Tag: Travel

~ Day Tripping to Stanley, Hong Kong ~

During our recent stay in Hong Kong we paid a visit to Stanley for old time’s sake. I used to love going there on the odd occasion with friends for shopping and lunch. I can’t believe I used to drive, I was much braver in those days! Merging fearlessly onto the four lane highway and going up and over flyovers. This time we took the bus, which is also a great way to see the surrounding countryside, especially if you’re lucky enough to get front row top deck seats.

Once off the freeway the roads become very narrow and the trees and branches knock and scratch at the windows.

Red Hill Plaza overlooking Tai Tam Beach
Tai Tam Beach

Hong Kong, surprisingly for many, has some beautiful beaches. Some are only accessible by boat.

Unlucky for us the front row was
already taken
Tai Tam Reservoir
Crossing over the reservoir
Mount Parker
Tai Tam Reservoir

Stanley is named after Lord Stanley (subsequently Earl of Derby), British Colonial Secretary at the time of the cession of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom, and subsequently Prime Minister. Stanley Fort is situated here, the former British Army barracks, and is now occupied by the People’s Liberation Army.

It is mostly famous for the market and bars and restaurants along the promenade and is situated on the peninsula of Hong Kong Island.

Murray House in the background
French Oysters for Lunch

The market is not the same as it was and mostly full of tourist stalls and art galleries. I remember my first visit to Stanley and was in awe of all the beautiful silk clothes for sale. I bought myself a raw silk suit and silk blouse for work. Realising too late that silk is not the ideal material to wear in 90% humidity!

Detailed paintings from a gallery in the market

A typical side alley in Stanley, also trying to work our way back to the bus stop through the labyrinth of alleys.

I enjoyed our time in Stanley, walking down memory lane, an hour or two is enough to explore and have a nice lunch. Then it was time to get back on the bus back to Central.

Deepwater Bay
Repulse Bay

~ Lens-Artist Challenge – Unique ~

Unique – being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else. Oxford Dictionary definition.

This week Amy @ The World is a Book has set the theme of Unique. As we are in Seminyak, Bali this week I have spotted a few unique opportunities around the streets.

Seminyak, Bali
Hey Ho and off we go

The greatness of art is not to find
what is common but what is unique.
Isaac Bashevis Singer

“Flaming Flamingoes!”

Always remember that you are absolutely
unique. Just like everyone else.
Margaret Mead

Baked and Caked Denims

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
Douglas Adams


Pick a Word – November 2023

Paula from Lost in Translation hosts this challenge once a month. She chooses five words and matches the words with photos. It’s a fun challenging challenge! See what you can come up with, thinking outside the box helps.

Buoyant
Charming
Ill-Mannered
Perpetual
Tubular

Buoyant

As we are in Bali right now, I thought this photo of Lachie on a beanbag is a good one for Buoyant

A Charming cobble-stoned street, Dean Village, Edinburgh
Ill-Mannered
Petitenget Beach, Seminyak, Bali

One thing you can always rely on is the Perpetual tides coming in and out

Tubular
Through a sculpture in Reykavik Iceland

Changing Seasons – Joyful June

Each Month Brian from Bushboy’s World and Ju-Lyn over at Touring my Backyard host a challenge where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone. 

Many of you will have already have seen some of my posts about the first half of June which was spent in Malaysia and the drama that unfolded there! I’m glad to say my dear husband is well enough now to take up his household chores once again, phew!

Although it is officially winter in Perth we continue to have the most glorious sunny dry days. Good for the laundry but not so great for the garden. There aren’t that many flowers in bloom at the moment, although the Aloe Vera is looking stunning.

This monster has been living in the corner for many months now and is definitely getting larger

I have continued to play Bridge twice a week, I don’t seem to be improving in the slightest though, but practice makes perfect so they say! I have also gone back to playing Mahjong with some good friends and we catch up once a week for breakfast first and then a few games.

Pull up a Seat
City Beach, Perth – our view from the cafe where we play Mahjong

Our book club this month was held at a friend’s house who had chosen the book, where we were served the most delicious carrot cake and champagne. The book this month was “Naked” by Eliza Redgold about the story of Lady Godiva. We have been theming our bookclub meetings for a while, I’m not so sure I would feel comfortable rocking up naked on a horse to this one. We had a wonderful afternoon discussing the book amongst other things.

