Muscat, Oman - again...

Ready for a rest, and for some sun, I found myself once again in Muscat at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, welcomed like a long-lost friend, and with a lovely room with balcony overlooking the sea.

A quiet nine days. Beach. Lobster. Souk. Several very good books. A touch of desert. Mountains. A hot spring. The Grand Mosque. Sand. Sea. The occasional Pina Colada. A magic carpet. And above all, a great RECOVERY.

My Magic Carpet

An unbelievable late Autumn day at Lago di Como

No words are really needed to describe these images of Cernobbio and Lago di Como, November 2014. A magnificent day, and a wonderful walk with Zan and Antonio...

And now for something completely different - Kazakhstan!

Almaty, KAZ
31 October - 3 November 2014

Late October, a flying visit to meet Dr Vissarion Kim, to inspect the Ski Jumping and Cross Country stadia in Almaty, and generally prepare for the World Nordic Junior Championships next February.

A long flight, but with British Airways - and with room to spread out, at least on the way. Arrived at 9am to be met by smiling faces - Dr Kim and his wife Alla, who I came very quickly to recognise as a soulmate. I was given a couple of hours to get over the jet lag, at the Hotel Alpen Ville (bears, wolves and stags of the properly stuffed variety guarding the entrances), and was then taken out to visit the local hospital, and the clinical staff.

I was also treated to a magnificent Kazakh feast of a lunch, meat based, and largely of the equine variety.

The Ski Jumping Stadium is truly state-of-the-art, and whilst the CC arena is far from completed (and is to be temporary), it is starting to take shape. The views from both over the city of Almaty are truly stupendous.

Vissarion and Alla also ensured that I saw something of Almaty itself - I found it to be a modern, leafy town, with little in the way of high-rise building. We found good shopping malls, good coffee shops, and a beautiful cathedral made entirely of wood.

Almaty is a candidate for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, and having seen many of the necessary facilities on this visit, I am impressed with its chances of success. I visited Tabagan, proposed site for Fresstyle/Snopwboard, and also Chimulak, the Alpine area no more than 30minutes drive from Almaty where it is proposed that the Alpine events will take place.

Could these be the views from the DH course in Almaty 2022???

And below the brand new cable car, a glimpse of one of the city's ice rinks, teeming with people:

An interesting and enjoyable site visit! Finally, we played table tennis in Alla's club. I failed this test, but had a thoroughly good time trying!! Back in February 2015....

China 2014 - Beijing / Hangzhou

China blog 2014

7-14 October 2014

So without internet, I can only write, not dictate, not send, but here goes...

I'm on the smoothest train in the world, floating above ground level, almost silently apart from the extraordinary snoring from the man two rows back. More like flying than chugging. On the way from smog bound Beijing to West Lake, Hangzhou where the air may be clearer. Or may not be. On verra.

1350km to cover, average speed >200km/hour, just over 5 hours. Wow.

The train is awesome, G class, high speed, covering endless miles of quite flat land. China seems empty here. One or two people working in the ?cotton fields, an occasional tractor. Little else.

All of this emptiness after an exhausting day in Beijing yesterday. Determined to walk and use public transport, footsore, sweaty and craving sleep, the day ended with a performance by the China National Ballet at the Tianquiao Theatre, wonderful performance by a lady in red pyjamas. Arrived at in an electric rickshaw, but walked back to Tianmen station on foot.

Anyway, to start from the beginning, I arrived in China two days ago, travelled on the airport express and metro line 2 to Guloudajie, and thence a short walk to the Bamboo Garden Hotel.

Later on, a quick walk through the hutongs to Hou Hai lake, some good street food - squid and octopus on sticks, followed by some less good... Two lovely ladies invited me to try what they were eating. Circular, white, sliced. Stir fried. Doused in garlic. ?vegetable. Discovered actually offal. Can only imagine that these were testicles. 

The usual Chinese cacophony of noise, overlapping loud live music from all the bars making a raucous sound that complimented the brightly coloured garish fluorescent lighting really rather well. Wow.

So yesterday started with a trip to Railway Station to collect today's tickets, notable for the lady with the massive fungating breast cancer begging by the entrance. Seemingly a magnet, and whilst trying to avoid, I actually walked into her corner three times.

Then Honquiao pearl market to buy a couple of gifts, a splendid lunch of pork ribs served in a pumpkin, Kung bo fish, and Chinese kale. Far too much for one, but pretty darned good. Liulichang, another encounter with Xu Bu, inside painter. A wander through the hutongs, extraordinary electrical apparatus overhead, some wires even used as washing lines.

Then the ballet, and then the long trek back to the Bamboo Garden.

Hangzhou

Okay so today I woke up late and felt very lazy, the jet lag needed sorting. The alarm clock went off at 8:15 and I simply turn it off and went back to sleep, the bed was so comfortable. When I finally woke up, and having done some irritating emails, I went for a potter through the silk market in Hangzhou, so many tempting items though mostly too small! I found a few nice presents and one or two things that fitted, and called it a day. I had lunch in a 'greasy spoon cafe', cabbage and noodles - delicious, and cost eight yuan (about 90p). After a refreshing bath, I set off by taxi to Shengli food Street which is by the Shengli River, one of Hangzhou's canals.

