Taiwan - Taipei - Summer 2011

It was summer time in Taipei, which is not a good time to holiday in this period. Firstly, it would be generally hotter, and secondly, there maybe a chance where our holiday may coincide with typhoons. However, due to multiple reasons, we ended up in Taipei for a 5 day short trip. Luckily the typhoon Nanmadol left south of Taiwan on the 29 August, just the day before we went to Taipei. In any case, the typhoon only hit the eastern, southern and western coast. Thus, Taipei which is situated on the northern part of Taiwan, was not affected.

Day 1 - cloudy

30 August, Tuesday, 2011 (Taipei 101 - Wu Fen Pu - Rao He night market)

We arrived at the airport of Taiwan at around 1230pm, Tao Yuan airport, about 40 minutes away from Taipei City Center. We bought a sim card, called the driver, and he told us to meet him at an exit. We managed to book this car, a week in advance, to fetch the 6 of us from the airport, at a price of 1300NT. It was a very comfortable ride, as the driver came in a Volksvagen Transporter, to pick us from the airport.

Within 35 minutes, we reached our hotel, Caesar Park (凱撒大飯店) hotel, right opposite the Taipei Main Station. We chose this hotel, as it was very conveniently located, at the MRT/Rail/HSR/Bus station. In addition, you do not need to change the MRT lines if you are taking the Blue line, Green line or even the Red line. We booked 2 nights at this hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel rooms interior does look a little dated. Somehow, on the web it looks a little nicer than it is. Our rooms window were exactly facing the Taipei Main Station.

After that, we went out for lunch outside the hotel, and managed to grab some good lunch. We had beef noodles, and dumplings. The noodles and soup was good, while the dumpling skin could have been thinner.

Then we took the MRT to CityHall, and took the free bus at exit 2, to Taipei 101. We took the escalator to the 5th floor, wanting to purchase the entrance tickets. Unfortunately, weather did not permit and the outdoor observatory(91st floor) was closed, thus we did not buy the 400NTD entrance ticket to visit the observatories(89th & 91st floor).Subsequently, we took a cab to Wufenpu instead, costing about 100NTD. We did some shopping at this area. I think this place is a pretty good place for shopping, although some people claim that Xi Men Ding is a better place to shop. Shopping was boring for the men, and tiring for the elderly, thus we took a rest, and had a coffee just outside the temple, then we started our 5-10 minute walk to Raohe Night Market.

Raohe Night Market is really quite small. It is just one stretch of shops, with things to buy on the sides, and the food in the centre of the road.

At Raohe Night Market, we managed to get these food, except for the 5th item which we missed.
Picture shows the first 4 items, starting from top left, clockwise...














1. Smelly toufu - mediocre
2. Oyster omelette - no good
3. Fuzhou Shizu Pepper Bun 胡椒餅 (hújiāobǐng) 45NT - good
4. Pork rib soup 藥燉排骨 (yàodùn páigǔ). - good
5. oyster thin noodles 蚵仔麵線 (kèzǎi miànxiàn) NT100 (Dong Fa Hao shop)
6. Chicken Backside sticks - good
After food, we headed back to the hotel in a cab. Think the cab fare was about 175NTD.

Dad was super hungry that night, as he did not have proper dinner with rice.

Day 2 - cloudy
31 August, Wednesday, 2011 (Wulai - Neidong - National Museum Palace - Shilin market)

It was our first day in Taipei. I was getting excited to go for breakfast. We headed out of our hotel by 740am. Took the lift to the MRT level, and took 1 stop to the makan place, Fu Hang Dou Jiang, 阜杭豆漿 .

FU HANG DOU JIANG at Hua Shan Market, 2nd Floor (hours: 5:30AM- 10:30AM)
No. 108, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 1 (02) 2392-2175

Getting there
Shan Dao Temple station, exit 5, walk along the road, and turn right on at the junction, you can take the lift up to the 2nd floor.

We reached there quite early on a weekday, thus the queue was not that long. But by the time we finished our meal, the queue has grown. The place is quite nice like a little shop on its own, with air-conditioning. Thus, it is a nice place to read your papers, while you slowly have your breakfast.

We took these food, and here's our verdict.













