fishing village, I had to make sure I know exactly how to get there. So I enquired at the lobby and I was glad the staff there spoke reasonably good English.
There was one girl there who actually spoke excellent English and she showed me this map.
To reach the fishing village, I would need to hike up a mountain. As you can see from the map, the fishing village is on the other side of the mountain facing the beautiful Li River.
From my hostel, I would need to walk past the bus station (it's written as bus park on the map) on my left and then turn right into a village road. From there, I need to turn right into a hiking trail going up the mountain.
According to her, if I come across any junction during my hiking, I must always turn right to prevent myself from getting lost.
This should be a piece of cake......or so I thought!
Before I left the hostel, I made sure I knew how to pronounce the word yú cūn which means fishing village in English. I had to make sure the locals there understand where I want to go if I ever need to ask them for directions!
Looking at my handphone (I did not have a watch with me), it was already 2.30pm. I had better hurry. According to the girl, it would take at least one hour to reach the fishing village and that also depends on how fast I hike up and down the mountain!
After passing the bus station, I was not exactly sure where the road leading to the village was so I asked a man manning a stall opposite the bus station. He pointed me to the right direction and asked if I was going alone. When I said yes, he sniggered. Now what's that supposed to mean?
Anyway, I continued walking and reached this road.
It was one long road and there was no right or left turn.
I met a middle aged lady and asked her how to go to the fishing village. I did not understand her completely but I think she asked me to turn right when I reach the mountain trail.
If the road I walked looks deserted, let me tell you it was indeed deserted. But the beautiful views of the green hills made the walk quite pleasant. Once in a while, I would pass by the local people there and I would just greet them with a "ni hao" or simply smiled.
I wondered what building this is!
Maybe it's one of those outdoor toilets so I was not too keen to find out!
Further down the road, I saw some small farms and fruit plantation.
See the fruits?
Wonder what fruits these are? Pears?
If only Jam was not sick, he would be here with me, probably talking to some of the local people and asking them about these fruits! Oh, well...
Look at what I found!
An old fashioned water pump!
I guess the locals here still use this instead of modern taps!
All along the village road, I tried to search for the mountain trail on my right side. There were actually a few right lanes. Which was the correct one?
I actually tried all of them! But all of them did not lead me anywhere. One or two led me to a dead end.
So I continued walking on the main road and reached here.
This road led me back to the big main road where the bread shop I visited earlier was located! So I was back to square one! I decided to turn back and search for the mountain trail again. I could have missed it!
I think I must have spent almost an hour walking up and down that village road! What a waste of time!
Finally, I bumped into an old lady who was cleaning the compound outside her house. I asked her how to go to the fishing village and she immediately pointed to the lane next to her house. I wondered how I managed to miss that lane! Still, I really think they should put up a signboard or something!
As I was about to enter the lane, I was stopped by the sound of bells ringing. What was that? Then right in front of me, they appeared. I was stunned!
No, I am not an angel. And no, I am not writing memoirs about my life.
If you don't know already, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel is the name of superstar singer Mariah Carey's latest album.
As you have most probably guessed by now, I have bought her album and listened to it for many rounds already. So want to know what I think of it?
OK, so here's my take on Mariah's newest album. Well, that is, if you don't mind reading a review written by one of her huge fans! Just keep in mind that I'm a little biased, but I will try my best to give a fair review. Haha!
I will review every single track on the album and rate it from 1 to 5 stars, where the ratings go like this.
1 star - the song sucks! 2 stars - not really good, but passable. 3 stars - quite good, but won't make it to No.1 on the charts. 4 stars - great song - love it! 5 stars - Wow! A potential chart topper!
And I have included a 30 seconds sample of each tracks for your listening pleasure. However, be warned! This album is unlike Mariah's past albums and there is no single track that I like on my first listen! Yes, incredible that I would say this, being a huge fan of her, but it's true.
