Back off Jet Lag

After checking into my hotel and having a bit of a sit down it was back to the Underground and into Victoria Station to centre myself and help me feel I was truly finally back in London.

I decided to get off at Westminster and walk around via Scotland Yard. Quite busy with lots of tourists taking photos of Parliament and over at Parliament Square plus a queue at Westminster Abbey, It was getting drizzly and the wind had quite a bite to it, poor brolly was having trouble staying up – maybe it had jet lag!

Bit of reconstruction work along Victoria Street, a couple of buildings gone altogether and not sure what they’re putting in or fixing near the Station but Little Ben wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Similarly a couple of things gone from inside the station, including Garfunkels and even Wetherspoons is being renovated. Oh well. Popped into WH Smiths and bought a couple of books n snacks before returning to Paddington and crashing for the night. Watched a very sad episode of Coronation Street which didn’t exactly lift my lagged spirits. Fought the good fight with sleep through the night but got through until about 7.30.

After breakfast today it was time to get on with things and it was into Westminster again. It was as if a fleet of buses had landed depositing people everywhere and in groups. The hoards had descended and there was me in the middle of them. Cameras and phones out as thought the populace had growths on their faces, amazing.

Walking over Wesrminster Bridge was lovely with people enthused by the sights they were seeing and the sun shining down on all of us, we won’t mention the biting wind. Only a short way over to St Thomas’ Hospital

and into the fascinating Florence Nightingale Museum. Interesting to see her history and lots of her artifacts from the Crimea and beyond. A bit of controversy over the years about Florence but my reading of her today is that she was a pretty remarkable human being. She even wrote to the mothers of boys/men who died in her care and they were lovely kind letters.

After that I caught a bus into Oxford Circus. I’d managed to split the sole of my shoes and needed to get a replacement pair so thought Debenhams would be a good shot and as luck would have it I picked up a nice pair on special – 40% off thank you nicely. Rewarded myself with a cuppa in the café – I’ll stick to tea next time I think.

Back on another train to St Paul’s Station and a bit of wander past the great Cathedral and onto one of my favorite London places Leadenhall Market which is too having some work done. Still enough on view to remind me how gorgeous it is. Out past Lloyds also amazing building and looking for the London Stone.

After a lot of walking it eluded me and I made my way back only to find I had walked past the bloody thing as it is a bit innocuous. I was very thrilled to find it as it is a remnant of ancient London, well the 1500s at least.and fromed from the original rock base of the area.

Then to the Museum of London, past Postman’s Park and a nice look around, great place. A most moving section on London in the Blitz and people telling stories of being around at the time, kids seeing parents killed, going home to rubble, walking familiar streets with buildings destroyed etc. Also amused to see the Lord Mayor has his own 'regal carriage', amazement!

I was proper pooped and took a wrong turn or two making it an even longer walk before getting back on the train and to Queensway. Unfortunately only one lift working so dumbly climbed123 steps on the spiral stairs to the top – it was almost goodnight nurse I tell ya. Anyway through the spots in my eyes and the deafening sound of ….my heavy breathing I emerged onto Queensway and memories of where I stayed on my first trip in 1980.

Found a remarkable quirky building in Leinster Gardens (look at the photo and see if  you can see any clues) and was back in my room by 4.30 barely able to walk.

And we're off

And so the journey begins. After the disappointment of not traveling to Britain because of the broken foot episode last year I have been looking forward to finally getting there and the day has come.

The flight is the thing I have been looking forward to the least, it is such a long flight and being cooped up for over 24 hours just seems a  waste of time frankly and a form of first world torture. I’m flying Royal Brunei Airlines and so we go via Brunei (stop for two and a half hours and change planes) then Dubai (hour and fifteen minutes refuel) and into London at 6.00 am.

The first leg was relatively painless with the plane not heavily booked. There was me and a young guy in three seats and I benevolently pointed out to him an empty row which he moved  to once we were mid air. Nice to have the three seats to myself. Service was friendly and attentive and first meal came within about an hour of us setting off. 

Amazing, breathtaking scenery of the red centre and north of Australia, red and flat and seemingly endless, wonderful to see.

