Hawaii, the paradise... (2)

Before boarded the plane to Honolulu, I promised my little Michelle to bring back 2 images for her.  One was the lava flowing into the ocean and the other one was the Milky Way nightly skies from Mauna Kea.  

When we got to the Big Island, the first thing I asked about was the "lava flowing into the ocean."  Sadly, I was told that after years of volcanic activities, about 3 months ago, the lava stopped flowing into the ocean because the lava tube broke... The lava is now flowing to an inland area instead going out to the ocean. 

My one and only hope for this trip immediately turned to a shot of the Milky Way!! 
    

The first day when we got to the Big Island was the new moon, so the sky was perfectly dark with nothing but stars!  The next morning, we drove up to the top of Mauna Kea just to lock down a perfect location for shooting at night.  The entire way up to the mountain made me deeply worried about my chance to get a Milky Way shot because we drove all the way up through clouds and rain...  When we got up there, surprisingly, the sun was shinning.  I had a long talk with the young guy who worked at the Mauna Kea Observation Center.  He showed me their world-class weather forecasting computer system where the sky was monitored and reported every 6 hours.  "For the next 4 days", he said with great confidence, "it will be dry and clear up here!"  Great, isn't it???!!!

We took our time early that evening, as we knew we would get a clear sky for the night.  Photographed the volcanoes at the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which was about 60 miles from Mauna Kea.  Had a great dinner, then we headed up to Mauna Kea.  Guess what, I have to say the drive up to the mountain was one of the most dangerous drives I've ever made.  The visibility was so low that all we could see was the waves of clouds coming at us...  This went on for about 40 minutes, and I started to wonder if the young man at the observation center really knew what he was talking about...  I replayed his confident conclusion about the clear sky over and over in my head and could not believe that he had no clue about what he was talking about!!!

To my amusement, about 2 miles from the top of the mountain, the clouds suddenly disappeared -- yeah, I meant "suddenly".  All we could see was the dark sky and bright stars.  The place was unbelievably quiet.  There was absolutely nothing but darkness of the sky, brightness of the stars and the silence of the surroundings.  

Honestly, I have never seen so many stars so bright in my life!!  I took my SHOT, but realized that there was so much more the camera could not capture for me...       

I was so totally in love with the place that I got up at 4:30 AM the next morning and drove up there again, through clouds and rain, to capture the sunrise from the ocean of clouds.  Once again, it was so quiet up there, made me feel I was so close to a different world.  There was nothing but coldness, high winds and the unending beauty of an amazing sunrise above the clouds. 

I wish I knew how to photograph nature's wonders.  For the first time, I felt deeply how limited my photography skills were...   

Hawaii, the paradise... (1)

Our trip started on Thanksgiving Day.  Flew 9.2 hours from Chicago to Honolulu, got to Waikiki right before sunset.  It was very nice and calm out on the island, the park was filled with huge tropical trees.  Kids were playing in the ocean and parents were sitting on the beach enjoying the soft afternoon sunlight...  It was only then when I realized that, perhaps, not everyone cared about the turkey...

The entire 10-day trip was adventurous.  Big Island was such a profound place.  You'd have the opportunity to cover at least 3-4 ecosystems in one day -- from the beautiful coastlines to rainforests to endless black lava fields to fresh volcano ash hills to black sand beaches to green sand beaches and to white sand beaches...  The top of Mauna Kea at 13,000 ft is clear and dry 360 days a year.  You can see the Milky Way and millions and millions of bright stars at night...  Because it's in the middle of the ocean with the least light pollution, Mauna Kea is known to be the best place to see the Milky Way.

From the sea level in Hilo to the top of Mauna Kea at 13,000 ft could be one of the most amazing and unpredictable trips you've ever taken.  You would drive from the peaceful civilization through heavy rain and then thick cloud layers where the visibility was only about 1/10 of a mile, finally, about 3 minutes before getting to the top, you would suddenly see dark, dark clear skies with millions of bright stars.  In the morning, the temperature could drop from 70F in Hilo to below 20F on top of the mountain. 

Some day, I will show you the amazing sunrise photos I took up there under windchill of 15F...  The sun came out from the thick clouds and colored the entire world to orange and then red -- pretty unbelievable stuff, and it's just impossible to capture with a camera!!

For now, please allow me to share the last 2 photographs I took on this trip: sunrise from the Black Sand Beach. When you think about it, even in the black lava covered areas, nature still has its own unique beauty and it has its own moments to shine!


Black Sand Beach
December 6, 2013 

 

Greg and Rosanne

Greg and Rosanne are 2 of the very few friends I had years ago back in Reno.  In fact, they were my realtors and helped me purchase my lovely little home in Reno... 

