Saturday 20th June Orkeny to Carbisdale Castle

Returned from Orkney on beautiful sunny day and very smooth trip across Pentland Firth.

Then visited for nearly 3 hours the Castle of Mey, a previously derelict castle owned by QE the Queen Mother from 1953 onwards which she left to Prince Charles and is now his personal holiday summer home . Imagine a slightly upmarket version of a kiwi bach of the 50’s/60’s in a castle with jigsaw puzzles, videos of dads army, every gift she was given, her raincoat and Wellington boots at the back door andpaintings by local artists on the walls –was the only property she personally owned. One swet anectdote was she was to have a dinner party including Queen from Brittania, cook concerned short of lemons for the gin so she drafted radio message to ship “Grave concern ,short of lemons, please bring with you”. Gardens were smaller version of Heligan in a cooler climate-simply magnificent esp broad beans and currants.

Staying at Carbisdale Castle YHA with our bedroom in the tower –another fascinating place left to SYHA lock stock and barrel in 1945 including art collection and statues-1st image above is the YHA.

Westray to visit the ancestors Friday 19th June

Very early start for us as had to be on the ferry at 7.20 am –another 1 hour trip from the Orkney mainland to Westray–quite calm. Met at Westray by our booked tour –turned out to be just we 4 with our driver Alec, a most interesting and cheerful 70 yr old local who was probably a relative of Lyndsays.

Several highlights –meeting other relatives ( distant) on farms where ancestors were born, finding the headstone of William and Ann Rendall, Georges parent’s and Lyndsays g-g-g-g grandparents, in the Pierwall Lady Kirk graveyard and seeing the seabirds soaring and nesting at Noup Head, a huge cliff face. No trees, gently rolling sculptured hills, huge skies ever changing.

Arrived back in Kirkwall in time for Huddersfield Choral Society concert in 11th Century Viking St Magnus Cathedral at 10 pm –brilliant –came out while still light at 11.30 pm.

At Brinkies Brae !!

Drove over to Stomness in the afternoon and walked up on up Brinkies Brae, which is the large hill behind the town (made it here and now we will be on the way back !!! ) and then roamed the very narrow streets looking for food as surprising number of tourists out and about. Light tonight until nearly midnight tho passing heavy showers again. Helen is trying to hide from the midges in the photo.

Thursday18th June

On the road early as needed to get to Gills Bay to catch the ferry to Orkney d made good time so were able to visit Dunnet Head which is the true northern most point of mainland UK as well as John O Groats and were able to see Orkney quite clearly once the very heavy squalls passed. Once on the ferry the GPS in the car just continued as if it was still on land. SYHA hostel here is a very old ex Army barracks but comfortable and showers have hot water. Ususal interesting assortment of people. Kirkwall is another interesting older town, rather grey looking as all the houses are built of the same materials, with cobbled streets and quite a big port area.

Caledonian Canal

Wednesday –Caledonian canal
Fort Augustus Lift on the Caledonian Canal was a truly amazing sight, a canal lock with 5 gates and 2 people operating the gates and two craft coming up from Loch Ness into the Caledonian Canal-this canal allows you to sail/motor from Inverness virtually to Oban on the West coast ( there is a big flotilla traveling the other way this week with lots of song and dance on the way ) and has several locks and swing bridges and we saw them both in operation –not only that but Lyndsay was the lock keeper for a time opening the sluices and then opening one of the gates.

Wednesday 17th June

Wednesday 17th June
Raining at Fort William this morning –Japanese all up, had stripped their beds and left our room before we were awake, bikers all dressed in waterproof gear left with roar of 13 Harley Davidson engines. Took about 4 hours to get to Inverness on road past Lochs Fyne, Oich, and Ness and the Caledonian canal ( about which more later). Met Loma and David who are old friends of Lyndsay’s, who now live near here, for lunch at the Culloden Battlefield Visitors Centre and then spent some time in the display area and had the short conducted tour of the Battlefield. Fascinating specially learning about all the long term effects of the loss of that battle by the Jacobites. Then to the Inverness YHA where our companions tonight are another interesting mix –elderly Scots walking cross country and 2 groups of Czech teenagers amongst others –both hostels so far in Scotland have been fully booked.

Tuesday 16th June Glencoe

Stopped at Glencoe last evening and visited the Glencoe Massacre Monument that remembers the McDonalds massacred by the Campbells in 1692.