I had a night at the cinema with a couple of girlfriends where we saw “How to Please a Woman”, it was hilarious and but I think I laughed more at my friend who was actually snorting with laughter.

My cheeky cherub of a grandson turned four at the end of June and we visited him for cake and presents.

These two beautiful little people bring the most joy to my life and I love my day of looking after them both. Although I have to say it’s hard work taking them to the park, it’s like having two run away puppies, I have to have my wits about me.

A gallery of June

I hope everyone had a good June also. Now onto July and looking forward to more sunny days in Perth.

Some photos here for

Pull up a Seat
Weekend Sky
PPAC
Thursday Doors

A Brightly Pierced Face

The most pierced human in the world is this lady’s claim to fame! A photo for Cady’s Just One Person From Around the World and a bright square for Becky.

I saw this lady on our trip to Edinburgh a few years ago, I would liked to have gotten closer but her hand was up in warning! She had a little stall and and was telling fortunes.

Her name is Elaine Davidson and she was born in Brazil and is a former nurse.  She has approximately 7,000 piercings! According to wikipedia she has piercings all over her body and in parts I cannot mention.

Our trip to Edinburgh

Kagoshima

Our route to Kagoshima

Nagasaki to Kagoshima

6 June 2017

By now I think our two drivers were getting the hang of the roads and tolls!  It was especially useful to be able to input a telephone number into the satnav instead of the actual address – very helpful considering how all the Japanese places were spelt.  Because if you put an o instead of an a or e you can end up many miles away as all the names are very similar or so they seem to us.  Also included in the satnav the amount of the toll you had to pay was spoken to you beforehand.

We had a four hour drive ahead of us as you can see from the map above.  As Kyushu is made up of several small islands there was not really a direct route to take to Kagoshima.

We passed through Yanegawa on the way which is made up of lots of canals.

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Arrived quite late to Hotel Shiroyama – beautiful hotel – high up on a hill overlooking Mt. Sakurajima.  Sakurajima is still smoking and one of the reasons we visited Kagoshima.

As it was late decided to eat at the hotel on the 13th floor.  Had a gourmet French dinner – fantastic!

Four of us enjoying our fantastic dinner
Entree
View from 13th floor overlooking the city of Kagoshima
 

Shame the windows in our room were frosted! so had no view – obviously you had to pay more for the view.

 

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My A to Z Travel Challenge – I is for India, Part 3 – Ramoji Film City 🇮🇳

Ramoji Film City

After reading about this online and also at the hotel, that it was like Bollywood and Universal Studios I thought it would be a fun thing to do.  We set off once again with a driver and it was around 45 minutes drive away.  On arrival our driver purchased tickets for us and we proceeded to the entrance gate.  Men and women are separated and go through different security screening.  We had a slight hiccup with Maddy’s Polaroid camera, as amazingly it seemed no-one had ever seen one.   So after being examined for several minutes by around ten different security guards they let us through!

Once through we were all herded onto buses to take us to the actual Film City which was around 10 – 15 minutes away.  I realised once again we were the only Western tourists there and thus had lots of attention on the bus.  So many questions, we were all talking to someone at once!  Driving there seemed to be great fun for the drivers who tried to be the first there by speeding up once it turned into a one way highway!

Overlooking Ramoji Film City which is set over 1,600 acres

When we alighted this bus we then all boarded several open air small trains to take us to the individual lots.  No lingering was allowed and I realised at this point that it was going to be a very regimented day.  No walking between different film lots was allowed, a bus or small train would take you onto the next place.

Ramoji Map

Everywhere we stopped we had photos taken with everyone, especially Maddy!  There were young guys lining up, we did have to say no a few times as we would not have got anywhere!

Some film lots were definitely better than others, but I wouldn’t described it as a Universal or Bollywood!

Wishing for a train to anywhere! 

So eerily lifelike! 

We stopped for lunch at the beautiful Sitara Hotel, located in the middle of the City.

The very fancy Sitara Hotel

With lunch over, Anthony had had enough of this theme park!  Obviously we didn’t see half of what was on offer and unfortunately there was no filming going on that day.

