Stasis Leak

A report apropos of nothing.

I am still alive. I am job hunting. I am not doing much else. I am in stasis until I get a job.

Until I get the job, I can't get a house. Until I get a house, I can't acquire more clothing because I can't carry the stuff I have already. Due to my inability to carry more, I have to do laundry more frequently, as I don't have enough casual clothes to carry me through a week. So my impact on London's limited water supply, and hence the Environment, is much greater even though I have virtually nothing. And please don't mention to me the weight of books. I am desperate to expand my library - my comfort and my constant companions - but I can't carry OR afford any more. Although, truth to tell, I am not sick of living out of a suitcase yet. Probably because I have somewhere I can leave it in safety. Thank you Richard and Hillary.

But in the mean time, my lack of permanence is curiously disturbing and yet it isn't. I feel free and constrained at the same time. It is liberating to feel that I can decide to go to Bristol tomorrow if I wish, and have no responsibility to anyone or anything. But I am edgy because I have no stability.

My stasis is leaking... I want to be doing something, or being somewhere or acquiring anything rather than waiting around for someone to give me a job. Grr! Argh!

A wonderful time with Time

I spent a lovely day today down in Greenwich. I took a ferry ride down the Themes from Westminster Pier, complete with mildly amusing commentary from one of the ferry's staff, and disembarked at Greenwich Pier approximately one hour later. It takes about half that time by light rail, but isn't nearly as fun, nor as relaxing.

The world heritage site of Maritime Greenwich quite blew me away. Of course, I was in my geekish element here - having a love of mapping, the whole discovery of longitude is magical to me. I was in awe at John Harrison's clocks. I would go back there just to stare at them some more - amazing machines! And the way that the measurement of time developed over the years, the charting of the stars, the discovery of new planets... yeah, it was all good!

There were also two very beautiful buildings there - the Painted Hall and the Chapel. Designed by Christopher Wren I think, and both very sumptuous inside. I almost didn't go into either but am very glad I did. I was attracted to the Painted Hall because it had an instrument to tell wind direction where you'd normally find a clock on the tower... and was totally amazed when I went inside. And the Chapel is just as pretty.

I wasn't anticipating being quite so blown by the Maritime half of the equation. But I'd even go back to the maritime museum, because I didn't get to spend as much time there as I'd like to, and I was quite entranced. The history of maritime endeavour, exploration and warfare has a whole romantic life of it's own.

So, all in all, and even forgiving the weather which wasn't at it's best, it was a lovely day. One that I'd definitely repeat!

The End of Edinburgh...

My last day here, and I do actually like the place, but I need a slightly warmer climate until I get used to the cold...

I can't honestly say I've had the best time here. It is a beautiful place, but not for me, at the moment at any rate. Edinburgh is so steeped in history that I could almost feel the ghosts wandering around and they aren't very happy! Dark and brooding, and yet with a young population, it is certainly very popular with both tourists and backpackers. But somehow I didn't get into the groove. Maybe because I was sick, maybe because of the rain & freezing wind, maybe because everyone I met was 5-10 years younger, I donno. But I'd like to go back there. When I'm more used to the cold!

For the last of my visit here I went hunting for a little culture. I visited the Writers Museum, which is dedicated to Robert Burns, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson, The Royal Scottish Museum, which was recommended to me by Richard and where I saw the most macabre clock (typically Richard actually!), and Greyfryer's Bobby which has lovely story attached:

In 1858, a man named John Gray was buried in old Greyfriars Churchyard. His grave levelled by the hand of time, and unmarked by any stone, became scarcely discernible; but, although no human interest seemed to attach to it the sacred spot was not wholly disregarded or forgotten. For fourteen years the dead man's faithful dog kept constant watch and guard over the grave until his own death in 1872. The famous Skye Terrier, Greyfriars Bobby was so devoted to his master John Gray, even in death, for fourteen years Bobby lay on the grave only leaving for food. It is reported that a daily occurrence of people from all walks of life would stand at the entrance of the Kirkyard waiting for the one o'clock gun and the appearance of Bobby leaving the grave for his midday meal.

There is a statue to the dog out the front of the Greyfriers Kirk (the graveyard), and a tombstone for him inside, placed some ten years after Bobby died.

Then, because I couldn't be bothered doing anything else, and had 7 odd hours to kill before my train out of there, I indulged in my first real bit of true relaxation: I curled up on a couch in the Nero Cafe, and read Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaimen, cover to cover. Pure Heaven!

