Day 27 - Last Day Of This Adventure - Slow Day In HK... (updated)

Not much planned for today, just treading carefully around the suitcases as we do not want to do any kind of repacking,  Our flight to BNE is showing green - which means there SHOULD be plenty of room onboard.  But as we have seen this can change in the last minute.  We have gained quite a good understanding of how the new staff travel system works...or in some cases doesn't work.

It's a sunny day here in Honkers, so we may venture up the peak or across to Kowloon - as long as it it's a slow day.  Late check out at 4pm and will head back to HKG at around 6ish.

We are both very excited about seeing our little fur-baby (and other not so furry family members).  He has been very well looked after while we have been away by the looks of the photos that we have seen.  Dagwood is probably going to be a little annoyed with us as he wouldn't understand the idea of us going away and then coming back.  We are expecting a bit of attitude and to get "the paw".

Update:

We had a number of naps today... Ryan wasn't 100%, must have been the Disney excitement coupled with the big flight yesterday and the smoggy atmosphere here, but all good now after nap, vitamins, another nap, shower, more vitamins and afternoon tea at the airport.

The flight is looking Ok, but in firm Chinese form we must report back to the staff travel desk at -50 (2020 local) for our seats.  We did get a frown when bags were weighed... 12.5kg over.

Maybe we suggest to put one on the roof rack since it is full of magnets - no need to tie it on, it will stick well by itself.

Waiting patiently at the airport now for another few hours before the news of acceptance to fly. If I were a betting man, I would say we will be fine.  Then all going well...another red-eye to contend with. We picked up some melatonin tablets in HK to assist with shifting the circadian rhythm. Hopefully they assist a little and send us off into night-night land when we need to.

If the movies are the same in this sector as the last CX one, then the movie of choice will be Monstors University!

Day 26 - Last minute decision...

Guess where we are going for the evening?

Not going to say except...."It's a small world after all....it's a small world after all...."

Update later.

From the excited little kiddies :)

Updated:

You can probably work out where we went, we saw a mouse or two, a crazy duck, a clumsy pup and a few chipmunks.

There was a Halloween theme going on everywhere, with zombies and scared things happening.  Even Space Mountain had a spooky theme going on inside. We went on that three times to be sure - and got a silly photo at the end.

Caitlin - we even went to Cinderella's House.  We said a big hello from you!!  We got a glimpse of Tinkerbell too. Quick as a flash and she was gone!

The fireworks over the castle were actually quite touching. Actually a spectacular Disney moment to commemorate the last day of our adventure to the tune of "A Whole New World".  It was a bit of a tear jerker - weird considering it is Disneyland and it is "The Happiest Place On Earth!"

There were a couple of new additions to Disneyland, one being Toy Story Land. Careful of Rex, the crazy dinosaur Ryan!!

And who is one of Andy's fave toys....SLINKY (renamed Dagwood for the night).. can't wait to see our own Slinky very soon!

The spinney, round and round ride made us giggle! You even had to have a boarding pass!

The Slinky hats were funny but it stayed in the shop as we have absolutely no room to pack anything else!  And I kind of felt that the hat made my ears look big...

We paid a visit to It's A Small World - managed to find all the spots where we have visited together on this trip and previous vacations over the last 8 years. Managed to find them all, but ironically couldn't find Spain...must have been stolen.

Here is us singing the very repetitive tune that you are subjected to in various languages as you travel the tranquil dinghy journey around the continents 

We finally left Disneyland at 11pm, closing time and a bit in the tired side.  Not bad going considering the travel we had done earlier in the day.

Day 26 - Hello Hong Kong Updated

We managed to get the last two seats on the CX 777-300 non-stop jet airliner service from FRA to HKG. We were told at -10 that we were going.  Our bags made it too.  Unfortunately we weren't sitting together but that's not if deal considering that all other flights that day were oversold.

At one stage of the night we were in the middle of nowhere. Absolutely nothing around at all. Our track took us out from Germany over Russia, many of the "stan" countries, Siberia and then down over the Himalayas ( kinda guessing now and will have to recheck the atlas), "outback" China and into Chek Lap Kok ten minutes early,

Clyde was fascinated by the 3D flight track map and the camera attached to the belly of the aircraft.

He was happy to look after the baggage while toilet stops were had after the long flight. It was difficult to climb over other passengers so I didn't bother. No additional charges (so far) with the 54kg of baggage... Hopefully the luck holds up tomorrow.

We were really happy with Cathay's approach and also Lufthansa. Both top notch airlines, great staff and good onboard product.

Almost time for a nap. Here is our view of sunny Hong Kong.

Late check to tomorrow so we hope to get most of the jet lag sorted quickly.

Updated:

After a good nap it is time to go for a look-see around and may venture across the water to Kowloon. We think the Symphony of Lights is still on in the evening so will keep an eye out at around 8pm.

Not really feeling the love for the local food.  The smells are enough.  May have to visit Hard Rock.

Time to hunt out a a fridge magnet shop.

Tired Clyde is going to take it easy in the hotel.

Day 25 - Holding Of Breath in Frankfurt

No it isn't the sauerkraut... The flight is looking rather full so we will see what happens.

FRA Is one hell of an airport.  Everything is soooo BIG...

We saw many of the new Boeing 747-8i aircraft type, very nice looking machine.

