Sep 17, 2018 - Made it thru Mangkhut

Typhoon Mangkhut luckily did not hit Hong Kong directly. It did cause lots of cancellations, including our flight. Hong Kong Airlines acknowledged that we did have a challenge to make tomorrow morning's flight back to the States, and so got us to Hong Kong by midnight on Monday night. A few hours sleep and back to the airport by 08:30 for flight to Seattle. Ciao for now

Sep 17, 2018 - Harbin - Manchurian Candidate?

Harbin? Why not? You always have options for long distance travel. The direct(?) flight to Vladivostok is around 30 hours with a 12 hour lay-over in Beijing. Not one of the better airlines, either. But I can travel via Harbin, Manchuria in only 15 hours with a 2 hour layover in Taipei. Much better airline (EVA) as well. I'll have 3 nights to decompress and adjust time zones. Pyongyang would actually have been closer, but .... So Manchuria it is. Perhaps this will be more difficult than I had anticipated. I just received a message from my...

Jun 27, 2018 - We come full circle

The contrasts couldn’t be more stark as we return to Beijing. After boarding the plane in Tashkent we immediately nodded off to sleep and before we knew it China Southern were offering us a breakfast of a bread roll and a packet of peanuts and we were due to land in 45 mins. After taking over 30 days to travel this far the return journey couldn’t have been easier. We are no longer celebrities alas. It’s a rarity when some-one gets up to offer us their seats on the train, no one waves to us from across the road or engages us in animated...

Jun 24, 2018 - Beautiful Bukhara

Without a doubt, apart from the stunning buildings and ruins, the ongoing respect for a wide range of handcrafts would have to be a defining feature of Uzbekistan. These include rug making, knife making, embroidery, silk making, jewellery and pottery. A good place to view traditional embroidery is the quirky Summer Palace of the Emir of Bukhara. This is a delightful building designed by Russian architects and decorated inside by local artisans creating a fusion of Russian and Asian styles. Suzanis, the intricate, locally produced...

Jun 13, 2018 - In air-Hong Kong-in air

Day 26. In air-Hong Kong-In air 13/6/18. Wednesday. In air-Hong Kong. Cathy our Travel Agent, had arranged airport transfer transport for us - well for Ian actually, but I went along for the ride! At Zurich there was a golf buggy waiting and it took us and a lady who was transferring to the same flight, through Passport Control and then by van to our departure terminal, in a matter of 10-15 minutes. So quick, so easy, and lucky that Cathy felt short transfer times would be best for Ian. It was raining when we left Zurich and raining now as...

Jun 3, 2018 - The wild wild West

Turpan is a city both alert and alarmed. After a terror attack two years ago every hotel, government building, bank etc. has a sliding armed barrier you can’t pass without identification. The roads have regular road blocks and there are armed guards everywhere. There’s a different feel about the city. Not nearly as well presented and maintained and hot, very hot. Windows not cleaned, fountains not working, no beds of annuals, cracked and broken footpaths. Uygurs comprise 78% of the Turpan population. Our hotel room has a lovely old arched...

Jun 2, 2018 - Dunhuang

Dunhuang is our final stop before we visit the towns of Turpan and Kashgar in the autonomous Uygur region in Xinjiang province. The largest and flattest province(150 feet below sea level in Turpan) Also the hottest place in China. Three times the size of Western Europe and home to the Uygur minority. The Dunhuang caves were used by a Buddhist community between 600 and 1200 AD. Four hundred grottoes house the largest collection of Buddhist statues and art in China on a sandstone cliff wall. They were largely forgotten and covered in sand...

May 30, 2018 - Leaving Hong Kong

While going into the village to catch our bus to the airport today encountered numerous cows strolling & lounging thru/in the village. Did not seem to be at all concerned about the nearby McDonald's ! Also took a short walk to see the Wisdom Path & the 38 large wooden steles with inscriptions arranged in an infinity pattern. Then spent about 12 hours at the Hong Kong Airport before our 'red-eye' to Tokyo. Visually a very interesting/impressive building; especially the vast open spaces & the undulating/ocean wave-like ceiling. Ciao for now

May 28, 2018 - The Gobi Desert

The main attraction in Zhangye is the painted mountains. A freak of nature which over time has left these bare hills looking like they have been splashed and streaked with many colours, mustard, ochre, terracotta, beige and cream. There are many tourists here but 98% are Chinese. The foreigners and expats stand out because of their uncovered skin. No self respecting Chinese woman would ever leave her skin exposed to the sun’s rays. We see almost zero foreigners here which makes us a curiosity with the locals. Many say a friendly hello. An...

May 28, 2018 - Unrest & Peace

We were awakened on a sleepy Sunday morning by the sounds of a vociferous crowd. What's the issue ? Being 19 floors up we can not see down to the streets below, so I quickly dressed and went to street level. There were 100's of people peacefully parading & protesting recent restrictions of freedom of the press and mainland China deciding which political candidates could actually be candidates in a Hong Kong election. Lots of police who managed the traffic disruption extremely efficiently & calmly. Decided to spend our last couple days in...

May 25, 2018 - Kowloon Markets, Wetlands & Opera

We went on another 'free' walking tour, again with Johnson as Guide, this time in Kowloon. The 'free' means there is no upfront charge but you are 'encouraged' to 'donate' to the guide as you feel appropriate. Johnson is a good guide and so we did on both tours. This tour focused on Kowloon Markets and Housing Issues. We visited Fish, Flower & Bird Markets as we walked thru the city. Low margins & expensive rents have forced many of the fish markets to move to second floor locations; though there are still many at street level. The Flower...

May 25, 2018 - Cultural capital of China Xi’an

Xi’an is the ancient capital of China, still surrounded by its original brick wall, built 1,100 years ago. We enjoy a wonderful couple of hours cycling 16 kms around the top of the wall on a glorious early summer day despite the misgivings of the girl hiring out the bikes. “How old are you?” You must be very careful. Are you sure you can ride this far?” We later learned that everyone, no exceptions, loses their driving licence at 65. Necessary to ensure congestion won’t increase too much with all the young people wanting licences. Those...