It was 179 days ago that we started counting down from 184 - and here we are, with only 5 days till Expo closes and we decommission the Cisco Pavilion. The time has flown by, yet 1 May seems like a really, really long time ago. So with the final week ahead of us we are preparing for one final party as we say farewell to an amazing bunch of people.
Between 24 August and 17 October I went Shanghai - London - Shanghai - Ho Chi Minh - Shanghai - Sydney - Shanghai - Hong Kong - Shanghai - Sydney - Melbourne - Sydney - Shanghai..... That's a lot of hours at airports and of course, often lots of delays. But in my old age I have come to accept there are things we cannot change - and I am far luckier than most being able to travel as I do so that's what I try and remember with every flight delay :).
In mid September my lovely friends, Gene and Thomas, cruised into Shanghai and I was lucky enough to spend a fair bit of time with them, even though they were only here for a few days. I had a great time showing them around my current home town. Of course this involved some delicious cuisine, some of the great bargains Shanghai has to offer and meeting some of the wonderful new friends I have made in China.
Casa 13 is a great restaurant which has just moved to Tianzifang - a great area I've have talked about before that has lots of bars and restaruants and shops. It is now in one of the old houses and we ate on the outdoor rooftop which has just one table - a brilliant night with great food and even better company.
http://www.casa13.cn/Home.html
Ye Shanghai was another restaurant Arna and I had on our list - and I managed to get there with Thomas and Gene. In Xintiandi, it is inexpensive and delicious.
http://www.best-shanghai-restaurants.com/shanghai_restaurants/yeshanghai.html
The Peninsula hotel recently opened on the Bund in Shanghai - and it is just stunning. Definitely worth it, from the view to the service if you are ever in town.
http://www.peninsula.com/Shanghai/en/Enticements/default.aspx
So, Thomas and Gene jetted off back to the fabulous New York and I headed to Sydney for a week. Juz and I did the Sydney half marathon and whilst my time was slow, I had a great time, loved the run and just loved being in the fresh air. Was so great too to see the Walters sisters as always!
Then it was back to Shanghai for a few days before heading off to Hong Kong for 4 days with Juz (pics you see on this post are from HK). I've been to Hong Kong countless of times, but I shamedly admit, I never ventured further than the airport/hotel/office. So in 4 days Juz and I went everywhere and now we know the island very well.
It's a great place - vibrant and buzzy without being as crowded as Shanghai. Hong Kong means 'fragrant harbour' - and it is the harbour which divides Hong Kong Island and Kowloon/the New Territories. It feels a bit like a cross between London and Sydney. A bit like land of the giants for Juz given the locals are a fair bit shorter than he is :).
Hong Kong has about 9000 buildings over 13 stories high - whereas New York has about 6500, so that gives you an idea of the scale. The skyline really is quite incredible, especially as you look from Hong Kong Island's Peak down over the main area and across to Kowloon and the New Territories.
Getting around is amazingly easy - have Octopus card, will travel. The metro, the tram and taxis are all very cheap and getting from one end of town to the other is fast and efficient. The metro system is definitely the one of the most efficient and cleanest in the world. The trams run right through the middle of town from end to end, from 6am till midnight and it is HKD2 no matter how far you go - that's about AUD26 cents.
The midlevels escalator system is the longest, outdoor, covered system in the world, at 800 metres and it climbs 135 metres. It was built in 1993 to revive the Soho area - and revive it it did! They were originally expecting about 25000 people a day to use it, but more than 60000 people a day use it. It is a series of travelators and escalators (in sections so you can get off where you need to) that take you from the middle of town at Central, all the way through Soho and up to the top of midlevels where thousands of people live in sky high apartment buildings. It operates down each morning till 10am and then operates up from 1015am until midnight - so if you want to go the other direction you simply walk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central-Mid-Levels_escalators
We wandered the streets a lot and... yep, you guessed it, ate :).
Brekkie
The Flying Pan. A dingy looking place that is open 24 hours with the hugest breakfast menu you have ever seen - and the food was great!
http://www.the-flying-pan.com/
The Real Bread Company. Much nicer aesthetically and right on the escalator - also delicious food.
http://hk.asia-city.com/restaurants/hong-kong-restaurant-reviews/real-bread-company-caf%C3%A9
The Buffet at the Renaissance Wen Chai was GREAT!!!
Lunch
The Pawn. Fantastic place to watch the world go by and the trams! Of course, it used to be a Pawn Shop in years gone by and now it serves typically British fair. We enjoyed a few hours here on several ocassions. http://www.thepawn.com.hk/
Delaneys. The obligatory Irish Pub - http://www.delaneys.com.hk/
Dinner
On Elgin Street in Soho there are so many cafes, bars and restaurants. We had a great dinner one night at Vivo. Yummy food, nice decor and a friendly atmosphere.
http://www.aqua.com.hk/#/?eng&vivo&concept
We also ate at Soho Spice which serves delicious Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Lovely outdoor courtyard at the rear.
http://www.diningcity.com/hongkong/restaurantsohospice20/index_eng.jsp
After Hong Kong I headed home again. Juz and I spent a weekend in Melbourne to run another (slow) half marathon. Then - back to Shanghai for the final 2 weeks of this amazing project.
Now into our final week, as you can imagine pretty much every night sees some kind of function - will update this final week in my last Shanghai block, next week.
And finally, we now know what is next.
