timblesworldtour

I find it hard to believe that many photographers regularly use photoshop to clone out dust on their digital photographs. The problem is that few digital camera manufacturers take the issue seriously. Even the most expensive and sophisticated of digital SLR cameras have this problem…apart from Olympus.

I can safely state that having travelled around the world and changed my lenses in all kinds of situations, that I have never ever had any dust on the sensor of my Olympus Camera. I find it truly incredible that other manufacturers do not take this seriously. In fact I have seen some photographers even make apologies for this state of affairs saying things like ‘it really isn’t too much of a chore to remove spots in photoshop, or clean the sensor’ (yeah right!!).

Recently, a number of manufacturers have taken some steps to catch up with Olympus on this, but just simply fail to properly address the issue. Lete me re-itterate, I have never had a single spot of dust on my Olympus sensor. Most of the newer attempts to address this by other companies just do not work as effectively as the Olympus solution, mainly due to the fact that they use a low sensor shake speed compared to Olympus.

So, if you know nothing about digital SLR’s, and want to buy one, just be aware, that you may have to clean the sensor (dangerous and difficult) or spot out spots of dust on every picture you take. You could of course buy an olympus.

I should point out I have no financial connection with Olympus, I just find it dumb that top photographers put up with this. Think about it, a 4 grand camera, and it suffers from this problem.

Many apologies. The Galleries did not seem to work correctly with some computers, but seem OK now……

Have a look at the galleries at www.timbles.org

So, after the ‘official’ world tour, we are now in what might be called the ‘fringe’ world tour. We didn’t really go back home.

No instead, we are now in a Spanish Island in the atlantic ocean, just off the coast of Africa. Gran Canaria is very warm.

One of the great beaches in Gran Canaria

You may notice I’ve deleted the pictures from the blog, as I was running out of free space. I’m going to put hi resolution versions on a web gallery on my own domain. In the meantime, you’ll just have to imagine the pictures…

More updates soon.

When we set off on our trip on 9th December 2006, we had only a vague idea of our plans, and where they might lead. As we sit now, in Tokyo Narita airport awaiting our Virgin Atlantic flight back to London, and then onwards, it really is strange to think back on where we have been.

We travelled westwards around the globe, from Edinburgh in Scotland, and our final stop will be at Teeside airport (Durham valley, or whatever they call it this year). The total distance we calculate via software is 37,228 miles, not including side trips.

The routing was as follows;

EDI-LHR-SFO-JFK-SEA-LAS-SFO-AKL-CHC-DUD-AKL-SYD-SFP-ADL-DPO-HBA-SYD-HKG-KIX-NRT-LHR-MME

Unlike Philleas Fogg, we have taken 82 days to travel around the globe (had we stuck to our original schedule, we now realise we would have done it in exactly 80 days (purely by chance).

It is difficult to point out a specific highlight, we enjoyed all the places we visited. Watching the new year fireworks in Hong Kong, or the Opera house in Sydney, or Albatross in Dunedin, or Hector’s dolphin in Akaroa, or Whale watching in Kaikoura, hand feeding kangaroos in Tasmania, or meeting up close with the famous Tasmanian devil, sailing from Melbourne to Tasmania, travelling on the tranzscenic railway or the overlander or Shinkansen, or looking over the manhatten skyline at night or spending christmas in Seattle, or seeing Elvis at Vegas, or Dame edna at Melbourne, or flying in a seaplane at Geelong, or a Japanese tea ceremony in Japan, or visiting world heritage castles and shrines in Japan

I personally travelled around america some eighteen years ago, and decided upon my return that I would go around the world the next year. It has taken some eighteen years to get to this point.

Round the world air tickets are not so expensive, and if you are savvy and plan ahead (unlike us!!), it may not cost as much as you think

So, if anything, some 37,228 miles, over three thousand photographs, 20 flights, and innumerable hotels, the point I would make is this; if you ever have the faintest chance or glimmer of opportunity to do a trip like this, just do it, you will never, ever regret it.

The famous Torii gate at Miyajiima. Such a gate marks the point of crossing from the secular to the sacred world.

Nikko is a small mountain village 128km north of Tokyo. It took us about 2 hours to get there, by train, but it was worth it. In the early 1600’s a local Shogun requested in his will for a shrine to be built in his honour. This was done, but his grandson wasn’t impressed and ordered something a bit bigger and brighter. Craftily, he made local, rival Lords pay for it.

