WORLD AIDS DAY

Just to remind everyone that today, Dec 1, is World AIDS Day.

Would be nice if everyone did something special today to let people know you are aware. Awareness is one of the best things we can spread. Last year I organized a World AIDS Day march in Cabarrus County,NC. I can only hope that the people who took over from me have continued it. This year I'm only wearing my t-shirt, but at least it helps make people aware. Awareness & understanding of those infected and what we all need to do for prevention.

At the very least maybe you can wear RED if you get this in time.

Apple Pie & Chicken Feet

Don't worry, not the 2 together!

The pie turned out great if I do say so myself. The only problem was in the baking. I guess I didn't have the oven set correctly (it is Celcius, not Farenhiet, so took some calculating - actually there is a web site that does conversions). It's a convection oven, so not sure if that made a difference. Anyway it took twice as long to cook as usual, good thing I started early. Problem was, it wasn't very cool by the time I needed to leave for the office. I wrapped it up well in plastic & put into a bag to carry. Fortunately I had that very deep dish I cooked it in (the only thing I could find that would work for a pie, it isn't a proper pie pan, but in the end was best).

Got to the office without any problems or spills - whew! It was hard to work because you could smell the pie & we weren't going to eat it until tea time (4pm). We went out for birthday lunch for dim sum. Dim sum is a meal where you order several small portions of things. Most people think it is just Chinese dumplings, but there are many other items you can order. You can either order off a menu or people walk around with trays or carts with items on them that you can choose. They just charge you by the number of plates on the table & the size of them. I can't even remember what all we had, most of it was wonderful. They did order the much talked about chicken feet and of course I had to try them. They don't really taste bad at all, mostly skin & fat. I guess you are supposed to suck them, they are really messy to eat, I'm just not that good with the chop sticks yet. They tasted like the BBQ sauce they were cooked in & are soft, not crispy. The other strange thing they ordered was fish stomach. That didn't taste like much of anything, just spongey. I dipped mine in soy sauce so that's what it tasted like.

I gave Sophia a piggy bank that is a pig dressed up like Spider Man. SPIDER PIG!! She is born in the year of the pig & one of the jobs she is working on right now is for packaging for Spider Man underwear. So I thought it fit. She loved it & everyone got a good laugh. Spider Pig now has a place of distinction & everyone is supposed to put their loose change in him & we are all going to go out for lunch when we have enough.

I went to the 7 Eleven around the corner after lunch & they did have ice cream, but just those really tiny containers. Better than nothing. At least it was Haggen Daz (I know I spelled that wrong). We sang Happy Birthday in Chinese - I can't remember how now, but I'll make sure to learn it before I come home for Christmas so I can sing it to Jesse for his birthday, I know he'll just be thrilled!! There was not a crumb left of the pie & they even fought over who got the biggest piece. They said I should open a pie shop (hmmmm). I hadn't really realized it, but you really don't see pies here. Next week I'm going to try pumpkin.

Our Cadmus employee in Bangkok found out about the pie & he was very upset that he missed it. He lived in the US for about 10 years & said that he hasn't had pie since he's moved back to Thailand. So now he has decided that for his birthday (Fed 21), he is going to make a trip to Hong Kong so I can make him apple & pumpkin pies for hit birthday. And I thought I was going to miss my kids & hockey players!!! They now call me Floor Mom at work. Guess I just can't get away from it, not that I'd ever want to.

One other funny thing from yesterday: When I was going up in the elevator at work the other woman in the elevator said "it sure is getting chilly out there, isn't it? Nice to have it good & cold for the holidays." I looked at the 2 of us in our short sleeved shirts & smilled & said "where I'm from chilly is a foot of snow on the ground and a frozen lake!" We both laughed and she said "OK, maybe chilly isn't the right word. It's getting cooler." I agreed with her on that. WOW, it actually got below 80. It does feel very nice out there now, but no need for the ski jackets & UGGS (winter boots that are all the fashion)that I see some people wearing. Guess it is all in what you are used to. We've actually had blue sky for the past 2 days - that is a real treat.

Over & out from The 9th Floor Mom/Pie Woman

Giving Ikea another chance & a new friend

This week so far seems to be running errands & looking for stuff. Tuesday I had a lunch date with the woman I met in the airport in Delhi. We were meeting in Central which is down the hill from our place, so I decided to explore a little before meeting her. I went to another grocery store that I have heard about from a few people. Supposed to have lots of western foods. It’s call Oliver’s & I was not disappointed. I found the long sought after Pillsbury pizza dough that we like. Haven’t really had a decent pizza since being here, so this weekend that will be at least one meal!

They also had many choices of cheese. Cheese is something you find very little of in the local stores. I don’t think the Chinese eat much dairy – the milk either isn’t very good or it goes bad in about 3 days. Mostly you see soy milk & lots of it. The one cheese I have not been able to find, even at Oliver’s or the other western type stores is Muenster. Every time I ask for it, they take me to the mustard. Oh well, we can live without that. Strange sometimes the things you can’t find. They had Butterball turkeys. It’s past Thanksgiving, but at least I know where to look next time. Oh and they had Stoneyfield Farm yogurt and Brown Cow yogurt. Nice to see some familiar brands.

Met my new friend Sarah for lunch at a dim sum restaurant at City Hall. It was very nice & will be a place I will return with visitors. It has a great view of the harbor and huge chandeliers on the ceiling. Very upscale, but not very touristy. It was mostly Asian folks with a few of us westerners thrown in for good measure. The food was good, but the company was wonderful. Sarah & I seem to have a lot in common. She is about my age and her husband works a great deal. They moved here from San Francisco, but they’ve lived all over. She doesn’t have many friends here yet, but isn’t into joining a women’s club. She also isn’t into joining any social clubs. She likes to hike and is very happy wandering around on her own. We talked for over 2 hours & had to leave because she had to meet a plumber at her house. We plan to meet again in the near future. I felt very comfortable with her and our husbands sound fairly similar as well. So just the ladies will meet for now.

