fillingthegaps

well I am on the train,  (actually WE are) rocking gently and silently along at (according toRobs GPS) a steady 125kmph. It would need to be reasonably comfortable because this is going to be a 20hr trip, from Hong Kong to Shanghai. The train is incredibly smooth, but maybe that is just because I have been conditioned to NZ’s rail systems – the last epic journey I took from Auckland to Wellington, we did much of the trip at 20kmph because, the Conductor informed us, the rails were buckled due to the heat – and that was on a mild spring day! Even at that speed the train rocked and rolled a bit like the ride I recently had at Disneyland. So this is proving to be a silky ride.

Accommodation does not get quite the same level of accolades, however. The carriage is divided up into cubicles, each with 2 sets of 3-high bunks facing each other. The bunks are designed for the average-sized local inhabitant, which means that Rob will have to fold himself up like a carpenters ruler to fit into its length. Unfortunately the width is proportionately narrow too – so he is in for an uncomfortable night!  There  are no curtains over the bunks, and no curtain over the corridor entrance to the cubicle, so all is open to public scrutiny. I shall not be changing into my Shorty jamas tonight!

The corridor is carpeted and has little fold-down seats hinged to the side of the carriage. These are necessary because the bunks are permanently made up, so if you want to claim your seat during the daytime, you have to recline on your bunk. As a fair degree of athleticism is required to get into the top two levels, the corridor  seats are in great demand. We have staked out our claims!

Our last  morning in Hong Kong was most enjoyable. It was a bright warm sunny day and there were two tasks to be done. One was to pick up our passports (with Russian visas) from the Ruskie embassy over on thee Island, and the other was to take the older kids over to the tallest building to see if we could get to the top and have a look-see. Rach drew the short straw and took ER with her to do the passports. I got the long straw and had the pleasure of taking the 4 older kids across the harbour to do the tall building thing. To add to the fun, we all walked together to the ferry terminal, then Rach took one ferry and we took another. The race was on! Who would get to return to base first? We both had to cross the harbour. We both had to walk to a tall building; we both had to go a long way up in the building, do our business and then return. At the start we were clearly ahead.

                        Thats Rach with ER  at the far left hand side Our ferries left at the same time and as we waved to our rivals across the briny we could see that we were going to dock well before them. Our trip up the tall building was delayed a bit as we were directed to register at the lobby. After going down to the basement car park we eventually arrived at the lobby where the kids presented their student travel ID’s to be scanned, and I solemnly presented my ARC Senior Citizens Travel pass. All were dutifully scanned and full authorized Visitor ID’s were issued and hung around our necks.

We were ushered to the lifts by security personnel and were not allowed out of their sight. The lift whisked us up to the 55th floor in precisely 40 secs. J timed it for us of course. It was fascinating visit. The 55th floor was only just over half way up but the view was still breathtaking.

And the viewing lounge was actually sponsored by the HK Treasury, so it was actually an information display

 on how  their banknotes were produced. (an interesting fact is that 3 different banks are authorized to print money for HK – and they are all different!) So a thorough look at everything took a bit of time. Then we remembered the race! So off we flew, back down the lift, hand in our passes and race back to the ferry terminal.

 Catch the ferry and race back to the digs. Up the lift and – rats! Mum was standing there. She had beaten us by 5 mins. OK she beat us, but I bet we had the most fun.

I have been away with this bunch for just over a week now, and during most of that time the skies have been overcast, with rain threatening but never quite making it. Today, no matter what, we had decided to go across to The Island (Hong Kong) for a another, longer look. We will be back on Mon. day, but only quite briefly (we hope) to pick up our passports with the Russian Visa stamps. We thought the Island deserved more than another brief look.

So this morning we sallied forth, and lo and behold, the day dawned bright and clear. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the air refreshingly invigorating. We had a plan to visit The Peak – to bus to the top and walk back down. The Peak is the the top of Mt Victoria – one of the highest spots on the island. Originally developed as a ‘hill resort’ for the expat tea merchants and the Island’s Governor it is now dotted with incredible high-rise hotels, very up market residential blocks, very flash houses and at the top, the inevitable super shopping mall. 

