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Sue's Fabulous Travels

Tag Archives: travelling with friends

Phantom of the Opera – Sydney Harbour – Sydney – New South Wales – Australia – April 2022

04 Wednesday May 2022

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Sightseeing and eating around Canberra/Sydney

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

ANZAC Day, Cafe Sydney, New South Wales, Phantom of the Opera, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, Sydney Harbour, Sydney Opera, travelling with friends

It was time for another weekend away, so with three of my friends, a few weeks ago we flew up to Sydney for a couple of nights, mainly to see Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour. The musical is performed on a purpose built floating stage with the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and city skyscape as background. It was spectacular so more on that later…

My friend Natalie found a great hotel for us to stay; the Margo Kimpton; recently opened and housed in a magnificent heritage-listed Art Deco building. The heritage site was a hotel previously but before that it was space for the Sydney Water Board. The hotel is beautifully placed in the middle of the city within walking distance of shops/Hyde Park and the harbour which meant we were able to walk to restaurants and the show.

The foyer of the Margo Kimpton hotel is very Art Deco and contained on one side is the Wilmot Bar; very impressive with its 1930’s style and a large range of spirits lining the back wall.

courtesy: http://www.kimptonhotels.com

I read that the ‘Margo’ was chosen and added to the Kimpton Hotel as a tribute to the artistic women of influence that played a leading role in shaping Australia’s design scene in the 1930s. And to tribute women, you will find stunning artwork picturing women along the corridors leading to the hotel rooms. And on occasions dogs as the hotel is pet friendly!

Our first evening we had booked Cafe Sydney a restaurant located at Circular Quay with spectacular views over the harbour and Sydney Harbour Bridge; this is an old favourite of mine and my friends and on this occasion it certainly didn’t disappoint. We arrived early and ordered a bottle of champagne from the restaurant’s extensive wine list and enjoyed a glass or two whilst looking at Sydney’s magnificent harbour and bridge. The vegan menu is very good and I really enjoyed my dishes as did my friends from the non-vegan menu.

No matter where I travel, city or country, I always like to get up early and go for a walk to see the sights and even though I have been to Sydney many times and in fact lived there, it was too good an opportunity to take a walk with a friend. I met Mandy at a well known meeting place outside the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) at the bronze statue of Queen Victoria which stands three metres high where she is wearing a gown that falls over the pedestal at the front and a cloak that falls over the back. The QVB was opened in 1898 to honour the monarch’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and restored beautifully in 2009.

We took a stroll around the harbour with views, of course, of the bridge and also Luna Park, probably Sydney’s most iconic amusement park on the foreshore of the harbour. As a teenager, my friends and I used to travel on the train for an hour to get there; buy a day pass which allowed you ten rides and then buy food with absolutely no nutritional value – great day out! The most iconic thing about Luna Park is entering through the face at the entrance to the park.

After our long walk, we decided to stop for a bit of breakfast and returned to the Queen Victoria Building where we found a lovely little cafe with views of one of the two great clocks. This clock was built over four years and installed in 2000 and aims to tell a story of Australian history from both European and Aboriginal perspectives. But I couldn’t keep looking at the clock all morning as I had a delicious vegan breakfast to eat along with a pot of peppermint tea to drink.

Then it was finally time for us to meet in the hotel foyer, enjoy a quick beverage then stroll down to the harbour to get ready for the longest running show in musical history. Our other friend Sue, had driven up from Canberra that morning so she was joining us also so with about an hour to go before the start we all set off, some of us walking and others in a taxi. When we arrived, it was lovely to see some people dressed up for the evening but we had decided casual was best as the plastic seating was outside and we preferred comfortable over glamorous! We had excellent seats with a fabulous view of the stage and what a magnificent stage it was.

For those of you who don’t know, Phantom has been playing on Broadway for over 34 years and over 35 at the West End and I am really lucky to say I have seen it on Broadway, but by far this would have to be the best stage for such an incredible show and we even had fireworks at one particular part, which now I can’t remember but it just added to the magnificence of the evening.

The staircase was enormous, lighting incredible and the huge chandelier required a crane to move in and out of the stage. The score is fabulous and the voices of all were outstanding and lastly the orchestra was wonderful even thought it was hidden beneath the stage. What a night!! We all decided to walk back to our hotel, along with thousands of others but it was eerie when the five of us were walking through Hyde Park as we were the only people I could see!

Our final day in Sydney was ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corp). The date marks the anniversary of the first military action fought by Australians and New Zealanders at Gallipoli during the First World War and was devised to honour the members of the ANZACs, however now it is regarded as a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand to commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. All around Australia there is a Dawn Service and usually followed by a March around mid-morning. In Sydney the March commenced at 9am so my friend Naomi and I met along the main street to honour those who had served and those who had lost their lives and as is said ‘Lest We Forget’. I actually did a little bit of research on this phrase and found it originated from a poem by Rudyard Kipling called ‘recessional’ written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and was adopted in its current use around a decade after the end of the First World War.

