I bought my return ticket for the train from Shanghai to Suzhou before I left for Hong Kong but after I bought it I realised I was cutting it very fine to make it.
The plane arrived 5 mins early and when I got off the plane I made a beeline for immigration. I was through in a few minutes and then it was into the baggage hall.
Ten minutes passed and my bag appeared, it was looking good.
Next problem no money for the metro, I needed 3rmb. I had to leave the metro station to find a bank. I took out 100 rmb and returned to the metro. The machine won’t take notes that big….. Fuck.
I go to customer service and get it changed. I have my ticket. The clock says I have thirty minutes till the train leaves.
I arrive at the railway station and it’s a rush to get to the departure lounge.
We all squeeze onto the escalator
At the second one someone tries to push in front of me, I stop him in his tracks and get a dirty look. Fuck him I’m running late too.
Through to security, we have to wait for thirty seconds and it seems like an eternity.
I’m through and find my platform.
Number 25
Ten mins to spare, not bad but the sweat is running off of me.
Next time check the flight time and give me self another half hour me thinks.
I wanted to get it into the fresh air and get away from the city for a bit and to be honest you really don’t have to go too far to find fresh air in Hong Kong.
I got onto the metro and headed for some place that I don’t really remember the name of but there was a bus there waiting to take me and others to Sheko.
I really like the double decker buses in Hong Kong because you get a great view and they are comfortable and cool. The views you get as you climb up the mountains are just stunning.
This walk is supposed to be a little difficult but after a short ascent waking up a well worn path you will soon be reward for your efforts.
Today I was lucky to come across a young couple having their wedding photographs taken by professional photographers and they had gone all out and brought up traditional clothing for them to pose in and they looked great. What an amazing backdrop.
I was walking back to my hotel the other night as you do in Hong Kong and I came across this busker playing funky jazz music and it was great, the only problem that I could see was the noise from the traffic below, but I stood and listened for a while but I’m not sure the Chinese really got it.
And so it’s once more into the great blue yonder as three months have passed in the blink of an eye. I’m staying in Hong Kong for two full days this time and will hopefully do a bit of hiking if I can in one of the many islands here. I spoke to the young lady at the airport and she gave me some info on where to go.
Just now I’m in the bus heading to Nathan on the island and I’ll check into my tiny hotel which is so small that I can’t swing that cat, I think I told you that before. I’ll then pop out to buy breakfast and then it’s an early night for me as I’m knackered and me eyes are really tired. The weather has changed and it’s become cooler in Suzhou and the pollution has also been higher since the humidity dropped and so a quiet night is on the cards and then I’ll go exploring tomorrow.
Yesterday I went to a Toastmaster’s event at Yi Garden and before the event kicked off I went for a wander around this lovely wee garden and I also got to hear this lovely young lady play the Guzheng.
Saturday morning was warm, humid and overcast which was better than the forecast because rain was on the agenda. I was told to meet everyone at Xinghai Square metro station which is only a short walk from my flat. Today was another junket trip to have a look at a potential tourist destination near Suzhou. It was mostly foreigners that had been invited because we are the target audience. I sat with Stu who came from Pinner just outside London, which is where my good friends Roseanne and Michael live. You won’t be able to buy much in Pinner for under half a million pounds and so I think from the way he spoke his family are very wealthy but he told me that they think that he should make his own way in the world rather than be given the wealth, which is an unusual but refreshing attitude.
We boarded a small fishing boat and headed out to the island, which at the moment I can not remember its name, but I’m sure it doesn’t really matter. On the first of September the fishing season begins at Taihu, the fisherman are only allowed to fish legally for 6 months of the year to protect the fish stocks. The lake is vast and today it looked particularly atmospheric due to the low cloud and the overcast conditions and to be honest it was perfect for going out on the boat, although the humidity was through the roof.