Most of the songs in this album require repeated listening because they will sort of 'grow' on you.
On my first listen, I find them a bit monotonous, bland and even boring! The songs all sound pretty much alike! Suffice to say I was disappointed.
On my second listen, the slow songs started to depress me a little. I needed more energy, more vibes!
But on my third listen, the charm started to work its magic. I suddenly found I love almost all the songs very much and once I started listening intently to the lyrics, I was hooked! Few albums ever had this kind of effect on me, and I am glad this one did!
So do not judge these songs too quickly by merely listening to these 30 seconds tracks.
This song is about catching your lover cheating on you and the hurt and vengeance that ensues. It is beautifully sung, with much emotion and breathtaking intensity. I love Mariah's voice on the chorus part! Absolutely a delight to listen to. In fact, I would even say this is a very classy, slow jam!
It is interesting that this song mentioned a little bit about Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters and how Mariah will "laugh right in your face" if you cheat on her.
This song definitely sets the tone for the rest of the album!
My Ratings : 4.5 stars
2. Obsessed
Before the song starts, Mariah said these words "I was like, why are you so obsessed with me?"
Now we would never be sure if she was referring to notorious rapper Eminem, as she kept denying it. Don't know anything about the Mariah vs Eminem feud? Read here.
But of course, both Mariah and Eminem took full advantage of this opportunity using social media and all the publicity generated to elevate their songs to the top of the charts!
In any case, I love this song! It's very radio friendly, with a catchy hook and chorus that can be sung to anyone whom you think is delusional or crazy. Haha!
And I just love the witty lyrics! Man, I think Mariah is getting better and better at writing sharp, put-you-down lyrics! Consider this...
"You a mom and pop, I'm a corporation. I'm the press conference, you a conversation."
If those words are aimed at Eminem, I would say, OUCH! Of course, Eminem responded with another song but I will leave that for another post : )
By the way, this song made it to the top of the charts on Malaysia's Fly FM. Yeah! You can continue to vote for this song on Mix FM and Fly FM.
My Ratings : 4.5 stars
3. H.A.T.E.U
This song, which is a tribute to Minnie Riperton, is about a lover's lament (not necessarily Mariah) over the untimely end of her romance. Although the title seems to say "I hate you!" but in actual fact it stands for 'Having A Typical Emotional Upset'.
It's a beautiful heartbreak ballad filled with lush harmonies. Mariah seems to be singing a recurring melody in the upper registers not unlike in the style of Minnie Riperton. Ironically, this song is called "Hate U" while Riperton's famous song is titled "Loving U".
Not only that, Riperton's album is called "Perfect Angel". And this album is titled "Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel". No coincidence there - I believe Mariah is a fan of Minnie Riperton!
I actually did not like this song on the first listen, but it seems to 'grow' on me. Surprisingly, most Mariah's fans love this song a lot!
My Ratings : 3.5 stars
4. Candy Bling
This song is all about reminiscing past love, mainly teenage love. Reminds me of the song "Underneath The Stars" from her Daydream album.
Not exactly my favourite, although again I didn't like it on my first listen, but it gradually grew on me. I guess maybe Mariah used too much whispery vocals throughout the song and it wasn't until towards the end that she let her voice go. Now that's the best part of the entire song!
My Ratings : 3 stars
5. Ribbon
I can't tell you how much I love this song! It just gets better and better with each listen! Currently, it's my most favourite song on the album although that might change later on.
I like the syncopated rhythm when she sings "Wrapped up, packed up, ribbon with a bow on it." I love how she adds in those counter melodies - she's just so damn talented!
Definitely a very radio friendly song with all the right hooks and a potential chart topper if released as a single.
My Ratings : 5 stars
6. Inseparable
Another song which took me some time to like. It uses a small sample from Cyndi Lauper's song "Time After Time".
I like Mariah's voice when she sings the second verse "Got photos of us on my refrigerator...". Nice song, but unlikely to be a chart topper.
