4 July - Reporting from Hong Kong.

Today I was reminded of my ancestry when I was out walking in Hong Kong - "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun".  Yes, I was walking up Nathan Road at noon in a temperature of 34C plus - it seemed to me a hell'uv lot more.  Eventually I got back to my room that overlooked a large swimming complex in Kowloon Park.  The locals don't  even go into the water at noon!

From my hotel room window the swimming pool in Kowloon Park

 Had a quick lunch and laid down for a rest.  The next I knew it was 4.00 pm.  Had a quick wash and back out to those hot streets, walked around for a bit looking for some place to buy some presents for my two granddaughters, and my kids and their spouses.  Eventually I found myself in a market being shunted about by cars, bicycles, and people pushing trolleys,  all trying negotiate the narrow piece of road that was left between the stalls.  Here I got a couple of T-shirts that showed a Hong Kong origin for my two grand children.  Remembering that my daughter had told me, via Skype, that the temperature back home had got down to -1C and she had turned on the under floor heating in my Villa I bought some woolen scarves for the grownups.  Can you imagine standing in the sun, with a street temperature in the mid 30s buying  woolen scarves for those at home?

Back to the hotel all hot and exhausted.  Passed the bronze statue of three Boy scouts and up a grand marble – maybe imitation – staircase and sat myself down in comfortable tub chair in the bar.  This is a good time to use my free drink voucher – it didn’t matter what it was as long as it was long and cool.   

After a long cool beer, I ordered a gin and guava juice, also very nice.  Here is where I start to get into a bit of trouble because I thought I could cope with a gin tonic before heading off to my room.  So I ordered one and the waitress said something about happy hour, but not having my hearing aids in I ignored it.  The G&T dully arrived, I grabbed a paper and caught up on some overseas news and finished my drink.  Just as I was to ask for my bill, another G&T arrived – happy hour two for one drinks.  So that’s what the waitress was so kindly trying to tell me.  I should have known because back in 1990 when staying at the Sheridan, four of us ordered exotic drinks while seated in a booth.  To our surprise, the waiter turned up with eight drinks— two for one happy hour— completely  covering the table with glasses, drinks of all colours, straws, and some of those little umbrellas.

Anyway, on the way to my room I booked in for dinner, headed up in the lift, had little rest, change my clothes and went down to dinner.

 

Now back in my room I am looking at the large public swimming pool, it is 7.30 and getting dark, the lights are coming on, and the swimming pool has swimmers.  It seems that  in the morning and at night when the temperature has dropped a couple of degrees people her go swimming.

Had my dinner and then headed up to the Temple Street night market.  Much superior, for us blokes, to the Ladies Market I visited last night.  Just a short walk from the hotel, but the heat made it seem further.  The market has  wallets, belts, torches, umbrellas, clothes, battery operated toys, bags, tools especially those transformer type that give a whole work shop in one belt pouch, and many, many more interesting items.  Shopping is easy once you can calculate prices back into your home country prices.  For me it was $NZ1 to $HK6.4 so at first everything appeared expensive.

Walking through the Temple Street Market.

 While, in the market I took some photos and learnt taking your camera from an air condition room and then taking it out of its camera bag in the hot humid everything fogs up.

Finally after a couple of hours I get back to my room knowing that all the drinks I had dad early are now well and truly sweated out.  Shoes off and a bottle of cold water beside me the end has come to my first day in Hong Kong.

The Archive at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Woke next morning and after all those early morning rituals like showering, dressing and eating I eventual arrived at Hotel desk.  Asked if they could phone for a taxi—30 seconds one was at the door.  A coincidence I think.

During the trip to the University Library, we had quite a conversation about Australia and New Zealand.  The driver at first was not sure where to go but then realized that he often took a gentleman called Brett Riggs the library.  Another coincidence as this was just the person I was to meet.  The driver said “Say hullo to Brett from Mac.”  He took off his hat and said “Bald Mac”.  

During this trip, I learnt that it had been raining for the last six weeks.  So later I was to be grateful when during the noon to 2 pm closure of the archive that it was dry enough to walk around outside for a while.

I went up to the front desk in the library and asked to see Brett Riggs.  “Up on the next floor” the nice man behind the counter told me.  Funny I thought, last year I had to go down to the basement.  Seeing that I was a bit puzzled he came around the counter and led me up the stairs and across the room full of bookcases to Brett’s desk.

Yes, I was right, late last year the Archives moved up two floors from the basement and what a difference it has made.  A light and airy area with windows and views and as the lady sitting at the desk in the reading said, “Now we know what the weather is outside before they leave our desks.”

During this my second time in the Victor Campbell  Archive I managed to fill in more details which will help make my writing more accurate—the facts not necessarily the grammar!  For example, in the first hour I located a hand drawn map of the Browning Pass, Boomerang Glacier area where Campbell had marked the positions of their campsites during the period 11-20 January 1912.  The pencil drawn map was on the last page of one of his small sledging notebooks.  Why I missed it last year I don’t know.