For the first time, I saw Fire & Rescue New South Wales honouring those who have served their country; a really special sight as they are the only non-military group sanctioned to march as a contingent on ANZAC Day. Very special!

So that was it for my fabulous weekend away; time to take a taxi to the airport for our plane trip home. Bye bye Sydney, see you next time!

Weekend trip to Sydney – New South Wales – Australia – December 2021

26 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Sightseeing and eating around Canberra/Sydney

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Barrangaroo, Darling Harbour, Hamilton the musical, New South Wales, Otto Restaurant, Sydney, travelling with friends, Walsh Bay, Wooloomooloo

Yay…a couple of weeks ago I went on my first plane trip in nearly over a year…I bought tickets to see Hamilton the musical at Darling Harbour. I went with a friend I met about two years ago and who I immediately formed a bond. I booked a two bedroom apartment within walking distance of Darling Harbour, which is a harbour and pedestrian area adjacent to the city of Sydney.

When we arrived in Sydney, we took a taxi to our accomodation then went for a walk around the city and did a touch of shopping. It clearly has been some time since I have been to Sydney as now there is a fully functioning tram running throughout the city. I actually don’t mind the tram running through the city as there are no longer cars, trucks etc in the town centre.

We walked back to Darling Harbour and enjoyed a meal and glass of wine at one of the restaurants where we had a view over the harbour which is particularly lovely at night. We also had great views of the new Crown Casino owned by Crown Resorts who have other casinos in Melbourne and Perth and also throughout other parts of the world.

Our next morning we woke early and went for a lovely walk through Darling Harbour, Barrangaroo and Walsh Bay. Barrangaroo is a former container terminal and now is another waterfront precinct with high-rise apartments, commercial office space, shops, cafes and restaurants. We walked along the waterfront with views of our Harbour Bridge which I think is particularly beautiful and a structure I never tire of seeing.

We walked for about an hour or so to Walsh Bay, historically a working port but now regarded as a major arts precinct with its theatre, restaurants, hotel and at the time we visited, a public sculpture exhibition. And at this time of the year a huge Christmas tree with the Harbour Bridge as its backdrop.

We walked along the boardwalk for a little while checking out the sculptures then did a u-turn to return to Barrangaroo to find somewhere to have a late breakfast.

At Walsh Bay, I do love the old but refurbished coloured timber clad cargo sheds along the waterfront.

We found a lovely cafe at Barrangaroo (Wild Sage) and sat inside as by this time it had gotten a little windy and the high-rise buildings blocked out the sun so it was definitely too cold to sit outside. Barrangarro has lovely small streets, painted windows and painted flower boxes; all adding to the ambience of the place.

At the Wild Sage cafe I ordered sourdough toast, mushrooms and a hash brown along with a pot of peppermint tea. My friend Rosi ordered sourdough toast with Haloumi cheese, mushrooms and a side of salmon along with a cup of coffee.

Everywhere in Sydney we were required to wear our face masks, sign into venues using the QR code and show our vaccination certificates. I don’t have a problem with this really for short periods but my face got very warm wearing it for three hours during the musical..it was worth it though as Hamilton was a fantastic musical; so energetic, funny and definitely worth seeing.

Our dinner that evening was at a fabulous restaurant at the Woolloomooloo harbour front precinct. I had booked a very early sitting at Otto Ristorante, again with lovely views of the harbour and apartments and boats of people who have much more money than me! One of our famous movie stars, Russell Crowe, has an apartment here (probably one of the penthouses) said to be worth many millions of dollars.

The restaurant is one where you can ‘people watch’ as there are many restaurants along the boardwalk and people are forever walking up and down; just a lovely place to relax and wish you owned one of the fabulous moored boats.

Otto has a separate vegan menu which is quite extensive. I started with the zucchini flowers filled with cashew nut cheese with a tomato and pine nut pesto. Rosi ordered the raw Abrolhos Island scallops, Sturgeon Black River caviar with cream and lemon oil. Service and presentation at this restaurant is top notch! Our sommelier suggested an Australian Riesling which was very good. House made bread arrives as soon as you are seated with olive oil and balsamic. I could eat this all night as the bread is just so fresh and crusty.

For our main course I ordered the risotto with spinach and garlic whilst Rosi ordered the saffron linguine, Goolwa pipis, southern calamari, bottarga with dill and basil leaves. We also ordered a dish or heirloom tomatoes and basil. I love the food at this restaurant, it’s always beautifully presented and tastes so good. No dessert on this occasion as both of us were just too full.

Time to return to the apartment, watch a little television and return to Canberra the next morning. What a truly great weekend!!