My Ratings : 3 stars
7. Standing O
This is a stand out, foot thumping anthem with a tinge of raggae. Mariah is lashing out at her ex-lover and sarcastically salutes him by giving him a standing ovation.
I like this song on my second listen, probably due to its very infectious and addictive chorus. As usual, Mariah is brilliant in her counter melodies - just listen how she adds in those melodies while the infectious chorus is going on.
Oh, one interesting part in the lyrics is where she sings "As you embrace her in your arms, give her 'my all', give her more than you gave me." Incidentally, "My All" is a hit song from Mariah's Butterfly album, and also one of my favourite songs of hers! I guess only a fan like me will be able to spot this! Haha!
My Ratings : 4.5 stars
8. It's A Wrap
This one also took me some time to appreciate. But once I like it, there is no turning back! On this song, Mariah sounds refreshingly raw with no soft whispery vocals. Instead she showcases her strong vocals throughout which is a delight to listen to.
I even dare say this song may join Mariah's classics like "Vision Of Love" and "Always Be My Baby". What makes this song a good listen is Carey's multi-tracked voices that seem to flow around her lead vocal and all with minimal instrumentation - just perfect!
My Ratings : 4.5 stars
9. Up Out My Face
This is another song where Mariah lashes out at her ex-lover although she is also doing it in a most humorous way! It's actually humourous bordering on craziness! Don't believe me? Here's the ridiculously funny line from the song...
"If we were two Lego blocks, even the Harvard University Graduating Class of 2010 couldn't put us back together again!"
It must be a mouthful singing that, but Mariah sang it effortlessly!
I wonder if she's dissing Eminem again when she sings "You ain't a rapper, so you need to stop spitting it..." Haha!
I absolutely love this thumping club jam of a song. It's definitely hip-hop Mariah with an attitude! And minus the rappers, which I am glad as she does not need rappers to spice up this song! A potential chart topper IMHO.
My Ratings : 5 stars
10. Up Out My Face (The Reprise)
I could not believe my ears when I hear this track! It's the reprise of the previous song but using the big sounding marching brass band! How creative and clever! Totally unexpected and delightful at the same time!
It's tracks like this that makes me think that Mariah is a comedian or a joker!
My Ratings : 4.5 stars
11. More Than Just Friends
In this song, Mariah drops big brand names like our very own Jimmy Choo! Wow! This is not the first time Mariah mention famous brand names - she did it in the song "Shake It Off", from her Emancipation Of Mimi album, touching on Louis Vuitton.
This song is kind of fun and hilarious to me. Even Mariah pokes fun of herself and does not take herself too seriously when she sings this!
"I wanna be all on your lips like gelato, Permanently paint me in your picture like Piccasso, Love me down till I hit the top of my soprano. "
I like that they rhyme. Haha! This song seems to get better with each listening and now I'm thoroughly enjoying it!
My Ratings : 4.5 stars
12. The Impossible
According to Mariah, this song is dedicated to her husband Nick Cannon. There's a small sample from the R&B group Jodeci's song, "Forever My Lady" used here.
I did not really like this song on my first listen. I thought it sounded boring and monotonous. After some time, I like it more but it is still not a huge favourite of mine. Mariah seems to like this song though. Maybe because it is dedicated to her husband?
However, I like how she ends the song with "I almost given up, the impossible!" Nice touch!
My Ratings : 3 stars
13. The Impossible (The Reprise)
I don't quite like this filler, she should have cut this track out!
My Ratings : 2 stars
14. Angel (The Prelude)
I also don't quite like this prelude as it's mostly Mariah using her whistle voice ending up like some kind of otherworldly (or maybe angelic?) shrill. In my opinion, deleting this and the previous track will make the album shorter and tighter.
My Ratings : 2 stars
15. Angels Cry
This one should immediately appeal to those who like her ballads. But, surprisingly I found it to be just OK. Certainly not as good as her older ballads eg. "Butterfly", "My All", "Lead The Way".
