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China 2017
  • Johanne Brookes
november 2017

China 2017

Et 12-dagers eventyr av Johanne Les mer
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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    Blingy Buddha
    Warriors3On the city wallsIn The Grand Mosque grounds1Lunch at the warriorsWarriors - Pit 1

    Pagoda, Warriors and more

    10. november 2017, Kina ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Another fabulous day Lily & Mr Li picked us up at 8:30 and our first destination was the Big Goose Pagoda. Xi'An traffic seems to require nerves of steel - I can't suss much in the way of road rules and Mr Li in common with all our other drivers is happy to sneak in front of buses and create an extra lane if it would be faster. Lots of the cars are local Chinese brands but because they make all the bits for European manufacturers all the buttons are labeled in English. The Pagoda was not far away just far enough to fit in a conversation about the Pope. How do you answer the question "what is the use of the Pope?" I went for a response about people believing he was God's representative on earth. Which then led to "how do they know? "does he have marks /signs...?" Fortunately we arrived at the pagoda so I was saved from further theology..for a bit...

    The pagoda was first built 1300 years ago but rebuilt in 1987 - I like this practical approach to monuments - it doesn't matter at all that it has been reconstructed. It still has 1300 years of history. It was founded by the Buddha who brought Buddhism to China - he spent 17 years in India and came home with 640 books of Buddhist teachings - and then set about translating - sadly he only got 30 or so done before he died. I felt some sympathy for him my "to read" pile always exceeds my abilities to keep up. There were also halls for other Buddhas including the one who looks after people - lots of arms each ending in a hand with an eye on it so they can hold everyone and see everyone. After she had told us all about it Lily then knelt and spent a few minutes making her reverences to the Buddha - which I found just a little disconcerting. It seemed like an oddly private moment for her in the middle of our visit. We wandered around various other halls and we heard how after he died his remains were shared around various temples in China - they have his finger bones here, although Lily pointed out that as Buddhists cremate their remains it was a little hard to be sure...

    Back to the car where we discussed which pope was which, what church was in England, and sundry other religious details I was a little hazy on. Much discussion about the pope with a beard who came to Xi'An....on reflection that might have been Rowan Williams I think...but I really didn't want to get into the Church of England, the Reformation and its relationship to popes.. Lily has read a lot of Buddhist texts but now she isnt convinced and she wants to read more about other belief systems. The drive up to the Terracotta warriors took about an hour but we didn't run out of conversation!

    The Warriors are out in the foothills of the Chingli mountains - the range that divides northern China from Southern China. This area apparently has hot springs and it is the pomegranate centre of the universe - every 10 yards or so there were stalls selling just pomegranates. Arriving at the warriors it was like arriving at a theme park, a huge parking lot an enormous ticket hall and then a vast 20 lane security gate system. As it is relatively quiet now we really didn't queue at all but I can imagine what it must be like when it is busy, apparently on the 1st October - Chinese national day there were 70,000 visitors - completely horrible apparently - Lily was there guiding!

    The warriors in their pits are astonishing - three pits of which pit 1 is the most impressive 6,000 warriors and they haven't finished excavating it yet! I knew they were all individual but I didn't realise they were crafted by convicts - very talented convicts - as Lily pointed out they hadn't spent 4 years getting fine art degrees like today's sculptors. also they have taken the decision not to restore any of the warriors - if they cant find the head/hand etc they leave it off. Some are too damaged to be restored - you can see these in the pits. Only one warrior has been found intact - a kneeling archer, all the rest have had to be put back together.

    The mass of people and the jostling to get to the edge of the pit was quite something, so how it must be in the busy season doesn't bear thinking about. After the seeing the army we went for lunch in a large quite fancy restaurant on-site, nice food, a buffet, 2 kind of noodles and about 5 other dishes. We skipped on the noodles otherwise we'd have been waddling. I had tea which pleased Dad - he could have two cups of beer because tea is free. The tea was subtly different here - slightly minty maybe the Arabic / Muslim influence?

    After lunch we went to look at some chariots they had excavated - Lily tried to sneak us in via a back door ..we descended into the pitch black on slippy marble steps....and then found the way was closed for renovations so we had to take the usual route after all. These chariots were small - about 1/4 to 1/2 size but beautifully detailed - dragons painted on the outside. When they were found they were each broken into over 1000 pieces and it took years to rebuild them.