Mount Kosciuszko & Jindabyne – New South Wales – Australia – February 2021

14 Friday May 2021

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Jindabyne, Kosciuszko National Park, Lake Jindabyne, Mount Kosciuszko, travelling with friends, Wild Brumby Schnapps Distillery

I have tried to make the most of the ban on international travel by travelling a little more within Australia, so a couple of months ago a friend and I drove to the snowfields in New South Wales. February is not snow season here is Australia but we wanted to climb the highest point of our continent; Mount Kosciuszko which is located in Kosciuszko National Park.

We left Canberra on a Wednesday morning and drove for about an hour and a half until we reached a town called Cooma where my friend Mandy had stopped previously at a lovely cafe (The Lott Cafe) which is known for its coffee. Not being a coffee drinker, I ordered a peppermint tea and a toasted vegetable and falafal wrap which arrived with cashew cream on the side; very tasty!

About an hour later we arrived into the Jindabyne region which is located in the Snowy Mountains and on the edge of Lake Jindabyne. Our Airbnb overlooked the lake so we dropped off our bags and took a walk.

Our apartment was in an ideal location; lake views and a short drive to the shops where we could stock up on food for dinners and breakfasts…and a beautiful sunset every night.

The following morning was the day we had decided to trek up Mount Kosciuszko – which is about 2228 metres above sea level and a 13 kilometre return trip. Mandy had done the walk a few times before so I knew it was going to take between four and five hours round trip.

I had wanted to do this for a very long time but really didn’t think I was fit enough but with Mandy along, I knew she would encourage me and she did. We drove to Perisher Valley to the ski resort and took the cable car then started our walk. Oh my goodness, friends had told me it was not that hard – so wrong – I found it quite difficult at first as it was a long steep incline, but Mandy kept chatting away to keep me concentrating on her conversation rather than how difficult this part of the walk was. There were parts that were very pleasant and flat and some that were rather taxing but what made it worth my while, were the views along the way, which were spectacular.

When we were nearing the summit, walkers on their way back down were very encouraging, letting us know we had nearly made it; that inspired me to walk a little faster. And then we made it. It was such a good feeling – I had reached the highest point in Australia on our tallest mountain. Don’t think when the travel ban lifts I will be going to Nepal to try Everest though!

Time for a sandwich, check out the fabulous views and relax!

Then it was time to return, the walk back was easier of course but still had two steep inclines. It’s funny though they don’t seem that difficult, I guess because I knew most of the return trip was downhill. When we arrived at the cable car, Mandy took us into the cafe and to my surprise bought two glasses of schnapps. I had never tasted schnapps before but it was delicious and so welcome after nearly five hours of walking. So nice in fact that we stopped off at the distillery (Wildbrumby Schnapps Distillery) on our way home for a tasting after which I bought two bottles!

Visiting Orange – New South Wales – Australia – October 2020

14 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Ferment wines, New South Wales, Orange, Rosnay Winery, Sweet Sour Salt Restaurant, travelling with friends

Orange is a city in the central tablelands region of New South Wales and just over a three hour drive from Canberra. So late last year my two friends and I decided to take a road trip and spend a few days looking around and injecting some money into a place that like many others has done it tough during Covid.

We stayed at a really lovely Airbnb, my favourite form of accomodation these days with a courtyard out the back where we enjoyed breakfast in the mornings and wine and snacks in the afternoons.

Our first evening, my friend Naomi had booked a local restaurant called Sweet Sour Salt with Asian inspired cuisine and an interesting atmosphere with dim lighting, dramatic wall art and upside down chairs hanging from the ceiling.

The restaurant has dispensed with the al-a-carte menu and offers three set menus. One of those was plant based and food was really good especially the red curry eggplant with bamboo and tofu; absolutely delicious!

Only thing that wasn’t good on the night was the local vegan wine; tasted like old socks! Even Mandy and Naomi when they tasted it thought similar.

The next day after a long walk around the city checking out the historic home which are all restored beautifully, we popped into a cafe for lunch. Birdie Noshery & Drinking Est offers tapas, cocktails, wine, beers etc. But we started off with a hot beverage. The peppermint tea arrived in a glass teapot with a gorgeous brightly coloured cup and saucer. I loved the posters and prints on the walls inside the cafe. It really was a lovely place to sit for a couple of hours, which we did.

Well…we started off with tea and coffees but then of course considering it was a wine bar we enjoyed a couple of glasses of Aussie sparkling wine. Whilst Mandy and Naomi shared a few tapas dishes mainly meat and seafood, I ordered a vegan plate which arrived with lots of anti-pasta and olives, which I don’t like at all but the girls enjoyed them. It was a really nice couple of hours, eating, drinking and chatting.

On our way back to our Airbnb, we stopped off at Ferment Wine Centre in the centre of town where we had booked another wine tasting, I think it was $10 per person. I asked the elderly man who greeted us at the door if he had any vegan wines. He really didn’t know but proceeded to tell me why wines are vegan (which of course I know)…so that’s five minutes of my life I will never get back. He was also supposed to pour our tastings and tell us something about the actual wines but he saw someone he knew so went to give her a huge hug and left us for most of our hour on our own… and failed to tell us anything. We were a bit annoyed but then the girls took full advantage of this and just poured their own wines and considering we weren’t driving, they poured with a heavy hand. I think they got their $10 worth!

We stayed two nights in Orange and on our way back to Canberra, we stopped off at Rosnay winery. We had booked a wine tasting the evening before on-line and Naomi had tasted this wine before and said it was very good and a plus is that it is organic. Now this was a great wine tasting. We sat outside and enjoyed wines with the owner who really was a character. We had quite a few laughs listening to the history of his winery and his other antics and enjoyed some snacks too including figs which are also grown on his land.

The winery grounds were quite beautiful and after our tasting we each bought sparkling, rose and white wines along with fig preserve, marinated preserved figs and glazed figs; all I still have in my cupboard. I find I buy these things because they taste good on the day but then never end up eating them. – so now I really must enjoy them with friends over a glass or two of wine. Perhaps the wine I bought from this winery!

It’s really nice to get out and about in Australia and makes it even nicer when I can enjoy time with my friends!

Southern Highlands – New South Wales – Australia – June 2020

06 Monday Jul 2020

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Sightseeing and eating around Canberra/Sydney

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

Australia, Bowral, Ethos Restaurant, Links House, New South Wales, Southern Highlands, travelling with friends, Vegan wine

A lovely overnight trip out of Canberra

sitemgr_the_fold_southern_highlands-highlands_mossyFinally…we can travel…well domestically anyway.  My friend and I decided to drive about two hours out of Canberra to a beautiful area of New South Wales called the Southern Highlands which is also considered a wine region.  My lovely friend Sharon booked us a couple of rooms at Links House in Bowral.  Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands and is known for its antique shops, cafes, house & garden stores and expensive homes similar to other areas in the Southern Highlands.

We had a nice drive; I drove and we chatted about anything and everything and before we knew it, we had arrived at our hotel.  Links House has a lovely frontage.  It was built in 1928 as a country guesthouse and still has all the charm of that era and style.  fullsizeoutput_9e8fullsizeoutput_9e9We drove up the side lane and parked the car and walked into the hotel.  We were greeted by the owner who offered us a small glass of locally made port. Sharon indulged but because I don’t like red wine I declined.  We were shown our rooms which were lovely with a country style; heated, clean and most importantly; a comfortable bed!fullsizeoutput_9e7We spent the next hour or so with a friend and his family in their beautiful home; an old schoolhouse – and so beautifully decorated.  No photos unfortunately as didn’t think it appropriate to be snapping at the home of people I have only just met!!!  Then Sharon, David and I went out to lunch at Centennial Vineyards, a local winery, located in the same suburb as our hotel (but more on that in an upcoming post).

That evening Sharon and I decided to eat at our hotel at Ethos restaurant as it was rather cold outside and we had a busy day driving/eating/chatting and meeting new friends.  fullsizeoutput_9eaWe met in the lounge area of our hotel which had a lovely fire and comfortable chairs.

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source: courtesy of the internet

I arrived early to the lounge area so ordered a glass of wine.  As most of you will know I am vegan (over two years now) but something you might not know is it’s only been the last two months that I have decided to only drink vegan wine.  This means that any wine that has used egg white/fish or gelatine as a finishing agent (stops the clouding of the wine) I won’t drink.

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source:  courtesy of the internet

 

I asked whether there were any vegan wines available and was told there was only one which was a rosé.  I am not a red wine or rosé drinker but the owner said this wine was very light and offered me a taste.  I took a small sip and it certainly was very light so ordered a glass.  By this time Sharon had arrived and after a few minutes we moved into the restaurant.  I ordered a mushroom risotto which the chef made vegan and Sharon ordered the pumpkin soup with truffle oil and home made grain bread.  Both very good dishes with lovely fresh local produce.fullsizeoutput_9ebfullsizeoutput_9ecBy this time we were feeling a little tired so moved back into the lounge area near the fire for a chat before heading off to our rooms where I promptly fell straight asleep.

