Monday, February 6, 2012

Chile - Santiago


A friend asked me, how do I rate Easter Island? I replied, every country I visited is unique. 
One of my dreams is to see the world, so I like to go to visit as many cities as I can if possible. Steve likes to visit places that have something special, like UNESCO sites. 
When I said I want to see Santiago since we needed to transit there to Easter Island, he didn’t want to, and asked what there was to see in Santiago. However, because we booked the St. Louis – Santiago flight using frequent flier miles and the Santiago – Easter Island flight through an agent, so I planned to have 2 days 1 night in Santiago.
有位朋友問我,會給Easter Island怎麼打分?我回答說,每個國家都有其獨特。
我其中的一個夢想是環遊世界。如果可能,我希望可以旅遊多多城市。而Steve想要旅遊特出的地方如世界遺產。 
當我知道必須在Santiago轉機到Easter Island,我說要旅遊SantiagoSteve不想要,他問Santiago有什麼可看。不過,我還是計劃了兩天一夜在Santiago,因為我們分別訂機票,St. Louis - Santiago是用飛行分數換票,Santigo – Easter Island是綱站代理購票。











Thursday, February 2, 2012

Chile - Easter Island (Rapa Nui) part 2

Easter Island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, it is still a remote place that hasn’t been destroyed yet by tourism. 
Easter Island在南太平洋,地方遍遠純樸,還未被旅行業破壞。
Orongo

Rano Kau

 (Cave)Ana Kai Tangata

Puna Pau

Ahu Akivi

(Cave)Ana Te Phu

Ahu Tepeu
 
 (Cave)Ana Kakenga

Hanga Kio'e

Tahai

Hanga Roa

The return flight was also in business class.  This time, I found some ants climbing around on my meal tray. I told the flight attendant and they wrote a complaint form. 
The service in business class seems serious. 
回程的商務艙,我用餐時,幾只螞蟻在餐具上行來行去,我告訴空姐。他們為我寫投訴。
商務艙的服務,認真。


后記: 年輕時曾好奇算過命,算命師其中一句話是: 你的命很大,即使飛機意外,別人死了,你也不會死...(算命師算是幽默)
Note: due to curiosity, I went to a fortune teller years ago. One of the things the fortune teller said: you have ‘big’ life, even though others might die in an airplane crash, you wouldn’t. (The fortune teller was humorous.)  

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Chile - Easter Island (Rapa Nui) part 1


The day we left on our trip we found our tickets from Santiago to Easter Island were business class. I searched online for the agent with the cheapest flight through farecompare.com and we booked our flight. 
This was my first time in business class with seats that lay flat; it was great. I found my entertainment screen not working. The flight attendant tried resetting it a few times, but I still couldn’t watch a movie. They gave me a form and wanted me to write a complaint. 
I felt bored, and napped for a little while. 
When we were coming in for a landing on Easter Island, there was storm. The airplane prepared to land and headed down, but it suddenly flew up, just before it touched the runway. The captain announced conditions were too bad to land, and we needed to wait about 15 minutes to see if it improved. We watched our airplane circle on the GPS screen. The airplane was shaking in the bad weather, and sunk a few feet suddenly. A lot of passengers screamed at that moment. Steve was searched an airsick bag to prepare. 
My left hand held tight with Steve’s right hand. The airplane still couldn’t land and had to make one more circle, and the airplane was shaking often. 
That moment, I had a thought: can I accept my death now? 
My answer was: yes. It was automatic: I silently chanted the ‘Heart Sutra’. 
I always prepare myself. I hope I am mindful and in peace when the moment of dying comes. 
Luckily, the wheels touched down, and there was applause from the passengers. 
I asked Steve, what his thought was that moment. He said he was counting breaths (one of the meditation methods). 
I appreciate I visited Easter Island, and would like to share some photos with you.  
          
我們要出發到Easter Island的那天,才發現所訂的Santiago (SCL) – Easter Island (IPC) 來回票是business class商務艙,我是上綱查farecompare.com看那個代理的機票價最低,就在某代理綱訂購。
第一次坐可全躺的商務艙,很棒。可是,我的娛樂營幕不能操作,要空姐試弄幾次,還是無法看影片,他們給我投訴單寫問題。
我開始覺得睏,小睡了一會。
飛機在Easter Island上空時,下著大雨。當飛機已漸漸下降要到跑道時又突然漸漸上升。機長說必須延遲約15分鐘,情況好才下降。營幕上顯示飛機繞圈,突然飛機震盪,往下沉了幾尺,很多人發出驚呼。Steve開始找吐袋作準備。
我的左手握著Steve的右手。飛機還是不能下降又繞了一圈,而且飛機不時在風雨中震盪。
這時我心理想,如果現在我死了,我可以接受嗎?
答案是可以、沒有什麼遺憾。自然的我默念起心經。
我總是做好準備,希望可以在死時那刻平靜、正念。幸好飛機的輪子著路了,掌聲響起。
我問Steve那時的念頭是什麼,他說他數息。
感恩可以在這一生旅遊Easter Island,與你分享一些照片。

 Vinapu


Vaihu/Hanga Te'e

Akahanga

Rano Raraku

Tongariki


Papa Vaka

 Te Pito Kura

Anakena
 
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