After lunch I went to the office to get the address of a vendor that had asked us to pick up a check. We’re starting to get paid for all the work we had done the past few months. They volunteered me to do the pick up as they knew I’d be willing. I had to take the ferry over to Kowloon & fortunately I knew just where the building was. Got the check, then needed to get it to the bank before 4:30. You don’t realize how much time things take when you don’t have a car and you live in a city. You have to walk to the ferry dock, a good 10 minutes. Then wait for the ferry. Then take the ferry across the harbor, 15 minutes. Walk to the building – it was very close. Walk back to the ferry, wait again, ride again, walk to the MTR station – 15 minutes. Just getting from the street to the train – walking through the MTR station can take 10 or 15 minutes depending on the crowds or the station. Riding the MTR to the station where the bank is – 20 minutes. Then walking to the bank, getting the elevator. I made it in time. Just amazing how an afternoon can slip away and all you did was pick up a check & deposit it.

On the way home I needed to stop at the dreaded Ikea store to return what I had purchased last week that were not the right thing (grrrrr). I decided to attempt a new mode of transportation – the tram. These are 2 decker cars that run on electricity & go down the middle of the street on tracks. They are very old & don’t have A/C. It wasn’t a hot day, so that didn’t matter. They have very limited routes. Where I was going I knew the tram went, but I had to make sure I was going in the correct direction & on the correct tram. I just asked someone, it was easy enough. Once on the tram I noted very quickly that the stops were not marked at the little stations & they did not announce them nor did they have anything inside to let you know where you were. I got out my map book & figured out where I was & just followed where we were on my map, so I knew where to get off. Luckily the streets are well marked here. I was pretty proud of myself because I got off just where I needed to be.

I was pretty hungry by now, so I am embarrassed to say that I went to McDonalds. It thought it was really funny that I was the only westerner in the place. Now usually I assess the authenticity of a place by the number of locals compared to westerners. I had to laugh to myself that McDonalds was completely locals. It was packed with after school kids, mostly teens. Very entertaining.

I found Ikea without getting lost at all – a first. I went in determined not to get frustrated. I didn’t need to use the bathroom, so that was a good start. There is a desk as you enter & I said I needed to return something & she said that she could take care of it right there. I could not believe it. No wandering through the seemingly endless maze of Ikea to get to the customer service desk at the end. I really was in shock. It was extremely efficient. I almost lost it when she asked me if I wanted a refund or did I intend to buy something else. I wanted to tell her exactly what I thought of the store, but she wouldn’t have understood, so I just took my money & left.

I managed to find the right bus that I needed to get home. Stopped on the way to get groceries. Sophia requested an apple pie for her birthday on Thursday. I could find everything at our local store except pie crust. I know I can make my own, but then I have to buy a rolling pin & it just is never as good.

Today – Wednesday - I went in search of pie crust. I actually went back to Lamma Island to get a gift for Sophia that we’d seen on Saturday. This took a few hours as the ferry only runs every 45 minutes. I met a nice Aussie couple on the ferry who were visiting here for 10 days. They gave me some good tips, they were all in Australia. One of these days. She did tell me about a medication that you can take to prevent travel sickness (diarrhea to be exact). I will have to get some before John goes to India again.

After much searching at the City Super store I found pie crust in a box. So I still would have to get a rolling pin. As I was leaving a store clerk asked if I wanted the already made one. Well of course!! I had walked right past it in my search. It takes so long to find anything in these stores & usually they have no idea what you want.

The other thing we still can’t find is shoe polish for John’s loafers. You an find brown or black, but not cordovan (that reddish brown color). We have looked at shoe stores & grocery stores. I’ve walked the streets looking for shoe repair stores that might have it. It is a challenge. I’m going to head back to that huge store I saw last week & give it a try. I’m sure it will show up someplace where we least expect to find it. Otherwise we’ll be bringing some back after Christmas. Yes, we are coming home for the holidays. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

So tomorrow I made apple pie. I think the challenge will not be in the baking, but in the delivering. Getting it to the office in one piece AND getting ice cream there without melting. There are no grocery stores near work, so I’m not sure how I’ll do this. I did note that there is a Ben & Jerry’s across from the City Super store, but too far from work. I suppose could get a cooler, but pie & cooler might be too much. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Later - Becky

Sunday Hiking & Superstore (Nov. 27)

I have finally convinced John that he doesn't need to feel guilty not going out on my little excursions with me. He has so little free time as it is. He chose to go to the gym & get a hair cut instead of hiking which was just fine with me. It is still pretty humid out there & just not comfortable, but I refuse to let the weather get in the way.

There has been a hike that I read about in one of my books that I've wanted to do for some time so I decided to venture out & do it yesterday. I didn't leave the house until 2:30, but on Sunday's there are so many people out walking that I knew it wouldn't be a safety issue. I got a bus down to Central (where the main bus terminal is) then another bus out to the start of the walk. I think I've said before that the only tough thing about the buses on the first time around is knowing where to get off. I brougt my book that has detailed maps of all HK & followed along in the book as the bus went along. I was very proud of myself as I got off at the right place.

When I got off the bus a woman told me that I could get a rebate on my bus ride if I swiped my card again. By that time the bus had already left, but good to note for next time. She asked where I was going (I was wearing hiking boots & had a backpack, so I think she knew where I was going). I told her the hike I'd planned & she said that is where she & her husband were going as well. They were locals & spoke excellent English. Both had lived in & visited the UK & US, so we had lots to talk about. She is a teacher. They were great. They were impressed that I'd discovered & enjoyed hiking. In HK on Sundays tons of people go hiking (walking), it is a national passtime. You see people of all ages out on the trails. Lots of really old people who put you to shame as they jog up the mountain or go past you using their cane to help them up.