Tuesday 16th June

Up late and following a great Katie breakfast, we all set off for Inverchaolin on Loch Striven, where in the churchyard there is a whole bunch of Currie relatives buried. Spent about an hour in the churchyard, just wandering and looking at tombstones and the nice little stone church built in 1912 to replace a wooden one that burned down-none of our relatives would have been in this church as had already left the area. Very calm and peaceful there except for the midges, which are fierce.
Beautiful summers day in Scotland -19 degrees, no wind but lots of midges ( we do hear it is 3 degrees in Auckland today –so sad!! ) and the loch was beautiful.
Also tried to find the Dunoon Bowling club with the gold medal but needed more time. Also stopped by the hospital and took heaps of photos of their H1N1 arrangements –all around the back of hospital with lots of signs about what to do –couple of portable cabins set up as triage area and tamiflu dispensing areas. Went right to the door of assessment area ( no patients in sight ) and spoke to nurse dressed in theatre scrubs, plastic apron, gloves, mask –maintained my “social distancing” whilst talking to her. Secondary school here with 1,000 pupils has been closed for a week.
Back to Dunoon for yet another glorious Katie meal and then on the road again about 2.30 pm and arrived at the Glen Nevis YHA near Fort William about 7.30 pm-in an 8 bed dormitory this time with all Japanese women party. There are also about 12 Dutch Harley Davidson riders here this evening –all middle aged, about 7 ft tall and built to match, all in black motorcycle gear –seem pleasant tho.
Facilities not quite as good as the English YHA hostels we have stayed in but do have wireless broadband for 3 pound per hour.
Still light at 11 pm.

Monday 15th June

Another slow start and late get away -to Loch Lomond for brief look, then back to Dumbarton and found 4 High St which was Dad’s last address in Scotland-down a little alleyway and up a curved staircase to flats above the shops.
Then to Port Glasgow –depressed looking dreary town and sad looking dreary people (and it was raining!)- similar to Annie Mackenzie we were warned not to go to certain streets especially Bouverie St cos of the heroin addicts -some streets no longer exist and in some that still, do the buildings are no longer there ( PG bombed during WW11) –it was overcast and rainy. Found a number of the places where Mackenzie/Gaston ancestors had lived, all in the same small area. Highlight of Port Glasgow was finding the grave of Colin McKenzie, our great-grandfather, in the cemetery.
After the dreariness of PG it was a relief to find that Greenock and Gourock looked bright bustling and prosperous –there was a concern that things would get worse the further west we went.
Then onto red car ferry about 5pm and off to Dunoon, a gorgeous small town on the other side of the Clyde (which is incidentally the swine flu capitol of UK) to Katie and Willie’s where we had a very convivial evening –beautiful dinner and gorgeous wines, great conversation in a beautiful setting.

Sunday 14th June

GPS took us in circles around Haworth but we did manage a quick visit to the Bronte Parsonage behind the church and large graveyard with heaps of beautiful trees. Haworth village is all small cobbled streets and difficult to manouvre in. There is a very large wind turbine up on the hill behid the village and we stopped underneath it, turned engine off and opened the car windows so we could all hear any noise from it –sort of soft swishing sound which I guess could get annoying if you were close to it for long periods of time.
Off to Lake District and after an irritating traffic jam due to road works arrived at Hawkeshead in Cumbria and then visited Beatrix Potters house at Hilltop at Near Sawrey (free on our Historic Places Trust cards!) Beautiful cottage just as she had directed it be left with original letter with Peter Rabbit story and lots of the furniture in the house features in illustrations in her books. Great National Trust volunteers in every room telling
Dash up the M6 motorway in pouring rain ( only 2 hours late ) and met up with Paul and John in middle of Glasgow about 7 pm -to the park where festival opening had been to drink beer –then to amazing restaurant –L had haggis, neeps and tatties then H back on train with Paul, and John went in car to guide the others to their home in West Dumbartonshire where we had an extremely comfortable night.

Away from Ravenstor again by about 10 am and then spent a couple of hours wandering the Peak District –heaps and heaps of walkers, cyclist and motorcyclists and people going to explore caverns, all escaping from the cities of the Midlands .Can see Manchester in the haze from right up on the Dales.
Then down into the valley –stop at Stockbridge at Tescos and saw boat go thru canal lock which was really fascinating and thru to Rochdale where we found streets where Lyndsay’s relatives Holdens and Browns had lived but no actual houses-interesting in that they seemed to live only a few streets away from each other. We had gone to Rochdale information centre for a map to find the streets and then had amazing assistance from 3 women in their history section who went to great lengths to find streets no longer on current maps –real challenge for them which they seemed to really enjoy.
Stayed night at YHA Howarth up on the Yorkshire moors, yet another former stately home, but in very good condition and we had a 4 bedded room to ourselves, wonderful self catering kitchen in basement and drying room that dried whole load of washing overnight.