1. Salted soy milk - Good (you either like it or hate it)
2. Sweet soy milk - Good
3. Thick flat bread w Deep-fried dough sticks - so so
4. Thin flat bread with eggs and green onion (He Ping) - Good
5. Rice - Fan Twan - Good
6. Dough sticks - not good (singapore's version is much nicer)

After breakfast, we took the train all the way to Xindian Station. Note that you have to take the right train at the Taipei Main Station. The final destination the train will go will be displayed on the train itself, thus, look out for Xindian on the train. It took us about 25 minutes to reach Xindian, and then we went to the bus-stop behind the Tourist Information Counter. And the bus ride took another 35 minutes for us to reach Wulai (烏來 ). We took bus 849. (note that 1601 is no longer in service) Luckily we took the bus, as it was much cheaper than getting a cab, which cost about 100NTD per pax, and there were 6 of us. The bus ride costed us only about 45NTD per pax, which was cheaper than that, as we had the EasyCard ( 悠遊卡 yōu yóu kǎ) that gave us an additional 10% discount.

The bus terminated at Wulai itself. It was only about 2 minute walk to the old street 烏來老街. And you can see shops offering hot spring baths, and some street food already. And you will reach a pretty bridge, that overlooks a river with green coloured water, that looks pretty nice.












We had coffee/ rose milk tea / orange juice at this shop next to the river. It was a pretty place. But too bad it was a little warm.
Guess if it had been autumn or winter, the weather would have been perfect.













After the drink, we continued on the old street. It is quite a short street, selling lotsa zi char (fried dishes with rice). There were alot of their local (ye3 cai4 / wild vege) .The street also offered some local titbits and food such as eggs, muah ji, and a kind of small grain/millet like grain.

Soon, we reached lansheng bridge 攬勝大橋 (red), and took a flight of stairs up where you see Helen Cafe, and then finally you reach the little tram station. 小台車 (1.5km up). Paid for 50NTD per pax, and it brings us to another short stretch of shops, where you see the Wulai waterfall behind the left row of shops. And that's it! There is no taxis here, and nothing much others to offer to tourists. We went in that air-conditioned little place, just outside where you purchase the train tickets to go down to the old street again. In here, there are little write-ups on the history of Wulai.

Somehow we got lucky and got a cab, which brought us to Nei Dong, 内洞森林, for the price of 300NTD. But there were 6 of us, he charged us as 400NTD instead. upon reaching Nei Dong, we had to pay an entrance fee of 65NTD, for weekday tickets. Then, we had to walk about 25 minutes along the river on a pretty path to the Nei Dong Waterfall. There isnt much to see along the way, the place merely offers a nice nature walk. And it is less touristy, think we saw more local elderly coming here for a good nature walk.

After Nei Dong, we headed for lunch at Wulai old street, and ordered some weird looking vegetables, and wild boar meat. Before it was cooked.... After it was cooked. (see pix on left.)












Food was quite nice, but it was not too cheap. Think it was more than 1000NTD for the 6 of us. We ordered 1 chicken, and 1 wild boar and 4 vegetables dishes. (and a dose of horribly smelling chinese medicine for diarrhoea for one of us)

(Cab fare cost - 400NTD from Neidong to Old Street)

Then we took the same cab out from Wu Lai old street to Taipei, which would cost us another 800NTD. Unfortunately, the driver claimed that the vehicle was breaking down. So he dropped us at Xindian MRT instead, and refused payment. But we felt bad, so we gave him some money. Then we took the train back to the hotel for a rest, as one of us was having diarrhoea, possibly due to the Rose Milk Tea, and many other thing we tasted for free along the old street, which included yoghurt to juice, to sweets, etc.

Then it was about 4pm, and diarrhoea seems to have stopped acting up, we headed to Shi Lin MRT station, to take the Bus R30 to the National Palace Museum. Basically, you will be able to see the right bus stop to take the bus, from the map right outside the train station. Shilin Train station looks like another place for makan and shopping. But too bad we did not have time for that.

The bus came shortly, and we were at the National Palace museum (國立故宮博物院

guo2 li4 gu4 gong1 bo2 wu4 yuan4) in about 15-20 minutes. The bus goes right to the entrance of the museum, at the basement. So upon alighting, you just need to take the escalator up one level, and viola you are at the ticketing entrance already. We managed to get free tickets from the tourism board, so we did not have to buy any tickets.

We went straight to the Jadeite Cabbage exhibit, and the piece of meat as mentioned by one of us who has visited this museum before. Then we visited the gallery show-casing the the precious ivory, jade, stone carved pieces during the Qing Dynasty. Everything looks impossibly carved out to

perfection. It is really hard to imagine how all these was possible.