    After the chariots we headed for the exits - past lots of souvenir shops and an orgy of hawkers - selling warriors and persimmons - apparently that's what the farm that the warriors were found on grew! Once past the first ring of sales people there are large plazas with fast food shops, some local, some western and also a range of weirdly unrelated exhibits - "Rock and Snow World" amongst others.

    Back to the car and back to the city. The drives have been interesting in themselves apart from discussions with our guides they always provide the opportunity to glimpse everyday life. Not so much here but in Beijing and Pingyao, street washing to keep the dust down was a regular feature. The car was very hot and it was an effort to stay awake - dad did better than I expected!. My wakefulness was rewarded by noticing a delightfully named hotel - "The Golden Showers Hotel"

    Soon we were back at the city walls - they are huge 12m high and 14m wide at the top and they still encircle central Xian. We had a bit of a walk along them and you can hire bikes and ride the 14km circuit -they have tandems - we might do that tomorrow... Whilst walking we talked more with lily - she has two cats 1 dog which strictly belongs to her boyfriend but she is the one who spends time with it and feeds it and we bonded over a shared fondness for books and reading.

    Our last stop was the Grand Mosque in the Muslim Quarter - 60,000 Muslims live in the quarter and there are 9 mosques of which the Grand mosque is the largest. The Muslim quarter is a warren of narrow streets and alleys and felt quite souk like - tons of people selling stuff - you cant go more than 10 steps without someone trying to sell you a warrior, a t-shirt or a knock-off bag. The mosque itself was very Chinese - it could have been another temple - a succession of courtyards gardens, gates and pagodas. Only when you get to the main hall do you see a traditional carpeted hall. It was very busy - Friday prayers were due soon and they were playing some recorded calls. Lily must be here regularly, she excused herself briefly because she had been asked to get some medicine for one of the people based at the mosque and she went off to deliver it. The recipient came over and exchanged a brief greeting with us whilst profusely thanking Lily. I wanted to ask so many questions about why she was getting the medicine and how the health system worked but I didn't want to be too intrusive. And that was that - we emerged on the street behind the drum tower, Lily made sure we knew where our hotel was (about 50 yards away), gave us a map and said she would see us early on Sunday for our flight to Hong Kong.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    1Hunt The Dumpling
    Bell Tower squareSide dishes1Pretty Dumplings - the fish shaped ones contained fish,A watched pot

    Dumpling Banquet

    10. november 2017, Kina ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    Stuffed, completely stuffed. Lily gave us a map of Xi'An and armed with that we set off to find one of the recommended places to eat - De Fa Chang - navigation is interesting because unsurprisingly they dont put names in the European alphabet...so we followed the instructions, got to the right area but seemed to be at a sort of dumpling MacDonald - bright pictures over cash registers..so we wandered out to the next restaurant similar but not dumplings, we must have looked like dumplings because a helpful person pointed us back to the one we had just left...we went back and stared at that one through the windows and then noticed people were coming down from upstairs - so we went for a look. An enormous dumpling restaurant!

    We had a choice of 2 menus - so we picked the cheapest! Pomegranate juice was recommended by our server as a drink - nice but very sweet! and we waited. First out was a selection of largely unidentifiable vegetables and some weird chewy meat with gelatine... a slightly unnerving start but we are brave ..so we waited.
    Round one one was a fried meat dumpling each and a sweet fried persimmon dumpling each. Next we had a "cereal" dumpling (rice in a black, licorice flavoured dough) and two other sorts from there they cam thick and fast including a plate of plain meat dumplings - about 8 each. The rest were in ones and two..but there were 6 courses. And at that point we were stuffed and we could see the watermelon for desert waiting for us. But no, out came a brass pot on a burner - there was yet another course. This final one was a lucky dip soup cooked at the table...we had to wait for it to cook and our server added small raw dumplings. Once cooked she explained that the number of dumplings you got in your bowl told your fortune 1- for happiness, 2 for double happiness, 3 for wealth, 4-6 I got promotion, dad got double happiness. Utterly stuffed.. we wobbled home via the 24hr shop (for beer - Dad didn't want 2 dry nights). I might have been tempted by wine but it was £8-23 a bottle! Four beers and a tube of pringle like snacks was £2.40!    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    Slow start in Xi'An

    11. november 2017, Kina ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    No guide today so no driving urgency to the start of the day. I am having a cup of tea - our little studio apartment is nicely set up. dad is debating his sartorial choices. Sam & he went shopping before we came away and he is still finding clothes he hasn't worn - He has deep bag so it takes a while for them to surface. I am smugly organised with all my clothes in packing cubes - deeply irritating I am sure.