I would love to hear from anyone who has been to Ramoji Film City, I haven’t met anyone yet!

 

Thanks for reading

 

 

 

 

 

My A to Z Travel Challenge: H is for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam🇻🇳

Hanoi

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where we spent four days a few years ago.  Hanoi was not a place that interested me as I had heard it was quite industrialised due to the influence of communism.  However it was somewhere where Anthony wanted to visit, and I can’t always have my own way!  After checking into our hotel and going for a wander, I realised how wrong I had been.  The architecture was amazing and the restaurants were some of the best we had eaten in.  It is easy to see the French influence in the buildings and especially the food.  There’s nothing tastier than French food with a Vietnamese twist.

The view from our room at the Hotel Nikko

Over the next two days we walked around the city going to the Old Quarter and also the Citadel.  We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some schoolgirls graduating.

St Josephs Cathedral

A heavy load for this small bike!
St. Joseph’s Cathedral in the Old Quarter.  Built in 1866 and resembling Notre Dame de Paris. 

Hubby trying out a buyer’s load

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Graduation inside the Imperial Citadel

The Imperial Citadel was built in the 11th Century and many of the old structures are still standing.  The Imperial Japanese Army used it to imprison 4,000 French colonial soldiers in 1945.  

Expertly manicured bonsai trees are found all around the Citadel. 

Restaurants

I thought I would mention some of the restaurants we ate in as they were all so good.

La Place: A small cafe opposite St. Joseph’s Cathedral.  If you sit upstairs you can see the Cathedral from the window.  Cute cafe serving Vietnamese food.
Pots and Pans: Sadly this is no longer in operation.  Such a great find as they trained staff on the premises and the service and food were excellent.
La Verticale: Fine French dining in the old French Quarter.
La Badiane: Another French restaurant with excellent service.  Try and book downstairs, where there is more atmosphere.

Just a couple of the dishes we enjoyed!

Ha Long Bay Cruise

After three nights in Hanoi, the next day we were setting off for Ha Long Bay for a 1 night/2 day cruise.  I think most people break up their stay in Hanoi by doing this.  We actually cancelled this trip due to a typhoon forecast to hit Hanoi the day before.  Luckily we were able to reinstate this trip as it was and has been one of the best trips we’ve ever done.  It’s the perfect break after the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. We had booked with Aphrodite Cruises.

Our Itinerary – Day One

7.30 am: We were picked up from our hotel by the tour’s small bus and then went onto pick up other passengers around Hanoi.  During the four hour journey we slowly got to know some of them who would be joining us on our mini cruise.  The journey seemed endless especially as we had a 30 minute obligatory stop at a restaurant/souvenir type of warehouse.

11.30 am: Arrived at Ha Long Bay.

12 pm:  Everyone boarded the ship and we were taken to our cabins and told to meet on deck to have lunch and also meet the fabulous crew.

This ship features just 17 luxury cabins and is served by a five star crew.

On the top deck where cocktails would be served

1 – 2 pm: Lunchtime.  A gourmet delight and so well presented.

3 – 5 pm After lunch we sailed onto Thien Cung Cave. A sprawling natural grotto with intricate stalactite & stalagmite formations & colourful lighting.

From outside and inside the cave
The bottom left looks like a giant pair of hanging legs with boots on!

5 pm onwards:  The time from here was filled with a cookery lesson, how to drink saki and enjoy a cocktail or two on the top deck.  Then dinner was served on the dining deck.   It was amazing how many other cruise ships were out in the bay with us.  I think the whole area is in great danger of being overpopulated with cruise ships.

 

Day Two

I woke up to the sound of running water and when I got out of bed found it was coming from our bathroom!  The bidet hose had come loose and was gushing upwards like a fountain.  I opened the cabin door and shouted for help and as two or three crew members came running in the room, I had no choice but to jump back into bed with hubby while they tried to fix the problem.  They managed to stop the leak but emerged from the bathroom soaking wet!  We were offered a change of cabin but as we were packing up that day it seemed pointless to move.  Luckily not too much damage was done.  From then on it was all go, go, go!

