Travel blog

Sydney 12 Days Trip in March 2016

2016-04-07T05:48:00.001-07:00

Its been my 3rd time visit Sydney as my lovely daughter is living there. There's always something new whenever I visit Sydney.

After almost 9 hours flight from Hong Kong to Sydney, arrived early in the morning.

Immigration process is fast as you can use the e passport channel to swipe your passport. You have answer 4 questions , any food, weapons, fruit ... After that will print out a voucher for you to exit the gate to the baggage claim. You do not need to meet any immigration officer. After getting the baggage(its fast, when I reach the baggage claim, my baggage was already there) will go to declaration channel.

As I brought a wooden jewelry box for my daughter, I tick yes for wooden material. The officer just asked me what item to bring into Sydney. I said a wooden jewelry box. He said OK and directed me to exit the door without checking my box.

Free wifi at the airport so I whatsapp my daughter who is picking me up.Her boy friend was on the way to the airport as there's traffic jam. So I went to the express pick up area to wait for them.

After a while, my daughter whatsapp me that they were at the pickup place. I was so excited that I met my daughter and her friend. Its been 3 years ago when I visited her. After a shower at her warm home we began our tour. The first place was Sydney Fish Market.

After lunch, we went to shopping mall nearby.

to be continued..............

Christmas in London, Cambridge, Oxford,Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath from 22 to 30 December 2013

2014-03-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Christmas in London may be romantic, those Christmas decorations, sparkling lights will enhance your feelings. From the information of London tourist web site, we knew that all subways,trains and buses would stop on Christmas day(25 Dec) and the public transport will resume on Boxing day(26 Dec). However, we noticed that no public transportation on Christmas day and some of the subways stations(small ones) and train service was also closed on Boxing day till new year eve. Some of the stations would not open because of maintenance work. Almost all restaurants closed on Christmas day. It is not the best time to visit London in Christmas holidays.

Day 1 22nd December
After about 13 hours flight , we arrived London Heathrow airport. As our hotel was near train station,we get on the Tube and then changed to the train. We bought a 1 day zone 6 travel card and 7 days zone 1-2 travel card(oyster card). When we alighted from the train, we noticed that there was no lift or escalator to exit gates. Imagined that we carried luggage and we had to walked down the staircases.

Because of jet lag, we went to bed early.

Day 2 23rd December Heavy Rainy and cool

Greenwich, Burberry and Aquascutum Outlets

Took the Tube Jubilee line to North Greenwich. Its in East London.Greenwich is the home of time. Every place of earth is measured from here.

After a light lunch in Greenwich we went to Burberry and Aquascutum outlets. From North Greenwich took the North bound Jubilee line to Stratford then changed to Overground to Hackney Central. The Burberry factory outlet store is located in Hackney near the Hackney Central station (7 minutes walk).Opposite to it is the Aquascutum outlet. We spent a whole evenings in these outlets as heavy rain never stop.

Day 3 24th December Light rain and cloudy

Buckingham Palace, Queen's Gallery, Change of Guards, Big Ben, House of Parliament and London Eye.

Guard rehearsal at the Guard House before going to Buckingham Palace

At 11 am , the guards marching to the Buckingham Palace for Changing Guard ceremony. As we were watching the guard rehearsal at the Guard House, we missed the the actual changing guard at Buckingham Palace. There were crowds of people surrounding the Palace and you could not see the whole view of the changing guard. If you want to see the changing guard, be early as 10:30 am at the Palace.

Guards marching to the Buckingham Palace

We enjoyed a local dish of fish and chips at the restaurant right across the Big Ben. After lunch, we walked along the bridge and took pictures of the Big Ben, London Eyes, Parliament House. We went to the London Eyes and after about 45 minutes queue, we were very excited to enter the view deck of London Eyes.

Big Ben

London Eyes

London Eyes at Night

View from Top of London Eyes

After about an hour in the London Eyes we went to have dinner and bought some food for 25th.

Day 4 25th December Sunny and cold

On Christmas day, all restaurants were closed except a nearby MacDonald was opened. We ate lunch there. As all buses, tube and train were not running on this day we walked around by the Thames river.

No bus, empty street on Christmas Day

Day 5 26th December Oxford Sunny and Cold

We had booked Oxford Tube bus via internet weeks ago with special price.

