Hong Hong - Again

Our last day in HK, indeed the last day of the holiday unless you consider a whole 24 hours of travelling a holiday!

Tom was still ill so it was the 3 of us agan. Jenny wanted to pack so Susan and I went for a wander, we found another market where they sell live fish and meat, it's relly barbaric, these poor fish are flopping around on trays trying to get a breath until somebody buys them at which time they are gutted alive.On some fish the head was lying on a tray and the mouth was still trying to get a breath. This could put me of fish for life, not that I am very keen on it anyway

We met up with Jenny at the hotel and headed to the Star ferry to get us over to Kowloon to go to the history museum. We really enjoyed the ferry ride, short but exciting. On Kowloon we had lunch then walked to the history museum, just after we arrived there was a guided tour in English so we bought tickets and joined the back. It as taken by a Chinese librarian who obviously didnt get to say much during his normal job and never stopped talking. It was quite interesting and he was a funny little man but I've had better days. The tour lasted 2 hours by which time we were fed up.

Tom had called to say he was feeling a lot better so we went back to the hotel and had a drink with them, then we headed out for dinner alone leaving them to get ready to leave. We had a meal in town then came back.

Up really early tomorrow for our flight.

Hong Kong

Another exciting day, Tom was not well so declined to join us on our trip to Stanley Market so it was just the 3 of us. We took the public bus, that was a journey and a half on its own but we got to Stanley safely if a little shaken. We had a walk round the tacky market, Susan bought some presents just for a laugh but I spotted some head torches, we had been planning on buying 2 of them for our camping trip but never got round to it. They were priced at 125 dollars, I asked what price for 2 she said 225 and I suggested 200, she said ok then I felt really guilty and had images of her family going hungry tonight. I got 2 head torches (probably crappy) for £12, hope they last a camping trip!

We had a call from Tom to say he was feeling better so we agreed to meet him back at the hotel for lunch so we got back on the bus again. Tom joined us for lunch but was feeling bad again so went back to the hotel, the 3 of us set off for Aberdeen - a floating village where people live in abject poverty on old boats. The taxi driver had no idea what we wanted so he stopped a security guard who spoke English and that got us on our way. He tried to drop us off at the fish market, this brought great hilarity from the girls in the back but we persuaded him to drop us someplace else. He dumped us in some dodgy part of town where there was hardly anyone. We walked by the river for a bit, through 2 building sites until a woman driving a Sampan (wooden boat) shouted at us something about getting a lift. We were not keen but she was very persistant, we had a 8 foot drop from the walkway to the boat and I was certain that one of us was going in the drink but with the help of a small step we all made it safely. I was then convinced we were being abducted so I was watching how she drove the boat to see if I could do it, it looked simple enough so I was sure if it all went wrong I could chuck her over board and drive back myself. She drove us round the junks and dropped us on the water edge for 100 dollars (£6), all good value and very pleasant.

We tried to walk round the edge to get closer to the main town but we ended up in some real dodgy homeless shack shanty town and had to beat a hasty retreat, we hopped in a taxi to get to the chinese market - which was closed - just our luck.

So, we took the tram back to the hotel and found a massage parlour which we had seen round the back of the hotel, I fancied a Chinese Massage so we stopped to check it out. It looked all above board, no mention of extras so I booked a full body massage and Susan booked a manicure. Jenny booked to go back for a body massage later in the evening. The massage was weird, I put these green shorts on and waited, eventually this young chinese girl came in and told me to lie on the table, she then prodded, poked, pulled and squeezed every muscle in my body, it was hardly relaxing as I was in considerable pain and was terrified what might come next. Anyway, eventually it got better and I relaxed a bit and it was quite pleasant, until the end when the girl presented me with a form to sign saying how much of a tip I would give her, she kept getting closer saying please and thank you a lot, I was getting very worried by this time, given that I was wearing nothing but a pair of green boxer shorts that she had had her hand pretty far up. Anyway we settled on $100 (£6) and that seemed to be fine, she left and I got dressed as fast as I could. It's a pity that my first real massage was spoiled at the end when I should have been relaxing. I would go back again - maybe!

