Blogs from Asia - page 14737

Day 1 ~ We've Just Begun (2006) Sunday, 7th May 2006 “I’m going to HK & Macau for 10 days!” “10 days!” I had raised the eyebrow of another fellow being. “This is way too long a duration for this Asian capital!” However, as the itinerary was done up, 10 days was barely sufficient to cover the 2 places really. Clare and I were here 4 years ago before I started school in University. And yes, this 06’ graduation trip helped to bring everything to a complete closure. 9.50am - We took an early flight in the morning of 7th May 2006 from the new budget terminal to Macau. I had barely enough sleep from the General Elections syndrome having stayed up late to catch the broadcast. It’s my 3rd time flying with Tiger Airways and ... read more

We had a rather civilised journey down to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap; the road was tarmacked all the way down, so it was smooth sailing. However, Phnom Penh was a whole different story. As soon as we were off the bus, we were jumped on by touts offering rides to guesthouses. We have learned to expect this from everywhere we have been, but in this case the bus company shuttled us into their office pronto. Luckily we had been recommended the Top Banana Guesthouse by a Geordie fella we had met in Siem Reap, so we headed straight there. It turned out the be the perfect location for us as we enjoy exploring cities by foot, and the GH was located close to the Independence Monument, and close to the Palace and Museum. After a ... read more

The weeks have flown by and it's time for a well-earned break. We worked all the previous weekend, so as to have 7 consecutive days off. The students were very excited, as many of them had planned to go home to see their families and friends for the first time since Spring Festival Holidays in early February. The first week of May is known as one of China's "Golden Weeks", the others being in the first week of October, and, of course, the Spring Festival in January/February. It is a time when a large proportion of the 1.4 billion inhabitants is on the move. Something not to be taken lightly, I can assure you! Many people had warned me, "Don't even think about travelling during this time!" Consequently, I had not made any special plans. However, ... read more

Day 1 - Day 2: Week 1: Clear,sunny day; Departing Perth on the 7th May we flew to Japan (drizzly day) arriving on 8th May 2006. We were met by Richard (Vera's son) and spent a quiet day chatting and planning the next couple of weeks. Day 3: Cool, overcast: Fortunate for that quiet day as the next morning we were up early to go to the Fish Market to see the tuna auction. There is a viewing area for vistors, though we arrived too late for the auction we could see the tuna being moved and some being sawn up before packing. There was a lot of movement around with fork lifts and motorised trollies whizzing everywhere. The area was quite dangerous with this traffic, wet and slippery floors and lots of people. As ... read more

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