Day 100 27/12/2014

Wendy took us west to visit the Blue Mountains today, an area of natural beauty and a Unesco World Heritage site.  The slate coloured haze that gives the mountains their name comes from a fine mist of oil given off by the huge eucalyptus that form a dense canopy across the landscape.  The mountains are about 65km east of Sydney and rise to a c1000m high plateau.  We stopped at Leura, apparently the prettiest town in the area with a tree lined main street and craft and coffee shops, one of which we frequented.  The weather was much cooler here and you certainly needed a top or cardigan although it was nice to escape the heat of Sydney.  From Leura we headed towards Katoomba and stopped to walk towards Sublime Point and to the waterfall cascade.  We got great views of the plateau and high across the landscape of trees.  We walked to Bridal Veil look out and then traversed back across the hillside to where we'd parked.  We drove on a little bit further to Katoomba and had lunch in the small shopping area sharing quiche and salad.  It was a bit pricey but very tasty and enjoyable.  We walked out to the Echo Point viewing platform from where you can see a rocky trio called the Three Sisters.  Apparently the story is that three sisters were turned to stone by a sorcerer to protect them from the unwanted advances of three young men but the sorcerer died before he could turn them back.  It was very busy with lots of tour groups but soon quietened down as we walked along the path away from the Point and then headed up the steps and back towards the car.  We drove through Katoomba and stopped at the Hydro Majestic Hotel where Wendy has previously stayed.  A lovely location with great views.  We did think about having afternoon tea but at $65 a go we decided to give it a miss!  Simon took advantage of Wendy's offer of driving back to Sydney which Simon really enjoyed and it was good practice for when we get our hire car in Victoria and camper van in Tasmania.  In the evening we had dinner on the terrace at Wendy's.  A great way to finish off a wonderful day out.

Cascade Waterfall look out

Bridal Veil Look Out

The Three Sisters

View from Hydro Majestic Hotel 

The Blue Mountains

Boxing Day - Day 99 26/12/2014

After a leisurely start to the day we headed over to Manly on the north shore, Sydney Harbour's northern gatepost.  The beach stretches for nearly two kilometres and is lined with pine trees.  The sea has more swell here and there were lots of surfers out on the water.  We bought coffee and sat looking out to sea drinking coffee and eating mince pies.  From here we drove up to Balgowlan Heights to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.  The race has been going for 70 years and is an icon of Australia's summer sport.  Nearly a hundred boats took part and it was spectacular to see them all setting off on the sound of the gun surrounded by cruise boats, smaller yachts and ferries.  As they passed our vantage point Comanche had taken the lead.  The race takes around 48 hours and with high seas forecast it was predicted that several boats would retire before the finish line.  We headed back to Abbotsford stopping off at Clontarf beach for a walk.  In the evening went for a drink at the Abbotsford Rowing Club with Wendy, Sue and Paul and then went to a local Thai restaurant for a delicious meal.  Another great day out in Sydney and we felt very privileged to have seen the start of the yacht race from such a good vantage point.

Simon and Wendy at Manly Beach

Comanche already with an impressive lead over Wild Oats

The race in full swing

Christmas Day - Day 98 25/12/2014

In the morning Sue and Paul picked us up from Wendy's to take us on a tour of Sydney.  We headed to the Sydney Cove first and got a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, a world heritage listed building and Australia's most recognisable landmark.  In between the two is Circular Quay where the local ferries and tourist boats moor.  From here we drove around The Rocks which was originally the commercial and maritime hub of Sydney until the late 1800's and is now a tourist trap.  We passed the Observatory which sits on top of Observatory Hill overlooking the harbour and then drove over Harbour Bridge.  The bridge was opened in 1932 and spans the harbour at one of it's narrowest points.  We stopped at Balmoral in north east Sydney and had a walk down to the beach and a paddle in the sea.  The beach is lovely and sandy and the water very clear and calm and was really busy with lots of families taking picnics and set up tents along the prom.  The weather is extremely hot (for us) and we were soon melting in the heat.  We headed back to Wendy's to help with Christmas dinner.  Will arrived with Nancy, Paul's Mum and we all sat outside enjoying champagne and hors d'oeuvres.  Wendy had cooked a delicious meal, Turkey with all the trimmings, and it was great to be with family on Christmas Day.  The time went so quickly it was soon early evening and the end to a lovely day, if a bit strange to be in such a warm climate but still very similar to Christmas at home in lots of ways.

