RICKER CHOI
MUSIC HEALS!
upcoming performances ...June 23, 2012 (Sat) - 7:30 pm - in support of United Wayclick for more info...
PHOTO
PERFORMANCE
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Click large photo for descriptions
Berlin Philharmonie
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Berlin Philharmonie
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Euromusic
Mazzoleni Hall
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Mazzoleni Hall
Berlin Philharmonie
Mazzoleni Hall
Berlin Philharmonie
Mazzoleni Hall
Berlin Philharmonie
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Berlin Philharmonie
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Euromusic
Mazzoleni Hall
Four Seasons Center-2011-11-22
Mazzoleni Hall
Berlin Philharmonie
Mazzoleni Hall
Berlin Philharmonie
Mazzoleni Hall
CAMBODIA
December 2005 - CambodiaI spent 4 days in Cambodia. Saw the ancient temples gradually swallowed by humongous trees grown over hundred of years. Smelled the simplicity of a fishing village. The highlight was of course, Ankor Wat: truly awe-inspiring! Luckily the Khmer Rouge did not destroy these ancient relics.
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GREECE
JUNE 2011 - ATHENS, CRETE, SANTORINII spent a few days in Athens to see Acropolis and Agora, narrowly avoided the riots which happened just a few days after I left! Then I went to Crete to see the famous Knossos Palace - political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. I knew about Knossos and King Minos through reading a Hong-Kong sci-fi writer's work (Ni Kuang), which had a story about exploring the labryninth built to contain Minotaur (offspring of a woman and a white bull). That's when I was at most 12 years old. I was already fascinated by mythologies since then. The best time of the trip was the few days spent on Santorini - blue sky, gently ripping sea, blazing sun but with a light breeze. The only complain I have is the water was still so cold! At most 18 degree celcius.
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Santorini
Santorini - Sunset
Santorini
Acropolis in Athens
Acropolis - Parthenon
Acropolis
Agora - Athens
Agora
Crete - Knossos Palace
Crete - Knossos Palace Frescoe
Bar
Church
Hania
Hania
Santorini
Santorini - beach
Santorini-Sailing Boat Sunset
Santorini
Santorini
Crete
Santorini
Santorini - Sunset
Santorini
Acropolis in Athens
Acropolis - Parthenon
Acropolis
Agora - Athens
Agora
Crete - Knossos Palace
Crete - Knossos Palace Frescoe
Bar
Church
Hania
Hania
Santorini
Santorini - beach
Santorini-Sailing Boat Sunset
Santorini
Santorini
Crete
ITALY
OCT 2006 - ITALYI spent 14 days in Italy, visited Rome, Pompeii, Cinque Terra, Pisa, Florence, Venice, Milan, and Lake Como. I particularly enjoyed the quietness of Cinque Terra and Lake Como, while I found Rome and Venice too busy for my preference. St. Peters Basilica and the Vatican Museum were truly impressive.The food in Rome was expensive! Paying 10 EUR for a plate of nothing but plain spaghetti was a shock. However, in Cinque Terra, away from the busy city, the food was very affordable and portion extremely large! A frustrating experience in Rome was the poor service. We lined up for 45 min to get into Palatine Hill, only to be told that we must give exact change or no ticket would be sold to us. We had to quickly scramble from other tourists for exact change.And the line up was long! 3 hours for Vatican Museum, and another 2 hours for St Peters Basilica. Even worse was when we arrived in Rome, their Metro was down. Imagine walking 45 min from your hotel to the Colosseum immediately after a plane flight, with little or no sleep, then at the end of the day had to walk 45 min back to the hotel.Sounds like I got lots to complain about the trip. Looking back it is defintely worthwhile - just the process was a bit painful.
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Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Lake Como
Lake Como
Florence
Florence
Florence
Rome - Roman Forum
Rome - Vatican Museum
Rome - St Peter's
Milan
Pompei
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra
Lake Como
Lake Como
Florence
Florence
Florence
Rome - Roman Forum
Rome - Vatican Museum
Rome - St Peter's
Milan
Pompei
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
Venice
JAPAN
MAY 2011 - TOKYO, SENDAI, MATSUSHIMA, YAMADERA, KAKUNODATE, OIRASEI spent about 2 weeks in Japan, in North East region. Places visited are:Tokyo - just spent the night and a bit of a day there to change trains. I've been to Tokyo before so this is just a stop to change transportationSendai - the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku (northeast) regionMatsushima - a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture. There are a few hundred tiny islands (shima) covered in pines (matsu) which is how the name is derivedYamadera - a series of temples built along a mountain - a very nice hike!Kakunodate - a former castle town and samurai stronghold in todays Akita Prefecture. One of the main highlight of this trip.Oirase Stream - the climax of my trip. This is a picturesque mountain stream in Aomori Prefecture - one of Japans most famous!
