tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64276593951478821332024-03-14T04:53:11.680+13:00Nothing's ever simpleOccasional musings on life in generalAnnettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-57869408679168541162010-11-11T07:55:00.002+13:002010-11-11T20:58:36.478+13:00Christmas Cake recipes<span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: "Black Chancery"; font-size: large;">A selection of favourites </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/TNufln-OLRI/AAAAAAAAC_g/XQUtz7MLsTc/s1600/115-1507_IMG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/TNufln-OLRI/AAAAAAAAC_g/XQUtz7MLsTc/s200/115-1507_IMG.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Easy Xmas Cake</b></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> </b> (Diane Fraser of Nelson)<br />
<br />
<i>I've made this one for years now, since I got it off SkyTV - it's replaced my Condensed milk recipe (which everyone loves as well. For that recipe scroll down). =A=</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Oven Temp:<b>130C:</b> cooking time:<b> 4 hours</b> </div><br />
Diane says -- <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"> This recipe was given to my mother in the early 1960s by an elderly friend. It had been brought from England and was originally the Litchfield family Xmas cake made by their cook for many years. It was different in that you didn't have to cream butter and sugar and there were no spices in it. I have never had a failure and it is always moist and keeps for a long time. Everyone I have given this recipe to has loved it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> <b>Ingredients:</b><b> </b> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> 1-1/2 - 2 kg good quality dried fruit and nuts, I use 1kg of mixed fruit and put extra dried cherries, apricots, peaches sticky raisins, figs, and any other fruit that you like plus chopped nuts. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Marinate this for minimum 24hrs in 1/2 cup Brandy or other spirits.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">250gms butter [chopped]</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 cup brown sugar</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 large tablespoon golden syrup + 1 cup of boiling milk </div><div class="MsoNormal">3 large beaten eggs</div><div class="MsoNormal">3 cups plain flour</div><div class="MsoNormal">1 teaspoon baking soda</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> <b> </b><b>Method:</b><b> </b> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> Place butter, sugar, syrup in large bowl and pour over boiling milk.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Stir till melted then add beaten eggs and sifted dry ingredients to make a medium batter.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next take the marinated fruit and add 1 large tablespoon of flour to this and stir to coat</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then add batter to fruit. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Place in lined 8-9 inch tin</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bake in slow oven (I don't use fan assisted).</div><div class="MsoNormal">Check after 4 hours it may need a little longer.</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is lovely with a butter icing flavoured with Brandy. You may need to keep cake in a cool place if you use brandy icing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">================================================ </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: "Black Chancery"; font-size: 16pt;"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-NZ" style="font-family: "Black Chancery"; font-size: 16pt;">Condensed Milk Cake</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-NZ">The original:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">2 pkts fruit mix (about 1 Kg)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">1 C water</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">½ tsp nutmeg</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">½ 1b butter</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">1 Tb vinegar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">½ tsp mixed spice</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">Put all in pot and bring to boil – cool</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-NZ">Add</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">1 tsp baking soda</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">1 tin condensed milk</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">½ tsp salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">Vanilla, almond and lemon essences</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">2 ½ C plain flour</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">Brandy or sherry</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">Cook 2 ½ hours at 160 deg. C</span></div><div style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none double; border-width: medium medium 2.25pt; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none; padding: 0cm;"></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-NZ">My variations</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">I usually boil the fruit with ½ C alcohol (usually brandy) and ½ C water.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">I add more spices – cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and increase the quantities of nutmeg and mixed spice. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">Occasionally I add an egg and extra fruit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-NZ">I also add rose essence and/or orange flower essence, and pour over a T or 2 of brandy when the cake is cooked.</span></div>===========================================<br />
I'm not sure where I got this recipe from but it's in my collection:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-NZ">Nicest Easy Fruit Cake by Christine MacKenzie</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-NZ">posted by doug on 06/26/07</span></div><br />
225g butter 1 cup sugar<br />
1 cup milk 1 tbl golden syrup<br />
1 tsp baking soda 2 tbl cold water<br />
3 eggs 1 tsp pure vanilla essence<br />
2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder<br />
1 tsp mixed spice 700g mixed fruit<br />
<br />
Bring to the boil butter, sugar, milk and golden syrup. Remove from heat.<br />
Mix baking soda with water and stir in.<br />
<br />
Beat eggs then thoroughly stir into the warm liquids. Leave to cool to lukewarm. (You can leave it for half an hour or for several hours, or if in a hurry hasten by cooling the pot in a sink of cold water.)<br />
Heat oven to 180° deg C. Line a square or round 23cm cake tin with baking paper.<br />
Mix vanilla into cooled liquids, spread into lined tin.<br />
Optional: arrange blanched almonds on top. Add almond essence in with vanilla.<br />
<br />
Bake 180° deg C for one hour. Turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven for another 20 minutes. Cool in the tin on a wire rack for an hour then turn out.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-28564205184072586112009-01-07T23:55:00.002+13:002009-01-08T01:29:53.630+13:00Weekend in Zhong ShanSaturday 3 January - Sunday 4 January<br /><br />Alex Ip had invited us to stay at his new apartment in Greenville City, the complex where we enjoyed a few days last year. The Ips have recently moved into a new block, one of the most recently completed. Ada Chan, Alex's wife, has spent considerable time organising the decoration, which is in keeping with her artistic nature. One bedroom is kept for her studio, where her paintings are laid on the window ledge to dry and hanging on the wall. She is very talented.<br /><br />We met Alex and Mr and Mrs Wong, our companions on our last visit, at the station at ab0ut 9. We all had a very quick trip through the border formalities, and then got a bus directly for Zhong Shan. A 2-hour ride brought us to the Overseas Chinese Hotel in Zhongshan City where we had a delicious lunch which included 2 types of pigeon (crispy and steamed), rice and noodles and gong fu type tea.<br /><br />After lunch we caught another bus to the estate, which is about 30 minutes in slow traffic from the City. We enjoyed the view from Alex's apartment, walked around the environs and rested until the car came to collect us for a trip to the river mouth for dinner at about 5. The rural area is known for its seafood and to us was reminiscent of a restaurant on a river in Malaysia that we had enjoyed many years ago.<br /><br />We were a cramped 6 in the car, but the drive was not longer than 30 minutes and the evening scenery compensated for the discomfort. The sight alone of the setting sun on the water from the restaurant was well worth the trip .<br /><br />Alex and Mr Wong chose the fish for dinner from the tanks while we just enjoyed the sights of the drying fish on the line, the changing light and the lone fisherman rowing home. The cooking was done in a tin box of a kitchen - perhaps bearable on a slightly chilly night, but I couldn't help thinking that it must have been hell in summer.<br /><br />Dinner was a real feast: steamed shrimps, crab, fan scallops, fish soup, soft fish in batter and vegetable. By the time we had finished eating it was dark, with a lone star in the sky. Again we had an uncomfortable ride back to the apartment - a little more unnerving in the dark when on the 'wrong' side of the road, particularly as I noticed the speedo on the car didn't work. One less thing for the driver to monitor, I suppose!<br /><br />Alex spent some time getting the room and bedding ready for us, but we finally got to bed and quickly to sleep. We were up and about at 7 on Sunday, and went for an early breakfast with Alex, before the Wongs joined us. Mrs Wong had had an upset stomach in the night, but seemed all right for the rest of the day. After a breakfast of congee and noodles, with a cup of coffee (my first in nearly 2 weeks), we all went for a long walk around the estate.<br /><br />It was a beautiful day - fine, with fluffy clouds and no wind. Eddie had a wonderful time photographing everything he could see, and the rest of us just wandered and chatted. The area is a huge complex, and very easy to walk around, as there are many roads and streets and apartment blocks. It began from a golf course about 10 years ago and is still developing.<br /><br />On our return to the apartment, Alex spent some time cleaning up, ready for Ada's return on Thursday, then it was lunchtime. We had an extensive lunch at the local restaurant (pigeon again, along with beef curry, soup, chicken, and fish heads, all very tasty), before we were driven to the bus stop to wait for the bus to take us back to Hong Kong. It was a through bus, so at the border, we went through the formalities (again very fast) and back on to a bus which took us through Tsing Yi to Tsuen Wan. The evening light was beautiful on the rocky hills and valleys, which provided ever-changing vistas.<br /><br />Mr Wong guided us to a bus for Fanling, and again we enjoyed a different view of the landscape from the upper deck. We were home in the dark at 7 - to catch a glimpse of the half moon and evening star - a perfect end to a very enjoyable weekend.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-91012872105745704002009-01-06T05:05:00.007+13:002009-01-06T15:23:15.061+13:00A Good Start to the New Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWI764bDreI/AAAAAAAACXQ/1fCOTd3x39Y/s1600-h/GoogleEarth_NENT1b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWI764bDreI/AAAAAAAACXQ/1fCOTd3x39Y/s320/GoogleEarth_NENT1b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287854795250707938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The day was bright and clear - a little chilly to begin with, but warm in the sun. Eddie decided to go for a walk up Sha Tau Kok Rd, heading for the area where he worked in the early '90s. I didn't think we had a particular goal in mind, and lured by the thought of some interesting village food, I was happy to wander along.<br /><br />We left the flat about 9.30, heading up the road at a slow pace, enjoying the freshness of the morning and the sunshine, taking photos as we went. It was cheering to see blue sky after so many days of cloud. We paused at a soy sauce factory, peering through the gate at the rows of sauce jars fermenting under conical hats, and enjoying the view of the hills in the distance. The last 15 years have seen major changes in the quality of the road, which has been improved with a median strip and planting.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWI6tT6fFII/AAAAAAAACXA/MRpuHQxChuo/s1600-h/DSCN0565.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWI6tT6fFII/AAAAAAAACXA/MRpuHQxChuo/s200/DSCN0565.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287853462600488066" border="0" /></a><br />The bauhinia flowers on the roadside smelled particularly sweet in the morning sun. Opposite Pine Village, we found a very well-kept toilet for a necessary stop. Hong Kong has many public toilets available, of varying standard, but many are spotlessly clean and well-appointed. This one was one of the best, the more surprising considering the remoteness of its situation.<br /><br />Fur<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6cVnSjDI/AAAAAAAACXg/8F7qINFZLDA/s1600-h/DSCN0581.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6cVnSjDI/AAAAAAAACXg/8F7qINFZLDA/s200/DSCN0581.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287993908487425074" border="0" /></a>ther along the road we came across a garden with fruiting mandarin trees in ranks, ready for Chinese New Year in 3 weeks. Trees with golden citrus fruits are especially valued at this time for their auspicious meaning. We also came across a village sitting out area with letter boxes alongside. This must be much easier for the postie, who would have formerly had to wind his way through the village maze to deliver the mail. This was the first such arrangement I had seen but we came across another later in the day.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6bkojtrI/AAAAAAAACXY/vw1C-_yB4WE/s1600-h/DSCN0576.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6bkojtrI/AAAAAAAACXY/vw1C-_yB4WE/s200/DSCN0576.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287993895339407026" border="0" /></a><br />The agricultural gave way to industrial premises, guarded by dogs which growled and barked. I didn't feel very comfortable passing these, and was relieved when we turned off the main road. The side road (Ping Che Rd) had fewer dogs on it, and we just wandered along, wondering (at least I was) when the village restaurant would show up. It never did, but luckily we had some apricots and coconut chips that sustained us on the return journey.<br /><br />We walked the length of Ping Che Rd, taking photos and admiring the hills and scenery, with Eddie reminiscing, until we reached the closed area, where we had to turn round. Permits are needed to get any further as it is very close to the border with the mainland. We could see the towers of Shen Zhen beyond the fields.<br /><br />We had a small refreshment stop, then continued on, past the derelict site of a deserted school, through Ping Yeung Village, as Eddie thought he could get to his old office site that way. However, he discovered that it wasn't possible and once back home, found from the map that we had taken the wrong road. As a result of the detour, w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6dE-qkgI/AAAAAAAACXo/nlMvJ5ki4u0/s1600-h/DSCN0592.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6dE-qkgI/AAAAAAAACXo/nlMvJ5ki4u0/s200/DSCN0592.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287993921201934850" border="0" /></a>e found ourselves in the grounds of the <a href="http://wikimapia.org/1608239/Wun-Chuen-Sin-Koon-%E9%9B%B2%E6%B3%89%E4%BB%99%E9%A4%A8">Cloud Spring Temple</a>, where we spent quite some time admirin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6dZMxjfI/AAAAAAAACXw/5z9BGI6bfQ4/s1600-h/DSCN0604.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK6dZMxjfI/AAAAAAAACXw/5z9BGI6bfQ4/s200/DSCN0604.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287993926629821938" border="0" /></a>g the gardens and buildings. The gardens are extensive and would have been really pretty with the lotus pond filled and planted. Unfortunately that section was drained and the mud wasn't very attractive. The waterfalls, bonsai trees and miniature gardens, on the other hand, were fascinating.<br /><br />(From a description on <a href="http://www.gohk.gov.hk/text/eng/welcome/north_spots.html">notable sites in the North District</a>: "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Wun Chuen Sin Koon: </span> <p>This Taoist temple is located on Ping Che Road in <a href="http://wikimapia.org/1671913/Ping-Yeung-Village">Ping Yeung Village</a> of Ta Kwu Ling. The temple's beautiful landscape is interspersed with lotus ponds, traditional bridges, miniature gardens and exquisite carvings. The temple keeps a wonderful luck basin. When the handles of the basin are rubbed, tiny water droplets are expelled and sometimes a mini spring is formed. Every year, the temple holds a large-scale chrysanthemum show in autumn which attracts many visitors.")</p>Further down the road we branched off to another Village. This was again a dead end, and the roaming dogs made me too nervous to want to explore too far. So it was back to Pin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK8oy97nzI/AAAAAAAACX4/qAQLyiI1Owg/s1600-h/DSCN0580.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SWK8oy97nzI/AAAAAAAACX4/qAQLyiI1Owg/s200/DSCN0580.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287996321548705586" border="0" /></a>g Che Rd, with a decision to get a bus back to Fanling, as we had been walking without much rest for hours. The bus had us back home in minutes which was, in my opinion, well worth the fare.