Greetings from Hong Kong – Saturday 27 September 2008

Greetings from Hong Kong – Saturday 27 September 2008
Well, I just received a phone call from my mother to see if everything was all right...I haven't emailed for a couple of days and everyone suspects the worst! Yes we are both fine, though I have had a ^*# cold for over a week now and my arthritis has just about crippled my right hand...but otherwise I have no complaints. We saw Joseph in London the night before we left and it was FANTASTIC! (Gary has been singing "Any dream will do" ever since which is slightly annoying...but...a small price to pay.) It was a tremendous production and we managed to find it OK and find our way home on the tube as well. I think we were both incredibly relieved to see it actually go ahead and not be cancelled as Grease was in NY! For our last day in London we spent the morning re-packing suitcases and trying to make sure we would not exceed the draconian weight limits that airlines place on us poor unsuspecting travellers - thankfully we succeeded and had no problems checking in later in the day. We decided (well Gary did really) that it was essential to see Mummy 3 so it was off to Leicester Sq to the movies where I endured THE WORST 2 hours of my life (and I'm including childbirth and visits to the dentist here). It was an incredibly BAD movie...but heh, it kept us out of the rain! We did take a walk to Trafalgar Sq afterward and wandered around a bit before it was back to the hotel, and then on the shuttle and off to Heathrow. Gary was not amused when we arrived to be presented with a letter which apologised for our delayed flight because there was a typhoon in Hong Kong which had delayed the arrival of our plane and so it would be late taking off. He managed to become philosophical (after I had given him THE look) and agreed that it was much better that the typhoon occurred in HK before we got there rather than during our stay. Anyway, we finally took off from Heathrow at about 10.45pm and, can I tell you, it was worth the wait! We were flying Air NZ and our Business Class seats were the ones that fold out into a full bed...YES! Consequently I got a good 6 hours sleep on the plane and watched 2 movies (Forgetting Sarah Marshall & Leatherheads, both good) as well as an episode of CSI - all in all a good time was had by all (well, me anyway). Gary also got some sleep and, once again, had a good flight. We arrived in HK at about 5.30pm Thur and were relayed to our hotel by private car (Gary had gone all out for our final leg) - the hotel is exceptionally posh (and expensive) but we have a FANTASTIC view of the harbour from our window - it really is unbelievable! The hotel is also surrounded by lots of restaurants and shops so there is plenty to do. The first night we wandered among the throngs and ended up in a Thai restaurant where Gary ended up drinking 2 massive beers as they had a promotion for Carlsberg - buy one, get one free - and they insisted he have the free one too. We had yummy food which included fried custard (very strange). Yesterday we had a mixture of sightseeing and veging out. The morning was spent by the pool and in the afternoon we took a tour of Hong Kong Is, visiting Victoria Peak (amazing views...and Gary was very brave going up and down the mountain), Aberdeen fishing village where we took a Sampan (local wooden boat) and checked out all the locals who live on boats in the harbour, HK Jewellery factory (very nice...but I'm totally over shopping), and the Stanley Markets (good for a few souvenirs). After we returned, we headed out and grabbed some dinner at a Chinese restaurant that seemed to have a lot of locals so we hoped it would be good. The menu was in Chinese..a bit baffling...but an English version was eventually produced. One can never be sure of the accuracy of translation in these situations, but everything seemed to be what we ordered and was very yummy. It is very hot and humid here so I was pretty happy to return to the hotel for an early night - they have an Aussie TV channel so we caught the end of the Storm thrashing the Sharks and then collapsed. I still don't get why these hotels have stupid heavy doonas - I just want a sheet!!!!!!! (as an option anyway). So after waking in a lather of sweat at 1.30am, I read my book for 2 hours and then managed to get another couple of hours sleep. This morning I think I'll veg out at the pool again - this is indeed, the last day as we head home tomorrow and I figure I need at least 1 day of holidays to recover from the previous 6 weeks of travelling! We are going out tonight on a harbour cruise and a trip to the Temple St (I think) markets so that should be a good way to wind everything up. We leave in the morning to catch our 2.10pm flight and then (for some bizarre reason) we fly home via Bangkok so we should arrive about 7am Monday in Sydney. I imagine we'll be back in Newcastle by lunchtime or soon after...and then it's back to work on Thursday (Boo Hoo). Well I have done a check, and I am down to my last two pairs of undies - beautifully timed so no more washing needs to be done (I'm sure you're all relieved) - I think I'll head off for some quiet pool time (though I just saw a very rowdy family heading suspiciously in the direction of the pool). We have had a wonderful time - Gary has surprised himself with his heroic deeds (helicopter flights, ferry trips, viewing scenery from breathtaking heights!) but does not seem to want to go anywhere else, or to any of these places again so it looks like our trips may be closer to home in the future. We would like to see a lot more of Australia so that should be on the agenda over the next few years. (I am kicking that off with a 2 week trip to Perth with my Mum just after Christmas to see the Hopman Cup - we are catching the Indian Pacific there and flying back - should be great...though a bit difficult to think about now...) Thanks to everyone for your emails - it is always nice to hear from you - and sorry I couldn't really reply much but (as Joy says) my typing skills are not great and one only has so much internet time... I hope I haven't bored you too much with my ramblings but I have treated these emails as a journal of sorts so I can look back on it all one day... Finally, I thought I'd thrill you with a preview to my new bestseller: "Penny's A-Z of Travelling". T is for Transport - plane (go business!), shuttle bus (hopeless in US, great in UK), helicopter (not as scary as I thought it would be), bus (get back on the bus, Gus - our motto on the tour), SUV (great trip to the Grand Canyon), subway (why don't we have these in Australia - so efficient!), boat (survived them all, big & small) Taxes - the IRS lurking in Vegas ready to take a large chunk of your win (didn't get to try them out though), VAT included in UK (no prob) but not in US (very annoying) Toilets - what is the go with toilets in the US? they have a really high water level - which is really weird & quite off putting! Gary claimed to have some problems in this regard with bits of his anatomy that I won't go into here... Time - jetlag and adjusting to time change - Gary says he is the MASTER! Touring - lots to see, a great way to get an overview...but...a bit tiring Telecommunications - mobile phones - I don't get it - 3 band this, 4 band that, just give me something that works!, internet...woh, where to start - it really doesn't take much time (once you've found a PC to use) and it's more interactive than writing in a journal, TV - we have become addicted to Law & Order and CSI (never really watched them before) because they are on TV constantly, wherever you are in the world! Towels - every hotel has a sign that says they want to conserve water so will only replace towels placed on floor or bathtub yet every hotel replaces them all anyway...what the? Tipping - I hate it! Just add it to the bill for goodness sake... Theatre - great way to stop walking, see a movie or a show (hopefully they won't get cancelled after you wait for hours in a line...) Tourists - people you meet - lots of Aussies, Yanks and Canadians - mostly nice people...and some we will keep in touch with Temperature - why do hot places have the air-conditioning so high you need a jacket inside and cold places have the heating so high you melt in a singlet??? One of life's little mysteries... Trivia - you do pick up a bit - 4" rain in Las Vegas per year, Annie Moore was the first person through Ellis Is in NY - she was 15 years old from Ireland, 60,000 people were hanged from a tree near our hotel in London (over a long number of years of course). Ireland used to have a population of 8m but it is now only 4m...and much more. Gotta go now - see you all soon. love P&G