Still, it is not too bad and the lyrics is actually quite meaningful. And I like it when she hold onto the long note at the end!
My Ratings : 3 stars
16. Languishing (The Interlude)
This song reminds me of the song "Looking In" from her Daydream album and "Rainbow Interlude" from her Rainbow album.
A nice and enjoyable song which blends very seamlessly into the next track "I Want To Know What Love Is".
My Ratings : 4 stars
17. I Want To Know What Love Is
Already released as a single but didn't do too well on the charts, this is a remake of the Foreigner's hit of the same name. When I first listened to this, I was not very impressed with it. Maybe wrong choice of song? Ooh, I am talking like one of those judges from American Idol now. Haha!
But after listening a few times, I am beginning to like it more. Especially when the gospel choir joins in and Mariah sings in her signature glass shattering high vocals, which I love!
By the way, if you are a fan, help this song reach No. 1 on Mix FM by voting here. Thanks!
My Ratings : 3.5 stars
Tracks 18 - 21 are remixes of the song "Obsessed", so I shall not review on those.
Overall, this album has a very cohesive structure. The songs are all interconnected through the lyrics as if each song is treated like an entry in a diary. As such, this album will not be able to produce really good hit singles. To me, that's a risk Mariah has to face for now the trend is on single sales and not so much on album sales.
I don't think this album will do that well commercially, but perhaps Mariah has reached the stage in her career where she does not really bother too much about sales or getting her songs to No.1 on the charts anymore!
Mariah also played it low key this time without resorting to over the top vocal acrobatics. But she did it with lots of class and style, elevating the sensual slow jams to an art form here. I really think she deserves a Grammy for this effort!
To fans who like her inspirational ballads, they may be disappointed with this album, but for me, it's a great and exceptional album, one which deserves to be in my collection and which I shall be listening to for many weeks to come.
So here's my ratings for this album and all her previous albums that I have in my collection!
As Jam was down with diarrhea, I went out for lunch with his friend. Although his friend was suffering from diarrhea too, his condition was not as serious as Jam. On the way, we decided to buy Jam some bread.
We came across this bread shop.
See the chairs dangling from the ceiling? I thought that was quite unique, although I have seen these swing chairs before from some blogs.
After buying some bread, we had lunch at this restaurant nearby. Anyone knows what is this shop called? I don't know how to read those Mandarin words!
They served only claypot rice.
Rice with pickled vegetables and meat. I think the pickled vegetables can be found in the rice noodles I ate in Guilin too. Probably these are staple food in small towns and villages.
After lunch, we passed by a shop selling wine containers and decided to take some photos.
Honestly, it was my first time seeing these wine containers!
They also have transparent containers. Not sure what these containers were made of!
We passed by a small supermarket called 99 Supermarket and decided to go in and have a look. I wonder if it has any connection with 99 Speedmart stores found in Malaysia?
The prices there was indeed low! How did I know? Well, I bought these two bottles of their famous tea for 1.70 yuan per bottle.
I found out that other shops along the same street were selling these drinks at 3 yuan per bottle. One shop even sold it at 4 yuan! What, they think we tourists are dumb?
When I told the boss that the 99 Supermarket down the street was selling it at 1.70 yuan, he did not look too pleased. Oh, come on, I really don't care whether you are pleased or not, I am not obliged to buy from you especially if you are selling at that kind of price!
By the way, I like the drink a lot! It was a mixture of sweet and sour in taste.
Hmm, wonder if the pictures of the models on these bottles are some famous stars in China? Anyone knows? I don't follow Chinese stars, only Hong Kong TVB stars, haha!
When we returned to our hostel, I rested for a while in my room before embarking on my solo adventure trip to Xingping's fishing village.
I am just so busy this week! Hardly have the time to blog, but no matter what, I got to blog! So it'll be a short post today, I hope.
