miss sadie

30 March – Brunei Darussalem Arrived in Brunei after a pleasant 3 hour flight from Hong Kong. The temperature was a balmy 25 degrees, so a tad warmer than where we had come from. Checked into the Rizqun International Hotel and as it was dark, settled into the room and decided to skip dinner as we were well fed on the flight. 31 March – Brunei Spent the day exploring the immediate area around the hotel which is located in downtown Gadong (Bandar Seri Begawan is the other direction) including the 3 story shopping mall adjacent to the hotel. The town is not geared up for tourists so the shops were just local boutiques and department stores. Adjourned to the airconditioned luxury of our room and watched a movie before we ventured out to have a ... read more

24 March – Incheon, South Korea We entered the Port of Incheon at 5:30am this morning through a lock system. This keeps the harbour water level constant and not reliant on tides. On the way to our berth, we passed a holding yard for cars and I have never seen so many new cars in one spot! There must have been tens of thousands of them – all white! I had organised to go on a tour to Seoul, while Barrie decided to go explore Incheon. Seoul is 23 kilometres away, however the trip took about an hour due to peak hour traffic; not unlike the M1 to Brisbane. There is a fairly good road system, but still the traffic was heavy. Seoul is situated in a valley with mountains to the north, south and east ... read more

19 March 2011 Qingdao (pronounced Chengdow) Arrived alongside Qingdao wharf at approximately 7:00am this morning to be greeted by lion dancers (not the Billy Ray Cyrus type as Barrie had thought!) and a Chinese drum and brass band. It is not as cold as it has been, so we were looking forward to going ashore on the German Heritage Tour. Qingdao is still emerging as a tourist destination and is touted as “a dynamic city on the east coast of China’s Shandong Province”. I think they have a long way to go to live up to such a statement as my first impressions were not enhanced during our tour of the city. Everything was shabby verging on the ramshackle and a thin layer of dust blanketed everything including cars, buildings and trees. Every now and then, ... read more

Today in Shanghai. Started the day with a lovely buffet breakfast on the 18th floor with views over the river. Sent Barrie to get the coffee and he came back with tea and soy milk! Got it wrong on both counts. Strolled down the street to Nanjing Road mall; one of the busiest shopping malls in Shanghai. Bought a jumper and a pair of boots to stave off the colder weather that we will encounter further north. The sun was shining all day and being in shops most of the time didn't feel too cold. Went searching for some Chanel headbands and scarves and ended up following this local down side streets and over bridges to some market. Passed all sorts of shops sellling everything from shoes, electrical components, food, ball bearings - practically anything you ... read more