The last posting of this year before I hang out of the window to listen to the bells and the fireworks

Happy New Year from a conductor being "Chinese" for the children and adults at work

Transport in Hong Kong

My model green tram on top of my fridge, amongst new friends

Cable cars heading towards Lantau Island, on 5.7 kilometres of cable!

Hong Kong from the Peak Tram

Tram and taxis from my hotel room

Tram, taxi, Methodist Church, a building site, and always a row of motor cycles,
my view each morning

Trams at the busy intersection where the Indonesian maids met on Sundays
You can just see their heads where they sit on the bridge sharing their meals

Tramway or cycle path?
It was by far the safest place for bikes on Hong Kong Island

MTR, a long winding underground carriage

"A queue of trams!"

A Hong Kong bus

Buses and taxis and the Methodist Church, from my hotel window

Trams

A green tram at the Pawn

The Ferry Port

Hong Kong bus

Peak tram and traveller

Model trains on Lantau Island

Real tram in Hong Kong again with traveller

The delights of travelling by public transport in a city that is even more efficient than in Budapest or in Germany. All mentioned earlier this week by Andrew Sutton at:

http://www.conductive-world.info/2010/12/chinese-takeaway-2.html


The lovely old, green trams are not all green any more. There were red ones, pink ones, black ones, white ones and blue ones. Even maroon ones with Christmas lights for party goers! The MTR (underground) is incredibly sleek and shiny and never-ending! The red and beige taxis are everywhere. Travelling on the Peak Tram reminds us adopted Magyars of being in Budapest, although the views in Hong Kong were far more spectacular. And all the double-decker buses reminded me of home! The ferry was something novel for me and using it gave me a better idea of the distances between the islands than did travelling by MTR or bus.

My favourite after the double decker trams were the lovely Hong Kong little buses, but I forgot to buy myself one for the top of the fridge!

Notes

MTR, buses, ferry and green trams and more -
http://www.conductive-world.info/2010/12/chinese-takeaway-2.html

Lantau Island-offerings to the Big Buddha

"Many hands"

I apologize again to my fellow "tourists" on this trip to Lantau Island for the time that they spent waiting for me to "catch up".

I was always occupied somewhere or other either with looking at the breath-taking view of the South China Sea (photographs to follow), or with taking pictures of interesting people, landscapes, flowers or objects.

I hope that they can all now appreciate some of the things that I observed through the lens of my camera, and forgive me for making them make so many pauses along the way.

Thank you all for your patience. Hundreds of photographs on USB sticks will be sent through the post to you all shortly.

Re:Chinese takeaway-2, Lantau Island

Lantau Island Big Buddha

Lantau Island Big Buddha

More photographs to go with Andrew Sutton's posting Chinese takeaway-2

http://www.conductive-world.info/2010/12/chinese-takeaway-2.html

As Confucius probably never said: " It is better late than never!"

A rush against time

Now that is unusual for me, the person who tries to live in the slow lane, rushing.

I am actually rushing against a big rise in postal costs to Europe that takes effect at midnight.

I am more relaxed about the rest of the world the postage costs to other countries will be cheaper.

I am behind

I sent a lot of Christmas mail from Hong Kong while the remaining fifty letters to friends have been sitting on the floor waiting to be packed up Chinese-style to be sent as New Year greetings.

After a very congenial midday-wait in the local post office queue, in an atmosphere that can only be described as loud and festive although no champagne corks were popping, I was informed of the changes in postal charges.

I was, in fact. prevented from posting one of my own books to the USA for six Euros and was told to put it in the post-box tomorrow for three Euros and forty-five cents!

Can that be true?

I will check it out again before I actually do it, but my local post office is usually very efficient so I really do not have any reason to question it. It is just that things like this do not usually happen.

Above are just a couple of pictures of the early-afternoon-mess on the floor of my livingroom, now cleared away as I write the addresses and stick on the stamps and airmail stickers, the thing that for me still makes a letter look so exciting.

I am using stamps that I bought months ago in the hope of being prepared this year for Christmas letter posting. I do not what to buy a roll of five cent stamps to make the price right!

I will try harder next year to post pre-Christmas greetings and not pre-New Year wishes, and I am still as determined as ever not to resort to cyberspace mail only, although I have received some very lovely and very welcome cards over cyberspace. I love to have cards to hang up in my flat between and abover the curtains, a-la Mr Bean, my relatives and friends tell me that they wait in anticipation what creation is on offer this year.

As you see this year is Chinese. I wonder what the flavour will be next year!

Thanks to all for email and snail mail greetings, all very much appreciated.

Memories, dreams come true, and, perhaps, just a little bit of magic.

"Needles on the track!"

My dream-come-true Christmas tree with a train