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dancywalden - Tony & Martha Dancy

Hi! Welcome to the Crabby Travelers' travel blog! We are Martha & Tony Dancy and we travel whenever possible. This year we attained our fantasy/goal to break from the norm (boring work-a-day life in the states) and find a way to live & work overseas. Tony took a music gig in Hong Kong recently that has turned out to be a unique, long-term stint. Or so we hope. I did the practical thing and quit my perfectly good job, packed up, sold and/or stored our stuff and joined him here. The log starts in HK & who knows where it will go next....

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Joined on: April 10th 2005
Last Login: April 6th 2009

Blog Entries: 23
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by dancywalden, order by Date newest first.

By dancywalden
December 17th 2005

Late Breaking News: WTO Protests Get Wild in Wan Chai Asia » Hong Kong

Convention Center - Wan Chai
Photographers & reporters milling about

December 17, 2005, Hong Kong I write this from the relative safety of our apartment in Sheung Wan. We are just back from the fracas in Wan Chai where WTO protesters staged a huge parade that blocked traffic on several major thoroughfares. The parade was a planned event and began in Victoria Park, with the route passing through Causeway Bay and Wan Chai, then on to the Convention Center. Well, that’s what was supposed to happen…. Our day started out peacefully with coffee & croissants at Deli France and no particular plan in mind afterwards; it was already past 3pm. Idlin [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
October 11th 2005

#22 Rainy Day In Xi’an Asia » China » Shaanxi » Xi'an

Xi'an, China
Dreary view from the Bell Tower down Nan Da Jie, or is it Bei Da Jie, Xi Da Jie, or Dong Da Jie??

June 5 Doesn’t quite conjure up that melancholy mood that Brook Benton gave, “Rainy Night In Georgia”. Gray, steady rain as we exit the train station. Taxi touts try to get our attention but I’m ahead of the game and see the legitimate taxi queue; we scurry to get a spot in line. A Chinese lady is lured by a tout - then shouts at him because she is taken to a taxi that is about 10th in line. And she thought she was getting the royal treatment! The overnight “Z” train was pretty nice, but still had a sour smell. [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
September 24th 2005

#21 The Summer Palace and missing German - Found! Asia » China » Beijing

Summer Palace
Rooftops of the halls near the east entrance

Saturday June 4 Up early again, tired. Breakfast at the hotel - hold the broccoli! …like Bush senior. We haven’t been adventurous with meals here, but then there isn’t much to choose from in this neighborhood. Today is our last day in Beijing, we pack, check email, jot a to-do list, pay for our Xi’an tickets, check-out, and take off for the day’s touring. Just in case we overlooked them (per previous blogs), we once again search for the missing Esprit capris carrying store and Italian restaurant on Dongsinan Street. Still missing. Must be a double [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
September 13th 2005

#20 The Great Wall - Simatai Asia » China » Beijing

Great Wall - Simatai
I think that says it all...

Friday June 3 Our wake up call did not happen, but Zoe and I are up anyway at exactly 6:30am. Lousy kids. Breakfast is quick - good old broccoli and poached eggs. As it has been all week, the weather is clear and warm. A taxi waits outside the hotel gate for us. The driver is prompt, and grumpy that we are delaying him even though we are not. Two ladies from the hotel share the ride, Lisa and Jane. Met Lisa last night, she and Jane just came from Xi’an so maybe we can get some info from them on [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
August 17th 2005

#19 The People’s Documentary, disappearing stores, The Forbidden City, and crazy Tibetans Asia » China » Beijing

Old Beijing
Mural etching of life in old Beijing

June 2 We are still laughing about the silly documentary we watched last night on the only English channel on Beijing TV. Did you know that Beijing Duck is less greasy now than it used to be? Customers demanded that it be less greasy so chefs developed new non-greasy ways to prepare it. The traditional way of cooking Beijing Duck by pumping it with water and roasting in a wood fired oven gave it a melt in your mouth juiciness (read: greasy), but The People demanded less greasy duck without sacrificing tenderness. Now, modern Beijing [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
August 1st 2005

#18 The fast train to Beijing Asia » China » Beijing

Hong Kong Park
Behind the waterfall

End of May - Planning our Mainland China trip Zoe and I are in the midst of planning our adventure into China. She has given me an early birthday present of the China Lonely Planet guide - it’s a huge, weighty thing. Since we don’t have much of an idea of where we want to go, except that the Great Wall is top on her list, it will be helpful in the discovery process. But first, we must get her a China visa in Wan Chai as our departure is going to be next week and we don’t want to incur [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
July 15th 2005

#17 Kowloon Walled City Park, Cafe O, Caterpillars, Lantau & the giant Buddha Asia » Hong Kong

Kowloon Walled City Park
Pavilion and pond

Rest of May May 18th Take the MTR to Lok Fu to buy a mattress. Waste of money. But not a waste of time because we take a look around the area and find Kowloon Walled City Park, a truly elegant place built to replace and commemorate an old walled city slum. Serene, it is landscaped with ponds, flowers, and greenery, surrounding Qing styled pavilions - part of the original wall still exists at the southern boundary of the park. May 20th Errands and wandering around (again) today. We stop at new place tha [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
July 15th 2005

#16 Stanley & Wilson Trail Section 1 Asia » Hong Kong

Stanley
View of the bay and the Murray Building

May, part deux May 16th Beautiful day. Stanley is our destination - a peninsula district located on the south side of HK island. This part of the island is less populated and from what I gather has the quick “getaway” spots for HK’ers, complete with beaches, seaside picnicking, theme parks, aquariums, and of course, shopping. No MTR on the south side of the island, so we hop a number 6 bus, specifically 6X at the Central bus terminus on Connaught & Pedder (or maybe it’s Man Yui St at [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
July 14th 2005

#15 Ambling the streets of Hong Kong Asia » Hong Kong

Upper Lascar Row
Cat street antiques & junk

Zooming thru May - Part 1 May 1st Just hanging out & wandering the streets. Very hot today and when we stop at Tony’s favorite “morning” place - that designation just means generally early in the day, not really morning - there is no AC. On this very hot day, the Bagel Factory in Soho on Elgin Street is undergoing aircon repairs. Guess there will be no bagels, decide to go to Deli France again. Today is a holiday, but since it’s Sunday, the day off will be Monday. Hong Kong has tons of holidays, seems like there is one every [View Full Entry]

By dancywalden
June 23rd 2005

#14 Just pics Asia » Hong Kong

Gage Street
The wet market near Soho

Pics from our walks around the city in April Here are some photos for you to enjoy while I devote time writing the Mainland China blog. Yes, Zoe and I spent our birthdays in Beijing, Xi’an, and Shenzhen during the first week of June and you shall hear about it soon! Gage Street Gage St hosts just one of hundreds of wet markets around HK. We buy produce at them, but not the meat or fish - I'm just not sure about meat that's been hanging on a hook outside in 90 degrees all day, or even worse, that it's been [View Full Entry]

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