Day 26 (5 August) Tisha B'Av and Trip Reflections

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Today we did very little. Don went to the Chabad shul for Tisha B'Av and I was so weary I had a massage in our hotel spa before our 12 hour flight later on.

We left the hotel at 6.30 pm and sat in the airport lounge waiting for the magic hour of 7.55 pm to break our fast. Our plane was on time and before long we were on our way home from our amazing trip.

We figured that we would put some thoughts down about our pleasurable experiences ...



Hong Kong

Too commercialised. It has changed so much since Lesley's visit in 1984. Don has been to HK several times on business over the past decades, both before and after the British transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong colony to China, and he also recognises the ongoing urbanisation.

The heat and humidity are oppressive.

But the tax rates are low (great for ex-pats on assignment) and likewise for shoppers the purchase tax is non-existent.



New Zealand

Auckland is like England was twenty to thirty years ago. The people are friendly and eager to engage you in conversation. Everybody is so laid back and the pace of life is so much slower.

Auckland is also the home of orientals mainly from Japan and Thailand. Oh and Israelis. There is a chain of pita shops started by an Israeli and various cafés and restaurants owned by them, but unfortunately only one is kosher. The number of veggie/vegan places is quite remarkable.

The scenery is quite something once you get out of the city.

Auckland harbour is convenient and the local bay contains many islands to explore. Further north in Bay of Islands there is much to see and do both on land and water.

North Island weather in winter is a dynamic mix of sun and rain. We were reasonably lucky with the moderate temperatures (13 C) for July. When it wasn't raining the sky was usually brilliantly blue, and then suddenly the bright sunshine would be interrupted by a shower.

But our everlasting memory will be the mobius hills of Auckland which only ever seemed to go up and rarely down.



China

The size. Everything is so big, the monuments are huge and the people we met had big smiles.

When we first arrived we were surprised to see cameras flashing incessantly to catch speeding drivers. However, what the traffic cameras don't worry about:

- drivers and passengers don't have to wear seat belts. We saw one sign telling drivers to "belt up". The seat belts at the back of the car our guide drives didn't work.

- nobody wears a crash helmet when driving scooters, motor bikes (oh in the week we did see one serious biker wearing a helmet) or bicycles. Parents carry small children on their bikes or carts with no protection for the kids whatsoever.

- bikes, carts, small electric vehicles are prone to drive the wrong way down the road, and any which way on the walking pavements. They drive on the right here but it is not unusual to see things driving at you the wrong way.

- cars, bikes etc and pedestrians fight for the right to turn, to cross the road, and whoever is the bravest crosses the road or turns at a junction. Once our driver turned right from the outside lane of a four lane highway, however we looked at the traffic lights and were astonished to realise that's how that junction was designed.

- if you think driving in Israel (or name any country) is bad, this is worse. People cut one another up and it seems illegal not to use the horn at least once a minute.

- one of our drivers got lost and drove up the ramp to the wrong side of the motorway before turning round. Fortunately it was 5.30 am and there was no traffic.

The summer weather was hot and generally humid as expected. Thankfully the pollution in Beijing seemed less than we feared. However there was significant haze everywhere even in the countryside and mountains. For example our photographs of the Great Wall of China show how difficult it is to see beyond a couple of towers.

On the whole we found the Chinese to be helpful and very courteous. We have only been ripped off once. The first attempt our guide soon put things right and sorted out our bill. The second time was at Xian airport where we were charged the equivalent of £13 for two coffees.

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