I am now about to go and catch a sleeper train back to London (the Caledonian Sleeper run by Scotrail). And I paid for an actual sleeper compartment this time. Due to the lateness of my booking, and the difference in accommodation, it is costing me 4 times that of the train ride up here. But I really don't care. I want to get back to warm(er) weather and more than 1 hour of sun a day. My only regret: that I didn't arrange to go during the day, because I won't get to see the country side. But I have an interview (supposedly) on Thursday or Friday afternoon, so I can't do the day trip. Never mind. As I said, I will be back!

Climb Every Mountain...

Well, I'd hardly call either of them mountains, but I climbed to the top of Arthur's Seat yesterday and up to Calton Hill today, which are the two high points here aboots! And the day before that (Saturday), I visited the Castle, so I've now gone to all the high points of the city... if not the best spots! :)

Saturday saw me determined to visit Edinburgh Castle, no matter what, so I froze. I was waring every piece of warm clothing I had, but the temperature never got above 10 degrees, and an icy 25 mile per hour wind scoured the Castle Hill the entire time. I did it, but in fits and starts. Spent 20 minutes out side, then spent the next 30 in the nearest building, defrosting. I think I was there for over 4 hours, and I didn't manage to see everything. Got a few pictures though. You can see the rain - it was coming in sideways! Ah, but I did do it. And what a glorious castle it is. So totally different to Wawel. Edinburgh is brooding and scarred, and only romantic in a dangerous and edgy way. I wish I could afford to go back today, as it's much better weather, but 2 x £14 I will not pay!!

Sunday at Arthur's Seat nearly killed me. It was the first fine day I'd had here, so decided to take advantage of it... Oh boy! I found out exactly by how much the cold had reduced my lung capacity! I didn't take any photos of them, but if I get time, I'll go back and take a pic of the stone steps I climbed up. As Andrew said - coronary city! Well, not quite so bad, but I really didn't have the most ideal foot ware to climb with, so was rather nervous all the way up, afraid I'd slip, and suffering a distinct lack of oxygen. The view was spectacular though! A clear, 360 degree view of Edinburgh, all the way to the Firth of Forth and the surrounding hills. Very beautiful.

There are some pretty insane people about though! I'm not sure what it was in aid of or who for, but they were running a foot race around Edinburgh yesterday (not the one for breast cancer which was being run the other night - picture 100's of women, in pink bras and neon tracksuits, running around the streets of Edinburgh, at around midnight... yep). And the poor blokes had to run up Arthur's Seat! The ones who passed me looked utterly shattered. And covered in mud - they kept falling over. I saw one enterprising bloke who fell over, decide to stay on his butt and slide the 30 odd meters down the almost vertical grass slope to the path below - he passed a couple of the other competitors too, as it was damn steep!

I wandered past Hollyrood Palace - which was again too expensive to visit, and the new Scottish Parliament building - which is bizarre and very modern, so I didn't take any photos of it.

Today by comparison, I took a leisurely stroll up to Calton hill - and had about an hour of sun to enjoy it! Lovely place. Again, beautiful views of the city, and monuments to every one imaginable. It might well be called monument hill. There was a lovely tower to Nelson, a half-finished Pantheon type thing, which was supposed to be a monument to those who died in the Napoleonic wars, only they ran out of money, as well as an Observatory, which looked very pretty. It has now cooled down quite a bit, so I'm going to do some museum hopping. The writer's museum first, and then maybe the museum of childhood - both look fascinating.

Anyhoo, I have two interviews now this week - one tomorrow and one on Thursday - wish me luck!

Things are looking up...

I'm having an strange sense of deja'vu but for the life of me I can't figure out where I may have been in a similar situation... hummm?

Anyway, as the title suggests, things are definitely looking up. I have an interview on Wednesday for a job here (if, that is, the ruddy recruiter comes through - have been having problems with that guy), and potentially another interview for a job in Soho London sometime next week. And I've had bites from other recruiters too, so I'm feeling happier about the whole job thing now. My hostel has become friendlier too - have met a couple of the inmates (one from Norway, another from Poland), and have established connections. My room is called Addictions and my bed is called Drugs... their way of identifying who is where. Rather amusing! I think I am also getting better, which always improves one's mode - was quite depressed the last two days. But everything is brighter when you're healthy.