But it is not all buildings and from the top there is a very good walk that does a circular route around the top of the mount, giving you a 360 view of Hong Kong island. The walk takes you through a lot of HK’s natural flora, and very cool and refreshing it was.

Every so often long breaks in the foliage would allow some terrific views of the Island.

From up there you can see how they cram 6m people into this relatively small piece of land.

I said it was cool and refreshing: actually as we sat in the shade with the keen breeze whistling through our legs, it was distinctly cold, and we were all pleased to be up again and off on our walk.

We took the bus to the top: a great ride in a huge double-Decker that twisted and turned up the narrow winding road, brushing trees and shrubbery all the way up and giving us fantastic glimpses of the Island as we climbed. Getting on the bus was interesting: you need to have the exact fare to tender. Working out the total cost for this tribe is a real exercise: ‘these small ones, they go free; this one adult; this old man, half fare;’  etc etc. As Rob discussed the fare make-up with some sort of official, the guy finally said (in desperation I imagine) ‘ok $60 for all’ – which sounded fine to us as the basic fare was $9.50 each!

We thought of rewarding ourselves with an ice-cream after our walk around the peak, but a quick check on prices soon quenched that idea. I think Rob worked it out that it would cost NZ$180 for our group. Since we only spend about half that amount in Hong Kong $$s for our dinner (and we think that is expensive)  we opted for a McDonalds Ice-cream after getting back down the mount. Everybody was content with the deal and off we walked. Walked down some steep and twisty walkways – fortunately all nicely sealed, but a strenuous descent, nonetheless. I have to confess that we did not walk the whole way back to the ferry but managed to catch a bus once we hit a main road. Once again the exact fare thing posed a problem, but after scratching up about $23 between us Rob hopefully offered  it to the driver. Seeing our mob, and veering away from the mental arithmetic involved, the driver just took our handful of coins and waved us all aboard!

And so we earned our ice-cream, caught the ferry back over to Kowloon

and made it back to our noodle shop for dinner.

A long but very enjoyable day.

Some of you ask, how on earth do the little ones cope with such a big day. The quick answer is they don’t. Periodically one of the younger ones has a melt-down and loses the plot, but the fact is, they recover pretty quickly and continue to enjoy the day. In spite of the occasional hissy fit, everyone at the end of the day would say it was a day to remember.

In the eyes of RnR’s kids, THE highlight of this trip into the relatively unknown, was to be the visit to Disneyland in Hong Kong. For this reason they saved their pennies in NZ, agreed to forgo many treats, worked to raise money and generally had a concerted effort over many months, to be able to afford to do this thing. Well yesterday THE day arrived. (how did I forget this when I arranged to meet up with them in Hong Kong?)

If you were to ask me what are the top 100 things I would like to do before I die, Disneyland would not even get in the fine print – but  here was I joining this crazy bunch to spend a day there. Had I been a quick thinker, I could have found some earnest reason for not going, like visiting a museum or experimenting (all day) with wi-fi at Starbucks, but quick thinking is not one of my attributes, so here was I all set to have a whizzer of a day.

It started well with another impressive display of HK’s rail services. We had to catch 3 different trains and travel quite a fair distance – not an enviable task with 8 children. In Auckland, such a prospect would conjure pictures of a day of frustration, time wasted and generally something to put into the too-hard basket. Here (coping with foreign language, currency, and new systems), it went like a breeze. The first station was a 10 min walk away, we waited 2 mins for the train, having just missed  the previous one. The change in train stations was easy, as we tracked the train’s progress on the visual display on the side panels. Walk to the other side of the platform, wait maybe 3 mins and along comes our next train. Get off at the clearly indicated station and wait another 2 mins for the Disney express to arrive – taking us into the heart of Disneyland. Oh and did I mention these trains run as smooth as silk, and the acceleration is such that it makes your ears pop!

I entered this fantasyland fairly convinced that I would not be party to the fun and games: being thrown violently around until you feel like throwing up is not my idea of fun. However one thing led to another until the grandchildren proudly informed me that I had been on everything they had been on. What was not stressed was that they had been on most things about 5 times while I had endured the single shot. Also not mentioned was the fact that they were in VERY much better shape than me.