Susan enjoyed her manicure and Jenny has not returned yet.

Hong kong from victoria peak

Our rooms were not ready which was not a great surprise so we had hours to kill, we had breakfast then set off to Kowloon where I had heard there was a cheap camera shop as I wanted to buy yet another camera. We took the subway and landed right in the middle of Kowloon. This area seems to be right on the edge and I was not happy with some of the shops I went into - certainly would not trust my credit card to them. I found the camera I wanted and tried to haggle but it was not to be, the owner would not even chuck in a free case. Bought the camera! Discovered that the menu was in Chinese and had to go back to get somebody to convert it for me, Tom bought an I-Pod.

we found a street market selling fish, animals, fruit and veg. The fish were all alive and some of them were flopping round on trays waiting on someone to buy them when they were chopped up - it was quite barbaric. The worst bit for me was the chickens, there were cages of them in the market, all alive. Somebody chose this nice plump one, the woman took it behind the counter, there was a bit of clucking then thump - it;s head was off and that was the end of the chicken. I could turn vegie - not really.

We went back to the mainland and then came back to the hotel, the rooms were ready so we managed a shower and a rest before heading back out to the Victoria Peak. The views from here can be stunning but as you can see the smog was down so we were disappointed, if the smog gets better I'll go back. We had a Chinese meal up the peak which was nice but not really my thing but "when in Rome" and all that. We've just arrived back at the hotel at 9.00pm.

Not sure I like Hong Kong, the buildings are impressive and the hussle and bustle is fine for a while but after New Zealand where everything is so relaxed it's a little overwhelming for me. I'm glad I've been but I cant see me returning. People are very subservient when they are serving you, lots of bowing but then you get knocked over by people rushing to catch a train. It is also quite dirty.

Christchurch 2

16th October 2007 21.41 UK time
10 km above the earth around 1 and a half hours to Hong Kong near Banaue where ever that is!
Our last day in NZ was really good, we only had until 3pm so we set off early for the Gondola which took us up to a peak on the south side of the city, the day was bright and clear so the views were fantastic. We spent a hour or 2 looking at the scenery and learning about the geological history of the area, very interesting. NZ has a lot of geological history
We drove back into town with the view of hopping on the tram system for a while. The trams are genuine old fashioned wood trams that do a circular route round the city and you can hop on and off as you wish. The drivers are all really good and give a fair bit of history of the part you are passing through. We went through the whole circuit and then had a coffee. Susan and Jenny had expressed an interest in Punting on the rive Avon which flows through the town and as we reckoned we had time we got back on the tram and headed back to the boat sheds where the punts are located. A nice young American lad took us for a half hour punt up the river which was very relaxing, the daffodils have just finished and the sun was shining. I tried to stroke a Mallard Duck but got bitten instead, the other wildlife we saw was a water eel, not very exciting though. Then we had a very quick wander through the museum then back to the hotel to collect the suitcases and head out to the airport.
We were far too early but we were checked in by yet another very pleasant and helpful New Zealander we asked for seats in rows of 2 which are quite scarse, she offered us rows of 3 but said she could block the 3rd seat so nobody was beside us, that was fantastic. She also said that the flight was very empty so we might get a row each.
Our flight up to Auckland was uneventful, slightly late but no hassles and again we had a while to hang around. We had dinner and I tried to buy a camera but the sales assistant was not very helpful so he lost a sale.
When we got to the gate we realised that the plane (which seats almost 400) would be more than half empty I decided to try and get a row of 4 seats for myself which thankfully I managed, I was frightened to leave it in case somebody else stole it so I placed all my possessions round about, even took my shoes off and put them on the seats. I managed to get a fair bit of sleep, on and off for around 7 hours, maybe sleeping for an hour then waking up for a bit, not great but much much better than being crammed upright in a seat. Susan, Tom and Jenny each got a row of 3 each and Jenny slept for hours, Susan and Tom got a bit. Susan thinks I am flirting with the air hostess but I cant help it if she fancies me!

