Outlook for DJIA, DJT, SSE & STI

It has been quite a while since my last blog post, now it is time to brush up and do my homework.

Stock Indice around the world has seen some good days recently, especially Dow Jones Industry, S&P and the phenomenal Nikkei.  In contrast, the all mighty Shanghai and Singapore stock markets are nothing but a bit lackluster.

What will happen next?  Obviously I won't know for sure, but let me look into my crystal ball and have my opinion.  Are they right or wrong?  Nobody knows, only when future becomes reality then we will be able to tell, so read my opinions at your own risk.

Dow Jones Instustry Average

We can see very clearly here DJIA is in an uptrend.  The slope of the uptrend actually has increased recently, from a gentle 30 degrees slope to a more steep close to 45 degrees slope.

Looking at the Fibonacci levels, we can expect DJIA to have another 20-30% upside potential, if not more.  US stocks in general are not expensive at this moment, with reasonable P/E levels.  Although we are again at an all time high of DJIA, but we are not seeing P/E at ridiculously high levels.

Dow Jones Transport

As a leading indicator of DJIA, DJT will give a glimpse into the future.  Here DJT is in an uptrend too, but the uptrend is not very strong.  The slope has been more gentle, and there is compression of the GMMA.  This signals we may have some head winds in the DJIA in the coming months, but the uptrend should still hold, but at a more gentle pace.

Shanghai

Shanghai is in a downtrend, with 1960 as its current support.  If this support level doesn't hold, we can expect to go down to 1837/1760 as its next support levels.

In the short term, I don't have a positive view on Chinese stocks.  Wealth is too concentrated in too few people.  The general public are still not very rich, at least not as rich as some foreign media depict them to be.  The reason some Chinese appear to be rich is because they do the same as some Wall Street bankers do.  When you go out of the big cities and visit their less developed areas, people are still very poor.

Singapore

STI was in a nice uptrend, until recently.  Now it has fallen below its uptrend line.  Next, I will expect it to either go sideways or down.  Singapore alone is still ok, but its strong link with China will see its stock market to be dragged down by the poor performing SSE.

That's all for my crystal ball for today.

Getty Center

Getty Center is one of the most famous place for arts in Los Angeles.  It is situated atop a small hill, facing the Pacific Ocean.  It is also right next to freeway 405, so it is pretty convenient to get there.

The first place in Getty Center you will get to is the car park!  USD15 per entry!  Getty Center is free admission, but they didn't tell you parking is this expensive!    Once you come out of the car park, you need to take a short tram ride to get to the top of the hill, where the museum is located.

Tram Station and Rail

Once you come out of the tram, here is what is welcoming you to the museum.  There are quite a number of interesting statues for you to admire.

Getty Center is famous for its architecture.  Wandering around the courtyards, it feels really good.  The cold breeze in the deep of California's mild winter, the golden sunshine on the peaceful Pacific Ocean, and the wonderful garden.  Everything is so perfect, so peaceful.

Of course, out of all that, the most famous point of interest in Getty Center is the garden.  The plants are laid out in such a way that it kind of represents the ancient Chinese Ba Gua, derived from the mystic legendary book of I Ching.  

There is also a bit of fusion of east and west, in terms of architecture.

As a place for Art, somehow I find it interesting that whatever place that is for Art, a nude man somehow is necessary.

Out of the many many exhibits on display, what impressed me most were the beds!

Frankly speaking, I quite like Getty Center.  It is such a nice escape from the busy city life from one of the world's biggest cities.  It offers such tranquility and peace, it also lets you indulge in the wonderful world of arts.  

Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California is a public observatory, meant for the public to admire the beauty of our galaxy and beyond.  What impressed me most is that it was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Colonel Griffith on December 16, 1896.  That was more than a century ago, and there were such generous people around to donate to the public to get people interested in science and technology.  No wonder America became the world's most advanced and powerful country in the world.

Griffith Observatory is not only good for the stars in the galaxy, but also the stars from Hollywood.  Here, you can see the charming, although totally uncharacteristic Hollywood sign.