The weather was great, although hot. When we came to a splitting of the trail I chose to divert from my original plan & join Kim & Alma (my new freinds) on up the tougher hike to the top of Parker Mt. It was a strenuous hike & I was soaked by the time we reached the top, but it felt good. They had a picnic planned for the top, so we parted ways. I got their email address & they said next time they go out they will contact me so we can hike together again.

Some interesting things I saw during my hike. I man wearing a St. Olaf's College t-shirt (my cousin Katherine works there). Of course I had to stop him & ask him if he knew her, he didn't. A man just standing completely still on one foot, the other raised up behind him with one arm stretched out hand up. He was obviously medicating/yoga/tai chi - something, but he didn't move at all. A woman hiking up the mountain backwards. A man on the side of the trail under an umbrella playing the violin. A man doing tai chi in a little park while another man ran laps around the small area. Of course lots of kids & couples & people just enjoying their Sunday out.

I went on down, this was much easier. The views were great & nice to hear birds chirping & see all of the greenery. The trail ended in a part of the city called Quarry Bay. This is a very busy area & not many Westerners here. John had called me to ask if I could get a printer cartridge on my way home. I wandered around. I love exploring new areas of the city, I always find something new & wonderful to come back to and this was not exception. I found a great market that was in a basement of a building. It had everything from fish (pets) stores to butchers, to fish (eating) stores, clothes, nick knacks, toys....it was fun just to wander. I found a place with printer supplies, but they didn't have the one I needed. Once outside again I headed for the MTR station. On the way I noticed a store across the street that looked like it might be worth checking out, maybe my printer supplies would be there. It is called Justco. Well I was not disappointed.

All the time I've lived here I've been amazed that there doesn't seem to be a Super Target/Wal-Mart/Super Kmart type of store here. I knew that there had to be one, these people are too sophisticated not to have a store like that. Well Justco was just that store. I walked in & the first floor was a grocery store. It was enormous! I didn't venture in because it was so crowded - looked just like Wal-mart.

I asked at the info desk if they had printing supplies. With some difficulty in understanding what I was looking for she told me the 3rd floor (which in the US would be the 4th floor). Each floor I pasted was chock full of stuff, everything from appliances to clothes to toys to bags. Nice to know you can go to one place instead of wandering the streets aimlessly looking through tiny stores for an item.

I finally located the printers & cartridges. I didn't see the one I wanted & asked for help. Nobody spoke English, so I wrote down the number. Of course the only one they didn't have. Oh well, it was fun just looking. I stopped at the handbag floor & found a backpack on sale. The one I have now is small & falling apart. As my son Jesse likes to tell me - you get what you pay for sometimes. So I got a proper backpack for my future hiking ventures (day pack really).

I found my way back to the MTR & noted the location of my new "find" & which MTR station it is near. I didn't look for light covers, but I'm sure they must have them. I might NEVER have to go back to Ikea again, well except to return the ones I just got. I will be SOOOO happy!!

I had fun showig John my photos & telling him about my new friends. I said that sometimes when you are alone, other people are more inclined to talk to you & you make new freinds. John had a productive day & had cleaned up all of his expenses & gotten a lot done that he needed to get done. So we were both happy campers.

Lamma Island (Nov 26)

Saturday Sophia & Eric & I took a trip to Lamma Island. This is the 3rd largest Island in Hong Kong and is only accessible by ferry. It was drizzling at home, so John chose not to join us (he had work to do anyway). I took an umbrella, but when we arrived the sun was shining brightly. Amazing how different the weather can be just a short distance away. It was a 35 minute ferry ride.

There are two towns on Lamma Island that used to be fishing villages. The one we landed at still has lots of fishing, but the community seems to have become very "western". I guess the rents are WAY lower than in the city and it has a very small town, intimate atmosphere. There are no cars, so lots of bikes. The town just has narrow walkways that meander around with stores filled with crafts, fish, veggies. There were several restaurants & bars that all had tables outside & were very open and friendly looking. Many people seemed to know each other. I almost felt like I was back in Davidson (it took a lot of imagination, but just the feeling).

We walk the 20 minutes to a very nice beach. There were some people swimming. We stopped at a little cafe to order some tofu fa. Lamma Island is famous for it's tofu fa. This literally means, tofu flower. It is actually a sort of sweet soup dish. You get a bowl filled with a hunk of very soft tofu covered with a sauce that is thin & sweet with a very distinct ginger flavor. Since I like tofu I really liked the dish. Tofu doesn't have much flavor, so mostly you taste the ginger sauce. Apparently Lamma Island's is so good because they make the tofu from mountain water, so it is very creamy & soft. Sophia & I had ours warm, but Eric likes his cold. I guess either one is acceptable.

We walked on up to a lookout area that is a good ways above the beach. It was a good climb & we worked up a good sweat. We were in time to watch the sunset, although it was pretty hazy, so not too spectacular. It started to rain (fortunately I'd gotten a photo of the lovely blue sky before this to show John). We walked back to the ferry (luckily we had our umbrellas, you learn to always carry one). We had planned to get a seafood dinner, but with the rain decided to go back & see if John wanted to join us.

We met John near our house at an Italian (Eric & John's favorite type of food) restaurant we hadn't tried before. It was good & we had a really nice dinner. John & Eric seemed to enjoy each other's company & Sophia is always fun to be with.

All in all it was a very nice day.

I still Hate Ikea (Nov 25)

Tried Ikea again because as hard as I looked I could not find ceiling light covers anywhere else. Believe me I've tried. So I ventured back to Ikea on Friday. Of course I got a little lost trying to find the store. It just wouldn't be an Ikea day if I didn't get lost just finding the place. Once again, I could not figure out how to cut through & get to what I wanted, which I knew was on the lower level towards the end of the store. NOOOOOO, I had to do the Ikea Labyrinth puzzle to get to lighting. Of course people were just lollygagging along as usual. I think Ikea must be more of a local tourist attraction than a store for a lot of these people, because they are obviously in NO hurry. They sit on every couch and switch on every light as they meander through the store. I'm glad for Ikea that there are people out there that like them. At least this time I knew where the bathrooms were!!

