21-24 March 2009
Me, T, D, & L.
A really relaxing time.
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
26.3.09
20.4.08
So, Typhoon Neoguri and I were in Hong Kong this April
I took the ferry to go from Kowloon to Central Hong Kong. I did this many times before, but this was the first time I did it on my own.
Some constructions are going on at the moment.
I like to think I captured a different impression of this view toward Hong Kong Island.
Apartment blocks I assume.
「也許一輩子都住在一起，卻永遠也不會認識。」
蘭桂坊 The street of pubs and bars in Central Hong Kong. I was a bit lost. No one goes there at mid day.
I like Hong Kong. To me it shows a rather peaceful image of cultural fusion, which might be a weird understanding to some but I don't really care.
The paces are so fast that even time seems to tick away faster here.
I did not go there for shopping like a mad woman. I went to see friends.
The typhoon did not scare people away. On our way to Causeway Bay, one downtown area, we saw crowds with their waterproofs/umbrellas. 'Stay in! The weather's horrid,' I thought. Demi and I drank our coffees and chatted like we did when we were in York/Cornwall/Sheffield... this time in Hong Kong. Typhoon helped postpone Demi's ferry back to Macao, ace. ;)
Some things change others don't.
And my two other friends in HK came out to meet up too. 「旅行的意義在於思索想念？」或者說：「另一階段另一層次的思索？」
We could not afford more time together, which was a shame. This is our own version of extravaganza.
The Practicals
Flight between Taipei and Hong Kong: 1hr 40
Hotel options: hostels, hotels, (no B&Bs, sadly)
Food: rather special. The black tea is usually served with evaporated milk (which I don't think I ever tasted anywhere else). Tea restaurants (茶餐廳）serve about 100 options of different foods. Japanese cuisine seems to be in fashion at the moment. I saw quite many sushi bars here and there.
Languages: Cantonese is the language, but I spoke mostly Mandarin wherever I went and did not have problems. English is also used especially in Central Hong Kong.
Transportation: I love the star ferry! and the sky bridge that links the dock to the shops in skyscrapers in downtown! MTR (or what we call 捷運 and what they call underground) is very convenient too but one can get really lost in the stations because almost wherever you go you see shops and shops and shops... I did not use taxis but years ago I took the mini bus around 3AM, which was really unforgettable...
10.3.08
雲深不之處
hiking in a volcanoanyone could smell the sulphur...
Yesterday I went with my father to a national park,
we went uphills to the highest point of Taipei,
Height: 1200m.
14.1.08
10 - 12 January, London
--The Swan Lake, English Natoinal Ballet
Shibboleth, by Doris Salcedo (Tate Modern)
by Cristian Mungiu (Romania)8.1.08
4 - 7 January 2008, Scotland
Last year for my birthday, I enjoyed my time in Edinburgh. It was the first time I went there in winter. Enjoying it so much, this January I went again, albeit having just spent Christmas in South Wales and the long hours of train journeys is still vivid. I am impressed again by Scotland, this time in Aberdeenshire.
Although I tried to study a little about the city/county before I set off, at arrival I still carried just a little bit more than no knowledge at all about the place. What I knew for sure was that one of my best friends moved to work there, and also I knew I wanted to travel to Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven, which is just a few miles away south of Aberdeen.
So on the train up north, I thought about the sea, Scottish friendliness, and the castle on the cliff.
The rail journey was long but such scenes near Durham and between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh were incredible. Saw Lindisfarne remotely again! Before arriving Edinburgh the sun was setting: a sky painted with mild colours announcing the darkness of the approaching night time.
5th January, Aberdeen
Waking up feeling the second worst hangover in my life so far, skipping breakfast, I recovered soon after T’s superb salmon stew from last night. Could only call that magic. (Understatements in use here.)
Aberdeen strikes me as a rather rich city. I did not expect to see so many grand buildings and looking so new too! Everywhere I looked it was mostly grey, M was right. And because it was the city of granite, the materials used for building houses is stone?? Not that I was starting to miss the red-bricked houses in England. Rather, I am impressed with the usage of the colour grey in this city.
* 
...city centre
Hiking to and from the castle required full concentration, if not careful, falling down the cliff was so easy! so we spoke little, we took some breaks to quietly admire the scenery: sublime! Awesome! Standing in front of the Sea, the natural structure of the cliffs, and the ruins of the historical castle, I was amazed and became tongue-tied.
**
***
7th January, Aberdeen –York
On Sunday Night after visiting Stonehaven, T offered one more feast. He added magic to our second Indian dinner. I really admire everything he’d so delicately done.
