back home

I'm back in Vancouver, now: unpacking, going through mail, getting over jet-lag, etc. It was a great trip. I saw everything I wanted and there were no real problems. I hope the blog gave some feel for it.
It's nice arriving back in Vancouver at this time of year. Suddenly landing in the middle of fall colours and leaves on the ground and the crisp air - my favourite season.
I got back just in time to see the U.S. election result, and Obama's victory speech. I can't help thinking of all those people who got up at 4:30 in the morning and stood in line for hours so they could vote. The best I've seen of democracy in the U.S. in a long time. I thank them.

sketch

here's the sketch I did of the big buddha

tourist in Hong Kong

I'm doing the tourist thing these days. I went to the Hong Kong History museum, the Peak Tram, walked around the little streets in the Central area, took the cable car to the Po Lin Monastery and the big buddha statue, took the bus to the Tai-O fishing village, and went to Ocean Park to see the pandas, etc. All that in 3 days. This is my last day and for the rest of the afternoon I am just going to chill out. Tomorrow morning I head to the airport for the flight to Vancouver.
The history museum was excellent, with great displays on everything to do with the Hong Kong area: geology, ecology, prehistoric peoples, dynasties, ethnic groups, British rule, Japanese occupation, and modern times.
The big buddha statue was just amazing. So big and sitting on a hilltop, you can see it from quite far away. I did a sketch of it, and while I was there many people stopped to watch and talk. There were a lot of Mandarin speaking tourists.
The best part of Ocean Park is the pandas. There's something about their relaxed way of moving and just sitting munching on bamboo. Totally chilled out and adorable.
It's interesting that Hong Kong has a totally different feel as a tourist, a different 'tourist culture' from Vietnam. Probably because of the cost of things here. Gone are the backbackers and young people travelling on a shoestring, replaced by business travellers, families, and seniors tour groups.