Into Bandar Seri Begwin early which means sitting around in the airport lounge even longer. Plus the airport is ‘under renovation’ so only a few dull shops and one coffee shop which of course had a long queue, oh fun for nearly four hours!  Plus quell horreur the toilets are the squat type. I am anatomically and psychologically in capable of using such things (not to mention barely able to breathe in them) so one had to be creative in ways to use them and or make do/hold on. Not a great first impression of the place frankly but time dragged and eventually passed before we were herded through security and onto the plane leaving nearly an hour late.

New plane is bright and comfortable and again just two of us in the row so we can spread out a little. We were treated to a lovely bit of theatre with a large group of Indonesians who took quite a bit of time finding their seats,changing them, getting confused, realizing they had to put things in the overheads, changing seats again and generally causing mayhem and much mirth. Never seen anything like it, both hilarious and frustrating. It was clear many of them had never flown before so even a bit cute. They were all off to an Islamic conference in Dubai. With the musical chairs one just wonders if disaster had befallen us how they’d identify anyone by where they were sitting…

Dubai looks lovely at night with the lights and spread out ‘city’, fascinated by the eight (ie 16) lane highways. The airport also amazing and would have loved to look around but because we were running late we had 15 minutes after getting off to then get back into the boarding gate and go through a tiresome security check. This is if course because they obviously doubt their own ability to prevent security issues in their airport from the time one gets off a plane to go and reboard the same plane…am I the only one who thinks that odd?

So by now I'd been 'on the road' for 19 hours and still had seven to go but at least the greatest part of the trip was behind us all. Geez I was tired though!

It's those long stretches when you just can't watch another movie, or can't hear the soundtrack of the one you would quite like to watch, the food has taken a pause (while, in my case, the wind kicks in), You can't focus well enough to read anymore of your book and those micro naps are just putting your neck out rather than relaxing you. And each time you look at the time the time seems to be going the slowest its gone since you were counting the hours until Santa came.

At 7.00 am we touched down at Heathrow in heavy fog and TWO degrees. The queue at immigration was terrifyingly long but it took a mere fifteen minutes to get through. The baggage claim was another matter, being one of the first to check in of course dictates your bags will be the last and thus it was but out through the green line with barely a glance.

I checked into the Yotel cabin hotel at Terminal 4 to freshen up and relax before it was time to head into Paddington and check into my real hotel. Call it a cabin? That's what it was. The bed was up so high you needed a step to climb up (and I would not have liked to have been much heavier as the step was pretty flimsy).

Happy to be back in London, to be where it's cold and to be waiting for the adventure to come.  

Privacy, not such a secret after all

I’ve been thinking about privacy a lot over the last few months. The revelation that Angela Merkel’s mobile phone had been tapped by the Americans and then that we had been listening into the Indonesian President’s wife’s phone calls troubled me. I was entertained (?) by the commentary that followed and the responses of the ‘guilty’ (read ‘caught out’) parties that ‘everyone does it’. I was appalled that most people seemed to think that was an ok defence. And yet…

When I was growing up there were two almost inviolate things a ‘grown up’ could do to a kid – enter their bedroom without knocking (if at all) and to read their diary. At this point in my life I’m less convinced it was about keeping secrets as it was about being a kid and telling the oldies to back off. Nevertheless it was also a rite of passage to understand limits, freedoms and keeping things personal and private. Even now I think that it is important to maintain my privacy, have my own ‘thoughts’, have conversations with ‘me’ that aren’t shared or available to anyone else. There lie my prejudices, my hopes, my fears and those sometimes troubling mind meanders that occasionally make me wonder ‘where the hell did that come from’. If you read this blog regularly (sorry) you may often have similar thoughts about me.

The lines of privacy today of course are blurred. The ‘coalition of the all too willing to participate in social networking’ has ensured that. People now put their innermost thoughts, feelings and rants on Fakebook, Twitspace, Wanko or whatever. Many are incredibly ‘brave’ in the things they’ll say about each other, often things they’d never say to their face. People are judged (and consequently often bullied) by their sometimes ill thought out words, stands they take or banal commentary. Assumptions are made and inaccurate characterisations follow.

You want to read today’s version of a diary? Pop onto social media and it is all there for you to lap up should that float your boat. It’s not even hidden, it’s just there.

