Horner travels ...

Photos: New Zealand

terrihorner — Mon, 1 Jun 2015 01:07:00 GMT

Family motorhome travel

KL- Penang 2.4.12

terrihorner — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:22:00 GMT

On our day to get to Penang we awoke to heavy rain that luckily eased by the time we left. Decided to take a taxi to Sentral train ststion instead of getting us and our luggage wet (the days of roughing it are slowly disappearing). Decided to try the fast train to the airport for a change of scenery - just a little sick of highways and palm plantations. The train wasn't much more exciting despite seeing into some people's back yards. The fast train only goes to the (posh) international airport and from there we had to take a bus onto the LCCT (Low cost carrier terminal).

Flight to Penang at 1:40, arriving at 2:40.

We were met by Mr Khoo, a driver organsied by our accommodation. He was sweet and knowledgeable having been born on the isalnd of Penang. In quite good English, he talked to us for the 40 mins drive to our home away from home. Our Heritage 2 bedroom terrace home (fully renovated) was gorgeous! (So spacious after a hostel room where our double beds touched the walls.) After settling in, we checked out our local area. Though we would find some vegies to cook dinner in our little Ikea kitchen but the markets had closed and there was nothing in the common 7-11. Bought samosas, donuts and halva from a street vedor one block away - at 17 cents each- it did the trick. Glorious sleep after a beautiful shower, in my enormous bedroom with original wooden shutters and views over more delapidated terrace homes occupied by locals.

36 C plus humidity must equate to 40 + (1.4.12)

terrihorner — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:13:00 GMT

At 9am we took the Hope on Hop Off bus from Chinatown. Kids very excited while Mum and I looking forward to an easier day on our legs using the bus to get around instead of our own steam. We chose to stop at and explore:

Muzeum Negara (The National Museum): Mum and I had been before so we were able to go at the kids poace (a little quicker than ours) - they loved it. Had tourist photo shot of the four of us holding exotic animals (first and last time most likely)
National Palace
Islamic Arts Museum (My absolute favourite - gorgeous lay out, incredibly artistic and exotic displays, fine fabrics etc) Highky recomnmended:-)
Petronis Towers (just for lunch, not for shopping- may as well be at the Gold coast- no thanks) Enjoyed a return visit to Malones overloong KLCC park
Kraft Komplex: kids were tired by now and just wanted to go home but from experience this was the place to shop for local crafts. We were incredibly lucky that we arrived at the end of a weekend festival- halls were filled with batik, clothing etc which was a joy to look while I restrained from buying fabric that I will never use, Mum did buy me a lovely pink and mauve moo moo dress (know you love 'em Pauly)
Ran to catch the last bus home at 8pm. Mum stayed in while the kids and I had egg roti at the Indian Curry house on the corner of our street opposite another temple. Our street was always busy with worshippers, food stalls and Bollywood style music blaring through distorted speakers - can;t descibe the sound, sights and smells that made you feel like you're in India only one street back from a main road - amazing.