I did manage to get on a couple of the Buses - and saw a goodly portion of the city. We drove past the Castle, The Palace of Holyroodhouse (a Royal Residence), the Royal botanical gardens (which I want to go back and visit when it's warmer - looked absolutely lovely!), the new Parliament building, Sir Walter Scott's Monument (which I climbed this afternoon - 287 spiralling steps up to a wonderful panoramic view of the city), The Royal Britannia Yacht, Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags, as well as numerous churches and museums. And I discovered why this town is so steep - it's built on a ruddy extinct volcano! The main street, called the Royal Mile, is built on an old lava flow, and the castle is situated on the central plug - but then I've also heard it said that Arthur's Seat, which is the highest hill around here, is also a plug, so I'm not too sure of my facts there.

It is unfortunate that the bus goes so quickly that you really don't have time to take photos. If I want to capture what I've seen, I'll have to walk there. And at the moment, walking would be a recipe for pneumonia, as it is much too cold for my cold. I went and sat in the upstairs, outside part of one of the tour buses for about half and hour - and even my hair became cold, so I gave up and stayed inside. I have taken photos from the top of Scott's monument, which I won't be able to upload until I get my laptop back, but when I do, you'll at least be able to see some of the city through my eyes! But the rest will have to wait until I'm either better, or it gets warmer.

Yes, it is summer here, and yes, it is colder than even the locals were expecting. I went on the hunt for gloves and a hat yesterday, asking at almost every department store and woollens shop I could find, and I came across no less than three sales assistants unhappy because they didn't sell them - because they wanted them too! I finally discovered a hat in a warehouse, and some gloves at an upmarket boutique. So, I am now warm, but definitely marked as a tourist, as everyone else insists on being hardy and cold. Ah well.

I am now going to let the fates decide whether I stay here or go back to London. If I say either way, I think that Murphy might intervene, and I'd prefer him not to. Here's hoping it warms up over the weekend!

Cold and Tired...

The train ride from London was actually ok. I'd booked a seat as opposed to a bed because it was a lot cheaper - £35 compared to £65. But then the toilet in our rail car packed up, so the stewards moved us all to sleeper carriages. Good going I thought! Unfortunately the combination of a rocking train, a cold, and a very confined and overheated room meant that I didn't get much sleep. So I was much too tired and sick yesterday to see any of the town really - just got some essential supplies and crashed out. I was really tired - which is reflected in the length of time I slept - from 5 pm to 8am this morning! The hostel is small, but the staff are mainly friendly, and it's warm! I'm afraid I woke some of the other girls up with my coughing though. I am now really sick of this cold I can tell you.

So, even though I walked around in an aimless way yesterday (looking for gloves and a hat which I still haven't found - it is Bloody Freezing!!!) I didn't pay much attention to anything. Today I'd like to see if I can join one of the ubiquitous bus tours here, as it is very cold at the moment and the bus is by far the easiest way of getting around - it is a very hilly town. I'm not being lazy, honest! I'm looking after myself and nursing my cold! Will let you know how I progress.

Edinburgh - First Impressions? Wet and Wonderful!

Wow - what a contrast to London! Edinburgh is, so far, a much colder, and older place. I'm sure that's not true, but I haven't seen very many new-looking buildings so far and everything I've seen looks to be pre 18th Century. The town is also much hillier than I expected. The walk up from the train station with a full pack nearly killed my thighs - I can see I'm going to get fit if I stay here. Very steep roads! London is pretty flat by comparison. And there a lots of cobblestone streets, so walking here is as fun as walking was in Poland... ie, unsteady.

It is currently raining and cold with a fierce wind - reminds me very much of Canberra in winter actually - isn't it supposed to be summer here? Oh but the Castle looks fantastic in this weather- it suits it's craggy exterior perfectly. It lords over the entire town, watching magnanimously over it's domain, looking stately and serene. I stood and stared at it for at least half and hour and fell in love yet again. It is just as a castle should be, sprawling and impenetrable - in a word, gorgeous.

The Scots are very friendly too - very helpful people as a general rule. But Geeze it's cold! The wind is icy! Am going to go and find my hostel & hopefully warm up. I didn't look at the weather forecast before leaving - kinda silly really. Hope I have enough warm things!

Let's stop for a second...