    Breakfast awaits - fried chicken and rice I expect though Dad is sure he spotted an omelette station yesterday. Either way we will be well fuelled for the day ahead. It is going to be quite chilly here today max about 12 degrees - which is about the lowest peak temperature we have had. Which will make 25 degree HK a real shock tomorrow! But as I have a snuffly nose - which might be pollution driven but could be the start of a cold I will be happy with 25 degrees.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    Shoecovers on
    The small workers of Jingdi1The small statues as found and as they were origonally1Noodle making on Muslim St1Dad on his bike on the wallDinner

    Free Range in Shaanxi

    11. november 2017, Kina ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    So on an impulse and after reading the Lonely Planet Guide we decided to trek out to the Tomb of Jingdi. Lonely Planet's 2nd must see after the warriors. Buses were hourly from the Xian public library so we had to go and find the metro to get there and then find the No.4 bus. The metro was perfectly straight forward and cost 3RMB each (about 30p) for a 10 minute journey. We followed the LP information and found the bus stop quite easily. For the sum of 2 RMB each we rode out towards the airport for about 3/4hr. Fortunately Jingdi's tomb was the last stop so we were ok. As ever just traveling about was fun and an opportunity to observe life. Traffic was as expected and the bus driver drove like Mr Li, The rate of development is furious - Lily had told us about the power station built far outside the town that was now in the suburbs but the bus took us past enormous tower block construction sites - 5 - 10 at a time with all the roads and drainage etc going in. There is no shortage of capital investment here.

    Jingdi is the opposite of the Terracotta warrior King Quin Shi Huang, he believed in non -interference. His tomb id filled with small figurines (about 50,000!) that depict everyday life in the 2nd c BCE- there are pigs, people etc etc. It is an active dig and so you have to put shoe covers on and it is all dim and climate controlled. The pits are impressive and best of all in some areas you can walk directly over them on a glass floor so you can see the contents in detail. These are thousands of small statuettes of workers animals officials - everyone the Emperor would need. The statuettes originally had jointed wooden arms and silk outfits.

    After the dig we walked to the south gate past children having pony rides on the grass outside it. The south gate is a modern construction to cover the tombs of the emperor and his wife. We had a wander, admired some photographs, exchanged greetings in English with a family who obviously wanted to get a bit of practice in and decided to call it quits. We could have spent longer there but we wanted to be sure to squeeze in a bike ride so we headed back for the bus. There were a few people waiting but not a bus full so we didn't worry too much - but the buses only ran every 50 mins or so. Eventually the bus turned up and the very grumpy driver would not come into the bay until everyone was behind the tape that denoted the waiting area...so there was some shoving whilst everyone re-positioned themselves. he then brought the bus forward at which point it turned into a complete scrum, Dad and I were virtuously behind the tape and so handicapped when attempting to get to the door area. I have never been in such a crush and the driver was shouting and the people were shouting and gesticulating whilst pressing en-mass towards the steps...but mostly few people were moving - there was obviously a tunnel somewhere that loaded people on the bus because the bus filled without the crowd subsiding. And then he announced he was full and threw some people off his bus! We hadn't moved but we'd been intimately introduced to all the other passengers... So the bus disappeared off down the road leaving us and a reduced crowd at the bus stop. Two blokes then came along obviously running some sort of car scam to take people back to Xi'an, we couldnt understand what was happenning so we just stayed put but after nuch discussion two people wandered off with them looking very dubious...much arm waving and discusson...we settled in for a long wait - obviously we didn't dare leave our spot or we'd have no chance again next time. And lo less than 5 minutes later another bus turned up ..and we all boarded in an orderly fashion and trundled back to Xian. Where we spent a happy 30 mins in the queue for the metro ticket office because we didn't have the right change for the automatic machines and we were through security before we discovered this. Eventually we got tickets and made it back to the stop by the Bell Tower, as we headed to the Muslim quarter for lunch we got stopped by another bunch of surveying students....Questions this time included did you have culture shock on arriving in Xi'An? They were much less fluent than their Pingyao counterparts but charmingly pleased to find us- we were photographed as proof of existence...

