Apr 18, 2014 - 17th and 18th April

Thursday 17th April Gyantse to Shigatse Another very cold start to the day, -2 degrees. Our first stop was the visit to the Perkor Chode Monastery. The morning light reflected beautifully off the buildings and the the place was full of pilgrims due to the full moon. While this monastery had previously been of significance this is less the case now. Areas within the monastery are used for storage of barley and wheat. From the monastery there also was a great view of the castle which was once used for military purposes. The drive to Shigatse...

Apr 18, 2014 - Hello from Hong Kong!

Sitting at the airport waiting to board our flight to Paris...wilting after our 40 hour "Amazing Race" around Hong Kong! The G Whanau are first timers in HK. And although Kev has been here before, it's about 25 years ago...so I don't reckon that counts! It's a city that immediately awakens all your senses - especially when it was still 25 degrees last night as we trawled around the night markets. A cacophony of Cantonese. Stinky was how the kids described their experience. Perhaps not a wonder many locals still walk around masked like...

Apr 16, 2014 - Tsedang to Gytanse

Wednesday 16th April An 8:00am start for the drive to Gyantse took us along the route back towards Lhasa airport. Prior to the building of a new freeway and bridge one would have followed this road making the trip into Lhasa an extra 120 km. we diverged from this road and started climbing. There were barren mountains with virtually no vegetation, some still with snow along some valleys. We headed towards Kambala pass which has an altitude of 4,700 metres. We could begin to see the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas. The day was clear and...

Apr 15, 2014 - Climbing the Great Wall of China

China is a place of superlatives. It's the most populous country in the world. The Great Wall is the longest man-made structure on Earth. I've met some of the kindest people ever who go out of their way to show you directions and also the rudest when travelling on the metro. It's the most challenging destination so far. Oh, and the cuisine is the most disgusting and unappetising I've ever experienced. I crossed the border into Shenzhen by metro happily leaving Hong Kong behind. The train station concourse was vast, reminiscent of Communist...

Apr 15, 2014 - Lhasa to Tsedang

Tuesday 15th April Today we left Lhasa at 8:00am and began the drive along the Tibetan Valley towards Tsedang. We followed the path of the Yarlung Zanbo river for about 230 kilometres. This River is responsible for the formation of this 1200 kilometre section of the 300 metre wide valley. Along the way the sand dunes formed by the erosion of the Rocky Mountains were impressive. In some places these dunes flowed done to the river. Tsedang is about 260 km from the Indian border and there a huge number of military vehicles travelling back...

Apr 14, 2014 - Day Lhasa

Monday14th April It was a 9:00am start again today, however I went down to breakfast at 7:15, hoping to do some emails etc as wifi is only available in the public areas. A group of four of us did the Age crossword at breakfast before it was time to head to the Summer Palace of the Dali Lama, which for some strange reason is only a few kilometres away from the main residence, Potala Palace. For me this palace was much more pleasant, only two levels and set in large gardens. This building was completed in the 1950's and is well preserved with...

Apr 14, 2014 - Hong Kong

Pete enjoyed his visit to Hong Kong but his time was fairly limited there because of an early call time back on the ship. He did have an opportunity to visit one of Hong Kong's oldest and most famous bars, Ned Kelly's Last Stand, a place famous for its jazz music. The trumpet player from the ship sat in on a couple of numbers while they were there. Upon returning to the ship, he was prepared to perform in a parade, as well as playing a Big Band set later in the evening. He has not received his Japanese credentials yet but neither have...

Apr 13, 2014 - April 12 & 13

Saturday April 12th Not a lot to report today. The wake up call was 5:30am as we had a flight to catch from Shangri La to Lhasa. The view from the plane was spectacular:flying over snow capped peaks or barren mountains that are way above the tree line. Lhasa sit sits in a very long valley with many rivers flowing along it. The barren mountains have eroded to create large areas so sand. Lhasa is a very large and urban city, much more developed than Shangri La. The roads, bridges and tunnels all seem relatively new. Jack, you will be pleased...

Apr 11, 2014 - ShangriLa Day 2

Today we visit the Songshanlin monastery that was built by the the 5th Dali Lama. This is very close to the city. It houses about 800 monks of the Yellow Sect who train here for about 8 years. If they pass all of the exams they may go onto Tibet to train further and later possibly to India. There were mocks debating in the courtyard. We had to climb many steps to get up to the monastery and along the way had to rest as my heart was beating very fast due to the high altitude. From there we walked through the village to visit a local family...

Apr 11, 2014 - Love man

google2Han Han, in his article about Wang Shuo had mentioned that he appreciate this person very much, if Wang Shuo injury his family or robbed her girlfriend, he would not let go of Wang Shuo.From these words ,we can see that the family and loved ones are how important in the eyes of Han Han.But isn't it the same for us ordinary people ?The ancients have stormed crowns for a femme.Some people used all their life to avenge for his parents.So the world's children are obedient.Parents bound never be replaced.If the day in our family, we also...

Apr 11, 2014 - Love man

google1Love the Job You Every day we hear about people making radical career changes.The opportunities exist, but will all these changes make us any happier once we get there?Maybe the question is not "How can I get the job I'll love?"but "How can I love the job I have?"Following are four practical steps towards coming to terms with why you do what you're doing.Take some time to think about it, and you might be surprised by what you find.1.Realize that your job does not define you, but how you do it does.There's a lot to be said for...

Apr 11, 2014 - Love man

googleTo continue) 4.Dare to ask yourself if it's worth it.If you can't find the part of your job that you like, or if you can see yourself turning into the person you said you would never be, consider the reasons.It may not be a new job that you need, just a new direction.Do you like the person you are doing this job?If not, are there changes you can make to the way you do your job or is the job itself the problem?Do you need to be doing a different position within the same company?Are additional responsibilities taking you away from the...