Dragon Dictation makes me feel very pedestrian in my language.

After walking down the street I opted for the busiest, noisiest place where there was no English menu but there were some wonderful staff who fell around laughing at my every gesture. With great kindness they produced a huge bowl of prawns, fried with sauce, rice and a dish of pork with celery and chilli bubbling away over a flame. After I had eaten I was presented with a handwritten note that said 'slippery when wet', I assume relating to the floor. I was impressed, they had produced handwritten English translations for me for each dish, taken from google translate. The people here are so very kind. Can't see many British waiters doing that for foreign visitors to the UK.

The main drink in Hangzhou is...

...hot water. It's good, other than when delicately flavoured with...

...peanuts!

Now quietly drinking a Tsingtao beer in the Dragon Hotel lobby - this many starred hotel, though exceptionally beautiful and comfortable, doesn't feel like China, but the rest of the day certainly did!  I have only seen four other westerners all day (three from AUS, travelling together), and not a single one in the hotel... Oh, and none on the train from Beijing.

Saturday

Oh dear, it started well, but due to circumstances outside my control I'm returning to Beijing tomorrow and flying home on Tuesday.

Seems my well loved former husband has had a catastrophic brain event, cause unknown, and has been deeply unconscious for 36 hours, not expected to survive. My kids are with him, and I need to be closer for their sake.

BA has been brilliant, and even the changes of train bookings (which involved queuing 3 times in 3 different lines to speak each time to exactly the same person!) were ultimately successful, albeit irritating and funny in equal measure.

Anyway, I know I will return for more adventures, and I have a spare day in Beijing which I will use wisely.

The last night in Hangzhou was spent in Hefang Road, making a small investment in locally produced scissors and the best tea in China grown in the local village Longjing, or Jangling, or similar. Very nice tea. Chose the restaurant in the prettiest building, a pity, the worst food I had in China (other than fermented bean curd). The menu translations were brilliant though. Could hardly resist 'Netherlands with Screw', 'Bean Curd Stick Burned Child Row', 'Vegetarian Mushroom Pot When Bacteria' etc. Lovely. I took the 'Paper is Element Of' option - turned out to be pork fat with mushrooms and some tiny prawns. Not so lovely. Took the taste away afterwards with a multi-toffee apple (well these small apples had stones not pips) on a stick.

Hefty pounding by two heavily-muscled guys with massive hammers, accompanied by a hard-man chant, reduced whole peanuts in toffee to the finest powder in the finest peanut brittle. Delicious!

A quick note. The Chinese do not pussyfoot around with important issues. Decisions are made. Things happen.

Population control, one child policy

No toilet paper down toilets, full stop

Small children have split pants, all the easier to poo

High speed rail links actually happen. The stations, the trains and the lines are magnificent, the floors are cleaned every 30 minutes, during the journey. They run as Swiss trains, precisely on time, over massive distances. The lines are set on pillars so life goes on as normal below.

Cars may only be on the road 4/5 days during the week in Beijing, and this is enforced

Smog will be controlled. Eventually.

Public transport, including metro, trains and taxis, plentiful and cheap.

Respect!

On the other hand...

Spitting.

Western ladies of a certain age prefer to sit on the toilet rather than squat.

No proper queuing. It all looks good, but woe betide if you leave even 1cm between you and the person in front. Someone will fill the gap, as if by right. I am working to educate.

Noise control. I have already mentioned the cacophony around Hou Hai Lake. Same goes in the parks. No one is aware of anybody else's sound. Here on the train I am surrounded by people watching films on their iPhones. No headphones.

Last day in China - Beijing

Firstly, a visit to 'my' tailor to collect my rather beautiful custom made trouser suit. A surprisingly easy process resulting in a surprisingly well fitted and rather elegant suit!

Then a visit to the Chinese Ski Association. I was collected from my hotel (the Emperor) by car and driven to the outstanding site of the Chinese Wintersports associations. Jointly owned by all, and a legacy from Beijing 2008, the premises are spectacular - three ice rinks, two sports halls (one of which is as big as LHR terminal 5!), and a competition arena (originally the Olympic Volleyball venue) used today as a conference hall, but which can be iced. Oh, and a 10 storey hotel. With gyms, rehab facilities and admin halls, as well as the most beautiful reception room. A great introduction from Mrs Yan, and a meeting with Ren Hongguo, VP, and Deputy General Director of Wintersports, followed later by a delicious lunch.

I was provided with a car and driver for my transport to the Summer Palace, and on one of the clearest sunniest days I have seen in China, I walked around Lake Kunming, across bridges and causeways, with random Chinese musicians and artists dotted around the lake. It was a time and place for reflection, and it was wonderful.

After an hour of tight squeeze on the subway to get back to the centre, I found a scruffy and perfect restaurant just around the corner from the hotel, and enjoyed the best meal of my trip. So good!

The Chinese Ski Association provided my airport transfer, and BA gave me three seats, so the return trip was comfortable and relaxed.

I will return to China, very much a case of unfinished business!

Photos to follow....