It amuses me when I challenge someone about the information they are prepared to ‘share’ on line. It’s usually ‘I haven’t got anything they’d want to look at’ or ‘I’m pretty careful about who I let see my site’ etc, we all suddenly believe we have a part of ourselves that is invisible, we are less interesting and yet something inside us says ‘look at me I am worth paying heed to’. This is how celebrity becomes so attractive. And of course there are some who just think it’s all an oversensitivity and really there is nothing to be concerned about, privacy schivacy! Ok, for all those in that camp pop through your PINs and Passwords to me and we’ll see how private you suddenly become!

I don’t know exactly when it became ok to know each other’s business and to have an appetite but I find it all unseemly. Consumer advocates in the 90’s were outraged at the kind of information that was freely spread around and shared by companies, governments and mostly anyone. As a result Australia introduced some of the tightest and protective Privacy Laws in the world. We complain when we’re asked ‘security questions’ or to identify ourselves and yet so many of us post the most intimate of information about ourselves on line. Is this some kind of madness or what?

Want to know someone’s relationship status? Hop on line and you’ll get the latest, you will probably even get details and, super doper, they might jump onto Coward’s Castle ‘Twitter’ and post something shocking or slanderous about their ex. Sure they’ll withdraw the Tweet later ‘horrified if I caused hurt or embarrassment’ but the carefully thought out damage will already have been done, there’ll be screen shots to ensure no one will miss it.

So Angela Merkel and Mrs Yudhoyono can just suck it up it seems.  They have no rights to privacy, they can have no secrets, what they say to family members and friends is as up for grabs as what they say to their ministers or leaders of other countries. Because ‘everyone does it’, because somewhere on the net it will be written or speculated on at least. We cannot quake in horror though because we do it to ourselves and expect it of others.

Let’s not forget though that human rights once surrendered are almost impossible to get back. We’ve seen that since 9/11. Australia’s ‘spy’ agency ASIO has some of the toughest security laws in the world (tougher than the UK and some of the US laws), particularly on detention without charge, right to a lawyer and the right to refuse to answer questions. And I worry that is the same for privacy, especially that of individuals. And as for our secrets, well give it up kids you no longer have any…and you probably don’t care. Nothing enlivens a Government more than apathy, it’s ‘go for it’ time. Just look at the stuff Edward Snowden and Wiki leaks have uncovered and that we now know all our tweets, emails and texts are monitored and someone else decides whether they are of use or not.

So as the US dares to threaten trial and detention of its citizens and honourable, brave people such as Snowden, Manning and Assange for alerting us to things that are, in my opinion, plain wrong, invasive, hideous and unsettling we need to remember something basic: think before you speak, tweet, email, fbook or phone.

They’re out there

They’re listening

And your problem would be?

Stop This Killer

There is a silent killer in our society, our great and fair country of Australia, and I think it’s time it was named and shamed.

When I was growing up we didn’t have air conditioning, some houses had a ceiling fan, some had a ‘breezeway’ but we had nothing. We went to school in uncooled boxes and played in the blistering sunshine (no sunblock) and rode home on our bikes. When I moved to Melbourne in 1976 the trains were still the wooden red rattlers and the trams the old style all with no aircon. And we survived. Frankly, I’m buggered if I know how. Today the heat of summer is all too hideous and miserable for me and I crave aircon lest my body starts to shut down. I sweat in places where I doubt there are sweat glands and I dehydrate faster than my African Violet.

I don’t mind the sunshine; in fact a sunny day in Melbourne in March with about 18-24 degrees is my idea of gorgeous. I know some who claim to ‘enjoy’ the heat…mind you from their air-conditioned cars or homes. I love the cold but I like to be comfortable so I guess it’s sort of the same but then I do expose myself to the cold as much as possible.

It is disturbing to see tennis being played at the Australian Open when we have plus 40 degree temperatures but that is about money isn't it?! Of course if, perish the thought, one of the players drops dead of a heart attack and the family sues the Open we'll see how important money is. Thankfully sense prevailed today and the matches were put on hold.

My biggest concern about the heat though is the trauma of fires that comes with it. It is terrifying and sad each warm season to see the destruction wrought by fires and the awfulness of lost lives and property not to mention the horror that must go with being caught in a fire.

Whilst some find cold weather a bit of a trial (you can always get warm but can rarely get cool I find) there is no escaping how dangerous heatwaves are- they are killers.

