Mini Angkor Wat in Champasak

Champasak is a small tiny village south of Laos situated along the Mekong River. I took a bus from Savanakhet. Upon reaching the pier, we took a small boat across the river to the other side. It was an adhoc trip that I did not prebook the accommodation. But thankfully, a tuk tuk driver took me south along the main road to a local guesthouse. It was a decent room around USD 10 per night. I remember vividly there was a big dining cum hanging out area at the back of the guesthouse, facing the river, a perfect spot for tranquil river view scenery. 

Reaching the pier to Champasak

Locals waiting to cross the river on a boat

A typical local life

A peaceful morning

I rented a bicycle from the guesthouse to explore Wat Phu, the key attraction in Champasak, a mini version Angkor Wat on top of a hill. It was a few km ride to the temple under the scorching heat. Riding along the sleepy road was exhilarating for me, as I did stop along the way to snap pictures of old traditional houses with farms and buffalos.

Local mini bus

A local house

Tranquility

A mini pond

Mesmerising scenary

Local houses along the main road

A heaty day

Though Wat Phu looked simple from outside, upon entering the front yard, an ancient history was revealed with majestic Angkor Temples and ruins. The path lead uphill to the another temple on top of a hill. It was like mini hiking. To me, it was a slow biathlon as I had to cycle for about an hour followed by a mini hiking. The view from the top was fabulous.

Entrance to Wat Phu

Path to the top

Halfway up

Temple on top

View from the top

Exit to lower ground

Glorious Wat

I met a fellow guesthouse backpacker from England. At night, we rode bicycles together to the town centre to watch a local performance amid a pitch dark surrounding. Sitting quietly along the river bank in pitch dark, listening to the calls of the insects with milky star high above, gave me a sense of peace and joy in a remote area. It was the most memorable tranquil moment I ever had in my travel. 

Live cinema

Local performance

The next morning, I woke up to watch a beautiful sunrise from the river bank in the guesthouse. Later, it was time to say goodbye to the quiet village which is one of the places I adore the most. 

Dawn

Perfect sunrise

Pilgrimage Hike to Mt Xiqiao

Mt Xiqiao is located in Foshan, Guangdong China. With an average altitude of just 300m, it seems far and high from the ground though. There are many attractions to explore in the national park. The icon of the mountain is the 61.9m height of Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) statue, which coincides with one of the birthdates of Goddess of Mercy on 19th day of 6th month in the lunar calendar.

There are 3 entrances to the mountain, with main entrance from the north. I started my hike from the north entrance. The main trail is well paved along the main tarred road, but in between there are smaller inner jungle routes with fresh air and lots of greeneries. The inner jungle trails are well connected from one place to the other. As the higher I walked, the fresher the air is felt.

North gate entrance

A hike in a green lung

After about 45 mins of hiking, I reached the key destination, Baiyun Temple where the Guanyin statue is. As I walked toward the first temple, I was impressed by the structure of the building. I adore the wooden doors. Behind the main temple are the stairs to heaven, towards Guanyin statue. I anticipated to see the statue after climbing the flights of stairs. However, I was greeted by another view of ancient temple. It was the same for the next 1-2 ancient temples after few flights of stairs behind each temple. Finally, the Goddess of Mercy statue emerged majestically far atop the mountain with many more flights of stairs to climb! It was a real hike.

View of Foshan City from Baiyun Temple

Ancient temple

Can you see the flight of stairs behind the temple?

So near yet so far

Up and up..

View from the top

After paying a respect to the Guanyin, I explored Tianhu Lake by walking through a jungle trail. It is a peaceful lake where one can walk a big round around the lake. 

Tianhu Lake

I hiked up again to explore few gardens with a local village in the national park, mainly Azalea Garden, Osmanthus Garden and Bamboo Garden. Walking along the jungle trails provided a sense of peace and happiness that could only be found in the nature. The exploration ended with a passing through a local village where there were small stalls selling local produce and soybean curds. My trip ended with a ride back to main entrance.

Azalea Garden

Passing through a local village

A house in a national park

Serenity

The Grampians

Grampians National Park is a nature reserve in Victoria, Australia, well known for its sandstone mountains, wildflowers and wildlife. Halls Gap is the key village in the heart of the Grampians National Park. Upon reaching the hotel on the first night, we could see wild kangaroos flocking in the backyard. 

Wild kangaroos

Starting from the nearby village of Haps Gap, we drove up the winding mountainous road. The first stop was Boroka Lookout, a viewing platform at 840m, overlooking a picturesque valley with surrounding mountain ranges. 

Boroka Lookout

Unique rock formation

From Boroka Lookout, a drive of 30 mins ended in Reeds Lookout and The Balconies. The viewing platforms perched on the hanging cliff and the unique rock formation are the perfect spots for panoramic pictures. Standing on the platform, looking out at the lush valleys provided a sense of peace in nature.

The Balconies

Does it look like crocodile head?

Mackenzie Falls in the Grampians is another must visit place. A walk down the steps to the base provided an up close look of the gushing water cascading the cliffs into the rocky pool. Walking along the path from afar, the falls stood majestically down in the ravine. 

Mackenzie Falls

The next day, we visited Lake Bellfield, a quiet calm lake. It serves as a local water supply source. Walking along the bank of the lake provided a sense of tranquility.

Lake Bellfield

The most enjoying moment in the Grampians was visiting the Halls Gap Zoo. It was one of the best moments I had in a zoo, where we could be in an open closed contact with some of the animals such as deers and wallabies.

Friendly deers 

Wallaby, the cousin of Kangaroo

Llama or Alpaca?

Wasabe and Kiso Valley

Matsumoto is an ancient royal city of Japan where Matsumoto castle is the iconic landmark of the city. It is an impressive 5 storey castle. Looking out from the wooden castle window into the moat was a scene that still remain vividly in my mind. 

Matsumoto castle

What attracted me more was the 2 hour journey by train and bus to the Daio Wasabe Farm, outside of Matsumoto. It is considered the world's largest wasabe farm. The wasabe is planted with shades and it is just a green root. However, it is understood that it takes lots of effort to bear wasabe produce. It was also my first taste of wasabe ice cream that I did not have an recollection of how it tasted. There was a small river with an ancient looking wooden watermill for irrigation that made a perfect pictured scenery.

Wasabe

Wasabe ice cream

Tranquility in a farm

Ancient watermill

A shady farm

Another place to explore outside Matsumoto is Kiso Valley, where we explored one of the post towns, Tsumago. It a small town with 2 rows of ancient wooden houses lined along the main road. A walk along the quaint village reveals the historical footage of the past. 

Tsumago, the valley's best preserved post town

A walk in the valley

End of town

We were greeted by a friendly local Japanese aunt cum a shophouse owner who invited us for a tea. Though there was a communication barrier between us, we could feel the kind and warm hearted hospitality.