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  1. #1 Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Duct tape savant felix's Avatar
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    I must report about this island i went to last weekend, it's an amazing place to have so close for the Shanghai/south Jiangsu crowd!

    It's an island called sheng si dao, about 50km south east off the the coast of shanghai. Type 嵊泗县 into chinese google maps and you'll find it.

    A ferry goes out there everyday at 11am, leaving from lu chao gang (芦朝港), a port to the south of shanghai. Passengers are 90yuan, bikes 55, sidecars 85. The ferry takes 3 hours. I don't know what time the ferry back is at because i got the wrong one back (more on that later)

    the island isn't big, and tourism is beautifully underdeveloped. it's all mountains and beaches, with little winding concrete roads twisting around the coast and over the mountains. outside the main town there are lots of little fishing villages, houses are built up the hills on top of each other in a very mediterranean style (but dirtier).

    my girlfriend and i found a nice place to camp beside the big north beach. there's a paying entrance for that beach on the west end, or you can drive out the east end and just walk on! there are a myriad seafood restaurants on the island, i think that's actually supposed to be the main attraction. the food is fresh, but expensive. even without the laowai tax.

    not much else to say really, i was just very impressed that such a beautiful little place exists so close to the suzhou/shanghai diesel cloud. we could actually see stars at night, lots of them! highly recommended!































    as i said before we got the wrong ferry on the way back. it dropped us off at xiao yang dao (小洋岛) which is a giant port also off the coast of shanghai. it's connected to the mainland by a very long bridge, which is handy, but that bridge is a highway and therefore illegal for motorbikes, which is less handy. however since it was the only way off the island and i had to work the next day, we decided to give it a shot. two kilometers onto the bridge, we were caught up to by the highway patrol, sirens blazing. there was much talk on the walkie talkies, more police coming to join the party, many cigarettes handed out and so many times explaining i got the wrong ferry and i don't know how else to get home, they agreed to let us take the bridge!














    If anyone needs more details feel free to ask!
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  2. #2 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    Looks like an excellent weekend adventure in a surprisingly undeveloped location near Shanghai! How did you hear about it?

    I'm glad things turned out okay on the bridge and that you've found yourself a happy looking travel partner!

    Pressing question is how do I get the Dangerous Panda hat?


    CC
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  3. #3 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Duct tape savant felix's Avatar
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    The dangerous panda hat was bought for her in hong kong by a friend, i've no idea where to get another one! maybe you could try taobao, it's got everything!

    i found the island on google maps, i was just looking for the next cool place for a weekend trip, i had no idea what to expect. it turns out it was the best random destination i've picked yet!
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  4. #4 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    That's good times! Nice pics too, what you shooting with?

    CC
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  5. #5 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    Hi Felix, that looks like a nice little adventure with some excellent pics . Didn't know you had a sidecar rig and the Galaxy, great collection of China bikes

    Ride reports on MCM again !

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  6. #6 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Duct tape savant felix's Avatar
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    cheers guys!

    the camera is a ricoh gx100, i love it! all the features of an slr in the body of a point-and-shoot, plus the super wide 24mm lense just makes everything look great!

    i haven't spoken about the sidecar so much here because there's already plenty about them all over the internet! i should really put up some pics in the cj pic thread.
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  7. #7 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    C-Moto Senior kingmarty45's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by felix View Post
    cheers guys!

    the camera is a ricoh gx100, i love it! all the features of an slr in the body of a point-and-shoot, plus the super wide 24mm lense just makes everything look great!
    hey felix, great pics.

    I am interested in this camera of yours, the GF and myself are heading through south east asia for around 9 months in february and I am scoping out a camera to take with me. I am a novice photographer but am keen to have a tinker and take some nice shots. I am looking at something smaller than a DSLR but that takes better pictures than a APS (CC any suggestions from an old pro?). I have looked into the Ricoh your carrying and I like the look of it and I can get one fairly cheaply.

    How is it to use? Does it have a decent battery life? If you could give me a little more info about your experiences I would be grateful...

    Thanks,

    Marty.
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  8. #8 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Duct tape savant felix's Avatar
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    mister king, if you can get one cheap then go for it. in fact i'd say go for it even if it was expensinve!
    it's not so great in dark conditions, the flash just wipes out everything, (unless you're doing long exposures with a tripod) but for landscape and architecture it's perfect. as much control as a dslr if you want it, and it's pretty quick to learn how to use. the interface is customisable so you have quick access to the functions you use most. the battery is great too, i've gone on 10 day holidays without having to charge it.
    the gx200 with all its unnecessary extra pixels has made the gx100 cheaper too, which is great.
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  9. #9 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    Administrator-tron CrazyCarl's Avatar
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    KM,

    Just like bikes, there's no single perfect solution. Generally if you don't want the picture quality of the APS type censors the you have to get some form of DSLR. Luckily, today DSLR's come in many shapes and sizes and also are relatively affordable.

    That said, a DSLR may be more than needed depending on the types of photos you want to take and how much you can spend.

    What do you want to do with the pics? How much you looking to spend?

    CC
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  10. #10 Re: Sheng Si islands - great for a weekend! 
    C-Moto Senior kingmarty45's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by felix View Post
    mister king, if you can get one cheap then go for it. in fact i'd say go for it even if it was expensinve!
    it's not so great in dark conditions, the flash just wipes out everything, (unless you're doing long exposures with a tripod) but for landscape and architecture it's perfect. as much control as a dslr if you want it, and it's pretty quick to learn how to use. the interface is customisable so you have quick access to the functions you use most. the battery is great too, i've gone on 10 day holidays without having to charge it.
    the gx200 with all its unnecessary extra pixels has made the gx100 cheaper too, which is great.
    Thanks Felix. I have been looking at the gx200. But it is good to know you are happy with the gx100. My issue now that I have done a little bit more research is that it doesn't have an after market underwater housing. I am a mad keen scuba diver and so I want a camera that I can take diving. The Ricohs have been rebadged by Sea&Sea (the DX-1G & 2G) and sold as a set with the housing for over a grand. I can't find anyone that sells just the housing, so I am re-thinking.

    Quote Originally Posted by CrazyCarl View Post
    KM,

    Just like bikes, there's no single perfect solution. Generally if you don't want the picture quality of the APS type censors the you have to get some form of DSLR. Luckily, today DSLR's come in many shapes and sizes and also are relatively affordable.

    That said, a DSLR may be more than needed depending on the types of photos you want to take and how much you can spend.

    What do you want to do with the pics? How much you looking to spend?

    CC
    Thanks CC, yeah I am willing to sacrifice a bit of image quality and diversity for the size and weight advantages of a compact. I am not keen on lugging around a DSLR and the lenses, so have been looking at the high end compacts. Ones with wide angle lenses particularly as I like the photos they take. It is a feature I would use more than the greater optical zoom of the ultra-zoom compacts.

    I am looking for high quality holiday snaps. I am not looking to make any money off my pictures, or blow them up to poster size. This is going to be the holiday of a lifetime so I want to take some decent pictures to help cherish the memory.

    I am keen to learn about all the features so I want a camera that lets me have some form of manual control and not limited to automated settings (and an underwater housing).

    There is the Panansonic Lumix LX3 that has been very well reviewed by the critics, but all the camera shops in town are sold out and (unsurprisingly) say I need to order one in to play with one.

    I am willing to spend around $550-650.
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