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Yamadera
Yamadera
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo Modern Art Museum
Tokyo
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Yamadera
Yamadera
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo Modern Art Museum
Tokyo
Oirase Stream
Oirase Stream
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
Kakunodate - Samurai Village
NZ-AUS
SEPT 2009 - NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIAI spent one week in New Zealand`s North Island, and another in Australia (few days each in Sydney and Cairns). The trip fulfilled my long time fantasy of befriending kangaroos and kaola bear! The first day arriving New Zealand, my digital camera broke down (after 10 years of dedicated service). So I had to rely on a video-camcorder to take photos. The picture quality is not too satisfactory.
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New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand
New Zealand - Sheep Farm
New Zealand - Sheep Farm
New Zealand - Llama
Sydney - Park
New Zealand - Crocodile Park
New Zealand - Crocodile Park
Sydney
Australia - Sydney
Australia - Sydney
Australia - Sydney
Australia - Sydney
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand – Cow Farm
New Zealand
New Zealand - Sheep Farm
New Zealand - Sheep Farm
New Zealand - Llama
Sydney - Park
New Zealand - Crocodile Park
New Zealand - Crocodile Park
Sydney
Australia - Sydney
Australia - Sydney
Australia - Sydney
Australia - Sydney
PARIS
OCT 2007 - PARISI spent about 7 days in Paris. Everywhere was very pretty! There was little planning required except a list of things-to-see, because transportation was very easy with its excellent subway system. Not knowing a word of French posed no problem, as French people were extremely helpful despite they might not know a lot of English, but asking for direction in general was easy.The crepe was a must-try. I so far cant find a restaurant in Toronto that can make such great crepes as found in Paris. Too bad I forgot to try croissant, which my friends say that I missed out a lot without trying that in Paris!Because the part of Paris where most of the major tourist sites are located in has very few tall buildings, I could easily spot from afar my next destination. But actually walking all the way from Louvre to Arc de Triomphe, then to Eiffel Tower(!) was much more exhausting than I thought, because everywhere looked so close by! But the walk was worthwhile as scenes along Champs-Élysées was absolutely beautiful.
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Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Versailles
Versailles
Notre Dame
Versailles - inside the palace
Musee d'Orsay
Moulin Rouge
St Chapelle
Arche De Triomphe
Musee d'Orsay
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Versailles
Versailles
Notre Dame
Versailles - inside the palace
Musee d'Orsay
Moulin Rouge
St Chapelle
Arche De Triomphe
Musee d'Orsay
PERU
JUNE 2009 - PERUPeru is a country in western South America. It was home of the mighty Inca Empire. The Spaniards conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. Peru achieving independence in 1821. I visited Lima, Ballestas Islands, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cusco, and Machu Picchu - 2 weeks in the beautiful country.
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Lima - a Church
Ballestas Islands (Paracas)
Santa Catalina (Arequipa)
Colca Canyon
Llama
a toilet
Condor
Llama and Alpaca
Pisac Market
Practising on the piano
Old Lady
Machu Picchu
National Geographic
PRAGUE
Sept 2011 - PRAGUEPrague is the capital of Czech Republic. The city is home to about 1.3 million people. Here is my itinerary:3 days in Prague1 day to Terezín - concentration camp during WWII where 33,000 died in there3 days at Český Krumlov - a small city in the southern part of Czech Republic and a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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SILK ROAD
MAY 2007 - SILK ROAD (CHINA)My trip to Silk Road took total 10 days. Silk Road extends all the way from China to as far as Rome. My 10 days covered only the routes inside China. However, because the major tour sites were very far apart, most of the time was spent on excruciating long bus ride, which was definitely not pleasant. Hence if you plan to visit Silk Road, better join a tour that has portion of the longer travel by train, instead of by bus. Train should be a much more pleasant mode of transportation.However, bus ride nowadays along Silk Road is much more efficient than 10 years ago. Our tour guide told us one of the 5 hour journey we took used to require 26 hours just 10 years ago, before any well paved highway was in place! That meant 26 hours of rough ride on a bumpy stone desert! Well, in reality, 3000 years ago when people were really using Silk Road for trade, it took them years to travel back and forth. So I shouldn't complain too much.Despite my complaints, it was a great experience. I experienced first time camel riding, the thrill of hiking in a desert in Dunhuang, visiting the very western end of the Great Wall - Jia Yu Guan (Gate of Sighs), and of course the famous Qin Tombs Terracotta Army.