The Library, from the roadside is a stepped structure of six or so stories.  The stepped area is devoted to light and airy study places for the students.  While the more conventional side houses the library’s information desks, computers (lots and lots of computers) for searches, general administration, and stack rooms.

Another interesting feature is the housing for the Student Facilities.  These are in a building on the side of the 4-lane road that splits the campus in half.  A large bridging structure spanning the highway houses the student dining room and food outlets. First you decide on what you would like to eat, go to the appropriate food outlet, and then either sit at conventional seating or like me go to bar like table set against the windows and spanning the full  width of the road.  Climb onto a ‘bar stool’ and eat you lunch while watch the traffic speed along the traffic lanes and passing directly under your seat.  Very much like the restaurants spanning the motorways in Northern Italy, except here they speak and understand English!

14 June - Return to Port Dalhousie.

To make a long story short, yesterday I made a trip to Port Dalhousie early in the morning.  Walked around a bit and found most of the shops closed.  I could not find any Information Centre, so down to the beach and found a good park for picnicking.  Thinking this was all of Port Dalhousie, and wasn't setup for a picnic, I headed back to town. 

Knowing the first three of the four Welland canals went through Dalhousie I did a Google search on ‘Dalhousie canal’.  The results of which sent me back there today.

Firstly, I went across the beachfront park to where the first canal started and found an information board telling about its history.  Nothing remains, above ground at least, but I took a photo of where the canal was.  

  On my way across got an interesting shot of a squirrel, on the lakes edge, inspecting a coke can.

Then I walked back towards town and found the first lock of the second canal.  I had walked passed it twice yesterday.  Why I didn’t see it, I don’t know.  It was in plain sight if you were not distracted by the yachts in the marina.  The first photo shows the end of the marina and the entrance to the old lock.

The second photo shows the town side of the lock with the indentation to take the lock gate when opened.  The stonework seems to be in good condition and some of ironwork for the gate hinges are visible.  Above the lock and across the road is the pub where I had lunch.  If only it was open yesterday because sitting there, I would have had a direct view into the lock.

From here, I walked around to the remains of the first lock on the third canal.  Here again the stonework is complete with a lot of the ironwork.  However, this lock had the partial remains of one of the lock gates.

From this lock I headed across the road and joint the walk way and headed up river.  Crossing a long pedestrian bridge, I had my first glimpse of the entrance to the second lock of the third canal. 

 I continued on and although the side of the lock is fenced off with trees and wire net I managed to see the entrance stone work.

On my side of the trees, on beautifully mown lawn, was a series of bollards along the length of the lock.

Following the path and crossing the lawn I reached the other end of the lock. 

Moving in closer I could obtain photograph through the trees looking down the lock to the entrance stone work. 

Now turning around I could see where the canal  once continued —now a fine stretch of parkland and part of the walkway.

At this point, hot and tired, I retraced my steps back to Murphy’s Pup, beside the first lock of the second canal, for lunch.

13 June - Dinning in (at) Montana

Tonight after some shopping for a shirt and some skivvies I stopped off at Montana—not the state, but the Steak House next to my hotel.  Timber met me on entering, tree trunk beams in the ceiling, around the walls hold up the ceiling and heavy timber tables.  I opted for a booth in the bar and once again timber with high seats and table, but sensibly place foot rests.  The wooden tables, seats, and bar were thickly coated with varnish or whatever is the modern equivalent—smooth, shiny, and thick.

That’s enough of the décor.  First off, I asked for a long cold beer.  The waiter reeled off a whole list of beers available and I stopped him at the first one I didn’t recognize.  Now with a cool beer in front of me I had to negotiate the menu.  A large glossy document with lots of pictures glorious description on what was on offer.  I finally settled for rib-eye steak (in my mind a piece of fillet steak), baked potato, and southern baked beans.  A modest selection I thought.  So I also asked for a Californian Woodbridge Merlot in, the new menu option of, a large glass.  In a surprisingly short time, it all arrived. 

Was I wrong—my modest selection ended up being large steak, a HUGE baked potato with all the trimming, a reasonable size dish of baked beans, and a large dollop of onions flour dipped and expertly fried.  With this, they supplied a sharp steak knife.  Oh!  I thought they don’t trust the steak to be tender.  Once again, I was wrong.  The steak was perfect and the knife was useful in cutting through the sinew or whatever you call it—those tough bits between the muscle.  This of course was not problem with the cooking but rather the construction of the donor animal.

Every item on the plate was delicious and not wanting to upset the cook, I ate everything on my plate, just as my mother taught me.  Now with a empty plate in front of me there was nothing else to do than have a black coffee  and ponder the bill.  The meal was expensive buy my standards as I don’t often eat out at home.  However analyzing the bill, I saw that half the cost was in what I drank and that part those nasty tax people seem want.  It occurred to me that for about every eight of us who dine out we are paying for one tax person to have a good meal.  Is this charity?  If so, could we claim it on our tax returns as a charitable donation?

After finishing my coffee, I walked back to my hotel and decided to write this blog.

Sorry Jessie and Emma no pictures.  I will go out tomorrow and take some.