Then we took the bus R30 on a return journey, by-passing Shilin MRT, but alighting at the final stop at JianTan MRT station(劍潭站), which was where the Shi Lin night market ( 士林夜市) was located.

Food we tried

1) Lu Rou Fan - Yummy (bottom pix)

2) Da Bing bao Xiao Bing – booth no. 501 (little roll in big roll) - not nice

3) Oyster omelette - not nice (centre pix)

4) Chicken booth 535 - Yummy (top pix)

5) Sui3 Jian1 Bao1, booth 529 - not really special

Then we crossed the road to the shopping area, and tried the Fried Milk, which was quite nice. NT20 for a stick of 3. And went on shopping in the area. This place is really quite crowded and big, compared to Raohe, which was just one street. When we got tired from shopping, we took a cab back to the hotel again.

Day 3 - Very sunny and blue skies

1 September, Thursday, 2011 (Ruifang - Jin Gua Shi - JiuFen - Ba Dou Zi)

We woke up early again, and took the 8:25am local rail to Ruifang 瑞芳. The ride took about 44 minutes. Initially, we wanted to take buy tickets for seats on the train. However, when we went to check the day before, it seems that the seats were sold out for Tze chiang Trains. Thus, we took the local train, which was very similar to MRT trains. We walk into the train station using the EasyCard, (no need to purchase tickets), and board the train similarly like the MRT. The train was quite full, but nice Taiwanese usually offered their seats to the needy. Most of the people alighted the train at Xike station, so by then, all of us had a seat. (Ruifang train station)

(13-level Ore Refinery with KeeLung Mountain)
At Ruifang, our driver met us at the train station, and brought us to a petrol kiosk for water and toilet. Then, we started our journey to these sights.

1) 金瓜石 jin1 gua1 shi2 - the town behind 九份 - Was a gold-mining town during Japanese dominance

2) 陰陽海 yin1 yang2 hai3 - due to the contribution of yellow water from the waterfall area

3) 十三層遺址 Shisancheng yi2 zhi2 (13-level) Ore Refinery (see the photo above)

4) 排煙管 - which was sprawled all over the hill on the ground

4)黃金瀑布 - Golden waterfall that is yellowish in colour due to Arsenic, Copper and Sulpher

5) 景明亭鳥瞰Ｓ型彎道 - the road with many bends

6) 礦坑隧道短程體驗 - some tunnel

7) 勸濟堂大關公- a temple

8) 九份 Jiu Fen old streets (see pix on right)

Why the waterfall is golden/yellowish colour?

Ores from Jin-gua-shi adn Jiu-fen are washed down to the river along with mountain spring water and rain resulting in a high level of oxidized pyrite and arsenice, giving the water a golden hue.

We reached Jiu Fen around noon, did a check in at Windsor B&B 涵館咖啡廳 (han2 guan3)

282, Qing1 Bian4 Jie, then we grabbed our lunch at the old street.

1) Red wine meat with rice - nice, but not all liked it

2) Big meat balls - gong4 wan2 - good

3) Taro Balls at 芋仔粿 - 阿柑姨芋圓 Ah Gan Yee - chewy

4) Jiufen Hakka herbal cake

which only offered us cold desserts, which I feel was not too nice. Too bad, I only learnt after I left Taipei that the other shop ( 賴阿婆芋圓 Lai ah po) actually serves hot Taro balls which possibly tasted better.

After walking abit in the old street, we headed back to rest at the Min2 Su4 (Windsor B&B溫莎堡日光涵館 ) within JiuFen. The accommodation is quite nice, similar to what you see on their website.

The accommodation is a duplex, with one bed on the 2nd floor. (and another smaller bed on the first floor) The picture on the right shows the bedroom on the 2nd floor, followed by the entrance to the accommodation, then the bathroom, and the view from the bed.

Jiu Fen is a town that overlooks the sea. The picture on the left is the view from our room.

However, there is only 1 toilet on the upper floor, which is a little inconvenient, if 4 persons are staying in the same accommodation.

The hospitality offered at the Windsor B&B was good. As the owner happened to be free and was around during our stay, he brought us for seafood dinner near the port, and offered some fruits. The fruits were big and sweet, compared to the ones we have in Singapore.