    Anyway after that we hit Muslim Street (that's what it is called) and (for balance we passed one on the way to the warriors called Christianity...but nobody else gets a look in). I was rather hoping dad might fancy battered squid on a stick - they looked almost sculptural but he wussed and opted for deep fried banana and freshly pulped pomegranate juice. I had spiced meat of unknown origin (but I think mutton) on a stick of unknown origin (it still had its bark on but my tree knowledge is limited). I hope the stick was fresh but we did see people gathering them up out of the bins.... We then hoofed back to the hotel to drop our coats and rucksacks before making our way to the South Gate of the city walls - it was the bit we'd been to with Lily but it was close to our hotel and the light levels were dropping, it stays open till 8 but given minimal street lighting I didn't think a ride round a 12m high dimly lit wall would be smart.

    It took about 10 mins to walk to South gate and then climb the steps up - yet more steps, it does rather feel by now as if we have been on a week's step aerobics holiday. at the top Dad and I argued about wearing a cycle helmet. I was in favour - Dad refused. I had to remind him repeatedly about the insurance consequences if he had an accident and hadn't worn the helmet. He still didn't care...but eventually I wore him down...Helmet was worn; I am sure they were decorative rather than functional but the principle was important...otherwise I'll never be able to take him abseiling.

    The ride was fun, we didnt go very far - about 75 mins riding, stopping at various points. The bikes were single speed mountain bike style but they don't bother to adjust the seat height and it wasn't a quick release - so I rode with my knees almost coming under my chin. Easy riding though - very flat if a little uneven in places, we probably did about a third of a circuit - about 5km.

    Back to the hotel for a little recuperation before a little shopping and dinner. I bought a tiny warrior for the princely sum of 50p and a couple of other bits. It is mayhem down in the alleys of the Muslim quarter - I think it will make Temple St night market in HK look like an oasis of calm. Dad hasn't been wild about the food here so we went back to the only restaurant that we had found that served shrimps. Dad had shrimp dumplings I had Muslim meat pie. Which was minced mutton and onion spiced and served between two crisp pancakes.
    A last walk through the alleys and back to the hotel to pack, we leave at 7:30 tomorrow morning for our flight to Hong Kong.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    Waiting to fly to Hong Kong

    12. november 2017, Kina ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    So up at 6:30 this morning as Lily and Mr Li were collecting us at 7:30. A hasty breakfast and some fluffing about and we were ready to go. The roads were quiet and so we got to the airport in about 30 mins. It's a big new toll motorway out to the airport, yet more evidence of China's massive infrastructure investment.
    On the drive back Lily gave us some more details on Jingdi's mausoleum, 28 years to make the figurines and other artifacts for his tomb. They have only scratched the surface yet they think there are some 160 burial pits. They reckon it took 720,000 crafts people to build the tombs and all the artifacts.
    I think it should be as well known as the warriors but it isn't and it is a much less commercial enterprise... No random "experiences" and a raft of food stalls run from the backs of people's vans..... If we had has longer...!

    Lily brought us right through the airport and checked us in. There was security screening before we could even enter the airport. Then check - in which did not open until 1.5 hrs before departure! So we had to wait, which was on this occasion good because we had more time to chat with Lily. She, in common with lots of people here, commented on how young Dad looks...sadly no one says that to me.... They often assume that I am his wife!! We also compared notes on holiday allowances, the cost of things. Lily wanted to understand the difference between clothes and dress. Which is quite a subtle distinction when you try to explain it... Soon we were checked in and we said goodbye to Lily, she said we were polite and friendly and she would like to be our guide again if we return to Xi'an (I bet she says that to all the tourists! 😉). But we did have fun and we made her laugh.

    After checking in we went to immigration departure: passport, departure card (at least this time we were told) and visa / passport check. Then security... Very thorough... All the usuals on the scaning machine and through the gate to a good intimate pat down by security, then we had to remove our footwear which was sent through the machine whilst our feet were investigated, then I got called back for my kindle to be rechecked... And taken out of its case... And switched on... Then another trip round for my powerbank ... And repeated questions about batteries... And eventually we were released to the gate / departure area...a short wait there and they started boarding us. We were loaded and ready to go about 15 mins before departure time but we used all that and more taxiing to the runway... I was beginning to think that we were driving to HK.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    In Flight Entertainment

    12. november 2017, Kina ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Eastern Airlines economy in flight entertainment is a really random selection. It is on drop down screens every 4-5 rows... So far I have watched how to clean taps with potato peel, how to clean coffee cups and how to wash my dusters. In addition we have had magic tricks and their explanations, movie trailers and health tips from an actor (with subtitles) and a recipe for "prawns with wine flavour".