Get on the bus at Buckingham Palace Road

It took about 1 hour and 40 minutes to Oxford.

College in Oxford

to be continued...........

China Zhangjiajie ( 張家界) Avatar Hallelujah Mountains 6 days Tour - April 11 to 16, 2013

2013-04-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Our 30 years+ old classmates small union began on April 11, 2013 in China Zhangjiajie . The city is situated in the west of Hunan Province, covering an area of 4536 square kilometers with the total population of 1.54 million, and here live some nationalities of Han, Tujia, Miao and Bai.

Zhangjiajie (張家界) in Hunan ( 湖南)Province China

Zhangjiajie got known to the world in 1980, and has become a famous tourist spot for its uniqueness of natural features and primitive charm.

張家界市為中國湖南省的省轄地級市，位於湖南西北部，澧水中上游，屬武陵山脈腹地。為中國最重要的旅遊城市之一。

1982年9月，張家界成為中國第一個國家森林園公林，1988年8月，武陵源被列入國家第二批40處重點風景名勝區之內；1992年，由張家界國家森林公園、索溪峪風景區、天子山風景區三大景區構成的武陵源自然風景區被聯合國教科文組織列入《世界自然遺產名錄》。

Day 1 Cloudy
Our tour began from Hong Kong. We gathered at the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui at 7:30am. The ferry departed at 8:30am and arrived Guangzhou Shunde at 10:30am. After checked through custom, we had lunch right at the Shunde Ferry Terminal. restaurant. After lunch, we went to the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway station to took a high speed train to Cheung Sa South Station. The journey took another two and half hours.

High Speed Train to Cheung Sa

High Speed Train Platform

City View of Cheung Sha

Our first sightseeing spot was Tianxin Pavillion (天心閣).

天心閣 (Tianxin Pavillion)

為長沙重要名勝，也是長沙僅存的古城標志。位于長沙市中心東南角、城南路與天心路交會之處的古城牆內。樓閣三層，建築面積846平方米，碧瓦飛簷，朱梁畫棟，閣與古城牆及天心公園其它建築巧妙融為一體。基址佔著城區最高地勢，加之坐落在30多米高的城垣之上，近有妙高峰為伴，遠望岳麓山為屏，更顯挺峭、峻美。天心閣為全城最高處。登上天心閣，長沙城全景一覽無餘，遠望湘江，真有“極目楚天舒”的心曠神怡之感。

樓閣建于明代，重修于清乾隆時期，1938年毀于“文夕大火”，1983年再修。再修後的樓閣既保持了主閣的原貌，又參照古岳陽樓，增建了兩座二層的輔閣，象鵬鳥的主體和兩翼。三閣以通廊相連接，渾為一體，使矗立于32米高的錐垛之上的古閣，更加壯觀。閣樓高17.5米，用60根木柱支撐，主輔閣飾以用花崗石和其他高級石料雕鑿的獅子、葫蘆頭、梅、竹、芙蓉、車、馬、龍等。簷上32個高啄鰲頭，32只鳳馬銅鈴和10條吻龍，也都古色古香，造型別致。

今日天心閣，已成為城南的一座新型公園。內有攝影、飲食、茶點、副食和工藝品等旅遊服務設施。園內堆砌有假山、涼亭、魚池，園內樹木繁茂，花草眾多。每天有很多人到此練功、讀書、遊覽、品茗。

Tianxin Pavillion 天心閣

After Tianxin Pavillion, we went to the river side to view the Chairman Mao's statues when he was young.

Chairman Mao Statue 毛澤東雕像

毛澤東雕像

湘江風光帶

Day 2 (常德詩牆), Phoenix City (鳳凰古城) Sunny

常德詩牆全長3公里，臨沅江而立，樓臺點綴，氣勢恢宏.

常德詩牆

常德詩牆入口

After the Poem Wall, we headed to the Phoenix City where we would stay a night there.

