We have had a brief but enjoyable stay in Hong kong. Hard to believe we only arrived here yesterday morning.
At 11 am we, that is Terry, Alfred, Jane, Patrick and ourselved took the subway to the jade market. We had so much walking to do to reach the train I thought we should have been about level with the market but no....we got off it at the second stop and then walked back.
While Jane Terry and I walked slowly round the steaming market the three men sat in an Indian restaurant drinking beer...sensible guys! I did buy a few pieces: bracelet, pendant and another Budha to add to my collection. I now have 6 on board, apart from a Budha pendant I love and bought for about four dollars in Vietnam! At home there await my Dad's lovely, serene brass one which has travelled the world with our family for nearly eighty years and started the whole collection, my favourite jade one bought last year at the same jade market here and a tiny green jade one bought in a Chinese shop I used to frequent in Hamilton. I must have been Budhist in a past life and may very well become one again in this life!
We had a lovely Chinese lunch in a purely Chinese restaurant and then walked, God help me, back to the ship. Hence a really bad back this morning which makes me feel a hundred years old! I also seem to have a rheumatism in one of my toes so I truly feel decrepid! I have attempted to make my back pack as light as it can possibly be but it's amazing how hard that is....do I really need this stuff? Apparently I do!
Last night we all succumbed and had a Vietnamese meal in the mall right where we are berthed. Lovely and cool and the food superb. We have met such great people on the ship this year. Brenda and Steve Malloy also joined us for supper...Amy Unruh has gone off to Tibet! Looking forward very much to hearing about that trip when we all get back to the ship in Shanghai. The monks are not happy there and the group is being very restricted in their movements.
So we set off to the airport by taxi (unless we can hitch a bus ride from an SAS group who are leaving at the same time, same flight. Not striclty allowed but we'll ask the powers that be and see if it can be arranged.
Later...much later! Tuesday 7th nov.
We did indeed receive permission to travel to the airport on an SAS bus. Alfred and George said Oh no we shouldn't ask...not done. However I thought that foolish and went through the authorities myself and was givven immediate permission by both the purser's office and the staff. As there were only 8 peoplec travelling on the same flight as ourselves to Xi'an it would have been churlish of them to refuse four seats in a bus built to carry at least 30 passengers! I even offered to pay a fare and was turned down on that score so all was well and our ride to the airport smooth and worry free.
More on Xi'an and our train trip to Shanghai later.
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