I will head home 4 November and will take up a new, full time job (hard to beleive, I know) working for Cisco Greater China as of 22 November. I will work from Sydney until mid January and then I will be moving to Hong Kong, with Juz and Vegas to follow a few weeks later in February once I find us somewhere to live. So, a busy and exciting time for us as we pack up and head off. Lots to do but will think about it when I get home.
xx
Between 24 August and 17 October I went Shanghai - London - Shanghai - Ho Chi Minh - Shanghai - Sydney - Shanghai - Hong Kong - Shanghai - Sydney - Melbourne - Sydney - Shanghai..... That's a lot of hours at airports and of course, often lots of delays. But in my old age I have come to accept there are things we cannot change - and I am far luckier than most being able to travel as I do so that's what I try and remember with every flight delay :).
In mid September my lovely friends, Gene and Thomas, cruised into Shanghai and I was lucky enough to spend a fair bit of time with them, even though they were only here for a few days. I had a great time showing them around my current home town. Of course this involved some delicious cuisine, some of the great bargains Shanghai has to offer and meeting some of the wonderful new friends I have made in China.
Casa 13 is a great restaurant which has just moved to Tianzifang - a great area I've have talked about before that has lots of bars and restaruants and shops. It is now in one of the old houses and we ate on the outdoor rooftop which has just one table - a brilliant night with great food and even better company.
http://www.casa13.cn/Home.html
Ye Shanghai was another restaurant Arna and I had on our list - and I managed to get there with Thomas and Gene. In Xintiandi, it is inexpensive and delicious.
http://www.best-shanghai-restaurants.com/shanghai_restaurants/yeshanghai.html
The Peninsula hotel recently opened on the Bund in Shanghai - and it is just stunning. Definitely worth it, from the view to the service if you are ever in town.
http://www.peninsula.com/Shanghai/en/Enticements/default.aspx
So, Thomas and Gene jetted off back to the fabulous New York and I headed to Sydney for a week. Juz and I did the Sydney half marathon and whilst my time was slow, I had a great time, loved the run and just loved being in the fresh air. Was so great too to see the Walters sisters as always!
Then it was back to Shanghai for a few days before heading off to Hong Kong for 4 days with Juz (pics you see on this post are from HK). I've been to Hong Kong countless of times, but I shamedly admit, I never ventured further than the airport/hotel/office. So in 4 days Juz and I went everywhere and now we know the island very well.
It's a great place - vibrant and buzzy without being as crowded as Shanghai. Hong Kong means 'fragrant harbour' - and it is the harbour which divides Hong Kong Island and Kowloon/the New Territories. It feels a bit like a cross between London and Sydney. A bit like land of the giants for Juz given the locals are a fair bit shorter than he is :).
Hong Kong has about 9000 buildings over 13 stories high - whereas New York has about 6500, so that gives you an idea of the scale. The skyline really is quite incredible, especially as you look from Hong Kong Island's Peak down over the main area and across to Kowloon and the New Territories.
Getting around is amazingly easy - have Octopus card, will travel. The metro, the tram and taxis are all very cheap and getting from one end of town to the other is fast and efficient. The metro system is definitely the one of the most efficient and cleanest in the world. The trams run right through the middle of town from end to end, from 6am till midnight and it is HKD2 no matter how far you go - that's about AUD26 cents.
The midlevels escalator system is the longest, outdoor, covered system in the world, at 800 metres and it climbs 135 metres. It was built in 1993 to revive the Soho area - and revive it it did! They were originally expecting about 25000 people a day to use it, but more than 60000 people a day use it. It is a series of travelators and escalators (in sections so you can get off where you need to) that take you from the middle of town at Central, all the way through Soho and up to the top of midlevels where thousands of people live in sky high apartment buildings. It operates down each morning till 10am and then operates up from 1015am until midnight - so if you want to go the other direction you simply walk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central-Mid-Levels_escalators
We wandered the streets a lot and... yep, you guessed it, ate :).
Brekkie
The Flying Pan. A dingy looking place that is open 24 hours with the hugest breakfast menu you have ever seen - and the food was great!
http://www.the-flying-pan.com/
The Real Bread Company. Much nicer aesthetically and right on the escalator - also delicious food.
http://hk.asia-city.com/restaurants/hong-kong-restaurant-reviews/real-bread-company-caf%C3%A9
The Buffet at the Renaissance Wen Chai was GREAT!!!
Lunch
The Pawn. Fantastic place to watch the world go by and the trams! Of course, it used to be a Pawn Shop in years gone by and now it serves typically British fair. We enjoyed a few hours here on several ocassions. http://www.thepawn.com.hk/
Delaneys. The obligatory Irish Pub - http://www.delaneys.com.hk/
Dinner
On Elgin Street in Soho there are so many cafes, bars and restaurants. We had a great dinner one night at Vivo. Yummy food, nice decor and a friendly atmosphere.
http://www.aqua.com.hk/#/?eng&vivo&concept
We also ate at Soho Spice which serves delicious Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Lovely outdoor courtyard at the rear.
http://www.diningcity.com/hongkong/restaurantsohospice20/index_eng.jsp
After Hong Kong I headed home again. Juz and I spent a weekend in Melbourne to run another (slow) half marathon. Then - back to Shanghai for the final 2 weeks of this amazing project.
Now into our final week, as you can imagine pretty much every night sees some kind of function - will update this final week in my last Shanghai block, next week.
And finally, we now know what is next.
I will head home 4 November and will take up a new, full time job (hard to beleive, I know) working for Cisco Greater China as of 22 November. I will work from Sydney until mid January and then I will be moving to Hong Kong, with Juz and Vegas to follow a few weeks later in February once I find us somewhere to live. So, a busy and exciting time for us as we pack up and head off. Lots to do but will think about it when I get home.
xx
