Hong Kong

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

First posting from our long trip - just waiting for Jo to get ready to go out and grab something to eat and drink. Good journey out - wish we could afford to travel Club Class every time:

Our seats went horizontal, so we could actually sleep for a change. As a result, I only watched one movie - and it's one I've seen before - and we've got the DVD! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo of course.

Service was great and our little pod was very cosy as you can see. When I awoke in the morning, I had a bit of a bloodshot eye however:

We got picked up by limo and taken to our hotel - the 5 star Harbour Grand (http://www.harbourgrand.com/hongkong/luxury-hotel-,default-en.html). Here's the view from our room - a little misty as you can see:

All set

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

It's been a busy week since we came back from Aviemore, but I think I've got most things done and can leave with a fairly clear conscience tomorrow.

Mixed news on the medical front recently. The skin damage on my nose has improved - the top layer was successfully frozen off and it certainly looks a bit more normal now. There is still some underlying (benign) damage however and I have to make sure I wear a fairly high factor sun cream. I have to go back and have it checked again in 3 months.

My blood tests last week were OK - my liver count was back down again, so I didn't have to see the doctor this week and don't have to have the tests again for another 2 months.

Now comes the bad news - it was back to the dental surgeon yesterday to look at the CT scan that was done last week. There is a hole in the bone of my gum that is a bit bigger than they thought, so, not only do I need to have a tooth implant, I've got to have some bone regeneration material added. Bio-Oss/Bio-Gide are the materials in question - the former is bovine in origin and the latter from pigs. The whole process lasts 6 months before the implant can be left to stand alone - and, of course, it's costing even more now!

Better news on the holiday front - we've got one of the time shares I requested - and it's back to Newport Coast, south of LA again - where we were last March. We enjoyed the resort and are looking forward to going back again. Check it out - http://www.marriottvacationclub.com/vacation-resorts/marriott-newport-coast/overview.shtml We're heading there week commencing 14th August.

That's about it - Hong Kong here we come!

Aviemore and Moulin, by Pitlochry

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

We're home again after escaping the snow blizzards of Aviemore this morning - but we had a nice weekend. Our drive through on Friday was OK, but I had to drive gingerly , particularly through Donside on our way to the Lecht. The steepest parts of the road - from the Allargue Arms up the hill at Corgarff, and up the hill at Bridge of Brown - were by far the easiest parts - it seems the ploughs had made special efforts to make sure vehicles could get up to the slopes OK.

We settled in our apartment down by the Spey and then walked up to the centre at Dalfaber for a beer to help us decide where to eat. There was nobody in the restaurant and we were initially a little reluctant to be guinea pigs, but eventually we relented and took our seats beside the central fire for our steaks. We even posed for a photograph after our meal:

We went back to our apartment and watched Shutter Island on DVD - what's that all about?

It snowed on Saturday morning, but we knew we had to get out and stretch our legs and by the time we were ready to go the snow had relented - but who would go out with a woman wearing a hat like this?:

Our walk was circular - along the river, across the golf course and back up through the Dalfaber estate to the town centre and then down to the Old Bridge Inn for lunch. Back to the apartment in the afternoon, read, sleep, G & T and then out again on the long walk back to town. We opted for Spice of India - pretty good - and we posed for a photo at reception as we left:

(Neither Santa nor the sax were real - thought I should tell you that).

On Sunday morning it snowed again - heavily for an hour or so - and we began to doubt if we could get out of Aviemore at all. We did eventually make the drive south, and once we were over the Drumochter Pass, it was fairly plain sailing on the way to meet Barry, Helen and Dawn at the Moulin Inn, near Pitlochry. Here's the team photograph at our favourite pub, with Dawn hogging the fire:

By the time we had eaten, the skies were now blue and I took this photo of Jo, taking a photo of me:

and that was our weekend - now to get ready for HK & Oz.