Out of Norm Travels

List of trips taken over the years  2020: 1. Nepal - Kathmandu, Pokhara  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2020/03/out-of-norm-travels-2020-yoga-retreat.html 2019: 1. Feb  Italy  Venice - Carnival with Ugo Cei and Robin Yong  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/03/out-of-norm-travels-2019-venice.html 2. Feb Italy Florence and Cinque Terre  3. March Indonesia Batam Nikon School Singapore Photo Fiesta 4. April Malaysia Penang  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/04/out-of-norm-travels-2019-penang-food.html 5. May Australia Astrophotography 6. August - Japan Lake Biwa & Okinawa  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-japan_21.html 7. Nov - Japan - Karatsu & Saga http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-japan_97.html & http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-j...

My photo-adventure tour for 2015 was to this seriously exotic location which is synonymous with Genghis Khan . The Inner Mongolia  (Chinese:  内蒙古 ; pinyin:  Nèi Měnggǔ ), officially  Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region  or  Nei Mongol Autonomous Region , is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in the north of the country, it contains most of China's border with Mongolia with a small section of the border with Russia, its capital is Hohhot, with Baotou, Chifeng, and Ordos as its other major cities.  (above info extracted from Wikipedia) Map from  http://www.chinahighlights.com/inner-mongolia/map.htm With almost one-third of China's grasslands stretching some 1,490 miles (2,400 km) across northern China, it has the bucket of r olling hills as far as the eye can see. L arge areas of rich grassland provides pasture for sheep,  goats, cattle, and the famous Mon...

The magnificence of the Great Wall never fails to amaze me. Although this is not my first visit, I continue to   be struck by its aura with my first intake of its breath-taking views.  The Great Wall snakes as it hugged the terrain it was built on and with every step I took on the Great Wall, I am deeply humbled to know that I am stepping on bricks or foundations that were laid down more than a thousand years ago. It is truly a mark of imperial grandeur of the Ming Dynasty and badge of achievement for mankind. H ere are my favorite photos as well as a timelapse to commemorate my visit to this Wonder of the World:      Previous entry of my earlier visit to the Great Wall: http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.sg/2012/06/beijing-china-walk-up-to-great-wall-of.html?m=1 Till the next time, onto the world and beyond! 

Flying out from Beijing to Luoyang ( simplified Chinese :  洛阳 ;  traditional Chinese :  洛陽 ;  pinyin :  Luòyáng)  is certainly not high on the travel itineraries of many - quite a few not having even heard or visited this place, not even those hailing from China.  It is thus with much anticipation that I took an internal flight to this city  located in the Henan p rovince  which was once 1 out of the 4 Great Ancient Capitals of China (other 3 are Beijing, Nanjing and Changan (Xian)) to spend the night. My main aim was the visit to Luoyang Grottoes, which was listed by UNESCO in 2000 as a World Heritage Site.  Luoyang Grottoes simplified Chinese 龙门石窟 traditional Chinese 龍門石窟 pinyin Dragon's Gate Grottoes - I can only say " MAGNIFICENT".....I have never seen so many thousands of Buddhist statues carved into limestone caves.   One advice to  travelers  is to start early in the morning and spend more time at th...

This is a tick of my "to-do" list - Climb the Great Wall of China. There was never a doubt in my mind that I will do this climb & I was fortunate enough to do it again before I turn half century old.  Unlike my recollection of my first trip up along the Great Wall where I had little time to explore the Great Wall, this trip was arranged specially to ensure that I got to travel from one end of the Wall to another. As a result, I got to spend a significant time taking photos of the journey up along the Wall (without the thousands of best friends that would get their head into the picture). I specifically avoided the more popular Badaling section is where hordes of tourists are ferried when it comes to climbing the Great Wall.  This time the climb was carried out at the JingShanLing section of the Wall - where the old section of the Wall is still standing. This meant that in most areas my group of 3 was very much walking up along the Wall on our own with not many other t...