世界各地最多滑雪愛好者朝聖之地除了加拿大Whistler、瑞士及法國等地之外。
亞洲區首選的朝聖之地相信是位於北海道的 Niseko(二世古)滑雪場，
全個 Niseko 是由三個滑雪場組成，並由山頂相連。
它們分別是，Higashiyama滑雪場、Hirafu滑雪場及 Annipuri國際滑雪場。
當中以 Hirafu 較受歡迎，雪道較其餘兩個場多元化，亦是 Niseko
中最大型的一個滑雪場。Niseko 出名之處在於其擁有相當優質及豐富的
Powder Snow(粉雪)與及其優美的風景。 Niseko 差不多每分每秒都下著雪，而所落的雪並非粒狀，而是六角型的片狀雪花慢慢地飄下。 所以基本上每天都有新鮮的雪又鬆又軟地覆蓋著整個滑雪場，雪量十分豐富。

Travel Agency
To the best of my knowledge, there is only one travel agent in Hong Kong which provides full package (air ticket + accommodation) for the Racha Yai Island. There are two local agencies for the Resort reservation. So you shouldn't bother with shopping around and getting a good bargain (please leave me a message for details). In low seasons, the package (4D3N) per person is less than HKD 4000 (for the basic "Deluxe Villa" which I am going to discuss later). The package cost may be up by around 30% during high seasons.

Hong Kong, Phuket, Chalong & Racha
There are direct flights to Phuket. But don't expect that it's as frequent as that to Bangkok. Hence, we took some time to plan our itinerary. After getting off at Phuket International Airport, we went to Chalong Bay in the south of Phuket Island where we took the speed boat to Racha. We might enjoy a more comfortable and elegant way to Chalong Bay as the Resort provided Mercedes Benz (E-class) limo service from the airport to the pier. This would have cost us some 1600 bahts. Alternatively, we opted to the limo service desks inside the airport. We just picked one of them and it cost us around 550 bahts only. And there wasn't much compromise to comfort.

At Chalong, the Racha got a reception office where the staff helped us checking-in. We were offered some complimentary cocktails, self-help fruit & sandwiches platters and cold towels with refreshing scents after the limo ride. At the same time, we were asked to choose the preferred scent of shampoo and shower gel, which includes lavender, lemon grass and jasmine.

There were two freights between Chalong Bay and Racha per day. It takes around 35 minutes from Chalong to Racha by speed boat when the sea is calm. As a warm reminder, the speed-boat ride is rather bumpy even though the sea does not look rough at all. But it shouldn't be a real matter at all. As soon as the speed boat was approaching Racha, we could see that the water was very clear and turquoise.

But this was just the beginning of the interesting bit. The speed boat was anchored in the shallow water region of the Ter Bay, which was an overall sandy beach with rubbles at both ends. We landed on, instead of concrete pier, a long pier made of plastic floating cells. We had to make some effort in finding our own centres of gravity while walking on these floating cells.

Accommodation
The villa did not disappoint us. It was just as beautiful as on its website. We were led to villa 322 where we were going to stay at. When the door was opened, the scent of aroma oil, with some soft jazz music, diffused throughout the air. No. 322 was a deluxe villa (the basic standards). It was beside the Garden Pool, one of the two pools in the Resort. It was slightly at grade and thus maintained a suitable privacy without compromising the garden view. The architect gave plenty of space for flowers and scrubs (as well as little animals). When we looked into the shrubs, we could find lizards and tree frogs seeking shades under large leaves. But ladies needed not be deterred by these lovely little animals. They were harmless and quite shy. I tried to take a few good shots at them but in vain. The most common bird on the Island looks like magpie but with a few colorful feathers. They are less shy and eager for feeding by the tourists. For the prevention of avian flu, don't feed them. The environment was so peaceful that we literally woke up every morning by chirping birds and warm sunlight (when sun-shade was not applied).

The highlights of the deluxe villa standards include a king-sized bed, a bath tub, a normal shower and an outdoor rain-shower. There's a big window in front of the toilet. We were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of coconut palms under the clear blue sky while we were answering our natural calls. On top of these basic standards in Deluxe villas, there are Superior Deluxe (i.e. Deluxe villa having sea view), different types of suites and the one and only one Lighthouse villa.

Room service was subtle without any sign of intrusion into our privacy. Every night, they left a good night note with an orchid. They also left gentle reminders to update us the special events. There's a special but interesting way of leaving "do not disturb" message. Just leave a tree frog doll in the "Do Not Disturb" box beside the villa number sign outside the villa.

Facilities
Swimming was definitely the major activities in our trip. The relaxation never comes close to bathing in the swimming pool during the sunset when the sun rays are much gentler. There are two swimming pools in the Resort. Garden Pool is one of those that I mentioned before. Its charm comes from the surrounding palms and various shrubs. There's one infinity pool situated on the first floor of the main building and is facing the Batok Bay. As its name suggests, it looks like merging with the skyline of Andaman Sea. It's never been a problem of getting free deck chairs during the low seasons. I suspect it won't be the case during high seasons. Other standard sports facilities like tennis, basketball, volleyball, mountain bikes are available. But I believe that everyone would prefer spending time in water sports.

If you are a very busy man, the Resort also maintains a certain level of access to internet. It's amazed to note that, despite the limited number of computers provided (only 2), these are all the new MacBook model.