    Contrary to our expectations we got an in-flight meal (auto correct offered inflicted... But it wasn't quite that bad). Chicken and rice or beef noodles (looked like dodgy spag bol to me). Salad of unknown meat and probably mushrooms. Frequent drinks service too. The flying time is about 2:40 so I am hoping to spend some time with the Mandibles (Lionel Shriver). I packed lots of books and have read virtually nothing so far...    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    Random China bits

    12. november 2017, Kina ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Bits that I forgot or are cause for reflection.

    I discovered that it is possible to make potatoes into an unpleasant food... One of the street food options was spicy potatoes but they managed to make them gelatinous urrrgghh.

    Air quality is awful. When it is really bad you can taste it. Most power stations are coal and it has huge reserves so they are burning it with little or no clean air tech as far as I can see. However electric cars, bikes and scooters are very much in evidence so change is probably coming.

    Very security conscious our rucksacks have been scanned at least once at every place we have visited.

    The parks were beautifully maintained. There were armies of people tweaking flowers moving them in and out, creating displays etc. Litter pickers and street sweepers with huge straw brooms were much in evidence.

    Seeing the general attitude and massive capital investments I am not at all surprised that China is wanting to make its presence felt in the global political arena. If it marshals its resources I would think they are unstoppable. Larger than the US by far and more outward looking it will be interesting to see what the next 10 years brings.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    A damp arrival in Hong Kong

    12. november 2017, Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    So we arrived about 3/4 hr early at HK airport an we walked down the steps and into warm rain, slow bus to the terminal some distance away and we were fed into a very efficient immigration system. Even stopping to fill in an arrival card we were through in 5 mins despite long queues and thus optimistic we would be out and away very shortly. But the bags took ages to come out about 45 mins. Just as we were beginning to twitch they appeared and we scooted to arrivals to find our lift. The poor woman was frantic, apparently she had been phoning to make sure we were still coming to HK. For the first 20 mins in the car what we got apart from welcome to HK was an explanation of how many phone calls she had made ...and on a sunday too. I felt quite guilty, but we had no way of knowing a) that it was excessive (it was still quicker than any baggage arrival at Fumicino) B) how to contact her. Anyway after that we srttled in for a slow drive to our hotel. I hate to say but I didnt catch her name and we won't see her again - we are on our own now. but she gave us subway maps and a map of Kowloon and Central. Much of the traffic was caused by roadworks restricing the roads from Lamma & the airport whilst they build a new Arts and cultural centre. Ms Guide was very scathing - "I dont know why they are building another one, we have one already and we aren't interested in art". Anyhow at about 3:30pm we arrived at the Salisbury.

    The Salisbury is he Kowloon YMCA! but actually it is a good hotel and we got upgraded to a partial harbour view, we even have a bowl of fruit. Also it feels very plush after China, all the hotels were fine but just slightly below par in someway - a patched up bath or grubby corners.

    After we had admired our view we set off in the rain to visit the Hong Kong History Museum. I didn't have enormous expectations but it was excellent, lots of information about Hong Kong's development, it was very good on recent stuff opium wars and early colonialism ...enough to push my guilt buttons ..and reminded me of the scratched pots in the Forbidden City. It also had a whole recreated turn of the 20th C or so street. All in all good and we both enjoyed it. Also it was free (not sure why) - always cheers Dad up.

    After that we went to find money - we needed HK $ now. We found an ATM but it was a Union Pay one (which is the big Chinese ATM system), I didn't have this problem last time I'm sure. Anyway eventually we found an HSBC and could therefore go and get dinner. Beef, pistachios and asparagus for me, prawns and crabmeat in spicy sauce for dad. Plus fried rice and eggplant with minced pork all washed down with copious quantities of tea. We came back via the 7-11 with a beer each for consumption whilst admiring the view.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    How could I forget?

    13. november 2017, Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Last night we walked back from the museum area all along the harbour causeway (on the Kowloon side) so we had the spectacular Hong Kong sky line to look at. Then we watched the Symphony of Lights around the harbour. Which wasn't as impressive as I remembered but still fun, and huge crowds of people all around the star ferry area watching it too.Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    Peak Time

    13. november 2017, Hong Kong ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Slack start this morning so we didn't get up till gone 7:30. A leisurely start then down from North Tower where our room is to the dining room in South Tower. Excellent breakfast and attentive staff who greet you by name. Trying to work out the best use of our time given the weather.. It is very grey and overcast this morning.