Got my light covers, but of course when I got home, they aren't the right kind. At least I only got 2. So now I need to go back - AAAHHHHHHHHHH. I'm determined to find a way to go right to the end without having to go through the maze. I know there has to be a trick to getting through this store more quickly.

I'll report back on my anticipated success at a later date. So to all of you Ikea lovers - you can have it!!!

There is a bright spot to my Friday evening. Near Ikea is one of my favorite grocery stores, City Super. So I went & got ingredients to make pumpkin bread (our favorite). That is going to be my one traditional Thanksgiving effort. This is also close to where my friend, Sophia (she works with us) lives, so we met for dinner with her boyfriend, Eric. There is a food court at one of my favorite grocery stores, City Super. They have wonderful Korean rice pot meal with lots of veggies cooked in a pot so the rice gets a little crust around the pot. YUMMM. Afterwards we went back to Sophia's apartment so I could meet her cats (oh joy). They actually were very nice cats, very freindly. It was fun to go visiting.

Queen's Pier (Nov 11)

Saturday night (Nov. 11) we were headed to Kowloon for dinner (Kowloon is across Victoria Harbor from where we live on HK Island). We like to take the ferry when crossing harbor as it is scenic and fun & only costs about 25cents. We took a taxi to the ferry pier at Central (Queen's Pier). There were tons of people at the pier most with cameras & they were taking pictures like crazy. There were string strung all over the pier station with little notes attached to them. There was a band playing & TV stations there. We had no idea what we had gotten into. People were having their photos taken all over the pier, it was really strange. The line to get tickets was very long (fortunately we have octopus cards which allow us to use a quicker line).

I finally remembered reading something about the pier closing & being torn down so they could reclaim the area for a building. I guess it's been there since the early 1900's so it's a bit of a landmark & people were getting in their last rides from that pier. On our way home the taxi driver explained that indeed Saturday was the last day the pier would be used & it was to be torn down. He said people were very angry about it. He wasn't very happy about it himself. He said even though he is Chinese, he thinks the Chinese government is stupid. They tear down historic places that people love & tourists come to HK to see so they can put up ugly buildings that will make someone lots of money. He said the new pier is farther from the main road & the taxi area is very small and not well designed.

It was kind of interesting to be a part of an historic event in HK history without even planning it.

Weekend - Nov 11 & 12

John & I on the Star Ferry:

Quiet weekend home trying to get caught up on things. Went in to work for a few hours on Saturday. Took the ferry over to Kowloon & went out to our favorite Japanese restaurant for dinner. We met a guy there who does similar work to what John is doing, but in the greeting card area. He is from Toronto, but lives here now. Young guy (30's), has an Asian wife & was very nice. He's been doing this for over 12 years & has his own company now. He & John exchanged cards & made plans to meet for lunch sometime. I think this guy might have some good printer connections that might be helpful. He also PLAYS HOCKEY. Him being from Canada & all, I just had to ask. He says he doesn't have time to play now, but he told me where to find the guy who runs the hockey league here in HK. That will be an excursion for me on my time off.

Sunday (today) we just hung around the house. John had tons of expense submissions to catch up on & I had a lot of computer work as well. It is nice to just hang out at home once in a while, but don't worry, we won't make a habit of it. I did go get omelet ingredients & made us a nice brunch.

I did some ironing & watched a movie "War of the Buttons" on HBO. If you ever get a chance, be sure to see it. It is about some kids in Ireland & rivalry between 2 towns. Very Irish & very enjoyable.

John leaves for India tomorrow & I head out on Wednesday to meet him in Delhi. He suggested I not join him for the entire trip which starts in Mumbi. He said Mumbi is just depressing & the worst poverty you ever want to see or maybe DON'T want to see. There also are no direct flights to Mumbi, so I took his suggestion & will meet in Delhi on Wed night. We are going to stay Friday night near the Taj-Mahal. It should be very interesting. I don't hear much good about India & nobody seems to be able to stomach the food & everyone says it smells aweful. So I'm going to go armed with stomach medicine & air freshner. I'm sure I'll survive!!

John to Jakarta

Nov. 9 & 10, 2006

John had to make a sudden trip to Jakarta, Indonesia last Thursday & Friday. He said it reminded him of a combo of India & HK. Some poor places, but more modern than he expected it to be. The airport was better than the ones in India & the hotels were very nice. He stayed at the Mandarin Oriental (5 star) & it was only about $120. He didn't get to see much besides the printing factory. One of these days I'm going to try to get him to write down his experiences. He is just too busy with everything else.

Mission Poland Hangtags

Mission Possible

Oct. 27 to Nov. 5, 2006

Friday:
On the fateful night of Friday, October 27, 2006 at approximately 23:30 (that’s 11:30pm, for those unfamiliar with military, non-USA, & secret mission time keeping) THE phone call came from Gilbert. Gilbert is the Asian Periscope counterpart to John in the Periscope/Cadmus business venture that initiated our travels to Hong Kong. Gilbert had been informed by one of our customer service persons, who was still in the office (she couldn’t reach John initially because he was on the phone with someone else) that one of our Poland customers had called to inform us that they had received the wrong hangtags!!! (just for those who may not know, hangtags are one of the main things we are producing over here, they are the printed tag that gets attached to a product & contains information such as price, where made & materials made of). So this wrong hangtag was OK on one side, but the printer had put the wrong information on the back side of the tag. So it had the right price on it, but on the back instead of saying “VASE Made in Poland” it said “Elephant Stool Made in Thailand”. Big OOOPS!! So the vase manufacturer needed to have the correct tags to their factory by Tuesday (Oct. 31) or their shipment of vases would be late getting to Target & if they don’t make their ship date they get penalized. Major crises!!