With Paul and Sue and the Opera House as backdrop

Driving over the Harbour Bridge

Paddling at Balmoral Beach

Wendy with champagne

Simon, Nancy, Will, Wendy, Paul & Sue (and Father Christmas centre stage!)

Christmas Eve Day 97 24/12/2014

After breakfast on the terrace we went to Haberfield to get bread and mince pies for Christmas and popped into the local coffee shop for our first Australian cup of coffee.  We headed back to Wendy's to help to get things prepared for tomorrow before meeting Sue and Paul in their local, the Bald Rock, for a pre dinner drink.  Whilst it was good to have a drink outside the air was a bit nippy; quite unlike Sydney should be in the middle of summer. Luckily Sue was prepared and had spare cardigans in the car (for the girls!). Simon and Paul found they have a common interest in local ales and soon they were enjoying a pint of Balmain. We went back to their house and had another delicious meal.  It's such a treat to have home cooked food after months of eating out.  Belle was very excited with her early Christmas present of a rubber chicken and seemed to take a shine to Simon who was the only one willing to play with it!

Father Christmas snow scene!

Haberfield

Dinner with Sue, Paul and Wendy

Bell with her rubber chicken 

Sydney Day 96 23/12/2014

We arrived into Sydney just after 11.30am to glorious sunshine.  Wendy and Sue, Simon's cousins, who both live in Sydney, were there to meet us which was lovely.  We headed south to Sue's house in Balmain for lunch (cheese on toast with worcester sauce washed down with tea - delicious!) and met Bell and Rosie (Sue's dogs) and Will (Sue's son).  We then went over to Wendy's in Abbotsford where we staying for the next week.  It's wonderful to be staying in a home especially over Christmas and it's a lovely apartment in a very picturesque area.  We had a short walk down to the bay to stretch our legs and then spent the remainder of the afternoon chilling out.  In the evening Sue and Paul (Sue's husband) came round for dinner and we had a lovely meal out on the terrace under a clear sky.

With Wendy at Abbotsford Cove

Dinner on the terrace with Wendy, Paul and Sue

Highlights - Part One

It's hard to believe that we've come to the end of the first part of our adventure, travelling across Europe and Mongolia to China and around Asia.  We've had an amazing time, visiting some great places but there is so much more to see and hopefully will come back soon to do more exploring.  The following are our combined top ten highlights in the order we experienced them.  It's been a very difficult list to collate!

1. Travelling 4735 miles from Moscow to Beijing on the Trans Mongolian Express
   
2. Walking along a section of the Great Wall of China and marvelling at the amazing engineering
   
3. Climbing Mount Fuji and summiting above the inversion
   
4. Visiting the awe inspiring Terracotta Warriors
   
5. Dodging the crazy traffic in Hanoi
   
6. Kayaking around the stunning landscape off Cat Ba Island
   
7. Squeezing through the waterways from Battambang to Siem Reap
   
8. Watching the spectacular sunrise over Angkor Wat
   
9. Swimming in the waterpools at Kuang Si waterfall in Laos
   
10. Spending a day with the wonderful elephants in Chiang Mai
    

Reflections of Singapore

• A very modern, clean and successful city
• Very easy to get around, either by MTR (subway), bus or foot
• Apart from the MTR it's a very expensive city, with beer at £5 a go and an average meal in a restaurant at £35 to £40 each.  However the street food was both tasty and good value
• It felt very safe even on a night when it was well light up with lots of people around
• Very busy especially in the tourist area (although it was the Xmas holidays)
• A fantastic mix of cultures which meant there was lots to see (temples, districts, attractions)
• Fantastic range of cuisine and all of what we had was very tasty
• Tiger beer tastes its best here (we suppose like most beers do in their home place!)
• Simon really liked it here and put it just ahead of Hong Kong.  For Diane it surpassed her expectations but HK just nosed ahead for her
• We really saw a lot of the city both the main attractions as well as some sense of everyday life. That was thanks in the main to our generous hosts and 'tour guides' Georgiana and her family on one day and Ollie on the other