Busy day wandering the busy and back streets. 31.03.12

terrihorner — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:48:00 GMT

woke at 3am (my regular 5am in Australia - hope this stops soon!) Used the time to plan our days here
All ready to leave at 8am having forgotten that most places don't open until 10am.
Walked to: clock tower in Masjid India, the old market square with its dutch gable terraces (sweet) and onto Merdeka Square which was not in its full glory- some sort of festival was taking up the entire green. We enjoyed the new City Galeria with fabulous information and enviro- friendly crafts. Discovered that Ni'mah absolutely loves dioramas of which therewas plenty here. After looking at them, we went outdoors to look at the real buildings (mostly 19th century) surrounding the square including the tudor style Royal Selangor Club, Chinese inspired Institute of Architects, the Cathedral of St Mary's, the grand Sultan Abdul Samad building from 1894 as well as the gorgeous Art Noveau Victoria Fountain.
Heading back to Sentral Market area (still closed) Mum enjoyed another shop at Peter Hoe ( her favourite shop from last year) - purchasing 4 shirts.
Wandered along a nearby street that passed (another) Chinese temple and the devine Sri Maha Mariammam Temple (1873) which is 23 metres high with 5 tiers of (frightening) Hindu Gods.
A little lost again finding The infamou Old China Cafe (street names don't match up with L.Panet). It was worth it - on a little back street with character, we enjoyed a Peranakan lunch in the quaint old guild hall (1920s) still in original condition with antique furniture.
Let Ni'mah enter a girly looking knick knack store that turned out to be 4 stories high filled with stationary, beauity accessories etc (mainly from japan). We were stuck in there for an hour! Nim was in heaven.
After an hours rest (heat getting to us), we took on the challenge to find the Indian night markets although it was still afternoon. A train from Masjid Jamek to Kampunbg Baru later, I was sitting with map in hand at a very quiet station for 10 mins trying to get my bearings and find a way out. Asked a couple of people who sent us down a dirt track (in the middle of the city). A memorable walk through an old malay housing area cokmplete with vegie pataches and small banana plantations, we came across the setting up of a very small market - mainly muslims selling clothing. Along from here was a local eating area which I recognised as an area we had discovered 2 years earlier. It really is a delightful contrast to the rest of KL city. Tasted some local sweets along with some fresh juices (no ice). Cost : $4AUD for all 4 of us.
Back at Masjid Jamek station we spotted the Bazaar which we hadn't noticed any other time. After aimlessly staggering through it we came across adjoining markets. We kept going, although exhausted, and couldn't find a way out or work out where we were.l A few hours later, in the dark, we took a side street to a busy road and were told it was too far to walk back to Sentral Markets near our accommodation but we did! Turned out wqe were in Masjid Little India, walking parallel to Jln Tuanka Abdul Rahman through the Malam Saturday night market - it was pretty amazing (and busy) mostly set up for locals (saris, costume jewels etc.)
8pm, we shared a few Thai entrees at Sentral Markets before stumbling home for another well deserved sleep.
Overall, a 14 hour day with probably 12 hours of walking- we were smashed.

Gold Coast to KL: 30.03.12

terrihorner — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:41:00 GMT

up by 6am to get courtesy car to aiport
met by large cues as computers (Air Asia, not Qantas) down
plane late at leaving due to this and slightly late (and sticky and chaotic)arrival in Malaysia
Took Star Shuttle bus to Pudu Raya depot in China town area
Mildly lost finding accommodation but gradually found after unnecessarily dragging Mum and her wheeling luggage up and down a hill
At Step Inn we had 2 double rooms with our own private 'bathroom' (That's an Asian backpacker style bathroom - sink hits your knees as you sit on the loo, which is wet once the shower has been used due to it's positioning above it - ok if you remember to always take the loo paper out before showering) Happy with our budget accommodation - every one friendly, a couple of communal areas, cute rustic outdoor 2 burner gas kitchen on patio with the feral cats)
Walked to Petaling Street and shared a large claypot of chicken and rice. Asher and I were the only ones who enjoyed it. Obviously not too tired as I noticed our ordered water had a broken seal..mmm - returned it.
After a little more wandering, slept like logs after a much needed rest

Travels starting in Qld

terrihorner — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:35:00 GMT

Yhe poor kids - they were picked up towards the end of their swimming carnival - Nim tired and ready to go, Asher grumpy that he couldn't stay and get his house more points in the last three races. What child would rather swim than miss their transport for an overseas trip for 3 1/2 weeks?

After the final packing check, we were driven to the end of our street by my Dad/ Poppy to catch the train from Deagon to Robina. There we caught a bus (too far and had to trek back) to our accommodation oppposite the Coolongatta Airport. A lovely early evening was spent devouring a seafood takeaway at the beach followed by a sunset walk.

Photos: Georgetown, Penang

terrihorner — Tue, 6 Mar 2012 16:55:00 GMT

Photos: KL

terrihorner — Tue, 6 Mar 2012 16:54:00 GMT

it's all we've had time to do - sorry - time poor but busy with cultural immersion!

