Crowne Plaza Hotel Crowne Plaza Shenzhen

... to pose for a photo being taken by his girlfriend. I shut my book, told him it was ok and posed prop**ly with him. He was all smiles until I asked him for 50 yuan as a fee. No I didn't really but next time I might for a laugh. This might be a great pay as you go way of funding travels. Sometimes if someone is full on gawping(usually on the metro) I'll smile and nod a hello and this always gets a smile or a laugh back, and despite being such a simple ...

... people mover car, driver and a guide: no other tourists! Went up Victoria Peak but it was so misty and rainy that there was no point in getting out. We went down to the half way lookout point where we got a rather wet view looking over Hong Kong towards Kowloon. Went to various places around the island including Repulse Bay ( where we saw Jackie Chann's house!), Stanley Market, Aberdeen (where we went on a Sampan ride around the fishing boats and house ...

... further back than last time. Some acts were replaced with others, although this is to be expected with such shows to give artists breaks.

We achieved great timing and found ourselves at the Tapia Temporary Ferry Terminal half an hour early. Luckily we were again allowed on the earlier sailing, settling into the nice Perth-made CotaiJet for the journey back to Hong Kong. Because of our early arrival we had extra fat in our MTR trip back to Disney, not ...

... and I sketched. It seems that it's cheaper to buy in the US than here, I guess unless you want to buy knock-offs. Our hotel is almost next door to the Museum of Art (as well as the Space Museum and the Performing Arts venue) so I took myself off to this. I've never been a fan of Oriental art but I changed my mind after a short time here. I think Picasso learnt from the Oriental artists - 4 lines and you have a rearing horse, 6 lines and some smudged ink and ...

... quantities of four and all of those items are marked down considerably. (Four or si, means death in Mandarin. The same is true for Cantonese.) And so with silly grins on our faces, we headed back up the hill. I hadn't finished the oatmeal that I had found in Taiwan, so I made some of that and put some apple into it and we downloaded our new show "Lie to Me" and watched it. It was a truly delightful experience and we all enjoyed ourselves considerably.

We have now been in Hong Kong for 10 days and we don't need a map any more. It is beginning to feel like we live here, so it's a good think we are heading to Vietnam tomorrow! Back in Hong Kong we visited Shek-O, a beach at the south of Hong Kong Island. The tram ride took way longer than expected so we got there and were hungry, so we went for lunch at a Thai restaurant on the beach where I had some delicious deep-fried squid. We spent the afternoon ...

... Na de bergen zullen we afzakken naar de kust (Halong Bay) waar je heel veel mooie onderwater grotten en mooie natuurstenen die bizar uitsteken boven zee kunt zien. Ik heb me nog niet helemaal 100% verdiept in wat we allemaal gaan doen maar vooralsnog word ik hier heel blij van! We gaan tot nu toe met 4 man: Thea (mijn dikke Deense maat), Blanca (Spaanse druktemaker, studeert in Boston), en Guy, gozer uit Rotterdam die eigenlijk Israëliet is. Het is allemaal zo ingewikkeld hier, ik ben ...

Ok, and for the start of the long awaited blog, we will step back to the beginning.. The day we left started out just like any other, coffee and a ride to the airport. We had an inkling that something was amiss when we went through the airport security in MN and Philly was chosen to have a special screening from the guards. Now, if you know the ...

On our 2nd day still...we crossed the border and went to Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Lovely city, with very friendly people..hmm a bit MORE friendly than HK peeps I must say...anyways, we went to this humongous park WINDOWS OF THE WORLD, showcasing top spots of the world..namely: Europe Region Houses of Parliament, Britain The Mazes, Britain Stonehenge, Britain The Louvre Pyramid, Paris, France Buckingham Palace, Britain London Tower Bridge, Britain ...

... new contract offer. My life, perspectives and view of the future have changed significantly since I came to Shenzhen. The next contract could be career and life shaping, so it's not a choice to be taken lightly. There is still the hammering resonance of Michelle's recent question whilst we were in Guizhou, "Why are you in China?" It's a question I know the answer to, but having a job gets in the way of becoming a Sino ...