Friday 12 June

Had a quick whip thru Cheddar George at 10am-coach tours already unloading so moved on quickly to Bath where just peeked at Romans Baths and Pump room-nice busking in square by man playing dulcimer . Had a minor ( well major!!) issue with the GPS when she tried to route us north via the M6 thru Bristol, which we left just before it came to grinding halt in all lanes. Actually my fault cos hadn’t told the PS to exclude the motorway. Then did somewhat cross country route with stop for lunch with the Indian leftovers on a very small village green ( about 4m square) somewhere in Gloustershire-became a long and somewhat fraught day as we were due to be in Tupton with Kelly’s parents Peter and Lesley at 7 pm .In end we raced into YHA Ravenstor in Peak National Park , threw on change of clothes and managed to get there by 8.45 pm to a warm welcome and lovely tea. So nice to meet them before Keely and Daniel’s wedding in Auckland next year. Then interesting drive back on a pitch dark night since H had forgotten to bring post code to put into GPS and we were directed into middle of very small sleeping village.
Lots of tractors with huge tyres and silage trailers today-also changes in colour of stones for cottages. Ravenstor was another former stately home like Burly but in much better condition

Thursday 11th June

Usual resolve to leave early but not away from Dave and Sylvia’s at Redruth until 10 am. Off to Padstow, nice place but overrun with older coach tour tourists and the small village of Rock across the bay looked a much better bet. Lynds was first in the queue for Rick Steins Fish and Chips at noon –very disappointing –routinely get much better at Riba in Devonport.
Then across Bodmin Moor to North Hill where Richard Tucker ( g-g-gf) was born-another amazing 15th century church and churchyard, and on thru more narrow lanes and high hedgerows to Calstock, a village on the banks of the Tamar River just on the border of Devon and Cornwall. Here Edward Tucker and Jane Kitto ( g-g-g-gm/gf) were married and first son Edward born. Fairly spectacular rail viaduct here which then killed the river trade down to Plymouth. So have finished with the Cornish Tucker ancestors and visited them all –only place we didn’t get to was St Veep where Edward snr was born.
Up and over Dartmoor –whilst a sunny day for us you can see how bleak and foreboding it could be there in the mist and rain. Sort of reminded us of Desert Rd.
Then onto M5 motorway and speedily up to Cheddar where had a nice room with ensuite bathroom for the 4 of us at the YHA. Heaps of French School children there too. Indian Takeaways for first time in England this trip –enough left over for lunch next day

Wednesday 10th June

Beautiful morning, cloudy but blue skies. Off to Penzance first –found a laundromat (which was much needed cos no washing done since London) very close to car park and sea front–wandered around and then had another adventure as one of our party’s cashflow card was swallowed by the Barclays Bank cash machine!! Then headed north and stopped at Breage at the 15th Century church where our our 5x great grandmother Jane Kitto was baptized in 1793 ( she became Mrs Tucker and emigrated to NZ in 1841). Amzing church with painted friezes and huge churchyard.
Then it was off to Falmouth to meet up with Tracey and Chris ( from Kohukohu) and their daughter Tammy and sit in the sun by the sea and consume an enormous genuine Rowes Cornish pasty ( apparently the large crusty bit on the side is for the tin miners to hold on to with their dirty hands) and a local beer. So nice to see them on the other side of the world and in their own environment.
We then raced off towards Lost Gardens of Heligan with one or two false turns (despite our trusty GPS but mostly cos Helen, the driver, didn’t listen and her reaction time was not fast) and arrived there just before 4.30 pm-got in for 2 for 1 deal and had a wonderful 1 ½ hours before they closed. Highlights for Lyndsay were the restoration of jungle area and the ponds and the espaliered fruit trees, not to mention the walled veggie garden. Anne and Helen were very taken with the glasshouses, especially the peach house which was a passively heated glasshouse with espaliered peach trees facing south for sun in spring and summer. The huge walled vegetable garden was similarly impressive-pink flowered minature broad beans were outstanding and the asparagus –everything in their café is grown on the site. Kaye liked the non shearing sheep (they rub their wool off on trees) and Peter Rabbit who was just nibbling the grass minding his own business
Then home to Merrits Rd via the Tescos in Redruth in time for the 8 pm specials-3 cartons of rhubarb lite yoghurt for 1 pound and our 4 buns for 3 p. Kiwis traveling economically!!
Observation –can go from one very very narrow lane, to single lanes with a white line, to 2 lane motorways and vice versa within a very short space of time. Also more wind farms.