Last Entry

terrihorner — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:47:00 GMT

Unless something extraordinary happens today which we need to share, this will sadly be our last entry for this trip! 2 nights ago we both agreed that we would be happy to get straight on a plane and head home but persistence is a good thing and we have enjoyed what we've managed to fit in over the past few days. This morning, after catching up on a little photo downloading and journal writings, we explored the Indian aspects of the local area and saw the oldest Hindu temple in Malaysia followed by a visit to Little India. We plan to spend the afternoon in the air-conditioned luxury of Sentral Markets yet again and will be checking out the two beauty/massage shops in there in case we are tempted to get a scrub, massage or pedicure. The choice will be difficult - all three would be nice! Then we will do our reverse trip to the airport - a one stop train ride to Sentral and then the cheapie bus to the airport where we will have quite a few hours to kill. I'm sure it's going to be a long night but our return to QLD tomorrow morning will be as lovely as this trip. Thanks for following our journey. Love to all, Helen and Terri XXX

KL Hop On Hop Off Bus

terrihorner — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:32:00 GMT

We had decided to take the KL Hop On Hop Off bus (despite the one on the coast of HK not being necessary). This one went to over 20 sights and was worth the $13AUD to get around the city easily and not have to negotiate all the different unconnected forms of public transport here. Here's where we hopped off to take in the cultural sights:

The National Museum (another great museum and not too big - 1 1/2hrs needed).
Merdeka Square (just spent 10 minutes in the square itself to photo shoot the array of interesting architecture surrounding it)
Twin Towers
Kraft Cultural Komplex (has a great souvenir shop and outside huts with craftpeople at work- glad had a little time here)
Trendy central area of Sun Gai Wang Plaza in order to check out a 7 floor electronics/techno' department store called Lan Yat, just around the corner from the bus stop. A great place to buy phones if you can knock down their intial overpriced quotes - didn't find what we were looking for though.
Last stop at Central Market near our lodgings.

Have to mention that we had a terrific 2 course meal at an Irish (come English) pub called Malone's. We stumbled across it at the back of the Twin Towers, an esplanade with lake views although we had seen signs for it around town. At $20AUD per person, it was a bit more than the common cafe or street food however Mum enjoyed her 3 varieties of sausages on mash with cabbage and caramelised onions and Guiness gravy followed by smashed meringues with strawberries, cream and coulis. As has become habit, Mum accompanied this with a fresh green apple juice. It's replaced her terrible tea habit! I enjoyed a 1/4 BBQ chook on mash with wilted spinach and shallots with a mustard cream sauce followed bu a pear and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. The crumble had toffee crumbs in it! It was a long 8 hour, hot day so we came back to the lodge for another rest. In the slightly cooler evening, we ventured back outside and again combed the streets of Chinatown and Sentral Markets. As the food court was shut, I ordered a 70centAUD fresh naan bread with dhal and curry sauce. Mum had a green apple juice (though not quite the same quality in this street Indian establishment). Bed at 10pm as all the others in the guesthouse were heading out to the Reggae Bar - I was invited too but didn't think I would have lasted more than 10 minutes trying to keep up with the young backpackers so went off to bed and was asleep within minutes. We are finding KL exhausting and our pace has slowed down.

Settling in to KL

terrihorner — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:26:00 GMT

After a lengthy demand of our air-con fee back (and getting it), we took the uninteresting 1 hour trip with Airasia buses to Sentral Station then boarded the Putra MTR 1 station to our destination - the Matahari Lodge. It was an easy trip. As we were early and couldnt get our room, we scoured the stalls and shops of Central Market (in the air conditioning). Later, after checking in to our room, we took on the Petaling Street Markets. Lunch was in the food court of Sentral Markets with fresh juice- at a cheap price. Dinner was on Petaling Street taking in the crazy ambience of backpackers and other visitors weaving their way through the ever harassing vendors. Forgot to mention that we managed to fit in a Nanna nap- don't know if that was because of the heat or that we are nearing the end of our trip and losing our momentum. Early night and a great 8+ hour sleep.