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-29434115164294067792009-01-02T19:13:00.007+13:002009-01-02T20:55:26.440+13:00Hong Kong in late December<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV3CNjnkJbI/AAAAAAAACWw/YP-xZ779OGI/s1600-h/DSCN0555.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV3CNjnkJbI/AAAAAAAACWw/YP-xZ779OGI/s320/DSCN0555.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286595075758106034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />There hasn't been a lot to write about on this trip so far as we were prevented from going too far afield by my lack of visa. We put in my passport to the Japan Travel Agency on the morning of the 24th of December but couldn't get it back until the 31st because of the intervening holidays. The price has gone up to HK $600 for a multiple entry 6-month visa. I will get at least 2 uses out of it and maybe a day trip to Shen Zhen as well, but time is already running out!<br /><br />I arrived at 3 pm on Tuesday 23rd December after an uneventful trip, during which I slept some and spent the rest of the time reading a book (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Map-That-Changed-World-William/dp/0060931809/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230877339&sr=8-1">The map that changed the world</a>) I had bought at the last minute at the airport. An interesting account of the life of William Smith, the "father of modern geology". Scientific backbiting and snobbism was rife in the 18th century, it seems.<br /><br />I took the bus to Hung Hom, but was too late to start the visa process as I needed a photo, having left my last one at home. I had some trouble finding Eddie at the station, but we finally connected and took the MTR back to Fanling, where I had my photos done.<br /><br />On Wednesday (Christmas Eve) we finally got to the Travel Agency to put in my passport for the visa, after which we visited the Museum of History since it was Wednesday when entry is free. As a bonus, we met Alex Ip for lunch at the Royal Restaurant at One Peking Rd. We had a very nice lunch with him, then took the Star Ferry to Hong Kong-side. We spent some time in IFC listening to a choir of young people who sang right through their (considerable) song book. The performance lasted at least 30 minutes and showed off their talents to advantage. It was tiring standing for so long, so we repaired to Dymock's Book Shop for browsing and a chance to sit down, before going on to Sham Shui Po for some shopping. We took the MTR, which was very crowded and hot, but it's not the most comfortable travelling on a holiday eve. It was a relief to walk back to Mongkok in the cool of the evening.<br /><br />We paused to look at the <a href="http://www.brighten.hk/">Brighten</a> flower shop which was filled with interesting flowers and floral decorations, large and small over 4 floors. The website isn't in English but certainly displays the variety of goods and is worth a look. We hardly had time to look at everything, but Eddie has photos for the memories.<br /><br />On Christmas Day, we had a quiet morning, then went for a walk up the road to enjoy the afternoon. We trailed through part of a village and deserted roads before taking a train to Shum Shui Po again, where we had a Christmas dinner of wun tun soup, and bought some electronics, notably a wireless router, which I spent Friday setting up.<br /><br />After wrestling with the router, we took a walk to Sheung Shui for shopping and bought fish for tea.<br /><br />On Saturday we got a bit of help with the router from our ISP - mostly to do with making sure all the computers can get email. I was happy to have a computer of my own to use again, and so far it's been well-behaved. After a sleep we went to Tai Po just for a wander. We bought some pork bones and made soup for tea.<br /><br />Sunday 28th was grey and overcast, so we rested in the morning. The local Fanling flower show provided an afternoon's entertainment - we saw a range of orchids and other pot plants, a hyacinth macaw hiding at the top of the cage that wasn't in a mood to be on display, a cockatoo, mounted trays of insects (most<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV2_Vfj4POI/AAAAAAAACWg/jplL7bi7g8o/s1600-h/DSCN0524.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 159px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV2_Vfj4POI/AAAAAAAACWg/jplL7bi7g8o/s320/DSCN0524.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286591913572973794" border="0" /></a>ly beetles and butterflies), enormous millipedes (pictured), giant fish and tiny fish and interestingly coloured goldfish, reptiles including snakes, frogs (tree and albino), lizards, a nest of scorpions, and a chameleon (green).<br /><br />The associated stalls were selling orchids for very reasonable prices, along with spring bulbs and garden ornaments. One had tiny pots and vases of artificial flowers - all very lifelike, and quite expensive. I would have bought Eddie a tray of jonquils but he jibbed a the $280 price. We were going to go further but went home when it began to rain.<br /><br />Monday 29th was still overcast but not wet. We went for a walk round ba<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV3AKksAVDI/AAAAAAAACWo/a-9kc7gFxSw/s1600-h/DSCN0534.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 196px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV3AKksAVDI/AAAAAAAACWo/a-9kc7gFxSw/s320/DSCN0534.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286592825482302514" border="0" /></a>ck of Sheung Shui, across the Indus River and through a cemetery, which we found unexpectedly. It was a taxing but interesting sortie that occupied 3 hours. The area was desolate and showed signs of having had a fire go through it - probably at Cheung Yeung. There were many grand graves tucked into the hillsides among the grass and scrub and we fossicked about the paths and byways. You would have thought we were the only people around but beyond the hills we could see the towers of Shen Zhen, just across the border. And of course, not too far away were the various tower blocks and complexes of Sheung Shui.<br /><br />We bought some beef on the way home and made beef soup for tea.<br /><br />On Tuesday we took another walk up to Sheung Shui to get some eggs. We had to wait a while for the eggs to arrive, and since it was cold and wet, we took the opportunity to wait in a warm place and visited our representative at the bank.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV3Dyitp0aI/AAAAAAAACW4/3DaxO7SedB0/s1600-h/DSCN0560.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 165px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/SV3Dyitp0aI/AAAAAAAACW4/3DaxO7SedB0/s200/DSCN0560.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286596810681995682" border="0" /></a><br />New Year's eve was cloudy and grey again but not too cold. We took a trip to Hong Kong again, mainly to pick up a prize Eddie had won by doing a survey for JP Morgan. The prize of a "travel kit" (wallet and baggage label in a fancy box) looked flash, but we both thought its carry bag might be more useful.<br /><br />We walked through Hollywood Rd area just sightseeing and then finally found the restaurant that Eddie had been to before with May and Roger Sai Louie, where we had a small lunch of wun tun soup, which we later supplemented with bread rolls from the Catherine bread shop. They would have been extra tasty with a bit of butter.<br /><br />Since it was Wednesday when the museums are free, we trooped up many flights of stairs (on the heritage trail) to the <a href="http://hk.drsunyatsen.museum/en/index.php">Dr Sun Yat Sen Museum</a>. It was well worth the visit, although we couldn't stay to read every inscription under the exhibits as we had to collect my visa and get some money for our stay in China on the weekend.<br /><br />In the evening, we met Alex Ip and Mr and Mrs Wong for a dinner at Tai Po. We had a very interesting menu of Chiu Chow cooking, which included spinach soup, a steamed fish, breaded deep-fried prawns and a very sweet cabbage. We finished with a dessert of fried and steamed dumplings. Naturally we were too tired to see the New Year in here - but we also missed the New Zealand and Australian tickovers despite intending to mark the right time.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-78251324808542819852008-02-08T11:23:00.000+13:002008-02-08T11:46:48.150+13:00In the DarkI keep wondering about the Chinese penchant for doing everything in the half dark. It might be that electricity is expensive, or it might be traditional. Certainly, the old houses are small and dark, with the main light source the front door. Once you've crossed the threshold, you're on your own!<br /><br />Small shops, too, are dark, with the light again coming from the doorway. In fact, even the supermarket at Ni Zi doesn't seem to use display lighting, which makes browsing the lower shelves rather difficult. Perhaps that's the idea, as there is usually an assistant tailing you to make sure you're not pocketing anything. It's not a relaxing shopping experience.<br /><br />I noticed also that schools seem to work in the dark. We walked past the 'new' school in Gualing, where we could glimpse students at work in the classrooms, with no overhead lights in the winter gloom. Perhaps Eddie's "cuzzie lawyer", the one with 15 LED factories, may be able to rectify the situation one day when <a href="http://ledtek.manufacturer.globalsources.com/si/6008825803227/pdtl/LED-bulb/1004948648/LED-Bulb.htm">LED lighting</a> is more common. This type of technology certainly seems necessary.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-69322559311502136442008-01-19T18:27:00.000+13:002008-12-11T09:35:19.696+13:00Gong Fu Tea<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5GgNVcXgKI/AAAAAAAABN4/SO9CfISc1Q0/s1600-h/DSCN0251.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5GgNVcXgKI/AAAAAAAABN4/SO9CfISc1Q0/s200/DSCN0251.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157079199270797474" border="0" /></a><br />Having had several ceremonial tea ceremonies in China, I decided to try one of my own. We have had the teaset for some year - I can't remember when we bought it, but we have a purple clay teapot and jug, with 2 types of little cups (<a href="http://nobleharbor.com/tea/kungfu/teaware.html">wide and tall</a>) which sit on a small tray, inscribed with a poem. The cups have a design on them that becomes coloured when heated - in normal temperatures, the detail can't be seen.<br /><br />I had always wondered why a milk jug was included in a Chinese tea set, and it wasn't until we had our first party with lawyer Chan that I realised that the jug was for decanting brewed tea into, not for milk. I had some Pu Erh tea leaves (not very expensive ones - the tin had been marked down to $2 at Foodtown many years ago!) so I heated up water and teapot and had a tea party for myself.<br /><br />It's not that much fun pouring pots of tea at the kitchen bench with no-one to share the proceeds. I think I drank about 3 mugs of tea (in thimblefuls), and I really need the special tray to stand the teapot and jug on as it's a very wet process. I didn't really look like a <a href="http://www.imperialtea.com/classroom/GongfuPrep.asp">gong fu</a> master standing at the bench, but its better than sogging up the carpet.<br /><br />So that's how you use the cups!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Helvetica,;" ><b>Teacup Set</b></span> <span style="font-style: italic;">There are two types of teacups used in gongfu tea, the aroma cup and the drinking cup. The aroma cup is the taller of the two, and is where the tea is initially poured by the host. The guest then pours the tea into the drinking cup, then smells from the newly emptied aroma cup. The aroma remaining in the cup smells noticeably different from both the aroma of the tea in the cup and that of the dry leaves, and changes subtly as the cup cools. The guest then drinks from the drinking cup. Average dimensions: Capacity: 50 ml, Height 6 cm (aroma), Length 12 cm (tray)</span>Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-71607566065992103372008-01-19T18:02:00.000+13:002008-01-19T20:53:43.286+13:00Back Home and Back to WorkNow I know why Eddie misses China so much when he goes back to Hong Kong - it does tend to get under you skin (and fingernails - I've been constantly cleaning mine).<br /><br />Our trip has been much in my mind since I returned home on Thursday to a hot and muggy Auckland after a hot and uncomfortable flight. Apparently the plane had temperature problems. I've been used to feeling cold rather than hot on the last several journeys, and dressed accordingly, so it was difficult to sleep in the unexpected heat. I watched 5 episodes of <a href="http://www.flightoftheconchords.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Flight of the Conchords</span></a>, some of the <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.hbo.com/extras/cast/actor/ricky_gervais.html">Extras</a> </span>episodes I'd missed and some <a href="http://www.kathandkim.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Kath & Kim</span></a> - enough to keep me amused for a few hours. During the night, I finished off the dried lichees I'd brought along.<br /><br />Thursday afternoon was spent strewing stuff around after unpacking, putting the houseplants back in place, catching up with people and thinking about an early night. Which didn't happen.<br /><br />On Friday I went back to work, to read my email, do a few library-related jobs and catch up with workmates. The car battery was flat, so I called the AA for help, and luckily didn't have to wait the promised hour - I was on my way in about 10 minutes, as the mechanic was nearby.<br /><br />The weather was still hot and muggy, with the promised thunderstorms not appearing. I found it difficult to sleep with the heat and humidity, and finally dropped off at about 2.30 am.<br /><br />Saturday has therefore been a very quiet day. I helped Eddie catalogue some of his possessions for about 2 hours, had a sleep, and haven't done much else - not even the dishes. They can wait till tomorrow.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-42957316924090568142008-01-18T20:48:00.000+13:002008-12-11T09:35:20.951+13:00Things I noticed and forgot to mention<ul><li>Everyone I met in China who has a car has a newer and better one than ours. All with leather upholstery!</li></ul><br /><ul><li>The Guangzhou car fleet is newer and smarter than the New Zealand one - the only beaten-up looking vehicles are the workhorses - vans and trucks.</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5BmTVcXgHI/AAAAAAAABNg/lIBvO0AWGiY/s1600-h/IMG_1759.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5BmTVcXgHI/AAAAAAAABNg/lIBvO0AWGiY/s200/IMG_1759.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156734055698890866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5BmTVcXgHI/AAAAAAAABNg/lIBvO0AWGiY/s1600-h/IMG_1759.JPG"> </a></p><ul><li><span lang="EN-NZ">The rotary hoe type vehicles are common in Xintang and the villages, but no-one rides a bike in Guangzhou. More do in Shen Zhen, especially delivery people (gas bottles and lunches - that sort of thing).</span> </li></ul><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5Bik1cXgFI/AAAAAAAABNQ/uFJq4LqCm_4/s200/IMG_2288.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156729958300090450" border="0" /><br /><ul><li> Brides in Guangzhou wear proper hosiery and shoes under their dresses when they have their photo shoot. I can state this categorically from the sample of 2 I saw. It was almost a surprise to see no jeans or sneakers below the train.</li></ul><ul><li> The rise of middle classes will eventually increase pressure to clean up the pollution and provide proper sewerage systems. There was little public rubbish lying around in Guangzhou, where rubbish bins were actually available and used. The Pearl River looked relatively flotsam free, and we saw a clean-up boat with workers fishing out bits of rubbish. </li></ul><br /><ul><li> Chivalry isn't dead - young people still give up their seats on buses to older ones.</li></ul>Thanks to Eddie for the pictures. Here's a photo for a bit of fun--<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5BnjlcXgII/AAAAAAAABNo/QFWvVFBrhDA/s1600-h/Hum+%26+gwai+po.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5BnjlcXgII/AAAAAAAABNo/QFWvVFBrhDA/s200/Hum+%26+gwai+po.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156735434383392898" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R5BlDlcXgGI/AAAAAAAABNY/cvDgzcif6RE/s1600-h/Hum+%26+gwai+po.jpg"><br /></a>Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-64942723259865136802008-01-15T14:44:00.000+13:002008-01-18T22:05:14.079+13:00Christmas is over - next: Kung Hei Fat Choy!<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday 13 January</span><br /><br />Eddie spent over an hour on Saturday evening washing China out of his clothes and backpack (which is now so clean it looks nearly new). I did my washing on Sunday morning at about 2 am when I couldn't sleep - most of it dried before lunchtime. We spent the day inside writing and catching up, and ate scratch meals because we didn't have time or inclination to go shopping.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday 14 January</span><br /><br />We walked up to Sheung Shui to meet Carman at the HSBC for a spot of financial rearrangement, then caught a train to Hung Hum, to meet Alex Ip for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sum">yum cha</a>. He was keen for us to try the cuisine at the Royal Palace Restaurant where we had been disappointed last Friday.