October 2006

Qing Cheng Mountain

Yesterday I went with Andre and Brendon on a daytrip to Qing Cheng Shan (Azure City Mountain) which is two-hours outside of Chengdu. After eating at 祖母的厨房 Grandma’s Kitchen) for breakfast we went to the bus station (chadianzi bus station) and got tickets to Qing Cheng Shan and were on our way.

Qing Cheng Shan is the birthplace of Daoism – a mountain dotted with temples and dozens of peaks. Compared to Emei Shan it’s an easy climb, taking half a day, so we arrived at the peak just in time to see the sunset. At the peak of the mountain was a temple and tall pagoda that rose high over the trees which we climbed up to to rest after the long hike and watch the sun set over distant peaks. I tried to get as many valuable photos along the way that I could.

Music Log: Hilltop Hoods

I don’t get the opportunity to check out much Australian hip hop, but I breezed through a Hilltop Hoods album in 2003 (The Calling) and came across their new release, The Hard Road, a few weeks ago. From Adelaide, Southern Australia, they generally have a distinct jazz-influenced style which I can really appreciate, finding myself in the middle of the Crunk Era or whatever XXL probably calls it. Finding new hip hop that I can get into has become increasingly difficult since about 2000 for me, but while I rate the new Blue Carpet album from Snoop fairly high, Hilltop Hoods seems to more suit my tastes. Check out a track from their latest album, titled Conversations From a Speakeasy: