A Mink Stole

Or to put it another way - It's a wrap.

The flight home was uneventful. I had the meal which was not as good as a lot I've had and then went to sleep, for 5 hours or so. My neighbour was a self confessed "deal guy" from Vancouver who'd had a few hours in transit before this flight and was heading on to Brisbane afterwards.

I grabbed some duty free on the way in, since you can no longer carry it on board flights in Australia and then quickly through immigration. My case was off early and I went through the security X ray. Do you have golf shoes I was asked. Whoops I'd forgotten about them, since I'd packed in Houston and had been living off the top of my suitcase for 4 days. They took them away for cleaning and disinfecting. After that it was out tot the taxi rank and home again.

However, I feel Like I'm a visitor in my own home, as by Friday I had booked for a 1 week trip back to Thailand. Same project as earlier this year, so I be reviving that blog. In played golf on Saturday, not too badly for the first 12 holes but then fell in a heap and hockey on Sunday - the Semi finals - which we lost 1-0.

I have timed my trip to Thailand so I'll be back for the grand finals in 2 weeks, assuming we win the prelim final next week, while I'm away. I will also miss state training again. It's then only a few days from when I get back till I leave for the Vets Championships in Brisbane. I will be away for over a month, playing hockey, visiting friends in Queensland and family in South Australia before heading to Tasmania for the Mensa Annual conference.

With the possibility of a trip to Beijing in November, I could well have been away around 120 days in 7 months.

I've already qualified for the next level in the Qantas frequent flier program and the next trip to Thailand may give me enough points with Thai Airways to be potentially useful.

Surprisingly I've had very little trouble with jet lag coming home. Possibly the long sleep on the flight to Hong Kong plus the sleep in the hotel sorted me out. However, I'm still suffering from Wiper Lag. This problem arises when you hire a left hand drive car in the US and continually turn on the windscreen wipers when you mean to use the indicator. The problem reverses when you come home. My windscreens at least are clean.

I would walk 500 miles

Or at least that’s what it seems like. I left the hotel about 9 and went up hill to Hollywood Road which has a lot of antique shops in it. It also has a temple dedicated to the gods of literature and war – an interesting combination. Just above this street, the apartment buildings start. These are huge and when the old airport was in use the plane used to fly down between them. I remember looking out the window and into people’s sitting rooms. On the way back I wandered through the street side market stalls – mostly food stalls – and had a banana and a watermelon drink for breakfast.

As I had to check out at noon I didn’t want to go any further at this stage so returned to the hotel and repacked my bag. I left both the suitcase and laptop bag at reception and headed out about 12, intending to visit the Peak. I decide to walk over to the station and went via the zoological/botanical gardens. On the way I saw a Callaway shop and decided to see if they had the FTi driver I used in Houston – they didn’t. It was hot and humid and I was drenched by the time I got there since as well as travelling a few km across town I also climbed a few hundred metres up the hill.

After a stop for a drink I headed to the tram stop, which turned out to be down hill from the zoo, and was soon on the tram to the peak. This is a very steep hill and I took some photos to try and capture the angle. The ones taken on the way down were better.

Things have changed since I was last there some 10-12 years ago with the sky tower now dominating. I’d paid for the combined ticket so I could go to the viewing terrace on the top. Before that I left the terminal and found there is a huge galleria shopping mall there as well. They also have a Madam Toussards there. I didn’t go in but posed with Pierce Brosman outside.

The view from the top of the sky terrace is spectacular but – and this seems to be a recurring complaint – it was too misty to really get good pictures. I took heaps anyway. You can see Honk Kong harbour and Kowloon in one direction and Aberdeen on the other side of the Island as well.

Once I got back down from the peak I walked through that part of the city visiting a few parks on the way to the railway station. I took a train to Kowloon and then realised I’d gone a bit further North than intended. The station there is another huge shopping complex and I had a great deal of trouble figuring how to get out. One exit was just for taxi drop-offs but the doorman there gave me directions to the Jordan St exit. I walked along Jordan Street until I got to a shopping area and had lunch at a small restaurant there – by then it was about 3pm so I was getting hungry.

After lunch I walked along Temple Street, which is nearby. They were just starting to set up for the night market. From there I went past the temple and through the jade market. Looking at the map I decided to head over to the hockey stadium, which it turned out is being repaired and then down past the university to the science and history museums. I had a look round the entrance to the science museum but decided against going in. I then headed towards the ocean terminal and on the way stopped and had my hair washed, cut and dried. I continued on to the terminal looking for the Callway shop. I eventually found it but they mostly had clothes and a couple of FTi clubs but not the driver I was interested in. There was another shop on the list, which was given to me in a shop in Hong Kong, nearby so I went to that one as well. They didn’t have one either but shortly afterwards I found a golf shop that had on. It wasn’t the right loft and it was about $800, much more than for the same club in Australia or the US.

By then it was after 7 so I headed to the nearest train station and took one to Central, then walked to the hotel. I had been walking more or less continuously for most of the 7 hours, except for the tram trip and the haircut.

I grabbed the change of clothing I had deliberately left at the top of the suit case and caught a taxi to the station, then a train to the airport. It seems the Qantas check in counter was as far as possible from where I got off the train. However I was soon through the checking, passport and security stations and once in the Qantas lounge I was able to have a shower and change into fresh clothes.

I have now had some sandwiches and other nibbles and a couple of weak scotch and cokes. It’s about 1 ½ hours till my flight leaves. It looks like I’m not going to be able to load this till I get home. I can get to the internet from the Airport lounge but not to my blog site.

Looking round and meeting up

I had a wander around the nearby area. The hotel is in the middle of things in the Sheung Wan area and you don't have to go far before you see both the modern Hong Kong with its steel and glass towers and the tiny back streets with the street stalls and small businesses.

After walking down the main road and then up a steep alleyway I had lunch at a small restaurant picked at random. Just some stir fried beef and rice for $5.



It was about 3-30 when I got back to the hotel and read the email from Ruby, the Hon Sec from Mensa with details for dinner. I called Thomas, the Vice chair who was going to meet me to confirm arrangements. About 4-30 I headed out again and saw the Western Market, which is an old granite warehouse that has been converted to shops and then headed towards the central station, popping into shops at random along the way. I found the rendezvous point and with 40 minutes still to go wandered further to a book shop and chemist before returning and having a soft drink and reading until they arrived.



I met up with the Mensa people at an MTR station. They had travelled there from the office but I had walked from the hotel, which was about 1 station away. Thomas and Jackie, the treasurer met me and we walked to the restaurant. It turns out this was closer to my hotel than the station and I had a short walk home afterwards. It was some time before the Ruby joined us as she'd been in a meeting at work. We had a traditional Chinese meal with several dishes shared. When we arrived they bought us tea and the others rinsed off the plates, bowls, spoons and chopsticks in the tea. Not sure if this is a health thing or a tradition or possibly both. We had fried squid, a beef stew, chicken pieces and a scallop stir fry. Apparently this particular restaurant is one of the oldest still operating in Hong Kong.

Part way through we we joined for a while by another member who was at the restaurant with a different group. There was also some excitement when an elderly man turned up. He is a famous food critic and was treated like some minor pop star or sportsman, with lots of people trying to take photos, before the minders asked them to stop. Later on he posed for some and this is him with the member, Elain. Thomas explained it by saying everyone in Hong Kong worked too hard to have time to play or be interested in sport and so forth but everyone ate, so a critic was as well known as sports stars elsewhere.

I got back to the hotel around 8-30 and 9 and watched 3 movies before finally getting to sleep about 1 am. I slept soundly till 8 this morning so maybe jet lag won't be so bad.