SWITZ-AUS
SEPT 2008 - AUSTRIA and SWITZERLANDI spent 2 weeks vacationing in Austria and Switzerland. My itinerary was Austria (1 week): Vienna, Hallstatt, Melk, Salzburg; Switzerland (1 week): Luzern, Bern Oberland (the mountains), Lausanne
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TURKEY
SEPT 2010 - TURKEYI spent 10 days in Turkey 5 days in Istanbul and 5 days in Cappadocia. Istanbul evokes a dream-like fantasy for me. Istanbul had served as the capital city of the classical (330-395), Byzantine (395-1204 & 1261-1453), and Latin (1204-1261) Roman Empires and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922). Hence, Istanbul had been called a variety of names throughout history, of which the better known ones are Constantinople and Byzantium.Despite being a Islamic country, where 99.8% of population declare themselves as Muslim, Turkish people smoke and drink just like we do! When I hear the daily 5 calls for prayer, I hardly see anyone kneel down and start praying. Yes, of course Mosques are always full of devoted Muslims praying, but they appear to be the exception rather than the rule. Women dress like us in North America, with a few occasional exception that I see wearing the Burqa. This probably has to do with the secularization of the government.The Cappadocia region is largely underlain by sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams, and ignimbrite deposits erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago, during the late Miocene to Pliocene epochs. The rocks of Cappadocia near Göreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The volcanic deposits are soft rocks that the people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out to form houses, churches and monasteries. Göreme became a monastic center between 300-1200 AD. (from wikipedia)
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YELLOWSTONE
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OTHER
MAY 2008 - INDONESIA, BEIJINGMe and 3 other friends were originally scheduled to go to Sichuan, just a few days after the tragic 8.3 earthquake happened! We were in Indonesia, in the Bintan resort island. I still remember watching the news while in Indonesia. It was at night when I saw the news, in which the original death toll was about 5000. Just an hour later, the number jumped to 7000. Next morning, it was 15,000! It was a shock. We immediately called the travel agency, and confirmed that the tour to Sichuan was cancelled. We then switched to Beijing. We were really lucky, as I heard that some other tour that left for Sichuan to the exact location where we were supposedly to be going were trapped by landslide caused by the earthquake.Our first stop was a resort in Indonesia, called Bintan Island. Then we stayed 1 night in Singapore. The resort was very beautiful, as you can see from the pictures below. However, the day we were at Singapore, it was raining heavily whole day. What a disappointment! We stayed in indoor malls, but were amazed by the great food and cheap prices!I was amazed by the cleanliness of Beijing. Everywhere - no garbage can be found. There are also surprisingly adequate supplies of air-conditioned toilets, which are also quite clean. Another surprise was the modernity of the city. You can find the two beautiful pictures below of the night scene in an ourdoor shopping plaza, in which a gigantic screen is displaying the flight of a phoenix.The most memorable part of the trip was the visit to the Great Wall of China. We were lucky enough to be brought to the gate where there was practically no other visitors except our tour. We pretty much had the Great Wall all to ourselves!DECEMBER 2007 - LAS VEGASMy friend found an extremely cheap air fare plus hotel package, and so I spent a few days in Las Vegas. I saw Cirque du Soleil's "O", David Copperfield, and Steve Wyricks (magician). "O" and Steve Wyricks show were the highlights of my trip. David Copperfield's show, on the other hand, was surprisingly disappointing. It was only 60 min long, and in it were about 10 to 15 min clips from his past shows (what a rip off!!) plus a few old tricks such as the duck appearing in bucket. Staging was also much simpler than his past shows. It was quite a disappointment. But Steve Wyricks show was truly entertaining and breath-taking, and it was 90 min long too!"O" was truly spectacular. If you were to see this show, make sure you get a seat that is not too far back. I didnt purchase tickets early enough, and had only a seat that was a bit further back. If you want the best view, ensure you get the middle section facing the stage, with a seat mid-distance from stage to the back.The rest of my trip was spent on shopping mall, touring casinos, a little of gambling, and trying Las Vegas Wynn Hotels buffet. Unfortunately, none of these activities appealed to me, especially shopping and lining up the 2.5 hours for the buffet. It was just silly of me to go to Las Vegas at Xmas time. There were people everywhere! The buffet was quite good, just not worthwhile standing for 2.5 hours for it. However, I am not a shopper, a big eater, nor a gambler, and hence there wasnt much left to do for me in Las Vegas. Thinking about it, why did I go in the first place?!APRIL 2004 - HAWAIII spent 10 days in the beautiful Hawaii, visiting Big Island, Akaka Falls, Hilo, Puukohola Heiau, Keauhou Bay, and Puuhonua O Honaunau. This has always been one of my favorite vacations - quiet and peaceful!JUNE 2003 - JAPANI spent total 17 days in Japan. Japan has 2 very different sides: a busy side and a contemplating meditative side. Even within busy Tokyo, you can still find the meditative Meiji Shingu and elegant Hama Rikyu Garden for some peace.Everywhere I went was so clean, even in remote countryside. At Shirakawago, a remote village, we were told that there would be no garbage bin, and we were to bring our own garbage bags and carry our garbage while hiking. And there was not even 1 empty soft-drink can found along the hiking trail!And I absolutely love the Zen-themed washrooms all over Japan - so simple and clean. Traditional Japanese culture and historic buildings can be easily found everywhere, even in busy Tokyo.SEPTEMBER 2002 - TIBETIn Sept 29, 2002, I went visiting Tibet. Potala Palace is absolutely breathtaking. Well, staying in Tibet itself is literally breathtaking - due to its low atmospheric pressure, even walking faster than usual makes me dizzy. If you plan to visit Tibet, ensure you first consult your doctor. I stayed in Tibet for 6 days, and first 3 days nausea, consistent pounding headache, and fever was haunting me. After 3 days, once my body get used to the atmosphere, I had no more problem. Turns out there is special medication that one can take beforehand to lower ones blood pressure to accommodate Tibets low atmospheric pressure. Again consult your doctor!
BEIJING HAWAII INDONESIA JAPAN LAS VEGAS TIBET
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