<br /><br />The place was empty when we arrived at 12.15, and was getting ready for a wedding. The decor is quite frilly, with the chairs covered in white damask, finished with bows velcro-ed to the back. Silk pink and white roses and a 10-tier fake wedding cake added to the girly atmosphere. Fortunately, the cooking was much better than the decoration, and we enjoyed a selection of dishes that Alex said were traditional and authentic Cantonese dim sum, but rather different from the usual array. We ate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Har_gau">har gow</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_noodle_roll">rice rolls</a> with spring rolls inside, fragrant beef balls, bean curd skin filled with mushrooms, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu_baau">char siu bao</a>, with sponge cake and red bean dumplings for dessert.<br />Space Museum<br />After lunch we went our separate ways. We noted that the <a href="http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Space/Museum/e_index.htm">Space Museum</a> had some good shows on, and decided to stay to see 2 of them - <span style="font-style: italic;">Exploring Black Holes</span> and <a href="http://www.dinosaurs3dmovie.com/index_dino.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia </span></a>- in the evening.<br /><br />To fill in the intervening time, we took a bus to <a href="http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/mustknow/hkstory/hk_stor_sham.jhtml">Sham Shui Po</a>, to look at electronics and buy some toggles for my raincoat. There is an amazing array of outlets selling beads, costume jewellery, buckles, fasterners, threads and cords, gemstones, embroidered patches, lace and braids and all sorts of glittery and attractive things. Eddie calls it Magpie Alley, but the area of shops stretches over several streets. Some shops looked like old-fashioned grocer's shops with the coloured beads displayed in jars and bins, from which you could scoop out what you wanted and pay for them by weight. We browsed for some time before heading off to Apliu St which is attractive to another kind of magpie - one interested in electrical knickknacks and hardware.<br /><br />A trip around the Golden Computer Shopping Centre completed our visit, and we took a bus back to the Space Museum for the shows. Both were interesting, the Dinosaur omnimax feature being particularly good, so we were pleased we had decided to stay on in spite of the chilly night. (The weather has got colder over the last few days).<br /><br />I noticed on the bus ride that Christmas is over and shops are now festooned with red and gold and blossom decorations - Chinese New Year (year of the rat) is on Feb. 7. Underwear shops bring all the red and plum coloured bras and knickers to the front of the shop, making a brave display that is quite intense.<br /><br />There are a few little Xmas trees and the odd stencil and bit of tinsel still around, but most Christmas decorations were jettisoned smartly after the New Year.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-31319918009338370272008-01-13T17:11:00.000+13:002008-12-11T09:35:23.079+13:00Another trip to China<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wG5VcXe7I/AAAAAAAABBA/ycV3Z_TjXg0/s1600-h/DSCN0244.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wG5VcXe7I/AAAAAAAABBA/ycV3Z_TjXg0/s200/DSCN0244.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155503255510809522" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday 9 January</span><br /><br />Tuesday was spent at home, getting the CDs ready for the Su family, taking a walk to our bank in Sheung Shui to discuss finances and packing ready for the trip.<br /><br />We left at 6.40 am on Wednesday morning in grey haze, and were through Immigration and Customs by 7.10 which left plenty of time for catching the 7.30 bus. It made good time and arrived in Xintang in 1.5 hours. We intended to catch a #9 bus to Ni Zi, but after waiting for over 10 minutes without a sign of a bus, decided to walk, and rather enjoyed it, as our bags weren't too heavy and the day got brighter and warmer as the sun rose. It certainly didn't feel like winter.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wBHlcXe1I/AAAAAAAABAQ/YEVAyDq_6Mo/s1600-h/DSCN0167.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 159px; height: 120px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wBHlcXe1I/AAAAAAAABAQ/YEVAyDq_6Mo/s200/DSCN0167.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155496903254178642" border="0" /></a><br />We greeted Hum, who was reading the paper, and then went to visit his parents, who were entertaining visitors (a man with a long straggly white beard) . We were required to do the performing monkey act while Yuk Tim gave his version of who we were. Unfortunately the CD we made for him that was supposed to show the photos on a TV didn't work in his ancient player, so he will have to look at the pictures on a computer instead. We handed him his originals neatly packed into a box - which he proceeded to unpack and stack back on a shelf, so they will be covered in dust again pretty quickly.<br /><br />Hum cooked us lunch, then we set off for the other side of Cha Gaau village to see if we could find lawyer Chan's mother, who lives nearby. We walked to the ferry, and on the other side of the river, took a #3 bus to the edge of the village, saving a long walk and a lot of time.<br /><br />The village is expanding rapidly with many new buildings being erected. There is a lot of money in China at the moment and many people are having grand new living quarters erected on what was once productive land. We were wandering along wondering where to find Mrs Chan when all of a sudden we were greeted like long-lost cousins - someone whom Eddie met at <a href="http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/heritage/festivals/he_fest_chun.jhtml">ChungYeung</a> last year (who <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> a sort of cousin) recognised him and invited us back to his place for tea.<br /><br />We interrupted his wife's lunch and were plied with bananas (a special kind), peanut and yellow bean <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice">sticky rice dumpli</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice">ngs</a> cooked in banana leaves that she had made herself, and about 2.5 feet of sugar cane (peeled).<br /><br />Mr Chan took us for a tour of the village and showed us the garden where the special bananas were grown. Although not too untidy, there was still a heap of rubbish in places, especially on the stream margins. Walking through China is like walking on the edge of a rubbish tip - there is huge scope for a major improvement in hygiene and cleanliness generally.<br /><br />He showed us his grand new house that will be finished in May - it's 3 stories high and about 2 to 3 tim<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wBp1cXe2I/AAAAAAAABAY/2Ex4HMBqUko/s1600-h/DSCN0179.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wBp1cXe2I/AAAAAAAABAY/2Ex4HMBqUko/s200/DSCN0179.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155497491664698210" border="0" /></a>es the size of his present house. We also looked into an embroidery factory where several people were minding machines embroidering jeans pockets with coloured thread. The factory also makes beaded designs. This may be Mr Chan's factory, as Hum said his business card indicated he owned such a factory.<br /><br />After the walk and a trip to the new toilets (where about half a dozen mozzies did some damage on me) we went back to the house to sit and be sociable, while Eddie went for a walk to keep himself awake. Our host dropped off to sleep over his paper and I watched children's TV till Eddie came back to say that he had nearly found lawyer Chan's mother's house about about 200m away, much closer than the miles away Mr Chan had indicated. Eddie thought there must be some family problem that he wasn't permitted just to walk around and meet her.<br /><br />We had a magnificent dinner - Mrs Chan is an excellent cook - and enjoyed soup with <span style="font-style: italic;">tong how</span> (a type of chrysanthemum), fish on dried winter melon, chicken, tiny whelks (a lot of sucking for not much reward, I think), <span style="font-style: italic;">choy sum</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">ko yuk</span> (a type of casserole of pork layered with a starchy vegetable such as taro. Eddie's mother used to make it with beetroot and omelette. It's one of my favourites).<br /><br />After dinner, Mr Chan took us home in his work van - a nervewracking ride in the dark with me in the front, blinded by the lights coming toward us on the highway and cyclists with no tail lights , and Eddie clinging on in the back, perched on a child's chair. It was a relief to get back to Ni Zi and report in to Hum, who was looking at the CD of the photos. We spent some time with him checking them out, and looking at Google Earth before going back to our smelly room for bed. The night was disturbed, with late arrivals (12 - 2 am) yelling to each other and banging doors before they settled down. [uncouth nouveaux riches with no manners]<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fannette.huang%2Falbumid%2F5155539114192764097%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday 10 January</span><br /><br />Despite the broken sleep, we were up early, and in fact, had to wait for the family to get up. <span>Lan</span> (Orchid), Hum's wife, works on jeans and was up till 2 am getting an urgent order out. This seems to be a frequent occurrence. She works really long hours, as do others, as we always see people at work as we arrive each morning. (NB to the fashion conscious: white jeans will be in this season, along with heavy beading and other embroidery.)<br /><br />After breakfast, we set off to walk to Gualing along the route of the #11 bus. Eddie wanted to do it just to say he had, and we thought it might be interesting to see the scenery close up. We went through the market and past the local supermarket where the owner had parked his Camry right by the checkouts. I knew people kept their motorbikes and scooters inside, but hadn't seen a car stored this way before.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wD_VcXe4I/AAAAAAAABAo/rXt7Oa1Wy_g/s1600-h/DSCN0196.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 126px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wD_VcXe4I/AAAAAAAABAo/rXt7Oa1Wy_g/s200/DSCN0196.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155500060055141250" border="0" /></a>It took us something over an hour at a slow pace, and we found much of the road easy going because of the repaving. Part of it is still under construction, but it's not as rough, or as dusty and full of deep potholes as it was last year. On one section there were many sheets of plywood stacked up or laid on the pavement to dry. We found a cemetery and took pictures, and took a wrong turn on a road we thought went to Gualing. Instead it lead to Wu Shek, another village we'd not heard of before. We took a few photos before retracing the route and finding the correct one.<br /><br />Gualing has changed a little since last year, but the development is not as rapid as at Ni Zi. It does not have the bustling or exciting atmosphere of some of the other more industrial villages in the area. During the day, most of the people around are older or mothers with very young children, so it feels a bit like a sleepy hollow.<br /><br />Gum Yung and his wife saw us as we walked down the main street, but didn't look especially pleased to see us. We greeted them briefly then went to the toilet (the new toilet is a little lest primitive than the old, as one straddles a slit in concrete over the pond, rather than sitting on and clinging precariously to a bit of 4x2 timber - but the fish are still curious). We called in at aunt's house while we were on our own, but there was nothing new to see. There were not many people around, but a few recognised Eddie and chatted to him.<br /><br />We rejoined Gum Yung and family in a new sitting out area and talked for a while. They gave us some water and suggested we have lunch together, but I wasn't feeling comfortable with them and preferred to leave without obligation on either side. So we gave them some biscuits, and set off for Sha Tou across the fields, and continued on to Shapu under the railway to find some lunch.<br /><br />Hum's sister Jing (Crystal) has a hardware shop in Shapu and we thought we could find it, but although we walked the main street in both directions more than once, we couldn't see it. The road was being dug up for repaving and was in a very dusty and rough state. (When we asked Hum later where the shop was he showed us on Google Earth that we hadn't gone far enough - the road didn't peter out as we thought.)<br /><br />We stopped for won tun soup at a handy restaurant, walked the road again, then decided to catch a bus back to Ni Zi. The bus stop had moved because of the road reconstruction, but luckily Eddie saw the buses across the road, and we rode back to the corner of Highway 107. It was a bumpy ride to begin with, but not as bad as last year when the bus suspension was sorely tested by the deep holes and ruts in the road.<br /><br />We were hot and dusty, and went back to the hotel to unload and clean up. Hum proposed a trip to Guangzhou on Friday, so after agreeing we asked at the desk if we could stay another night in the room. The surly attendant was not willing to compromise, so we decided to ask the next person once the shift was changed. We had dinner at Hum's (eating crabs and vegetables), played on the computer. then sat with some of the family on the wall outside Aunty's place chatting and star-gazing. The night was clear and quite warm for winter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday 11 January</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Trip to Guangzhou<br /><br /></span><span><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fannette.huang%2Falbumid%2F5155541313216020049%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="192" width="288"></embed></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span>We had another disturbed night with late arrivals, but dropped off to sleep again. Eddie woke me at 10 to 7, luckily, as Hum rang a few minutes later to say he would meet us soon. I was washed and dressed in record time, and we waited only a couple of minutes before he appeared. We caught a #9 bus to the Tian He Dept store in Xintang, then walked to the <a href="http://www.sinohotel.com/english/hotel/hotel_3562.html">Fortune Hotel </a>on Highway 107 to get a bus to Guangzhou. We were lucky as one was nearly ready to leave. It cost Y8 to get to our destination at <a href="http://maps-guide.org/china/guangzhou/tianhe-map.htm">TienHe</a> from where we got another local bus (813) to get to the university campus where Hum's second daughter (Gi/Elaine) is a student.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wDTVcXe3I/AAAAAAAABAg/GYvB-_H_SPY/s1600-h/DSCN0207.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wDTVcXe3I/AAAAAAAABAg/GYvB-_H_SPY/s200/DSCN0207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155499304140897138" border="0" /></a>She had just woken up when we arrived, so we waited for her and a friend to get ready before setting off for the day. Each small room in the dormitory houses 6 girls - they each have a bed above a desk, with a small bookshelf, wardrobe and a chair occupying the space. A small shower, toilet and sink area is attached, all festooned with laundry. The girls seem happy enough together - Eddie and I wondered what would happen if one didn't get on with others, but couldn't really ask.<br /><br />We crossed the road and had a quick breakfast of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_noodle_roll">rice rolls</a> (which may have been <span style="font-style: italic;">lai cheong</span> as they had no filling), walked through the university campus admiring the gardens. The university was founded by Yuan Shikai's wife (I think) and has 20,000 students, most of whom live in. The library was in the process of being renovated, and I asked if they spent much time there, but they said the collection was old, outdated and insufficient. The usual story!<br /><br />We went past and through the most expensive building in Guangzhou (according to the girls) to reach the banks of the Pearl River where we waited for a bus. This took us through the morning traffic to <a href="http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangdong/guangzhou/yuexiu.htm">Yuexiu Park</a>, the largest public park in the city. It's so extensiv<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wFVVcXe5I/AAAAAAAABAw/sPNKUY08QMI/s1600-h/DSCN0227.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 113px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wFVVcXe5I/AAAAAAAABAw/sPNKUY08QMI/s200/DSCN0227.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155501537523891090" border="0" /></a>e that we didn't have time to explore everything, but we enjoyed walking around watching people sing opera, dance, exercise, or play various sports, as is usual in Chinese parks. There is always a lot of life around, even on a weekday.<br /><br />Hum had brought along the camera we gave him, although he was unsure how to use it - the girls immediately gained control and had a happy time snapping everything that took their fancy - including themselves in many poses. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wGP1cXe6I/AAAAAAAABA4/vjSV6E_pEcw/s1600-h/DSCN0232.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 100px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wGP1cXe6I/AAAAAAAABA4/vjSV6E_pEcw/s200/DSCN0232.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155502542546238370" border="0" /></a>They enjoyed playing with a statuary group of 4 peasant rebels, copying their stances, and pretending to kiss them.<br /><br />Not far away, a group of older ballet dancers were performing for themselves and an audience of 2 sitting on steps above them. They did a complicated dance that must have taken hours of rehearsal.