Day 4 - sunny

2 September, Friday, 2011 (JiuFen - Ye Liu - Miao Kou night market - Xi Men Ding)

Took a 5-10 minute stroll to the Windsor B&B 涵館咖啡廳 (han2 guan3), for breakfast at 830am. Here is what we had for breakfast.

Then we took another round of shopping in the old street, then we packed and met our guide who brought us to Jinshan Old Street, where Duck and sweet potatoes are the local specialty food. We had our lunch at Guangan Temple, where the 30-year old duck meat shop was located. Bascially, they put all the plates of different dishes there, you just go to the table and take what would like to eat, and bring it back to your table. At the end of the meal, the guy will just come by your table and look at the type of plates, and charge you accordingly. Think we ate for about 1000NTD for the 7 of us.

Next, we headed for YeLiu. The place is infested with tourists. Loads and loads of buses of tourists actually head straight here for a picture of the Queen's Head stone thingy, which we gave it a miss, since the queue to take a picture of that was long.

After which, we just headed to some other non-interesting sights, and went straight to KeeLung night market, Miao Kou 廟口夜市, which opens from 4pm onwards. It was way too early for our dinner, so we just grabbed only some food.

Along the night market, you get to see alot more seafood as compared to other night markets. We also spotted sea urchins, as shown above. Then we made our way to the railway station, and took the Tze Chiang express train back to Taipei Main station. Again, we just need to have to tap our EasyCard to enter the train platform, and it will be deducted accordingly when we arrive at Taipei Main Station. There is no need to buy Railway Tickets.

Then we grabbed our luggage from the hotel, took a cab to CityInn Plus hotel at Ximending. The rooms are very new and nice. And it was not noisy as what some reviewers claimed on Agoda website. The only thing is that it is really a small room, but it has a big toilet which was nice.

Then, we tried to find some food in Ximending, which I realised there are alot of non-taiwanese food there. But we managed to try the Ah Zhong Mian Xian (阿宗面線), where there are hardly seats for you to eat there. There are merely some stools put around the shop where you can sit down to eat. They do not even offer tables. So we packet it back to the hotel. Frankly speaking, it's not that nice to eat.

Day 5 - Hot but poor visibility

3 September, Saturday, 2011 (Jian Guo Jade and Flower market - Taipei 101 - Xi Men Ding)

This was our last day in Taipei, and we had a late flight to catch. Some of us chose to shop at Xi Men Ding, while some of us chose to do the last bit of sight seeing within Taipei.

Sight-Seeing

1) Jian Guo Jade Market & Flower Market 建國假日玉花市

They open only on PH and weekends fr 9am-6pm. And the place is located under the flyover. We did not get to see much fo the Jade Market, as they were not quite opened at 930am then. The flower market was opened earlier, and everything look so pretty, especially the bonsai plants and orchids.

2) GuangHua Digital Plaza 光華數位新天地

The place opens after 10am. But when we were there some were only opening at 11am. And it looks pretty similar to our Sim Lim Square.

3) Taipei 101

This place is only opened from 11am. The entrance ticket cost us 400NTD per pax. It is not cheap. In addition, the outdoor observatory was only partially open that day. Only the west wing was open, and it was super hazy, giving very poor visibility. The elevator ride was pretty fast, it took about 37seconds to reach from 5th o 89th floor and the indoor observatory was pleasant, as they provided the 'radio sets' that introduce the things/roads/buildings you see from the different windows. But I think I enjoyed the Toronto CN Tower better. Maybe it was the combination of indoor and outdoor observatory, as well as the glass floor panels at the CN Tower that was kind of interesting.

Then we headed to Gao Zi 高记 for lunch. It was located at 5 Yongkang St (台北市永康街5號), just next to the Ding Tai Fung, which had a queue outside. Frankly, I feel Gao Zi was just as nice. But then, I am only comparing Singapore Ding Tai Fung with the Taipei Gao Zi. These were what we had.

1) 蟹黃小籠包 - crab roe xiao long bao - good (top right)

2) Fried rice - nice (bottom right)

3) Prawns - very good (top left)

4) Hai3 Cai4 Sea food soup - quite nice

5) Asparagus - good

6) specialty buns (sui jian bao) - not really nice
( bottom left)

Finally, after taking a stroll down Yong Kang Street, we took a cab (計程車 jìchéngchē) back to our hotel, and rested a while before we grabbed some stuffs from Ximending, before we left for airport.

Indonesia - Lombok - July 2007

We did not go anywhere far this year. Instead, we visited Indonesia again. Just like last year. Since this is one place with the right weather during July period.

This year was Lombok. Weather is tropical with 2 main seasons; the wet(oct-mar) & the dry (may - sep). The main highlight for us was Mount Rinjani with the crater lake. It is an active volcano and was last active in year 2004. It rises to 3,726m making it the 2nd highest volcano in Indonesia.

14 July, Saturday
We arrived at the Airport of Lombok - Selaparang. It is a 2 hour plus flight journey. We took a 3d2n trek from John's Adventures, so they picked us up at the airport. The airport is small and simple, looking like any other domestic airports of Indon. Only thing is that this is an international airport. Took a 2 hours plus car ride, and we reached Senaru. The place where we will start the trek the next day.

As he rested in the accomodation, I went out with a guide to the nearby village for some pictures...

Their houses they stay in.

Yes! This is rice! But not ready to eat yet.

And this is part of my guide's house. Its the kitchen section.

15 July, Sunday (Trek - Senaru)
We started early at 7am. Took a little car, looking just like Bangkok tuk tuk, which was packed all with our porter's stuffs.. which includes our tents, sleeping bags, mats, meals, etc etc.

We started our trek with the guide. This was the last provision shop you get to see before you are in the wildnerness.

16 July, Monday (Trek - Lake)
After our first night at the camp, we did not really get to see sunrise, but this was the view we had from our camp(below).



This day was a 1000m down trek to the lake in the morning followed by the hotspring, lunch at the lake side, and then a 1000m trek ascent to the base camp.

On the trek down, you get to see the view of the lake. (below)

This was on the way to the hotsprings.

We finally reached the hotsprings.I think the hotspring was really nice.

Weather was cold, we were sweaty and smelly. The hotspring was definitely hot! and rejunvenating...

17 July, Tuesday (Trek - Sembulun Lawang)
This morning was supposed to be the summit trek at 3am. But we did not join the rest of the people. Instead, we chose to rest alittle longer and woke up at 6am for the sunrise beside our tent.





Because today is day 3 of the trek and also the last day of our trek. We were feeling a little tired, and that today we need to do a descent of about 1300m. Thus if we were to do the summit trek at 3am, it will mean we will need to do a descent of a total of 2300m in a day's time!

Guess we do not want to do too much in a holiday. Thus I will say that the sunrise is just as rewarding.

Soon we were on our way to leave the campsite(above). After the descent, we reached the village called Sembulun Lawang. From here we took the transport to John's place, and then to Villa Sayang.

Villa Sayang
Our driver lost his way, as he was unsure of the exact location of this accomodation. But after stopping the car alongside the road many times to ask for the directions, we finally made it here at 5pm plus.

This place was practically heaven after Rinjani's trek.

We had a much desired wash up, and a great dinner consisting of Beef Burger, Fried Chicken Strips, Gado Gado, and Pumpkin soup with toast for dinner, alongside with Bintang beer and Orange juice.

18 July, Wednesday (Villa Sayang)
Morning, was a slow nice breakfast (indonesian breakfast) with the view of the mountain range and the padi fields. (below)

Followed by a morning swim

Then was body massage for an hour.

After lunch, we caught a ride from the Villa Sayang's owner's car to Sengiggi for the Stick Fighting Festival.

19 July, Thursday (Villa Sayang)
Early morning, we went to the market. The free tour from Villa Sayang. Then went through the same breakfast(ABF), swim and massage routine. How luxurious...

Afternoon, went out nearby to take a look at a temple and some stuffs. And then we head to the airport for home.

Canadian Rockies (2004)

Day 1 (13 June)
Vancouver
We walked around the town, checked out the tourism board and rented a car. We saw Starbucks at almost every street corner!

Day 2 (14th June)
Whistler
We started our drive towards Whistler. Along the way we stopped at the Shannon falls. A pretty falls. We wanted to visit the ski town. It also served to break the long driving to the national parks, so we chose this place to rest. The hostel was behind a railway and right in front of a lake. It is a pretty place but not the kind that is awesome. :)

Day 3 (15 June)
Fields

Yes, the town is called Fields. The drive to reach the Fields was quite scenic. Guess we are approaching the National Park already. The snow mountain range can be seen already.