The result is a compound of shrines, temples and pagodas covering a large area of the mountainside, with dazzling carpentery and beautiful deities. We were there on a fantastic, but cold, spring day – ideal for photographs but not so good for shoeless feet in the temples!!

The orginal ‘hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil’ wood carving ,by Tosh Gu. Highlights three of the princicples of Tendai Buddhism

The buildings throughout are spectacular. The trees in the background, Cryptomeria, were planted as saplings at the time of building, over four hundred years ago. There are said to be over 13,000 of them on the site.
Even better close up

We always knew that we may experience some problems finding things to eat in Japan. It’s a very different culture with some ‘unusual’ culinary tastes. Add to this the fact that one of us is vegetarian, and the other would rather starve than eat anything that ever had a shell, tentacles or valves, and you can see our problem!!

I have to say it’s been a struggle. The difficulty is that most restaurants don’t have English menus. They do have mock-up plastic food, on plates, outside as a representation of what you can get. But, if it’s in a crispy crumb it could be anything! And, we didn’t really want to start munching our way through the cast of Free Willy, morals aside.

It’s also customary to put meat into everything, especially sandwiches and salads. Even a certain American burger chain’s garden salad has bacon sprinkles.

Ironically, the best meal we’ve had was in the small mountain village of Nikko. It was a tiny Japanese restaurant on the main street, no bigger than someone’s front room. Outside the sign said ‘Vegetarians Welcome’! We had delicious japanese noodles with vegetables and skewered chicken with rice, and virtually licked the plates clean. All for about six pounds too!!

On 6th August 1945, the busy garrison town of Hiroshima in the south of Japan awoke to another beautiful, clear summers day. The people were on alert for allied bombing, which had occurred in other Japanese cities, and had begun demolishing wooden homes around major buildings to deter the spread of potential flames. Schoolchildren and students were being drafted to carry out this task, and that morning they were ready to begin work.

‘Little Boy’ dropped from the ‘Enola Gay’ bomber, detonated 60m above the town centre near a recognisable T-shaped bridge at 8-15am. Hiroshima and The World would never be the same again.

The initial down blast, and intense heat, from the bomb destroyed buildings and lives for 2km from the epicentre. People simply disappeared. At The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum there is a stone step taken from a destroyed building. The intense heat has changed the colour of the stone to white, except in one area. Something shielded the stonework from the blast – it’s a human shadow.

Following the initial blast, a huge fireball sent fire raging through the crushed streets, burning everything in it’s path. Many not killed by the initial blast were burnt to death. Deadly radioactivity was also released, causing severe poisoning and killing many within a few days.

No one will ever know the true figure of those who died, but it’s estimated that of the 350,000 people living in Hiroshima at the time, 140,000 had died by the end of the year. Up to 20,000 Koreans, forcibly sent to Japan for labour perished, aswell as the schoolchildren and students already mentioned. Thousands of young children, evacuated because of bombing threats, lost both parents and became orphans.

At the museum we saw bottles melted by the heat, crockery and coins fused together, even roof tiles whose surface structure was altered. Amongst all the clothes, belongings and harrowing accounts of the victims, one item really brought it all home to me – a simple rusty, child’s tricycle. It belonged to a three year old boy, killed whilst playing outside his house that morning. His father didn’t want him to be lonely in the family plot and so buried him, with his favourite toy, in his garden. Forty years later he moved his son’s remains and donated the tricycle to the museum.

There is no attempt, by the museum, to justify Japan’s conduct during the war. Many atrocities were carried out by the country, both at home and abroad, with the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. Equally, it is true that it was not really necessary for the USA to drop the bomb in order to end the war, rather it was for other convenient political considerations, including making the USSR aware of America’s power. Overall, the museum aims to show the horror of nuclear weapons and campaigns vigorously to achieve a worldwide ban. It is after all, the Hiroshima peace museum.

Ironically, following the second bombing of Nagasaki 2 days later and Japan’s surrender, Britain became an occupying force for 6 years in Japan. The press were banned from reporting the bombings during that period and the full horror of what happened remained secret to the world.

We didn’t really look forward to visiting Hiroshima, but felt it was something we had to do. Like The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, or Auschwitz in Poland, we need to be reminded about the horror man can do, so that people don’t die in vain.

The former industrial promotion hall, at the epicentre of the explosion, which was one of the few ruins left standing, as all other building nearby were flattened. It is now re-named the A-bomb dome, and has been preserved in it’s post bomb state for future generations to see

The flame of peace, which will only be extinguished when the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed.