Although I tried to study a little about the city/county before I set off, at arrival I still carried just a little bit more than no knowledge at all about the place. What I knew for sure was that one of my best friends moved to work there, and also I knew I wanted to travel to Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven, which is just a few miles away south of Aberdeen.
So on the train up north, I thought about the sea, Scottish friendliness, and the castle on the cliff.
The rail journey was long but such scenes near Durham and between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh were incredible. Saw Lindisfarne remotely again! Before arriving Edinburgh the sun was setting: a sky painted with mild colours announcing the darkness of the approaching night time.
...... snow 
Before it got too dark I took the 45-min gap between trains quickly ran to have a glimpse of Edinburgh Prince Street. My beloved Edinburgh. Busy streets, tourists speaking all sorts of languages. I had no time to go in to the old town. What surprised me last year was the unexpected snow after Turner's watercolour exhibition, and this year I saw that (sadly) The Scott Monument is now surrounded by items that before only available at funfairs.
...The Scott Monument, Edinburgh
Before it got too dark I took the 45-min gap between trains quickly ran to have a glimpse of Edinburgh Prince Street. My beloved Edinburgh. Busy streets, tourists speaking all sorts of languages. I had no time to go in to the old town. What surprised me last year was the unexpected snow after Turner's watercolour exhibition, and this year I saw that (sadly) The Scott Monument is now surrounded by items that before only available at funfairs.
...The Scott Monument, Edinburgh4th January, Edinburgh – Aberdeen
It got dark, so I could not look out the window for scenery and luckily I found a seat in the packed train, so I began to do some work (!). In no time I arrived in Aberdeen (after 10 stops in places whose names I could not pronounce except for Dundee…) I immediately spotted T and his big smile. :D A moment later he drove us to the beach. We stood there listening to the waves eating the sands and salts, me and Aberdeen exchanging first special hellos…
T’s place locates in Old Aberdeen, so I got to go to the old town first. Following that T made a salmon stew for both of us to have as dinner on the cold, cold winter night.
It got dark, so I could not look out the window for scenery and luckily I found a seat in the packed train, so I began to do some work (!). In no time I arrived in Aberdeen (after 10 stops in places whose names I could not pronounce except for Dundee…) I immediately spotted T and his big smile. :D A moment later he drove us to the beach. We stood there listening to the waves eating the sands and salts, me and Aberdeen exchanging first special hellos…
T’s place locates in Old Aberdeen, so I got to go to the old town first. Following that T made a salmon stew for both of us to have as dinner on the cold, cold winter night.
5th January, Aberdeen
Waking up feeling the second worst hangover in my life so far, skipping breakfast, I recovered soon after T’s superb salmon stew from last night. Could only call that magic. (Understatements in use here.)
Aberdeen strikes me as a rather rich city. I did not expect to see so many grand buildings and looking so new too! Everywhere I looked it was mostly grey, M was right. And because it was the city of granite, the materials used for building houses is stone?? Not that I was starting to miss the red-bricked houses in England. Rather, I am impressed with the usage of the colour grey in this city.
* 
King's College
...city centreTemperature: somehow low, but it was mostly dry. Therefore no snow either, never mind!
Pub crawling in Aberdeen with T is a must. Aberdeen has various places to quench the thirst of all sorts of pub-goers. We went to two that we each preferred: a historical pub (music-less) for my first Scottish lager, followed by a bar filled with youthful atmosphere and decorations where we drank yummy Frülli the strawberry beers!
T has become interested in making Indian cuisines so I suggested we go to the Indian restaurant of his recommendation, in order to treat ourselves while tasting some superb cuisines for cooking inspiration (plus: we can extend one of our favourite topics, that is FOOD!). The food was divine, I really have no idea how the chicken could be so tender in this dish cooked in spinach and spices; the service was incredibly good—very likely the best ever received during my UK years! It's called Jewel in the Crown!
6th January, Dunnottar Castle and Stonehaven
T kindly agreed to go with me to the castle this day!
Pub crawling in Aberdeen with T is a must. Aberdeen has various places to quench the thirst of all sorts of pub-goers. We went to two that we each preferred: a historical pub (music-less) for my first Scottish lager, followed by a bar filled with youthful atmosphere and decorations where we drank yummy Frülli the strawberry beers!
T has become interested in making Indian cuisines so I suggested we go to the Indian restaurant of his recommendation, in order to treat ourselves while tasting some superb cuisines for cooking inspiration (plus: we can extend one of our favourite topics, that is FOOD!). The food was divine, I really have no idea how the chicken could be so tender in this dish cooked in spinach and spices; the service was incredibly good—very likely the best ever received during my UK years! It's called Jewel in the Crown!