The next morning, I woke up early to see the sun rising and hopped out of bed to take a walk around the local area to check out the expensive homes.fullsizeoutput_9f0fullsizeoutput_9f6My walk took about an hour and whilst it was hard to see many of the homes from the street (I am definitely one of those people who loves to peer into other people’s homes!!), I could see driveways and parts of homes along from the footpath.fullsizeoutput_9f3fullsizeoutput_9f2fullsizeoutput_9f5The gardens were beautifully maintained also and one even had little ducks walking along the grass; very country I must say.fullsizeoutput_9f1Bowral has always been a place I would love to live but unfortunately now it’s way out of my price range…ah well it’s a lovely place to visit overnight or even for a few days.Autumn+leavesWe enjoyed a lovely breakfast at our hotel and then it was time to check out and head back to Canberra.  On our way home we stopped at another country town called Mittagong to look at the shops – I love the stores selling all things fabulous like facial creams/soaps and candles – a little bit expensive but gorgeous.  Sharon and I ended up buying a few things in one particular shop and I bought a present for my friends Ray and Nat who helped look after my dogs whilst I was away.  I bought them a jigger – now I had no idea it was called this but you might, it’s the stainless steel measuring cup used to measure alcoholic spirits…so I learnt something (mindless) whilst away.  fullsizeoutput_9f7We also went into a fabulous bread shop.  I must say I love good bread but whilst I didn’t buy any bread I did buy an Indian vegan pie to take home which I have since eaten and it was very good; great pastry!fullsizeoutput_9edSo as you can see we had a lovely time away and as it’s so close to Canberra it’s an easy place to visit regularly.  I must return soon!

Siem Reap – Cambodia – April 2019

09 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, J7 Hotel Siem Reap, Miss Wong, Pub Street Siem Reap, Siem Reap, Soffitel Siem Reap, travelling with friends, Vladimir Tretchikoff

Eating and visiting temples in Siem Reap

IMG_5660Whilst in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh earlier this year, my friend Tracey and I travelled to Siem Reap to take a look around and of course to see Angkor Wat and other temples.  We stayed at a lovely hotel called J7 which is ideally placed in the centre of the city and a short Tuk Tuk ride to the bars and restaurants. Our whole trip was arranged by our friend Naomi who lives in Phnom Penh but unfortunately at the last minute she was unable to come along.

After a short plane and car ride, we arrived at J7 and were welcomed by a statue of Ganesha in the foyer and stunning drop lights in the evening over the swimming pool and outdoor area.fullsizeoutput_895IMG_5756After checking into our rooms we took a Tuk Tuk to Pub Street which is very popular with backpackers with local bars serving very cheap beers.  Not being a beer drinker, we decided to venture a little away to find other bars and restaurants.fullsizeoutput_899 We found great little paved/tiled alleyways off Pub Street that housed the lovely bars and restaurants we were looking for.  We ate regularly at these alleyways and I always enjoyed the food.  I always found the chef was willing to amend a particular dish to make it vegan so was never going to starve!fullsizeoutput_898fullsizeoutput_89aI enjoyed a great bowl of pasta at a gorgeous Italian restaurant, avocado and tomato on sourdough toast at a health cafe, delicious sandwiches and many other great meals. fullsizeoutput_89bfullsizeoutput_894

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Before we arrived, Tracey had booked us into the Soffitel Hotel for a champagne lunch; what an amazing hotel – the grounds were beautifully maintained and inside was just amazing.fullsizeoutput_8a1fullsizeoutput_891

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The buffet was extensive and champagne was flowing.  And at the Asian food section the chef made me a delicious noodle dish…yum!!fullsizeoutput_892fullsizeoutput_893The next morning we were up before 5am to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat.  We were picked up by a driver and taken to the temple area where there were already hundreds and hundreds of visitors waiting to see the same thing as us but our guide managed to find us a great viewing point where we saw the magnificent colours of the sun rising over the temple.  By this stage it was 5.30am and already thirty-five degrees!!IMG_5552IMG_5551We walked through the temple and its grounds and both of us were even blessed by a local monk; for a small fee of course.fullsizeoutput_8a9

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fullsizeoutput_89cThe next temple we visited was Angkor Thom…this is probably my favourite with its amazing intricate carved faces.fullsizeoutput_8a7

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fullsizeoutput_8a4fullsizeoutput_8a3We decided after visiting Angkor Thom to take a break as both Tracey and I were so incredibly hot;  the temperature had reached over forty degrees, so at 8am we drove back to our hotel.

That evening we went to an Asian themed cocktail bar called Miss Wong that I had found on-line and looked so good I knew we had to go there for a drink.fullsizeoutput_896Wow…what a find…it was sophisticated, dark and very glamorous!  Deep red walls, silk lanterns hanging from the ceilings and dark wooden furniture.  fullsizeoutput_8b7fullsizeoutput_8bafullsizeoutput_8abfullsizeoutput_8adEven the bathroom was glamorous…fullsizeoutput_8b6Miss Wong is named after a painting by Vladimir Tretchikoff  of a beautiful Asian woman.  I remember when we lived in Wales that my mum had bought the print and it was framed hanging in our lounge room.  What a lovely memory for me to see it again.fullsizeoutput_8b4This was not the only print in the bar, there were many; all different but in the 1930s Shanghai style.  fullsizeoutput_8b0fullsizeoutput_8aeWe ordered a glass of wine each and a few dishes including steamed shrimp har gow, dry fried mushroom pot stickers (dumplings to me) and vegetarian spring rolls (not a great photo I am afraid as it was dark and my mobile phone doesn’t take good photos without light).fullsizeoutput_8bb

So all in all a good time away in Siem Reap with a great friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Royal Palace & the Silver Pagoda – Phnom Penh – Cambodia – April 2019

19 Friday Jul 2019

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels outside China

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Royal Palace Phnom Penh, Silver Pagoda Phnom Penh, travelling with friends

Last Day in Phnom Penh in 40 Degrees Celsius!

