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Liz
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Monday, 10 June 2013
The last word
Well this blog is done. Was the trip worth it? You will know if you have been reading it that it was everything we had hoped for plus a lot more
Since we have been back someone, (yes you Aly) asked what were the three highlights.
The first was the wonderful send off we got at Barry, the last was the wonderful welcome home we got on Saturday and the other was the 7 weeks in between.
No one thing stands out. I just have a feeling of a trip that was so important to me for so long being so well worth it that I will never be able to tell you how wonderful it feels to have been able to do it.
To have followed Grandpa so closely and to find that so little had changed
To have visited Warsaw where he went before the war and to find the once totally destroyed city restored as Grandpa would have seen it
To have visited Red Square and Tiananmen Square in the same trip and to feel the history of these two places and all that has happened since Grandpa went that way
To sit beside the biggest lake in the world in the middle of Siberia in the sunshine with a minus 5 degree temperature and see the same wonderful snow capped mountains that Grandpa saw
To cross the border where he did and find that the camels he saw were not there now!!
To arrive in Shanghai in the same place he did 100 years on. That station is certainly different now
To see the places he and Granny saw, the home they lived in and the church they attended and the office he went to every day
To see the wonders of the world. The beautiful Yangtze River, The Extraordinary Great Wall, the amazing Terra Cotta Warriors, there long before Grandpa was there but not discovered till comparatively recently,
To see the little pandas so safe at the Panda Base from where their future is ensured
To see the cormorant fisherman which was a long held ambition too and the lovely Li River and the extraordinary landscape in that area
To meet little Yang Yang and her granny living in their simple home and welcoming us when we visited
To see the rice terraces that have been cultivated for 100s of years
To meet our guides, Tatiana, Natalia, Ira, Jane, Eric, Mody, Diane, Judy, Paul, Karen, Helen and the rest who made the trip so much more rewarding
To meet Ruy and Karen and to see their lovely house and garden and to visit the places they know and love
To be so lucky. Yes it was worth it and I will never forget the people and the places.
As a final word and sorry if this is a bit soppy I want to say that no travelling companion would beat Tone. We had a great time together and wherever we go next we will have a great time again. Thank you!
There will be some more pics going on in the next couple of days
Since we have been back someone, (yes you Aly) asked what were the three highlights.
The first was the wonderful send off we got at Barry, the last was the wonderful welcome home we got on Saturday and the other was the 7 weeks in between.
No one thing stands out. I just have a feeling of a trip that was so important to me for so long being so well worth it that I will never be able to tell you how wonderful it feels to have been able to do it.
To have followed Grandpa so closely and to find that so little had changed
To have visited Warsaw where he went before the war and to find the once totally destroyed city restored as Grandpa would have seen it
To have visited Red Square and Tiananmen Square in the same trip and to feel the history of these two places and all that has happened since Grandpa went that way
To sit beside the biggest lake in the world in the middle of Siberia in the sunshine with a minus 5 degree temperature and see the same wonderful snow capped mountains that Grandpa saw
To cross the border where he did and find that the camels he saw were not there now!!
To arrive in Shanghai in the same place he did 100 years on. That station is certainly different now
To see the places he and Granny saw, the home they lived in and the church they attended and the office he went to every day
To see the wonders of the world. The beautiful Yangtze River, The Extraordinary Great Wall, the amazing Terra Cotta Warriors, there long before Grandpa was there but not discovered till comparatively recently,
To see the little pandas so safe at the Panda Base from where their future is ensured
To see the cormorant fisherman which was a long held ambition too and the lovely Li River and the extraordinary landscape in that area
To meet little Yang Yang and her granny living in their simple home and welcoming us when we visited
To see the rice terraces that have been cultivated for 100s of years
To meet our guides, Tatiana, Natalia, Ira, Jane, Eric, Mody, Diane, Judy, Paul, Karen, Helen and the rest who made the trip so much more rewarding
To meet Ruy and Karen and to see their lovely house and garden and to visit the places they know and love
To be so lucky. Yes it was worth it and I will never forget the people and the places.
As a final word and sorry if this is a bit soppy I want to say that no travelling companion would beat Tone. We had a great time together and wherever we go next we will have a great time again. Thank you!
There will be some more pics going on in the next couple of days
Civilised myths
I just want to end by commenting on a couple of myths!
We keep being told that China has had 3,000 years of civilisation, 5 or 4 or3 dynasties ( dependant upon who you are listening to) so being the pedant that I am I have read extensively on China's history and looked up the dictionary meaning of civilisation, talked and listened to masses of people.
Civilisation is; "social organization of a high order," China has never had this ---ever! It has had a series of dynasties separated by hundreds of years of civil wars, mass slaughter, hunger, deprivation and autocratic unelected despotism. The great works and monuments tell their own tales (magnificent though they are), The Forbidden city was built to prevent emperors being assassinated, it housed their family and retinue of 9,000 and kept out the people and any contender for the title. The great wall was built by slave labour and garrisoned by conscripts who were sent to the wall with their families and had to feed themselves and their families without pay. Even the rulers were not safe from the slaughter, one General advised the Emperor that in his professional view the start of winter was not a good time to start a war. Just because he had voiced a contrary opinion to that of the Emperor he and 20,000 of his family, friends, acquaintances, schoolmates etc. were slaughtered to teach everyone a lesson. It has continued right up to today, the ruling one party state will not condone opposition in any form, corruption is rife the people oppressed.
The second myth is in the name of the country, The Peoples Republic of China. The dictionary defines a Republic as; "a nation or government in which the supreme power rests with all the citizens and is exercised by representatives elected by them".
They are, to put it politely, having a laugh are they not? Power rests with the people! Representatives elected! Tell that to those evicted from their lands prevented from, voicing an opinion, prevented from reading, hearing or watching what they want, forced to have abortions (unless you are rich enough to pay the fine (bribe) to have a second baby) The power rests with an elite 350 party members who allocate each other the spoils and continue to oppress the population, not much change from the past 3,4 or 5 dynasties then!
I know it may sound odd after such a wonderful adventure, seeing fabulous sites and meeting such a wide selection of incredible people but as long as we all, individually or collectively as nations condone governments and "civilisations" like this the world will never be a better place for untold millions of our fellow citizens.
Tony
We keep being told that China has had 3,000 years of civilisation, 5 or 4 or3 dynasties ( dependant upon who you are listening to) so being the pedant that I am I have read extensively on China's history and looked up the dictionary meaning of civilisation, talked and listened to masses of people.
Civilisation is; "social organization of a high order," China has never had this ---ever! It has had a series of dynasties separated by hundreds of years of civil wars, mass slaughter, hunger, deprivation and autocratic unelected despotism. The great works and monuments tell their own tales (magnificent though they are), The Forbidden city was built to prevent emperors being assassinated, it housed their family and retinue of 9,000 and kept out the people and any contender for the title. The great wall was built by slave labour and garrisoned by conscripts who were sent to the wall with their families and had to feed themselves and their families without pay. Even the rulers were not safe from the slaughter, one General advised the Emperor that in his professional view the start of winter was not a good time to start a war. Just because he had voiced a contrary opinion to that of the Emperor he and 20,000 of his family, friends, acquaintances, schoolmates etc. were slaughtered to teach everyone a lesson. It has continued right up to today, the ruling one party state will not condone opposition in any form, corruption is rife the people oppressed.
The second myth is in the name of the country, The Peoples Republic of China. The dictionary defines a Republic as; "a nation or government in which the supreme power rests with all the citizens and is exercised by representatives elected by them".
They are, to put it politely, having a laugh are they not? Power rests with the people! Representatives elected! Tell that to those evicted from their lands prevented from, voicing an opinion, prevented from reading, hearing or watching what they want, forced to have abortions (unless you are rich enough to pay the fine (bribe) to have a second baby) The power rests with an elite 350 party members who allocate each other the spoils and continue to oppress the population, not much change from the past 3,4 or 5 dynasties then!
I know it may sound odd after such a wonderful adventure, seeing fabulous sites and meeting such a wide selection of incredible people but as long as we all, individually or collectively as nations condone governments and "civilisations" like this the world will never be a better place for untold millions of our fellow citizens.
Tony
One last day
Friday 7th June
Today is the last day of this great adventure. Ruy and Karen suggested that we drive to an area of old rice paddy fields and have a walk. This we did and it was quite amazing. There were little hamlets with quite large houses. Some were occupied and others not but they were surrounded by overgrown paddy fields that had not been farmed for many years. There was a path through the area which wound through the old field system and alongside a stream. The sun was hot and we were glad of the dappled light to reduce the glare.
We heard and saw many new birds. These include the red winged crested cuckoo. Karen and Ruy are very experienced birdwatchers and this bird can be enticed into the open by imitating its call. Karen did this expertly and sure enough it came very close to us. Ruy thought it might think that Karen was a competing male and might attack. It is 16" so a big bird and a fly past might have been very alarming!!
Ruy could see it but without experience we couldn't but we certainly heard it responding to Karen. Amazing!
We also saw some wonderful butterflies in brilliant colours. I was able to get some good photos. See gallery. It was a terrific walk and we loved it. Really hot though and we were glad to repair to the Jockey Club for lunch (like you do)
A lovely visit to an elegant place. We were glad of the cool interior after our walk. One of the family connections I had recently discovered is that the San Miguel Brewery was started in the Philippines by an ancestor!! Yes the stuff you might drink when you are on holiday in the Med. The one to look for is the one still bottled in the Philippines which they had in their list at the Jockey Club so of course I tried some and very nice it is too!
Back to the house where we went through some more photos and recorded them so I can look at them when I get home.
Nelson is really looking so much better since we got here. Hopefully he will continue to improve and hold his own with the other dogs in the family!
We had a look round Ruy and Karen's garden which is partly garden and mainly jungle!!
There is some lawn and a 3060 year old stone circle (yes you read that correctly!) When Ruys parents built the house 60 years go they had some excavation done in the stone circle and found that it was 3000 years old then. They have no idea what it was for but it is at the top of the mountain so in a prominent position. Very interesting.
They also have a pool which at this time of the year has tadpoles in it and won't be cleaned out till they have grown up.
Apart from the cultivated bits and the lawn the garden is wild and has boar, snakes, civet, monkeys, deer, tree frogs, etc. etc. etc. Quite an adventure to go out in it!! We didn't!
There are also many many no-see-ums which bit my legs unmercifully in the short time we were out there.
From the garden there are wonderful views through the trees of the islands in the bay far below.
What a wonderful place to live. Ruy and Karen spend much time and energy trying to protect this lovely corner of the New Territories against developers. Long may they be successful.
After supper we drove to the airport where we bid a fond farewell to our new found cousins. What a wonderful time we have had in Hong Kong. So much to see, so much to talk abut and so much to look forward to when we see them again.
It is not possible to say how much we have enjoyed this last part of our trip. Thank you Ruy and Karen for being such great hosts. Come and see us in England as soon as you can bear to leave the beautiful place that is your home.
Today is the last day of this great adventure. Ruy and Karen suggested that we drive to an area of old rice paddy fields and have a walk. This we did and it was quite amazing. There were little hamlets with quite large houses. Some were occupied and others not but they were surrounded by overgrown paddy fields that had not been farmed for many years. There was a path through the area which wound through the old field system and alongside a stream. The sun was hot and we were glad of the dappled light to reduce the glare.
We heard and saw many new birds. These include the red winged crested cuckoo. Karen and Ruy are very experienced birdwatchers and this bird can be enticed into the open by imitating its call. Karen did this expertly and sure enough it came very close to us. Ruy thought it might think that Karen was a competing male and might attack. It is 16" so a big bird and a fly past might have been very alarming!!
Ruy could see it but without experience we couldn't but we certainly heard it responding to Karen. Amazing!
We also saw some wonderful butterflies in brilliant colours. I was able to get some good photos. See gallery. It was a terrific walk and we loved it. Really hot though and we were glad to repair to the Jockey Club for lunch (like you do)
A lovely visit to an elegant place. We were glad of the cool interior after our walk. One of the family connections I had recently discovered is that the San Miguel Brewery was started in the Philippines by an ancestor!! Yes the stuff you might drink when you are on holiday in the Med. The one to look for is the one still bottled in the Philippines which they had in their list at the Jockey Club so of course I tried some and very nice it is too!
Back to the house where we went through some more photos and recorded them so I can look at them when I get home.
Nelson is really looking so much better since we got here. Hopefully he will continue to improve and hold his own with the other dogs in the family!
We had a look round Ruy and Karen's garden which is partly garden and mainly jungle!!
There is some lawn and a 3060 year old stone circle (yes you read that correctly!) When Ruys parents built the house 60 years go they had some excavation done in the stone circle and found that it was 3000 years old then. They have no idea what it was for but it is at the top of the mountain so in a prominent position. Very interesting.
They also have a pool which at this time of the year has tadpoles in it and won't be cleaned out till they have grown up.
Apart from the cultivated bits and the lawn the garden is wild and has boar, snakes, civet, monkeys, deer, tree frogs, etc. etc. etc. Quite an adventure to go out in it!! We didn't!
There are also many many no-see-ums which bit my legs unmercifully in the short time we were out there.
From the garden there are wonderful views through the trees of the islands in the bay far below.
What a wonderful place to live. Ruy and Karen spend much time and energy trying to protect this lovely corner of the New Territories against developers. Long may they be successful.
After supper we drove to the airport where we bid a fond farewell to our new found cousins. What a wonderful time we have had in Hong Kong. So much to see, so much to talk abut and so much to look forward to when we see them again.
It is not possible to say how much we have enjoyed this last part of our trip. Thank you Ruy and Karen for being such great hosts. Come and see us in England as soon as you can bear to leave the beautiful place that is your home.
Welcome Home!!
7th/8th June
After saying Goodbye to Ruy and Karen we checked in for our flight to London.
Fortunately I looked at my phone when I was turning it off to see a text from Lara, Tones daughter. She was offering to collect us from the airport!! We had planned to take a coach down to Southampton but we were due to arrive at 4.40am so knew we would have to wait for some time.
I phoned Lara and in spite of the flight being much earlier than she had though she agreed to collect us. She lives about 20 minutes from the airport!
You may remember many blogs ago I told you we had used Tesco air miles to pay for this flight!!
Tone said we would have to travel on the wing but of course this was not the case and we checked in and boarded on time to comfortable seats and a full plane.
Tone went straight to sleep as he always does but I stayed awake long enough to have a red wine and to read a bit more of my book.
We slept really well considering and ours was the first plane to land at Heathrow on Saturday morning. True to her word Lara was there as bright as a button in the early morning.
We arrived back at home at about 7.30 to a wonderful surprise. Charlie, Miche, Ellie, Emily and Ed were at our house. There were balloons, banners welcoming us home and the delicious smells of a Full English breakfast coming from the kitchen.
Thanks to you all for such a wonderful homecoming.
I missed you all so much so seeing you so soon after we got home was very special.
Cath called quite early as did Emma and Sally so we had a great day on our first day back.
After saying Goodbye to Ruy and Karen we checked in for our flight to London.
Fortunately I looked at my phone when I was turning it off to see a text from Lara, Tones daughter. She was offering to collect us from the airport!! We had planned to take a coach down to Southampton but we were due to arrive at 4.40am so knew we would have to wait for some time.
I phoned Lara and in spite of the flight being much earlier than she had though she agreed to collect us. She lives about 20 minutes from the airport!
You may remember many blogs ago I told you we had used Tesco air miles to pay for this flight!!
Tone said we would have to travel on the wing but of course this was not the case and we checked in and boarded on time to comfortable seats and a full plane.
Tone went straight to sleep as he always does but I stayed awake long enough to have a red wine and to read a bit more of my book.
We slept really well considering and ours was the first plane to land at Heathrow on Saturday morning. True to her word Lara was there as bright as a button in the early morning.
We arrived back at home at about 7.30 to a wonderful surprise. Charlie, Miche, Ellie, Emily and Ed were at our house. There were balloons, banners welcoming us home and the delicious smells of a Full English breakfast coming from the kitchen.
Thanks to you all for such a wonderful homecoming.
I missed you all so much so seeing you so soon after we got home was very special.
Cath called quite early as did Emma and Sally so we had a great day on our first day back.
To the Doctors, to see some trains and strange foods and some wonderful Orchids
Thursday 6th June
Today we all went out after breakfast to visit amongst other places a train museum. You may remember when we were on the Trans Siberian Railway Tone was very interested when we saw some of the beautifully restored engines at the stations in the middle of Siberia. He was no less interested in the railway museum near to where Karen and Ruy live. Tone and Ruy were like two small boys!
Ruy used to use the line we were on when he went to school as a boy and the trains were very similar too!
There is a steam engine there that had been used in Hong Kong and then sent to the Philippines where it had been fitted with a spark arrester (like you do!) and used in the sugar plantations. When it was rediscovered it was brought back to Hong Kong and restored and with great ceremony put back where it had started!! The things some people will do!!
The ticket office was not unlike the old one at Barry from where we had come so there was a certain continuity to it all.
But before all this Tone went to the doctor with his dreadful cough which was not getting any better. Dr Wang Yu (I think) said Tone has bronchitis and infected sinus and gave him six different pills. Some were to be taken three times a day, some twice and some once so we needed to prepare a flow chart so he could get it right! Hopefully this little lot will help.
From the train museum we visited a wonderful market where there were all sorts of things for sale including chickens feet and some weird fruits and vegetables
We tasted some lovely peanut and toffee sweets plus some other delicious sweet treats made by the stallholder. He heard me coughing and offered me something out of a jar!! "Don't eat that!" said Ruy. It was of course ginger and it would have been me going to the 24 hour vet or Dr Yu next if I had eaten it!!