I am truly exhausted. I'm now back from Krakow and am about to embark on a trip to Edinburgh, and all I want to do right now is sleep. I've had the most vile cold imaginable - got it just before leaving for Poland. Not fun at all. Amazingly enough, none of the other girls I was staying with had caught it by the time we left - so I was the only croaky one.

But I did enjoy it. It is Krakow's 750 year anniversary this year too, and we arrived just at the start of a weeks worth of celebrations. There were concerts in the square every night, and bunting everywhere.

Day 4 Morning saw myself, Zoe, Kirsten and Sally visit the Wawel Hill Castle .... oh boy, I was in love! My first experience of a true castle, lived in by royalty for generations, and I was entranced. It even had a resident dragon at one stage, whom a Shepard made to explode in exchange for the Princess's Hand in Marriage by feeding the beast sulfur! Very Cool Indeed!

After visiting the Castle, Sal, Kirsten and I went on a hunt for ice cream as the day had really heated up. It was over 35 or so, and we had a little heat stroke! And the girls found the most amazing place! It sold sorbet, but not ordinary sorbet - I had orange sorbet, served in a frozen orange!! And Sal had half a pineapple. It was amazing, and really delicious!

After that, we had a wander through the Cloth Halls, which is a kind of market for tourists, but sells mainly amber jewellery. I bought a lovely necklace with orange, green and yellow amber, with matching earrings. There was some amazing stuff on display. I didn't even know that amber came in green! It's pretty rare, so not a surprise. But it also comes in rose and gold too. Lovely!

Day 4 Afternoon saw everyone to the Wedding. And the girls hired a horse driven carriage to take us there! It was a traditional Catholic service, conducted in Polish, but very understandable. And the choir was beautiful - they sang some very haunting tunes reminiscent of Gregorian chant.

After the ceremony, everyone gave flowers and presents to the Bride and Groom right out side the church, and then we all walked to the reception place which was in an underground restaurant! This was at approximately 5, and they stuffed four courses into us by the time we got to 7.30 and kept feeding us ever after. I think there were eight courses that I counted, and there were supposed to be another 2 but they cancelled them as by that stage it was 2.30am and everyone wanted to go home!

Ah, but they also fed everyone alcohol. Loads of red and white wine, and bottle after bottle of vodka. It literally didn't stop coming. There were still full bottles - and very worse for ware people - at the end of the night.

It was a lot of fun though. They had a couple of folk dance teachers come in and the entire party learnt about 6 Polish folk dances. The groom's sister and her partner also gave a display of very passionate tango dancing and they had a live band for the bits in between. Everyone had a great time. Some, a little more than others - Sally and Cassie were both casualties of the dreaded drink! :) Kirsten and I took Sal home at about 12.30 and then went back to the party. I'm glad I got invited!

Day 5 was very lazy. I visited the castle again and went to the bits I'd missed the day before, wandered around the square, ate Polish dumplings, listened to another concert, drank beer and did a little shopping. Generally relax and recuperate... which I still need to do because I am still very tired.

I have to go and pack for Edinburgh now. Gosh it's a hard life! :)

Krakow - Wow!

This place is absolutely amazing!

But before I get to that - a quick note on Seeing London with the Burgess' and Sally's Birthday Drinks on the 3rd of June. I wandered through Portobello Road and Charring Cross road with Pat and Alan - and I must go back to the latter! It was bookshop heaven, and I had the most wonderful mocha coffee at Floyd's bookshop! The 3rd was also Sally's 30th, so we went out to a pub called the Faltering Fallback. And drank WAY too much. A very good time was had by all, but I was rather delicate the next morning I can tell you now!!

On the 4th of June I went to see the musical Wicked with Sally, Kirsten, Alex (Kirsten's Fiance) and their friends. It was wonderful. We were seated in the gods and so I couldn't see the stage well, but I'd go back to see it again if I could get good seats, it was that good.

Ok - Now on to Krakow.

I had managed to catch an absolutely vile cold just before getting here. But that really isn't a problem in Krakow. There are Apteka (Chemists) everywhere you go. In fact, it became a game to spot them, but then it was just annoying because it was sooo easy. There is apparently 200 in the city. This city must be full of hypochondriacs. But since Sally, Kirsten and I had decided to visit Auschwitz on our first day, it was probably appropriate that I was as miserable as I've been in a long time.