I know some of you are waiting for Part 2 of my Lost In Xingping post - sorry about that! I shall post that once I'm free to do so. Thanks for your patience!
Today's post shall be another Random Notes so I'm calling it Random Notes 2 : )
1. I am planning to go for a 6-day holiday to Siem Reap, Cambodia with Jam and his friend next year from 29th July 2010 - 3rd August 2010. I am looking for a travel partner to share a room with me. Anyone interested?
Conditions as my travel partner are as follows:
No pictures of me and Jam and his friend to be posted on blogs or anywhere online.
Bring your own camera - no sharing of photos are allowed.
I may snore, so if you can't stand my snoring, bring a ear plug! No complaints on my snoring allowed.
Male preferably below 40 years old. Female below 35 years old and don't mind sharing same bed with me.
OK, just kidding on that last one. Haha!
Honestly, females are welcome! Just that I will book a room with twin beds instead of a double bed. But if you insist on a double bed, then please send me your latest photo and I shall decide. LOL!
Of course, if you don't feel comfortable to be sleeping in the same room with me, then I am afraid you can't be my travel partner!
Now I'm not being ageist (as in sexist) when I limit the age. It's just that this is not going to be some relaxing, luxury holiday. We are going for some sort of backpacking travel just like what we did in Guilin, China. So you must be reasonably fit and not get tired easily.
Of course if you are over 50 but is still fit and can go backpacking and not let us wait for you every time, then you are most welcomed to join us!
2. Jam and his friend will be going straight to Redang Island after returning from Cambodia. They will stay for 3-4 days in Redang. I am not sure if I would be joining them. I will decide on this later.
3. I just signed up for Facebook. Yeah, you better believe it! I know I have said that I don't do Facebook, but I do sometimes contradict what I said! Of course, don't expect to see my photos on Facebook! Well, if you want to add me as a Friend, please do so here. But do let me know that you read about it here as I don't simply add anyone!
4. What? We Malaysians have to pay RM50 credit card tax every year? Even though I only have one card, I am so unwilling to pay this unnecessary tax! I call this daylight robbery! I hope the banks will absorb the RM50 tax!
The day after my Yulong River rafting adventure, we checked out of Xi Jie Youth Hostel in the early morning. We were planning to visit Xingping and stay there overnight before returning to Xi Jie the following day.
Xingping is a small town located about 25km northeast of Yangshuo. We took a bus from Yangshuo after our breakfast. The ride took about 45 minutes and it cost us 5.50 yuan per person.
On reaching Xingping, we had to walk quite a distance to Xingping This Old Place International Youth Hostel where we were going to stay for the night. I noticed something wrong with both Jam and his friend. They were not their usual selves. Jam was complaining that he was tired and not feeling well. I hoped it was nothing serious!
This is the entrance to the hostel.
This is the lobby. I do not know why I didn't take more photos of the lobby - maybe I was not in the mood!
As it was early, my room was not ready yet. However, Jam and his friend could check into their room so I decided to place my luggage in their room first.
It was then I learnt that Jam was having fever and diarrhea! He had to go to the toilet every half an hour! Jam's friend also had diarrhea but he was not as severe as Jam. Surprisingly, I did not have any diarrhea although I did suffer from stomach discomfort the next day. Could it be that I have been taking my probiotics supplements almost daily since my first day in China?
Anyway, we believed the source of this food poisoning was the lunch we had at Yulong River the day before. Jam recalled that there was no tap water there so the people there must have relied on the river for their source of water. Well, with people washing clothes and maybe children shitting in the river upstream, you can imagine how clean the river water must be!
Jam's room was on the 2nd floor. This is the balcony outside his room.
I sat on that "cradle" or rocking chair and enjoyed the views from the balcony. I could see my next door balcony. They had a rocking chair too.
