I went out for a walk this morning and couldn’t help taking photos as I thought the weather was perfect at 70F and it was breezy with blue sky above and quiet except for the rustling of the leaves and chirping of the birds.
Tag Archives: tourism
LAPC: Monochrome
Huawen Xue Yuan, Jimei, Xiamen
This week Patti chose “Monochrome” for LAPC’s theme.
She said, “Monochrome can also add drama, mystery, and emotion to a shot…” and I agree!
These are some photos I took yesterday when my husband and I went out for a walk.
Long Zhou Hu (Dragon Boat Lake), Jimei, Xiamen
Happy Sunday!
T. 💕
Lens Artists Photo Challenge:Monochrome
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A Trip to Gulangyu
I’ve been living in Xiamen for 17 years and I’ve visited Gulangyu over a hundred times over the years, but there are places on both islands that I still have to see.
So I was glad to get to the top of Sunlight Rock for the first time yesterday and be able to take pictures of the southern part of Xiamen island and the view of Gulangyu taken from the top of Sunlight Rock.
As we arrived there early, we were able to avoid the crowds of tourists that started to come around lunch time when we had already walked over 7km.
I was also able to get inside the Christ the King church which had to be unlocked by a kind lady who asked me if I was from the Philippines and did I want to pray.
It had been awhile since I last came, so I was happy to be able to come to this church again where I came to hear mass every week for years.
You can come to Gulangyu by ferry from Youlun Zhongxin (for tourists) and tickets cost 35RMB. (Thankfully we have a card that shows we work in Xiamen, and so we pay the local’s fare of 8RMB and get on a different ferry that is not crowded at all!)
We spent one morning on Gulangyu and walked for over 9km.
But surprisingly, I wasn’t tired at all.
If you’re ever in Xiamen, you can’t miss Gulangyu. It is truly worth a visit.
Have a lovely Thursday!
T.
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Bohol Cathedrals
La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Parish Church (also The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Parish Church), commonly known as Baclayon Church, is a Roman Catholic Church in the municipality of Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran. Baclayon was founded by the Jesuit priest Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sánchez in 1596, and became the oldest Christian settlement in Bohol. It was elevated as a parish in 1717 and the present coral stone church was completed in 1737. The Augustinian Recollects succeeded the Jesuits in 1768 and heavily renovated the church since then. (from Wikipedia)
Reconstruction after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in 2013 caused major damage to the church was completed in 2017.
Dauis Church
Our Lady of Assumption Church is locally known as Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. It is constructed of solid rocks or stones and has paintings on the walls. There is a tower with a bell, outside the church another tower and also a small well. The front face of the church collapsed during the earthquake in 2013. (From Wikipedia)
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Beautiful Alona Beach, Bohol
The first time I went to Bohol was in 2002 to attend a Young Writers’ Conference. It was a very quiet place then. I don’t remember seeing tourists.
Bohol looks so different now.
Here are photos of Alona Beach in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines at different times of the day.
Noon time when we arrived
sunset
early morning
early morning
Have a lovely week! 💕
T.
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Fear, Fascination and Autism
There are many things that can make Eli, my 8-year-old son on the spectrum , happy and very few that terrify him. To neurotypical adults, it would seem silly to be scared by the sound of a hair or hand dryer, or a blender or coffee grinder or a drill, but these are sounds that have a different effect on my son and other autistic kids like him. Thankfully, the noise from crowds don’t bother him anymore, and the hair dryer we have at home does not bother him as much as it did before. If we use the coffee grinder, he would just leave the kitchen.
Still there’s so much I envy my son for — one of which is his lack of fear of things that terrify most people I know, from tiny creatures like cockroaches or spiders to pythons. When we went to a zoo in Bohol last week,our guide showed us this yellow python. Thinking my husband was holding Eli’s hand, I couldn’t help screaming when I saw him already inside the cage with the guide. He was the only one inside the cage with the guide who showed him how to pet this beautifully yellow python. None of us adult tourists dared to go in, but Eli did and seemed to really enjoy touching the snake.
Eli also loves the ocean. Unfortunately he doesn’t know how to swim yet. Just like me and my husband, Eli can sit (or stand) on the beach for a long time just looking at the waves or the horizon. The ocean is mesmerizing. He is most calm when he is on the beach. On our last evening in Bohol, he and his father watched the sunset until it got too dark to see anything on the ocean, but I guess he was listening to the sound of the waves, and that too is mesmerizing.
But Eli has no sense of the danger of the ocean especially for people who cannot swim. And if no one is watching him, he will just keep walking towards the water. From what I’ve read, most autistic kids and adults are drawn to water, and in fact when an autistic person goes missing, the first area rescuers would search is a body of water.
The “fearlessness” of our autistic kids may be admirable sometimes, but we also have to remember that fear is one way we, humans, protect ourselves from danger, and if our “fearless” kids are not aware of the dangers that their fascination with certain things poses, it will not be good for them.
Have a lovely and safe Sunday! 💕
T.
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Life, Love and Flowers
“Life is the flower for which love is the honey.” –Victor Hugo
All these photos were taken during my trip to South Korea early this week. Although I went there not for sightseeing but to comfort my friend, I ended up going to so many places that not many tourists get to see (in fact most of the places I’d been to had zero tourists! Except for me.)
I am glad I had time to take photos of the flowers I had seen. Flowers are my favorite subject for photography. Hope you like them.
T. 💞
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Story
WPC 2: A Face in the Crowd
Wonderful performance from these young men at the Hong Kong International Airport. We will never know who these young men were, nor recognize them when we see them up close, but as a group, their performance will be remembered for a long time.
新年快乐！🐶🎉
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WPC: A Face in the Crowd
Initao, Northern Mindanao, Philippines
“Explore the use of anonymity to express both that which is common to all of us and the uniqueness that stands out even when the most obvious parts of us are hidden. Just as all of us can oscillate between conformity and individualism, allow your photo to do the same.”
Weekly Photo Challenge: A Face in the Crowd
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Ascend
Xiamen, China
“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are more hills to climb.”
Have a lovely weekend! 💕
T.
Weekly Photo Challenge:
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Daily Prompt: Varnish
The over 200-year old trees on Gulangyu that were uprooted by Super typhoon Meranti were turned into works of art by Chinese artists. This trunk has been varnished and inscribed with Chinese characters that mean “remember” and its synonyms. It is also fitted with several speakers that play recordings of local people talking about their memories of the island.
Have a lovely weekend! 💕
T.
Daily Prompt: Varnish
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Serene
I spent the whole day today on Gulangyu (Gulang Islet) and was able to visit the church that my husband and I used to go to every Sunday more than a couple of years ago, before we had our baby.
The church was locked when we arrived (as is usually the case when it’s not Sunday and there’s no mass), but the priest’s assistant opened it for us. (The young couple in the photo were just getting their wedding pictures taken outside the church but didn’t have a ceremony inside. )
Gulangyu was very crowded and noisy, but inside the church, it was quite serene.
Christ the King Church, Gulangyu, Xiamen
Weekly Photo Challenge
Serene
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Images of a Jimei Evening
This year Xiamen hosts the 9th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit from September 3 to 5. The city has been preparing for the summit for some time, and this is the reason the whole city, not only Xiamen island, but its district on the mainland as well, has seen so many changes — all to make Xiamen more attractive.
Right after super typhoon Meranti struck Xiamen last year, Jimei looked so dark at night viewed from the plane. It was such a sad sight
But these days, Jimei is all lit up, and I enjoy walking around the campus in the early evening when the lights are on.
Have a lovely weekend!💕
T.
Thoughts on Life 