<br /><br />Eventually, we reached the famous statue of the <a href="http://www.gz.gov.cn/vfs/subsite/QFZZQNCH-UEYR-RYE4-CQEP-PO0PXEO7LORY/content/content.jsp?contentId=258934&catId=3265">Five Rams</a> (actually at least one is a female) built in 1959 from 130 pieces of marble, and now on the must-see tourist beat since they relate to the legend of the origin of Guangzhou. We joined the groups of photo-takers and had ours done in various configurations.<br /><br />By this time, we were really ready for lunch, so we stopped at a local cafe serving meals in polystyrene boxes (not really my first choice of a place to eat, but we had to tag along). The food was disappointing as the soup was cold, the meal dry but spicy and the rice too much for the <span style="font-style: italic;">sung</span>. However, as Eddie always says "it filled a hole" and we had to have something to eat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wHZFcXe8I/AAAAAAAABBI/6lKIbzTBMwY/s1600-h/DSCN0250.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4wHZFcXe8I/AAAAAAAABBI/6lKIbzTBMwY/s200/DSCN0250.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155503800971656130" border="0" /></a>We took another bus (#105) to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamian_Island">Shamian Island</a>, which displays many Western influences, including a chapel, as it was a concession area to traders in the 19th century. There are many bronze statues throughout the park area, but we didn't have time to photograph them all. Our walk took us out of the park, back along the waterfront, which we continued to follow till we reached the bridge to cross for the university. On the way, the girls were going to buy some mandarins from a hawker, but discovered him cheating the weight (perhaps because he saw me - apparently they always cheat foreigners), so they dumped their selection back into his basket.<br /><br />We had dinner at a restaurant near the dormitory ( a more successful meal than the previous two) - a type of 'economy rice' as they call it in Malaysia, where you pay for a certain number of dishes and have rice with them. We had 3 choices plus rice and soup for about Y10 each. I enjoyed mine, but the bowl of rice was enormous. It is impossible to go low-carb and eat Chinese-style in China!<br /><br />After dinner, we went back to the dormitory so Hum could collect some things of Elaine's to take back home. She has virtually finished her studies in financial management, and after work experience will graduate in June. Then we took the #813 bus back to Tianhe to get our bus back to Xintang. We just missed getting on one at the stop, and were told by the conductor that there were to be no more buses that night. (Not sure why.)<br /><br />Luckily, a few minutes later, another bus did come along, and it was a free for all as we struggled to get on. The last time I was in such a crush to get on a bus was many years ago in Malaysia. I was determined not to be left behind and, with my dander up and a measure of panic, managed to elbow someone out of the way as I went up the steps. As Eddie said it was 'bite, kick, scratch and every man for himself.' We got seats, but some unfortunates had to stand for the whole journey.<br /><br />Rather than take a bus to Ni Zi, we walked and had to brave the "battle of the boom boxes" along the main road - every store had its speakers turned to maximum bass and loudness, while barkers vied to outshout each other. It seemed to me to be counter-productive, as all one could hear was a wall of noise.<br /><br />We were back about 8 - spent some time on Google Earth and looked at the photos, then went back to our hotel and bed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday 12 January</span><br /><br />Again we breakfasted at Hum's, having tasty congee and crullers and roast goose heads, which were tasty, but not very meaty. I made a reasonable fist of mine, but find it impossible to leave as little a pile of waste as Hum does. Yuk Tim took us to visit his youngest son's wife and their son (who are both very nice, though the young boy, who is only 5, is quite shy). We had a cup of tea there, then went back to the hotel to check out.<br /><br />Hum cooked us lunch of steamed prawns, choy sum and little shellfish called hing - cockles? Finally we said a warm goodbye to him, waved to Lan who was working with her group in a jeans sewing room, and got the #9 bus for Xintang. We were on our way to Shen Zhen at 1.15, and were home by 4 after a most enjoyable few days.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-18957575235835577272008-01-08T20:51:00.000+13:002008-12-11T09:35:25.292+13:00A walk in the park<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l2RFcXepI/AAAAAAAAA-g/Hg8EvJ-6ISU/s1600-h/DSCN0150.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l2RFcXepI/AAAAAAAAA-g/Hg8EvJ-6ISU/s200/DSCN0150.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154781284393253522" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday 7 January</span><br /><br />We were getting ready to burn the CDs of Yuk Tim's photos, when Alan Richardson, Eddie's school friend, rang to invite us on a walk. He said it was an easy walk, mostly on the flat, so I envisioned something like a walk along Tamaki Drive . We agreed, but warned him that we had to be in Kowloon for a dinner engagement with Alex Ip at 7 pm.<br /><br />We met them at Sha Tin New Town Plaza, from where we took a 299 bus to <a href="http://www.travelinsaikung.org.hk/english/intro/index.aspx">Sai Kung</a>, a picturesque fishing village surrounded by country parks. The next bus (94) took us to <a href="http://www.travelinsaikung.org.hk/english/land/hebe_haven.shtml">Pak Sha Wan or Hebe Haven</a> The area is very rural and quiet on the weekdays - on the weekends it is filled with trampers and picnickers.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l2rVcXeqI/AAAAAAAAA-o/YqUnuAGtVM0/s1600-h/DSCN0152.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l2rVcXeqI/AAAAAAAAA-o/YqUnuAGtVM0/s200/DSCN0152.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154781735364819618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We headed off uphill past a pretty barbecue area among trees (with a nice clean toilet), and then towards the coast through a village (that was the easy bit) on to a walking track similar to the one we took last year round the <a href="http://www.citybus.com.hk/eng/RouSer/HotSpot/hotspot_details.asp?id=000070">Tai Tam reservoir</a>. Tamaki Drive it isn't! Narrow paths are set with boulders and rocks which can be hard on the ankles, but we are grateful for steps when the going gets steep. Alan said the map indicated a climb of 160 metres, but I reckoned I could feel the air getting thin.<br /><br />The air and water in the area is quite clean - we stopped for a rest at a very quiet and beautiful beach where there was very little rubbish washed up. It was a pleasure to sit and bask in the sun, thinking if this is w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4mIcVcXexI/AAAAAAAAA_w/5KxnThsHqJ4/s1600-h/IMG_1662.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4mIcVcXexI/AAAAAAAAA_w/5KxnThsHqJ4/s200/IMG_1662.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154801268876081938" border="0" /></a>inter, we could have more of it. The lack of humidity made the exercise enjoyable. We met very few people during the day, although on the weekends it is more crowded. Some cyclists passed us - I wondered how they negotiated the steps and<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4mIAFcXewI/AAAAAAAAA_o/1QsnuvuX_Bk/s1600-h/IMG_1657.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4mIAFcXewI/AAAAAAAAA_o/1QsnuvuX_Bk/s200/IMG_1657.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154800783544777474" border="0" /></a> narrow passes, but obviously they didn't find them major obstacles. Hong Kong's country parks are all well-kept and well-used - a major asset to the territory.<br /><br />We hadn't had much breakfast, and forgot to pack provisions apart from our water bottles, so we were feeling quite hungry by the time we stopped for lunch at Hoi Ha Village at 2.30ish. The meal was disappointing, perhaps because it wasn't a busy day or tourist season, The main attractions at Hoi Ha are the remains of an old lime kiln, which was the area's industry along <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l3IVcXerI/AAAAAAAAA-w/LzuVlsKtgro/s1600-h/DSCN0159.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l3IVcXerI/AAAAAAAAA-w/LzuVlsKtgro/s200/DSCN0159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154782233581025970" border="0" /></a>with fishing, and the beach, where we spent a few moments. Once refueled, we were able to carry on to the next village Alan wanted to show us.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">I thought the meal of 2 small oval plates of fried rice and noodles, a bottle of Qingdao beer, a can of coke for Weiming and a cup of tea each for Annette and myself for HK$140 was grossly excessive. Assuming the beer was $30 and the coke was $15, and the tea @ $5 /cup it would have been $85 for the food.-Tourist trap rip</span><span style="font-style: italic;">off!. Maybe they charged me $50 for going to the toilet. They should have paid me for watering their garden. E.H</span>]<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l39VcXesI/AAAAAAAAA-4/-OJnGChzf0I/s1600-h/DSCN0161.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4l39VcXesI/AAAAAAAAA-4/-OJnGChzf0I/s200/DSCN0161.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154783144114092738" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.exploresaikung.com/places/PakShaO.html">Pak Sha O</a> is a restored and renovated village (there is a good description of it at the link), with ex-pats making it a haven, almost English in its gardens and neat houses, though the one pictured isn't really typical as it is more traditional in style. An old chapel is also a feature. There are many other tumble-down buildings around - but Eddie felt it a bit far from civilisation to set up house there.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4mJAVcXeyI/AAAAAAAAA_4/IpWbddIqQto/s1600-h/IMG_1745.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R4mJAVcXeyI/AAAAAAAAA_4/IpWbddIqQto/s200/IMG_1745.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154801887351372578" border="0" /></a><br />After our tour of the village, we caught a mini-bus to Sai Kung then immediately caught another to Choi Hung, from where we took the MTR to TST.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fannette.huang%2Falbumid%2F5155538130645253073%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><br />We arrived in plenty of time to meet Alex and his family, who are longstanding friends. Unfortunately, his first choice of restaurant had been booked out for a wedding, so he settled for a Chiu Chow meal instead, which we enjoyed, although I think we agreed Cantonese cuisine is best.<br /><br />After dinner, we had a short walk around the waterfront before catching our respective trains home.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-81697327009197252162008-01-06T16:52:00.000+13:002008-01-06T17:03:04.343+13:00DomesticityWe've had a quiet few days since our strenuous time in China, spending the time mostly in domestic duties - fixing the toilet, trying to fix the TV after the universal remote changed its settings, shopping, washing China grit out of most of our clothes (thank goodness for the winter monsoon and good drying weather) and scanning and manipulating Yuk Tim's photos. They were pretty gritty, as well.<br /><br />I have loaded an album of some of my pictures on our trip for general viewing and you will find it here as well.<br /><br />I also forgot to mention that some of the special tea we drank was very expensive. Lawyer Chan said he paid Y 1500 (NZ$375) for a tin of tea and a packet of tea (one per pot) cost Y 200 or about NZ$35 - just as well we got many cups out of the small pot!<br /><br />Today is hazy and cool but not cold - it's not as clear a day as yesterday and Robin's Nest is shrouded.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fannette.huang%2Falbumid%2F5152202749237491409%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-55312122006261590822008-01-05T09:49:00.000+13:002008-12-11T09:35:27.986+13:00China diary Dec-Jan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37eG1cXdsI/AAAAAAAAA1g/vwW1NtBJPe4/s1600-h/DSCN0099.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37eG1cXdsI/AAAAAAAAA1g/vwW1NtBJPe4/s200/DSCN0099.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151799232765064898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >Happy New Year to any readers. And thanks to Eddie (http://ethelred.blogspot.com) for his photos in my previous posts. I should be able to insert my own from now on. Click on the pictures for more detail.<br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><br />See Eddie's blog for a more complete description of the family and environs.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p></u1:p>We spent five days at Ni Zi village and the following is my diary of events.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><b>Friday 28 December</b><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >We left at 6.50, managing to catch the first bus for <a href="http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/30/Xintang.html">Xintang</a>, and arrived in the fast time of 1 ½ hours. On the motorway the bus passed a wedding procession of several cars – notable for their decoration of parcel bows in various configurations, while the bridal car was much more elaborately decorated with a tulle</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37RdFcXdeI/AAAAAAAAAzw/IasPB83305A/s1600-h/DSCN0148.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37RdFcXdeI/AAAAAAAAAzw/IasPB83305A/s200/DSCN0148.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151785321365992930" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > confection on the bonnet.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p></u1:p>We walked to the village, stopping only to buy a few presents for the family at Tian He Dept Store, and for Eddie to take photos. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >Su Poy Yum (afterwards known as Hum) helped us book into the local hotel, which is of a reasonable standard, and most comfortable. Eddie had hoped to pay Y60 a night, but we had to take our room for Y80. I thought that was reasonable anyway, since it amounted to about NZ$16 for a double room and bath. It was great not having to share a bathroom and not have to wash in cold water, and we also appreciated the luxury of having space to spread out without worrying anyone else, and the large towels! The bed was very hard, in true Chinese style, but comfortable. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37SA1cXdfI/AAAAAAAAAz4/g3ZgSAE5xKU/s1600-h/DSCN0014.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37SA1cXdfI/AAAAAAAAAz4/g3ZgSAE5xKU/s200/DSCN0014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151785935546316274" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >It was a beautifully fine day with the temperature in the 20s, so I only needed a T-shirt, though others were more wrapped up. We visited Yuk Tim, Hum's father. had lunch at Hum’s, then took a ferry across the river to Cha Gaau where Eddie’s cousin, Lei Yung, lives. We mooched around her part of the village, talking to locals (one old lady thought I was a boy – not sure why) for a while, ate some bananas Yung gave us, then walked back to the ferry landing. One of the motor bike taxi drivers recognised Eddie, which pleased him. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />We walked back to Ni Zi, refreshed ourselves, and joined Hum and family for dinner. Mosquitoes were out in force, despite the cooler weather, although we didn't seem to get bitten, except by the ones in our hotel room. After dinner, Yuk Tim, Hum, and his brother Kei all came back with us to inspect our room. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />Kei had asked Eddie if we had hot water in the bathroom, to which he replied "there had better be." To make sure, Kei went in to test the shower (rather than the basin taps), leaving water and dirty footprints everywhere. I had quite a clean-up to do after the men had gone for a walk and had to sacrifice a hand towel to the cause. I don’t really like wet bathrooms, much preferring a shower stall to control the water.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />We had a good sleep, in spite of the mozzies and my aches and pains, which resulted from the long walk.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br /><b>Saturday 29 December</b><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >We were booked for yum cha with some members of the family, so were out by 7, walking to a local restaurant. It was a pleasant occasion, but I find the smoking in restaurants hard to take – one’s clothes take on the smell and need a lot of airing. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>After breakfast, Hum took us to Zeng Cheng for an outing – he had offered us a trip to </span><a href="http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/30/Guangzhou.html"><st1:city><st1:place><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><st1:city><st1:place>Guangzhou</st1:place></st1:city></span></st1:place></st1:city></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > or <a href="http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/30/Zengcheng.html">Zeng Cheng</a> and Eddie thought he should see the city which is the capital of his ancestral county. We set off by bus, for a long ride north west of Xintang. The weather was quite chilly and we were pleased to have our woollies, scarves and hats with us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />We walked along the river bank, looking at the ‘old bridge’ the Japanese crossed when they moved down from the North. The river was lined with old, derelict boats, </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37UOVcXdhI/AAAAAAAAA0I/MzNzA5rjEmk/s1600-h/DSCN0031.