Facing the opposite side, I looked through the "grill". Do you see that building in the distance straight ahead with its unique looking roof?
The streets below the hostel.
Not exactly a very nice view, but it's not like Jam would be sitting out here looking down at the streets below when he had to be within short distance to the toilet! Haha!
We had actually planned to visit the fishing village here in Xingping. But with Jam and his friend not feeling well, I wondered if we would ever get to go! So while Jam and his friend were resting in the room, I spent some time out here in the balcony thinking what I should do next.
Siting on the comfortable rocking chair, I rocked myself and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I saw this and thought why not snap a photo of it?
Can you make out what it is? Yes, I was looking up the ceiling and this is the top part of the rocking chair. Haha! I could not believe I was wasting my time like that!
I decided to go downstairs and enquire when my room would be ready. I found the staffs at the lobby to be very responsive and the girls were sweet and smiling all the time! Wow! Such nice people! A direct contrast to the lousy service we had at Backstreet Youth Hostel in Guilin!
Since my room would not be ready until past 1pm, I went out for a walk.
Xingping to me was like a small town with a few streets lined with shops and stalls. There was nothing really interesting here. I guess Xingping is famous for its beautiful landscape more than anything else.
Do you remember the Nine Painted Horses Hill I saw during my Li River Cruise? That hill is in located in Xingping!
Or the famous scenery depicted in the 20 yuan bill? That is in Xingping too!
This is another part of the street where the buildings looked more modern and new. I guess if you like a quiet and relaxing holiday, Xingping is the place to go.
When I returned to the hostel, my room was ready. I was given a room on the 3rd floor. When I entered the room, I was delighted to see how clean the place was!
This must be the cleanest place I have stayed during my entire 10 days in China! I was surprised because this hostel was in a small town and it was cleaner than those in the city like Guilin and Yangshuo.
The nice wooden carvings on the wall.
Of course to judge whether a room is really clean, one must check out the bathroom or the toilet! Yes, the toilet is the acid test in determining how clean a hostel is!
Guess what? I was amazed.
If you notice, this is my first time taking photos of a toilet in China and posting it on my blog. Because this bathroom/toilet simply deserves an A+ from me.
I can tell you it's cleaner than all the toilets I've been to in China, and it's cleaner than some of the 4 star hotels in Malaysia!
I was really impressed with This Old Place International Youth Hostel. At only 81 yuan (RM40), it was miles better than the lousy Backstreet Youth Hostel we stayed in Guilin which charged 108 yuan (RM54) a night!
Coupled with good service and ever smiling ladies at the counter, this hostel is a winner and I highly recommend it to all who visit Xingping.
Although my room did not have a balcony like Jam and his friend's, I realised that mine had a better view . Looking out my room's window, I was amazed with the scenery outside.
My room was actually facing the beautiful Xingping port which was just 50 metres from our hostel.
I like to stand beside the window and look up at the green mountain top!
The view outside changed as the evening drew closer.
Of course I did not stay inside my room the whole day and took these shots. I took them after I returned to my room later in the evening having 'survived' an adventure in the mountains of Xingping.
After checking into my room, I went out for lunch with Jam's friend. He was in a better condition and was able to have lunch with me. Thank goodness!
But he was not well enough to accompany me to the fishing village which we had planned to go. Besides, somebody was needed to take care of Jam and he might as well be the one.
So, that left me all alone. Well, I was not about to waste my holiday just because both my friends were down with diarrhea. Even though my Mandarin sucks, I was determined to go to the fishing village all by myself.
That involved trekking up the mountain and the forests to reach the fishing village on the other side. I did not know then that my solo trip would end up in disaster.
For the first time during my China trip, I was all alone and lost in the middle of the forests in Xingping.
I have taken so many photos during my Yulong River rafting that I had a hard time deciding which ones to put up on this post.
The photos I like most are those which show clear reflection of the hills and landscapes.
I love the sight of green rolling hills reflected on clear water.