In fact heatwaves are our biggest national killer, well ahead of fire and floods. Those of us ageing (in the hot weather I find I age rapidly) find this of particular relevance and those of us in the city are more vulnerable because of  what is called the Heat Island Effect (HIE) ... which can add up to four degrees to temperatures. This can be further exacerbated due to a prevalence of dark-coloured pavements and roofs that absorb heat, and a lack of shade and green space.

A report from the Government last year (http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure/pab/soac/index.aspx) shows that heatwaves in our major cities are more deadly than other natural disasters, causing 2887 deaths since 1890.

This is more than bushfires (843), cyclones (935), earthquakes (13), floods (453) and severe storms (124) combined.

After our hottest decade in history, many Australian cities and towns recording their hottest days (and nights) ever and sustained periods of hotter weather we are looking at something dangerous this way coming! And because our population is ageing we may not have the infrastructure to cope - hospitals, water supplies, electricity etc.

And this is all before we re-visit the craziness (observed on the TV news on Tuesday night) of people flocking to the beach and lying out in the blazing sun with no sun block or insufficient. Today an average of one Australian dies every day from skin cancer or a sun related cancer, I fear those numbers are not going to reduce if we don't wake up to ourselves. I even heard someone say the other day 'oh I only stay out for about ten minutes', stupid.

So this silent killer has to be stopped! If a person took out a couple of hundred lives a year there would be the biggest hunt on for the serial killer and all sorts of laws passed to stop anyone else doing it.

Heat is insidious, evil and harmful and I HATE IT.

The Man Who Wrote History

“… we have lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us - he belongs to the ages.” – Barack Obama

In my teenage years and possibly earlier I remember seeing the round bearded face of a great man on posters and the two words ‘Free Mandela’. I have to admit I thought he looked dangerous and I probably judged him the dangerous criminal Menzies and the right declaimed him to be. Mind you these were the same people who propped up the hideous, murderous regime in South Africa for many years. They also thought apartheid a valid process. It took Malcolm Fraser to challenge his fellow right wingers before the atmosphere changed politically in this country.

Years passed and the Springbok tour of Australia raised my awareness and I came to realise there was more to the story and less to support in the accepted view. With the realisation came the passion for seeing Mandela out of jail and living free, having the freedom he wanted for his people and all those in Sth Africa. That finally came in 1990 and the world became a better place.

Mandela was not without sin, he did think violence was ok for a period of time, he shared the ANC belief in assuming ownership of ‘white’ property and he may not have always been generous in his interactions with others. His imprisonment changed these views and he became simply remarkable.

His dignity and his spirit inspired me and educated me. His ability to forgive, to know that revenge does nothing, progresses nothing, lives only for and off itself was a revelation. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was an amazing, unique and brilliant concept and made the future direction of that blighted country more certain.

The power of Madiba’s message is in contrasting the way South Africa developed after his release to the basket case that Zimbabwe is. Mandela chose peace and forgiveness, Mugabe chose hate and revenge. South Africa still has its problems but there is hope and faith, Zimbabwe just has blood and tears.

I am so grateful to have lived at the same time as Madiba and join others in thanking his family and country for sharing him with us. Your sadness is balanced with gratitude for his life but my sympathy for your loss. What an incredible life though eh?

From a Prisoner for 27 years to President for six years ,his long walk to Freedom made my life better, made the world brighter and made many more things possible. Mandela’s legacy will always be that little extra light in a too often dark world. But with his passing that light is just a little less bright.

Be at rest you wonderful man. We can ill afford to lose you but if it makes the hereafter a better place and  if God needs you, go well and with our thanks.

So many tributes to this great human today but, as always, President Obama’s was the highlight for me. Read it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25250278

Hong Kong Tips

I've had a couple of questions about travel tips for Hong Kong so here are five that might be helpful.