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37UOVcXdhI/AAAAAAAAA0I/MzNzA5rjEmk/s200/DSCN0031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151788366497805842" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >home to poor, old people who had no other accommodation. </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37Tv1cXdgI/AAAAAAAAA0A/5HfmXCYCgaQ/s1600-h/DSCN0036.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37Tv1cXdgI/AAAAAAAAA0A/5HfmXCYCgaQ/s200/DSCN0036.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151787842511795714" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >They could reach the bank through cobbled-together, rickety rafts, or in small boats. Along the promenade, older people were sitting and chatting or playing chess or cards, in spite of the chill wind.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />We wandered through the town to a large shopping plaza, in the grounds of which was a special grove of ancient <a href="http://www.lycheesonline.com/In_china_Farmers.cfm">lichi</a> trees (well, one ancient one, anyway – the others just keep the tradition alive). Apparently the fruit is astoundingly expensive, but the owners sell to each other, to avoid money changing hands.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37U0lcXdiI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Q5Ed0rkYfjw/s1600-h/DSCN0038.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37U0lcXdiI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/Q5Ed0rkYfjw/s200/DSCN0038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151789023627802146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >A further walk took us to another side of the river, where there are 2 pagodas on opposite banks, like a pair of chopsticks to pincer the enemy. This area contained a pretty park and some very impressive apartment buildings. We walked to the nearest pagoda, climbing the hill it surmounted and </span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >inspecting trees, plants and altars on the </span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >way.</span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37VSlcXdjI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/byRbBfxkoTI/s1600-h/DSCN0047.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37VSlcXdjI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/byRbBfxkoTI/s200/DSCN0047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151789539023877682" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >E</span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >ddie and Hum attempted to climb it, but gave up when the stairs narrowed and steepened. I decided not to bother and stayed below to mind Eddie’s bag and take some photos.<u1:p><br /></u1:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37WKFcXdkI/AAAAAAAAA0g/f50UGsmYP84/s1600-h/DSCN0061.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37WKFcXdkI/AAAAAAAAA0g/f50UGsmYP84/s200/DSCN0061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151790492506617410" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >On the way down, Hum souvenired a hefty length of bamboo – not sure why, but he must have thought it would be useful as he carried all the way home. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >Unfortunately, when he went to pay for our fare on the return bus, Eddie discovered his money purse had disappeared, which was a shock for both of us. He coped well, but it was an sad end to the trip. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p>Off the bus and </u1:p>on the way back to Ni Zi, we stopped for lunch at a clay pot restaurant. They had sold out of fish so we had ‘tin gai’ (field chicken or frogs) instead. I didn’t translate that mentally until I was half way through mine, but it was tasty although there were lots of small bones to be coped with. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >Hum had to leave us to get back by ourselves as he had something urgent come up. We walked through the fields, slowly, with Eddie taking many photos. There are many tenant farmers living in shacks by the fields they rent (Y1000 per year for a mu <i>(1 Mu=666.6667 square meters))</i>. Electricity is jury-rigged to the lucky ones, and water can be pumped from wells. Others cook burning what they can scavenge for fuel.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37W4VcXdlI/AAAAAAAAA0o/RjJcwgh2fSw/s1600-h/DSCN0067.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37W4VcXdlI/AAAAAAAAA0o/RjJcwgh2fSw/s200/DSCN0067.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151791287075567186" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><br />It’s not an easy life, but must be worth it for so many to come from afar.</span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > Most of the farmers, or jeans workers for that matter, don’t spea</span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >k</span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > Cantonese.</span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >After cleaning up at the hotel, we spent a bit of time with Hum in his plot of land, admiring his building (a little house that he will let out when he has finished it and found access to water and power),</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37YM1cXdmI/AAAAAAAAA0w/PhocW8RBTeg/s1600-h/DSCN0077.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37YM1cXdmI/AAAAAAAAA0w/PhocW8RBTeg/s200/DSCN0077.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151792738774513250" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > and his dam, and mango trees.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />After dinner, we spent some time on Hum’s computer, checking our mail and trying to download Google Earth, then went for supper with his sister Fong, and Kei and his son. Fong took me on her scooter, which was unnerving in the cold and dark, with neither of us wearing a helmet. I still find it very difficult to internalise driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. It’s not so bad in a bus or on a highway, but it’s really strange when I’m in the front passenger seat of a car.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >Although it was late, the restaurant was still serving dim sum, so we had a few more things to eat on top of our dinner. The trip home was even colder than the previous one, and we were relieved to have a warm shower and get into bed. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Sunday 30 December<u1:p></u1:p></span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>We did a lot of washing before meeting Hum for breakfast at 7.30. We took a walk through the market, which is reasonably extensive. There is a full range of vegetables, fish and meat. Among the meat for sale, I noticed fatty pork (about 2 inches of fat on some of the cuts in the traditional way), a dog (I’m sure I saw paws), and goats, the heads still with their horns. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>We had a quieter day generally today, with eating, walking around and visiting the highlights. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >In the later afternoon we went for a walk around the parts of the village we hadn’t yet seen. Changes are dramatic from this time last year, with a new road taking traffic from the old, and more buildings put up, while others have been demolished. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />We had dinner at Yuk Tim's,which was a major effort invovling all the family and a great deal of cooking. There was meat and fish in plenty, cooked by the eldest daughter's husband, set out on several tables. The adults sat on saw-horse-like benches inside and the children were outside near the entrance. Afterwards, we were taken to visit his brother ’s daughter's grand house at Phoenix City, some way out of Xintang (she is a jeans queen and not short of cash). The area is a gated community of houses and gardens rather than apartments, and each is very large and splendid, though obviously from new money in their showiness. The fish pond in the garden must take some upkeep and is obviously the husband’s hobby. They have some fruit trees in the garden which will take some years to become established, and I was amused to see vegetables drying on the garden swing. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />The couple have 3 daughters who kept us amused practising their English, while we ate peanuts and mandarins and drank tea. We were driven home by 9.30.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><br /><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Mo</span>nday 3<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">1 </span>December</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>After breakfast at 7 at Hum’s, we left to cross the highway 107 bridge to get to Zhongtong. Eddie’s plan was to visit his </span><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><st1:place>Hong Kong</st1:place></span></st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > cousin’s lawyer cousin and then walk to Cha Gaau to see the lawyer’s mother. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p></u1:p><br />Although a fine morning it was bitterly cold with a biting wind. We crossed the bridge amongst the traffic without incident (though walking on an espressway isn’t my idea of fun), and walked to the lawyer's house through dusty road works and ankle-turning rubble. They family didn't get up till 10, so we waited for a while, chatting with the man across the road. Once they were up and dressed, we were invited to drink tea with him & his daughter, while his wife went to collect the other daughter from school. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />We sat in the garden at his tea desk and took tea till after 12, drinking 2 kinds of very expensive tea, which were brewed with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_tea_culture">full ritual</a> in a small purple clay teapot (rinsed, filled and refilled with water many times) and served in tiny cups. We had Ti Kuan Yin, which was very fragrant and not at all strong and bitter. Next we had Pu Erh tea which had been packed in an inside-out pomelo skin which had been cut and then sewn together and dried. The skin was still fragrant, but I think the scent was somewhat lost in the tea. He said the package was 10 years old. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />He next denuded his blossom trees for flowers which he used to flavour the next pots of tea.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >After 12 we went for lunch with the family at a local restaurant, then drank more tea till 3.30. It’s very easy to while away time chatting and brewing tea, and sipping more and more little cups, particularly when the sun is shining and the garden is pleasant.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />Finally, we started to walk the long way home in order to visit his mother, but got lost so we retraced our route and re-crossed highway 107 bridge. I found it easier in the afternoon as I think there was less traffic.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />After a stop in the hotel, we went for a walk to see where Uncle Mok Au’s burial place is – Hum met us and took us through a road construction site, and across weedy ground where we collected a healthy crop of grass seeds that had to be picked off later. He showed us how to eat sugar cane and we spent quite a bit of time chewing and spitting. However, politely, one should chew the fibres into a wad and spit them out into one’s hand before discarding them rather than just spitting them out. It’s hard to do genteelly, and I have difficulty peeling the nodes of the cane with my teeth. The rest I can manage.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />After dinner, Yuk Tim took us to visit his #3 son's wife, who gave us tea & fruit. We were tired and made excuses to leave early, but went back to Hum’s for a computer session, looking at http://52maps.com, which is like Google Earth and can be quite absorbing and time-consuming to play with. It was very cold again, but there was no hot water in our bathroom so we had to go to bed without a warm shower.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><br /><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Tuesday 1 January<u1:p></u1:p></span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><br />Unlike in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><st1:country-region><st1:place>New Zealand</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >, the night was quiet – I don’t recall hearing any revellers or fireworks at </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="0"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><st1:time minute="0" hour="0">midnight</st1:time></span></st1:time><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >. The celebrations are reserved for Chinese New Year which will have its share of fire crackers and excitement.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>We joined Hum for a breakfast of <a href="http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa100499.htm">congee, with deep fried devi</a>ls, in the market – unfortunately sitting next to the local drunk, who got more abusive and noisy as the firewater in his glass took effect. We were pleased when he finally went, but it rather spoilt the occasion. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>Hum’s aunt invited us to her house for morning tea and again we were treated to a tea ceremony. It’s something that was unpractised until quite recently, and indicates rising prosperity among the new middle classes, who can now afford the tea things and the tea.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>Hum’s sisters had organised an excursion to the country, so we set off in two cars with Bing, Fong, Jing, Hum, Fong’s two children and the respective husbands. We stopped at <a href="http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/30/Shapu.html">Shapu</a> to get Jing and were plied with pickled walnuts while we waited. </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37ZDlcXdnI/AAAAAAAAA04/SSYikcIcjkA/s1600-h/DSCN0102.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37ZDlcXdnI/AAAAAAAAA04/SSYikcIcjkA/s200/DSCN0102.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151793679372351090" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >We then had a long drive to the mountains past Zeng Cheng, stopping at a lookout, then continuing on a narrow looping road (reminiscent of the wilder parts of NZ) to a village for lunch and buying provisions. We passed small villages on the side of steep hills, surrounded by lichi orchards, and other crops. The comment was made that the air was very healthy, and it was a pleasure to see that there are parts of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><st1:country-region><st1:place>China</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > where there is little pollution.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >The village we stopped at is set </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37bC1cXdpI/AAAAAAAAA1I/3tp46PfJVIk/s1600-h/DSCN0118.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37bC1cXdpI/AAAAAAAAA1I/3tp46PfJVIk/s200/DSCN0118.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151795865510704786" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >along a stream, which was most picturesque, and seemed to specialise in selling dried vegetables, honey, dried meat and strings of dried small birds, some of which the party purchased.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37ZxFcXdoI/AAAAAAAAA1A/F5ewFJx2gMc/s1600-h/DSCN0110.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37ZxFcXdoI/AAAAAAAAA1A/F5ewFJx2gMc/s200/DSCN0110.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151794461056398978" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>For lunch, we sat in a pavilion beside the stream and ate ham, snow peas, three kinds of green vegetables, whelks, chicken, soup, and a very tasty rice. I commented that I supposed it might have dried birds in it, and Eddie said it had. He said it wasn’t much different from eating chicken, which is true, and they certainly added savour to the dish. There wasn’t a grain left at the end of the meal, unlike the whelks, which weren’t so popular. We drank special tea provided by one of the husbands along with a small drop of cognac to toast the new year.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>After some of the party had annoyed a fish in the local river by trying to catch it, we set off on the return journey, stopping at a mountain stream to collect water in large containers. Next was a quick stop at Bing's husband's village for more ritually served tea, before we continued on for a quick stop at a park to see a thousand year old vine, propped up on concrete pillars and draped over a trellis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37br1cXdqI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/w5Ze-vZwUig/s1600-h/DSCN0139.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37br1cXdqI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/w5Ze-vZwUig/s200/DSCN0139.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151796569885341346" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" > <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>At Shapu we stopped to deliver Jing and her goods – even there we were offered boiled eggs. Eddie said that this family’s life revolves around eating. Unfortunately, while he was negotiating a narrow street behind Bing’s shop, Fong's husband damaged their new Camry by scraping a bit of metal projecting from a nearby truck. They took the mishap philosophically – Fong said the two cars kissed. Rather a rough kiss, sadly.