As we continued downstream, I noticed there were rafts heading upstream in the opposite direction.
I soon realised we were approaching another pier. If I am not mistaken, I think this is the Chaoyang Pier.
Lots and lots of bamboo rafts here!
Passing this pier, we soon came to another weir dam. After crossing this weir dam, my rafter stopped the raft by the side of the river bank and asked me to get down. He was going to bring me to observe the irrigation system on the farmland.
It was here that I met with an accident. I got down from the raft and stepped onto a huge slab of stone when I suddenly slipped and fell into the water! This is the spot where I slipped.
It happened so fast I did not know what hit me. The next second, I was in the river with the water reaching my waist level. It was quite a shock as I did not realize the water was that deep.
My rafter quickly helped to pull me out of the river. My first thought was my camera. Oh no! All my photos! All the photos that I've taken during the past 5 days! Would they be destroyed?
I had hanged my camera from my neck using a strap but I was not sure if it was submerged in the water when I fell. I quickly checked my camera to see if it was wet. Thank God it wasn't!
As I continue to check and re-check my camera, Jam and his friend quickly got off their raft and came over. It was then that I realised my right feet was bleeding. I felt a sharp pain there.
Jam's friend pointed out that the back of my left leg was injured too. I bent back to look and sure enough, there was a long cut there.
The cut from the middle part of my left leg extended up my left thigh.
My rafter managed to pluck some herbs from the farmland and applied those herbs onto my right toe to stop the bleeding. Thank goodness for the herbs!
I did not bring any first aid kit with me so I could not apply any bandage over it. My rafter just wrapped my toe with several pieces of tissues and advised me to keep my foot dry.
I could not move around much so I just took a photo of the water pump I saw at the farmland.
This water pump was used to pump water from the river to irrigate the farmland. There used to be water wheels in the olden days to carry water from the river but they were all replaced with water pumps.
When Jam and his friend had seen enough, we returned to our rafts. My rafter carried me behind his back and took me back to my raft. This must be the first time in my adult life being carried like that! Anyway, thank you to my rafter for his kind gesture!
Back on the raft, I took off the tissue that was wrapped around my toe. The rafter said I had to make sure I prevent my toe from being exposed to water and the hot sun to avoid any serious infection. So he asked me to put my right leg up to rest on the chair beside me, like this.
My rafter had adjusted the umbrella so that my right leg was constantly under the shade. Also with my leg high up on the chair, the river water would not get to splash onto my toe. Even then, I had to be extra careful and shielded my toe from the water every time we went down a weir dam!
As we moved downstream, there were more and more rafts along the river. It was becoming more touristy. I could see children and adults playing with water guns!
Hey, how come we did not have those water guns? I would love to shoot some water at Jam and his friend! Haha! But with the condition I was in, I was actually a little worried that these tourists would accidentally splashed my toe with water so I had hoped my rafter would quickly get our raft out of their way!
Soon it was time for us to stop for lunch. Our rafters brought us to Windmill Mountain Villa.
The name sounds nice doesn't it, but it's just another pier and a stopover for a meal. It was here I saw the only water wheel to be found along Yulong River!
See how the water wheel transported the water up from the river.
I did not climb up to take photos of the water wheel from behind. I left Jam and his friend to walk around the place while I rested my legs at the hut where we were going to have our lunch.
It was actually a nice place to have lunch as the view from here was beautiful!
The weir dam in front of the hut also make for nice viewing!
We invited our two rafters to lunch with us. These were what we ate.
Bamboo shoots.
Beggar duck.
I have heard of beggar chicken, but beggar duck? They were OK, though.
Eggs.
And vegetables.
The lunch was not too bad. However, we would end up regretting eating this lunch a day later. I will let you know why in my future post.
After lunch, we resumed our journey on the rafts.
There were lots more tourists downstream than upstream.
See this funny shaped hill? Looks like a thumb to me.