Auschwitz and Birkenau weren't as overwhelming as expected though. We decided to join a tour group instead of rambling around on our own, and I think that this was what delineated our experience. It was still absolutely horrible and nauseating, but because we were following a guide, and there were loads of people, we went rather quickly in and out of each exhibition and didn't really have a lot of time to process or dwell on the displays. This saved us in a way. I felt a deep sense of sadness and compassion but not depression. The tour took us to both Auschwitz I which is the original camp and Auschwitz II - Birkenau. There is also a third camp but that was mostly destroyed. Very sobering day all up.

But since I hadn't visited the town when we'd first arrived, being way too sick, we went into town that evening, and saw a concert in the main medieval square, Rynek Glowny - full symphony orchestra, playing Holst's Planets on an open air stage very reminiscent of a cathedral. But also very neon. Still, it was lovely and very uplifting after the day we'd had. The Square itself is almost magical too - there are little alleyways and nooks everywhere. And bars everywhere - underground caverns, and outdoor balcony's - including a bar called Wodka where they sold over 150 types of Vodka. We tried about 5 I think, but I was soo stuffed up, I couldn't taste them!

On Day 2 (the 7th), we changed apartments and I met the Bride and Groom, Kasia and Rafal, who are both lovely. Kasia is Polish but was raised in Australia, and the compliment of girls - excluding me of course - had all known her for years. There was Sally and Kirsten, BJ (Bridgett), Phillipa, Cassie and Zoe. Lovely all. We wandered around the town for a bit, just looking! Road crossing for the visually impaired is a bit off putting here - it sounds like a truck backing and so every time we came to a pedestrian crossing, we'd be looking around for the trunk! I found something just for Jason too - a sign saying Smak Bar...say no more!

In the evening, we had a hens night for Kasia, which strangely enough, Rafal attended, and the girls dressed them up and hand-cuffed them together. I must say, for such a strictly reared Catholic as Rafal is, he took it all very well indeed. It was terribly funny! Everyone went out for drinks afterwards, but I came home early. A couple of the girls were out untill after 5 though, so it was a good night.

On Day 3 (the 8th), we all slept in, and then I went with Zoe to visit the old Jewish quarter known as Kazimierz. There aren't that many Jews left in Poland, but they have preserved several of the remaining Synagogues as museums and we visited the Remuh Synagogue. The surrounding area was very picturesque too.

In the afternoon, the entire group visited the Wieliczka salt mines, which is world heritage listed for its amazing array of statues and bas-reliefs carved in salt by the minders. It is still an active mine but now also functions as a major tourist attraction. It was quite interesting, but had mostly religious motives (the Pols are very religious - 97% practicing catholics), so it became a little repetitive.

We are now about to go and have soup and beer at a cafe on the square - something that BJ really wants to do. So I had better go - but I am really impressed with Krakow so far. So very romantic, and friendly, and with such life to it. A very beautiful town.

Grrr...photo program problems

I've just swapped to Fotopic because Flickr decided that I wasn't allowed to have any more 'collections' without paying for them... and I don't want to!! This will be the third photo site I've tried - the first one was Picasa and looked to be quite good, but its downloader kept giving me the blue screen of death as I might have mentioned before. So I've moved to a new photo site. There is less available space on Fotopic (250m versus 2 gig), but I've shrunken all my photos down, so they don't take up that much space anyway. And I haven't been asked for money yet...

Lets see how this one goes shall we?

English Doings: Lists et al

I've decided to list the places I've seen in London rather than write about all of them - I've got photos of them and this is easier than describing them all in detail! :) I spent about three days out of the time here being a tourist. So in summary:

Walk Number 1: 23rd of May 2007

• St James's Palace


• The Mall


• Buckingham Palace - where there was an audience going on so there were lots of ladies dressed in their best!


• St James's Park - where I stopped for a rest and took photos of a footbridge, a squirrel and a very picturesque caretakers cottage


• The Cabinet War Rooms - where Churchill hid during the war - and which had an extortionate entry price so I declined entry!


• Westminster Abby - which I must go back go regardless of the price - it's gorgeous!


• The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben


• No 10 Downing Street - viewed through a large number of Police


• The Banqueting Hall - the Last bit of the Tudor Whitehall Palace, which Bronwyn says I should go back to because it has a beautiful Ceiling.