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>For the evening we had dinner booked with Hum’s aunt & uncle's families – there were about 20 in all in the party. It was an elaborate meal with soup, prawns in cheese, duck, fish poached, fish casseroled, choy sum, a guts dish which was rather tough, and casseroled chicken. We couldn’t manage rice, but finished with mandarins & two kinds of man tou. We drank tea and Chinese red wine, which I found a little thin, but drinkable. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>I expected an early night but after walking home, we spent some time with Hum on his computer, trying to trace our route on Google Earth, so we didn’t get to bed till after 10.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p><b>Wednesday 2 January</b><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37cclcXdrI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/TSOss4Q1QGI/s1600-h/DSCN0144.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R37cclcXdrI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/TSOss4Q1QGI/s200/DSCN0144.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151797407403964082" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >We met Hum for breakfast at a stall near Xintang, having rather tasty rice rolls. We took a walk round the markets and the old town, which used to be a main market for the area – some of the old merchants’ houses still exist. I was intrigued by an art deco house which stood out among its more traditional neighbours. We continued along the river bank past the Cha Gaau ferry pier and walked back to Ni Zi through the fields. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>After a visit to Yuk Tim, where we picked up his family photos to scan so the family can have a copy and the records preserved (some prints are very degraded and all very dusty), we checked out of the hotel, had lunch with Hum. One day, he asked Eddie what was the English for "sik fan" or the invitation to eat, and Eddie told him "Eat" - so he took great delight in ordering me to "Eat!" whenever we sat for a meal. I found it really amusing but thought Eddie should have at least put in a "please" for politeness' sake. </span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" >We left to catch #9 bus and walked from the Tian He store to New Good View hotel where we caught the express bus to Shen Zhen at 1.45. I noticed yet another bridal car in the car park, this time decorated with real roses and greenery, wilting in the sun (see photo above).<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><u1:p> </u1:p>We were home by 5, back where the traffic is quieter and more predictable and (mostly) stops at pedestrian crossings. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style=";font-family:Georgia;font-size:11;" lang="EN-NZ" ><o:p></o:p></span></p>Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-72272032557340595572007-12-27T13:23:00.001+13:002007-12-27T15:07:28.176+13:00Boxing Day in Shen ZhenBoxing Day was a beautifully fine and clear day. We decided to go across the border, and left home before 8 am. Since we had plenty of time, we ambled around some byways - sort of looking for <span style="font-style: italic;">ox tongues</span>, but not finding a suitable shop.<br /><br />A trip to Wal-Mart scored some eatables, with Eddie getting riled when presented with 'dirty money' change. Chinese notes are usually tatty and grubby , particularly the lower denominations, and certainly the worst ones are not pleasant to handle. (The shop assistants look at crisp new notes suspiciously.) He made rather a fuss, but didn't really get his point across - I noticed everyone looking non-plussed rather than concerned or interested.<br /><br />Leaving Wal-Mart, we walked on to Eastgate and visited Park'n'Shop (here we got coins for change which could not be complained about). We stocked up on provisions for lunch, and even got 12 eggs for Y 8.60.<br /><br />Laden, we walked up to Litchi Park, passing the Uighurs with their <a href="http://the_uighurs.tripod.com/Pictures/ToghachPicture.htm">special bread</a>. We enjoyed a freshly heated flat one sprinkled with sesame seeds with between us.<br /><br />Litchi Park can be bustling with groups dancing, singing and playing various instruments, both Western and Chinese. This time, however, there weren't many around - we came across a group of dancing students, and 2 girls batting a shuttlecock around and other walkers. A writer in water of poems had left faint traces of his calligraphy along the path. We stopped to watch a bride being photographed (the trend this year is to have the bride lie on the ground amid a flounce of lace and tulle and have the groom lean over her) and finally fetched up at the toilets by the cat's tail tree where the old men were playing chess and cards to an audience.<br />There we ate our lunch of bread and water, finishing with an ice-block from the nearby store.<br /><br />We continued to walk around the park, and happened to start chatting to a man who, born in China, had spent many years in Singapore advising the government there. He had retired to Shen Zhen, where he continued to give advice and said he was responsible for much of the upgrade to the old city, including wider roads and footpaths.<br /><br />Nearer the west gate we came across bridal parties having their photo sessions. Eddie was keen to add to his collection of 'bridal underwear' so we hung around while the subjects were arranged in fetching poses in various locations. The brides all seem to wear jeans and sneakers or other street clothes under their frothy white dresses, and the grooms wander around looking ill-at-ease in white suits of varying styles, carrying the brides' stuff. It seems that the tradition is to have the photos taken long before the actual wedding, and the process can take a very long time with changes of location and clothes involved.<br /><br />My sciatica and sore muscles were causing me difficulty, so we decided to come home - in fact we didn't get into the house till 4.30 and queues at immigration were long, so it was a wise decision. We put on a DVD and promptly went to sleep after a strenuous day.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-40495498265633416652007-12-27T13:07:00.000+13:002007-12-27T13:23:13.599+13:00Christmas dayWe had a quiet Christmas day doing nothing special. Eddie's sisters, Betty and Mary, called, which meant we had a taste of the day in NZ.<br /><br />We went shopping about midday to get in some provisions, buying an <span style="font-style: italic;">ox tongue</span> from the congee shop downstairs to do for lunch. Ox tongues are made of the same dough as the <a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071014215847AAYAmQg">deep fried devils</a> that are eaten with congee, and they are very tasty if freshly made.<br /><br />We enjoyed ours as we walked on to Sheung Shui to check the supermarket for marked-down sponge-cakes (there weren't any) and to buy something to make soup with. We bought some beef bones and meat, and then Eddie got more vegetables from the Cheung Wah market while I went ahead and started cooking.<br /><br />We had enough for two pots; one I made into <a href="http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/fun_stuff/recipes/bak_kut_teh.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">bak kut teh</span></a> using a spice packet that had been around a while, the other into carrot soup, both of which I enjoyed but Eddie found too meaty (though it 's good for him).<br /><br />We had a rest and watched "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047673/">White Christmas</a>" on a DVD while the soups cooked, and enjoyed our dinner about 7 pm.<br /><br />Weather was cool but not cold, and the day rather overcast.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-84012414535323569252007-12-25T12:15:00.000+13:002008-12-11T09:35:28.806+13:00It shouldn't rain at Christmas in Hong KongAnd luckily it didn't. There was rain overnight, and we feared it would last the day, but once the sun had risen, the clouds stayed but the rain stopped.<br /><br />We set off after breakfast to deliver a present to Jacky Chan, a friend of long standing, who teaches at a school for the mentally disabled in Mongkok. It took us longer to get away than we expected, but we met him at about 10. After an exchange of presents (another scarf for me - this time a more tasteful one than other years), and a short chat, we went our separate ways.<br /><br />We walked on down to TST, through the wet markets. I haven't been to a really good outside wet market for years, and this one was like those of the old days with stalls piled with fruit and vegetables of every kind, dried fish, dried mushrooms, biscuits and cakes, butcher's shops festooned with meat and entrails, poultry shops with hens in cages awaiting the chop, clothes and haberdashery. I didn't see any baskets of frogs or small birds as we used to see at Sham Shui Po years ago, but everything else was there.<br /><br />After browsing our way through the stalls, we stopped off for a quick bite of dim sum at a restaurant we'd not visited before. We had spare ribs, shao mai, chicken's feet and prawn rice rolls - all tasty and well-cooked. Eddie found it more expensive than he expected at about $9 per dish, which is a reflection of the current state of inflation.<br /><br />We continued our walk past the Jade market (not open) and down Canton Rd, through the Harbour City complex to the Star Ferry, where we crossed to Wan Chai to look at the computer centre. Lots to look at and reasonably crowded with more foreigners than at the Golden Computer Centre - I think I heard a Kiwi accent in passing. We checked out several floors then continued walking to Central.<br /><br />We went through the Wan Chai market - this one has been tamed and is mostly in shops rather than stalls on the roadside, and seems to have shrunk from the days it covered several streets. We couldn't find anything that suited both of us for lunch so we carried on walking down Hennessey Rd till we reached 3 Pacific Place. I thought this was where we could see Christmas decoration, though the main buildings are 1 and 2 - but we went to the first floor just in c<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3Bq-lcXdaI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/kmTm6uwIh8M/s1600-h/handbell.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3Bq-lcXdaI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/kmTm6uwIh8M/s200/handbell.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147731997520000418" border="0" /></a>ase, and discovered a group of young handbell ringers performing carols. This was well worth the stop, and we enjoyed listening to them for 15 minutes.<br /><br /><br />Continuing on to 1 and 2, we found that the decorations weren't quite as mean as E<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3Br3FcXdbI/AAAAAAAAAzY/1NH13rvrp68/s1600-h/xmastree.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3Br3FcXdbI/AAAAAAAAAzY/1NH13rvrp68/s200/xmastree.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147732968182609330" border="0" /></a>ddie thought - the theme was "White Christmas" and featured several Christmas trees and an ornate Santa House in European style.<br /><br />Having enjoyed the decorations, we went through Queensway, then on to Statue Square, where there is hardly any glitter and sparkle. The main tree is skeletal - a cone with some gold strings inside, surrounded by a few angels. It's not as tall as last year's tree which was across De Voeux Rd and seemed much more impressive, if only because that one looked like a proper Christmas tree.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3BsWVcXdcI/AAAAAAAAAzg/HkAXgwO2Bq4/s1600-h/jack+jenny.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3BsWVcXdcI/AAAAAAAAAzg/HkAXgwO2Bq4/s200/jack+jenny.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147733505053521346" border="0" /></a><br />While we were having a rest, we were asked by a visiting couple to take their photo. Eddie got talking and found out they were from Beijing, on a day trip to Hong Kong. He is a retired shipbuilding researcher, with very good English. We helped them get on the MTR for Lo Wu, and hope they got back to Shen Zhen in time to meet the friend who was taking them on to Guangzhou by bus.<br /><br />We crossed the harbour again, and bought something for tea from Wellcome in Harbour City, sitting outside the Cultur<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3BsylcXddI/AAAAAAAAAzo/1QfEZ2GMF1w/s1600-h/hayden.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/R3BsylcXddI/AAAAAAAAAzo/1QfEZ2GMF1w/s200/hayden.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147733990384825810" border="0" /></a>al Centre to eat. We had a long wait before the performance (6-7 pm) that we wanted to see, but it was worth it. The young <span style="font-style: italic;">a capella</span> singers were clever and entertaining, well deserving their applause, and a larger audience. (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9cV-YuDxQM">Hayden singers</a> on Youtube 2006?).<br /><br />At the end of the concert, we walked back through the crowds to the train - unfortunately many of the subways and exits were blocked off and we had a longer walk than intended to get to the station. East TST was colourful, but not as busy as we expected. I think the hawkers who used to add liveliness selling their coloured lights and santa hats have been banned. There didn't seem to be as many impromptu carol singing groups as previously, unless the night was too early for them. We were tired, and keen to get to bed, so we didn't wait round, and took the next train home .Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-50359437491599842132007-12-23T20:53:00.000+13:002007-12-23T21:06:33.397+13:00PikeletsLiving at Eddie's in Hong Kong is still like camping even after 16 years.<br /><br />Today is one of those timeless days - the grey overcast sky makes it difficult to tell what time it is, and at 20 past 2, we were both surprised it was still so early. It felt more like 4.30.<br /><br />Since it was afternoon tea time, I made a batch of pikelets - from about a cup of self-raising flour (new in April), a dollop of condensed milk, an egg and water - I got to the "I wonder what I've left out" stage before remembering salt, and I had to cook a couple of batches to see what else was missing. It's a different taste without golden syrup, and I had to add more sugar.<br /><br />Using up the packet of 'brown sugar' which turned out to be coffee crystals was a bit of a mistake. The first batch after was rather crunchy, but by the next, the crystals had dissolved.<br /><br />We had no jam to eat them with, and eschewed marmalade (it didn't feel right), compromising on some very runny honey. They were OK but I'd like to make some proper ones before I go. There is something like a 1/4 cup of plain flour left, so we will have to buy provisions if I do.<br /><br />Last night our dinner of fried noodles was made with spaghetti - it really is camping chez nous. Luckily I have a proper stove to cook on (but no oven). I'd like to make sourdough, but Eddie is already unimpressed with my sourdough crackers, so I think it would be a lost cause.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-53833364515251910962007-12-23T18:06:00.000+13:002007-12-23T18:33:51.353+13:00Back in Hong KongNothing much of note has happened in the past few months (the life crises I've touched have all been other people's), but now I am back in Hong Kong till mid-January and there may be more days worth a diary entry.<br /><br />I left Auckland in the early hours of Thursday 20 December, and arrived in a windy, grey Hong Kong morning. I was home by 8 a.m. - unfortunately I had to wait more than half an hour for a bus, or it would have been sooner, as I was off the plane and through formalities in less than 20 mins.<br /><br />Thursday was spent posting Mary's and Eileen's Christmas cards, and arranging a China visa for me. We got the passport in just before close-off time of 12 noon, and then went to HK side to see about lunch. Slim pickings there, especially after we waited for a long time at a stall in dai pai dong with no service. We left after nothing seemed to happen to our order and we were running out of time for an appointment at Jardine Flemings.<br /><br />After meeting our adviser we came directly home, where I heard of the death of a long-time friend, Andrea French. It was not unexpected news, but saddening nonetheless, as we will not be able to attend her service on Monday. I was pleased to have seen her several times this year.<br /><br />On Friday we went to see an old school friend of Eddie's who is retired and living in a village near Fo Tan station (Lok Lo Ha village). Apart from the 'Everest steps' one has to climb to get to his house - 114? I lost count at 10 and was out of breath at 30 - it's a very pleasant spot, with a good outlook, a hill behind for good feng shui, and not too many people around.<br /><br />We went to help him with his computer - I did what I could and he seemed happy enough with the results. I hadn't worked with Vista before, but it wasn't too difficult. Anyway, he had done most of the work installing his own copy of Office and once I removed the second copy he had installed in frustration, it worked well.<br /><br />The day was fine and warm, but not too humid, and we continued on to TST East to collect my passport and visa, had scraps from the supermarket for lunch, then came home for early dinner and sleep.<br /><br />Saturday was spent at home, tidying up, and sleeping. We were both wide awake and busy from 2 am to 4 because of the early night, so we went back to sleep for a while, before doing some washing that became a marathon as more and more items were found to wash. Unfortunately the humidity was high, and with little wind and no sun, nothing dried.