Homeward Bound

Our Air Canada plane in Hong Kong 

Home soon it was a great trip with lots to talk about. 

Typhoon Krosa WARNING - T1 Level off Hong Kong

WARNING LEVEL 1 - Typhoon Krosa

Typhoon Krosa is in the South China Sea, just South of Hong Kong at the present local time 16:34 HK-ST

Cat: 1

Winds: 135kmh

Gust: 165kmh

Expecting to turn away from HK and head Southwest to Vietnam

HK is in status T1, we are experiencing high winds at present and about 1m seas, very cloudy no rain yet, we do not expect any issues with this typhoon effecting our trip or departure on Tuesday.

Weather bulletin will be posted if required.

Map Image - Typhoon Krosa 2013-11-03 / 16:39 HKST

Day 16 Tuesday, November 5

Homeward Bound

Honk Kong airport

AC#16 in Hong Kong

Today we are heading for home on Air Canada #16 from HK direct to Toronto, some 14 hours, departing at 16:20 and arriving around 18:00, all on the same day.  This will be a polar route flight using a Boeing 777-200, which smaller than the 777-300 we took to Beijing but has a 3,500km of more range, so it can make the longer route home.

These are two engine jet aircraft, so the 180 rule applies, what is that??,  Well the 180 rules means that the route taken must be within 180 minutes of an airport that can land a 777 air craft.

One last point on China, don't drink the tap water and remember to always carry toilet paper as that is NOT supplied, plus learn a few words of Chinese.  Plus for Canadian's bring the little Canada Pins, get these from your local MP's office, they have bags of thousands.  

We will post a trip summary on our return, we had just a super time and I would say this has been of our best trips ever taken, even some parts of trip were difficult.  We saw so much of such a diverse country/nation and got a inside view of an economic power moving into first place in world economics.

There is still a lot I don't understand about Chine but now have some insight which will require some further reading.

Ken and Karen

in Hong Kong

This is China !

  

Day 15 Monday, November 4

Hong Kong

This is our shopping day, we have no scheduled events or tours, and by now I think we have both had  enough  tours any way.  So we are taking the MTR (the HK Subway) to the MONG KOK shopping district, this where the streets are laid out as follows:

- Camera Street

- Sneaker Street (I hope they have the silver Converse High Tops I so desperately need, and would save me a trip to New York City if they do).

- Electronics Street

- Computer Street

- Ladies Fashion Street

- Mens Fashion Street

MTR Subway Map of Hong Kong

NOTE:: The Subway even serves the new Airport, wow, can't do that in Toronto.

 Hong Kong Harbour

 Star Ferry - Hong Kong Harbour

MONG KOK Shopping District - Hong Kong

 MONG KOK Shopping District - Hong Kong

This is inside the major shopping Mall in Hong Kong, MONG KOK Shopping District, part of the Langham Place, close to being 200ft high.

Day 14 Sunday, November 3

Our guide picked us up promptly at 9:00 a.m. for our Hong Kong Island tour in a Mercedes sedan, a definite improvement over the old Toyota Land rover in Tibet.

Hong Kong Harbour

Boat Terminal for the Jumbo Floating Restaurant Hong Kong Harbour 

We visited the Aberdeen fishing village which is now dominated by Sampan tour boats, an extra fee of course. Our next stop was a prestigious jewellery factory where we could watch and photograph craftsmen fashion ornaments made of gold and gems. Karen tried on a ring she didn't want to leave behind and Ken tried on a pendant made of an old Chinese coin from 1800.

Craftsmen at the Aberdeen Jewelry Factory 

We drove the winding road past Repulse Bay, sandy beaches and continued on to Stanley Market which has shrunk since my last visit in the 1980s. Since the line ups for the tram ride were very long on Sunday, we drove to the top, took photos and took the ride back down. The view of Hong Kong Island was spectacular from the peak from the beach to the white condo towers and the office towers of Hong Kong.

Stanley Harbour, Hong Kong

Stanley Market, Hong Kong

Views from the peak in Hong Kong

Karen and Ken with the Financial Area of Hong Kong in the background

Hong Kong Financial Distract as seen from the Victoria Peak.

Downtown Hong Kong

I had to add some photos from Sunday Night's Harbour Light Show.

Every night at 8:00pm the buildings on Hong Kong Harbour (Central District) put on a 15 to 20 minute light and laser show.  Best place to watch this is down on the harbour behind the museum.

Ken and Karen in Hong Kong at the Sheraton for dinner after the fantastic light show.

Day 13 Saturday, November 2

We departed Xi'an on a China Eastern flight to Hong Kong, which is about a two hour flight.

Hong Kong is very British, still, driving on the Left and British traffic signs, and yes unrestricted Internet access.  The Drive from the airport to our hotel on Nathan Street (the heart of the shopping area) takes about 50minutes, and they have high speed roads at 120km, fair bit of traffic, but everyone obeys the traffic laws (is this China ?).

Tomorrow will be a full day of touring around HK.

 

Day 12 Friday, November 1

This morning we are heading for the Shaanxi History Museum, this area has a rich history as it was once the capital of China about 300BC and the Tang Dynasty was a big factor in unification of China back in 200BC and as I said before the Silk Road started in this city and headed West.  There a cellphone cases sold with a logo of the great West Wind.