In fact the only thing that kept me going was a quick cup of coffee while they were off on their 5th trip to the Moon. Never before have I experienced the rejuvenating effects of a shot of caffeine, but by golly, it did the trick.

Needless to say, the visit lived up to the eager anticipations of the kids. Some were seriously asking Dad about the fiscal advantages of purchasing an annual pass! Even ER2, as she is known, gradually warmed to the terrors of the unknown, and was a very keen patron of the Carousel and the Spinning Teacups.

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Every one survived until the very end when there was to be a firework display.We were in two minds as to whether this was worth waiting for, but in fact it turned out to be the most spectacular finale. Not quite the Beijing Olympics, but I think it would run a close second.

Yesterday we were on the go from 8.30am until 9.30pm (at McDonalds for “dinner”) and so today has been recovery day – with much journaling and hopefully restful pauses. As for me: well I can now say I have done Disneyland, and will never have to go again, and so it’s back to the quiet life.

Before I re-joined the Ayres Tribe, I did some training – walking around the block at a (for me) crisp pace, up and down the hilly circuit where I live. Just a half hour’s brisk walk, but I am so glad I did it, because today tested these old legs.

Yesterday we moved out to this ‘couch-surfing’ home – about 25 mins by rail from downtown Kowloon, Today we had to return to Kowloon and catch the ferry across to Hong Kong island to visit the Russian embassy, to lodge our visa applications. The embassy is open on Mondays(when applications are accepted) from 9-12,00. Plenty of time you might think. But by the time we had had breakfast and wrestled with a reluctant washing machine, time was fast running out. We walked to the rail station (about 1km)  and caught the train ok, but by the time we reached Kowloon it was almost eleven twenty. We still had to walk almost 2km to the ferry terminal, catch the ferry, get across to HK island and then walk to the embassy building. So speed was of the essence, and speed we did! Rob was striding purposefully; the the rest of us were either walking rapidly or semi-jogging. We were quite a sight as we sped through the crowded streets. But we made it with 15 mins to spare, and fortunately the Russians were friendly and co-operative. The lift up to the 21st floor was enjoyed by all – almost no sense of motion and the 21st floor reached in a matter of seconds. Quite fabulous.

After the business was  successfully concluded, we then sat in a sort-of park-like walkway and munched on our lunch – fortifying ourselves for a walking tour of some of the interesting bits of Hong Kong. We more or less followed one of the Lonely Planets recommended walks and hiked through Old China town sort of shopping areas, ascended the hill on the longest escalator in the world  – it took us 800m up the side of the Hill in a series of stages. Once at the top of course we had to walk back down again and then walk back to the ferry terminal, catch the ferry, walk back to the railway station, catch the train and finally walk to the market to have some dinner, before walking home. I am not sure how much walking we did, but we were on our feet from 9.30 am until about 7,0 pm and believe me, we were all quite weary! I repeat, I was glad I had done that training back in titirangi!

The children did marvelously: even the littlies who would normally have had a sleep or rest in the afternoon, performed very well. These kids can walk your socks off, no trouble at all!

A few pictures of today’s sights:

the team making dumplings/dim sums for tonight’s dinner

who was having a steamed pow?

High rise  buildings press in on every side

Fresh fish anyone? Never mind the unusual shop counter..

a murky Hong KOng skyline – iy looked better at night:

when you are travelling for a year, and your daddy isn’t Rockefeller all Bill gates, you have to watch your pennies (especially when your home currency takes a nose-dive, like the Kiwi dollar)  So we don’t spend any longer than you have to in a place that is expensive. Just to give you a little idea of our apartment block, this is a view down the air-well, viewed from our bathroom window!Waitakere Council would love it. A genuine plumber’s nightmare.

…but the rooms themselves were very tidy…..

And Hong Kong is expensive! Gone are the days when HK was THE place for a bargain p most things here are more expensive than NZ and even the REAL budget accommodation is costing more than we like to pay (HK$200 for a room for one night) Not too bad for just two of you but when you have 11 in a party, costs start to add up! So after 3nights in the Nathan Rd apartment block, we have taken a 20 min train ride down the line to Tai Poh Market, where we are ;couch-surfing for 3 nights. This is where a friendly soul opens up his house and lets you crash for free, if you can find somewhere to sleep, on the floor! Not as bad as it sounds. You get to meet some interesting people, they usually have a mattress or two, and there is no charge!