• Trafalgar Square - which included:


• Admiralty Arch


• Nelson's Column


• The National Gallery


• The National Portrait Gallery, and


• St Martin-in-the-Fields

Walk Number 2: 25th of May 2007

• The Tower of London


• a Random Orchestra playing on the esplanade


• The Tower Bridge - which I always thought was London Bridge


• London Bridge - which was a disappointment


• The South Bank of London


• The 'Clink' Prison


• A Ruined Palace


• Shakespeare's Globe


• Tate Modern


• Millennium Bridge


• St Paul's Cathedral


• Fleet Street / The Strand and Oxford Road.

Walk Number 3: 30th of May 2007

• Harrods (totally amazing and totally overwhelming!)


• Victoria and Albert Museum


• Science Museum - which was overrun by ankle biters so I didn't stay long


• Kensington Gardens


• The Royal Albert Hall


• Albert's Memorial


• Kensington Palace


• Notting Hill Gate / Portobello Road

And that would be that!

Sunny London... what?

Ok, so it was raining all last week pretty much, but I was rather ill and so couldn't go out, so rain was fine with me. Now that I'm all better, it's sunny again, and I really don't believe in karma, but I do believe someone out there is feeling friendly-like towards me... having said that of course, it will now start raining and be miserable. Murphy's law and reverse psychology can always be depended on to work just when you don't want them to. Although why I would want it to rain again has me puzzled - something to do with residual Australian water-hoarding tendencies perhaps?

Talking about reverse psychology, I'd like to bring you all up to date on my future activities, just because I can. My intention is to meet up with Sally and her sister by Tuesday of this week (CALL ME!!!), and go off to Poland for a week of Tourism. We're to go to a friend of Sally's wedding, and the Salt Mines there which are supposed to be spectacular as well as to Auschwitz. Why Auschwitz? Well, my reason for wanting to go to the camp stems back to my trip to Washington several years ago and my visit to the Holocaust museum there. Which I would highly recommend to anyone who is in Washington. It was incredible. But it is the only museum at which I have ever cried, and so moved me that I want to know more. I've always had a fascination with history - albeit a skewed one and generally more geared towards masonry, swords and armour than actual events - but the Holocaust has gripped me to such a degree that I want to go and witness where such an atrocity took place. So, an appalling and sobering trip that will be I'm sure.

However, and getting back to the point about reverse psych, I have then (from the 12th of June) lined up a trip to go to Edinburgh in Scotland. I want to see the castle and the town up there, so I've booked a train ticket and a Backpackers hostel. I've also been madly applying for jobs, so far unsuccessfully, but I'm hoping that since I've arranged to go to Scotland, a job will suddenly come up in London for which I am qualified and for which they want a lovely Australian holiday maker - ie me - to start as soon as possible. Hence forcing me to give up the Scotland trip (Murphy in action) but gaining me a job (the psych thing)... well, I'll live in hope at any rate!

But in the mean time, I still have a couple more days in Sunny London, so am going to have another crack at Portobello road, which I visited last Wednesday (in the rain), and found it empty - the market only functions on the weekend apparently - very disappointed. And hopefully, if Sally or Kirsten ever get in touch with me, I'll be going out and celebrating Sally's 30th with them. We were going to go and see Wicked the musical... so where are you Sally?

Anyhoo, will write again soon if I'm able. Must remember to give you all a list of where I've been so far too - have seen lots of famous sites around London so far! Very cool. But until then...

My Flying Visit to Hong Kong

Hong Kong was amazing... and yet it wasn't. I don't know if it was my level of exhaustion (no sleep at all on the overnight flight from Melbourne), or it was that I was comparing it to Thailand, but Hong Kong both did and did not meet my expectations. To give you an idea...

The Hotel

God it was appalling! I mean, I wasn't expecting luxury or anything, but compared to any other place I have stayed in it was a veritable hole! I've been spoilt yet again. Having recently surveyed a large proportion of the five star hotels in Sydney and stayed in a couple, I have a really distorted view of what a nice hotel room should be. In comparison, my room at the Dorsett Seaview in Kowloon was a shoe box. I had to laugh at myself. Expectations were probably a little high but I found it funny to gauge my reactions anyway. The Shower - for which I made a beeline the minute I walked in the door (and all credit to the hotel - they allowed me to check in before 7am!) - was less than my shoulder in height, and stood in a bath, if you could call it a bath, of less than a meter in length. Peeling ceilings, toilet that didn't always flush, soap that came out of the type of dispenser you usually find in public toilets and sink taps that leaked, in a space - well, it had to be more than a meter long because the bath was that long, be it couldn't have been more than a meter wide. And the bed - which was my second priority - was as hard as a rock. There wasn't enough room to roll my suitcase into the room - the entrance was too narrow - and how they ever managed to get TWO beds in there I'll never know 'cause I swear there wasn't room to fit them!