Tuesday 9th June

Real ancestors day–off to St Agnes on the north coast, thru the village and down to Trevaunance Beach, had nice conversation with “lady of the manor” above the beach and her handyman who had been to school with the last of the Penroses from Trevallas. Then navigated ourselves to Trevallas Beach and set off on the Jericho Valley walk which H had been planning for about 2 years. Stopped at Blue Hills Tin mining and manufacturing place, the only one still in production in Cornwall and then continued up the valley and hill past Trevallas farm and Cross Coombe farm where Penrose/Commons are recorded in 1841 Census. We all managed to get stung by nettles on hands, arms and legs in the course of the walk !! After the farms, the track goes thru the airfield and along the cliff top from where you look back to St Agnes –spectacular!! Was one of the English summer days where 4 layers –silk, merino, polyprop, polar fleece plus a parka and beanies were needed.
Quick trip to Chapel Porth National Trust Cove cos Brett said we needed to try the “Infamous Iced Hedgehog” there ( “Cornish icecream smothered with farmhouse clotted cream rolled in honey roasted hazel nuts”-a little low cholesterol number ) –eaten whilst still in our arctic gear!
So then we decided to go to Lands End, as you do and had a bit of an episode where we took the wrong turning in St Ives and ended up in some lanes scarcely wider than the car. After Lands End the fuel gauge was going down quite alarmingly and all the petrol station people ( and there weren’t a lot of them) go home at 6 pm, but we were rescued by the ever reliable GPS which steered us to a 24 hr station at Tesco in Penzance. Interesting light on the sea by the lighthouse at Lands End and standing stones.

Monday 8th June

Left Burley about 10 am and headed south west. Lunch at Lyme Regis with thousands of other grey haired day trippers and then a little detour of about 5 miles to Branscombe the village where the pottery of the same name originated-very tight roads and a super trickey ( ++++) hill start at a blind intersection with several hundred kilos of people plus about 100 kilos baggage in one car –the smell of burnt clutch and burnt rubber lingered for some time!! 3 back seat drivers didn’t help!!
Quick stop in Plymouth to see Francis Drake on Plymouth Hoe. This trip triggers lots of history things to read or re read. Lots of naval activity in this part of the world –Sprite and bigger helicopters flying around and Dutch frigate entering Plymouth Harbour. Could imagine Edward and Jane Tucker and their children getting on the William Bryan from a small quay there in 1840.
Crossed into Cornwall and then it started raining about Lisgard. Two large wind farms on the hills-real spooky looming out of the mist and rain. Got to Dave and Sylvia’s at Redruth about 6.30 pm. Very comfortable and room to move which was great.

Southern England Sunday 7th June

Thunderstorms in the early morning but not heard by H&L in their dungeon. Off to Heathrow to pick up the car-still some gallantry amongst male population as heavy suitcases were whisked up and down the many, many stairs at Paddington station.
Very pleasant woman at the car hire place-we accepted the GPS which proved to be a very good decision.
Car is a Holden Zafira, supposedly 7 seated people mover which we foolishly assumed would be equivalent in size to our Honda Odessey but is actually much smaller so when it came to trying to put 4 suitcases in the back it became a real challenge. Helen driving and despite the GPS within 15 minutes she had managed to turn us back towards London-GPS is clever tho and then gives instructions on how to extricate yourself when lost.
The drive south through the back roads of Surrey and West Sussex countryside was breathtakingly beautiful with trees and flowers in full bloom and we stopped for a belated picnic lunch on the village green in one of the small villages.
More ancestors –brief stop in Arundel with its impressive castle-birthplace of Charles Boyce senior ( g-g grandfather) and then to Warblington Cemetery to visit Peter Blakes grave-a beautiful peaceful place with very old church followed by a whiz around Portmouth so Anne could get see HMS Nelson and her Majesty’s Dockyard there.
Arrived at the Youth Hostel at Burley in the New Forest about 7pm –wild ponies and foals all on the verges and on the roads along with donkeys –L had a bit of a fit when one donkey stuck its head in the window.
Quick trip over to Lyminton to see if Toddy was home –found the house but not there-then back through the forest (superb sunset in the west) to the Youth Hostel about 9 pm –––maybe a dozen people staying here.
Comfy bed in a 4 bedded bunkroom.