Just for those unfamiliar with the nasty world of product manufacturing, these large stores, like Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, etc……give the manufacturer of their products ship dates & if the manufacturer misses the ship date, then the manufacturer has to the company a penalty. So instead of Target paying for the vases, the vase manufacturer ends up paying Target for being late with the product. It sounds a bit severe, but probably necessary, otherwise nothing would probably get delivered. These companies are very strict about ship dates. So we have to get the tags & UPC labels to the manufacturers in a timely manner, so that they can label the goods & get them to the buyer on time. Thus the crises with the Poland glass factory. It they didn’t get the tags by Tuesday, then they would not make their ship date & it would be our fault (our printers fault really, since they are the ones who messed up the shipment, but ultimately we hired the printer, so we are responsible). To top things off, Sunday & Monday (Oct. 29 & 30) are holidays in China, so none of the delivery services were working. The printer needed Saturday to reprint the item & then it couldn’t ship until Tuesday at the earliest. The Chinese work very hard, but they also take their holidays very seriously, so there was no way the tags would get shipped until Tuesday.

So, as I’m listening to John talk to Gilbert about this crisis, I hear him say, “No problem, I’ll have Becky take them, that’s the only way they’ll get there on time.” Then he looked at me with that sweet, begging look……how could I say no? When he explained the situation to me, I figured what the heck, I’ve never been to Poland. When we started looking at possible flights out, they all went through either Paris or London. So I cut a deal, I’d go to Poland & deliver the precious hangtags if I could spend a few days in London. I have a good friend from high school (Chappaqua, NY; Mike Guralnick) who lives in London). It is kind of funny about Mike, we haven’t seen each other in probably 25 years or more, but keep in touch with Christmas cards & emails. Last summer when Jesse went to London I got in touch with Mike & Jesse ended up staying at his house for 2 weeks (his wife & kids were in the states for the summer, so they had the whole house). Then Mike & his son, Ethan, came to the US last August to do some college visiting & ended up being at Sunnywood the weekend of Aaron & Jen’s wedding. So here I was now asking to stay with him in London.

Saturday:
By Saturday morning I’d gotten in touch with a travel agent who was arranging the flight for that evening & getting to Poland on Monday afternoon & leaving Poland on Tuesday afternoon & staying in London until Friday evening. Since it was the weekend I couldn’t get in touch with anyone at the factory in Poland, so I had to just wing it & plan to be at the factory Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. I had been able to call the factory Friday night (afternoon for them) & found out it was about 100km east of Krakow. I could fly into Krakow & then take a train to Tarnow, then a taxi to the factory in Ladna. It seemed all very secret agent like, making last minutes plans to an Eastern European country. I spent a good part of Saturday trying to make travel arrangements, getting in touch with Mike & Michelle (his wife). I checked the weather & found out is was definitely fall weather in Poland & England. Since we are still in sleeveless shirts & sandals here, I had to take a quick trip to my newest favorite store & get some warmer clothes for my journey. This was after working all day (with everyone else) to check every other product we’d sent out (over 1,000) to make sure there were no other screw ups (we get a sample of every product printed & keep it in the office). It wasn’t a fun day!! Got out of the office at 5:30, to the store & then home by 7 & left for the airport at 8. It was an exhausting day which was good, helped to be tired for the 13 hours flight to London. Left HK at 11:30pm Saturday.

Sunday:
Arrived in London at 4:30am (local time). Had no problems getting through customs. It was actually an advantage to be a non-EU citizen, as the line only had 2 other people in it. If you just go out the “Nothing to Declare” door, nobody bothers you.

Remember the days when they were WAY more concerned with what went out of the airport, then what came in? They always checked your bag with your baggage claim tag & customs was tough? Just interesting how things change!

I followed Mike’s instructions & found my way to the Heathrow Express – 15 minutes non-stop to Paddington Station. Not bad! I got a taxi (they are those wonderful HUGE London taxis, I love them) & it was so different to have a conversation with the driver. And I loved the architecture. It just felt good to be in a western country, more like home. Not that I don’t love Asia, but London just had a familiar look to it.

Got to Mike’s house by about 6am & Mike was already up. We had a great visit & checked out details for my trip to Poland. Mike travels all over the world & he was a great advisor. Mike’s rule #1 – if you are traveling to Eastern Europe, ALWAYS stay in a 4 star or better hotel and even if only one person, spring for the extra $20 for a double room. He says singles can be like closets & less than 4 star, well you just wouldn’t want to stay there. We made a reservation for me at the Hotel Bristol in Tarnow. Found a train schedule after much searching & there seemed to be regular trains from Krakow to Tarnow. So felt ready for my adventure to Poland.

Mike's house was amazing. It is 4 floors & very roomy. I guess I've gotten used to HK living. The bathroom I used is bigger than our bedroom here. It was nice to be in a house & to have teen agers around. I forget how much I miss having a house full of kids. The kitchen is huge & has a large frig & dishwasher. It was very comfortable & a great place to have for homebase while in London.

To adjust to the time change I decided not to nap, but to go out walking. Mike lives very close to Regents Park, so I got a map & ventured out. Found a good organic restaurant for brunch. Spent the rest of the day wandering around the park. It was beautiful & even some fall colors on the trees (nothing like the northeast, but made me happy). Being Sunday, there were lots of people out & about. There was this huge field in part of the park that was covered solid with soccer games. Adults & kids alike. It was great to see, made me feel at home. There are several ponds & gardens in the park, so there was plenty to occupy me. I took a few photos, but my battery went dead, so not many photos of Regents Park. I fell asleep on a bench for about an hour. The weather was wonderful, sunny & probably mid-70’s. Simply Lovely!!

Had dinner with Mike & family, wife, Michelle; Ethan (18), Devon (16), Erin (13). It was so nice to be with a family & have teens around & listen to the usual teen conversation about friends & sporting events & activities. They are very active kids. The girls are on the volleyball team at school & all are on year book committee, so they had lots going on. It was funny to hear about their school trips that go to Paris & Italy & Scandinavia, but then those places are just around the corner for them. I went to be very early.