Day and Night activities in the sky

terrihorner — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:07:00 GMT

Because the cable car to Ngong Ping didn't open 'til 10am or so, we decided on an early start to avoid tourist crowds After enjoying breakfast, 7:30am, at Pacific Coffee Company (our ever-reliable source of western food and coffee)we boarded a local bus on much the same route as Tai O - back up the mountains - a 40 minute ride. At the top of Ngong Ping are many tourist sites- we started by viewing the Big Buddha peacefully perched on top of another mountain. We were unable to climb up to it and experience it's grandeur size as the gates were closed until 10am.Mum was thankful to avoid the 100's and 100's of steps after yesterday's heart testing climb. Next we thoroughly enjoyed the Po Lin Nunnery exerience - my favourite temple so far with elaborate, artistic and colourful Indian influenced ceiling art. The shrines were surrounded with plentiful, perfumed floral arrangements- absolute bliss. Everything was gorgeous in the temple but I couldn't find any info' on it - I assume they were buddhists/taoists. After this, we followed the white cobble-stoned road aligned with numerous gift stores and made a few more purchases. At the end was the cable car. Knowing it was one of the longest in the world and that it went over mountains and down into valleys and across water, we hesitated about taking it down to Citygate and considered taking the bus back but after seeing so many people getting off - especially the elderly and children who didn;t look grey in the face- we decided we just had to do it! For those of you who don't know, we both have a fear of heights and get numb, tingly legs in such situations. The 1-way ticket was $80HKD back (just over $11 AUD)so we bought one and jumped on board (gently so as not to rock the cabin). Mum held on to her seat the whole way! I stood a couple of times to look out the glass clearly and take photos but also held onto rails while doing so. We are useless but neither of has had a panic attack and were able to walk at the end of it as we disembarked at City gate. The scenery was lovely as you can see from the photos - it was a bit foggy as we reached the city area and crossed the water. There were some very steep declines but the ride was very smooth. Back at Citygate, we saw the endless queue of visitors at the cable car waiting to go up to Ngong Ping 360. We were so glad that we had chosen to do it a different way and were back before these poor people had even left. We returned to The Marriott to retreive our luggage and boarded the shuttle bus to the airport. We had a few hours until our 5:30pm flight to KL so wandered around all of Terminals 1 & 2 and did a little more shopping! Who would believe that we are both underbudget and coming home with money? Arrived in KL after 10pm and it was 29d.celcius and humid - whooah. Found the shuttle bus to Tune Hotel then wound down at their impossible computers - it took 45minutes to try and get my gmail account up so we gave up after an hour and spent the night sleeping in what felt like a desert. In the morning we realised our air-con, which we had paid for didn't work- mmm.

Island Hopping

terrihorner — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:51:00 GMT

Spent the early hours exploring more of Tai O- walking in the opposite direction to a local Ferry Terminal enjoying watching the locals getting ready for their day. After coming to a dead stop (military signs warning no entry), we returned to the Cultural Centre and decided to follow a sign to a dolphin lookout. Most tourists jump on a small boat to be taken to see the endangered local pink dolphins but we hoped we could see it a different way. Up the hill we panted past hundreds of graves suffocating the hills and mountains in large concrete shrines. Mum will never forget the steps we had to climb - they went on forever. At the mountain's peak, we walked along the ridge carefully watching in hope but we were not to see any type of dolphin today - I wonder if the tourists see any on their boat trips for $3AUD. After consuming a sesame and white bean paste "ladies Cake" from a local bakery, we boarded the bus destined to CityGate via the snaking mountain roads. A pleasant one hour trip for scenery as you pass many mountains and some of the coast. Found a local airport bus and took it to our most prestigious accommodation thus far- The Marriott- at HK's international airport, or should I say city? Of course our room was perfect, with hazy views over the South China sea. Rested for a while as we settled in, then caught a bus again to CityGate - as well as a transit point, it has a DFO like outlet. Bought nothing though enjoyed a lovely Indian dinner here for $7AUD, probably a tenth of the price of The Marriott's meals. Treated oursleves to dessert later that night, back at the hotel - at $15AUD, my chocolate brownie and marshmallow mousse with alcohol laden cherries was an absolute treat!