We stopped at the Fields. As we were planning for our next accomodation, we called the Elizabeth Parker Hut. Wanting to go into Yoho National Park tommorow. However they said that the area in Yoho was snowing. Thus they are not opened yet. We were alittle disappointed. But then we decided to make Yoho our last stop instead. So we booked the place for 2 nights at the end of our trip.

We stayed at an Inn, with the car parked right in front of our room. I find this place prettier than Whistler. We took dinner just opposite where we stayed. I took the salmon. Was fantastic! The restaurant was called the Truffles Pig. (pix below)

Day 4 (16 June)
Fields (Yoho NP)
We decided to stay one more night. But they ran out of rooms at the INN, thus the owner of the INN referred us to one of the bungalow, a street away. It was a real good deal! The whole house, with a kitchen, living hall with television and 2 bedrooms!

Then we visited Emerald Lake which was nearby. It was an easy drive in and you will reach the lake. Lake was indeed emerald in colour. But it was a cloudy day. Nevertheless we went ahead to one of the trails to Emerald Basin, but it was not really impressive. Guess the main highlight ....was our first encounter with a bear. But we were quite far away. And it was too busy eating to notice us. (We went back again on a clear day to take the pix)

Finally, a good way to end the day was the food at Truffles Pig again!....

Day 5 (17 June)
Fields - Lake Louise (Banff NP)
We checked out of the accomodation at the Fields. The weather was much better. Clear blue skies. We drove to the Emerald Lake again, to get a couple of nicer shots. Then we headed for the trail-Paget Lookout. This trail is about 1.5 hours one way, with an elevation gain of 520m, bringing us to a maximum elevation of about 2135m. I was quite slow. So by the time we reach the top, the clouds started forming. No more blue skies. :(
But we could still see the Kicking Horse valley.

We did a short drive to the Lake Louise hostel. We took a 4-bedder room for the 3 of us. Would have been alot more economical for 4 persons.

Then we drove to the Lake - Lake Louise. The lake is Beautiful! Just like the pictures, turquoise in color. And with a backdrop of the snow-covered Mount Victoria. We took the lakeshore trail, walked around the lake and soak in the beauty. entered impressive-looking hotel facing the Lake. It's a beautiful hotel. But the place is infested with Japanese. And lots of Japanese signs in the hotel too, to cater for the Japanese tourists I suppose. There is a nice cafe facing the lake too. The hotel is called the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. An extremely pricey place to stay. But if you have the money why not?!!!

Day 6 (18 June)
Lake Louise (Banff NP)
We woke up early for an exciting day's hike. The trail - the Plain of Six Glaciers (left) combined with the Lake Agnes via the Big Beehive. It is a beautiful trail. We get to be so close to the peaks.. for the Plain of Six Glaciers. :) The combined trail is about 14.5km, with an elevation gain of about 520m reaching a height of about 2255m at the Big Beehive.
(So all in all, this day we did a 14.5km hike.)

Close to the end of the first part of the trail we had lunch at the Plain of 6 Glaciers TeaHouse. (pix on the left) It was very nice. After walking all the way...you get the rewarding scones, hot chocolate, and sandwiches, with the view of the moutains behind.

Some of the trails were still covered with snow as shown above, even thou it is really summer. But in any case, there are footpaths, and informative signs.

Then we headed for the other trail, the Beehive trail, which led us to the top with a view of the lake louise and the Chateau. Then when we made our way down, we had a drink at the other tea house, on the other side of the beehive, with a view of the semi frozen lake and the snow mountain. Too bad the weather wasn't too good. Thus there ain't any pretty pictures.

Day 7 (19 June)
Lake Louise (Banff NP)
This day we attempted a sunrise shot of the Lake Louise. Usually in the night the temperature will drop below 0 degrees. So before sunrise, as we made our way to the lake, and set up our tripod, awaiting for sunrise, we were really freezing. Guess we are not very professional photographers. Because after this attempt, we told ourselves that we will not do sunrise shots for the rest of the trip. :p Anyway we were not too satisfied with the pix below. Wonder how we could have improved it.





Then we drove to the Morraine Lake. (below) It is also a short drive away from Lake Louise. Wow wow wow. The lake is awesome! I never knew such beauty actually exists! I kept asking myself if this was real. Somehow I like Morraine lake better. I thought Lake Louise was already beautiful....but this is really something you have to experience it. Turqoise lake with the 10 snow mountain peaks behind.... We spent quite abit of time on the Rockpile trail on the left to capture a good view of the lake with the 10 peaks.