飛機餐是淡水阿給，想不到我錯過了淡水的行程，但仍可在飛機上吃到阿給呢！

台北之旅完滿結束～

4:20PM

我們的行程原本並沒有包括金瓜石，既然來到，我們就到處走走看。很可惜，這裡所有的旅遊景點如黃金博物館、本山五坑、太子賓館、環境館等全都閉館，而且連遊客服務中心都是關上門的，不知是否因為內部裝修還是什麼的。

故此，這裡的遊客不多，部份店舖更是沒有開門營業。我們翻看旅遊書，發現有個叫報時山觀景台的地方可以看到陰陽海，於是我們便朝觀景台出發。

吃過早餐後，我們預早了一點時間進入列車月台，等候在 7:40 AM 開出的莒光號1287車次列車。

台北火車80km 以下的路線分自強、莒光、復興及電車四種，以自強的車程最短，票價最高。莒光的票價中等，若是經由山或海的路線需時會較長。由於我們要在瑞芳站接駁平溪線的區間列車往十分，而區間列車每小時只有一班，所以我們便選擇了只要在瑞芳等 19 分鐘便可以登上區間列車的莒光號。

7:40 AM

莒光號準時到達及開出，我們原以為列車會滿載乘客，因為昨晚售票員說列車已沒有座位，怎料每卡車廂都不過十數人，男朋友拍了數張照片後便去約會周公。

區間列車遲了兩分鐘才到站，列車外觀有點像卡通片的小火車，車頭和車身分別是黃色和灰白色，但又不致於有鄉郊那種感覺（我以為會是綠色的）。

列車駛了一陣子便進入鄉村的地方了，沿途景色由小屋變為綠草和山。過了大華站，車長告訴我們穿過隧道後便會在列車右方看到十分大瀑布，那兒便是我們到十分的原因了。

到達十分了！可能是早上的關係，十分街道的人不多，主要都是和我們一起下車的遊客，環境很寧靜。火車路軌和民居很接近，可以說是在隔壁，真是難得一見。我們沿路遊覽了靜安吊橋和十分老街。十分是天燈的發源地，所以十分老街有很多放天燈的店，我想晚上這兒會很熱鬧。

過了十分遊客中心便是四廣潭吊橋，再步行一段路便看見眼鏡洞瀑布和觀瀑吊橋。觀瀑吊橋和火車路軌是平衡而建的，我和男朋友決定一人走一條橋，即是觀瀑吊橋和貼在凌空路軌旁的小路（我想這條小路是在維修時用的）。

環境相信是最大的分別。樓下是大廳，檯與檯的空間很寬濶，給香港人的感覺是浪費地方。上層是幾十間的VIP房，每間都有專人招呼，在香港基本上是沒有可能做到的。是次我們走進最豪華的VIP房，樓底高，水晶吊燈，堂皇的裝修，甚至可以一人一鍋，是相當的有氣派。

食物方面，這裡只提供火鍋和涼菜，並沒有粵菜、點心、甚至川菜 (熱菜)。先吃涼菜，樟茶鴨是鴨仔，肉嫩，帶點肥美，很有酥香味；鴨舌麻辣味足，很嫩滑，是佐酒良品；青瓜就咁切條，不作任何加工，但原來好鮮甜爽脆；花生是半生熟，有少許青青地味，清新爽口。不過其實大部分涼菜也可以在香港吃得到。

再吃打邊爐，點的當然是招聘的麻辣蕃茄湯底，色澤好吸引，香噴噴的，蕃茄湯好鮮美。國內地方大，有魚池養花蓮魚，因此魚頭非常鮮甜，不帶半點腥，肉質亦嫩滑，新鮮的魚頭始終是好吃的。

原來四川的火鍋也滲入了香港的特色，如有肥牛、黑豚肉等，但質素當然比不上香港的。

環境好、服務好、吃正宗的四川火鍋地方，嗜辣的一定喜歡。

由於我抵達台北後沒有往飯店放下行李，再加上找不到巴士往美麗華百樂園，所以我和男朋友便決定回飯店休息，若明天或後天時間許可的話才到美麗華百樂園坐摩天輪。

11:30 PM

從捷運西門町站紅樓出口步行五分鐘左右便到達我們所住的飯店－大順大飯店。飯店的接待處小小的，旁邊有部電腦供住客上網，升降機隔壁便是小餐廳，大約有十多個座位。飯店房間還算頗大，感覺整潔。

第一晚的行程完結了，我和男朋友都要早點休息，因為明天的行程很豐富呢！

旅行社為我們在昆明安排了數個行程，購物為主，觀光為次。我們參觀了咖啡館、花卉市場、茶道館、七彩雲南（不要被名字所騙，七彩雲南是大型手信中心來的！）。景點方面，我覺得九鄉自然風景區不算很漂亮，石林就很悶（後文會再有介紹）。

若果有朋友計劃去雲南，而又不打算去昆明，我會建議先從香港到深圳，再坐飛機去麗江，那麼就不用飛到昆明再坐車去大理和麗江了。

行程的第一晚和第二天早上都有下雨，所以天氣比較涼，同日麗江還有部份道路受天雨影響而要封閉。慶幸之後數天都放晴，交通算是順利。

每次去布吉公幹都是隨便吃吃﹐ 但今次因為要探路﹐ 所以就去了在Laguna的Lotus.  我們兩個人吃了﹕

1) 4隻BBQ蠔
2) 好大隻的"公車腩霸"
3) 魚味十足﹐ 當地友人極力推薦的魚旦
4) 1磅重的BBQ 龍蝦
5) 炸軟殼蟹
6) 炒通菜
7) 2個白飯
8) 啤酒+西瓜汁各一

所有食物都是內自布吉﹐ 新鮮到不能形容。  加上簡單的烹調方法﹐ 食物的鮮味在口中跳躍﹐ 完全是令人幸福的感覺。

連service charge 都是2700THB﹐ 大概是HK$626﹐ 十分超值。