<br /><br />Eddie fished out his portable clothes drier, figured out how to assemble it, and we had everything dry by bedtime. It was so much easier than waiting for the sun to come back out. The washing would have been mouldy first, although the forecast is for finer and drier later next week.<br /><br />Sunday has slso been a day at home - we listed Eddie's books and he has spent more time scanning stuff before junking it.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-2398846889263467002007-09-24T18:53:00.000+12:002007-09-24T23:01:24.333+12:00A week in Penang<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="">Diary Penang 2007</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fannette.huang%2Falbumid%2F5113684697978816625%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p><br />Friday 14 September <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Left Auckland after </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:time minute="0" hour="13"><span style="">1 pm.</span></st1:time></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Uneventful flight. Spent time watching</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span lang="EN-NZ">Shrek</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> 3,<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"> </span>reading Anita Shreve novel (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Time-They-Met-Novel/dp/0316713732/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/102-1731842-7912124?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190617328&sr=8-4"><i style="">The last time they met</i></a>) and listening to music on the entertainment system.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p><br />Arrived KL at 8 pm, transferred successfully to domestic and left for <a href="http://www.geographia.com/malaysia/penang.html">Penang </a>at 10 pm. Arrived at 11, had a short wait for my bag (2nd one off), then met <a href="http://ethelreddie.blogspot.com/">Eddie</a>. He was feeling fragile after a fall in a ditch on the way to the airport to meet me. He had a sore left arm, 2 sore legs and some grazes. I fixed him with what medicines I had (vitamins and arnica-symphitum compound) once we got to our accommodation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p><br />Took a taxi to <a href="http://www.igougo.com/lodging-reviews-b193147-r2-Penang-Leisure_Cove.html">Leisure Cove</a> -- RM 47. A long drive in the dark and rain. Rain was heavy as we landed, and continued throughout the journey. The wind was strong most of the night, though we both slept well once we'd relaxed. Bed is comfortable, and it's great having a lot of room -- a bathroom each and room to spread out.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Saturday 15 September <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p>The wind stopped howling sometime during the night, and we slept quite well till about 6. We had not much to do till it got light, but around 8 we went out to see what provisions we could find.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />The fruit and vege market I remembered across the road has disappeared, but the adjacent shopping centre doesn't look any more thriving. The bank has moved, although there was a pile of shattered glass outside it. We weren't sure if it was from an attempted robbery.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />A walk further down the road revealed no more provisions shops so we went back to the first place and bought 2 frozen pies for breakfast from a place selling frozen and tinned goods. Once thawed, they were very tasty.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />We had breakfast of pie, mandarins and chocolate, with my used tea leaves in the cup I take on the plane re-watered for the third time. They were getting rather pale.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />We finally set off for the <a href="http://www.ukmilitarygraves.org.my/Penang_WesternRd_CC1.htm">cemetery </a>around 9. Found the entrance relatively easily, and were found by the sexton relatively easily -- the same one who had refurbished the headstone 7 years ago.<o:p> </o:p>We showed him a couple of photos of the place we were looking for, and he recognized himself in one, so we gave it, and another, to him. His brothers were working in the area, so they quickly slashed away the overlying grass and rubbish, then scrubbed down the cross, which has lasted quite well through the years. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />Eddie gave them quite a lot of money for their trouble, then we wandered off, as we were being bitten by something and the rain was returning.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />Back at the </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Midlands</span></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > shopping centre, we found nothing to buy, nor anything to eat, so we walked on, getting hot, tired and hungry. We found a stall selling won tun mee and had a bowl of that before continuing on down the road towards </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Georgetown</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />It was really too far to walk, so we caught a bus to the terminal at Weld Quay, and walked to the Tourist Information Centre, which was shut. We think it might have moved actually, but were not sure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />I was really tired by that time, and probably quite dehydrated, so we took a bus back to Tanjong Bungah, bought some more provisions (bread, baked beans, biscuits, tuna and chicken sausages), some of which we ate as soon as we'd washed our hands.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><br />Then I had a shower, got into bed and stayed there for the rest of the night, too tired to do anything else. The wind howled through the sliding door, which is missing most of its rubber sealing, and the rain came over in heavy showers.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="">Sunday 16 September<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p>Slept late for us, and we enjoyed watching the day arrive, with windows open, although we had to rush to shut them when the occasional squall blew over. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p><br />The roosters started crowing about 6, but other birds aren't heard. It was a pleasure to see them flying from tree to tree at the shore. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p><br />We had chicken sausages and baked beans for breakfast, followed by a mandarin. We are missing our cup of tea.<o:p> </o:p>After I cleaned up, we left for the supermarket at the Island Shopping Centre -- it's a Cold Storage, but I found it rather limited with its supplies. However, we got provisions to last quite a few days, including bread, eggs, tea and water. We included a chocolate cake for a treat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We caught a Chinese <a href="http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/b0c09/138ff4/9/">Hin </a>bus down to the centre -- we think they are cheaper than the air-conditioned Rapid Transit ones. It cost RM 1 as a flat fare.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We returned with the groceries and had an early lunch, then a sleep, so we weren't ready to get going again till about 2.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >It was really pleasant lying with the doors and windows open, feeling the breeze come and go. Though it's been rainy, the temperature and humidity have been quite comfortable. We haven't needed to do as much washing each day as I expected.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We planned to check out a route for the airport,<span style=""> </span>so took a Chinese bus to Weld Quay terminus, then caught another Rapid to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang_International_Airport">Bayan Lepas</a> (airport area). The driver helpfully showed us where to go, and we walked in the rain up the approach road, sloshing through the puddles in the car park till we found the terminal building.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Eddie wanted to find the ditch he fell in on Friday, but had to settle for a close approximation for a photo. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We spent a short time at the terminal, then walked back a different way to Bayan Lepas village, where we bought some delicious bananas at a stall. They were so tasty and we were so hungry we ate them all, and Eddie went back for some more.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We had difficulty getting a bus back - we waited on the wrong side of the road at first, and couldn't understand why people told us to cross over. Eventually we got sorted, with the help of a local shopkeeper, who passed the time talking to Eddie in Cantonese.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The bus took a very long time to arrive - <span style=""> </span>we waited for well over 30 minutes, but otherwise the trip back was long but uneventful.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We were home about 9, had toast, tea, sausage and cake, did some washing, had a shower and went to bed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I found out today why you are not to put cloths in the microwave longer than 2 minutes to sterilise them. Eddie's flannel got burned when he left it too long (and it was possibly too dry). It's a poor sad rag now. Lucky it was a 'foundling' from the New good View Hotel in Xintang!<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Monday 17 September<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We decided to take a trip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterworth,_Penang">Butterworth </a>to book Eddie a trip to KL on the train rather than by bus.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >The day was hot and fine, and we took a <a href="http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Malaysia/Negeri_Pulau_Pinang/Penang-1282036/Transportation-Penang-Ferry_Terminal_to_Butterworth-BR-1.html">ferry </a>across to look around. We thought we had lucked in when we were told that the trip was free. So it was, but we had to pay RM 1.20 each to get back. It was a calm crossing, which took about 15 minutes once we took off. Ferries are very frequent, with every other one being a combined passenger and<span style=""> </span>vehicular ferry. The vehicles and drivers load onto the lower deck – there are usually many more scooters than cars. It was<span style=""> </span>interesting to look from our boat down into the neighbouring one at the drivers congregating together.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We thought we knew where to find the train station, but turned the wrong way and had to ask for help. The station is old and not very busy, but well-maintained with 2 museum engines outside. We read that the train went every day at 10, and decided that would be most suitable, till we enquired about tickets, and discovered the train left daily at </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:time minute="0" hour="22"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">10 pm</span></st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >. So Eddie will go back by bus. The bus is actually a bit cheaper as it cost RM 30 by train. Eddie had difficulty understanding the girl behind the glass when she quoted the price, and she gave him an exasperated look. That was all very well but people seemed to hear us say ‘four’ whenever we actually said ‘five’ – so it went both ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >There wasn't much else we found interesting at Butterworth, so we caught the next ferry back to </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Georgetown</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We decided to test the bus route to Nibong and took a U303 to the terminal. Once there we bought a ticket for Eddie on Friday on the </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:time minute="0" hour="10"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">10 a.m.</span></st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > Plusliner, then looked for a lunch place, most of which were shut because if Ramadan. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >There wasn't much else nearby, but we eventually found a stall across the highway selling '<a href="http://eatbma.blogspot.com/2006/07/troughs-of-lukewarm-economic-rice.html">economy rice</a>', which we settled for. We were given a plate of rice and could choose from a range of toppings, to be charged accordingly. It was ok, but exposed to flies and not hot, so Eddie didn't enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >After eating, we waited a long time for a 401 bus back to the quay, where we decided to take a Chinese bus back to the hotel. This was a mistake, as we waited a long time before leaving the terminus, and even longer at Komtar while the driver tried to drum up passengers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We didn't get in till nearly 4.30, by which time we were hot, tired and hungry. After tea and refreshment, we went for a walk on the local beach. It's rather grubby fishing beach, with mangy dogs - although fortunately they didn't bother us much. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We watched fishermen mending their nets, trudged along the sand and rubbish piles to the mouth of a small river, then went back for dinner, which consisted of eggs, potatoes and beans.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Tuesday 18 September<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We had a reasonable sleep, and didn't get out of bed till 7. The washing hadn't dried very well in spite of the fan I’d left on it overnight, so I resorted to the hair drier for some of the damper things. In the end, I wore my trousers, which smelled slightly of damp washing, and hung the rest in the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >After breakfast of toast, tuna and tea, we left at about 9 for <a href="http://www.malaysiasite.nl/batuferringhieng.htm">Batu Ferringhi</a>. The bus took us through a winding road, with picturesque coastal views, and many cleared sections being prepared<span style=""> </span>for high rise complexes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Once arrived, we took a leisurely walk past some of the hotels we remembered from our first trip. We couldn't see the Casuarina resort and assumed it had been taken over or redeveloped.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We came across a handwritten sign: <a href="http://www.waterfallsofmalaysia.com/32batuferringhi.php">Waterfall </a>300m, and decided to have a look. A traipse through what looked like a deserted quarry brought us to a bridge over a small river, with an approach to the falls guarded by a dog that didn't sound too pleased to see us. Luckily, it was chained up.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >At this point, I lost my desire to carry on, but eventually decided to keep Eddie company. We climbed some concrete and brick steps, clambered over some rocks, and enjoyed the small, pretty falls.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Retracing our path, we continued on up the main road till it ran out of footpath, when we returned to our starting point, discovering on the way that the Casuarina was being refurbished, hiding behind a length of metal fence. This explained why we didn't see it when we walked past.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Eddie decided to take a walk on the beach, so we spent a while on the sand, admiring the view, before carrying on. The beach was almost deserted, as was the whole area. It felt very empty for a tourist area. The few restaurants open were keen for business.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We went to the shopping centre, hoping to find a supermarket, but hardly anything was open, which was disappointing and disconcerting. We decided to have morning tea anyway, and ate banana pancake with honey and ice cream from an Indian stall - it was delicious. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We went back to the hotel after a long wait for a bus, had lunch, and set off again for Komtar to do some grocery shopping. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">After another long wait for the bus, we finally arrived and spent some time looking around the complex which again seemed tired and deserted. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I bought a sarong length from a shop there, then we went over to the second building which houses the Giant supermarket, where we got a few provisions. We ate some of our bananas in front of the people setting up the Ramadan night market, then bought some cakes from the first stall – 3 for RM 1.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After our refreshment, we decided to walk through </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="">Chinatown</span></st1:place></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> and visit the <a href="http://www.khookongsi.com.my/">Khoo Kongsi</a>. It took a bit of finding, but in the process we walked the length of Rope Walk (Pintal Tali). I had a vague memory of historical remains of the original rope walk, but if so, it wasn’t<span style=""> </span>in evidence, despite the fact that we walked the length of the street. We met up with some friendly people in Lebuh Armenian, who gave us directions then invited us to have a cup of something with them, as they were sitting enjoying the evening.