From the Pudong Gardens, one has a nice view of the Bund - Shanghai's oldest part which still has buildings from the French and British occupations, hence the European-style architecture.

After taking the underground Bund train to cross the river from Pudong, we emerged on the Bund, Shanghai City's most famous and oldest part of town. Looking back from where we came from, we were treated to this view of the Pudong industrial district where a lot of China's new economy constructions were being built. The Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai' signature landmark, is a real attention-grabber amidst the ultra-modern skyline.

Yangshuo town in Guanxi Province is the jump off point to start touring the famous karst peaks in the countryside. Yangshuo is a small Chinese town and this was taken on the sidewalk of West Street, the tourist center of Yangshuo. Nestled at the heart of the karst peaks makes Yangshuo truly an awesome place to base yourself in when touring the area. Just look at the pretty scenery!

Weaving in and out of the quaint cobblestone streets that are typical of the Fishing Village, we happened upon these two little kids coming home from school. Both greeted our group with the only English they knew (perhaps picked up from the numerous tourists that visit them all the time) - "Hello!" and "Goodbye!". We in turn replied with the only Chinese we knew - "Shie-shie!" and "Zai jyen!". They were pretty darned cute.

At first, I wasn't very impressed with the Fishing Village until Dan and Kirsty, travel-mates who'd both lived in China for a while teaching English, explained that this kind of Chinese architecture had all but disappeared from China, with the exception of this village. The Fishing Vilage is one of the last remaining sites in the country featuring authentic ancient Chinese architecture. The Communist Party apparently have been making a huge campaign to rid China of everything old school to fast track the modernization of the country. Hence, the preciousness of this place...sayang no?...

Yangshuo's most famous tourist attraction - the Li River or Li Jiang. Travelers are treated to a slow cruise upstream to see the best view of Yangshuo's world-famous karst peaks. This portion is located in Xing Ping town, about 30 minutes by bus from Yangshuo and this exact view appears at the back of the 20Y bill. I took the cruise with some British travelers I'd met on the road and it was indeed gorgeous. The best parts of the river are the ones around Yangdi town. Along the way, you are treated to breathtaking views of the mist-covered mountains, lush bamboo trees lining the shore and cattle serenely grazing on the rich vegetation. The cruise lasted about 2 hours long from Xing Ping town to Yangdi...

View of Coron Island as we departed for the town to catch the shuttle that would take us to the YKR airport in Busuanga. This picture does not do it justice at all as you can barely see the dramatic tops and cliffs of the island. Coron Island is where the various lagoons and inland lakes that Busuanga is famous for, are located, including some very nice beaches. It is the home and considered very sacred ground by the Tagbanua natives of Palawan.

I dove Barracuda Lake back in 2003 and still have some great shots of the underwater terrain. This one was again taken just on snorkel and located just below the surface of the lake. It's but a sample of the weirdly wonderful terrain underneath the water, and the cool formations inside this limestone island. The waters of Barracuda Lake is a mixture of fresh and salt water (fresh on top, salt underneath). Once you get to the bottom (around 90ft), the temperature rises to 96F (no joke!) and the bottom itself is made up of some weird soft silt. Lots of shrimps and a few schools of fish can be seen here, though rumor has it that the resident giant barracuda (probably a Great Pacific) after whom this lake is named, has since passed away as it hasn't been sighted for a few years now...sayang...

A 20-minute hike up and down the hill accompanied by lots of mosquitos rewards you with this serene view of Kayangan Lake, another one of Coron's 7 inland lagoons. It's nice to just float on your back and gaze up at the clear sky framed by the sharp and jagged shapes of the limestone cliffs that enclose the lagoon. This lake is teeming with baby barracudas, though how they got there in the first place, I failed to find out...A sacred place for the Tagbanua natives of Coron, so tread with respect!

Tita Cristina, the nice lady who let us stay at Coral Bay resort, led us on a tour of Popototan Island itself. This fantastic picture was taken on the balcony of one of 3 summer mansions on the island. Check out the glass-like surface of Coral Bay! And though the weather was not ideal, it did make for this cool picture of the clouds reflected in the mirror-like surface of the sea...