The memorial cenotaph under which lies a single coffin containing the names of all those killed or injured by the bomb

You know, aside from fame due to Global warming (for which their is scant REAL scientific evidence), kyoto is really the home of traditional Japanese arts and crafts. Geisha can be spotted here, and generally, it is very traditional Japan. Do not however think this is a small place, it is in fact a very busy city. We had very little time to really explore Kyoto in detail but were impressed with what we did see. The real Imperial Palace (Kyoto was the home of the Mikado for most of Japans history). The current Emperor lives in the ‘new’ Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

For touring around via rail pass, Kyoto is a good location. Osaka, Japan’s second largest city is not far, but we felt Kyoto was a better base, especially if you have a rail pass (which MUST be purchased before arriving in Japan).

Kyoto is home to more temples and shrines than most places in the world, so even if you only visited Kyoto, you could easily fill a week and not have visited them all.

Here are some pictures, as we are out of time to write in more detail on Kyoto (unfortunately).

Within walking distance of Himeji Castle are nine different gardens, grouped together as The Himeji Koko-en Gardens. Each has it’s own theme, but all are linked by gates and traditional earth walls.

With their manicured shrubs, pruned blossom trees and mossed stoneware it feels like the gardens are timeless as you walk around. In fact they were built in 1992 on the former site of Samurai residences.

Perhaps the most spectacular garden was Oyashiki-no-niwa or The Garden of the Lord’s House which consists of a wooden guest house, with a viewing balcony overlooking a koi pond. The pond is shaped to resemble The Japanese Inland Sea, is fed by a waterfall and crossed by beautiful stone bridges and stepping stones. The fish themselves were a spectacle in their own right – there’s said to be about 250 of them. It was extremely peaceful and we spent a lot of time just gazing across the water!

Some of the other gardens were also pretty fantastic. There was a seedling garden with some beautiful prunus bonsai in full flower, the garden of summer trees which no doubt is full of autumn acer colour and the tea ceremony garden.

This is real Oriental Gardening on a grand scale.

A Short distance from Kyoto, is the city of Himeji, which is justifiably famous for its ancient castle. Originally started as a fort in 1333, founded on the hill Himeyama. It finally reached its current form as it is today, some 400 years ago. The castle has justifiably been granted world cultural heritage status by UNESCO.

Interestingly, the complete castle complex originally took up most of the current land north of the Himeji Shinkansen station. In fact he line of the outer moat runs just North of the Shinkansen line. When the rail tracks and station were being built, they were required to move their plans further south so they would be outside the outer moat line.

On arrival into Himeji by train, the castle is clearly visible rising above the city skyline. It is white for a very good reason; surprisingly this castle is made of wood, and so is covered in white plaster to protect from fire damage. This white colour, and sweeping curves gives the castle its nickname of the ‘white Heron castle. In Japan, it is the only one to have survived completely intact, even throughout the second world war.

Every circle tile (marugawara) has the family crest of the Lord who was involved at that time with building or repair of the site

The site itself is massive, with many walkways and paths throughout the grounds (the castle layout was deliberately built to confuse would -be attackers).

Many confusing routes and paths to the main tower

Walking through the halls and rooms of this castle, it is truly amazing thinking of the previous generations of inhabitants, the Shogun and Samurai.

In one of the rooms, there is a mock up of Princess Sen, First Daughter of Hidetata Tokugawa, who lived in the castle until 1615

I would strongly recommend visiting the castle if you do visit Japan, as it is simply stunning. Get there early though, before the massed hordes of Japanese tourists arrive, if you can.

Looking South from the Tenshu, the building at the end of the street is the current Shinkansen station, which is built just South f the line of the orginal outer castle moat

Looking from the castle grounds towards the main tower (Tenshu)

There were many innovative things developed in my lifetime, but none I can remember so well as my first hearing of the Japanese Shinkansen – otherwise know as the bullet train It seems hard to believe that the first of these trains were developed and started running in 1964, with speeds of 200 KPH or 124 Miles per hour. While the rest of the world struggeld on with old -fashioned trains, the Japanese were forging ahead with innovative technology. They still are.

The main routes I will be using are the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen. The Shinkansen trains top out at a continuous running speed of 300KM/h or 186 miles per hour, making it the fastest train in the world (I’m excluding the Maglev at Shanghai airport). In trials, they have achieved speeds of 275 Miles per hour. Of course many other countries have now added high speed lines, such as the Spanish AVE (Alto Velocidad), the French TGV, and so on. But the Japanese were first – by a large margin. Indeed the Shinkansen technology is being used by other countries, such as Taiwan, China and for the Channel Tunnel rail link.