鳳凰古城又稱沱江古鎮，地處湘西丘陵地區，沱江的中下游位置，全縣多山地。沱江從西至東橫貫鳳凰縣境中部地區，流經臘爾山、麻沖、落潮井、都里、南華山、沱江鎮、官莊、橋溪口、木江坪等9個鄉鎮。至瀘溪縣河溪會武水，在武溪鎮匯入沅江。幹流全長131公里。在鳳凰縣境長96.9公里，流域面積為732.42平方公里。多年平均流量11.9立方米/秒，自然高差533米。

鳳凰縣位於湖南西部的湘西土家族苗族自治州，地處武陵山脈南部，雲貴高原東側。

鳳凰古城

Phoenix City

Day 3 Tianmen Mountain (天門山國家森林公園)

天門山位於張家界市南，距城區僅8公哩，是張家界地區最早載入史冊的名山，也是張家界地區海拔最高的山。天門山因天門洞而得名，三國時期，公元263年，天門洞訇然而開，被吳帝孫休視為吉兆，天門山由此而得名。天門山主峰海拔1518.6米，平均海拔在1400米以上。1992年7月被批准為國家森林公園，是張家界是第二個國家森林公園，面積達190多平方公裡，同時也是國家地質公園和湖南旅游風景名勝區。天門山隆起開始於燕山運動，再經喜馬拉雅山造山運動，再經風雨剝蝕，造就成為凌空獨尊、舉世罕見的喀斯特台型地貌。天門山山勢高絕，陡險峻拔，景色雄奇壯麗，一年四季景象變幻萬千。山頂保存著完整的原始次生林，植物資源豐富，有著很多國家保護的珍貴植物品種，更有珍稀罕見的原始高山珙桐群落。天門山山頂面積近2平方公裡，森林覆蓋率逾90%，其間古樹參天，藤蔓纏繞，青苔遍布，石筍、石芽舉步皆是，處處如天成的盆景，宛如仙境，被人譽為絕美的空中花園。

Far view of Tianmen Mountain (遠望天門山)

Tianmen Mountain is a mountain located within Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie, in northwestern Hunan Province, China.

A cablecar was constructed by the French company Poma from nearby Zhangjiajie railway statiTon to the top of the mountain. Tianmen Mountain Cableway is claimed in tourist publications as the "longest passenger cableway of high mountains in the world", with 98 cars and a total length of 7,455 metres and ascent of 1,279 metres. The highest gradient is an unusual 37 degrees. Tourists can walk on kilometres of paths built onto the cliff face at the top of the mountain, including sections with glass floors. An 11 km road with 99 bends also reaches the top of the mountain and takes visitors to Tianmen cave, a natural hole in the mountain of a height of 131.5 metres.

Tianmen Mountain is a "must see" location - unbelievably beautiful. The ride in the cable car provides stunning views of the long and winding road up the mountain and that hole in the mountain aptly described as the gateway to heaven.

Cable Car to Tianmen Mountain

View from Cable Car

Shuttle Bus to Top of Tianmen Mountain

Trail Around Tianmen Mountain

When you walked around the trail, you would reach a Glass Trail where you could see clearly what's under your feet. Of course you must not afraid of height in order to enter this trail. The Glass Trail is about 60 meters.

The Glass Trail at Tianmen Mountain

After venturing through the Glass Trail, we had another challenge of walking 999 staircase to the cave of the Tianmen Mountain

Cave at Tianmen Mountain

When we walked down from the cave , it was late in the evening and we had to watch a Chinese Musical Opera at Tianmen Mountain. We skipped the dinner and went to the Opera theater. The stage was at the Grand Valley of Tianmen Mountain and was an open air atmosphere. You could see the real mountains in front of you. The show was known as the world’s first real-scene musical drama with the high mountains and deep valleys as the stage background. Originated from a traditional Chinese myth and folk tale- "Love between Man and Fox", the drama integrates the elements of folk music and modern art. As the story progresses, you would find settings everywhere from the foot of the hill to the peak, be it spotlight, stage for the chorus and background houses. and mountains. The visual presentation was spectacular and amazing, the music was impressive, and those dancers and singers were also charming.

Musical Opera Tianmen Fairy Fox

The main stage integrated with wonderful mountains, valleys, forests, streams and waterfalls to form the only large stage against the background of towering mountains and valley in the world, measuring all over 1 kilometer in depth, width and height respectively. A must see when you are in Zhangjiajie.