An extreme change in scenery

terrihorner — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:39:00 GMT

Took the TUrbojet back (no upgrade this time)to HK Island pier, found the MTR station numerous floors below and took a train (with one change) to Lantau Island. At CityGate, we changed to a local bus and enjoyed another hairy mountain ride for an hour to the fishing village of Tai O. It was great to see so much greenery belonging to HK at last- gorgeous mountains with new roads perfect for cyclists and hiking trail signs splattered along the roadside. Tai O does attract the tourist buses so is busy at times but the place is tiny with only a few main streets. After being seen to our room at Espace Elastique B&B, we went for a squiz and had seen the area in less than a couple of hours! Out of the tourist area of market stalls and shops lining the streets, you can walk to some temples, to various lookouts and past genuine local housing including an abundance of stilt houses often covered in tin. It was a delight to have a break from teeming HK and enjoy a slower pace of life. At the point, we were nearly blown away in the icy wind. The weather has been cold again - I think we've had one warmish day on our trip so far despite being Spring. Stopped at a Cafe on Kat Hing Street, with tables overlooking the canals and mish mash of new and rotting housing. Enjoyed dim sum and local shortbread cookies for afternoon tea. That night, we had Chinese with the locals, as all the tour buses had vanished and we were the only Westerners left. The B&B is the only place to stay here - with 2 rooms though there is a Boutique Hotel under construction. This place is going to take off and lose it's current appeal. When you see photos of the place 10-20 years ago, you can already see the transformation it's had but at present it still shows reflections of it's past. Espace Elastique was a little overpriced for what you get and when you compare it to other accommodation we've had at the same price, however, we were grateful for the opportunity to stay here.

A taste of Las Vegas

terrihorner — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:16:00 GMT

After striking off the places we'd seen yesterday from the tourist map, we worked on a plan to see the unseen places. First we got a taxi to Casa house and gardens - a gallery in a lovely old mansion, however, it was under renovations and we only got to see the building, not the historical pieces. The gardens were not worth mentioning. Next door, we walked around the old Protestant Church and cemetary with graves dating back 300 years. The writing has been preserved and it was interesting to read the cases of some peoples deaths - a lot were American sailors but also missionaries and others from Europe. The church was tiny and probably the only one around in contrast to the numerous, grand Catholic Churches. St Augustines was are next stop on the way down hill to St Paul's ruins again. We had been clever and ordered the taxi driver to drop us at the top of the hill so we could work our way down! Next we visited the interesting Monte Forte (also hundred of years old and once a viewpoint to look all around the island for intruders). Of course, today you can only see the water in some directions through the high rise. The museum there is brilliant. Dare I say, that curators from the Brisbane Museum should visit this museum as well as the fabulous one in HK to get some ideas for sprucing up our aging displays ie those green turtles in the 30 year old marine display! We spent over 2 hours here so allow a little time of you visit - highly recommended for kids too as lots of interactive displays and replica houses etc. Outside the museum, we enjoyed a giant croissant filled with salad and beef - our lunch at 3 in the afternoon. After a rest in our hotel, we walked to Fisherman's Wharf for a look - probably a hive of activity on weekends, it was dead for us, midweek though there was alot of closed shops and we felt like it had had it's day and was strugglng to survive. Not really worth the effort though kids may like the fake roman ruins, giants causeway, tudor style buildings etc. Dressed up after a clean up and took a taxi to the Wynn Casino - have moved up to 5 star facilities now. It was like a shopping mall full of (expensive) restaurants, high end fashion shops and an official Ferrari shop (was thinking of you Oliver!) After dinner in their "Cafe" (at $30+ a pop), we stumbled across their 'show'. In the lobby, we had seen an ornate ceiling of gold leaf animals and now it had come to life. We felt like we were in a movie set - maybe like "Raiders of the Lost Ark". The ceiling peeled away and a light show began which transformed into Chandelier-like jewels falling from the sky at times looking like a spaceship coming to suck every one up. Then, trees started emerging from the floor- gold at first then turning into a brilliant lush green forest. The show was spectacular - probably worth a visit just for this but unfortunately children can't enter to see it. Took to the thick pile carpets to try out one of many pokies and wasted away $15 AUD each enjoying our surroundings as we did so. The atmosphere here was a lot more interesting than at our hotel and we were glad we made the effort to visit. As we left, a water show, to classical music, began outdoors in the Wynn's oversized pond (everything was on a big scale). It too was delightful. $47AUDollars later we were back in our comfy room. This was our biggest (and most exy) night out on this trip but another lovely experience.