6th January, Dunnottar Castle and Stonehaven
T kindly agreed to go with me to the castle this day!
Hiking to and from the castle required full concentration, if not careful, falling down the cliff was so easy! so we spoke little, we took some breaks to quietly admire the scenery: sublime! Awesome! Standing in front of the Sea, the natural structure of the cliffs, and the ruins of the historical castle, I was amazed and became tongue-tied.
**
***
T goes crab-hunting after picnic....
7th January, Aberdeen –York
On Sunday Night after visiting Stonehaven, T offered one more feast. He added magic to our second Indian dinner. I really admire everything he’d so delicately done.
By my request he showed me photos of deep sea animals he and his research team found during field trips on the sea, and he ended up being required by me to make a presentation of the findings followed by a Q&A session, so generous! Inspiring too!
Because it’s Monday and important people like T have to work, we both woke up early to have breakfast together before goodbye. I will not forget the taste.
Packing up my bag did not take long, and luckily by the time I left T’s house the rain stopped. It was plenty of time before my train so I walked. I was going to walk anyway. Walking in Aberdeen somehow reminds me of the streets in Paris. I am not comparing the people, rather I see similarity in how these two cities impressed me with their tall grey buildings and wide roads. Anyway. Thanks to the considerate T who showed me how to find my way to the hidden (!) rail station, I had no problem walking there on my own and even managed to take a short cut through the M&S.
There were not so many fellow passengers and where I sat the coach was half empty, like my absent-mindedness throughout the first half of my journey today. Scotland’s exceptionally peaceful beauty amazes me, I think. I could see the highlands remotely, some covered with the colour white. When will I come back to set foot on them?
Right now, my train has just left Berwick-upon-Tweed. I could again see that the sun is about to set, hiding behind cotton-like clouds, long in shape, multi-layered, profound… It’s not too dark to see sheep grazing grass...
Because it’s Monday and important people like T have to work, we both woke up early to have breakfast together before goodbye. I will not forget the taste.
Packing up my bag did not take long, and luckily by the time I left T’s house the rain stopped. It was plenty of time before my train so I walked. I was going to walk anyway. Walking in Aberdeen somehow reminds me of the streets in Paris. I am not comparing the people, rather I see similarity in how these two cities impressed me with their tall grey buildings and wide roads. Anyway. Thanks to the considerate T who showed me how to find my way to the hidden (!) rail station, I had no problem walking there on my own and even managed to take a short cut through the M&S.
There were not so many fellow passengers and where I sat the coach was half empty, like my absent-mindedness throughout the first half of my journey today. Scotland’s exceptionally peaceful beauty amazes me, I think. I could see the highlands remotely, some covered with the colour white. When will I come back to set foot on them?
Right now, my train has just left Berwick-upon-Tweed. I could again see that the sun is about to set, hiding behind cotton-like clouds, long in shape, multi-layered, profound… It’s not too dark to see sheep grazing grass...
29.4.07
我的神遊遊記: 靠想像力旅行
不能出去玩的最近，心靈仍很富足！
(so, 煩請大家再忙也要 keep bloggin')
(so, 煩請大家再忙也要 keep bloggin')
In Llyn Padarn, Wales旅行攝影家：
去年打工時曾整理威爾斯的 footprint 分析資料
(CO2 啥的，總之關於環保)
美景與開發的矛盾兩難，無解
------------------------------
In Lisboa.Photographer: Jennifer Atkinson
仔細讀了某幾部以葡萄牙文寫成的小說，
對這國家認識這麼少真可惜
----------------------------------
Photographer: Stefan Eisele; in Sevilla.
Sevilla is where Don Juan and Carmen live,
many used it as setting for their art,
Miguel de Cervantes, Rossini, Verdi, Mozart, etc.
----------------------------------------
大阪
旅行攝影家：鄭愷文
-----------------------
Postcards etc. from friends.
Some time was spent thinking of me
while they travlled,
very sweet.
---------------------------------------------
My 2nd postcard from Africa...
之前對摩洛哥
一 無 所 知。
說故事的 鈺珊
甜點 的滋味
阿拉伯
mint
Sahara
之前對摩洛哥
一 無 所 知。
說故事的 鈺珊
甜點 的滋味
阿拉伯
mint
Sahara
27.4.07
trees in North Wales, Paris, Sri Lanka, York, and Japan
by 鄭巧玉
------------------------------------------------------------
by Ish Liao
----------------------------------------------------------
by 駱書玉
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
And doesn't the tree write great poetry?doing itself so well -- Laura Veirs
----------------------------------------
photo by 鄭愷文 