BC41B0C9-E5C3-4D98-A079-6C4D464DFDB1During my visit to Phnom Penh earlier this year, my friend Tracey and I took a Tuk Tuk to the Royal Palace as it was our last day in the country and we wanted to take a look around.  The palace opens at 8am but we arrived around 9am and even by this stage it was about forty degrees celsius; with humidity. Yuck!!All visitors must conform to dress standards; shoulders and knees covered which meant a top with sleeves and a mid-length skirt or three quarter pants as long as your knees are covered.

We paid our entry fee and with our ticket we received a map of the complex and grounds.  We started out with a general walk around the central compound, through the beautifully manicured gardens, looking at large pots containing water lilies and lovely topiary trees…all this with the sun burning into our skin as we both had forgotten to bring umbrellas…fullsizeoutput_826fullsizeoutput_82bfullsizeoutput_82afullsizeoutput_828We particularly wanted to see the Royal Stupas and The Silver Pagoda so checked out our trusty map to find both. From outside the walls of the Royal Palace, it looks like the palace compound and The Silver Pagoda are located in the same area, however they are two distinct compounds, separated by an alleyway and gates but your entry ticket gets you into both areas.

The complex of The Silver Pagoda is made ​​up of several buildings and statues, stupas and more beautifully landscaped gardens.  There are four Royal Stupas and each is intricately decorated and a memorial to a member of the Royal family.6931ACF9-E440-4C5D-A37E-4FFE68DEF108fullsizeoutput_82dfullsizeoutput_82eIMG_5781The Silver Pagoda (Wat Preah Keo) is a Buddhist temple and contains an emerald Buddha. It’s known as The Silver Pagoda because of the 5000 silver tiles that cover the floor. Unfortunately, these are hard to see, as the floor is covered up by carpet that protects the tiles from being damaged by foot traffic but there is a particular area that is off limits where you can see them – absolutely stunning!

 

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source:  Lonely Planet

All visitors must remove their shoes before entering the pagoda and there are little cubby holes outside to put your shoes in.  I liked the interior of this pagoda with cabinets upon cabinets of statues, icons and precious objects.  It would of been nice to have known more about them and their significance but explanations, unfortunately, were not in English.  Unfortunately no photos allowed inside so nothing to show here!

We then decided to visit the Throne Hall of the Royal Palace.  Construction of the palace began in 1886 after the King relocated the royal capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh and was completed before World War I.  IMG_5773The Royal Palace is still the royal residence for the King of Cambodia and while parts of the palace with its golden roofs are closed to the public others like the Throne Hall can be visited. Topped by a 59m-high tower that was inspired by the Bayon in  Siem Reap’s Angkor Thom, the Throne Hall is used for coronations and other ceremonies.fullsizeoutput_827fullsizeoutput_829I think we had walked around for about an hour and a half and at this stage I was sure the sun was burning further into my skin, so we decided to leave.   We took a Tuk Tuk and returned to our friend Naomi’s home.  It was then time to finish packing and take a car to the airport…a fabulous trip away!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noosa – Queensland – Australia – May 2019

02 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels outside China

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

Australia, Bistro C, Lunch with friends, Noosa, Noosa Food and Wine Festival, Queensland, RACV Noosa Resort, travelling with friends

A long weekend away with friends

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Friends of mine travel from Canberra to Noosa every year to escape the cold.  This year they invited me as it was our friend Mandy’s 55th birthday.  Noosa is an Australian resort area on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It is known for its lovely weather (21 degrees in winter), sand and surf as well as its main street (Hastings Street) with cafes, restaurants and overpriced boutiques.  hastings-st-noosafullsizeoutput_7d9I travelled by plane to Brisbane with a short stop-over in Sydney and took the two hour shuttle to Noosa.  Initially my friends and I were going to meet at Brisbane Airport and hire two cars to drive to Noosa.  But…my friends were unfortunately stuck in Canberra Airport for seven hours due to an issue with their plane.  They didn’t arrive in Noosa until just after midnight so luckily there was a shuttle to drop me off right outside my accomodation!!

I arrived around 5pm at the  RACV Noosa Resort.  A really lovely place with several swimming pools, a tennis court, restaurant and bar and small shop.  I stayed in a good sized apartment with a small balcony which had views of ducks in the pond. Very noisy in the mornings but I guess that’s nature and I really didn’t mind.

