Last Day

Currently waiting at airport - there is a 2 hour delay in departure. Again there is no USB port available and cannot upload photos.

Our last day was again full and surprising. Got cleverly conned into taking a taxi ride to buy a time share on the Gold Coast. Realised what was happening on the way there and got a taxi straight out again to where we wanted to go - the gardens at a temple.

Extraordinary plants and a beautiful place right in the suberbs, but too expensive to take part in the tea experience there. The grass in the gardens was being cut by miserable looking people in coolie hats with scissors!

Then into the tube or Mass Transit Railway to another temple. This one was being used by lots of locals - there were three religeons in that temple - taoism, budhism and confucism - I think thats how they were spelt. Notice boards advised what was happening. The system was to first buy some incense sticks and ignite them. Carry them to the door of the temple and think of a subject that you want advice on or a problem to be solved. There were lots of people doing this and the smoke was thick. Give the incense sticks to an attendent to be put out and enter the temple. There didn't seem to be a real focal point in the temple - just a picture of budha? on the back wall, although it was decorated with many ornate chinese lanterns.

Get an open box of sticks and kneel down start praying and shake the box. It was necessary to take care with the shaking because eventually just one stick must fall out. Remember the number written on the stick. Go outside to a line of fortune telling booths, select one and pay. Then get told the advice which hopefully contains the solution to the problem.

Very nice gardens behind this temple with lakes and many terrapins. Back to the MTR and to the next station. Long walk to the next garden through modernised suberbs. This garden was in the site of the Kowloon Walled City. A beautiful place with walks and cycle tracks and sports facilities for th masses - and they were being well used. Discovered its history. Until 1992 it was a renowned slum area - now demolished and gone and made into the these beautiful gardens. A small section was preserved - horrible.

Then to the area to the south which the guide book said was good for eating. But we were in the extremely dense suberbs again with many food shops all with questionable cleanliness. The cooked food didn't really look that attractive either. Decided to get the bus downtown to eat.

Had a good meal but not nearly as good as the previous night.

Opened the curtains in our 27th storey room to see a sea eagle glide by the window - I wonder where they nest. Packed for the last time this morning. Route to airport was through miles and miles of dockland they were absolutely enormous, huge cranes and containers stacked like tower blocks.

Feeling sad its all over, but looking forward to seeing everyone again.