Haha...Stardom is way too far for me to reach... Never mind... :)

Inside the observatory, there is lots of information related to astronomy.  If you are a fan, you will be very delighted.  If you are not, you still can get a few general knowledge, or some shocks from the exhibits.

Here is also a vantage point of the whole of Los Angeles Valley - Downtown LA, Hollywood, you can see them all.

On a cloudy day, looking out from Griffith Observatory, don't you think it looks like a dooms day movie?

Other than the observatory itself, you can also take a stroll in the Griffith Park, which is a very nice place.

Taiwan Hot Spring Town - Wulai

Wulai is another hot spring town near Taipei.  To get there, take MRT to Xindian Station, then go out of the station and then turn right to take bus 849.  The bus stop is hidden behind some big pillars, so you need to be alert.  The bus journey is about 40 minutes.

My first impression of Wulai is: It is like a TaoHuaYuan(桃花源), a fictitious place described by a Chinese scholar about a place where people are separated from the outside world, living a peaceful and happy life.  There is river with clear water winding between the mountains.  On the day of my visit, it was drizzling and a little bit windy.  Wow, it felt really good.

After you arrive at Wulai bus station, the Old Street is just minutes walk away.  Restaurants and hot spring hotels line up the old street.

Further up, 20 minutes walk away, it is the beautiful Wulai waterfall.

The waterfall is not very big, but it is just like a shy girl, I like it.  Standing in front of the waterfall, breathing in the fresh air, you feel the world is so beautiful.

There are two things you must do in Wulai.  Number 1 of course is to enjoy a hot spring bath.  Four of us paid NT$1200 for one hour's use of a private bath.  If you don't want to pay but still want to enjoy the hot spring, you can just go to have a dip in the wild hot springs.  It is common to see a hot spring along the river.  It is also common to see people having a free hot spring bath there.

Number 2 is to try the hot spring eggs.  I didn't expect much of the hot spring eggs, just an egg cooked with hot spring, how special can it be?  But then after I tried it, I changed my view completely.  It is so smooth, so tender, and the egg is cold, not hot!  I miss the taste of it so much after I got back to Singapore.

There are many restaurants along the Old Street.  Their prices are quite reasonable and you can order some speciality as well.

I was there on a weekday, there were hardly any tourists, so I could enjoy the quiet and peacefulness of the place more.  I love it there!

Taipei Hot Spring Town - Beitou

When you come to Taipei in a cool day, you just can't miss the wonderful hot spring towns near Taipei.  There are two famous hot spring towns near Taipei, one is Beitou, the other is Wulai.

To go to Beitou, take the MRT to Beitou station, then transfer to another train to New Beitou station, which is also the terminal station of the MRT.  The train commuting between Beitou & New Beitou is very special.  The carriage is decorated as a bath house, with bath tubs as coffee table for you to view the visuals.

MRT Train to New Beitou

Beitou used to be a place specially for the Japanese during Japanese occupation, so there are a lot of traces of Japanese influence.

Beitou Hot Spring Museum

Beitou's hot spring museum was once a Japanese bath house.  The architecture is a mixture of Japanese and English style, so you find it a bit odd.

The bath is located on the ground floor, and it is of Roman style!  It is quite a fusion of different cultures, isn't it?

Looking out of the window from the Roman bath, it is lush greenery.  The Roman style windows are decorated with stained glasses.  I can imagine how relaxing and enjoyable the bath goers were.

In the hot spring museum, there was also a display of a kind of special rock named Beitou Rock.  It is said that such rock can only be found in the hot spring streams in Beitou.

Next to the hot spring museum, there is the Beitou Public Library.

I would say it is architecturally unique, and blends well with its neighbour - the hot spring museum.

To get to the source of Beitou's hot spring, you will inevitably pass by this wooden bridge.

This wooden bridge was featured in one of the Japanese/Taiwanese movies from old old days.  It is one of those places that reminds Japanese their (un)glory past.

The stream running under the bridge is steaming hot too.  The smell of Sapphire is in the air.  Luckily the smell is not too strong.

Following the stream brings you to the source of the hot spring - Hell Valley, now renamed to Thermal Valley.