The Japanese are rightly proud of their entire train network, as it runs like clockwork – no, really, it runs on time all the time. The entire operation is extremely professional, with extremely professional staff.

All the staff wear shirt and ties, with immaculate uniforms, the stations are immaculate, the trains are imaculate – even the area down on the tracks is immaculate.

All the staff take immense pride in the rail network. Here a conductor standing by the JR500 Shinkansen in Tokyo station

If only the total clowns responsible for trains in the UK could see this. Trains in the UK (for anyone who hasn’t visited) are a total disgrace, they are generally filthy, cramped with tiny little seats with no legroom, with sloppy staff, they usually run late- and this in a country where the first steam locomotive was invented.

Here’s a point to note, in Japan, a train on time means just that, whereas in the UK in order to make the statistics for regularity seem a bit better, a train ‘on- time’ is anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes close to the scheduled time. I believe this is exactly what George Orwell meant in ‘1984′ when he talked of ‘doublespeak’.

Anyway the point is this, you really, really could set your watch by trains in Japan.

There are several types of Shinkansen locomotives. To the right is the JR700 series.

Anyway, the Shinkansen trains are marvellous, as is the entire Japanese rail network, and it puts the trains of most other countries to shame. Fortunately, we have a Japan Rail pass, which gives us 7 days unlimited travel on the entire network.

You should note, I have written this post retrospectively, and I am currently on the Shinkansen to Tokyo, travelling at a modest 168 Miles per hour.

Anyway, if you are coming to Japan, get a rail pass, as it’s probably the best deal around for travelling in Japan.

Blink and you’ll miss it

Japanese people take their vending machines very seriously (apparently there is 1 for every 20 people) and all around Kyoto we’ve noticed them on train platforms, subway corridors and street corners. Most of them contain hot and cold drinks, but there are exceptions.

Our hotel has a whole room full of these machines, offering an assortment of wares. You can buy hot coffee (in a can), cold coffee, milk, probiotic energy drinks, mineral water (called Pocari Sweat!), cigarettes, beer, whisky, batteries, a disposable camera, a pot noodle, chicken and chips…there’s no need to go out!

Thirsty?? How about a nice ice cool bottle of sweat, straight from the chiller!!

Need a ‘pick me down’ try Deepresso. A natural low!!

We’ve finally arrived in Japan, the last stop in our journey around the world, the land of the rising sun. Famous for geisha, sushsi, samari, shogun, mitsubishi, tamagochi, robots, Ninja…

Being of the opinion that you can never have too much information about a country you’re visiting, we tend to head straight for the nearest tourist office in the airport, and pick up as many leaflets and maps as we can. Whilst there we were invited to take part in a traditional tea ceremony (cha-no-yu) as a welcome to visiting tourists. It was pretty amazing!

We sat on a bamboo bench facing a table, behind which the tea-maker sat. Initially we were presented with a Kyogashi, or Japanese Candy, a speciality of the Kyoto region. It’s made from red beans and almond paste and is eaten before the tea to sweeten the palate, as green tea can be bitter. Once we’d eaten, we watched as the tea-making began.

Everything was done with care and precision as all the actions of the ceremony are significant and important. Powdered green tea (matcha) was placed in a small bowl to which hot water was added using a bamboo ladle.

The tea was then whisked with a bamboo whisk, the bowl was turned and handed to each of us in turn.

Ideally, the brew should be drunk in three slow sips. It has a very fresh taste, and smells a bit like greens or spinach, but definitely has a tea taste. Once finished we were invited to take photo’s and given small gifts.

It was the best introduction to a country so far and gave us really positive vibes as to what was to come in Japan.

Konnichiwa

You know, it is always tempting to do the obvious at this point, and fly straight to Tokyo or Osaka, but instead we are travelling direct to Kyoto (yes, the greenhouse gas agreement kyoto). This involves a three hour flight to Kansai airport (which also serves osaka).

We chose to fly with Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong airlines, and it turns out to be a wise choice, as we arrived at the Hong Kong train station to catch the train out to the airport, we find that we can actually check in for our flight in the station (which I should point out is immaculate). All the staff are very friendly, and take our luggage, making our Journey to Hong Kong airport even easier.

You can just see the coast of Japan, as we near our destination, Kansai, Japan

Going through security is a civilised procedure, with none of the barracking and shouting or quesues found at London Heathrow (an airport worth avoiding at ALL costs).