Our boat trip lasted about 40 min and we puttered out at a leisurely pace and the distant island soon became a reality and the two older women on board got to work with the bamboo poles to bring us safely along side the other boat that was already docked. Click Here
These old women were fit and they had very good muscle definition on their arms. of course it is very clear that I have made a faux pas when recording this video………………
They soon had us tied up and be disembarked and wandered or should I say rushed along the path, we barely got the chance to look at the old buildings and scenery as we made our way to the ultimate destination which was the BnB that we had all been brought to see. It was in the heart of the village about a 20 min walk from the dock along a very narrow path. The place was very small, although very tastefully decked out. No WiFi but they will give you 3 meals a day if you stay and all for the measly sum of 80 quid which I think is way too expensive and so did many of the other folk in the group. The 3 meals a day would consist of mostly vegetable or fish, and fish is not something that I enjoy here. I know we would have to get the boat out to the island but 80 quid is really overpriced.
This couple were quite bemused when the gaggle of foreigners strolled by, I’m sure it’s not what they expected on a Saturday morning. This is the kind of thing that I really enjoy about China, you just never know what to expect and this is real village life, not something just staged for the tourist. It’s very refreshing to see but it also brings its own awkward moments when someone in the party says to the local in English, “Is it OK to take your picture? click……… some folk here don’t even speak Mandarin never mind English.
I would have liked to have wandered around the island for a few hours to discover what else may lie beyond but unfortunately it was all too short a visit and we were soon heading back to the boat to have lunch.
I did not enjoy lunch at all, it was all fish dishes apart from cucumber and pumpkin and some rather tasteless dumplings and so I was absolutely starving and you know the worst thing about these kind of trips is that they keep bringing more and more food even when we have all stopped eating, they waste so much food and they would never consider getting a doggy bag to eat the next day.
The boat trip back to the mainland was smooth and the sun even began to show its face, but just for a second. It’s been an enjoyable afternoon and just before we head home we are going to visit a 2000 year old tree in one of the local gardens.
It’s really quite spectacular and very unusual and so difficult to imagine that it is 2000 years old but it certainly looks like it has had a hard time.
She is 20 years old at the end of the month and she has covered nearly half a million kilometers and it is with great sorrow that I have decided to put her out to pasture. She has been stuck in he big shed now for about 2 years and the last time I saw her she started to complain about a few aches and pains and so I’m afraid to say I don’t know what she will be like when and if I return.
We first met in 2004 shortly after I bought my first house on the Gold Coast and I believe it was love at first sight. One mistake I made was taking out an extended warranty with Southside Toyota, that’s where we met. Every time I took the car back there for a service they treated her like shit and I nearly had a stroke because of the way they staff there treated me. Up until then I had never come across such incompetence in a company. I remember one altercation with this big fat staff member when I went to pick up the car, he wound me up so much that if I had been in America with my Kalashnikov then he would have been wearing a few bullets that night. I used every expletive known to man and then I dismissed him and told him to get someone that could talk to me, I didn’t want to speak to the monkey anymore. They made me so angry and in hindsight they also treated me with contempt. I could talk about Southside Toyota for weeks but I won’t because it will only make my blood boil once more.
I have many fond memories and I have had many adventures with my trusty steed and I really miss driving around in her. This car has been one of the most comfortable cars I have ever owned. I have had very few problems apart from a head gasket going due to a faulty Chinese made gasket that Ford used to use, mind you we were driving through temperatures of nearly 50c out near St George.. I replaced the air con and did the usual maintenance but I never had a bump in the car and so it’s as straight as the day I bought it. Maybe when I return and we are reunited I might spend the money to get her back on the road, I shall see what happens when that day arrives. It costs nearly $1000 a year to keep the car registered and at the moment I really just can not afford to pay for the car as the cash flow is not very good, it’s expensive to have a car in Queensland.
Last night we were sitting around the table having a chat and drinking tea when Jane shouted Biānfú 蝙蝠 which of course means Bat. Bats are seen as good luck in Chinese society and you will often see them depicted in mosaics in the gardens or on furniture, but I’m afraid this little bat set the occupants into a state of fear.
We live on the forth floor and only one door is missing a screen to keep the critters out and this wee bat found its way in. It would have been the size of maybe a starling or similar and it was flying very quickly around the room trying to find the exit. Meanwhile Jane picked up a brush to try and do something, I asked her not to and she put it down. It was flying so quick and yet it would come up to a wall and turn on a sixpence and go the other way, it was amazing to watch and I’m afraid there is no video or pictures because we were too busy watching it.
After about 10 mins the wee bat finally found the way out and was once more free to go about its business. It was quite amazing to see this wee creature come into our home and maybe he might just bring us all a piece of luck.
