Yalong Bay, Sanya - Sunday 30 October 2016

Woke up to the sound of rain. Lots of rain overnight. That wasn't going to stop us seeing what we wanted.

Looking down to Yalong Bay...







Nice buffet breakfast in the hotel...that's a dragonfruit smoothie...



Chef cooked my dumplings...





After breakfast, caught bus back up to the Crossing Dragon Bridge. It was free for hotel guests but a small fee for other visitors. Nice suspension bridge over the rainforest.

Then caught another bus to The Strop (zipline). Cost RMB100 - about A$20. Steep walk to the start. Nobody else around as the weather wasn't great, but it had stopped raining.

It was in 2 stages, so they strap you in one at a time and way you go. Then walk about 500m down steep steps to stage 2. It was really fun and I'm glad I did it.

This was at the bottom...

Back to room to pack and uber to aiport. Due to flight times, we were a bit limited, but we saw everything I wanted to see in the park. The only thing I would have liked to do was to have a swim at Yalong Bay. Oh well, next time.

We had to get a bus all of 50 metres to the terminal walkway...

Easy flight back to Hong Kong. Only 1.25 hours this time and we arrived 30 minutes early !

Residents channel at HKIA...

Quickly through and back on the Airport Express.

Bought some prawns for dinner, picked up laundry and went to the gym.

Yalong Bay, Sanya, China - Saturday 29 October 2016

Easy 1.5 hour flight on Hong Kong Airlines.

Arrived Phoenix International Airport at about 1.30 pm. Got off plane and piled into bus to go to terminal. Bus travelled 50m (max) and then we got off ! Funny, but clearly they don't want us walking on the tarmac.

Small airport but easy to get through immigration and into a taxi. No problem getting them to use the meter.

Arrived about 2.30 at Yalong Bay Earthly Paradise Bird's Nest Resort. Quite a steep road to access as the resort is on the mountain overlooking Yalong Bay. It's within the rainforest which is a park open to the public.

Nice name for a hotel...

View from Reception...

Caught small open bus further up mountain to the rooms. Lots of steps later, found room which was actually a pole house type structure. Lovely room with large deck overlooking Yalong Bay.

Walked to restaurant close to room and had lunch, then caught bus further up mountain to explore the park.

The tourist sites are quite close together. It's all built for the tourist but nice to see. There was a nice breeze so not too hot. Not many people either which surprised me. It was reasonably late in the day.

Saw the Longxingtianxia Sculpture which is the Dragon in the photos below. Dragon is the symbol of China. Went to the top of the Canghai Tower. Then walked through the rainforest to see an old rock. Quite steep and lots of steps but very good infrastructure. I was expecting crowds but is was very quiet.

We wanted to do The Strop (zipline) but it was closed by the time we got there. Tomorrow.

Showing longitude and latitude...not sure why here...

Caught bus back to reception and uber (Chinese version) to Yalong Bay. It was dark by now but seemed very touristy. Had a look at the beach. It's meant to be very beautiful but couldn't see in the dark. Had dinner at a nice restaurant. Uber back to hotel and bus back to room.

It's a lovely hotel but you are very dependent on the buses. They always run but there's a bit of waiting around involved. I was lucky to be with a Mandarin speaker, as I was the only Westerner in the hotel, and I'm not sure of the staff's English skills. Might have been okay but I didn't test it.

It was quite nice that whenever they set a place for a mean for us, they would put out knives and forks while everyone else got chopsticks !

Hong Kong - October 2016

Quiet weekend back in HK. Caught up on my sleep. Coffee, gym, Cantonese, found a new bar.

Weather is nice. Still warm but not as hot as it has been.

I have a 2 day conference this week. Hope to expand my networks.

Different view, from Robinson Road...Check out that sky...

Typhoon Haima came on Friday so we got the whole day off. It wasn't bad where I live but apparently very bad near the water.

Weekend consisted of the usual coffee, gym, drinks, cooking. Seems decadent but I'm never bored.

Trying new bars.

Looking forward to my first trip to China next weekend. I don't count Shenzhen, even though I did get a "China" stamp in my passport.

Going to Sanya which is an island off the coast of China, quite close to Vietnam. In fact the rumour is that that's where China spies on Vietnam from !

It's mean to be a popular tourist destination for the mainlanders so I will be on the lookout for selfie sticks !

I am going with some Mandarin speaking friends which will be good. I have wanted to go to China but have been a bit reluctant due to the fact that you need a visa (I now have one) and the language issues.

Found a new restaurant in Sheung Wan...

Walked The Peak again...misty...

Funny named restaurants walking home...

Naked Buddhas doing yoga...shop near Hotel LKF...

Tried a new rooftop bar Tartine. More of a terrace than a rooftop !

Love getting my shirts ironed and delivered back to me...

Vegemite sourdough at my favourite coffee place...

Sydney - October 2016

Last trip back before Christmas.

Arrived Saturday later than usual due to flight delay. Really tired so crashed.

Out to dinner at Belrose Pub with family. Sunday drinks at the Greengate with friends.

Flight back was fine. Watched Now You See Me 2 (great) and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (average) and some more of Game of Thrones S6. Great season.

Easy transit though HKIA as usual and home about 2030. Unpacked and went to bed. My small flat is getting pretty full now.

Chris, Jacqui, Anthony and Susan at The Greengate...

Qantas Club Sydney...

Love being a resident...

This guy's job is to turn the bags around so we can see the tags...very civilised...