1. Buy an Octopus Card. This is Hong Kong's public transport 'smart card' and covers your journeys on tram, bus and the MTR plus the Star Ferry. You can also use it for making purchases in some stores and can top it up at MTR stations and most 7-eleven stores and some newstands. You can pick one up at the airport on arrival, the visitors card costs $150HKD ($50 of that is refundable within three months of purchase). I didn't need to top my card up until about day five so it goes a long way.
2. Staying on the Hong Kong side is probably the best for all the 'sights' - Stanley, Lantau, Macau, Middle Level escalators, The Peak, Hong Kong Park, Central, Soho, cultural and art centres etc. It is also a little more relaxed and 'Chinese' (lots of old buildings and delicious laneways). Kowloon offers more big name hotels, shops and the Temple Street Market. The tour companies also tend to make it easier to connect if you're on the Kowloon side (the pick up points in Hong Kong tend not to be a hotel but a central point whereas on Kowloon they will likely pick up at the hotel). And I heartily recommend the IBIS!
3. The MTR is incredibly efficient, clean and regular. The downside is the stations can be huge and it gets a bit exhausting if you need to transfer lines. You can save a lot of time though because the subways attached to the stations generally have multiple exits that bring you out very close to sights which might be harder to get to above ground.
4. The smog is horrendous so if you have respiratory issues take precautions in advance. The smog levels actually exceed the World Health Organisation standards most days.Signs around the islands advise you of the daily level.
5. Don't miss Macau, the Lantau Cable Car and a trip out to the New Territories. If you're only in HK for a couple of days I would recommend Stanley, the Temple Street Night Market, a Star Ferry trip and a walk along Connaught Road or Des Vouex Rd (from Central to Sheung Wan) which could include riding part of the Middle Levels escalator. The Murrays would suggest the Big Bus is probably a good way to cover a lot of territory in a short time.

Above all, enjoy. My philosophy is if you're going somewhere different then discover the different - otherwise why travel?

Time for the Off

And so all things pass, good and bad.

Early breakfast, I was clearly not destined to have a sleep in while in Hong Kong. Checked out at 10.00 and caught the tram around to Central Station for the train over to Tsim Sha Tsui.


Had a look at the magnificent 1881 Heritage building, the old Marine Police Headquarters (built in 1884)which is now a flash shopping and dining complex but gorgeous. A couple of the old guns used in the noonday gun service. Wandering around the restoration is very good with the stables and quarters nicely converted. A couple of brides being photographed and a girl in graduation gear was also being 'shot'. There is a semaphore tower and a time ball tower still standing.

A bit of a wander along the promenade to take some photos and take in the wondrous harbour for the last time (ish). Not too hazy today but my eyes are starting to sting from the constant smog. It's always there just some days are better than others.

So the penny just dropped that the building was built in 1884 but it's called Heritage 1881? Simply that '4' has the same sound in Chinese as 'death' so they simply made it 1881.

I wanted to check out a bookshop further up the island and caught a train to Yau Ma Tei. It was supposedly a short wander just past where I had been for the Temple Street Market but blowed if I could find it. Annoying but I got to see some old streets and a big market area on Reclamation Street

(love that) where people were peeling what looked like limes and lining the peels up along the street. Don't know what that was about. Also went along Shanghai Street which was the old main drag over there. Found the Ya Ma Tei Theatre where the rickshaw drivers used to flock to for a relax. It supposedly has a nice art deco interior but was rather underwhelming from the outside frankly. It's on Waterloo Road so there are some great street names around here. Many of the stores around the square hundred miles I traversed (alright I was getting hot so it felt like I'd covered a lot of territory) sold metal ware, pots and pans plus water boiling urns and hotel toasters etc and boy were they doing a good trade. Plus on Shanghai Street there were some nice furniture shops selling old Chinese style wooden furniture.

There was a shopping centre on Nathan Road that was apparently great for electrical goods and I was interested in seeing prices on iPads etc. Of course it was miiiiiilllllles away but eventually I found it. It was several levels of wall to wall tiny stalls/shops and I actually had an overwhelming sense of deja vu and got spooked so got outa there, very odd. I don't know if I've been somewhere similar or had a nightmare about such a building or what but I was quite anxious.

Another hike before an MTR station appeared and I went back to Tsim Sha Tsui and had a delightful

snack at the lovely YMCA in Salisbury House. My body temp came down nicely and I was refreshed. Popped into Marks and Spencers again and paid homage in the food hall, ahhhh.

Sat over at the Promenade again for half an hour before catching the Star Ferry back to Central and a walk along the walkway to catch a bus back to the hotel. I had tackled all the transport options except taxi while I was in HK. The bus didn't take the route I'd expected but thankfully I found I got out at a good spot to get back to the hotel without too much hassle.


Then it was a short wait for the shuttle bus to the Airport Express station and able to check in for the flight there and the bags get whisked away so it's very convenient and grown up.