Our flight took just under three hours and when we arrive, we head straight for the tourist office in the train station (which is immaculate). But we are in for a surprise…….

Sadly, there is nowhere near enough time to do Hong Kong justice. As it is, we have been using pretty much every minute to pack it all in. Hong Kong is an exciting vibrant place, with real quirkiness around every corner. The people are extremely friendly and polite, and contrary to what is often said, Hong Kong is not necessarily expensive. We actually found it to be very cheap, even at New Year. In some ways, Hong Kong, because of its British past is a nice gently way to ease ourselves into the many varied cultures found in Asia.

It is probably appropriate, as the place we are going next is well know as being one of the most vibrant different unique cultures on earth, and is a powerhouse of scientific innovation and development. Japan is a country I have always wanted to visit, and this is where we are going next.

During the Chinese New Year festivities, the harbour of Hong Kong is the setting for a spectacular fireworks display said to be one of the best in the world. It’s designed to scare away demons and evil spirits, to make the coming year more prosperous – if I was a demon I’d be long gone!

Sadly the weather wasn’t as good as it could have been with low cloud and drizzle, but it didn’t dampen people’s spirits. We joined the other 330,000 people, lining both sides of the harbour, to watch. We found a spot near the conference centre on Hong Kong island.

The whole show lasted a full 25 minutes and lived up to it’s reputation. The fireworks are released from barges on the water and so fill the whole harbour with colour and noise. Most were arranged in groups, in a normal display there may be two or three of the same firework together, here there were twenty or more! This was full – on, merciless, full fat, high cholesterol fireworks from the start to end. No quiet bit in the middle, just WHAM! the whole way through.

Just when we thought we’d seen the best of the display, more would follow with appreciative gasps and cries from the crowd. It was certainly the most spectacuar fireworks display I’ve ever seen. If you ever get the chance to visit Hong Kong during New Year, don’t miss these fireworks. Better than any others, anywhere. Period.

We got some pictures, but in my book, unless you’re going to get really serious about it, cameras and fireworks just don’t work. As it was drizzling, it is unlikely anyone got decent shots. These pictures below really just don’t do the display justice at all.

‘celebrate, world party, Hong Kong’ was the theme for this years massive parade held annually in Kowloon. Being crafty (or so we thought!), we decided to get there around forty five minutes early to catch a good viewing spot. We caught the star ferry, and go quickly to Kowloon, only to realise that pretty much all of Hong Kong (possibly china) got there before us. All the main vantage points were long gone, and so all the key streets had been closed by the hong Kong police. We were left with one of the least attractive areas to watch the parade.

Nonetheless, we did manage to see some of the parade over the crowds heads. The floats are from entrants all over the world, with prize money at stake, so the standard is very high.

There were bands from around the world as well. Is this the Hong Kong police pipe band? We’re not sure

All were extremely colouful, with many individual themes. The parade main sponsor this year was the Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific, and many of the floats had commercial sponsors as well.

This is a wonderful time to visit Hong Kong, as all the people are in high spirits. I could only describe the mood overall, as being ‘up for it’. Everything gets an ooh, an aah or a cheer. This is hardly surprising, as Chinese new year is the equivalent of Christmas in the UK, and in Hong Kong, is focussed around three main days of events.

They even had Martians attending! These children on skates looked really cool, as they weaved their way up the road. If you lok closely, you can just see the lights on their skates.

As we were watching, it occurred to us that as there were so many people, it could easily take a very long time to get back to our hotel when the parade finished, so we decided to leave early. This was a very smart move (the only one we had made), as even at an early stage, the access points for the subway system back to hong Kong were heavily controlled and restricted. After a very long walk round in circles, and through subway footpaths, we eventually made it to the MTR, and then back to our hotel area of town.

This event is well worth attending, but just remember to get there very early to claim your spot.

Many already know of this, but I found it interesting. In hong Kong, even the tallest skyscrapers are built using bamboo scaffolding. No steel poles at all.

Due to limited time, the pictures I have of this were taken in the dead of night, and so are a bit noisy.

As soon as we got the chance we took a ride on the historic Star Ferry boats, which continually cross the harbour from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. It’s probably the best, and cheapest way to see The Hong Kong skyline at less than 20p a ride.

There are four routes across the harbour, we rode from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui, about a ten minute crossing. The ferries are still popular with locals who need to cross the harbour, but there’s also a fair few daft tourists photographing anything that moves! (see attached photo’s…)

Have you had enough of the Star Ferry yet

For people in Hong Kong, chinese new year is all about celebrating the coming year and making sure everything goes well for yourself, your friends and family. As in Scotland, where ‘first footing’ ensures good luck for the coming year to a house, a lot of the Hong Kong traditions involve present giving.