Steam bath here, anyone?  The smell here is very strong, the steam spreads all across the valley.

On the way back, I passed by Mr Yu You-Ren(于右任) residence - Plum Garden.  Here we could see his calligraphy.

Actually further down the road, we can reach a place called Zen Garden.  Don't be fulled by the Buddhistic name, it was the prison for Gen Zhang Xueliang (张学良) when he was under house arrest in Taiwan.

After such a long walk, what else can be better than having a hot spring bath?

This place was one of the 3 Japanese style baths built during Japanese occupation and the only one that is still in operation.  It is said that in its garden, there is something that recorded the visit of then Crown Prince, the late Japanese Emperor Hirohito's visit to Beitou.

This place is very old and facilities are rudimentary.  It is such a big contrast to all the other modern hot spring establishments.  Anyway, it is cheap, only NT90 for a bath.

Taiwan Alishan

Alishan's young men are strong as the mountain, Alishan's girls are as beautiful as water.  This is a famous folk song about Alishan.  Chinese around the globe have mostly heard of this famous and it shapes their impression of Alishan.  But, just to disappoint you, you find no Alishan young men or young girls waiting for you at Alishan :P

Entrance to Alishan National Scenic Area.  The famous Alishan Railway runs right across the two steel bridges  in the picture.

Before you get to the entrance of the Alishan National Scenic Area, you will pass by an abandoned railway station, the Fenqihu Station.  This abandoned station is famous for its railway lunch box, or bento in Japanese.  I ordered the wild boar set lunch.  The taste was not bad, and it cost me NT170 (~SGD$7.40).

And then of course we need to have a 'been there, done that' group photo.

I am not really a big fan of all these forest railways, bento, etc, but I like the natural environment in Alishan.  The air is fresh, the trees are tall.  I just love it there.  And when I saw the clouds in Alishan, I simply fell in love with it.

You see it like this at this moment.

The next moment you look at it, it has already changed.

We also witnessed a wonderful sunset.

This sunset itself is worth all the efforts for this trip to Taiwan.

The next day, we attempted to catch the sun rise.  Well, if you have already witnessed the beautiful sunset, and you also see the beautiful sunrise, don't you think that's too perfect?  Perfection is never what nature encourages.  So we didn't have a beautiful sunrise, instead, we witnesses a race of a puma and a lion.

The good stuff does not end here in Alishan.  It has even more to offer.

We took a walk in the sacred forest, with the distinct Taiwan Cypress trees lining the paths.  The one in the photo is already 2000 years old.  Taiwan Cypress is one of the best kind of wood in the world.  During Japanese occupation, Japan cut down lots of cypress trees which were older than 800 years, and brought them back to Japan.  Now in the famous Meijin Shrine in Tokyo, you could see some of the trees being used in the structures.

We didn't see the beautiful Alishan girls, but Alishan herself is already very beautiful.  I love it.

Taiwan Roast Chicken

Taiwan Roast Chicken, it is the best English translation of the actual name that I can think of.  We had lunch on our day 3 Taiwan trip at Hehuan Mountain.

In the shop front, there was a row of 4-5 big, traditional ovens.  The roast chickens were prepared right there, hot from the oven.

Here comes the famous roast chicken.  The skin was crispy and the meat was still tender and juicy.  And you need someone with strong arms to tear the chicken apart :)

We ordered the set meal for 8 people, at a price of NT2500.  To me, it was a very good deal.

This is the Taiwan version of the famous 'Dragon Beard' vegetable.  I had an argument with my parents whether this vegie was the same as what we had back in Guangzhou.

Another one of my favourite dish was the fried stream shrimps.  The shrimps were tiny, after being deep fried, they were very crispy.  I simply liked the taste.

CingJing Veteran Farm

CingJing is a very popular place for tourists, famous for its sheep and horses, and the other natural produces.    To me, the blue sky, the green grass are good enough.

Wonderful landscape and natural environment.  The air was so fresh that you can put it in a can to sell it.

The great mountain views.  And the wonderful and lovely sheep.

And friendly horses.

And they also have a circus from Russia as residence circus to perform the daily horse show.