dancywalden
Tony & Martha Dancy Joined: April 10th 2005
Logged in: October 31st 2010
Logged in: October 31st 2010
Visit my Ruby Lane shop for Fine Art and Funky Finds: Martha’s Art Mart
Tony has reunited The Tygers - take a look at their website, and listen to songs from the new CD: The Tygers
Travel Blog Posts
Convention Center - Wan Chai
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. Idling curbside after the caffeine and carb jolt, Tony decided we should see if there was anything going on at the WTO conference. Logical choice …for Tony. After a trek back to get the camera - ... read more
Xi'an, China
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. Cabins were nicer in this newer one, built in TV screens, and it was much cleaner than the “T” train to Beijing, but still no privacy curtains. Excellent deal for only Y417 ($50US). Why is ... read more
Summer Palace
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 hallucination. Zoe waits for a green/yellow taxi rather than a red one as they are newer (read cleaner & exhaust free on the inside). Though the price is somewhat higher, it is worth the smooth air-conditioned ride. The driver is ... read more
Great Wall - Simatai
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 hotels. The taxi inches through Beijing’s crunch hour; many delays and turns later we are finally dropped at a parked tour bus. The bus is filled with backpacker type tourists from Scandinavia, Germany, US, Australia ... read more
August 17th 2005
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 restaurants use leaner ducks, no more fatties! They roast them in efficient gas ovens, which reduces the cooking time, the use of non-renewable fuel, and the grease factor. What’s not giving us chuckles is our new noisy neighbors and their bratty ... read more
Hong Kong Park
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 any expediting fees. Tony and I have been spending our days being the knowledgeable tour guides for Zoe, taking her to all those places I’ve been blogging about. At night she and I hang out ... read more
Kowloon Walled City Park
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 that seems to have popped up overnight on Queens Road. That’s what happens here. An empty 100 square foot dumping ground of a shell yesterday, no frills cut tag shop or chic eatery today. You can watch the daily progress in Sheung Wan ... read more
Stanley
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 that point…the streets arbitrarily change names as they cross intersections just to add to the general confusion). At the terminus the buses are empty so if you queue up fast just after one bus departs, you have a good chance of being first in line for the ... read more
Upper Lascar Row
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 other week. The official 2005 list: The first day of January, 1 Jan, Lunar New Year's Day, 9 Feb, The second day of the Lunar New Year, 10 Feb, The third day of the Lunar ... read more
Gage Street
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 cut up on a slimy table. Call me cautious. Victoria Park & Causeway Bay A shopping trip to locate the elusive soft mattress, which remains elusive with this trip, turns into a walk through Victoria ... read more