Plants and blooms are used to bring good luck, particularly narcissus, peach blossom and kumquat trees.

We saw the latter everywhere at the entrance to shops, restaurants and hotels. It’s also traditional to give presents of lucky money (lai see) and sweets. Some people combine the two and give chocolate coins.

On New Years Day we visited Kowloon Park and came across an area called Kung Foo Corner. Seeing a crowd gathering, we stayed around to see what happened. What we saw was a traditional Southern Lion Dance, performed by members of a kung foo school.

The southern lions are identified by mirrors on their faces and only the top athletes of the school are allowed to perform the dance.

Traditionally, money would be hung, with a lettuce, above the entrance to a business. This was called Choy Chang or picking the greens, as the dancers attempted to take down the gift. Sometimes it could be 15-20ft high and quite a challenge. In return the lion scared away evil spirits and brought good luck for the coming year.

We also saw a dragon, complete with entourage, weaving it’s way through a restaurant to frighten things away (thankfully, not the customers!). Fireworks are also used, with spectacular effect, to scare unwanted spirits away on the second night of new year.

A Chinese dragon, warding off evil spirits in local businesses

Finally, on the third day of celebrations, Hong Kong people see if all the good luck has had an effect by vsiting the horse races for a new year bet.

There are few statues that can be identified merely by their silhouette, yet take a look at the one below, and I’m sure you will know who it is.

Bruce Lee was/is revered in Hong Kong, as someone who helped bring greater attention to the chinese martial arts, through demonstrations and international movies. He also made famous the ‘one inch punch’, where the martial artist can release explosive power using his whole body over a very short distance.

Bruce Lee’s statue has pride of place on the Avenue of stars at the Tsim sha tsui waterfront promenade, along with the obligatory plinth on the ground.

Had he not died so young, in his thirties, he would only be in his early sixties now.

In cookery terms, Hong Kong is what nowadays would be called ‘fusion’ cooking. It is a true mix of high technology with Eastern values and traditions, with added remnants of colonial Britain. To arrive in this cooking pot of sensual mixes, is an intoxicating experience.

Upon arrival, at the highly efficient Hong Kong airport, we are whisked efficiently to the centre of Hong Kong in minutes. Hong Kong airport regularly wins awards from business travellers, and it is easy to see why. Upon return, we can check in for our flight from the centre of Hong Kong.

We arrive at our hotel, in Causeway Bay, to find the city buzzing. It is the eve of the Chinese New Year. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese year is dictated by the lunar cycle, and so the date changes year by year. This year, it is especially late, as it normally occurs in late January.

We have just a few days in Hong Kong, with a great deal to do. Tomorrow is New years day, with the world famous night parade in the evening, and the legendary Harbour fireworks display the evening after. If anyone can do fireworks well, it must be the chinese. We shall see.

In the meantime, we must go, and as Top Cat would say ‘mingle, mingle, mingle’.

Welcome to Hong Kong

Congratulations and prosperity! Happy New Year 2007 – the year of the Golden Pig.

Australia is an amazing country, and due to its size, it has been impossible to see everything. So much remains, the great barrier reef, Uluru, Alice Springs, Monkey Mia, Cairns, Darwin, Perth (where I have relatives). There is so so much to see, it is impossible in one visit. The main problem is the size of Australia. it is a five hour flight from Sydney to Perth, and in fact Perth is closer to Indonesia than Sydney!

Distances aside, we have had a really interesting time in Australia, Sydney, Surfers paradise, Adelaide, Geelong, Melbourne, Devonport, Hobart…all these places interesting in their own right. My own favourite of the places we visited was Adelaide, it just seems to have a certain coolness about it. But Sydney does not disappoint, the bridge and oera house are everything you would expect, oxford street is everything you would expect (!!), and it is a great place to visit.

I will definitiely return to both New Zealand and Australia, as both are wonderful places for their own reasons.

Time is marching on..our trip cannot last forever, sadly, so we must move on. We have a nine hour flight to catch, from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport wth Virgin Atlantic. we are going to a place where reputedly, East meets West, I remember it from my childhood as a place where cheap toys came from. We just want to know something, do the tourist souveniers in Hong Kong actually say on the back ‘made in Hong Kong’??

You may also be interested to know, that we have finally caught up on our blog (at last!!), and are now just one day behind, as of the date of this post.