Day 4 Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon (張家界大峽谷)

Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon not only has the beauty of water, but also possesses the charming of mountain. Located in the Cili county( a county in Zhangjiajie), Zhangjiajie grand canyon, about 60 square km, is close to the world natural heritage, world geological park wulingyuan scenic spot. It is a new development place.zhangjiajie Grand Canyon attracts tourists with its magnificence, rareness, magnificence and beauty. It has become a sparkling pearl in the border area of Zhangjiajie.

張家界大峽谷植被茂密，野生動植物眾多，峽谷內冬暖夏涼，舒適宜人。一線天遊道垂直而下，有驚險刺激的景區滑道代步，不僅讓遊客零距離地體驗到張家界奇峰異石的峽谷地貌，還能讓遊客在有驚無險的遊覽途中高潮迭起；目不暇接的飛泉流瀑數不勝數，輕巧絕妙的掛在峽谷之中和絕壁之上；七色彩虹在瀑布上方架起人世間的姻緣鵲橋，美輪美奐，疑似仙境；神泉溪流，神泉峽谷，神泉湖泊，山水和諧，天人合一。

to be continued (待續) . . . . . .

Sydney, Melbourne 10 Days Trip Feb 22 to Mar 3, 2013

2013-03-07T05:52:00.001-08:00

Day 1 Sunny and warm

Fly to Sydney from Hong Kong took about 9 hours. The plane is a huge A380 plane. The seats are wider and the legroom is wider too. It's more comfortable compare with Air Bus 330. The purpose of the trip is to visit my daughter in Sydney.

My daughter picked me up at the airport in the early morning. I must say the immigration and custom in Sydney are very efficient and fast. It was a sunndy day. After settle all the baggage at my daughter's house, we began our tour. As my daughter had a medical check near China Town, our first tour was the China Town.

Way to Central Station

Day 2 Rainy

Sydney is 3 hours ahead of Hong Kong. At 10 am Sydney time is 7am in Hong Kong, so I had to adjust the time. It's a rainy day. We went to the Sydney Fish Market where we had lunch in a Chinese restaurant. There were lots of seafood there and you could request the cook to cook the seafood the way you like.

Seafood Shop

My favorite Crab Leg

Sydney Fish Market

After Sydney Fish Market, we were heading for the Bondi Beach. A very windy day at Bondi Beach, one could hardly stand still. The umbrella was useless as the wind was so strong. The waves at the beach were high and rough in the rain.

Bondi Beach

Day 3 Sunny

We had a big breakfast at the beautiful seaside restaurant ripples at Chowder Bay. The food was good and the service was good too.

After the big breakfast, we walked around and enjoyed the scenic view of the seaside. We walked along Balmoral beach. The beach was big and the waves were mild compare to the Bondi beach yesterday.

After the big breakfast, we drove to the famous Sydney Opera House - The landmark of Sydney. How I wish I can see one opera or concert there.

The Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Harbour Bridge

Not far from the Sydney Opera House is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You can go up to the top of the bridge for an eye-bird view of Sydney harbour. Next of the Opera House is the Royal Botanic Garden. We walked through the beautiful garden and to the Art Gallery near by.

Royal Botanic Garden

The Art Gallery

We toured around the Art Gallery and enjoyed the oil paintings, the modern and the ancient ones, the sculptures and the Australian arts.

Day 4 4 days Bus Tour from Sydney to Melbourne, Sunny

Getting up early in the morning as I had to go to the pick up point in China Town at 7 am. There were 37 persons joining this bus tour. Most were Chinese from Mainland China. On the way to Melbourne, there were green fields, farms and faraway hills. The scenery was beautiful, like a panorama picture.

On the Way to Melbourne

After almost 12 hours, we arrived Melbourne city center at about 7:30 pm and had dinner in Melbourne China Town.

Melbourne China Town

After dinner, we checked in a 4 stars hotel The Sebel & Citigate near Albert Park.

Day 5 Rainy

Buffet breakfast in the early morning, we were heading to the Yarra river cruise. Its about an hour cruise along the Yarra River. The cruise would pass through some bridges which had a very low head room. One had to seat down when passed through these bridges. The rain was not heavy so we could enjoy the scenery on the open deck.

Yarra River Cruise

Bridge with Low Headroom

Melbourne City View

Central Station

After the cruise, we went to Eureka Tower Skydeck 88 (about 300 meters tall) where we could see the whole Melbourne city. We took the elevator (the speed is 9 meter per second, total journey from ground to 88 floor is 40 seconds) to floor 88 where the Skydeck situated.. We could see the whole area of Melbourne city.

