First Impressions of Austria (May 24)

It is SO wonderful to be here. The air is clear. The temperature is cool, but not cold...and there is an air of calm. Nobody is in a rush to get anywhere. Well...apart from the cars on the autohahn on our drive here from Munich; It’s been a while since I’ve witnessed that kind of speed on the road! The cars in HK want to go fast but there is so little space between them and the vehicle in front that it must be extremely frustrating for speed fans and all the Ferrari drivers. Here though...wow....there is no stopping them.

Yes...I am english, so I have to mention the weather. We have only been here for 2 nights and already we are somewhat bemused to wake up to whiteness. Yes, it did snow a day before we arrived, but only on the mountain tops...that is not the sort of whiteness I’m referring to. After all, I did order a delivery of snow for the mountain peaks...snow topped mountains are my favourite kind. Low cloud however, mist, fog. The sort of thing I have been waking up to every morning for the last 4 months. This I really did not expect. However, my immediate despair was quickly dispelled by the fact that after a few hours...the cloud clears and reveals the most beautiful clear, bright blue sky. At last...this is what we came for and it feels like coming home. I am starting to feel the tension leave my body...my back is even starting to feel better.

This morning was particularly white. We could not see anything of the gorgeous view that lies outside of our window. Complete whiteness, incredible. We made our way down to breakfast and were greeted by our host who seemed pleased with the weather, saying it was going to be a lovely hot, sunny day. I questioned this...and he reassured me that the whiteness was a good sign...the whiter the better he said...and now, less than 2 hours later, I can see what he was talking about. Always trust the locals when it comes to the weather. The mist has lifted and the view is starting to re-emerge. I can see the tree-filled mountainside opposite us, and the small village in the valley.... the lake is visible once more and the town of Zell am See nestled at the edge of Lake Zell in the distance. There is a strip of low cloud hovering over the lake, giving it a feel of early morning and best of all, the snow-capped mountains have emerged from their shield of cloud...revealing their jagged white peaks. All is well in my world..... our plans to head out early are back on after that temporary blip and I have a feeling it is only going to get better from here.

More Things to do with your Visitors

Visit the Flower Market...

Visit the Bird Market...
Visit the Goldfish Market...

Take the cable car from Tung Chung to see the Big Buddha on Lantau...

Marvel at the immensity of the Big Buddha...

Things to Do with your Visitors in Hong Kong

We recently received our second set of visitors here in HK, 8 months in to our stay here and it was so lovely to see some old friends from the home country again. Just like last time, back in December, when our first set left, I found myself in a bit of an odd state of mind once we'd waved them off at some normally unseen hour on Saturday morning. Seeing close friends and family when you are usually so far away from them, can churn things up a bit. Emotionally. The visit was not emotional, it was great, we went out, had fun, saw some sights, ate too much, all the usual stuff you do with friends, and then it was all over. Time to re-integrate back into my HK life...for now...wondering when we'll see them again, and indeed where.

But enough pondering...here's some of the stuff we did in that week with our visitors...all typical Hong Kong sightseeing stuff.....

We visited the island of Lantau and made a stop at the village on stilts; Tai O.

We got the Star Ferry (the green one) over to Kowloon and strolled down the Avenue of Stars, admiring the ever-hazy view of Hong Kong Island...

We wandered around Central, admiring the impressively tall buildings.

We visited HK's alleged oldest and most important (Taoist) temple, Man Mo Temple, built in the 1840s as one of the new colony's first traditional-style temples. It's named after its 2 principal deities: Man, the god of literature and Mo, the god of war.

And no visit to Hong Kong would be complete without exposing yourself to a feeling of intense nausea, as you wander around the streets and alleyways of Sheung Wan's dried food markets. Not for the faint-hearted...or those with sensitive constitutions. I don't plan to return any time soon!

A little Taste of Shanghai

The evening I arrived, it was tipping it down. It looked a lot like Hong Kong, only wetter. I took this photo on my first day, whilst out bravely exploring alone. I say bravely because it felt brave. I'm used to Hong Kong and going out alone rarely phases me but Shanghai, where there is virtually no english spoken, apart from within the walls of big business hotels, I don't mind admitting, it was a whole different story. I did it anyway of course, at least on the first day, when I was open-minded and eager to explore. The weather was unfortunately grey and really much colder than I was expecting it to be, so it was a rather shivery day out, but I took myself to an area called the Bund and strolled the pedestrianised area just soaking up the atmosphere.

On my way back to the hotel...in search of what seemed to me to be a very elusive taxi, I got quite freaked out. Naively I believed that if there was a green man showing on the crossing lights that pedestrians would be safe to cross the road. Not so. Yes, this is when people attempt to cross the road but clearly they take their lives in their hands when they do so. My first attempt resulted in a near miss with a motorbike or two, or maybe three...I remember them coming from different sides, not really sure which way to leap...I think I just stopped still in the middle of the road and they moved around me. Either way, it was fine, I didn't get hit, but that was the first and last time that I trusted that little green man!

We visited the Jade Buddha Temple, a bit too briefly to be honest, because we failed to check the guide book for closing time. We arrived about 20 mins before closing time but of course they just took our money and didn't bother to tell us that. We simply found ourselves getting a very quick guided tour (not requested, but I think that's the way they do it there) which ended up in the gift shop after about 10-15 mins. When we said we just wanted to go and take a final look around before buying anything (yes, it was rather hard sell) we were told it was all closed now and we could always come back tomorrow. Hmmm. I was not impressed. On the plus side though, we did arrive in time to catch the end of a prayer session the monks were holding for the victims of the recent earthquake in China, which was rather beautiful to witness.

We also visited the Old part of town - Shanghai Old Street including Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar. Quite The Experience! There were some beautiful old style buildings which you can just about make out here, but in my opinion the whole area was totally spoiled by filling these buildings with modern day shops...like Starbucks! As much as I enjoy my Starbucks coffee these days, it was just a little disappointing to see. There were also plenty of more local wares for sale on the market stalls of the Bazaar on the other extreme but bartering was a must, and even in our case involved the market stall owner running after us with a better offer in an attempt to sway us. Really not my game but interesting to experience.

Yuyuan Gardens was one of my favourite parts of Shanghai. After escaping the hassling environment of the Bazaar it was like stepping into a sanctuary...a sanctuary full of other people...but a santuary. It was a beautiful Spring day too, which made for very pleasant wandering weather and some good photo opportunities.

Blogger has run out of space for photos on this post now which means no photo of my very favourite part of Shanghai - the French Concession. An area heavily influenced by the french "era" resulting in a trendy, boutiquey area with some great local arts, crafts and clothes stores mixed in with unique little indoor/outdoor cafes set in some very small, old lanes. The mix of old and new is perfect and this time, in my humble opinion, it really works. After all my time in Asia, I finally bought some "souvenirs" - the location was right, the sales tactics were not pushy, just helpful and the products were good quality. Oh and the sun was shining that day too - perfect!

So all in all, a great trip. A good mix of experiences and hopefully I will get to return one day and pop back to some of my favourite places, and indeed, some of the places we didn't have time for....