Our host here is a young Indian Expat, doing research at the local University. As a hobby/sport, he is a Uni-cyclist, and I have been admiring his bike in detail. We are all tucked into 2 bedrooms so it looks a bit like a refugee camp but we are very comfortable.

Rather amusing – Rob decided to buy some bread for tomorrow;s breakfast before we moved out of Nathan Rd in case we were not near any shops. When we got here we discovered that this place is like Orchard Rd in Singapore- Huge malls , glittering shops plus all-night fruit and veggie markets etc. Shops for Africa!

Tomorrow we take the train back to Nathan rd then catch the ferry across to Hong Kong Island to visit the Russian embassy  – to lodge our Visa applications. With good fortune they will be ready in a week. The kids are looking forward to the trip The ferry ride for one thing, and the lift in the embassy building goes like a rocket they tell me,so that should be fun!

Oh I have also got myself organized with new specs. After the cataract op I needed to change my specs. Had no time to  do it in NZ but now that the eyes have settled down I am able to get the specs organised, Ordinary specs take 2 hours but I am getting progressive lenses with Transitional lens material (instant shade correction for sunlight) and titanium unbreakable frames. All very flash, and I can pick these up in 4 days time (slight delay because the weekend came into that 4 day calculation!)

So life is going along nicely thanks. A few pics to let you see the terrain we have been travelling over.

The previous time I had flown with Thai Airlines was when I went to  Myanmar about 3 years ago. On that flight, the crew were evidently on the last leg of a long tour: service and food was decidedly sub-standard,  I was disappointed with the drop in standards and it was with some reluctance that I booked with Thai again this time. I’m happy to say my fears were not realised. The aircraft was  new and spacious, the crew were bright and cheerful and the food was great, The last leg from Bangkok to Hong Kong only took a couple of hours, and it went quickly, The decent into Hong Kong was through thick cloud and we only broke through at about 1000 ft, I was quite relieved to see the sea beneath us at a decent distance away. The only other t5ime I had flown in to Hong Kong was when the old airport was still running: some may remember the way the aircraft seemed to have to drop down between the high-rise buildings just a few feet (it seemed) away from the wing tips, Things are a lot less hazardous these days, I’m pleased to report’

In spite of the thousands of passengers pouring into the Customs entry zone. inside 25mins I was processed and walking out, anxiously scanning for a familiar face in the crowd’ (Rob’s  mobile had refused to work in Hong Kong and so our plans of doing a ;here I am, where are you?’ routine didn’t get off the ground. Nevertheless. as I walked out, in walked Rob, polishing off a container of noodles as he came,

So all was well, and we walked outside to a waiting double-Decker bus which took us right to our doorstep in downtown Kowloon.

I’ll tell you about these ‘digs’ another time. For now its enough to say they are clean and tidy and on the top (14th) floor of a very busy block. Seething with money-changers , food outlets and restaurants on the lower 3 floors, then a  rabbit warren of rooms above.

Weather has been wet. windy and cool and it was decidedly nippy when we all walked down to the waterfront last evening and watched the Light Display. Hong Kong is an incredible array of high rise apartment blocks and Commercial sky scrapers. Maybe not on a New York scale, but to see these towering buildings crammed together with al;most no space between them was an amazing sight. At l\\night of course these buildings become a series of twinkling tablets,and the commercial buildings add more color with their many huge neon signs. Viewing HK Island from across the water was thus a very pretty sight, but to add to the spectacle, for a period each evening some of the buildings put on an extra show. with laser beams piercing the night sky, and strobe lighting bathing some built.dings in bands of varying colours. It was  a good show and the attached pics do not do it justice

But now for a couple of intriguing human encounters.  The first was the young lady who checked my passport.  She was wearing (is that the term?) fingernail extensions. They were very long, white. with square tips, This to me was strange enough, but what really intrigued was the little band of diamonds across each nail at the junction point between real and false’

The second event was the crowd that gathered around our tribe when we were down on the waterfront. As Rachael has said in her blogs. once one person breaks the ice and asks  or points the question ‘are these all yours? a crowd gathers, chattering excitedly among themselves, then being photographed with the kids etc, Its a real circus, which the kids endure quite stoically 

well I am sitting here at the back of Starbucks, in Bangkok airport. I have gritty eyes and considering the fact that it is around 4.30am, Auckland time, I suppose it is to be expected. But it’s only 10.30pm, Bangkok time, and the place is humming.