View of Melbourne City in the rain

Another View

Our next itinerary was the Melbourne Aquarium. The most spectacular one was the Penguin Rookery where you could see the lovely penguins on the ice and how they swam in the water.

Melbourne Aquarium

Penguins

After lunch, we were going to the Philip Island to see the little penguins return home from the ocean. On the way to Philip Island we stopped by a Chocolate Factory where we could make our own chocolate.

Chocolate Factory Philip Island

Chocolate Making Machine for Visitors

At dawn, we arrived at the Philip Island seashore. We could see some little penguins already landed under the walkway or their wooden homes at the hillside.

Sunset at Philip Island

Shy Little Penguins Hiding Under the Deck

After walking around the deck, we would see a lot of penguins coming back. Our main show was not at the deck but the stadium on the other side of the beach. We had to keep silent, no flash, no photos, otherwise we would scare the penguins away. At around 9 pm, groups of little penguins (in 4 or 6) paddled through the beach and to their homes on the hillside, Its almost 11 pm when we returned to our hotel. A long day but lots of exciting and beautiful things to see.

Day 6 Sunny with Occasional Shower
Morning call at 5:30 am and breakfast at 6 am. We had to get up early because we would go to the greatest scenery in Melbourne - the Great Ocean Road , the 12 Apostles. After breakfast, we went to the Soverign Hill and the Gold Museum. We went to the Gold Museum first to see the history of the great Australian gold rushes in 1850. There were impressive and valuable collection of gold nuggets, alluvial deposits, priceless gold artifacts and gold coins.

After the Gold Museum we entered the exciting Sovereign Hill. First we joined the gold mine tour. We boarded on a gold mine train to the underground mine to discover the dark, dangerous world of deep lead mining and witness the discovery of the famous welcome nugget.

Inside Sovereign Hill Street

Gold Mine Tour

Inside the Gold Mine

Gold inside the Mine

Gold Panning

After the Gold Mine adventure tour, we went to the gold panning area. If you were lucky, you could find real gold and it's yours to keep. Some of our tour members found golds during panning.

We were all happy to get some gold from the Sovereign Hill. The next great tour would be The Great Ocean Road.

Twelve Apostles View from the Deck

If you want to see all 12 Apostles, you have to get on a helicopter.

Day 7
12 hours bus back to Sydney. Arrived Sydney at 7:30 pm. My daughter picked me up at China Town. Its heavy rain in Sydney.

Day 8 Rainy and Thunderstorm
My daughter took a day off (Friday) and we were going to Sydney Fish Market to have our lunch.

At the Sydney Fish Market, you could ask the cook to cook the seafood the way you want, in Chinese style fry, steam, oven or sashimi. There were a lot of ready made cooked seafood.

As the rainy was heavy, we decided to take a rest at home and had dinner at Billy Kwong's Restaurant. The crispy-skinned duck with blood orange sauce and the vegetable dumplings are highly recommended. As this

place was small, we had to share with other couples.

After a delicious dinner, we had our ice cream at the Messina- the most popular ice cream in Australia.

Messina Ice Cream

Day 9 Cloudy

We went to Eveleigh Market. The market only opened on Saturday mornings. From the market you could test product from local farms such fresh vegetables, fruits, bread and cakes. Besides the market, there was a Chinese artist exhibitions-Song Dong Waste Not. He used the used materials like water bottles, dishes and bowls for his exhibitions.

Billy Kwong food at the morning market

After appreciation of the arts, we drove to the Manly Beach. Manly received its name from Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788 who was so impressed bt the "confident and manly behaviour" of the local Aborigines(kay-ye-my people) that he called this town 'Manly Cove'.

Manly Beach

Surfers at Manly Beach

Dinner at home with home made dishes.

Home made dish

Day 10 Sunny

As my plane scheduled depart in the late afternoon, we had breakfast in Zetland area and then drove to Paddington for a walk. There were unique boutique stores along the street.

Paddington

Boutique

Boutique at Paddington

All my bags were packed and ready to go. My daughter's friend drove me to the airport. Its sad to leave my daughter. My 10 days in Australia brought me quality time with my daughter and her friends. I enjoyed my stay very much.

