Autumn in Japan 2009

We visited Japan over thanksgiving weekend! We left Guam on Nov 26 and spent 4 days there. We were embraced with the nice cool weather and the marvelous change of autumn colors which Japan has to offer. The Ryokan Ohto was not too far from the Kyto Station. We took an express train from Kansai directly to Kyoto. The next day, we spent the whole day taking public buses and was amazed how easy it was to travel by yourself there. We visited the golden temple called Kinkakuji Temple. The japanese garden has a class of its own. Our tour stop to see the ancient imperial palace and our last stop was at Kiyomize Temple (known as a world heritage site by UNESCO). We were totally so tired after the whole day walking sightseeing this beautiful city.

Our second day, we spent traveling by train to Nara to see Todaiji Temple, Nigatsu-do Hall, Kasuga Grand Shrine, 5 storey pagoda. In the afternoon, we continue to Arashiyama at Sagano to see the beautiful autumn colors by the river. It was a cold day but wonderful indeed. There were many Japanese whom came out in the cold to enjoy the beautiful gardens, and autumn colors. We picked the right time of the year to visit Japan. We truely enjoy the sights Japan has to offer. An autumn dear to our hearts indeed!

Wonders of China Fall 2009

Here is our latest visit to China. The adventure started from Shanghai, where we flew into Jiu Zhai Gou via Chengdu. Jiu Zhai Gou is located at the east of Tibet mountains. It is secluded to the national parks with 114 lakes and many waterfalls. We love the fresh air and scenic view it has to offer. Our trip continued to Chongqing where we started our 4 days cruise along the Yang Tze River. It was magnificance seeing the scenic view of the Gorges and admiring wonders of the great dam China built. We flew from YiChang to Beijing and spent 5 days there.The trip covers the famous Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong, Panda Bear visit and also climbing the Great Wall of China. Xian was a old ancient city with enrich history of the past. There laid the first emperor of China's tomb. We even had the opportunity to meet with the tomb founder of the famous "Terra Cotta Warrior". The Tomb was discovered by accident while 3 farmers were digging for a well in 1974. Today it exhibit the relics of the wonders discovery.We flew over to Shanghai and continued to visit ZhouZhang knowned as the venice of the east. We love this little town. There are little shops everywhere with enrich culture.Our last stop was in Suzhou and Shanghai to see beautiful gardens. What a marvelous trip for the year!