Friday morning catch up
Here we are again in this boy game cyber cafe..and we have been told we cannot down load pics.!! (cant do english here in windows XP but can do photos, can do english in win 98 but cant do photos from usb,,Bill Gates can you explain please?), despite all the explanations that we did this 2 days ago are to no avail! So heres a pic free commentary.
Tuedsay we headed for Hong Kong Family Planning at Wan Chai for Helens formal visit..which was most successful (pretend you see a pic of us at a superb yum char lunch with the FP team in a restaurant on the 68th floor !!) While Helen was at FPA I spent an hour or two wandering the street markets. saw everything from Tiny turtles to TVs. Huge trucks trying to manouver the skinny streets..cacophany of sound and then amongst this a small oasis of green where the elderly were exercising and doing Tai Chi..still raining. After leaving FPA we caught the No 6 bus to Stanley, similar to Devonport but high rise buildings starting to emerge.
Got caught in the Hong Kong traffic but still managed to get back Tsim Sha Tsui in time for Helen to collect her rimless glasses and for a fitting for our tailored gear! and a cocktail at the Felix Bar Peninsular hotel.then a quick trip on the Star ferry to Central and back to see the amazing lights and the light show (see pic!!) then back to Cosmic for yum char leftovers (hey we are thrifty travellers! though the cocktail was equivalent to a nights accommodation!)
Wednesday was an early start and it was not raining. picked up by China Tours people together with a couple of nice people from Brisbane and off to Hong Hum station to catch the train to Guangzhou in Mainland China. Super double decker comfortable and very smooth train (imagine pic here of H at station) that whisked us to Guangzhou in an hour and a half.Mobile phones ring all the way with an amazing variety of ring tones from Cats mewing, birds singing and chinese hit songs and of course the ubiquitous Nokia opening ring..business being done in very loud voices)
We managed customs and immigration and were met by Marco an earnest 12 year old!! our guide for the day and taken to a swish Chinese brand van like a toyoa previa to drive trough this huge smog filled city ..with seemingly few road rules to Sun Yat Sen memorial house (imagine several pics!) Then to an arts and crafts with the most amazing porcelain etc..Post card sent to Katie McDonald from here with much effort! and to lunch at the Hotel Landmark Canton (very flash)
After lunch we went to the Chen Clan Temple..a temple dedicated to all Chen family ancestors. (imagine pic of temple, gardens and embroidery exhibition that defied belief) The next hour was spent driving though the immense sprawling city still covered in smog to arrive at the Lotus Mountain above the pearl river (more pics!). I had imagined a country area of natural beauty but instead this was a man made park with a gigantic gold woman buddah (protects family and fisher men) and temple all built in the 1980s. Apparently this groomed and sculptured park is a drawcard for families on public holidays. The sky lit up with lightening and the thunder was amazing..which all added to the wonderful experience.
To the ferry..a cataraman twice the size of the Waiheke ferry and a 2 hour trip back down the Pearl delta to Hong Kong.Night navigation is so tricky because of the hundreds of ships anchored in the river delta and the in Hong Kong harbour itself., The port action is quite extraordinary.. hundreds and hundred times what we see going past our door in Devonport. McDonalds for dinner! Helen tried the new rice and beef burger .reports it was great.
Thursday 25th May. Blue skies!!another slow start with the South China Morning Post and tea (hot water boiler in corridor outside our room) then off to find the Post office to send more cards. We walked in a circle following excellent signs about a kilometer though subways and underpasses to emerge 100 metres from our guest house. Fell about laughing at this.
Then to the cultural centre to book for a Hong Kong Philarmonia Mozart concert tomorrow night. Everyone is so helpful and things are clearly signed here. The man at the ticket office offered us two "senior" tickets!! which we kindly accepted at NZ 5 dollars each. Must have been the Grey hair which is uncommon here.Then we caught the Twinkling Star ferry and the 15c bus to the Peak Tram.
This tram takes you to the highest peak in HK and is a wonderful experience not only for the view butl also for the walks through the tropical forest areas (here you certainly must imagine amazing photos of Helen and I at this place)We spent over 3 hours here. On the way back to the ferry we had a side trip up the mid level escalators. You can see into offices and flats and we saw small children having oboe and violin lessons. the walk though the streets with the locals market as opposed to the tourist markets was well worthwhile.No hassling to buy "copy watches and handbags madam" An amazing sight was a very very bent elderly shop keeper on her mobile phone!
Dinner in Japanese restaurant to prepare for the next stage of our journey - noodles and dumplings before back tailors for final fittings..Ruth please imagine the beautiful photo of my red Chinese jacket.