Monday:
There was quite some discussion between Mike & Michelle as to where I would have the best luck finding a taxi at 7am. I went with Michelle’s suggestion, no offense guys, but the moms’ usually have a better feel for reality when it comes to stuff like this. I got a taxi no problem. Went to Victoria Station & got the Gatwick Express train out to the airport, it took about 35 minutes. The airport already had Christmas decorations up. I had intended to carry on my valuable cargo, but London airports are more strict than others about carry on baggage & they only allow one carry on including a handbag. No way I could fit my purse into the suitcase, so I had to check it. They also search you bags very carefully for any kind of liquid, lotion, toothpaste – everything. The lines through security were huge.

I got through in plenty of time. My flight left at 11:30am.. I’d purchased a good book in London on my walk, so I read that & the flight went quickly. It was only 3 hours to Krakow. To my relief my suitcase made it through – whew!! Krakow airport is pretty small & it was very easy to find the bus to the train station. At the train station, which was nothing more than a tiny platform, I met some 2 Americans & Polish woman. The Americans were teaching English in Poland & were on their way home from a long weekend in Spain. They were young & having a great time. One went to college for finance & the other art history, but they wanted the opportunity to travel. Great idea! The Polish woman spoke excellent English & was very helpful. She helped us figure out the Polish money (zalatney – not the way it’s spelled, but how it is pronounced). The train conductor was very nice as well as we were suppose to have exact change, but didn’t so he gave us change. We arrived at the main downtown station (the airport is about 15km out of town) & there was a train leaving for Tarnow in 5 minutes. My new Polish friend helped me get tickets & get to the platform just in time. I was most thankful.

The train was very full, but I did find a seat. Not far from the station we passed a huge outdoor ice rink that it looked like they were getting ready for the season. I had to smile to myself, it seems I just can’t get away from things to do with hockey (would have been awesome if they were having a game). The original schedule I had looked at showed just 2 stops between Krakow & Tarnow & the trip took just over an hour. I soon realized the train that I was on, must be a local & not the express train. Within the first 30 minutes we had already made about 5 stops. This made me a bit nervous as my plan was to count the stops & I would know I was in Tarnow when we got to the 3rd stop. You learn these things traveling places where you don’t know the language. I noticed that they did not announce the stations at all & there were precious few signs at any of the stations. After about an hour I asked the young people across from me if they spoke English. “Yes, a little” is always the response. I asked when we stop in Tarnow? They said, Tarnow last stop, no problem. I felt much better. When they got off, they told me, nest stop Tarnow, you get off.

Sure enough, almost 2 hours later we came to Tarnow, I only knew this because everyone got off. There were no signs at the station. Fortunately TAXI is the same in every language. I had asked someone about the hotel & they said “easy walk, only 15 minute walk to hotel”. Normally I would walk, but not having a map & having no clue where I was, I decided to be a tourist & take the taxi. I’m sure glad I did. The hotel wasn’t that far, but far enough. The driver was very nice, but didn’t speak much English, although he did know how to say thank you. The hotel was very old world with high ceilings & wide stairway with chandeliers. The desk clerk spoke English & they had my reservation – things were going very well.

It was about 5pm, so I decided to wander around the town. The streets were all cobblestone & the buildings stucco. It was a nice little town & the cold air felt good – well for a while. There was a large cathedral in the center of town that was lit up. The main street around the town square was wide & seemed to be pedestrian only, except for a few delivery trucks. There were a few bars & pizza places & of course the ubiquitous kebab places. After about 2 hours my ears were freezing, so I went back to the hotel. I thought about eating at a little local restaurant, but I didn’t see many women in most of them & most people were smoking & I just don’t like that when I eat. The hotel had a nice restaurant, so I ate there. I ordered 3 things off the menu & had no idea what they were – a soup, a salad & a ravioli dish. The soup turned out to be a thin tomato stock with chunks of tomato & other veggies in it – good. The salad was a plate of 3 salads – potato salad, cabbage salad & a shredded carrots that had vinegar on them – all very good. The main dish as homemade pasta raviolis (very large & puffy) filled with cheese & covered with grilled onions & mushrooms – good but very filling. Of course I had to try the local beer (I even took the bottle, think I’ll start collecting beer bottles from around the world). I was asleep before 9pm, still adjusting to the time change.

Tuesday:
Breakfast was at 7 & I knew the factory opened at 7, so I got an early start. Was first at the breakfast buffet – which was mostly cold cut meats, cheeses, rolls, yogurt, etc…very European breakfast – plenty to fill you up. I asked the desk clerk to call the factory & make sure they were expecting me. She did so & they were ready for me & very glad to know I had made it. Before leaving the hotel I asked the clerk to teach me how to say “hello” in Polish. I’ve learned that people always appreciate it if you at least attempt to try to speak their language. She said it is “jandubre”(again, phonetic). I got a taxi to the factory (practicing my new Polish word the entire way), about 20 minutes outside of town. At the security gate the guard took my bag & walked me into the office building. It was very strange as there were lots of people milling around. The main office was filled with flowers in vases. This is a vase factory, but I can’t even tell you how many flowers there were. I thought someone must have died & they are paying their respects. This turned out not to be the case. I asked about the flowers & was told they always have lots of flowers, the Polish love flowers, also the next day was the owner of the factory’s “name day”. They celebrate birthdays, but they also celebrate names days. Each name has it’s own day & everyone with that name celebrates on that day. They said it can be bigger celebration than your birthday. So there were a few extra flowers for that occasion.

The vases were amazing. They had some vases that were 5 feet high, I knew this because they were as tall as me. The woman I met with was very nice & appreciative of our efforts to get the product to them on time. She also really liked that I greeted her in Polish & understood my “jandubre”. I think that helped break the ice some. Getting the product on Tuesday gave them time to check each vase to make sure they had the right tags on them. I was given tea & we chatted then they arranged for the factory driver to take me back to my hotel. It was a nice visit & I was sure glad to get those tags out of my hands. The driver didn’t speak English, so I just enjoyed the country side.

