After two flights one to Sydney and then a long on to Hong Kong we finally landed.  We had been invited to dinner with Christ who we met on a wine tour in Napier, New Zealand.  We thought it would be easier to take a taxi to her house directly from the airport – this is where we were wrong.  Firstly when we got to the taxi queue they only took cash which we didn’t have any of, secondly no-one seemed to know where Christ lived.  After four taxi’s refusing to take us – we found someone who didn’t speak any English who vaguely knew how to get to the area.  Finally we arrived after two phone calls to the security guard at Christ’s house.  We had a really nice evening with her, meeting her lovely children.

 

We finally got to the hotel at about 10.30 and fell into bed.  For us it was 5am in the morning New Zealand time!

In Hong Kong we took a city tour.  It took us to the peak tram, when you get to the top you can see all over Hong Kong.  The track is 27 degrees to the horizontal and 1365 long, and takes about 7 mins.  Up at the top we saw some scaffolding being taken down and other than their shouts to each other it was almost silent – then we realised that it was bamboo they go up really high and use nylon straps which they just wrap round the poles and then tie it back to its self. The men are called spiders as they jump around a lot and rarely use any kind of harness.

 

Our second We went to the famous fishing village of Aberdeen. Here we saw Hong Kong’s junk-dwelling floating community, still very much a part of Hong Kong life. We then went on sampan (boat) here we saw the fishermen and trading boats. We then went to a jewellery factory where the sales staff hounded us, not sure how many ways you can say we are not buying just looking!  Our final stop was at Stanley Market where there was a whole lot of touristy junk for sale.

 

   

We both found Hong Kong so busy and so full of people.  So many people crammed into such a small place.  The high rises are huge and many people live in family groups in small spaces with often 4 generations all together.

After leaving Hong Kong we headed for Taiwan where Bob’s brother Philip and husband Scott live. Scott picked us up at the airport and it was warm but raining. We travelled across the city to their house which is in Tianu, north of Taipei. It was great to see them again, as they had visited us in October last year for the first time in 34 years just before we left for our trip.

 

Philip and Scott over the next three days took us all over the city. On the first day we went to Tamsui and went on a ferry ride to the Fishermans wharf. Everywhere you go there is lots of food for sale. We had lovely fried squid and fried King oyster mushrooms, really tasty. We then headed for the Martyrs Shrine where we watched the changing of the guards. They stand on a box completely still for an hour at a time and then they do a present arms routine to loosen off and then they are relieved in a little procession which gathers the two up from the first gate marches them up to the temple collects/swops the two from there and then back to the guard house this goes on 24 hours a day although they only guard the main gate after 5 pm by which time I’m sure that they must be exhausted!!

 

That evening we went to the night market at Shilin. The was an experience – lots of people, lots of food a great place. Here we had toffee coated strawberries and tomatoes, and had Japanese tappanyaki which was delicious.

 

                 

 

Here is the local rag and bone man…

 

The following day we went to Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan and the second tallest building in the world, 509 m to the tip. We went up to the 89 floor in the worlds fastest lift with the speed of 1010 m/min. It was amazing and you nearly felt weightless!!! The views from this floor were great. It was a little muggy out but you could still see the city, you just couldn’t see the surrounding mountains.

 

Scott then took us to a Thai restaurant which is linked to the hotel which he works at. We had a lovely meal here trying some of the local delicacies. Our next stop was the National Palace museum. It was great to see the treasures from time gone by and we got to see the jadeite cabbage which is one of the most precious treasures in the museum.

On our last day in Taiwan we went to the flower and jade markets at Daan. At the flower markets they sell beautiful orchids and they are really cheap. Philip bought two orchids for 160NT which is approximately £3. We then went to the pottery town at Yingge where we had a great time wandering around looking at all the pottery items.

 

 

You could even adopt a street dog at this market.

We have had a very interesting time in Taiwan and enjoyed having seen a tiny bit of this very different culture. We were very lucky to have Scott with us who knows where he is going and can speak the language as a small minority speak a little English and although few signs are in English none of the menus in the restaurants have English or any pictures!