Goodbye Sydney

Strawberry Heart Sandwiches

2012-02-09T19:13:00.002-08:00

Ingredients:
4 slices of chocolate sponge cake
1 tbsp. Strawberry Crush or Strawberry Jam
2 tbsp. sweetened, whipped double cream
1 tbsp. sliced strawberries
Makes: 2 Sandwiches

Method:

1. Using a heart-shaped cutter, cut the cake slices in heart shapes.
2. Spread Strawberry Jam or Crush on all slices.

3. Spread whipped cream on two slices.

4. Last, spread strawberry slices on the cream.

4. Place the other two slices with the jam side facing down to complete the sandwiches.

5. Spoon the remaining cream into a piping bag and using a plain, round nozzle, drizzle cream on top.

6. For more garnish, serve with Chocolate Coated Strawberries.

About the Author
Lata Tokhi is the Founder and Editor of Dot Com Women, a premier women's website and fast-growing online community, and Celebrating Christmas, a resource for celebrating Christmas in style. Visit her websites for lots of homemaking and business ideas, free downloads, free Ezines and message boards for women to network and share.

Different Things to Do on Your Trip to India

2012-02-06T03:29:00.000-08:00

So you have planned a trip to India and are all set to embark on your journey. If you have read/ heard about travel in India you will know that the opportunities to spend time are virtually limitless and there is no end to the various things to do, experiences to undertake and sights and sounds to marvel at. It can be quite challenging for a traveler to make the most of traveling in India since the country is so vast and there is just so much to do. In this article, we have shortlisted the best ways to spend time during a vacation in India.

1. Go Shopping for Unique Goods: This is a favorite pastime of all tourists in India. The handicrafts industry in the country produces just about every imaginable good, from textiles and garments to jewelry and footwear, from paintings and sculptures to household utility items and home furnishings. Instead of purchasing the usual mementoes, spend time in the bazaars and ‘haats’ of India to buy the “real India goods and wares” and take back a small piece of your trip to India with you. Delhi Haat in the capital city of Delhi, Lal Chowk in Kashmir and Meena Bazaars across various states in the country are all great examples of shopping opportunities.

2. Spend Time Trying Out the Food: Food is one of the biggest attractions of visiting India. From the spicy hot foods of Rajasthan to the localized Chinese cuisine all over the country, from the sambhar-vada of South India to the extravagant meat dishes of Kashmir, the cuisines and variety of food in India are limitless. For true Mughal cooking visit Old Delhi and Chandini Chowk in Delhi while you can try all kinds of state cuisines at Pragati Maidan and Delhi Haat.

3. Storytelling styles and puppetry are an integral part of the culture of India. No trip to India is complete without attending some shows. The India Habitat Centre in Delhi is often a venue for various street plays, concerts and small performances. Delhi Haatal ways has ongoing thematic festivals, usually with focus on specific states at a time, and one can not only buy goods and try out cuisines of the state but also attend theatre, dances and music performances of the state. These events are lively and vibrant and are a great effort on the patrons’ part to keep the ancient traditions and culture of the country alive. You can watch these age-old arts come to life, meet the performers, hear about the history of these performing arts and take beautiful pictures and videos that you will cherish for life.

About The Author

Aalia Khan has deep interest in writing informative articles on Travel and tourism India. Also given her words to a portal for India Tours where one can find info on India trip and get the best packages for vacation in India. Explore: - http://www.indiatouritinerary.com/

The author invites you to visit:
http://www.indiatouritinerary.com/

4 SECRETS TO A FLAT STOMACH

2012-02-06T03:22:00.000-08:00

4 Secrets to a Flat Stomach

by Jesse Cannone CFT, SPN, CPRS

Do you want a flat stomach? I don't know a person who doesn't!

People spend millions, if not billions of dollars, each year in the quest for a flat stomach. Right now there are about 200 or more ab exercise devices out there. There's the ab do-it, the ab rock-it, the ab roller, the ab dolly, and so many more. You would think that with all of these amazing new products that most people would be walking around with that nice, lean mid-section they've always wanted. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Most, if not all of these products, will do little or nothing to flatten your stomach. And that's because these exercise contraptions cannot eliminate the layer of fat that lies on top of your abs.