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fullsizeoutput_7e5I decided to go for a walk to familiarise myself with the area and walked to the main shopping street which took about thirty-minutes.  It was lovely how lush and green the vegetation was along the way.  When I returned to the resort, my friend Mandy and her partner came over for a glass of wine before I retired to my room for an early night.fullsizeoutput_7e6IMG_5927Early the next morning I did the same walk down to the beach and then met up with Mandy for breakfast at a cafe overlooking the beach called Bistro C.  fullsizeoutput_7e0Lots of people out and about swimming or surfing or just relaxing like us enjoying breakfast.fullsizeoutput_7e8fullsizeoutput_7e7fullsizeoutput_7e9It turned out that this was not the only time I was to eat at Bistro C.  One of the girls who had arrived late from Canberra messaged me to say that a birthday lunch had been organised that day for Mandy and it was at Bistro C!!

Mandy and I then took the six-kilometre round walk to Dolphin Point – a lovely walk with beautiful views.  We started off along the beachfront then took some stairs up to a pathway within the national park where koala bears live but as much as I looked I could not see any.IMG_5937fullsizeoutput_7edfullsizeoutput_7ecI decided to take the shuttle bus back to the resort as I was a bit weary after my walks…and a couple of hours later, it was time to return to Bistro C for lunch.  One of the girls and I chose the roasted beetroot, feta and legume salad with fig, spiced pumpkin, radish, pomegranate and pea hummus.  I opted for no cheese and mayonnaise and it really was absolutely delicious.  Coupled with a glass of champagne it was a great way to spend a couple of hours!!photo0jpgfullsizeoutput_7efNow I know there are many wonderful restaurants in Noosa but I had seen something else delicious on the menu.  The next day I walked back into town and stopped off for lunch at Bistro C...the dish I wanted to try was the fried shiitake mushroom, water chestnut and spinach dumplings with Sichuan eggplant, sesame broccoli, snow peas, green onion and ginger broth.  Unfortunately I was very disappointed with this dish.  The dumplings tasted like they had been sitting around for a while and there was no Sichuan eggplant or ginger broth on the dish.F4ED0F02-6107-4758-8991-CC5B36805C63At the time of our visit the Noosa Food and Wine Festival was on so we had tickets for a four course dinner at Peppers Resort with a few guest Aussie chefs.  Matt Moran whose restaurant is Aria overlooking Sydney Harbour and Matt Preston from Australian Masterchef were two I saw and had photos with.  Nice to spend time with the girls but the vegan food was incredibly disappointing; so much I didn’t even stay for dessert!fullsizeoutput_7de

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The girls have kindly invited me back next year…no more formal functions at the festival though just time with friends and long walks!fullsizeoutput_7df

Kuanzhai Xiangzi Alley (Wide & Narrow Alley) – Chengdu – Sichuan Province – October 2018

04 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Chengdu, Chinese snacks, Kuanzhai Xiangzi Alley, PRC China, Sichuan Province, travelling with friends, Wide and Narrow Alley

A slow stroll down a long alley

fullsizeoutput_5ebWhilst visiting Sichuan Province our friend Peter took Jon and I to a famous alleyway  called Kuanzhai Xiangzi which consists of a wide alley (Kuan Xiangzi) and a narrow alley  (Zhai Xiangzi).  There are actually three parallel ancient city alleyways and forty-five courtyards along them and I am sure most Sichuanese were out on the same day as us [it was a Sunday so it is lovely to see everyone out and about].  But boy oh boy; so many people!!fullsizeoutput_5fdfullsizeoutput_5d6There was plenty to see along the way including lovely entry ways to courtyards and shops and beautiful large wooden doors with brass knockers…fullsizeoutput_5dcIMG_3052fullsizeoutput_5eafullsizeoutput_5f6And of course ‘interesting’ figures.  But I feel this one made some sense [much more than others I have seen] as the province of Sichuan is known for its spicy chilli dishes and the figure was outside a shop grinding fresh chillies…fullsizeoutput_5ddfullsizeoutput_5e7One thing that the alley has is plenty of food stores selling all sorts of wonderful hot and cold dishes to eat like beautifully displayed tofu with lots of chilli, sweet fried balls and bread along with cold rice and noodle dishes.fullsizeoutput_5f3

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fullsizeoutput_5f1fullsizeoutput_5f2The history of the alley way is dated back to the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 AD). At that time, the area was a city called Mancheng City or Shaocheng City where its residents were troops.  As with most places left unrestored, the city decayed but in 2003 renovations began and the alley way opened in 2008.  It has small restaurants/souvenir shops created to look like those from the Qing Dynasty and of course tea rooms selling delicious Chinese tea.IMG_3054

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fullsizeoutput_5e2fullsizeoutput_5f8I really enjoyed seeing the local drinks and desserts as they are very different to what we enjoy here in Australia.  Pretty drinks with what looked like hot ice coming out of the top of a very large plastic cup.fullsizeoutput_5ecfullsizeoutput_5edAnd all flavours and colours of ice cream (some more interesting than others), ice blocks, small rice cups, cups full of cream and fruit and of course watermelon.fullsizeoutput_5e3fullsizeoutput_5dbfullsizeoutput_5effullsizeoutput_5dafullsizeoutput_5f5We walked one length of the alley on the right hand side and then turned around and walked up the other way to make sure we saw all the shops…a lovely afternoon out even though most of Chengdu was with us!!