Our last stop of the day was to Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Gardens. This farm had been started to provide training for farmers in organic farming and then it developed to help local people, particularly widows to farm by giving them various animals and by training them too. Today it is more of a botanical garden and has some animals and birds, mainly rescued ones, and they do research too. There is a Gloria Barretto Orchid Sanctuary which Ruy was proud to show us. Gloria and Ruy both discovered new orchids and last year Ruy discovered a butterfly that is new to Hong Kong.
After lunch we drove round the farm which covered a huge area and give wonderful view over the mountains and jungle of this part of the New Territories.
Fabulous butterflies and birds as well as flowers and trees. A wonderful opportunity so see this part of Hong Kong. One that tourists probably do not see. Thank you Ruy and Karen
Dog alarm - Catching up - then a supper with no noodles and no dumplings!!
Wednesday 5th June
When we got up this morning Ruy and Karen were not up and after we had had a cup of tea and they still did not appear we wondered what was going on!
When they did surface they were looking very tired!
In the night one of their dogs was ill. Nelson is a golden retriever and is quite old. He is a new addition to their family of 10 dogs. I think he was abandoned by previous owners and being a soft hearted pair Ruy and Karen had given him a home.
They had taken Nelson to the 24 hour vet and were there for some time in the middle of the night. I think they said they left the house at 2.30 and got back at 4.30 am with a significantly lighter bank balance. Nelson however was full of pills and potions and hopefully on the mend.
Ruy and Karen were remarkably sanguine about it all and so our day started!
After breakfast Ruy had to go to a funeral and then into his office in town.
In view of the night they had had we did not make any plans for the day. We stayed at home and caught up with the blog, we read some great books about Shanghai and Hong Kong that they have and I did some more work on my family tree and on the information we have about Granny and her family.
Several queries were solved. Had Granny and Grandpa ever been to Hong Kong? Yes probably on their honeymoon if not before.
The houseboat that I thought was called Loiterer and was in Shanghai was actually called Lontra and was in Hong Kong. This means that the film we have on Granny and Grandpa on the houseboat was probably taken in Hong Kong and not Japan or Shanghai as we thought.
Ruys mother Gloria Barretto was an expert on orchids and was writing a book on Orchids at the time of her death. Karen and Ruy finished the book and published it. It is a beautiful book with wonderful pictures in it.
After a lazy day for us and a well earned quiet day for Karen we went out in the evening. Not for dumplings! Not for noodles! not even for stir fried rice! But for a pizza!!
We picked Ruy up from the bus station and met a couple of their friends at a restaurant they use once a week, And it was great!
Another great day in Hong Kong.
When we got up this morning Ruy and Karen were not up and after we had had a cup of tea and they still did not appear we wondered what was going on!
When they did surface they were looking very tired!
In the night one of their dogs was ill. Nelson is a golden retriever and is quite old. He is a new addition to their family of 10 dogs. I think he was abandoned by previous owners and being a soft hearted pair Ruy and Karen had given him a home.
They had taken Nelson to the 24 hour vet and were there for some time in the middle of the night. I think they said they left the house at 2.30 and got back at 4.30 am with a significantly lighter bank balance. Nelson however was full of pills and potions and hopefully on the mend.
Ruy and Karen were remarkably sanguine about it all and so our day started!
After breakfast Ruy had to go to a funeral and then into his office in town.
In view of the night they had had we did not make any plans for the day. We stayed at home and caught up with the blog, we read some great books about Shanghai and Hong Kong that they have and I did some more work on my family tree and on the information we have about Granny and her family.
Several queries were solved. Had Granny and Grandpa ever been to Hong Kong? Yes probably on their honeymoon if not before.
The houseboat that I thought was called Loiterer and was in Shanghai was actually called Lontra and was in Hong Kong. This means that the film we have on Granny and Grandpa on the houseboat was probably taken in Hong Kong and not Japan or Shanghai as we thought.
Ruys mother Gloria Barretto was an expert on orchids and was writing a book on Orchids at the time of her death. Karen and Ruy finished the book and published it. It is a beautiful book with wonderful pictures in it.
After a lazy day for us and a well earned quiet day for Karen we went out in the evening. Not for dumplings! Not for noodles! not even for stir fried rice! But for a pizza!!
We picked Ruy up from the bus station and met a couple of their friends at a restaurant they use once a week, And it was great!
Another great day in Hong Kong.
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