I checked out of the hotel & the clerk told me the next train was at 10am, which gave me about 1.5 hours to waste. I was glad because I wanted to see the town in day light & get some photos. It was very cold, good solid frost on the ground. One of my first stops was a shop that sold scarves & mittens. I think it was actually a 2nd hand shop, but who cares. I got a nice scarf – nice meaning warm & some mittens. That helped make the walk much more tolerable. After wandering around (I had found a map) I walked to the train station. I managed to get my ticket & find the platform. After the hotel I didn’t meet anyone who spoke English, so it was a bit of a challenge. This time I think I got the express train, as it didn’t make nearly as many stops. We did stop a few times in the middle of the track (no station) & just sit for 10 minutes. I think they must have been waiting for other trains to clear the track. Things in Poland are not nearly as punctual as HK.

I arrived in Krakow around 11:30am & my flight out to London was at 3:30. So this gave me some time to look around Krakow. The train station lets out into a mall so I looked around a little & again had trouble finding the exit. I think this must be a strategy of the designers so that people are trapped & forced to shop OR I’m just stupid!! I found a few souvenirs for the folks back at the office. I did finally find the exit & just walked the streets. I think I was in the main tourist area because there some great looking old buildings & lots of people with cameras. I found a pedestrian street with shops. It was again, very old world looking. I’d like to come back & get to take more time. Knowing the transportation system in Poland was maybe not as reliable as HK & not knowing the language, I decided to give myself plenty of time to get to the airport. I wandered back to the train station & after a little confusion, found the train to the airport. This time I knew to have exact change. I got to the airport with a few hours to spare, so enjoyed my book.

They were extra strict with flights going to the UK. We went through the usual security check, but then for the UK flights you had to go through another check. They took everything out of your carryon bag. They made me turn on my calculator & camera. They did a pat down search also. Again, only one carryon item. It was kind of funny getting out to the plane. The put everyone on a bus – we were packed in like sardines, then the bus took us less than 100 yards & we got off at the plane. We were all laughing that it would have been a lot faster & more comfortable to have just walked to the plane.

The flight was uneventful & I managed the express train back to Victoria Station without problems. I decided to take the underground to get back to Mike’s, maybe not a good idea. It was about 6pm & that is rush hour in London. I got my ticket & found my way through the crowds & onto a train. Got off at the right place – stations were announced & well marked in London. The underground is so much different than in HK though, it feels very small & hot & dirty. I guess being one on the oldest underground systems, it is showing it’s age. HK is so clean & modern, it was a stark contrast. Having been in a train or bus most of the day I just walked from Oxford Circus to Mike’s, it was about 15 minutes. Again I was happy to have my new scarf & mittens. I enjoyed dinner with the family again & again early to bed.

Michelle was apologizing for not being available to take me around, but she had things she needed to do with the kids’ school & previous engagements. She mentioned that she had some theater tickets for the next night. THEATER! I had completely forgotten that London is known for its great theater & it is usually cheap (by NYC standards). I had a mission for the next day, get tickets for a show.


Wednesday:
Michelle told me the half price tickets booth doesn’t open until 10am, so I hung around the house in the morning & enjoyed just being in a house. I even emptied the dish washer, which was a treat! (sounds strange doesn’t it, you never know what you’ll miss doing). I headed out by foot & walked down Regent Street (this is one of the main shopping streets in London, all of the best stores are here, I felt like I was in HK). I found a great toy store, Hembley’s & had fun looking around. It was 5 floors of toys! I got to Piccadilly Circus & noticed a cheap theater ticket booth there (the main one is in Leicester Square). I checked it out & saw that Lion King was playing. I got tickets for that night for about $50. I spent the rest of the day just wandering. I found my way to Trafalgar Square & then to St James Park. It was another lovely day, so I sat in the park for a while & struck up a conversation with a 27year old guy from Nova Scotia who is traveling until April all over Europe & ending up in Turkey. From the park I could see the London Eye (the huge ferris wheel that was constructed for the millennium celebration) so I decided that would be my destination. Passed Big Ben & Parliament on the way & crossed the River Thames. At the London Eye there is a building that has a few museums in it. I decided to go to the Salvador Dali exhibit to get some culture. Dali is way out there, some pretty strange stuff. It was fun though & it felt good to get out of the cold for a few hours. By the time I left, it was just getting dark, so I figured a good time to go up in the Eye before heading to the theater.

The London Eye takes 30 minutes to make the full circle. The night was clear, so we had a fabulous view of the city. Off in the distance we could see a fireworks display over the building tops. I found out later that it was for Guy Faulks day (that is what the Brits celebrate the day after Halloween). I didn’t do a very good job taking night photos, so you if you look at the photos, you have to be patient until I figured out I had to ground the camera to keep it still.

The Eye was only about a 20 minute walk from the theater. I can’t even begin to describe Lion King, it was spectacular. If you haven’t seen it & you ever get the chance, it is a must. The costuming is amazing & so is the dancing. Just a feel good story & performance. It was over at 10:30 and with map in hand, I walked home from the theater. It took about an hour, but I just loved being out in the cold & getting the exercise.

Thursday:
Having seen how many great shows there were in London, I decided I’d have to go to the theater again tonight. I ventured down to Leicester Square this time & waited in a long line & got a ticket for Phantom of the Opera. I’ve never seen it & figured everyone says so much about it I should see it. I’ve seen the movie, so was familiar with the story & music, which I love.