Then we took another trail - Paradise valley. It is about 2 hours one way with elevation gain of about 385m. Considered manageable for me. We visited Lake Annette. This place is pretty too. Much quieter thou as it is not such a popular trail, unlike the Plain of 6 Glaciers. And a much shorter trail too. Another highlight of the trail was that we encountered a porcupine along the trail.

Day 8 (20 June)
Banff Town (Banff NP)

This day we headed to the Banff town, to have a less tiring day. :) We drove to the town, and took the cable car up to the Sulphur Mountains(below). Up at the top, you get to have a good view of the mountain range. All capped with snow.... it is pretty. Lots of tourists comes here.

Then we took a drive to visit other spots like the Two Jack's Lake (below), and the Castle Mountain. All easily reached by driving. We also went to the Johnston Canyon.

At the end of the day, we went back to the town for meals and souveniers. Rested at the Banff hostel.

Day 9(21 June)
Banff town - IceFields Parkway (Banff NP/Jasper NP)
Today we set off early for Jasper. We will drive through the IceFields Parkway. Supposedly to be the most scenice route. :) This is one of the world's most spectacular mountain highways. The whole highway is about 230km. Along this highway, there were many viewpoints and attractions.

The first attraction we went for was the Bow Falls. It was not up to expecations. Maybe there wasn't enough volume in the waters. It was about 4.7km from the carpark area to the falls, with only 95m elevation gain. Thus the bulk was more in the distance, and time. Maybe I have seen way too many scenic attractions that my expecations went up. :) However, the Bow glacier was quite nice thou. But not sure how to have a good shot of it. :p

Next was the Peyto Lake. Very pretty isn't it? (pix below) Too bad there were just too many Japanese Tourists taking pictures with their cameras and video cameras.

Departed Peyto Lake and headed for the Mistaya Canyon(only abt 0.5km from the carpark). It was very nice too. You wonder how so many attractions are all nestled together, and so easily accessible.

We rested at the rustic hostel - Beauty Creek for the night. The place is right in front of a lake. A very nice place to stay. The place is a nice place filled with a group of nice and warm people. But there were only dormitory available, and no shower facilities available.

Day 10(22 June)
IceFields Parkway(Banff NP/Jasper NP) - Jasper NP
We woke up, took a walk near the lake outside the hostel, then had a great breakfast, pancakes with Canadian Maple Syrup together with the rest of the people. Free flow of pancakes, freshly cooked.

We started our journey back on the IceFields Parkway again. Saw the Weeping Wall along the road. Took a couple of shots. Then quickly headed for the start of the trail for the Wilcox Pass. Should have started earlier, as clouds began to gather when we went up. From here you get a real good view of the Athasbasca Glacier across the road(IceFields Parkway). But the trail was not a long one, about 1.5hours one way, with an elevation gain of 335m, bringing us to an elevation of about 2375m.

After the walk, we drove to Tangle Falls. It is a nice fall for pictures and not too difficult to reach.
Upon reaching Jasper, we drove around the estate there, and found a nice B&B and rested for the night.

Day 11 (23 June)
Jasper NP
This day we still are covering attractions along the IceField Parkway. But as these attractions are nearer to Jasper, we based ourselves at Jasper instead as there are no proper accomodation along the highway. This is because they try to conserve the area here thus not much built up places here.

We went to the Athabasca Glacier, as shown above. A picture taken where we waited to board the 'SnoCoach'. A bus that drives you all the way on top of the glacier, and you can alight to take pictures.

Then we drove to the Athasbasca Falls. It is worth it too. Pretty. It is more a huge/wide fall , rather than a high/tall one.

At the end of the day, we drove to another highlight of Jasper. The Maligne Lake. It was really calm, we went there around sunset. So the colours are richer. But I think maybe a better photographer would have captured a nicer picture. It is quite a big lake. Calm and serene. Like many other lakes, you could canoe here too.

Along the way, we had to stop our car to allow a family of bears cross the road. There was a mama bear, and 2 cubs. So cute! But too bad lighting was low, I did not get a good shot of them.