To the City Of Dreams!

terrihorner — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Took an early taxi to the pier and after boarding the TurboJet (and being upgraded from economy to deluxe seats), we enjoyed a fast 1 hour trip across the sea to Macau. Got a bit lost in finding our way out of the place and eventually walked to our 4 star hotel. Turned out they had a shuttle bus (without a designated bay or stand at the pier). I think the hotel was graded 4 star in the 60's and hadn't changed at all since then but our room was spacious and above the views of a dirty, littered carpark behind an adjacent casino, we could see the water, albeit hazy. We had forgotten that our hotel had a 2 story casino - though I think every hotel here has some form of gambling available. Took a local bus into a central area and follwed tourist street signs around the hilly centre enjoying the portugese architecture that frequently beautified the quaint 1 way streets and cobblestone alleyways. Gave Mum a workout by climbing to the top of Penha Hill to see it's sights and views of the island and ocean surrounds. Very little in English here as street signs etc are in Spanish and CHinese therefore it was a little harder to work out transport and our way around but it is manageable - well, we didn;t get lost - much. On this day we saw: St Augustines Church, Dom Pedro Theatre, Church of Our Lady of Penha, Penha Cathedral, St Lawrence's Church, Senado Square (with it's array of lovely buildings), Ruins of St Paul's and more. We basically had no plan (as we couldn't follow the pooorly marked tourist map - few street names) but stumbled across a feast for the eyes. It was a beaituful half day walk and one of our favourite buildings was the mansion of Lou Kan - a pity it can't be furnished to bring the dwelling to life though. Ate at our hotel - a little lack of atmosphere as we were the only ones in the large restaurant but the casino was busy with life. Had forgotten how revolting it is to be in large smoky areas so we tried to find some pokies with no smokers nearby and lost a few dollars each. The decor was over the top golden, Chinese, 70's style with lots of browns thrown in. The clientel were all locals and CHinese who were spending quite big bucks around the tables. Were a bit disappointed with our taste of the East's Vegas but had plans to try somewhere with a better name the next evening - so went to bed.

Last Night on HK Island

terrihorner — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:44:00 GMT

Today we pottered around - going to Post Office, bank, packing bags (to see if we could fit everything in) and eating. Had watched a horror movie before breakfast- "Creep." Haven't bothered watching anything like that since high school. Enjoyed breakfast at Cafe ZoZoi - just of Morrison HIll Road. The staff were overly lovely and the breakfast set was around $3 AUD including beverage. I had peanut butter french toast with maple syrup- it was surprisingly yummy. Spent quite a bit of time at the Wan Chai public library downloading photos - so check them out. We have a lot more (probably a few hundred more) if you wish to join us for a viewing when we're home and have caught up on our beauty sleep. Dinner- another delicious salad takeaway from the international food court at Pacific Place - this place is great for healthy takeaways as well as international grocery items. Off to bed - unless there's a compelling movie on- goodnight!

Back to the mainland - to discover The Northern Territories.

terrihorner — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:23:00 GMT

Another epic day starting with a 6am alarm in order to call Ni'mah for her Birthday.