In order to be successful at thinning your waistline you must have a basic under standing of how the ab muscles function and how your body burns fat. The first thing that needs to be understood is the difference between fat and muscle. Fat is excess calories and is primarily stored in layers on top of muscle tissue. Muscle is made up of fibers that contract or shorten to produce movement. Fat cannot turn into muscle and muscle cannot turn into fat! However, you can lose muscle and you can gain fat. That's what happens to most people.
So if your goal is to thin your waist line and have a nice flat stomach, the first thing you need to do is decrease / eliminate the layers of fat that are on top of your abs. We all have a flat stomach; it's just some of oars are covered by excess fat.

The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a combination of strength training (with a extra focus on mid-section), cardiovascular exercise (short, hard workouts), and stable blood sugar (keeps you from adding additional fat and makes it easier for the body to use body fat for fuel).

1. You must do some form of progressive strength training

The primary function of the ab muscle is to flex your torso forward. However, there are also muscles that flex your torso to the side and muscles that rotate your torso. Often times you see people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups.

If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need to incorporate the following types of exercises:

1-2 forward flexion exercises (crunch, sit-up, etc.)

1-2 side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.)

1-2 rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.)

The abs, are muscles just like any other and should be worked at most 3 times per week. You also want to make sure you are training them progressively, working them harder each time.

2. Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolism

Cardio workouts are important because they CAN, if done correctly, increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more! This means you are less likely to store any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated metabolism. Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.

Below is a sample interval workout that can be done with just about any activity (walking, bicycling, swimming, stair climbing, etc.).

Warm up at easy pace 2-5 minutes Perform 30 seconds of hard work (almost as hard as possible) Perform 1 minute of moderate work (recovery time-catch breath) Repeat this process 6-10 times Cool down at an easy pace for 2-5 minutes

3. Stable blood sugar is the key

And most importantly, you must stabilize your blood sugar! This is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning away that excess body fat and keeping it off! To effectively stabilize your blood sugar you must feed your body frequently; like every 2-3 hours. The key is to give your body only what it needs at that time. Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, so, why would you only feed it once or twice a day? Give your body the fuel it needs: vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, whole grains, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, etc.).

Many people are too hung up on how much fat is in food, or how healthy of a choice it is. Calories are calories and it doesnt matter where they come from. If theres extra wheres it going? Yup, you guessed it body fat!

This is not to say that what you eat is not important because it is, it just doesnt have that much of an affect when it comes to fat loss. Try to make healthy choices whenever possible, but dont feel like if you eat a cheeseburger it is guaranteed to be stored as fat.

4. Get the help of a professional

Unfortunately, most people dont know enough about the human body, nutrition, or effective exercise to meet their health and fitness goals. Ask yourself this one question, Am I happy with my current progress or condition? If youre not, you should consider getting the help of a qualified personal fitness professional. Dont depend on the information you get from magazines or from your local gym/ health club. A qualified fitness professional can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, and in less time than you would imagine.

If you are serious about your health and fitness goals, and you are ready for that flat stomach, I recommend you start implementing the 4 strategies listed in this article. These 4 strategies can help you take control of your metabolism and burn off that excess body fat and having you looking and feeling great! If you would like to receive more information on how to lose those love handles please call me at 240-731-3724 or e-mail me at jesse@achieve-fitness.com

About the Author
Jesse Cannone is a certified personal fitness trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist, and a national fitness presenter. He is also the author of Burn Fat FAST and A Bride's Guide To Fast Fitness + Weight Loss in addition to many other popular fitness articles. He is known for his hard-hitting and to the point style and offers a great free email newsletter called Fitness Success News, which you can subscribe to at his website http://www.achieve-fitness.com

Balancing Work and Home

2012-02-06T02:49:00.000-08:00

Balancing Work and Home

Work is addicting .....and more so when your computer is your office or shop! And while you spend hour upon hour to network with other netpreneurs and provide online customer services to your clients, you tend to neglect a dozen odd household jobs.

Hours seem to fly by when work online. As for your household duties, with great effort, you just take care of the most basic ones like fixing dinner, driving your kids to school etc.

Cleaning, Organizing, Buying Groceries, paying your bills, going to the post office etc. are postponed till the last hour. So how do your balance your work along with your home?

There are two important steps to do this.

First, make yourself realize the fact that you HAVE TO take some time out for your home and there is no excuse in the world to avoid that.
Secondly, start organizing your available time.