Day 12 (23 June)
Jasper NP
This day was a rest day from attractions. We walked around the Jasper town, bought some souveniers. Went to the laundry shop to do our laundry. Ate A&W for lunch then we headed for their cinema. It was a small one, but it was good enough. We caught the Harry Potter. :)
Dinner we dined at one of the restaurants. There were quite abit of italian and other cuisine around.

We did abit of driving slightly outside the town hoping to spot some wildlife. And we did see some Elks.

Day 13
Jasper NP (24 June)

Our last day at Jasper. We visited Pyramid Lake, Edith Mount (pix above) and Angel Glacier(pix below), all were nice places to take pictures. Of course the Angel glacier is not as big as the Athasbasca glacier. But it is still pretty in its own way.

Below shows myself with a chip of the Angel Glacier.

Our last night at Jasper B&B.

Day 14 (25 June)
IceField Parkway - Lake Louise
On our way back now. We are heading towards the same hostel we stayed at Lake Louise previously. Along the way, we stopped to take better shots of the Tangle Falls, Bow Lake, etc.

Day 15 (26 June)
Lake Louise (Banff NP)
This day was a relaxing day. Just sleep late. Idle, plan for the next few days.

Then we did a simple trail too- Consolation Lakes. Cost us about 45 min one way. with not much elevation gain. But there is nothing much to it. Would recommend to skip it.

Day 16 (27 June)
Lake Louise (Banff NP)
We set off early to the Morraine Lake, to start on the trail - Valley of the 10 peaks. Its one of the prettier trails. But guess we were not too lucky. We wanted to do this earlier in our trip, but the trail was not open. Now the trail was considered open, part of the trail was still covered with snow. It could lead us to the Eiffel Lake then to the Wenkchemna Pass. We would have preferred reaching the Wenkchemna Pass, however it was not open yet.



But I guess am still glad as we managed to do the trail afterall. And we still get to see the peaks all the way along the trail. It is like a get-close-to-the-mountains trail. (pix above with the Eiffel Lake and the 10 peaks)

The trail to the lake only took about 1.5 hours to 2 hours one way.

Day 17 (28 June)
Yoho NP
We went to the Takakkaw falls. It is quite nice. It is very high but narrow. Different from the other falls. But there were some good view down from the falls (below).

Day 18(29 June)
Yoho NP
We set off early to drive to the place to catch the bus into Yoho National park. Everyday there is only 1 bus into the park. For conservation purposes, and to reduce the crowds in this park, they try to limit the number of people going into the park. If one is willing, he or she may walk in. That was our back up plan, in the event that the bus is full. So being kiasu, we were early, to purchase the tickets and so we were on our way to YOHO by the bus! After alighting the bus, and walking a short way, we reached the Elizabeth Parker Hut. The place is very pretty. There is only 2 place of accomodation here. One is the affordable Elizabeth Parker Hut, basically a dormitory with a kitchen. The other are the beautiful chalets that are dotted around the Lake O'hara. Again there were no Asians in here. There were some young British here, and some 50 year old Canadians to do some hikking. And some others whom we did not get to speak to. Below are 2 pix of the hut. The first is a close-up picture, the 2nd one shows 2 tiny huts right in the centre of the pix.

We kind of washed up at the stream. The water was freezing. And cooked some simple dinner for ourselves at the hut.

Day 19 (30 June)
Yoho NP
We started early for the Opabin Plateau Trail combined with the Lake Oesa. It is a full day of walking again. Before that we stopped by the Le Relais, a log hut, for directions which also sells some beverages, and great tasting carrot cake. It was moist and tasty! At some point in the trail, we get a very good view of Lake O'hara. But I do not really know how to capture that in a picture. But you just feel on the top of the world looking at the lake. :)

Day 20 (1 July)
Yoho NP
We did the Linda Lake to Cathedral Basin today. It is approximately abt 7.4km away. (totally up to about 14.8km for the day for a return trip) Takes about 3 hours to the basin. Thus a return trip will be about at least 6 hours. The elevation gain was about 305m bringing us to a maximum elevation of 2315m. Suppose it is a comfortable trail if we were to do it in a day.

Day 21 (2nd July)
Yoho NP - Vancouver
We did the drive straight back to Vancouver. As there were no vacancies at the hostel, we stayed at the Inn opposite the Hostel.

Day 22 (3rd July)
Good bye Canadian Rockies...

Some other wild animals we see along the trails are marmots, porcupine, bears, elks, rams, etc.