Because this was such a busy day - here is a summary of our ventures:

FANLING: Fung Ying Seen Koon Taoist Temple; Heritage Trail walk to see Shang Him Tong Hakka Lutheran Church, Shek Lo Mansion, Mo Wat Wai walled village, Lo Wu Walled Village, Tong Chung Ling Ancestral Hall, Tin Hau Temple (another one). Had a lovely few hours walking this trail which went even further and we would highly recommend this little escape from mainstream, modern HK. We saw people on bicycles at last, a variety of housing with veggie patches etc - a historical look at HK's past.
TAI PO MARKET: got lost (had no map) while trying to find a couple of Colonial sites so sat in the square people watching, while enjoying a cake from a Chinese bakery.
SHAI TIN WAI: Walked to Hakka Village - a village that was most recently used by Hakka people though little evidence of that now, it was still very interesting. We were concerned about going inside the walled outer to explore but when a tour turned up, we tacked onto the back of them and followed them through - avoiding the dog poo!
DIAMOND HILL: Chi Lin Nunnery and the spectacular Nan Lian Garden adjoining the Nunnery. With a Japanese theme, this enormous 'park' was a joy to explore- from the vegan snacks to the huge variety of Bonsai and water features.
LOK FU: Kowloon Walled City Park - took us ages to find this as missed the pink tourist signs and went a few blocks too far. From the outside, it doesn't seem to interesting however, internally there was a great deal of information about this spot over the decades which was educational.

Both our legs were absolutely aching by this point - from village streets, to staircase after staircase - every muscle had had a good workout. Luckily we stumbled across a bus going directly to Tsim Sha Tsui to get The Star Ferry home.

Today we caught The Star Ferry twice, 2 trams, a double decker bus, a local green minibus to the Heritage Trail and boarded trains more than 10 times. It was , yet I say, another epic day!

After resting our weary bones, we metro girls - always up for a bit of night life- strolled out, amongst the crowds, to find somewhere for dinner. We highly recommend The Red Ant for inexpensive dinner sets - 3 course meals for under $10AUD including refillable glasses of hot water! We opted for a la carte which was even cheaper as weren't too hungry, just longing to lie down and fall asleep. Once back, we watched a movie instead - hope we get some recovery time when we return home.

The unplanned, lazy day

terrihorner — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:17:00 GMT

Slept in and didn't get ready to go out until after 9am - well, we were due for a rest. After aimlessly wandering the streets in the rain, Terri found an IT Outlet store (with designer wear) and purchased a groovy pair of blue velvet bell bottoms. Got a healthy takeaway salad for lunch, for a change then came back to the hotel for another rest. Later that night we took a tram to the Western Markets to look at the colonial building. While we were out, we took the escalator up the hill to Soho and had a Chinese dinner - sweet and sour chicken with satay vegetables. Used the tram to get back to Causeway Bay. Didn't make it to bed early, as planned!

A rainy day on the Southern beaches

terrihorner — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:57:00 GMT

After asking at reception about public transport along the southern part of HK Island, we were told about the open top Big Bus - a hop on, hop off system. We thought this was a great idea instead of fumbling our way around on multiple transport systems to various towns so we headed to Central to buy our ticket. We managed to get a front seat on the double decker, upstairs and had cameras ready for our much anticipated journey to the seaside. After 10 minutes we had to get our raincoats out in order to keep our precious viewpoint as we proceeded to Repulse Bay. There was a stop at Aberdeen, once a fishing village but now a thriving concrete ghetto so we didn't bother debarking there. We had breathtaking views as we wound around mountains often hugging the coast. Repulse Bay was peaceful with not too much development on the hillside though I'm sure in a few years it will have changed. We strolled along the beach in 18 degree C with a very refreshing breeze. At the headland we enjoyed the many donated statues that made up a colourful park- most were made with mosaics and were stunning. Boarded the bus an hour later, deciding to take a dry seat downstairs on the short trip to Stanley. We certainly felt like we were at a holiday beachside location with a promenade lined with tempting restaurants. I'm sure the temperature had dropped but it didn't stop us from stripping down(!!!) to try on some locally made garments. Mum, at last, had found a shop containing clothing to her taste and made up for not having purchased any items so far! After a few hours wandering Stanley Markets and with a few bags each of goodies in hand, we found a trendy cafe serving fish and chips - the perfect seaside lunch. Have to say it again - sorry- but it was better than home though the wine wasn't. With the rain set in, we boarded the last bus home and had a slow (peak hour) trip back down the mountain to Central.