They moved to Reno from the Bay area.  While in California, Greg was a police officer and Rosanne was an IT professional.  One day, they decided to make a change to their lives, so they just dropped everything in CA and moved to Reno to pursue a whole new career in the real estate business. 

After 6 months losing touch with them this year, I called Rosanne last weekend asking her about Hawaii (Rudi and I are going there over Thanksgiving for 10 days).  As I remembered, when I was in Reno, they went to Hawaii quite often.  During our call, Rosanne told me that she and Greg had both retired.  Sold their mansion in Reno and bought an RV instead...  They got rid of most of their STUFF and have been traveling around the country in their RV for the past 6 months -- they are having a great time!!

I am always amazed by people who can just get up, drop everything and move on to the next stage of their lives...  It is not just about how much $$ you must have to live an exotic retirement life, it is about whether you have the guts to move on, to live a life you really, truly desire!  It is about whether you understand what's more important in life.  I envy those people and their bold decisions.  Hope some day I can be like that -- highly unlikely, but I still admire that kind of mentality -- be free, venture out, experience and explore the world in a bold way!!!

Here is their blog.  Enjoy!

www.WagsWildAdventure.com

The World of WeChat (微信)

I feel the need to make a record on my history book about a significant event in my life -- I have finally entered the World of WeChat.  After 48 hours of testing the water, I have confirmed that yes, it is indeed a world of chaos -- it sucks your brain and consumes your life like you would not believe...

The truth is, many of my good friends kindly recommended WeChat to me a LONG time ago.  I declined only because I knew it would undoubtedly interfere with my Zen world.  But after my trip to Mongolia, it occurred to me that this would be an effective way for me to be in touch with my friends in China.  So, before opening the WeChat account, I decided to only add 2 of my friends from China.

Well, as we all know, life rarely happens according to plans...  What I learned over the past 48 hours was -- if you get into a group that you don't want to be in, suck it up -- you're on your own!  For the Elite groups you wish to be in, you're likely not qualified to be in...  So, either way, it's a lose-lose situation for you.  Yeah, life sucks, isn't it???

So, for those long-term 微信 lovers, this is for you:

国庆大典上，走来第57个民族。主 持人这样解说：现在走过来的是微信方阵。他们身穿睡衣，肩扛枕头，左手手机，右手充电宝，身后背着一锅心灵鸡汤，胸前挂着佛经和养生秘方，个个转发着正能 量，自吟着立志经典和闷骚段子，目光呆滞，神情麻木，个别的还在跳大神。主席：“同志们辛苦了！” 微信方阵响亮回答：“主席，天安门 wifi 密码是多少？”

Sunrise at 巴丹吉林

You need to read the story to understand these 3 images -- thank god it's not in Chinese this time!!


Not to say that Picture 3 here is going to be an awarding winning image, but there is definitely a story to be told.  This goes back to what I have been telling you all along: the real value of pursuing photography is not about producing a few static images.  Rather, it is about experiencing life in a much deeper and more conscious way. 

(Refer to Day 5 from my essay below:  10/20/2013)
 
So, we planned to photograph sunrise at 巴丹吉林 desert early in the morning on 10/20/13.  The night before, we agreed to meet at the hotel lobby at 6:15 AM the next morning to be fully prepared for the sunrise at 7:21 AM.  By the way, we stayed at this exotic hotel in the middle of nowhere deep inside the desert -- it soooooo totally didn't fit in with the wilderness...

The night was extremely quiet, as we were one of the only 2 groups in the entire hotel.  I packed my camera gears and set my alarm clock for 5:55 AM.  Guess what, when I woke up the next morning, in the total darkness, I saw 6:36 AM on my lovely iPhone!  No idea what happened to 5:55 AM, but I grabbed my camera bag and ran downstairs...  It was so dark and quiet in the hotel lobby that I actually got scared.  But I didn't have time to think, ran out to the parking lot hoping to see my friends.  I saw no body, but noticed our car was still there -- thank goodness!!  I felt 100 times better and immediately ran upstairs to find my friends....  Believe it or not, this lavish hotel didn't even have an elevator, so I had to go through stairs up and down in the total darkness -- don't ask me why they didn't have lights either...

Rushed into my friends' room and realized that they were in no hurry at all.  They told me that we should NOT go for the sunrise because there were thick clouds.  Do you think I would take "No" for an answer?

We left the hotel and headed out to the desert.  Ran around in the dark trying to find the best spot (literally had to use headlights from the car to see where we were going -- pretty crazy and frantic out there).  Finally, we found the spot, but sunrise was nowhere to be found!

You can finish the rest of the story.  The disappointment was so overwhelming that I had to calm myself down by practicing meditation in the open desert (see Picture 1).  The sunrise was supposed to be at 7:21 AM, but even at 8, there was no sunrise.  When we all went down to our car, the sun finally came out.  Just imagine the chaos at that point....