More beautiful scenery along our remaining journey.
Lots of bamboo trees!
Finally, after 5 hours of traveling on the Yulong River, we reached Gongnong Bridge, which was the end of our river rafting journey.
We docked at Gongnong Bridge Pier. There, we could see workers carrying our rafts up to the lorry to be transported back upstream for the benefit of other tourists who planned to go rafting on Yulong River.
I really enjoyed myself despite that unfortunate accident! I would not mind doing it all over again!
I am supposed to be posting Part 3 of My Yulong River Rafting Adventure today, but I think I will put that on hold to blog about some other stuffs.
I have been following Shingo T's blog for some time now, and I thought I like his 'random notes' posts. So I decided to start my own Random Notes! Here goes...
1. First, I would like to announce the winner of "I Heart KL T-shirt" contest. Congratulations to Reanaclaire! You just won yourself a "I Heart KL" T-shirt! Please email me your address so I can mail the T-shirt to you! Thank you for those who participated!
2. I bought myself 3 CDs last week.
They were worth buying as each CD costs RM25 only with the exception of the Mariah Carey's latest album which was retailed at RM29. It was actually sold at a special price of RM25 on the first day of the album launch in Malaysia but I was not free to buy it! : (
I know most people now download songs from iTunes and other sources online, but I still like to collect CDs. Probably I'm a bit old fashioned? : )
Anyway, these 3 CDs are worth buying as they contain great songs! No need for me to mention Black Eyed Peas - they already have several hits from their album! As for Colbie Caillat, I can sense some of the songs in her album to have great potential to be radio friendly hits!
3. I've been listening to Mariah Carey's latest album "Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel" for several days now. If you don't already know, I am a HUGE Mariah fan! Look, I have 12 of her CDs!!
I have even wrote a whole post dedicated to her! Read that here if you haven't already. I shall write a detailed track by track review of her latest album in my future post soon. Meantime, if you are a fan, help me to vote for Mariah's song on Mix FM and Fly FM. Thanks!
4. I love to eat cherries and grapes! Do you? Both cherries and grapes are full of antioxidants which are good for you! The other day, a friend of mine went to Selayang market and I asked him to buy me some grapes and cherries.
I was just a bit concerned over the grapes - the skin of the grapes were full of white spots. Do you know how to get rid of them? No matter how much I washed the grapes, the white spots or stains would not come off.
Anyway, the cherries were a hit with my family members. Within a short period of time, the full bowl of cherries became like this!
And before you know it, only the last one was left standing!
Guess who ate that? Haha!
5. I have over 600 unread emails in my inbox! I really don't have the time for this! I am very tempted to delete all the emails! Should I?
6. Anyone interested to watch "Cuci The Musical"? It will be staged from Oct 28th - Nov 8th 2009 at Istana Budaya, KL. Tickets are priced from RM43 (cheapest) to RM253 (most expensive). I normally buy the cheapest ticket seats on the highest floor and use my binoculars to watch! Haha!
The show also stars Adibah Noor, one of my favourite local singers.
The best musical I have ever watched at Istana Budaya is "Chang & Eng", a Singaporean production. Maybe because I loved all the songs - even bought the CD! Oh yes, I remember Adibah Noor performed in Chang & Eng too. She's fantastic!
I have watched "Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical" and "P. Ramlee The Musical" at Istana Budaya and they were not bad. The only problem with Istana Budaya is the seats are too cramped. Tall people would have a problem sitting in the seats there as there is not enough leg room!
7. I don't like the empty spaces on both sides of my blog! Can't they fill up the whole screen? Anyway, I find that it's nicer to read my blog if you magnify it (or zoom in) by pressing Ctrl and +. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl and scroll mouse wheel upwards.
You can press Ctrl and + a few times or scroll the mouse wheel until you reach the desired size.
The photos look even better at this enlarged size! To return back to default, just press Ctrl and the number 0.
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