London Saturday 6th June

Raining and a bit cold so plans to go up the Thames to Kew gardens were shelved and spent some of the morning in McDonalds ( more bad coffee) uploading blog material, then on Tube to check out St Pancras station where A&K will catch the Eurostar to Paris when we return to the south. An amazing building and the Eurostar just rolled in from Paris exactly on time to the minute.
In the morning in one of the tunnels in the Tube at Paddington a woman in the crowd who was rushing to catch a train tripped and fell face down right in front of us and smacked her chin, lip and nose on the floor –blood everywhere and a very officious little man stopped and kept saying “I am trained First Aider with certificates! ” until I had to tell him to shut up. It was just like the old CPR videos they showed us in nursing school where some one steps forward and says “Stand back, stand back I know CPR!” What was most interesting was how fast the station manager was on the scene, I guess the commotion was picked up on the CCTV which is everywhere.
H persuaded the team to walk from St Pancras via Hunter Street down to St Pauls –bells ringing for evensong-across the Millenium Bridge which doesn’t sway any more and to the Tate Modern where Lyndsay was especially taken with a Marc Chagall painting and we were all fascinated by an installation called 30 Pieces of Silver by Cornelia Parker. She had collected hundreds of items of silverware ranging from candlesticks to trumpets and flutes to trays and vases, had them all run over by a steam roller and then suspended in 30 groups about 20 cm above the floor –mind blowing stuff. Then just to finish off the day we headed for Oxford St and a shop called Primark-thousands of people in this cut price clothing store. A&K bargain hunted and H&L were overwhelmed and had to go outside. Dinner at an asian fast food restaurant –had promise like the fish and chip shop but again unfulfilled. Observations of Oxford St on a Saturday night –as many people in one place as in Hong Kong, and every other language than English.
Other random thoughts-shelves and shelves full of pre prepared food-no wonder people don’t cook ( H would be in her element here)-Tesco makes superb croissants and Sainsbury has great baguettes –crisp on out side and soft inside-you can tell this is a self catering trip!

London Friday 5th June

On the Tube out to Ilford at the end of the Central Line–met at the station by Alice Moss, Susans nan who is a very sprightly, cheerful, generous 83 year old woman. Walked back to her house and had lunch there with her –chicken and leek pie, ham and salmon sandwiches, fruit cake, gingerbread and cups of tea –a veritable feast and cheerful conversation. Back into London past the building site for the 2012 London Olympics, and off to the posh shops in Knightbridge like Harrods. A&K went on a shopping spree at Primart and H&L walked down to Sloan Square and met Emma Pirie for very cheerful drink and dinner ( in Helens case drinks plural!!). A&K sucessfully navigated their own way home to Paddington on the Tube for the first time!!

London Thursday 4th June

Today we discovered the free Wi Fi in McDonalds about 200 metres down the road near Paddington station so back on line again just for the price of a bad cup of coffee.
Gorgeous hot sunny day and we became real tourists today mixing with the thousands of others from all corners of the world. Big Ben was very impressive with magnificent gold decoration looming over us as we emerged from the Tube at Embankment -took a “flight” on the London Eye which was pretty impressive cos you can see for miles –in our pod was a young Orthodox Jewish couple –him complete with ringlets, Americans, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Dutch people.
Then it was off to the Tower of London-we hitched to one of the tours by one of the Beefeaters called Dave-a very loud voiced former Army Sergeant Major who was a witty and knowledgeable historian. Displays here are very well done, lots of audio visual together with the displays of armour and torture devices. Saw the ravens but what took our breath away was the Crown Jewels and the gold coronation altar items and table settings –again the presentation is superb-and the thickness of the vault doors impressive. There must be very state of the art security system all over this site but it was not evident other than a bag search at the entrance ( also bag search before boarding London Eye)
After a walk across Tower Bridge we then headed further into the East End in search of places that our great-grandmother Sarah Boyce (Beaumont) had lived in 1861 and 1871. Found Christian St near Aldgate where she had lived in a Public House in 1871 but not the building as the whole area had been rebuilt. Then it was off to Clerkenwell and we found Aylesbury Street and possibly the building where the whole Beaumont family are recorded on census night in 1861. There is a pub nearby called the Crown Tavern where about 200 people were out on the street cos it was a sunny evening and we spoke to a couple of Aussie guys there -2 pieces of trivia about the pub –Dickens set part of Oliver Twist in front of it and Karl Marx and Joseph Stalin met in the pub. The Marx centre is in the next street.
Back to Paddington exhausted again so headed to the Fish and Chip shop opposite hotel that looked clean and seemed very popular –another example of how looks can be deceiving! Consensus among us was that it was the most expensive and the worst F&C ( and in Annes case a hamburger) we had ever eaten-not cooked to order but all pre cooked. Wont be back there again. Fell into bed again for 9 hours sleep.