Picture 2:  the little insignificant blue dot was me taking The Shot -- after being tortured mentally and physically for about 2 hours...

Picture 3:  The Shot taken at 8:33 AM on 10/20/2013.  

                

My Alxa (我的阿拉善)

I continue to religiously follow my mantra of "cherish and live life with unwavering passion and love."  This time, by spending 7 days in one of the most remote areas in China -- Inner Mongolia.  Came back to Beijing, spent 2.5 days writing the essay below (2,750 words).  It will be published in one of the well recognized Chinese magazines on 11/5/2013 along with 6-8 of my pictures.

Hope some day, I will have time to translate it into English...  If nothing else, it would be for my little Michelle, as she is not capable of reading this type of complicated Chinese!!  

 

我的阿拉善

内蒙古，中国

10/16/13 – 10/22/13

2013 年已经是我在美国生活的第25个年头了。在这25年 里我常常回国，特别是这几年每年要回来两三次。总是落脚北京，看望父母和朋友，却从没有到其它地方旅游过。今年十月，我有幸第一次在中国境内走一走，而我 踏上的第一片异地就是内蒙古的阿拉善。虽说我从没去过内蒙，但却总听人讲到阿拉善，讲到她那神奇和美丽的沙漠、戈壁、绿洲、森林、湖泊，以及那纯洁的土地 和纯朴的民风。所以，要说我对阿拉善的向往，也是由来已久了。

阿拉善位于内蒙古最西部，面积27万平方公里，占内蒙古总面积的23%。这里总人口为22万，其中大约27%是少数民族，以蒙古族为主。阿拉善是蒙语“贺兰山”的谐音。贺兰山气势宏伟，300年前，六世达赖（仓央嘉措）曾在此讲经传道。阿拉善沙漠由腾格里、巴丹吉林、乌兰布和三大沙漠组成，是世界第三大沙漠。巴丹吉林沙漠中的必鲁图峰海拔1609米，被称为“世界沙漠珠峰”。

除此之外，阿拉善还拥有世界上现存最大的原始胡杨林。金秋的胡杨林是阿拉善最富有魅力的景致之一。随着深秋的来临，胡杨树的叶子逐渐从绿色变成浅黄，深黄，金黄。登高远望，金秋的胡杨林如潮如汐，斑斑澜澜，漫及天涯，如金色海洋，吸引着成千上万的游客和摄影爱好者。

正因为胡杨的魅力，沙漠的浩瀚，古城的神奇和阿拉善热情、纯朴的民情，我们一行五人踏上了行程1800公里，历时7天的自由行旅程。

第一天（10月16日）:  北京 –〉银川 –〉巴彦浩特

尽管我已是美国联航金卡会员多年，但不怕你笑话，这却是我在中国境内第一次坐飞机。我尤其对乘客在飞机登舱口领取报纸感到很有意思，这是我在美飞行25年从未见过的。

从银川到阿拉善左旗的巴彦浩特大约有110公里。我们旅途的第一站是在巴彦浩特南部30公里左右的广宗寺。广宗寺坐落在贺兰山脚下，因为它在巴彦浩特以南，又俗称为“南寺”。寺庙始建于1756年，鼎盛时庙宇、僧舍有近2900间，僧侣近1500人。相传六世达赖曾在这一带讲经传道，其圆寂后真身即葬于此。南寺周边群山环绕，人们它象是雕嵌在八片莲花瓣中，白色的佛塔在蓝天和群山的衬托下显得格外圣洁。

巴彦浩特原名“定远营”，汉语意为“富饶之城”，又称“塞外小北京”。她地方不大，却特别干净整洁。作为沙漠之城，实在出乎我的想象。夜晚灯火通明，别有意 境。晚餐是正宗的内蒙涮羊肉，美味无穷。朋友间互相敬酒、劝酒，让我第一次亲身感受到内蒙人的豪情和诚挚。我也学着跟朋友们敬酒，却总也不太到位。

第二天（10月17日）:  巴彦浩特 –〉 额济纳旗

巴彦浩特到额济纳旗大约有635公里，开车要走七个半小时。 一路上无边无际的戈壁滩让人一眼望不到尽头。戈壁滩上不时见到一群群的骆驼，悠哉自如地在旷野里漫步。我实在控制不住自己，多次请求司机停车，让我到戈壁滩上追逐那些悠然的大骆驼。

额济纳旗以胡杨林闻名。我们到额济纳已经是傍晚，当地朋友带我们到了一个人烟稀少的小溪边，此时正是夕阳西坠，橘红色的落日显得格外的美丽。我们几个人不顾一切地跑在泥泽地里，尽享夕阳下金色胡杨的浪漫与唯美，而东方天际一轮皎洁的圆月正在悄然升起，意境无穷。  