Next Blog will be from Japan. Having such a great time. Lynds and Helen
Tuedsay we headed for Hong Kong Family Planning at Wan Chai for Helens formal visit..which was most successful (pretend you see a pic of us at a superb yum char lunch with the FP team in a restaurant on the 68th floor !!) While Helen was at FPA I spent an hour or two wandering the street markets. saw everything from Tiny turtles to TVs. Huge trucks trying to manouver the skinny streets..cacophany of sound and then amongst this a small oasis of green where the elderly were exercising and doing Tai Chi..still raining. After leaving FPA we caught the No 6 bus to Stanley, similar to Devonport but high rise buildings starting to emerge.
Got caught in the Hong Kong traffic but still managed to get back Tsim Sha Tsui in time for Helen to collect her rimless glasses and for a fitting for our tailored gear! and a cocktail at the Felix Bar Peninsular hotel.then a quick trip on the Star ferry to Central and back to see the amazing lights and the light show (see pic!!) then back to Cosmic for yum char leftovers (hey we are thrifty travellers! though the cocktail was equivalent to a nights accommodation!)
Wednesday was an early start and it was not raining. picked up by China Tours people together with a couple of nice people from Brisbane and off to Hong Hum station to catch the train to Guangzhou in Mainland China. Super double decker comfortable and very smooth train (imagine pic here of H at station) that whisked us to Guangzhou in an hour and a half.Mobile phones ring all the way with an amazing variety of ring tones from Cats mewing, birds singing and chinese hit songs and of course the ubiquitous Nokia opening ring..business being done in very loud voices)
We managed customs and immigration and were met by Marco an earnest 12 year old!! our guide for the day and taken to a swish Chinese brand van like a toyoa previa to drive trough this huge smog filled city ..with seemingly few road rules to Sun Yat Sen memorial house (imagine several pics!) Then to an arts and crafts with the most amazing porcelain etc..Post card sent to Katie McDonald from here with much effort! and to lunch at the Hotel Landmark Canton (very flash)
After lunch we went to the Chen Clan Temple..a temple dedicated to all Chen family ancestors. (imagine pic of temple, gardens and embroidery exhibition that defied belief) The next hour was spent driving though the immense sprawling city still covered in smog to arrive at the Lotus Mountain above the pearl river (more pics!). I had imagined a country area of natural beauty but instead this was a man made park with a gigantic gold woman buddah (protects family and fisher men) and temple all built in the 1980s. Apparently this groomed and sculptured park is a drawcard for families on public holidays. The sky lit up with lightening and the thunder was amazing..which all added to the wonderful experience.
To the ferry..a cataraman twice the size of the Waiheke ferry and a 2 hour trip back down the Pearl delta to Hong Kong.Night navigation is so tricky because of the hundreds of ships anchored in the river delta and the in Hong Kong harbour itself., The port action is quite extraordinary.. hundreds and hundred times what we see going past our door in Devonport. McDonalds for dinner! Helen tried the new rice and beef burger .reports it was great.
Thursday 25th May. Blue skies!!another slow start with the South China Morning Post and tea (hot water boiler in corridor outside our room) then off to find the Post office to send more cards. We walked in a circle following excellent signs about a kilometer though subways and underpasses to emerge 100 metres from our guest house. Fell about laughing at this.
Then to the cultural centre to book for a Hong Kong Philarmonia Mozart concert tomorrow night. Everyone is so helpful and things are clearly signed here. The man at the ticket office offered us two "senior" tickets!! which we kindly accepted at NZ 5 dollars each. Must have been the Grey hair which is uncommon here.Then we caught the Twinkling Star ferry and the 15c bus to the Peak Tram.
This tram takes you to the highest peak in HK and is a wonderful experience not only for the view butl also for the walks through the tropical forest areas (here you certainly must imagine amazing photos of Helen and I at this place)We spent over 3 hours here. On the way back to the ferry we had a side trip up the mid level escalators. You can see into offices and flats and we saw small children having oboe and violin lessons. the walk though the streets with the locals market as opposed to the tourist markets was well worthwhile.No hassling to buy "copy watches and handbags madam" An amazing sight was a very very bent elderly shop keeper on her mobile phone!
Dinner in Japanese restaurant to prepare for the next stage of our journey - noodles and dumplings before back tailors for final fittings..Ruth please imagine the beautiful photo of my red Chinese jacket.
Next Blog will be from Japan. Having such a great time. Lynds and Helen
posted by Helen and Lyndsay at 7:22 PM
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