China Aidswalk 2014

2014 China Aidswalk!

My friend Colin.....the view and understanding of Aids is about the same as where the United States was 25 years ago.  There is so little understanding and mostly fear.

There were about 150 walkers, about half were Chinese nationals.  We were supposed to walk along the newly renovated Simitai section of the wall, but due to "political reasons" we were rerouted to Mutianyu.

I invited Colin and my former colleague Barbara and her husband Guang.

But it was fantastic that I met other friends from my Beijing life at the walk.  Here's my friend Masha.

Guang and myself.

Guang and Barbara

Unexpectedly, my friend Sean (in black at right) was there!

Second from the left, Fernando who lives right near me.  And Karina in the back.

And if I couldn't have felt more connected in Beijing, we ran into Anny and David at the wall and they weren't even participating in the walk. 

2014 Mid-Autumn Festival -- Hong Kong

Mid-Autumn Festival happens when the largest full moon is in the sky.  This year it fell early in September which gave Onions and I a 3-day weekend in Hong Kong!!  First stop, Hong Kong Style Dim Sum.

This is going to be an Onions centric post!  So get ready.  Here he is ordering for both of us....no English on the menu.

I usually do not take pictures of food BUT this BBQ pork bun was something to remember.  The bun itself was not the spongy white bun we're used to in the States, but a flaky, sweet melt in your mouth, almost buttery crust type bun.  I still can taste it.

Wifi is KEY in Asia.  For 25 RMB a day (we got it free because Onions' sister works for the company), you can rent a device which takes a Hong Kong signal (also works in South Korea and Japan) and you have your own wireless network.  We would have been lost without it!

Ahhh propoganda.  I don't think most Hong Kong residents are really that excited about China's Communist Party anniversary!

After Dim Sum, we participated in Hong Kong's national sport....SHOPPING.  Harbour City is actually three malls linked together.

We then visited Onions aunt and her family.  Thai dinner!  Onions' aunt emigrated to Hong Kong in the 1970's.

Our GPS got us lost (first off Hong Kong is impossible to navigate because you simply can't cross a road...as it most likely is a huge multi-lane road) as we looked for a restaurant called Mak's Noodles.  The GPS had it located in the middle of a hospital complex. We never found it.  Due to hunger, we both got a bit short with each other......and realized I need to carry food in case of emergency. 

The view south from Victoria Peak

The view north into Hong Kong harbor.....I like how the boats are lined up!

That restaurant we were looking for?  There was an outpost of it at the top of Victoria Peak!  Bonus.

The noodles are great but the soup....is a duck broth.  I'm not sure what made it so special (it tasted good) or so expensive, but Onions was happy! 

Oh, and as we were leaving Victoria Peak....this sign. 

That evening we met up with a college friend of Onions. He actually was recruited by a university in Hong Kong.  Interestingly, because he's recruited he is considered "highly skilled labor" and gets special benefits, such as the right to go to the front of the line for any medical care that has a wait.  After dinner we went to the famed Temple Street Night Market.

Last day, a cruise around Victoria Harbor.....and then....

...we went out to the New Territories, right on the border of Shenzhen for dinner at Onions aunt's house.

This kid....six years old, ate everything in sight.  I think I must have been exactly like him!

After this photo (Onions aunt is with the baby, her granddaughter), it was off to the airport for a late night flight back to Beijing!

Watson's Bay - Sydney Layover

Due to some not so great planning, I flew back from New Zealand with a stop in Sydney.  I had a 12 hour layover so I took the train into Circular Quay, and boarded a boat to Watson's Bay.

Right across from North Head, Watson's Bay sits on a spit of land that separates Sydney Harbor from the sea.

I spent a perfect day sitting on a rock, overlooking the harbor and the passing boats.

And then a few hours at Lady Bay Beach.....and of course I did.

A late lunch of fried seafood on the dock before heading back to the airport.  A perfect way to end a great trip.