The rest of 2011

So I didn't have any more real holidays in 2011, after the middle of January when I got back from HK. But I still had time to do lots of other exciting things...

I did have one overseas trip, but it wasn't a real holiday as I didn't have any time to relax at all, or do any sightseeing, or see any cities. It was a great trip though - I went to Austria to watch my sister and her boyfriend undertake their first (and only so far...) Ironman (TM). The Ironman is a short triathlon event consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle and a 26.2 mile (marathon) run. I arrived in Graz on Friday afternoon after a particularly enjoyable Ryanair flight and a coach had been provided to convey me to the holiday village where I was staying with Amanda and Matt. However, nobody mentioned to the coach driver that he should have done some research so that he would have at least some idea of where he was going. An hour journey turned into a three hour trek, which meant I missed the 'pasta party'. On the next day, I got to join another coach trip around the cycle course so that the participants could get a feel of the course. However, nobody mentioned to the coach driver that he should have done some research to give him at least some idea of where he was going. I don't think the athletes got much of a taster of what the terrain was going to be like. Later the participants had to drop their bikes off and set them up for the race. Then it was a fairly early night. Amanda and Matt left the village at 5:30am to get ready. I got to have a relative lie-in, my bus transfer left at 6:30am. The race started at 7am. It was a long old day, even for the spectators. The atmosphere was very special for the whole day. I managed to spot Amanda during the cycle part of the race - I had caught a bus out to another part of the course with two spouses of the other participants from Coventry. Then we saw all the Coventry Triathletes on the run. Matt finished in under 11 hours, Amanda in just under 16 hours. It was an amazing event. There were fireworks to celebrate the finish of the race at the 17 hour cut-off point. And then it was back to Graz and then another Ryanair flight on Monday morning, exhausted after my day of spectating in the sun.
I had undertaken my own significantly less impressive athletic feat a couple of months earlier - I completed my first marathon in Stratford-upon-Avon in 3hrs 35 minutes.


I had very few weddings in 2011. One in Wimbledon, and then a wedding party for another as I couldn't go to the actual event in Thailand, sadly. So not many weddings, but still time for a bit of cricket - went to Cardiff, Lords and the Oval for Test Matches this year. All three days I went to involved an element of rain for a sizeable portion of the day.
Vanessa returned to the UK in August after her year and a bit in Sydney. She stayed with me for a few weeks before she moved to Liverpool for two years, or maybe three. I made a few trips up there to visit in the last few months of the year.

Then there were weekends in Bristol and Southampton, a trip to Leeds Castle and a concert in the rain in Hyde Park.
So that was most of what happened in 2011. What does 2012 have in store? Lots of trips to Liverpool. I am planning on doing two full marathons this year. More weddings than 2011 - already got three in the diary. Hopefully some foreign holidays, but when and where? That is the question! Maybe a significant change to my life - watch this space ;-)

Hong Kong

It's now the start of January 2012 and is nearly a year since my last real holiday. Let's see how much I can remember about my time in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong was my stop-off point on my way home from Sydney following my five weeks visiting Vanessa. I arrived in the evening with heavy bags and wandered aimlessly around the streets as is my wont trying to find my hotel, rather than asking someone. The hotel was on the Hong Kong island side of the city. After walking through a number of elevated covered walkways, I found my way down to some narrow streets with lots of cars and carts trying to squeeze through. I somehow made it to the hotel without being run down.

I went out for an evening walk in the pleasant evening temperature. That was when I first saw it - the escalator! The streets in that area of the city are so narrow that they built these covered walkways above the ground where there is much more space. Then a lot of the city is on the hill, so there is a massive escalator rising up the hill from the business district. I went part of the way before I left the city, but there was still a lot more of it - I could see it rising into the distance.

The other thing I noticed immediately was the massive skyscrapers which formed the famous Hong Kong skyline. On the following morning, I went up in the tram to Victoria Peak and could see the skyline from the car, through the mist and haze.
I caught the ferry across to Kowloon during the afternoon. The Hong Kong skyline was particularly impressive from the Kowloon side. Having been to Singapore a few times, I expected Hong Kong to be similar but dirtier. What I wasn't expecting was to be hassled pretty much everywhere I walked in Kowloon. Did I want a new suit? Did I want a fake rolex watch? Did I want some skunk? I was getting a bit fed-up of saying no to these questions. So, to avoid being pestered further, I went to the night time street market. It was actually very good, although I didn't buy anything. There were some interesting looking items for sale.
On the next day, I went to another famous street market - in Stanley. I caught the bus out there, and it really was a beautiful journey, over the hill and round the picturesque coastline. I didn't find the market itself as interesting as the Kowloon night market, but ended up buying a teapot and cups for Chinese tea.

I did some more wandering around, caught one of the very old and rickety trams across the island, and saw some of the more tacky areas with the bright neon lights. Didn't find any particularly outstanding food during my short stay, which was a disappointment (and another difference from Singapore).

All in all, it was a good trip, but after five weeks with Vanessa it was a bit lonely wandering round a strange city on my own. Couldn't really order dim sum on my own - maybe that was where I missed out on the good food! The light and show every evening seemed to be quite impressive too - various buildings on both sides of the water shone different colour lights in a choreographed pattern - although I didn't find a good place to watch the show in full on any of the nights I was there!