Sunday lunch at the pub

Sunday lunch at the pub
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So we finished things off with sunday lunch in a village pub, sun shining, beer in pint glasses and good old pub grub.

A lovely re-union with great people that will hopefully not be the last!

(PS Donald assures me that he was actually enjoying this occasion)

Checking around

Checking around
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

A lovely day out in Bath.

Cast includes:

Matt (the fish)
Mieke (I'm not actually worried)
Donald (english coffee rocks?!)
Janaya (the japanese tourist)
Sarah (the smiler)
Rob (the hidden tour guide)

Donalds

Donalds
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

This has to become a life long project!

The Goodalls visit the Douglas family home

The Goodalls visit the Douglas family home
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

We took them home to our place (actually this is the East wing).

In England everyone lives in houses like this.

PS....New Zealand visits Bath

New Zealand visits Bath
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Hang on, just to complete things, I should show you how Hamilton has now touched home.

The arrival of the wonderful Goodalls and the equally lovely Matt and Mieke.

These guys came over to see what all the fuss about home was, so we had a great time showing them around.

So all good things finally come to an end.

So all good things finally come to an end.
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

A lovely meal and the last night of our travels and adventures.

Not sure what to put to sum it up - but it has been an incredible year away.

It's been fantastic for us and we'll have so many memories that we'll be able to bore children and grandchildren for years!

My wife is fantastic. I love travelling with you babe. Lets do it again sometime!

For everyone else who has checked the site, I hope you've enjoyed it because we definitely did!

God bless

Rob and Sarah

Flash drinks

Flash drinks
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

...pleasantly surprised.

Flash enterance

Flash enterance
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

...and we were....

The Pen

The Pen
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Visually exhausted we adjourned for a simple meal and drinks. As one does in Hong Kong we decided upon The Penisula

Laser light show

Laser light show
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Hong Kong by night

Hong Kong by night
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Then a light show using all the skyscrapers

Water show

Water show
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

This was a light and music show using one of the fountains on the water front, very cool they projected pictures onto a curtain of water!

...as the sun goes down.

...as the sun goes down.
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

G & T as the sun sets! Life feels quite good.

...on our junk...

...on our junk...
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Cruising

Cruising
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

We managed to get a cruise in around the Habour, but no-one else joined us.

So we had the junk to ourselves!

Pretty steep

Pretty steep
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

And the cable car route is pretty steep, they say they've never had any problems!

Cable car up to the Peak

Cable car up to the Peak
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

The peak is accessed by a cable car

Up on Victoria Peak

Up on Victoria Peak
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Next up to Victoria Peak which is a big hill on HK island that overlooks everything.

Lesser spotted mango pecker

Lesser spotted mango pecker
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

You can tell by the yellow beak

Aviary

Aviary
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

The park included a cool aviary which was enormous and filled with all sorts of birds

A little oasis

A little oasis
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Nice little places here for a city lunch break

Hong Kong park

Hong Kong park
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Then on around the city via the park

..but struggling with some of the tastes

..but struggling with some of the tastes
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

...but did struggle with my sesame seed jelly thing!

Looking confident...

Looking confident...
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Started out ok...

Chop stick skills

Chop stick skills
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Then on to a variety of steamed Dim Sum, sort of spring rolls, little buns with sesame seeds, and a few odd gelatinous things.

Tea and Dim Sum

Tea and Dim Sum
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So we looked through the long list of types of tea and ordered two. Then we had this freshly prepared infront of us, and then we were watched expectantly after tasting and asked for our comments on our choice.

"Yeah, it's great it tastes like tea?!"

The tea house

The tea house
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Then time for some food

Fruit market

Fruit market
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Fish market

Fish market
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Flower market

Flower market
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Bird market

Bird market
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Down town Hong Kong

Down town Hong Kong
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So off we went exploring

Hong Kong taxis

Hong Kong taxis
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Plenty of cheap taxis

Hong Kong trams

Hong Kong trams
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

In fact Hong Kong has got lots of cool public transport that make it very easy to get around the city.

The Star Ferries

The Star Ferries
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Which means using the famous Star Ferries, which have been crossing this water for decades.

Crossing over from Hong Kong Island

Crossing over from Hong Kong Island
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

We stayed on Hong Kong island which meant we needed to catch the ferry across to the main land part of Hong Kong.

Bamboo scaffolding

Bamboo scalfolding
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

However, some buildings are not what you'd expect. This one shows the common use of bamboo as scaffolding around buildings.

Apparently it's cheap, light, strong and flexible and gets used in most projects!

..and funky buildings.

..and funky buildings.
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

pretty tall.....

pretty tall.....
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

This is the IFC (international financial centre) 2, which has 88 floors and is currently the tallest building in HK. Plans are underfoot for a new building that (i think) will be about 150 floors!!!!

Plenty of...

Plenty of...
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

This is an amazing city, with incredible buildings and a history of great architectural one-up-manship

Hong Kong

Hong Kong
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So we move on to Hong Kong, warmer weather and lots of shops.

Harbour Bridge by night

Harbour Bridge by night
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So Sydney, fun city with loads to see and some great places to have a drink and see the city lights..

With this our time in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere is quickly coming to an end.

But there is still Hong Kong...............

Harbour at night

Harbour at night
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Downtown Sydney

Downtown Sydney
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Opera House from the ferry

Opera House from the ferry
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So a few more days exploring

Hillsong

Hilldong
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

A really good time, 30,000 people, lots of worship and some brilliant speakers. Came away with alot to think about...

Harbour Bridge

Harbour Bridge
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Still looks good after all these years

Still looks good after all these years
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Sydney

Sydney
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Next another flight onto Sydney - to meet up with friends for the Hillsong conference.