Yunnan: An Ideal Place For the Peacefuls......

I am back from my 8-day trip to Yunnan.

My family went with my father's aunt's family and my uncle Ming.

Day 1: We arrived in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan. We had lunch in a hotel and traveled on a 5 hour bus trip to Dali. On our way, we saw breathtaking views of mountain and rice fields and think that China is super big. When we reached Dali, our bus broke down as the clutch was damaged and fried. We stood outside the cold wind for some time and it was unbearable. We waited for some 15 mins until the arrival of our backup bus.

Day 2: We set off for a famous temple in Dali. We also heard that our Lai Shifu (that's what the people call the bus drivers over there as a sign of respect), fixed the bus under cold conditions the night before in under 3 hours. The temple was beautiful and was restored after the Cultural Revolution. We saw beautiful views of the Erhai Lake. After lunch, we watched performances by the Bai Tribe which is one of the 56 ethnic minorities in China. We bused to Lijiang after that.

Day 3: We traveled to Shangri-La county 1st thing in the morning. The place was 3380 above sea level and oxygen was thin. We need to purchase oxygen bottles to ensure that we do not pant as we walked. We sat in cable cars as they brought us up to the Shika Mountain which is 4600m above sea level on the summit. The view was panoramic and super beautiful.

Day 4: We returned to Lijiang and went to the ancient city of Lijiang and shopped around the area. But the place outside was full of "wolves" trying to pick off any loose belongings. I bought some ginger sweets for my friends and they will get to enjoy them when i meet them.

Day 5: We went to Black Dragon Pool and the Yulong Snow Mountain and the water there was crystal clear and clean. We took photos and i took one with a Falcon on my arm. The Falcon was heavy and damn strong.

Day 6-8: We bused back to Kunming and it was not as fun as in Dali & Lijiang. We visited silk factories and watched performances by minorities and their voices were sharp and and sweet, they did not need microphones to project their voices. On the last day, we visited flower shops and bused to the airport on our flight back to the lion city.

Yunnan is a place i would recommend people to go and visit. The air there is super fresh and and temperature is just nice.

Graffiti

Review:

This is the latest album by Chris Brown.

The album's musical direction has changed with this release. Chris decided to explore Europop dance music and incorporated much of it in his songs instead of being the typical urban artist.

The album kicks off with the electronic & movie-influenced "I Can Transform Ya" to spice the listener up.

Although there may be controversy over the song "Famous Girl", that will not drag the album down like what the "professional" critics did.

Overall, the album is well balanced with upbeat & ballad songs.

Rating: 4/5

Double Standards

I read the pages on the reviews on Chris Brown upcoming album. I was disgusted by the way it was reviewed.

They focus more on his mistakes than his attempt to bring up innovative genres to widen his musical palette. They scrutinized every song to look out for flaws to bring him down in every possible way.

People need to leave him alone and recognize talents and not personal demons. I love both Chris Brown & Rhianna music and they are the new breed of future pop music.

Rated R

Review:

This is the latest album by Rhianna.

Rated R definitely suits the content and the sound of this album. This is also the first time that Rhianna uses explicit lyrics in her songs.

The album is the darkest work she has done yet. It might be also be her best album despite not having mega hits like "Umbrella". Sound of the album is rock-influenced and rough. It suits the "angry" mood for Rhianna.

This album is about Rhianna unleashing the "beast within" her to a more hardcore type compared to her girl next door and pop image as evident in her previous albums.

Rating: 4/5

Success

I am so happy that my youngest brother became the TOP student of his class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He used to be a dilly-dally lazy dude who could not care more about his studies which was same as my case when i was a primary student.

We gave him a personal tutor which is an experienced teacher who is patient and willing to teach and explain to him slowly. Many thanks to Mdm Teo for leading my brother to succeed.

My dad used to say: Determination and self-discipline can show you the doors of success. How true is that.

Congratulations to my brother!!!!!!!. I am so proud of you.:)

Tired

I have not been interested in anything recently.....

It felt like i have no motivation to study hard and focus well. Could it be that i am stressed up over the upcoming driving test in 2 weeks? i just feel mentally drained and wished that the test can swiftly and successfully past through.


What's more is that i have an important reflection test this Friday.

Curse of Fame

What is making celebrity news lately is regarding continued anger towards R&B star Chris Brown assault on Rihanna.

It's time to get over the unhappy episode. Some are really narrow-minded.

I feel that this is the way media work to sell gossips of the stars around. I am a fan of Chris Brown's music and i am one of those who recognizes artistic value of artists. He makes great and enjoyable music and is gonna release his new album on December 8th. He is reaching out to more genres to make sure that he has no ceiling above himself.

His new single I Can Transform Ya has been hitting the charts worldwide and received good response from fans and critics. I have seen some of the criticisms made on Youtube's comment boxes are really derogatory. It makes me wanna puke.

He had apologized countless time for the incident. This certainly does not mean he has to apologize every time when he is on national television, that is humiliating for any person. He even went to the extent of making apologetic songs specially crafted for Rihanna.

Humans make mistakes and everyone is entitled to moments of anger.

PS: Let Chris Brown keep some of his pride.