Home sweet home

After 13 hours of flight, we are finally home.

Re: Go Home Tomorrow

It is only 9pm but I am going to packup everything (including our computer). Tomorrow we will leave here 10am and be at the airport for 12:45 flight. Look forward to be home.

Re: Macau

The Venetian has a Grand Canal with gondoliers

Re: Macau

We went to Roman Amphitheatre. hee, hee, of course I'm kidding. This is in Macau.

Re: where we used to live

This is Hoi Wan Street. There is a guard to direct traffic.

9 Hoi Wan Street is now a commercial (stock exchange) building.

Re: HK-Tsuen Wan 荃灣

At the door to Great Grand Aunt's temple

Great Grand Aunt 呂新愛's memorial plate

Re: Hong Kong

Just arrived back to Hong Kong. We will stay till December 1 and then head home.

Re: Lijiang 丽江

Last night I joined the folk dance at the Fire Party.

Re: Lijiang 丽江

Lijiang 丽江 used to be the place for trade along the old tea horse road to Tiebet. The old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges.

Re: Chongqing 重慶

We have just arrived at Chongqing 重慶 after 5 days cruise along the Yangtze River. Our cruise upstream went through the Three Gorges. The dam with all the concrete and the gates with all the metal work are enormous. There are 5 gates through 4 sections of water.

Tomorrow we will fly to Leijing where we will stay for 3 days.

I will talk to you tomorrow.

Re: Tennemin Square 天安門

Tianamen Sq (day)

Re: Yichang - chongqing 宜昌 - 重慶

We leave Bijing today to Yichang and will be on a cruise from 15th to 19th. We do not have internet during this time.

Re: Shanghai and Beijing

We spent 3 days in Shanghai 上海. This is a big, bright and fast city. Not as tidy as Suzhou. Skyscrapers soar and lit up by night. We went to an evening cruise on the river 黄浦江 and lots of walking in this business city. We tried their extremely busy metro track (train). The shopping malls are huge. Traffic is very busy (both cars and people traffic)

We are going to spend 5 days (10th to 14th) here in Beijing. Capital is clean and orderly. Sites to visit are: the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven 天坛, the Great Wall, Summer Palace 頤和国, the Olympic Centre (Bird's Nest and Water Cube etc.)

Re: Suzhou

Lots of canal in the city of Suzhou

Re: Suzhou Hardrock Bar

Uncle SY and Auntie Nancy wanted another beer.

Re: Arrived Suzhou 苏州

Bullet train is really fast, we arrived Suzhou 苏州 in about 2 hrs. in between Hangzhou 杭州 and Suzhou 苏州 there were 2 stops. The first stop was precisely 2 minutes. All train schedules are so promptly on time that it is hard to believe. People have to move fast.

We will stay here for 4 days. This city has lots of canal and of course bridges.

Re: Day 8 Hangzhou 杭州

We visited Hangzhou West Lake 杭州西湖 and cruise along the lake. Next stop is 岳飞廟. The tour guide refresh our memory on the history of 岳飞 a great general who fought for Song Dynasty 南宋. He even told us the story of how the deep fried long chinese donut come from. We went to a musical show tonight. Spectacular dance and great lighting effect. There is a scene that makes us feel like we are in a light tunnel with different colors. We were also in an old, ancient war zone with swords and we feel the heat of the fire and cannon firing.

Tomorrow we have to get up early to catch the bullet train to Suzhou 苏州. If we do not write, it's because we may not have internet.

Re: Day 7 (@ 黄山 & 杭州)

Got up at 5am to see sun rise but today is still foggy and rain. We left 黄山 after half a day more exploring and head to Hangzhou 杭州 by bus. Auntie Nancy has enough climbing. Her muscles are sore.

Re: Day 6 (still @ 黄山)

We got up 5am but it was foggy and rain, so we started 9am instead. Most of the paths are stone steps but some of them are extremely steep. There are narrow paths and we are told to pay attention when we walk (do not look elsewhere while we are walking, if we want to look at the scenery do not walk). Step cliffs, narrow paths and sleek after rain, so we all were very careful. The tour guide said aside from the regular tests they have to pass, they also have to take a physical exam carrying more than 15kg. of weight to climb the mountain in order to get their license.

Re: Day 5 w/Auntie Nancy & Uncle SY

Morning cable car to Mt. Huangshan 黄山. I am prepared to do lots of walking up the mountain. I've taken pictures of sea of clouds云海.

