And on to Sydney

Well finally, after all those months of talking and planning, we have arrived in Sydney. We spent our last day in Hong Kong in the Central city area amongst the skyscrapers, bustle and noise although, unsurprisingly for those who know Sandra, we also spent quite a bit of time in the Botanical gardens which are in the middle of all the concrete - an oasis of relative peace and quiet amongst the traffic noise.

In summary we found Hong Kong to be everything we expected with the skyscrapers, traffic, noise etc. On the surface it seemed chaotic, but there was an order to the chaos and everything seemed to work well. The streets were busy but almost completely litter free and, unlike Edinburgh, there never seemed to be any roadworks yet the roads were good. Getting around, although daunting at first, became easier as one started to understand the signposting and the fact that to move around the centre as a pedestrian you didn't use the roads but the network of aerial walkways, escalators (including the longest one in the world), subways and inter-linking plazas in the tower blocks. The place was modern, efficient and non-threatening and received Sandra's seal of approval - "I like this place"

Then on to Sydney to be met by our son Steven and his girlfriend Ana - a quick breakfast at his house then on to Sandra's sister Johann's place where we are staying for the next few days.

As we have been asked to house sit for friends of Johan we thought it would be a good idea to have a look at the place and the area. It is on a small peninsular in Sydney Harbour next to a couple of nice parks with views to the harbour. The photo gives a general view of the area (although you can't quite see the Harbour Bridge from the house)