    We decided to ride the star ferry to Central and try the peak anyway. So an interesting walk across huge new reclaimed area that didn't exist 12 years ago as along a raised walkway that gave views of skyscrapers and traffic before we arrived at Central.. A quick bob down to buy an octopus card (another sodding no change incident at the star ferry convinced us that what ever yesterday's guide said it was just easier even for 2 days). Round Central is peak shopping country for the wealthy denizens of HK: Gucci, Harvey Nicks etc etc. Then a walk to the peak tram past the Cathedral, a relic of HK's colonial times,. We then walked along Battery Path... Past the missionary headquarters and just below government house... All so colonial.

    Huge queues at the tram but after a short while we realised that if you had an octopus card you could skip the cash desk and go to the gate.. We had to wait for a member of staff to drop the rope but it saved a bit of queueing. Sadly we then ended up with a large noisy party who irritated Dad and who occupied all the decent seats so we were spread up the tram. By the time we got to the top it was intermittently cloudy. Then we saw the enormous queue to go back down stretching for miles. We walked to the viewpoint and took some photos but there were more vocal tourists and by now Dad was very grumpy. So we went for a restorative Starbucks coffee and muffin (well Dad did, I had a cup of tea and a blueberry yogurt). Balance restored we wandered to see if the queue had decreased or whether we should play hunt the bus. Hallelujah the queue was nothing, we got seats on the view side and all was well. The only down side was the lashing rain....    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende

    Soaked

    13. november 2017, Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We go down from the peak and found a convenient bus stop heading to Central, we would have walked but we would have been soaked. At Central we hopped off on Des Voeux road so we could ride a ding ding tram. We trundled along hoping that the rain would stop but it kept on coming. We hopped off to walk up to Man Mo on Hollywood Rd. The first street was fascinating.. All rubber stamps and Chinese chop sales... Definitely local not for tourists. We tried to dodge from canopy to canopy having made the excellent decision to trust the weather forecast and leave our waterproofs at home. We hoped to see an umbrella or too for sale but we were near Cat St and it was all sodding antiques.. Which might have been interesting if we weren't dripping. Soaked to the point of it being so funny we are bordering on hysteria. Ladder street nearly did for us, climbing to Man Mo temple was like walking in a waterfall. Man Mo is the God of Literature so I had to pay my respects though. We dripped back to the tram and decided that the sensible thing to do was to go back to the hotel, get changed and pick up our waterproofs.
    Not many photos - too wet. And the last update will have to wait till tomorrow.. I need to pack, flight home tomorrow night.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    Dinner at the spicy crab
    2Delightful meal selection at the 7-111And to wash it down....

    Drying out and haggling.

    13. november 2017, Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    So drying out and getting changed seemed to drop us in another time zone... We were aiming to get back out by 4pm and go to Wong Tai Sin Temple (one of my favourites... Full of fortune tellers, people praying, lighting incense and paper objects being ritually burnt. However despite a relatively short MTR ride we did not get there till after it had closed. Pah!
    We decided to head for the Temple Street night market for a bit of tat shopping. But by the time we got there things were frazzling and we needed a restorative starbucks again.
    Fortified we set off again and launched into the melee. Dad wanted another T-shirt and I wanted some bits and pieces. The place was full of Australians who didn't seem to be haggling and I got the impression that the stall holders missed the wrangling.. I was complemented on my haggling skills at a couple of stalls. Lots of hand-shaking and congratulations to Dad on having a good haggling woman with him! Best bargain was a new case... Lily was lovely but she insisted on dragging my bag for me... Sadly the wrong way... And two trips like that and the nylon was starting to hole... So for £20 I got a rather excellent hard-shell case in lime green... No problem spotting that on the luggage return belt.
    We had dinner at the Spicy Crab stall on the edge of the market. Food was good although they seemed to be increasing their income by subtly increasing the bill and then having a failure to understand the tourists. We didn't care, what we had was good and it was a great people watching spot. A very pernickety group arrived on the table next door and didn't stop whining... We need an extra stool (they could have grabbed one themselves, we need the table wiping again... Then when it was wiped they wiped it again with their own stash of tissues...... If you're going to eat at a street food type place you just have to be relaxed about it all... They were the sort of people who give tourists a bad name. We left them whingeing and headed back to the hotel via the 7-11 where we got a beer each, with the intention of taking in the harbour view with a beer once we had sorted the packing.