Here are some quick steps to help you balance your work as well as your home.

Divide available hours between your home and your work diligently.
Set timers when you are working online.
Maintain a 'To Do' list or a diary.
Picture yourself going through the troubles of paying your bills later than allowed.
Set aside some time for all those jobs which require you to go outside. For e.g. going to the market, post office, bank etc. Try to coincide these with each other. Say, for example, you could take care of these after driving your kids to school.
Make up your mind and start some kind of organizing/ decorating/ renovating activity around your house. These are so addicting that once you start, you will enjoy yourself a lot.
Similarly, take up your favorite hobby in the afternoon. You will love the change and enjoy getting creative.
Plan weekly activities. Take up cleaning once a week. Go for outings once a week. Call upon a friend once a week. This will help you maintain your social life as well.
Surf the net for information related to a hobby. This will get you started with that hobby and also give you the much needed break from work.
Surf the web with your hubby or children. Show them websites of their interest. That way, you will also get to spend more time with them.

Just like the old saying - 'You Eat to Live, You do not Live to Eat', I'll say
'You Work to Live, You do not Live to Work'. It's no use being successful on the cost of your home and your family.

The 'Dot Com Women' of today are not women who stay online for hours with a guilt feeling on the back of their minds. They are women with a strong desire to succeed in their personal and professional lives. And you are one of them! That's why you chose to read this, isn't it?

Good Luck with your efforts to striking a balance between your work and your home!

About the Author
Lata Tokhi is the Founder and Editor of Dot Com Women, a premier women's website and fast-growing online community, and Celebrating Christmas, a resource for celebrating Christmas in style. Visit her websites for lots of homemaking and business ideas, free downloads, free Ezines and message boards for women to network and share.

Memories of Heart - New Zealand March 2011

2012-02-03T00:18:00.000-08:00

Our 30 years + old classmates reunion began on February 27, 2011- in the land of pure fresh air - New Zealand.
After almost 13 hours long haul flight, we arrived Auckland airport. Went through a very strict bio-security check. One of my friend forgot to declare an egg in her handbag. The outcome , she was fined NZ$400.0. So folks, remember to declare before customs in New Zealand.
I met my old friend at the airport. I could still recognise her and called her while she was wondering around whether we were arrived or not.

Auckland airport arrival hall

My friend drove us to downtown to meet other friends in a Chinese restaurant.

The old classmates in front of the restaurant

While most of the friends were couples, so they checked in the service apartment near downtown. As I was alone, my New Zealand friend had a room for me in her house. After dinner we walked back to the house. There were no street lights. The sky was very clear with all the stars in the sky. You could see clearly the Taurus, Orion and many others. It was so quite that you could hear one's breathe mixed with the sound of the insects.

February 28, 2011 to Christchurch

We were so excited that we began our South Island 6 days tour. We flew to Christchurch in the morning. Christchurch had the earthquake two weeks ago. We were afraid that our tour might be cancelled. The tour guide confirmed that the places we were going were miles away from Christchurch. Our tour comprised with about 40 people from different parts of the world. We stopped by a small town before we were heading to the Lake Tekapo.

Around noon, we arrived at the Lake Tekapo. The first caught in our eyes was the Church of the Good Shepherd. This small stone church was built in 1935 on the side of the Lake Tekapo to the glory of God as a memorial to the early settlers of the Mackenzie basin.

The Church of the Good Shepherd

The church was by the side of Lake Tekapo.

Lake Takapo

Queenstown - a place where there's so many unforgetable moments. The coolest experience in Queenstown was the Minus 5 Degree Icebar. In the Icebar, you would experience an unreal adventure that you would never forget. The vodka cocktails or cold drink were served in a glass made from ice whilst being surrounded by 18 tonne of hand sculpted ice statues, furniture, bar and walls. The entry fee were expensive and only last for 15 minutes per session. We thought that for such a high entry fee we should stay longer than 15 minutes. We were wrong. As we got our drink in about 5 minutes and we felt the coldness inside. Before we entered the Icebar, we were provided with down jacket and gloves. The air was getting colder and colder but the time went so slow. We began to take some action to keep us warm. We had to dance to the rock music and dance around the Icebar to get some warmth. 15 minutes passed than we were out to the real world.