Re: Day 4 in Nanjing

Today we will visit Yangtze river bridge, ancient City Wall and if we can, we will also go to the Nanjing big massacre memorial place. We will depart by train for Tunxi and may be very late (11pm) when we get to our destination.

Re: Day 2 in Nanjing

Visited Slender West Lake 瘦西湖, Ge Garden个園 and Qinhuai River秦淮河 is the biggest river in Nanjing.

Re: Day 1 in Nanjing

2 hrs flight to Nanjing, we meet with Auntie Nancy & Uncle SY at Nanjing. We (4 of us) went for long walk around where we stay till it got dark and just about got lost. Eventually we found a place to eat. We must be extremely hungry and didn't read the food menu properly for we ordered mostly appetizers without realizing it. When the food came, and only then we understand why the waitress waited by our table for a long time for us to select more food from the menu.

Lui Ancestral Memorial Hall

Re: Root exploration 尋根

Our Lui Village at 中和村, 鹤山 Heshan is not easy to find because I do not have the proper address but we manage to locate and here is one of the photo that I've taken at the 祠堂 ancestral memorial hall.

Re: Busy day

Toured Guangdong College and met the directors and teachers. 12,000 studnets and 600teachers in this nice environment with scenic ponds, paths and trees. A big comparison to the crowded city with this calm spacious rural college. They have a big sports building and an olympic size outdoor swimming pool.

Next we went to Hong Xiuquan Memorial Hall 洪秀全 紀念館. This refreshs my memory of the revolutionary leadership of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Next stop Guangdong Arts Museum where we see lots relics and works of ceramics, embroidery and carvings (wood, brick carving, ivory etc.) Carvings of a painting on as small as a grain of rice (they have a magnifying glass for us to see). Amazing details on these art pieces.

Re: Arrived Guangzhou

Arrived Guangzhou. Traffic is extremely heavy. We were stuck in a traffic mishap for a hour. People got off their vehicle to buy drinks etc. Our driver is very skillful. He can swift in and out of traffic lanes. From a three lane traffic, people can expand to 5 lanes. Tomorrow we will tour one of the biggest university here.

Re: Get together with old friends

Just finished dinner with a few old friends. Too bad Wesley and his new bride-to-be cannot join us. Wesley is still working when he called us an hour ago (10pm). What a hard working fellow. Talked to him on the phone and he wants to say hi to everyone.

Will leave for Guangzhou tomorrow about 11am.

Re: Monday & Tuesday

Mon. Using Lion Rock Tunnel and thru expressway connecting, we travelled to Shatin. This formally an agricultural farmland is now tall bldg.s Have to pay lots of toll fees for roads and bridges.

Tues. visited Uncle Charles' downtown office at Bank of America building

Title: Repulse Bay Hotel

It is so nice to see old friends again. Tea time with Uncle Tom and Auntie Nancy at Repulse Bay Hotel. Uncle Tong was with us too.

Title: Summer is here +30 degree

We both got up after 4-1/2 hrs of sleep. It's not enough rest but time change and over tired or whatever, we got to get up and get going. Went back to where we were last night to take pictures (it was too dark last night to snap any photo). 12 Swatou Street 3rd floor(the place where the Super-7 spent a lot of childhood time) is not there. The whole complex is now a different building. It is disappointing. Oh well. I have to go to Quarry Bay to see if 9 Hoi Wan Street 9/fl is there or not.

A lot of walking and it is very hot, somewhere around 30 degree, not prepare for this kind of heat. I bring all long sleeve shirts and turtle necks.

Uncle Charlie's store is quite big with lots of jewellery. Met him and Pauline busy working with customers. Will meet with them again for supper tonight.

Title: First Day of Our Trip - Arrival

We arrived 6:35pm local time and I think it is your time 3:35am. This was more than 13 hours of flight. Checked in approx. 8pm. The trip from airport to hotel (Causeway Bay)is already impressive enough. Lots of people, tall buildings, lots of freeways and everything is so different from 35 years ago. I haven't slept at all and I know I am suppose to go to bed but I am too excited. I want to go out and explore now. Talk to you tomorrow.

Ttitle: Phone call from Australia

Call from Auntie Nancy & Uncle SY last night asking how the 2 little Rocks are doing. I thanked them. They are both doing the Wii fit tennis, bowling, jogging etc. She wants to compare notes with me and check on how we are progressing with our Wii. Amazingly my fitness age was 65 and now it is 47. We all want to condition ourselves for the trip.

Title: How far you go

How far you go in life depends
on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the struggling,
and tolerant of the weak and the strong
- because -
somday you will have been all of these

Title: Setup blog (this is a test)

Photo taken at Banff