    Can't add photos from the big camera... Will follow when home...    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    I doubt Dory would be up for this, though he does a good downward dog
    StanleyDad at the end of Stanley PromDon't think Dad has mastered packing light...A Street in the Mid-LevelsFood from every country is available in Hong Kong

    A Last Day in Hong Kong

    14. november 2017, Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    So in an attempt to pack as much in as possible we set the alarm for 7am. Up, finally packed and in for breakfast before 8am. Th weather was overcast but not wet so we rashly packed our waterproofs, deposited our cases and headed out for another star ferry ride. From the Ferry we wandered through the commuters to find the bus to Stanley, we dropped in the tourism office to pick up a new map (the last one having become papier mache) and the guide helpfully told us to get the 260 express bus rather than the standard service which I recall as a) long and b) hair-raising. Not that the 260 was necessarily going to be better on the latter count - we got the front seats on the top deck and they had seatbelts - no other seats did, and there was a notice suggesting we should wear them.

    The bus ride was great, fabulous views over Repulse Bay and into the mega-mansions that occasionally dotted the hillsides. the road is narrow and rollercoaster-like and very quick - about 30 mins. When we arrived in Stanley the sun was shining and the sea was a turquoise colour. We wandered around the promenade and admired the views, took photos, ate ice-cream (which I heartlessly sent Dad to buy) and generally enjoyed ourselves. A quick walk through the market, which is smaller than Temple Street but mostly has the same stuff, and we thought we could head back - and we got the front seat again :-). No photos - if the bus was moving then it was too rocky to photograph and if we were at a bus stop something was always blocking the view.

    The bus ride did give fabulous views of Hong Kong. There was a very promising looking graveyard right by the exit from the Aberdeen tunnel, absolutely packed and very, very tightly packed. Some of the architecture is spectacular but it is often right next door to something that looks pretty squalid. I don't know quite where HK sits on the list of economically divided cities but I would suspect is must be one of the most. Maseratis in WanChai and coffin apartments by the docks..

    We got back to Central and I offered Dad the choice of another trip to Wong Tai Sin or a ride on the world's longest escalators... So we rode the escalators to to the top.. All 25 minutes of it, again fabulous looks at tiny alleys, expensive apartments, and bamboo scaffolding. Then we walked down the steep streets back to Des Voeux Road, past the Sun Yat Sen museum... Didn't look very busy and the smallest hardware shop I have ever seen. It was about the size of a telephone box and stuffed with taps, hoses, piping, fans....

    Back at Central we walked to the MTR and caught it back to the hotel to pick up our cases. We then trundled back to the in-town check-in to deposit our stuff. Armed with boarding passes and lounge tickets we dived back on to the MTR to go out to NingPo and Big Buddha    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    BB
    One of the Buddha's supportersI have now idea why Big Buddha now has cowsWe made itSunset at Big BuddhaDinner Michelin starred Dim Sum

    Big Buddha

    15. november 2017, Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    The last time I saw the Buddha it was at the end of an epic ferry/bus ride. Now the MTR has been extended and you hop off that and take a 25 minute cable-car ride. Which is a high and spectacular ride over green hills covered with tropical vegetation. There is obviously a walking trail to the Buddha, far below us we saw a jogger and a strolling couple, which might not seem noteworthy but the path is tiny, remote and you appear to have to leap over a small waterfall at one point.

    As it was late in the day we got a car to ourselves and at one point we were in the clouds. Soon the Buddha could be seen on the horizon. Eventually we clambered out of the car and walked through a hideous overpriced plaza of dubious souvenirs. Bizarrely thus path took the foot traffic past a set of decorative drums mounted on a bridge... Which had sharp instructions not to tap them... Why put drums if you don't want them played..... Once through the plaza we ended up on a path marked by statues of various generals associated with the Chinese horoscope years... Didn't seem very Buddhist to me. The whole thing felt fairly awful, I really liked BB last time relatively quiet, very uncommercial but the village just seemed like another money making scheme.. Wonder if the monks had a hand in it or are fuming? On the upside the cable car must bring more visitors and more donations for them. The other odd thing were the buffalo/cows ambling about on the path to the Buddha... No explanation given. The other thing going on was that ITV / Amazon Prime were filming something there... Can't remember what it was called and we were not allowed to take photos, so chances of me ever seeing it are slim.