Was at the airport pretty early but I really didn't have anything I could have done and not be left running late. Hadn't realised how huge the airport was when I arrived but it is enourmous and lots of shops and restaurants. Lots of people going through immigration and the pushing in and jumping queues was really bloody annoying but I eventually stopped doing it (ha humour). I wonder why the immigration staff can't smile? Just once and just at me!

A guy from the tourist bureau asked me a few questions for a survey and then it was a few hours waiting and wandering until the plane was called.

We had that weird phenomenon of having a security inspection of our cabin bags before we boarded (what do these airports sell that we could get after the previous inspection that is a threat?). Of course with some people carrying their worldly possessions in their carry on filing cabinets it can be a slow process and NO there is no express lane for those with just a hanbag, shopping bag or satchel.

Plane was full and we had the delight of two grumpy children but I had my headphones on and only noticed them occassionally, even slept for a couple of ours.

Back in Melbourne half an hour ahead of schedule but oh the wait for bags and the hopelessly long line at customs is tiresome (especially when one is tired). Tulla is becoming as slow as Sydney and the customs set up seems very haphazard and inefficient. You have the marvels of the eTicket Gate system but then nothing to continue that efficiency. I wonder why Immigration and customs can't be combined in some way?

Home two hours after getting off the plane so I was well bushed by the time I climbed my stairs and crashed inside.

Oh Hong Kong you were a diversion and a delight. I really noticed that I passed not one person on the walk from the train station to my flat, it seemed too quiet almost. So it's the crowds, the pushing in and cutting off, the constant buzz and the variety of sights and experiences of Hong Kong. Macau was a highlight, the Giant Buddha was breathtaking, the New Territories were fascinating, the long escalator a novelty, I can still feel the sway and swerve of the chair lift and the transport options were so convenient.

I'd certainly choose the IBIS to stay at again, I liked that it was in the old Western Market end of Hong Kong and close to where I needed to be. The room was quiet and I actually managed to set the air con to the ideal temp for me. Breakfast was overpriced so I would try to get it included next time in the room rate. Oh and the tele options were pretty poor, no BBC or Movie channels (how do the people in need of porn cope?). Sky News is very good but the short rotation of stories becomes irritating after a couple of hours. We had Fox News as well but really if I wanted that much right wing I'd have bought a ucket of KFC and insisted on only wings. The whingeing about Obamacare was hideous, as though nowhere else has introduced a universal healthcare system which has worked and worked well.

Would I go back by choice though? Probably not. I think I've 'done' Hong Kong to my satisfaction and it's not on my return list. Don't misinterpret that though as saying that I didn't have a good time, it's just I did it and now it's a question of where or what next?

That's a Big Buddha

Even though I woke at 5.30 I didn't leave my room until about ten and had to endure the lift routine which means that a couple of the lifts only go down to level 5 so one alights and waits aaaaaggggges for another lift to go to the ground floor. Of course while you're waiting the number of people waiting with you grows and, let's call a spade a spade, no-one cares if you've been waiting the longest or indeed if you're nearest the door when it opens...it's the quick or the dead.

Out into a nice fresh morning even though the humidity was said to be 72%. Walked along the pedestrian bridge to Hong Kong station and the half hour ride to Tung Chung on Lantau Island. Train was quite full as this is the same line that gets one to Disneyland and one of the Sunday market towns.

The train station is located in a shopping mall which also has a cinema centre and outlet shops. Just a little walk over to the cable car station and a horrendous queue. Took almost an hour to get to the ticket booth but a lovely cool breeze was blowing so still kept comfortable.

There are two styles of cabins one can travel on, standard and crystal. The crystal cars are on 'special' at the moment so I forked out $213HKD which also meant it was only a 10 minute wait to get on whereas it was nearly an hour for the standard ones. To my mind paying $20 extra was worth it if I didn't have to stand in another queue for an hour.

Not much different in the cabin itself EXCEPT it had a glass bottom which was mildly terrifying but also a bit of fun. The cable car goes for quite a distance and over all sorts of terrain, over the South China Sea and mountains, sometimes quite steep taking about 25 minutes to complete the ride. I was a little concerned at times but really whatever happens one has little control over so you just sit back and enjoy it.