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">They bought us some barley water, and chatted to us for a while in English and Cantonese. They picked Eddie for a Hong Konger, as people seem to do here. One of the men owned the shop, which was ostensibly a bicycle repair shop, but was stuffed with knick knacks and bric-a-brac – clocks, dolls, china were stuffed all around the walls, the fruits of 25 years of collecting, apparently.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We drank and chatted and exchanged addresses, till at 4.35 they said we had better go if we wanted to see the Khoo Kongsi as it closed at 5. We found it easily enough around the corner and tagged onto a tour party to listen to the guide's patter, which was interesting and amusing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Once the place was shut, we walked on to the Weld Quay terminal and got a bus home. We had to wait a long time before the bus left, then we had a very long trip through the evening traffic. The bus driver did a U-turn across 3 lanes of traffic to get fuel on the way, to the amazement and derision of the loud Ferringhi passengers - they sounded most uncouth.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We had a short chat to an Iranian student who is at USM studying a PhD in environmental science and who was with her mother. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It was a relief to get in by 7.30 and get some dinner - chicken sausages, potatoes and cakes. After doing dishes, washing and having a shower, we were ready for bed. Eddie has turned brown, and I am sunburned, but it was a good day.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Wednesday 19 September<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Were awake early but didn't get up till </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:time minute="0" hour="19"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">7-ish</span></st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >. Had breakfast of an egg, sausages and baked beans, cleaned up and left just before 9. Had to wait a while for the bus, but reached Jln Utama by 10. We walked quite a way looking for the place where the man was feeding the monkeys on our last visit, but only saw a few animals around an Indian temple. We carried on up the road for a while but saw nothing likely, so we walked back to explore a road by the temple. Here we discovered a delightful <a href="http://my.pagenation.com/pen/Penang%20Municipal%7Cyouth%20Park_100.2937_5.4284.map">park </a>with fountains at every turn. It was peaceful, cool and pleasant, so we took our time, and many photos.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We continued on down the road to the intersection with Jln Gottlieb, where we hoped to find something to eat, but pickings were slim. We settled for an ice cream each from a cake shop and shared a tuna bun - the muffin I chose was disappointingly dry and crumbly and wasn't much better after it had been microwaved for afternoon tea.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Then on to the cemetery, where the sexton produced a pot of paint just as we arrived, and proceeded to paint he letters on the headstone while we waited. We wondered if he would have done it at all if we hadn’t gone back, though he commented several times about the recent wet weather. It was very hot by this time, and I got even more burnt.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We looked around the graves for a time, and Eddie took pictures of the marble dog, then we left before we could be persuaded to give the sexton a grave-keeping fee on an annual basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We found a bus-stop across the road and thought we could save time by using the U102 route, but no bus turned up, even after nearly an hour. We finally gave up and walked back to </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Midlands</span></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >, where we got a bus immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We stopped off at Komtar and bought presents, but I didn't enjoy the process as we were both hot, tired, hungry and cross, possibly exacerbated because our sugar intake has been higher recently than the beginning of the week.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We bought a few items from Giant, but again pickings were slim, and we settled for ice cream and water, which we consumed amongst the traffic at the entrance to the complex.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We continued on to find the grave of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Light">Captain Light</a> in the old <a href="http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/FeatureStory/20060117111007/Article/pp_index_html">Protestant cemetery</a>, finding a shop selling meat and rice on the way. We enjoyed that with a cup of strong sweet coffee for me and </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Milo</span></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > for Eddie. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >With a bit of map reading and a detour through a Kuan Yin temple, we finally found the cemetery, where we spent some time looking at the graves, which look like caskets above the ground. The cemetery operated from 1789 to 1892, so it was interesting to note the names associated with </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Penang</span></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >'s history, as well as how young many of the dead were. One family lost 4 children, another woman died in childbirth, after losing 3 others very young, and was buried with the infant.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Once the mosquitoes started biting, we went on to find the HSBC bank to enquire about opening an account. It was strange to be treated as</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" lang="EN-NZ" > honoured</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > guests after fending for ourselves for so long, but the coffee and water provided were welcome. We need to go back to complete the process which we will do tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Our bus back left about 4.50, meaning we had a faster trip than last night. After a cup of tea and something to eat, we went out to find something for tea. Again we couldn't find much, so we settled for some fruit - bananas, mango and a pineapple. We also walked to the <a href="http://www.streetdirectory.com/malaysia/penang/travel/travel_id_5416/travel_site_191195/">Floating mosque</a> which we can see fm our room.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Once back, we had fruit and tea and did our washing. Eddie took hours over his, but managed to get the stains from his fall out of his trousers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Thursday 20 September<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We had a reasonable sleep, although<span style=""> </span>I had difficulty dropping off, and woke at </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:time minute="0" hour="1"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">1 a.m.</span></st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > feeling as if I had slept a whole night. We got off to<span style=""> </span>a slow start, but got a bus into </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Georgetown</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > about 9.30. It was a fine warm morning with a pleasant breeze blowing and Eddie remarked how cheerful the </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Protestant</span></st1:placename><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Cemetery</span></st1:placetype></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > looked with the sun on it, as we rode past.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >It didn't take us long to find the bank, where we spent the next 2 hours setting up our new account and getting all the paperwork completed. It took longer than we expected, but at east we know all the cards and security devices work.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >After finishing at the bank, we walked to the Giant supermarket to get something for lunch. We chose our staples of bananas, cake and ice cream. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We spent a bit more time looking at the Parkson Grand store, then went outside to eat lunch, afterwards crossing the busy intersection to explore the Gama department store. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >After checking out their goods and using the toilet to wash our hands, we returned to Komtar where we found a shop that would make a DVD copy of Eddie’s photos. We had a pleasant chat with the woman while we waited for the process to complete.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Next we caught a 103 bus to Plaza Gurney, a shopping complex at the end of </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2766994-gurney_drive_penang-i"><st1:street><st1:address><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Gurney Drive</span></st1:address></st1:street></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >, where we had stayed previously. We walked the length of the Drive, noting how few of the original houses remained. Most sections are now taken up with high-rises and hotels. I found the walk interesting but tiring, and was ready to go back once we reached No. 1, our first timeshare accommodation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Finally, we checked<span style=""> </span>out Cold Storage back at the Plaza, but nothing appealed, so we left empty-handed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We got a Chinese bus from the other side of the major intersection with </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:street><st1:address><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Gurney Drive</span></st1:address></st1:street></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >, expecting a fairly fast trip back. There was some slow traffic around the evening food stalls near the Tanjong Bungah Hotel, and the bus had to change lanes through it. Once clear, and near the Caltex service station, the driver started to move left again, swiping a car coming rapidly on the left, and forcing it into a power pole. Bits of the car were spread along the road, and we couldn't see if the driver was injured.<span style=""> </span>We expected the driver to stop, but to our astonishment, he just kept going as if nothing had happened.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We got off about 3 stops later, and Eddie alighted from the front to see what the damage was - he said there were some scratches, but as the bus was so battered anyway, they hardly showed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >It was a relief to get back to our nest, have some afternoon tea and debrief. We couldn't have done anything, but we felt quite shocked that the driver didn't stop.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Once calmed down, we decided to have a look at the pool on the roof, since we didn't get a chance last time. We had a very quick dip (Eddie found it too cold to do more than get wet), sat in the sun for a while, the came back to our room for a shower.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Dinner consisted of leftovers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">Friday 21 September<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >We had a rushed and very early start to catch the bus at 7. We expected the rooms to be checked before we got our bond back, but the receptionist just asked if everything was in order before<span style=""> </span>handing over the money when we assured her it was.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >There was a very long wait for a bus at the terminus. I let one 401 go as I was waiting for a 303 to go right to the platform at the Nibong bus station, but in the end, as time was going by, settled for the next 401. Eddie was very anxious about arriving on time, but we made it with time to spare<span style=""> </span>in spite of slow passengers and traffic. Then the express bus took a while to turn up, and actually didn’t leave till about 10.30. I passed the time talking to a woman who was farewelling her godmother, and she was kind enough to offer me a lift to the airport. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >Once there, I had a very long time to fill in, waiting for my flight at </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:time minute="0" hour="17"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);">5 p.m.</span></st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" > I bought a pair of earrings with my saved taxi fare, and had an expensive (RM 7.90) cappuccino which was really a flat white at the Coffee Bean restaurant. The rest of the time I spent wandering around in and out of the building. I ate bread and boiled egg in the terminus and out in the carpark just for something to do. I read an abandoned paper, where I found out about the Nai Yin Xue case, and changed clothes ready for the long haul. I watched a group of performers in various kinds of Malaysian dress get ready to greet some dignitary, and followed them for part of their procession. I was disappointed I couldn’t see the results of the preparation, as they disappeared into a closed off area.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="georgia" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 10);font-size:100%;" >I checked in at 3<span style=""> </span>- it was a relief to get rid of my bag – and waited around some more for the short flight to KL. There was only an hour or so to wait till we boarded the plane at Subang Jaya for an uneventful trip home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-58507724125803547642007-08-17T06:54:00.000+12:002007-08-17T06:58:28.689+12:00Wet againIt's been a while since the last post, but there's nothing much to report except wet weather. For a morning to so there was a hint of spring in the air, but again the fronts have come over bringing heavy rain and overcast skies. We need to export the excess to Australia! About the only things making the most of the wet are the weeds.<br /><br />Have been busy sorting out other people's computer troubles and helping with assignments. That makes the week go fast.Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427659395147882133.post-11728324078764336422007-07-31T11:07:00.000+12:002008-12-11T09:35:29.106+13:00Boosting Winter Immunity<span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br />Cold, Dark, Rain, Flu … these are aspects of the winter that we don’t look forward to. But there are many easy, cost-effective ways to keep your disposition cheerful and your system in optimum health during the bleakest of weather.<br /><br />1. <strong>Chicken soup</strong><br />Remember the heart-warming benefits of homemade chicken soup – an elixir in itself. A soup made with chicken has been proven to boost the immune system and aid in recovery from a cold. Use the whole bird including its skin and giblets, or carcasses if you have saved them, vegetables, water and a dash of vinegar and love in a slow cooker or crock pot, if you have one, to save time and energy. Otherwise simmer slowly in a pot.<br /><br />2. <strong>Cod liver oil</strong><br />Cod liver oil capsules provide your system with much needed Vitamins A and D in a form your body can easily use. For children over 12 years and adults take a maintenance dose that provides about 10,000 IU vitamin A daily and 1000 IU vitamin D for adults. You will need to check that the vitamins are naturally occurring, rather than having synthetic vitamins added in after manufacture.<br /><br />3. <strong>Vitamin C</strong><br />Increased doses of Vitamin C are also useful at this time of year. Beside helping your body recover from infection, it is used in tissue growth and repair, strengthening of capillary walls, lactation and adrenal gland function. It promotes healing of wounds and is a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin E keeps Vitamin C in balance so make sure to keep your diet varied and fresh.<br /><br />4.<strong> Echinacea</strong><br />Echinacea has been proven to reduce the severity of flu and upper respiratory infections, but is not proven for prevention, so don’t worry about buying the special yogurt (or anything else with the ‘spirit’ of the herb in it). Take the correct dose at the first sign of a cold.<br /><br />5. <strong>Lemon and honey drinks</strong><br />Again, if your throat is feeling scratchy, lemon and honey drinks (made from fresh lemons and real honey rather than from a powder) are soothing. They also help keep your fluid intake up if you are sneezing and your nose is running.<br /><br />6. <strong>Hand washing</strong><br />Frequent and thorough hand washing is one of the easiest and best ways of keeping infections at bay. Wash your hands if you’ve been out before you do much else, and remember to wash frequently if you have been using public facilities. If you use a computer, keep your keyboard and mouse clean. Shared telephones should also be cleaned regularly.<br /><br />7. <strong>Rest</strong><br />We generally don’t get enough rest and sleep these days, so you have permission if you are unwell to stay home, rest and recuperate. You owe it to yourself, your family and co-workers to recover fully before you get back into your daily round. If you aren’t sick, sufficient rest and sleep will help keep you in peak condition.<br /><br />Don’t worry – it’s nearly spring!<br /><br /><br /></span><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WmiqQtEEqX0/Rq5x75cyJfI/AAAAAAAAAN0/wLkiHe8FFAo/s320/echinacea+and+butterfly2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093133502450378226" /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br /><br /></span>Annettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040213039300226134noreply@blogger.com0