Vase from 500BC

Karen and Ken at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an 

The great South Gate of the Xi'an Wall  

Day 11 Thursday, October 31

We came to Xi'an for several reasons, but the most important was to see the famed Terracotta Warriors.  Photos below will capture the fact that this site is larger than two football fields in size.

This is the emperors Bronze Horse and Cart it too was found on this site as well as the Tomb, which will never be opened.

Karen is trying a life size Terracotta Warriors suit at the plant (factory) which makes all the replica warriors for world shows, like the one in Toronto about 3 years ago at the ROM.

In the evening we went for dinner at a Dumpling Banquet Hall and then to a Tang Dynasty Show, which was very good and the costumes were out of this world.

Day 10 Wednesday, October 30

Today we are in transit from Lhasa to Xi'an, which is a 3 hour flight, or about 2,100km, North, but lower elevation so warmer.  The Lhasa airport is about 60km to the Southeast of Lhasa and is built along a river so it the only flat spot of land.  Lots of flights in and out of the airport, we are flying on China Eastern Airlines, and BTW they serve a full hot meal on there flights.

We arrive in Xi'an at 6:30pm and are met by our guide and driver, Joe and Mr. Moe, the drive from the airport to the Sofitel Hotel is about 45 minutes in heavy traffic.

Xi'an has a population of over 5 million and is the end or starting point for the great Silk Road, (yes this is on my motorcycle trip list, not a a Crusier but something to take me the 7,000km to Turkey). 

This is a very old city, founded around 500BC, and has a wall around the city which is the largest in the world, and is 40m high and 20m thick, it is over 30km in length and surounds the city.  It is one of the best preserved accent walls in the world.

Ken celebrating his 65th Birthday in Xi'an, China with Karen

Ken celebrating his 65th birthday in Xi'an

Day 9 Tuesday, October 29

Ken's 65th Birthday is been celebrated at the top of the world in Lhasa Tibet.

Today started out in a snow fall of about 2cm, just a dusting by Tibetan standards. Today we are driving about 100km on a road with so many switch backs that it would qualify as a "Tail of the Dragon" road except with limited guard rails.  We are going to about 5,000m up to Yumdrok Lake which is a the base of the  

Himalayas mountains.

Yumdrok Lake 

This is a Himalayan Dog, looks a bit like a Newfoundland to me, very friendly, but they don't move too fast, love the colour.

Ken with his new friend in Tibet, this one didn't bite my hand off. 

We stopped in a town on a different route back to Lhasa, for Lunch, this were I found an ant in my noodles, and it was a bit of a hole in the wall place in a back alley.

Coffee and Yak milk, that was great, no napkins are ever provided in China nor is toilet paper.

After lunch we visited a typical Tibetan Family's home, this was very different, BTW they do not sleep in a tent on the plains, but a two story house, made of cinder block and NO central heating and an outside toilet.  They offered us Yak Butter Tea and Barley beer, all brewed on location.  The young women had a 1 year old, child, and the husband's mother was there in the home as well.  They all (6 of them) sleep in one room under what looks like carpets, or big comforters.  The heat in winter is provided by a cast iron Yak dung stove, with no outside venting ??

Tibetan Family 

Tibetan sleeping room

A Yak on the shore of Yumdrok Lake.

Just some railway notes, the China Rail is extending the rail line from Lhasa to Nepal, through the 

Himalayan, a distance of 860km, tracks are down, tunnels in place for the first 100km from what I can see, how many years to construct, I was told another 10 or so.  It is an impossible  task, maybe.

China is very concerned that the US is trying to cut them off from the rest of the world, by blocking shipping routes.  This week in China they signedsome kind  of major boarder access agreement with Nepal, India, Russia. 

Karen and I did not celebrate my birthday dinner in Lhasa, as our choice was the Crazy Yak Restaurant, which has a kind of show of about 30 minutes.  So my birthday celebration will be in Xi'an on Wednesday.

Crazy Yak Dinner Show in Lhasa 

 

Day 1 Monday October 21

We are now in China!

After a 13 1/2 hour flight from Toronto, we have settled into life in a country of 1.3 billion people, you get a sense of the size of the place at the airport.  One terminal is 3 times the size of our Terminal in Toronto and they have 4 terminals.  There were airlines from every country in the world, including an Airbus A380-800 from Emerates. 

I will go into some details on on polar route flight later, but I ran my  GPS app on my iPhone and we got to 87degrees North, and an altitude of 35,000ft.

There appears to be a "carridor" across Russia starting on the Artic Ocean and terminating on there boarder with China.

More to follow..

Day 2 Tuesday, October 22

Tuesday in Beijing

The Peninsula Hotel provides true luxury with its marble lobby and king-sized rooms. The large bank of elevators delivers us to the Jing Restaurant with its elaborate buffet breakfast with a choice of Western or Asian. 

Our driver and guide Rock then took us on a full day city tour including Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, the largest imperial palace complex in the world. Our eyes were opened during our visit to a Silk Factory by the variety of items from comforters to clothing made of very soft silk.

Forbidden City entrance gateway

Karen couldn't leave without a blouse and Ken purchased a traditional Chinese jacket. Next we visit the Summer Palace and boarded a dragon boat for an excursion on Kunming Lake. Refreshed after an  hour rest,  we enjoyed a delicious Mediterranean dinner back at the hotel.

Inside the Forbidden City 

Ken and Karen in the Forbidden City Beijing China

A real Draggon Boat at the Summer Place Beijing