We emerge at the little village of Ngong Ping the home of the Giant Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. One steps out to see the Buddha in the distance and a set of shops in the classic Chinese village style somewhat kitsched up by them housing Starbucks, noodle stores, souvenir places even a Peking Opera 'goods' shop plus the requisite drinks and ice cream stalls.

Then we step through an archway and the Buddha is before us, all 10 storeys high of it, awesome (literally). One can climb up to the pedestal upon which be sits but I cared not for climbing the several hundred steps, really one appreciated the spectacle from below anyway. This piece of magnificence is in fact the largest seated Buddha in the world and was created by China Aerospace Science and Technology (you wouldn't have expected that would you? Imagine if the Michelangelo Ceiling in the Vatican was created by Microsoft).

Many people praying around the square below and much lighting of joss sticks in and around the path of

harmony. Walked over to the Monastery but it seems to be under repair shrouded in hessian so I decided not to go in.

After spending about an hour there I hopped on the cable car again for the somewhat less fearsome ride ack to Tung Chang and the train to Hong Kong. A bit less crowded on the train and it was nice and cold on it so I arrived refreshed.



It was getting on for 3.00 so I was in need of a cuppa and went to the same place in the IFC and had a nice decaf cap (and complimentary mini eskimo pie). Then grabbed some eats for dinner at Pret A Manger. I didn't feel like slogging out anywhere so headed back to the hotel.

Oh Wow Macau

A nice cool morning to wake up to and after breakfast at  a slow pace I walked to the nearby Macau Ferry Terminal. Luckily I didn't need a Visa and decided to splurge a bit and took a ticket the equivalent of business class on the ferry. A mighty $90 AUD but hey. Through immigration and customs very quickly. I was a little concerned when they took my landing card which I think I'll need to leave HK on Monday, yikes. Window seat in a separate part of the ferry but nothing grand. Surprise for me was the delivery of a meal of a roll with meat, some salad, a pannacotte and some water - pity I'd only just had brekky. Popped the roll into the sick bag (hopefully not a portent)and into my holdall for eating later.

Trip took justover an hour and fairly painless passage through Macau immigration and out of the terminal, touts for tours, taxis and rickshaws but I just headed to the bus. Convoluted route into Senado Square and it wasn't announced as such (the main street was the name of the stop)so took a punt on it being the right stop.

I had expected Macau to be a smallish place with the old Portugese area separated from the hustle and bustle but no you are at one moment in the streets of the city and then you're in the World Heritage area. Gee it's magical though and feels like you might have steeped into Portugal and even the deep south of

America. Lots of winding streets and nice buildings to keep one's eyes on the move and camera clicking. The streets are all tiled as per the photo above so all delightful. Very busy day, crowds galore which was a bit trying to be frank but lots of good spirits around. The ruins of St Paul's are the highlight and sit at the top of a hill catching your eye. Sat there for a while and consumed the souvenired ferry roll. Also took the opportunity to call Grey Line and indeed tomorrow's tour has been cancelled. Really disappointed but will pop out to Lantau and Stanley so all is not lost.

Time was getting on and I hopped a bus back to the Ferry and a much classier ferry thiis time. We went past the casino area and what a hideous bunch of building and crassness they were. I'm sure it's quite pretty at night and that thhey're all 'spectacular' inside but gee they looked tawdry, trashy and c.o.m.m.o.n. in the daytime.

On the ferry I (and everyone else) had to put up with a pair of boring Aussies behind me who seemed to have an opinion on everything and obviously thought they ought to share them with each other peppering

most of the diatribe with the 'f' bomb, oh they makes ya proud! The snack going back was sausages of indeterminate origin and species with noodles (delish) and a yoghurt.

Lined up at immigration only to be sent away to fill out a landing card!!!! Anyway annoyed but just filled one out and got in the queue again so it was bloody annoying and I was glad to get out of there and head back to the hotel for a few hours. Macau had been a real revelation and I'm pleased I went over therre.

At 7 I jumped the train to the Cultural  Center to watch the Nightly Lights Spectacular which plays across Victoria Harbour and lights up the sky and buildings. I watched it from where the Golden Bauhina Statue is, the spot that marks the ceding back to China by Britain in 1997. The lights were fun but a bit ho hum which is shocking to say because really it is amazing. What is wrong with me?

Back to the hotel by 9. One full day to go.