London Wednesday 3 June

Easy Hotel Paddington London Wednesday 3rd evening

Well our cheap hotel is cheap because the rooms are very small, about 18 square metres including the bathroom and the bed is on a wooden base and you cant put anything underneath. Could be much better organized but has good shower with lots of hot water and it is quiet .
After early promise of fine sunny day it turned cooler in the afternoon but that didn’t affect the fun we had on the Fat Tire Bike tour of inner London-we were a group of about 12 with our guide Matt- a cheerful erudite young Londoner, proud to be English –left from Queensway Tube station and spent 4 hours riding gently, with frequent stops for talks from Matt on the history of places we stopped –went thru Kensington gardens, Hyde Park, past the palaces, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey and parliament ( still standing despite the Govt being in total chaos here with ministers resigning all over the place) and the surprisingly restrained and impressive water sculpture memorial to Diana. Would recommend this bike tour to anyone of any age or fitness level visiting London –all you need to do is be able to ride a bike. Walked back to hotel and crashed for 9 hours. Photo shows Kaye and helen sitting on floor cos only place to use computer.

Munich Airport 6 am Wednesday 3rd June . Well, we were really spoiled obviously in Hong Kong with free WiFi everywhere because while we have great hotspot coverage here in Munich Airport they want us to pay 8 Euros for 60 minutes so this is just being typed in draft this morning and internet news will have to wait until later.
Something I forgot from yesterday is that everywhere we went in HK people were wearing surgical masks –looked strange to start with but then we got used to it-all the bus drivers, street cleaners, supermarket staff –everyone there including the deli staff, and also so many people wearing suits. Also heaps of signs about H1N1 and recorded messages in the MTR about not spitting.
Another thing last night is that Lufthansa serves your meals complete with stainless steel knives and forks. No plastic for this lot even tho I still have to have my Swiss Army pocket knife in checked bags. Had breakfast over Bulgaria just before dawn this morning after I had been awake for about an hour, looking down over Khazakstan, southern Russia, and the Black sea .
Whilst we wait for our onward flight to London at 7.20 am instead of NZ Herald, Lyndsay is sitting here reading a free copy of the International Herald Tribune-wot joy.
Off to ride bikes in London today.

Farewell To Hong Kong

After an uneventful trip from Auckland to Hong Kong we are departing after three days. The four of us have had a fantastic time The first day we arrived at our accommodation around ten in the morning, got showered and set off to explore Hong Kong. Lyndsay and Kaye went to the tailor and we just walked and explored. In the evening we went to see the light show on the harbour which was pretty ordinary as we couldnt hear the music and then we got spectacularly lost trying to get to the night market -helen famed for her geographical expertise made the first misdirection,and then Lyndsay's correction landed us back at the door of our lodging place-the only manifestation of jet lag so far !! . The next day we went via another huge shopping mall ( the designer shops seem to be conpicuously empty of customers with immculately dressed staff looking bored!!), to Lamma Island by ferry, a very interesting place, and there we had a seafood lunch, then caught the tram to the Peak, a fantastic view tho thru the smog -this mornings paper reported that yesterday had the worst air quality this year. In the evening we went to the night market.

Today has been our last day in Hong Kong and went to the jade market where successful purchases were made by three of us. We then went and walked around the daily food markets and this was certainly and eye opener. Live toads for sale and for the lucky, one can select their chicken whilst it is still alive. The veges looked so fresh and delicious. We went back over to Hong Hong Island and the afternoon was spent going up the external esclators to "the Levels" and the antique shops on Hollywood road. We returned to the accommodation shattered and headed on our way out to the airport for the next leg of our advednture to London.

So impressions of Hong Kong this trip

-the superb cheap, fast ,clean public transport with the great Octopus card

-wi-fi everywhere -on her ipod touch Anne could connect to trademe even on the travelators in arrivals at the airport and then from hotspot to hotspot whilst on the hundred year old trams from Causeway to Central

-just so many people

So now its off the Munich tonight and on to London in the morning.