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Changchun – Jilin Province – PRC – September 2018

11 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by SueT唐 梦 琇 in Travels inside China

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Imperial Palace of Manchukuo, Jilin Province, Jin-An Hotel, Jinyue Lake Forest National Park, PRC China, Puyi Mansion, travelling with friends

Four days in Jilin – a province in north west China

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My friend Jon and I caught the bullet train from Liaoning Province to Jilin; it was only about an hour and half ride and I recall we slept most of the way.  Upon arrival we went straight to our hotel (well that was after we haggled with a ‘private taxi’ over a price to our hotel).  I immediately jumped on the bed to see if it was a typical Chinese hard mattress or western style…pleasantly surprised..western style; nice and comfortable.  After this, I followed my usual routine of checking out the bathroom [clean with all necessary amenities] and then took photos from the window.fullsizeoutput_4f2After a relaxing evening, early the next morning Jon and I were picked up by our tour guide and driver and taken to Jinyue Lake Forest National Park.  The park covers an area of 200 square kilometres, with over 4.3 square kilometres water surface and 80 square kilometres planted forest.  We told our guide we wanted to walk quite a distance within the park so our driver dropped us off at the main entrance.  Firstly to see as much as we could and secondly to ensure we reached our 12,000+ steps for the day.

The park has many features; a golf course, a man-made beach that holds up to 3000 people, BBQ areas, temples and 1000 spotted deer located in over 30,000 square metres in Deer Park.  Or you could just enjoy walking, skating or bike riding around.fullsizeoutput_4fbfullsizeoutput_4f8img_2777The park also had some cartoon character statues – no idea why they were there but I have come to enjoy seeing these statues in many places around China!!  Pepa Pig and family were first to greet us followed by some other characters I didn’t know and then Mr Fox and Ms Rabbit…fullsizeoutput_4fa

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The walkways are paved beautifully [very old our guide told us] as well as treelined and circle for kilometres through forests and alongside the water.  It was a pretty hot day but the shade from the tree branches made our walk very pleasant.img_2782

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Walking around the water’s edge was also beautiful.  There are small boats that can be sailed around at the lake but we decided to continue walking.fullsizeoutput_502fullsizeoutput_4f9fullsizeoutput_4f6Although after about four hours, we were a little tired and rather hungry so we cheated a little and had our driver pick us up from another entry/exit point to/from the park.  A great day out to enjoy China’s surprisingly beautiful bright blue sky.fullsizeoutput_500The next day we visited Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo. fullsizeoutput_509The palace was the official residence created by the Imperial Japanese Army for China’s last emperor of the Qing dynasty, Puyi.  It was where Puyi lived as part of his role as Emperor of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The Chinese refer to the museum as the Puppet Emperor’s Palace & Exhibition Hall and are not particularly complimentary about Puyi with his ‘defection’ to Japan.img_2717HISTORY – [source: Wikepedia] In 1931, the Japanese took control of the Northeast of China, the area of modern-day Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, which were historically known as Manchuria. The Japanese created an officially independent state in Manchuria which they named Manchukuo which was in reality a puppet state of Japan. In an attempt to lend legitimacy to Manchukuo, the Japanese installed Puyi as Emperor of Manchukuo.fullsizeoutput_505Finally, in 1945, the Second World War was brought to an end and the Japanese surrendered to China. At the same time, the Manchukuo ceased to exist and Puyi returned to the status of an ordinary citizen.

A puppet state is independent but is completely dependent upon an outside power. It is nominally sovereign but effectively controlled by a foreign or otherwise alien power, for reasons such as financial interests, economic or military support.fullsizeoutput_50eBut back to the palace – it was designed as a miniature version of the Forbidden City in Beijing and is divided into an inner court and outer court. The outer or front court was used for administrative purposes and the inner or rear court as the royal residence.  Both the front and rear court were maintained beautifully and the furniture was stunning.  You can imagine an emperor living there…fullsizeoutput_508

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fullsizeoutput_507fullsizeoutput_504The palace grounds cover an area of 43,000 square meters.  We spent most of our time in the royal residence but also took a short stroll around the grounds.fullsizeoutput_50dfullsizeoutput_511

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Then it was time to leave the palace, return to our hotel and make our way to Inner Mongolia by plane to more fabulous adventures in China!

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