The Markets

The street markets - the 'Ladies Market' and the 'Night Market' were markets exactly as I had experienced in Thailand. Only the Chaing Mai markets were much better. The same junk was at both, but there was more character to the ones in Thailand.

The one 'Mall' I ventured into gave me claustrophobia. If I'd been a little taller, my head would have hit the ceiling, and the walls seemed to press in on me from both sides. I got out of there quite quickly I can tell you.

When I ventured beyond the Ladies market I found shop after shop selling fish in bags - it fascinated me. Apparently it's very good fung shui to own a fish. But I'm not sure I really liked the way they were stored and on show. I felt very sorry for them, and I don't even like fish!

But then I found the Flower Market... oh it was beautiful! So many strange and wonderful plants and the Smells!!! I took my time wandering through - it was a little piece of heaven!

After that however was the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, where they sell birds of all shapes and sizes as well as every size of bird cage in Teak wood. It was very, very noisy, and actually quite disturbing. I felt very sorry for the poor animals. But it's part of the culture here I guess.

The Peninsula

Now this is supposed to be one of the most famous hotels in the world. A place the guide books say is a good place to have high tea in, so you can at least enjoy a little of the luxury, because you won't ever be able to afford to stay there. And ok, the passion fruit iced tea was lovely - it came with it's own silver side jug of sugar water to sweeten it so that you didn't have to try and dissolve any lumps of sugar in a cool drink - and the lemon tart was perfect I have to admit - just the right amount of lemon - and the service very good - but it is no more impressive than many of the five star hotels I've visited recently. And at $50 aus for the two food items, I would kind of expected a little more... Even with it's fleet of Rolls Royce's dedicated to the patron's of the hotel.

The River Cruise

Now this was pretty. A one and a half hour tour of HK harbour including the very touristy and very kitch 20 min public light show which occurs on the harbour every evening at 8pm. I took lots of photos trying to catch the show. None very successful. But the quite interlude - and the free drinks - were lovely. On the way home, we picked up about 50 odd 50 plus persons, and they were drunk as skunks! I had a very hard time not to laugh out loud, and people watching was a fascinating exercise I can tell you. These people were of my parents generation and were acting just like teenagers, flirting and boasting and giggling and generally having a fantastic, unstable time. It was great! Watching them wobbling all over the place. They'd been out to dinner somewhere enjoyable obviously.

The Tour

Day 2 and I had booked a tour of HK island. It was ok, but it was far from brilliant. The best part of it all actually was going up to the top of Victoria Peak, the highest point on HK island, in the tram - built in 1888 - which is so far from vertical it really distorts your sense of the vertical. I liked it up there and bought and absolutely massive (and very expensive) ice cream from Hagan Dass there. Oh but it was lovely! Raspberry and Lemon sorbet with almond slivers and chocolate. I've never had a better ice cream in my life! After that the tour went down hill - literally and figuratively - although it remained interesting. We went on to a visit to the fishing village of Aberdeen, where our guides persuaded us to part with more money to go on a tour in a Sampan, then onto a Gem shop - and more sales people trying to part us from our money, then onto the Stanley market - and yet more sales people. Not too impressed. To add insult to injury, our guides had taken photos of us at the top of Vic peak earlier in the day and at the last stop tried to persuade us to part with yet more money for the privilege of buying these photos. Unhappy Jan!

The Jade Markets

This was a welcome and refreshingly original market, where very few of the sellers tried too hard to get my attention and the wares on show were fascinating. Unfortunately I don't know one sort of jade from another - and there appear to be many sorts! - so I felt unqualified to try to bargain when I had no idea what I was buying. So, although I looked, I didn't touch!

All in All...

Hong Kong was a strange mixture of western and eastern influences - and it didn't seem to be able to make up it's mind what it was. The prices and malls are western, the markets and road stalls eastern... it was very strange. I was intrigued but not in love with it. Unless I was going into China proper, I'm not sure I'd go again.