With ticket in hand, my day destination was to St. Paul’s cathedral. Ethan told me that I should climb to the top for a great view of the city. You know if a teenager suggests something, then it must be worth doing. I walked to St Paul’s. This took me along Fleet Street which is the financial & legal district of London. Along the way I happened to wander into a building complex with a court yard. I have no idea what drew me to wander in, but what should I discover but the construction of an ice rink. They do this in large cities, construct outdoor rinks for a few months in the winter (we had one in downtown Charlotte even). I’m just a magnet for ice rinks I guess. St Paul’s was wonderful & I climbed up the many many stairs, but could only go to the lower tower lookout, the upper one was closed for some reason. The view from the lower one was pretty terrific, so I was satisfied. I found a place for lunch & ate & read my book. Very relaxing & my feet were in desperate need of a rest.

I wandered back to Oxford Circus which took all afternoon. A young woman on the street saw me with a map & asked me to help her find a certain street she was looking for. I found it & walked with her a little ways. When I left her I looked up & noticed that I was at the entrance to Chinatown. How amusing to think that I came all the way from Asia to London & end up in Chinatown. It is only about 2 blocks, so I took some photos & walked through Chinatown. It felt like being in HK.

Got some tea & a sweet before the theater. When I decided it was time to head to the theater I realized I was at the wrong Circus, I was supposed to be at Piccadilly Circus, not Oxford – oops. It was 6:30 & I had an hour, so no panic, but when I got around Oxford Circus underground station, the sidewalk was literally impassible with people trying to get into the underground station. I guess they had problems with so many people trying to get on that someone got pushed onto the track by accident. So now they only let a certain number of people into the station & then they close the gates until the platform has cleared. This means the people spill out onto the street, it was like a mob scene. I just went on the street to get where I wanted to go.

I made it to the theater no problem. My seat was on the main level, 10 rows back. This theater wasn’t as angled as the other one, so it was kind of hard to see because of the person’s head in front of me. Phantom was good, but not spectacular. I think it wasn’t a good one to see after Lion King. It was definitely better than the movie & I enjoyed it, but it didn’t WOW me. I’m glad I can take it off my list. Again I walked home after the show. London seems very safe, at least the part where I was walking. There were lots of other people out & about even at 11pm. I wondered if my feet could take one more day of walking. I had acquired a few blisters.

Friday:
One of the main things I wanted to do while in London was to go see the flat that I had lived in when I was in college here back in 1975-76. So this was my day to return to my old haunts. I walked to Marble Arch & through Hyde Park. The open spaces in London parks is wonderful, makes you feel like you are in the country. I walked down King’s Road to Sloane Square (this is the underground station we used). On down King’s Road to Oakley Street (the street I lived on). Nothing looked familiar except for maybe one pub. King’s Road has all the trendy shops. It used to be where the punkers hung out, but no more. Oakley Street looked just the same. I found my flat, #40. As I was waiting for someone to come by so I could ask them to take a photo of my in front, the current resident came out of the door. She was young & very nice & took the photo with pleasure.

I then walked along the route that we would take to get to school. Along the way I happened upon a little pub tucked away among the apartment buildings. I had wanted to eat at a pub at least once during my London trip, but most were crowded & unwelcoming looking. This just looked like a nice neighborhood pub. I found a table, but nobody ever came to serve me. I noticed other people walking in & going to the bar to order, so I went & asked & that is what you have to do. You’d think they would have told me that? Anyway I had a half pint of Amber (in honor of my brother Hubs – that’s another story & another trip) & of course fish & chips. It was great. At one point there were 9 dogs in the pub, some on leashes & some not. Guess it really is for the locals.

I went on down the road & think I saw where the school used to be, but didn’t look like it was there any more. I walked back through Hyde Park & through the neighborhoods. As I was passing the Victoria & Albert – what do you think I saw them constructing in the front courtyard – but of course – an ice rink!!! So I’m gone for less than a week & I see 3 ice rinks. Guess I need to find the one here in HK. I got back to Mike’s in time to say good bye to Michelle, she was off to pick up the kids. I packed & got a taxi to the station for the airport. My flight back to HK left at 8:30pm. I was very glad to be done walking & get to rest for awhile. I had plenty of time which was good because again the security line was huge. The flight back was uneventful. I had an aisle seat again which was good. I slept probably 4 hours. Watched a couple of good movies: Twelve And Holding, Nina’s something- can’t recall the name, but about an Indian family living in Glasgow & they own a restaurant & Nina comes back to take it over after her father dies. Arrived in HK Saturday evening & back to the apartment around 7pm. Good to be home & to see John of course. I went right to bed.

Sunday:
I was still kind of out of it on Sunday, jet lag & all. Sunday afternoon John & I decided to take a trip to the Peak via bus. It is an exciting bus ride – you feel like you are going to fall of the side of the mountain. There is a nice path that encircles the Peak, so we were going to walk that. We got about ¼ around the path & noticed a path running down the mountain towards our part of town. We decided to take it & see where we came out. It was a nice winding path & we event went past a few shrines with incense burning. We ended up at the zoological & botanical gardens that are not far from our house. I’ve wanted to visit them since I got here. I go past on the way to work on the bus. So we strolled through. Saw the jaguar & lots of birds & monkeys. It is always fun here on the weekend in the parks because they are filled with families. It is so wonderful to see parents & kids & grandparents out enjoying each other’s company.

We then walked back towards the escalator & our apartment. We decided to have an early dinner out. We were walking along Elgin Street (the one that is filled with restaurants) trying to decide where to eat, when an Asian woman walks past & says “Hello John, I haven’t seen you in so long. I hope you are going to eat at my restaurant.” She is the manager of one of the restaurants were John had eaten with the other Americans a few times. I guess she has a great memory for names & faces. Of course we went to her restaurant. It was a mixture of food types. John has Caesar Salad & I had fajita – which was delicious. It was a good end to a fun day. I slept very well again & my feet were feeling much better – they needed that day of travel that did NOT involve walking!!!

photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/jbhubbell

The End – finally…..next week (Nov. 15 we go to India, so that will be another long blog. Hopefully it will not take me so long to finish it)