New Zealand is a brilliant country, I just cant get over how helpful everyone is and we will definitely go back, so the holiday of a lifetime has turned out to be just another exploration for a future visit.

We land in Hong Kong in about an hour – susan is currently watching Blades of Glory and laughing so loud people are turning to look, she almost lost her yogurt at one point, I must watch this movie on the way home. Hopefully when we got to the hotel our rooms might be ready, a long shot as we land at 6am local time but you never know.

Christchurch

We had a lazy start to the day, Susan was keen to do some washing so we used the hotel facilities which took an hour or so. We went to a great cafe for breakfast, there were photographs of the owner with loads of famous people round the walls, even Michael Barrymore! They didn't want our photo!

We had booked tickets to the Antarctic Exhibition which is out near the airport. The tour began with a trip in a Hagglund all terrain vehicle, up hills down hills, through water, across gaps - it was very exciting. The we watched the penguins being fed, they are called "Little Blue Penguins" and I am sure Susan has one in her pocket, she fell in love with them right away, especially the one that was blind and had to feel its way round the enclosure using its beak. We experienced a typical antarctic wind storm in a storm room where wind chill temperature dropped to -18.5 Celsius. The whole thing was really interesting and informative.

We had planned to take the gondola up to the top of a local mountain and have dinner there tonight but it is closed so we'll do the gondola tomorrow but we wont have time for dinner as we have to be at the airport by 4.00pm.

Kaikoura to Christchurch

Well, the Dolphins didn't want to play. We got up early and missed our showers, Tom had hummed the theme tune from Jaws over and over but we still went along. However, the Dolphins decided it was too rough so the trip was cancelled. Thankfully we managed to get back to the hotel before the room had been cleaned and the very kind woman let us back in to use the shower. We went back to town and had breakfast.

After that we headed south towards Christchurch, the rain came on and it was pretty miserable but it cleared when we got to Christchurch. We have booked in to the Camelot hotel, a motel style building which is kitted out like the knights of the round table, it is so tacky it is actally quite good. The owner is a really nice guy and very helpfull.

Had a wander round Christchurch and managed to find a Chinese Dragon and some Brazillian Dancers, all what you'd expect in NZ. We also found a statue of Captain Scott soi we paid homage to him - the plaque didnt mention Discovery or Dundee so we were disappointed.

We've bought tickets to some antarctic exhibtion for tomorrow and plan to dine up the mountain that overlooks the town tomorrow night.

Kaikoura

13th October 05.32 am uk time 17.32 NZ Time

We took the ferry from Wellingtom over to Picton, the ferry journey was excellent and the scenery was very impressive. There were some weird and wonderful people on the ferry so we had a great laugh speculating on who they were and what they were doing.

The scenery as we approached Picton was out of this world, so much better than the North Island and we made the decision to come back here soon and spend more time on the south island. Picton was a lovely wee town, full of backpackers and vey friendly. We collected the car with no probs and were on our way. We took Highway 1 south towards Christchurch and stopped for lunch en route.

We landed here in Kaikoura, a fter a brief stop to look at some seals that were lying on the rocks by the roadside, some of them were not happy about being photographed but others posed happily.

We found the tourist info office and the very helpfull girl sorted out a great hotel for us, it's costing around £35 per room and is very nice, almost brand new and spotless. Susan and I have booked to swim with Dolphins tomorrow and T&J are joining the boat but not swimming - cowards.

The scenery is stunning round here, like a mixture of the West coast of Canada & Scotland, we really must return another time. Campervans seem to be the order of the day, the country is so geared up for campers.