I have found myself this quiet little back-water area where there is no foot-traffic at all, which is quite something. Its also a good spot because I have found an upholstered bench seat. Considering that I am here for the night – the upholstered seat is a bonus. I considered taking a hotel room for the night, but the scrooge in me, coupled with a bit of laziness, brought me to the decision that it really was not worth all the hassle of officially ‘arriving’ in Bangkok and then trotting off to a hotel and forking out a fistful of US dollars .for about 5hrs sleep – if I were so lucky!  In due course I will see if it is possible to fall asleep here, I am not hopeful: I have been entrusted with bringing Rob’s new digital SLR with fancy lens to Hong Kong. My past record of leaving my video camera in airports, taxis and restaurants with dreadful regularity makes me a mite nervous about sleeping in a public place with the precious cargo.

This journal is going to try and avoid the ‘what I did on my summer holidays’ format, but I really must make mention of the incredible cloud formations which we enjoyed for several hours of the trip. Having climbed steadily for about an hour through thick murk, we eventually broke through at about 10,000m = which is fairly high if you were thinking of stepping outside for a  stroll.

Clouds varied from thousands of acres of little cotton buds, to towering castles, to stuff that looked for all the world like the wind-blown foam on the beach during a storm. Then there was the unending blanket of soft white dimpled stuff – reminiscent of a king-size Pavlova or an ad for a giant’s mattress.  And the amazing thing was, at times, while looking down on all this pretty stuff, we were actually scudding along under an overhead canopy of more cloud. Now that stuff must have been really high.

Some of my fellow passengers were interesting – to watch, I mean. There were the beach bound surfies – in board shorts, flip-flops, T-shirts and a Bali bag of essentials. Ready to hit he Thai beaches running. Then there was the very smart chap sitting opposite me. A young, clean-cut Fijian Indian is my guess. Beautifully polished black shoes; crisp white shirt, conservative striped tie and immaculate black suit. The only rather strange thing about this ensemble, was the “Cambridge” label sewn down on the cuff of one of the jacket sleeves. Now  is this the new discreet version of printed T shirts, or was it a label to be removed once the suit was purchased? Or maybe Cambridge university has started a subtle advertising campaign. in these hard times?The two Indian lads sitting a few places along in my row were the opposite of discreet ‘class’. There they sat in their very cool shiny black leather jackets  opposite each other and had a hearty non-stop conversation in Tamil. Not a discreet conversation, you understand, but a hearty one filled with much laughter and loud exclamations. We all enjoyed it.Then there was the petite Asian lady – incredibly delicate-looking in her leopard-skin pant suit, but towing a large bright red moulded plastic cabin bag that looked suspiciously like a mobile missile-launcher, plus a designer back-pack and toting a handbag the size of a Kathmandu Sales carrier bag!And I have no doubt that  she would haul the lot onto the plane without the slightest distress or strain! Then there was the rather solemn Sikh with his maroon turban. I wondered if the colour was a fashion statement or a sign of rank? Finally there was this rather scruffy looking oldish bloke sitting quietly by himself – with a somewhat quizzical look on his face. Looked as if he was dressed for a bit of bush-walking, but on an aeroplane??? That was me of course.

ps my triumph over the padded bench was fairly short-lived. (picture to be added later) After a couple of hours (literally in the wee small hours) I decided upon a trip to the toilet. The airport was dead – not a soul was stirring. But when I got back, there was a body stretched out on ‘my’ bed – and fast asleep! He must have been hovering in a secret place, waiting to pounce. So the rest of the night was spent listening to Ravi Zacharias on my I-pod. Good stuff too.