First a quick snack before breakfast and then onto a smaller boat to be taken to a beach for swimming or a walk.  The beach was on Ti Top Island.  We were only allowed one hour there as so many other cruise ships were waiting for their turn.  The sea is so crowded that it’s impossible to actually swim.  Anthony decided to walk to to the top of the island, but even that was a struggle as many people were coming down as others were going up.   Back to the ship for another fabulous meal.  Then it was time to pack up, sail away and say goodbye to our fantastic crew.

At the beach!

Relaxing on the way home

If you ever go to Hanoi I highly recommend taking a cruise to Ha Long Bay.  It was one of the highlights to our trip.

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As always thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this post! 

 

 

My A to Z Travel Challenge – G is for Geysir and Gulfoss, Iceland

Both Geysir and Gulfoss are located within the Golden Circle in Iceland.  These were places we visited a few years ago on an Icelandic Air tour.  We first had one night in Reykjavik and the next morning boarded our coach to the next hotel which was Hotel Grimsborgir.

Geysir

This was our first destination outside Reykjavik and we stopped here for around an hour to take a few photos and to see the lively Strokkur which spouts water 100ft into the air every few minutes.  You have to be really quick to take a photo as it spurts so rapidly making everyone jump, also there are always so many people standing around waiting. The name Geysir is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa (“to gush”)  from Old Norse.  (Source:  Wikipedia). 

 

It was also quite difficult to get close enough to the exploding spout of water due to the crowds of people there!

After an hour or so here we hopped back onto the coach and headed onto Gulfoss.

💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧💧

Gulfoss

Gulfoss is one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls, beautiful and spectacular to see.  By the time we arrived the weather was not looking very good.  A fine cold drizzle was setting in plus the spray from the waterfall itself.  The walk from the carpark took a good 20 minutes for most on the coach, but for some much longer as they were just walking to it when we were on our return!  Much to the guide’s frustration as it was eating into his schedule!

From these photos you can see the long thin trail to the waterfalls.  Very slippery in parts so it was quite slow going for some.

 

There didn’t seem to be much safety concern about the wet rocks and not much of a barrier either – at your own peril!

Gulfoss is the biggest waterfall I’ve ever seen and was truly mesmerising.

Once everyone was safely back on the coach we drove to our final destination for that day, the Hotel Grimsborgir, which is described as a luxury hotel.  Nestled in the heart of the Golden Circle and sitting on the banks of the River Sogid.  Everyone on the tour was commenting how nice it was and what a treat.

That night we had a sumptuous buffet dinner in a very grand restaurant.  The only thing that we balked at was the price of drinks.  Iceland is well known for how expensive it is but being out in the countryside was even more exorbitant.  Anyway what is dinner without a glass of wine so we bit the bullet and bought a bottle of wine.

Hubby looking happy with the room and then very glum at the price of the drinks 😆
The beautifully decorated dining room where we had dinner and breakfast the next day.

Views from outside of our room.

A view of the rooms : Source – Hotel Grimsborgir

 

And G has gone!

 

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this post – all comments very welcome 😍

 

My A to Z Travel Challenge – F is for Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka is the first place we stopped at during our road trip through the Kyushu Islands.  It is a city of canals, waterways and bridges.  It said to be the oldest city in Japan.  We were staying at the Hotel Okura which is located overlooking the Hakata River.  As we were only here for two nights we didn’t have much time to see this city so had to decide where we wanted to see most.

Walking over one of the canals on our first night. 

In the lobby of the Hotel Okura 

Fukuoka Castle Ruins

I really wanted to see one of the castles here but was a bit disappointed that it was only ruins!  But we had a good walk around and there were some great views over the city from the top.  Built at the beginning of the 17th Century and torn down in the 19th Century, because it was viewed as an unwanted symbol of the feudal past.

Fukuoka at dusk 

One of the shopping centres we walked through

Fukuoka is also home to the famous Canal City which is called a city within a city, and has a canal running through it.  Unfortunately we didn’t have time for a wander around as we chose to go to Nokonoshima Island instead.

For our last night we stopped at a British Pub called Morris Hippo! strange name and enjoyed a few drinks here before dinner at Cafe Otto overlooking the canal.

Our handsome drivers! 

Other places to visit in Fukuoka:

Fukuoka Tower
Ohori Park
Tochoji Temple
Kushida Temple

Hopefully we’ll visit again as I enjoyed Fukuoka very much

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F is finished and next up is G!