Colmar

Colmar is a town and commune in the Haut-Rhin département of Alsace, France. Colmar was founded in the 9th century. This was the location where Charles the Fat held a diet in 884. Colmar was granted the status of a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire in 1226. During the Thirty Years' War, the city was taken by the armies of Sweden in 1632, who held it for two years. The city was conquered by France under Louis XIV in 1697.

In 1679 (Treaty of Nimwegen) Colmar was ceded to France. With the rest of Alsace, Colmar was annexed by the newly formed German Empire in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War. It returned to France after World War I, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, and then reverted to French control after the battle of the "Colmar Pocket" in 1945.

Its location is shown in the map below (the yellow dot).

You can wiki more information about Colmar here.

So isn't it wonderful if we could just take a less than 2 hours drive from K.L to get a feel of this historical and cultural French town? Yes, K.L means Kuala Lumpur. Shocked? Don't be as Asians are really good copycats.

I would jump on every opportunity to visit this place, especially if it's going to be free, including food :) And that was exactly what happened on the 14th August when I participated in an outing with Hospice patients. (Read about Hospice here and here). The trip was sponsored by the Lions Club of Kuala Lumpur.

For a start, let's look at how the real Colmar in France looks like:

The classic view along the Quai de la Poissonnerie (courtesy of James Martin)

And compare with:


The classic view at Bukit Tinggi, Malaysia.

See, I wasn't lying when I said that Asians are good copycats ;)

More photos of this "copied" town at the end of this post.

Back to my trip. The patients and volunteers gathered at the Hospice center in Cheras around 10am and then boarded a bus. The journey up to the hill took about one and a half hour.

It was almost lunch time when we reached there so we proceeded to the restaurant.

After lunch while having coffee and tea, there was a band performing at the alfresco dining area. So Irene, one of our volunteers, ushered all the patients outside to enjoy the performance. Immediately the Hospice gang became dominant after chasing away other people. The place was instantly turned into party ground !!!

And we even had a macho fella proposing to Madam Toh :)

And what a great way for Mr. Ng to celebrate his eighty-something birthday.

After having a great time singing and dancing, we went to the nearby rabbit farm.

The final event held before we left was an exciting acrobatic show by performers from mainland China.

Definitely a very well-spent afternoon.

For more pictures of the "copied" Colmar at Bukit Tinggi, Malaysia, click here.

Hiking on the Great Wall

Do you remember this gentleman? He is Mr. Yang Li Wei, the first Chinese astronaut to orbit the earth, back in 2003. When he was asked if he saw the Great Wall from space, he said he did not. Reported here.

I believe him. I can hardly see the wild trail and the ruined towers of the great wall while I was hiking on it !!! (shown below)

So, the Badaling and Mutianyu sections of the Great Wall are very, very different from reality. Those sections have been rebuilt using new stones/rocks for tourism purposes. See picture of Mutianyu below (taken a few years back).

The unprotected great wall sections are commonly known as the Wild Great Wall to the locals. I had the opportunity to join a hiking group during one weekend to the Pinggu district, which is located in the northeast of Beijing city.

Starting point of the hiking trail.

Along the trail, there were many abandoned traditional village huts. I can imagine that life has become very tough as farmers. Most of them went to the city to find jobs.

One of the huts.

Once on the wall, it didn't look good. Yes, this is the present condition of most sections of the great wall, with hikers like me contributing to its deterioration :)

Really, it's just not possible for Mr Astronaut Yang to see this from space.

Walking along the edge of the wall .....

There was splendid view on top of the hills .....

The most challenging part for me was when I have to climb more than 45degrees up to the ruined tower. I can imagine how fit the soldiers were when they have to run up and down the wall in ancient times. The greatwall is really a great engineering feat, spanning a few thousand kilometers and built not on flat land but on top of the rolling hills !!!

At the end of our hike, there was a scenic lake ....

Seoul

Had my first trip to Seoul last month. Arrived at the Inchon airport around 4pm and took the airport bus into the city. Took off at Myeongdong and walked a bit to my hotel. I was starving so checked out the Myeongdong shopping streets. It was quite cold. Hmmm, plenty of pretty girls, almost forgot that I was there to look for food :)

Myeongdong at night

Many restaurants but most only serve dishes that are meant for 2 or more persons, so I settled for this ....

I chose this from the pictures displayed. Waited eagerly to fill up my empty stomach. Surprise !! The noodles were served in cold (and I mean really cold), sour and spicy soup !!?? Whatever taste that was .... perhaps something like eating tomyam noodle in cold soup.

Went back to the hotel after walking around Myeongdong and Namdaemun market. As I was staying in a 5-star hotel, there was top-notch high-tech security equipment in my room in case of emergency :)

The next morning, I went mountain-hiking at Inwang-san. Nothing strenous but a very nice stroll with occasional 60 degree climbs ;) Saw some Sharmanists chanting and worshippers praying at the rocks. This worshipper was standing, kneeling and bowing for at least 10 minutes .....

And from the mountain top I can see the splendid view of Seoul's skyline ....

After hiking the various trails at Inwangsan, I took a nearby subway station to the ancient palace .... Gyeongbukgung. It was very impressive in terms of preservation. The palace was constructed against a backdrop of hills, so it was very picturesque. Most of its compounds are covered in clay/sand to give you its originality feeling, and lots of greens to complement the surroundings.

There was a folk museum in the same vicinity so I managed to catch a cultural show too. Enjoyed it eventhough I haven't a slightest idea what they were singing .... so I only watched for 3 minutes and took one picture ;)

During the night, strolled along the Myeongdong streets again to feast my eyes, kekeke :0)

Enough of cultural stuff, so the following day, I went to the new part of the city where it's supposed to be more cosmopolitan. COEX stands for Convention & Exhibition center and it's double the size of KLCC convention center. In the basement of COEX is a shopping mall, KL mid-valley style.

You can't say you've been to Korea until you've tried its beef and kimchi, or so the saying goes. So I MUST find one restaurant ..... eventually I ended up in the foodcourt of COEX eating this ..

Nothing great but still Korean beef and kimchi mah :)

After that I walked over to a very popular Buddhist temple (1000+ years old) across the street from COEX .... Bongeunsa. Preparation was underway for Wesak Day with lanterns hanged at every corner of the temple.

On my last day, still unsatisfied until I can find lots and lots and lots of Korean-drama look alike actresses, I headed to this Super highclass boutique mall ...... the Galleria. Wow, no joke man, even the sales girls there look like stars ..... didn't wanna act like a village boy, so didn't take any photos inside ...

And my last lunch in Seoul before I left for the Inchon airport ....

Apart from the places mentioned above, I also visited Insadong (antique/cultural street market), Itaewon (expats bar area), Dongdaemun (huge market for shoes and shirts).
Overall, a well-spent 3days, 2nights trip.

For more photos of the trip, go here.