    Eventually we came to the bottom of the steps that lead to BB. A total 268 steps up... Slow and steady got us to the top. It is impressive even if it does only date from 1993. A very kind woman we had spoken to earlier decided that Dad and I needed a photo to capture the occasion... She spent an age lining us up. Photo on the big camera though so will try to upload tomorrow. We had a good admire of the Buddha, and a wander about and the we creaked Dad's knees back to the main temple. He took photos I lit some incense that hadn't caught and then we headed back to try to catch the last cable car.

    Huge queues but we got on after a not very long wait and were rewarded with a spectacular sunset. (big camera). The clouds had lifted and we had great views for the whole journey. Once down we ride back to Hong Kong Station to track down the Michelin starred Dim sum that I found on TripAdvisor. We had some trouble finding it... It is tucked away in the station and looks like a fast food place in many ways, but there was a queue for a table. We were lucky and got a table to ourselves... Lots of them were long shared tables and I would have felt embarrassed wielding my chopsticks so publicly. Great food esp the pork stuffed eggplant.. Reluctantly after that we decided that it was more sensible to head to the airport as the time required to get back to the Star Ferry, ride it and get back was just a bit too cosy.

    Smooth ride out, an easy passage through security and into the lounge to await our flight. Now we are at 35000 feet having dinner. The Sky Chef comes and takes your order.. 😀    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    Dinner
    Sky chef

    In Transit at Ataturk

    15. november 2017, Tyrkia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Slightly different plane seats than on the way out, it lacked the small cubbies for glasses etc. And the was a gap between the single seat side stowage bin and the seat cushions....
    Food was good again but by the time we had been fed it was about 1:30am. Once the bed was made I stashed my glasses and phone and snuggled down to sleep. The cabin felt very blokey.. Hideously loud snoring from a couple of seats... Has to be good to be audible over the engines and across the aisle. There was also the bloke on the aisle opposite Dad who repeatedly rearranged his goolies whilst facing across towards me.. Urrrgh

    In the middle of the plane night my phone alarm went off (I hadn't reset the time or turned it off). I dealt with it and went back to sleep... When I woke 2hrs later it was nowhere in the bin.... After a good hunt round I talked to the steward.. He couldn't see it either... So he organised techs to be ready at Istanbul to take the seat apart.

    After a short fret I settled with breakfast and my Kindle, finally finished the Mandibles! The steward had told me not to move my seat to reduce the risk of crushing the phone and so when it came time to put the seat in the upright position I was stuck...
    But the steward has obviously received additional instructions and he returned and removed all the cushions /padding from the seat and then the phone was revealed down below the mechanism... He wiggled his arm through the narrow gap and my phone was returned to me 😀.

    Last time we landed at Istanbul we just went through a door into the main departure area.. No arrivals formalities. This time we were piled into a security screening area again.. More bag/shoe/intimate corners of my anatomy investigation and we were released to the lounge.    Les mer

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  • Johanne BrookesChina 2017Reisende
    Massage service
    Breakfast number 2Cloud in the valley

    Last leg

    15. november 2017, Slovakia ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

    So a breather in the lounge... Time to drink water and snack on nuts and olives. We could, of course, got roaring drunk and eaten our way around the world but even for our confused body clocks it was only about 10 am and so far too early for that.

    We watched activities in the lounge including the neck massage service and generally passed the time. It's always worse on the way home... Although it is good to be home it doesn't have that frisson of excitement that flying off to a new destination has.

    On arrival at our gate lucky me I got randomly chosen for a complete search of me, my bag and all its contents, kindle out of case, tablet out of case.. Much discussion of what my few remaining Chinese coins were! But eventually they decided I was OK and I was released to join Dad. We watch sunrise over Istanbul whilst waiting for boarding to commence... About 30 mins later than we were advised so a bit more tedium.

    Eventually on to the plane and away. Another breakfast and now the clouds have cleared and I am looking at the clouds hanging just in a river valley and now where else. By happy coincidence my copy of New Humanist has a very similar photo of smoke doing the same thing. I love the maplike quality of being able to watch the ground from a great height. We have just passed a belt of hills that seem to divide a great Hungarian plateau...

    Lots of flat hedgeless fields... I can see why Debbie in the Archers likes farming here... You could drive your tractor for miles...    Les mer

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    Reisens slutt
    15. november 2017
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