第三天（10月18日）: 额济纳旗

欣赏胡杨林最美妙的时间是在日出时。刚刚升起的太阳把通红的阳光洒在大片的胡杨林中，把树叶映得一片金黄。为着那片金黄，我们趁天还没亮就进到胡杨林里，选好地点，驾好相机，在寒冷中等待着第一线阳光。感谢天公作美，那天天空格外蓝，阳光格外温暖，让我捕捉到美妙的瞬间。

临近9点，当地的朋友们特意为我们送来热呼呼的早点，如雪中送炭，让我们吃了心里都暖洋洋的。回想起来，在美国摄影多年，从未享受过这种待遇，我会永远记着额济纳的朋友们。

当 天下午，我们又拜访了神秘的黑城。黑城位于干枯的额济纳河（黑水）下游东岸的巴丹吉林沙漠边缘，是“丝绸之路”上现存最完整的一座古城。远远望去，黑城在 荒漠戈壁之间半遮半掩，忽明忽暗，佛塔在阳光映照下变幻莫测，给人一种极其玄妙的感觉。想象着日落时的黑城应该更加神秘莫测，但因种种原因没有拍到，这也 算是我此行的一大遗憾吧！

第四天（10月19日）:  额济纳旗 –〉巴丹吉林沙漠

巴丹吉林沙漠位于阿拉善右旗，距额济纳560公里，行车大约6小时。我对沙漠一直有着特殊的情感，这两年先后到美国的死谷去过三次，对那空旷浩瀚的沙漠总是敬畏无穷。对于即将踏上的世界第三大沙漠，更是向往无比。

我们到达巴丹吉林沙漠正是傍晚时分，车子一路开过那连绵起伏的金色沙丘，仿佛行驶在一幅无边无际的画卷里！此时，让人倍感自然的浩大和人类的渺小。

               

第五天（10月20日）:  巴丹吉林沙漠 –〉阿拉善左旗 （巴彦浩特）

为了照到一片秋阳洒在金色沙漠中的美景，第二天凌晨6点 我们就上路了。在朦朦的晨光中，一片阴云笼罩着天边。我们心中有些失落，但还是竭尽全力地寻找着那片日出光影最佳的沙坡。地点找到了，相机架好了，接下来 就只有耐心地等待了。十分钟过去了，二十分钟过去了，当三十分钟流过我们眼前时，困惑和无奈终于战胜了信心和期望，看着天际阴云，我们只好收摊了，那种失 落感真是难以形容。 朋 友们都翻过两座沙丘快走到车边了，我却不甘心，拖着沉重的脚步，一步一回头，盼望着奇迹的发生。你猜怎么着，我刚刚下到山底，太阳就从云缝里钻出来了。霎 时，沙漠披上了金色的盛装。我们不顾一切地往回返，爬上第三道山梁的时候已是上气不接下气。赶紧拿相机，连忙按快门，终于抓到了几张片子。

下午我们开始往阿拉善左旗赶。巴丹吉林距阿拉善左旗大约520公里，行程6小时。一路上我们回味着早上拍摄日出的场景，感到那几张片子真可谓“不幸中的万幸”。想着，说着，回味着，却总还是觉得意犹未尽。

第六天（10月21日）:  月亮湖

回到巴彦浩特，当地朋友们提到离这里不远的月亮湖。月亮湖位于腾格里沙漠腹地，距巴彦浩特84公里，是一个秀丽、神奇的天然淡水湖。清风吹来，碧波荡漾，芦苇摇曳，野鸭嬉戏，是内蒙古西部最具特色，最有吸引力的沙漠探险基地。

对我来说，这一行最富挑战的项目是“冲沙”。从园区入口到月亮湖大约20公 里，没有普通的行车道，只能乘坐当地的吉普车，越过沙海浪尖，驰骋低谷深渊，才能到达月亮湖，领略她那广阔、豪放之美。登上吉普车立即给人一种紧张感。我 们锁好安全带，抱紧相机包，好像把自己的生命都交给了驾车的牧民。小伙子今年二十出头，驾车技术娴熟，当我叫他慢慢开时，他说：“冲沙车一定要开得快，这 样车才不会陷在沙窝里”。说着，他一踩油门，吉普车立时冲上一条高高的沙梁，我们的心都提到了嗓子眼，却又发现眼前一片深渊，车子玄空冲下沙坡，我们险些 从车里颠出来，惊险至极！

我们有幸在日落时踏上腾格里沙漠的丘梁。据高远望，金沙无际，夕阳映照，如置身于梦幻中的世界。

第七天（10月22日）:  巴彦浩特 –〉银川 –〉北京

六天的阿拉善之行匆匆而过，我们带着珍美的记忆，带着无尽的联想，带着当地朋友们的真诚和友情，踏上了回京之路。

阿拉善，我爱你，一定会再回来看你！