Even the Starbucks tea was seriously huge.  I was considering donning a life jacket from the Ruby before drinking.

The terminal that we arrived in was a bus and train ride to the CX terminal. But a fun journey for a plane nut anyway.

Ryan is not as much of an airport fan, but he is doing OK considering the early morning,

The way staff travellers are treated by Lufthansa is very impressive. Almost an enjoyable experience.

Off to find "Miss Wing" she is the CX lady running the show at the gate (once the bottom of the tea cup is finally visible).  Hopefully there are lots of no-shows and that she has some good news for us! 

Day 25 - What I Really Think & Homeward Bound...hopefully!

As the view of Barcelona disappears beneath our brand spanking new Lufthansa A321 and a pretty good staff travel experience at BCN (well, except for 3 incorrectly tagged bags - who knows where they will end up, but with limited experience with this airline, I am thinking that the Germans will be all over it).... Anyway...let's talk Barcelona...

Recommend it to anyone - NO.

Revisit anytime soon - NO.

After a while you may tend to think that generally speaking there are a lot of rip off merchants in this town. Initially Barcelona was fallen in love with for its kookiness and bizarre charm. Then certain interactions with the locals shifted that feeling to being one of...hmmm, well bordering on hatred.

Let's just look at this morning -

Up early for our flight to Hong Kong, via Frankfurt, checkout time and hotel wished to charge us for pre-paid accommodation. Innocent mistake by hotel person - likely. But I find it hard to believe.

Crazy cab drive to the airport...35 minute journey took 20 minutes. Decided to tip cab driver a few euros. When counting change once on airport kerbside - short changed. Coincidence? Bit of a trend happening here?

And of course having your pockets picked right in front of your face. Feedback from friends, the reaction of police when lodging the report for insurance AND the fact that there were many other people at the police station seemingly reporting the same indicates that dishonesty is a big problem in Barcelona.  Being such a widespread issue yet highly accepted just does not make sense.  It begs the question as to why Spain is in the economic crap. Well maybe you need to take a look at yourselves. It may just be karma.  It is a shame that the honest and trustworthy folk are seemingly punished financially, I know the feeling. But the authorities accept the problem and do little to fix it. We have spent many hours when trying to sleep, going through the shoulda, coulda, woulda. Wasted energy on something that cannot be changed. The only resolve is that we were not hurt and that this is unfortunately all part of traveling.

So, why bother visiting a place where it is highly likely to be ripped off and when you often see graffiti emphasizing things such as "tourists fuck off"? It seems a far better option to visit a city or place where they want your money by honest means, where you can walk away feeling fulfilled and rewarded by the experience. Even a casino - at least you can have some sort of fun while having your wallet emptied.

Tourism is an easy financial win for Spain and for Barcelona, but it is not important - clearly. Rather than being renown for a place of theives you should be known for a place for fixing that problem.

The fact that there are so many other beautiful places in this part of the world, it makes no sense to return to Spain or recommend it to anyone.

This is the last view of Spain that I hope to have.

I could have, and wanted to, use a different colour of language here, but I think I am past that point now.

Sure we have limited pictures from our adventure, but we have the memories and the tales which we have shared with you already. We have our health as no one was physically injured, and we have the overall experience of the last 4 weeks.

Time to get a bit of rest before the next adventure of the day which hopefully involves getting on a CX flight to HK. Last look it had filled up a bit, but there is also a flight out of Munich later which looks empty. So we may be trotting across Germany the rest of the afternoon. 

Will keep you posted.  In the meantime enjoy the current view - I think this maybe over France. (Capt mentioned we tracked  From Barcelona (thieving shithole) to Marseille to Geneva and Zurich then Stuttgart)...

Geeez now that I have have finished updating yesterday's entry the view and probably the country beneath has changed... Got no idea where we are - just pick one of the previous waypoints. Will have to check the photo coordinates when we land and have wifi somewhere.

Nap time.  Over and out :)

Day 24 - Pick Pocketed UPDATED

Certainly not a post I wanted nor expected to write...and will keep the language sensible since my mother is reading this.

Phone gone, along with €70.  The phone had the majority of the pictures we had taken. We are both safe which is the main thing. The phone was PIN enabled so absolutely no use to anyone.

To the asshole who took my phone and has since turned it off - may karma catch up with you one day and deal you a hand which you cannot comprehend. Your mother mother must be very proud of her son's behaviour!

MAY YOUR EARS TURN TO ASSHOLES AND SHIT ON YOUR SHOULDERS.

Leaving Spain as planned tomorrow to head home. I did consider Barcelona one of the best places that we have visited....not so sure now.

That is all.

Updated -

So we spent a few hours getting the police reports lodged and having to make expensive calls to mobile phone providers to get serial numbers. We got the feeling that the police know these folk. The police report is in Spanish, I hope that the insurance company can understand it.

The only resolve I have is that life catches up with people like this. Sorry for the lack of pictures from now on.  It has also been such a fun experience changing passwords and PINs...

Our day continued well, and we decided to hit the shops for some therapy.  We both bought some nice clothes for work from Zara. Their stuff seems a little pricey in Oz, certainly not here. Picked up some other funky bits and pieces along the way too.

Finally souvenir shopping to get a few reminders of what we actually liked in Barcelona and then it was time to pack.  Holy hell Batman we did it.  If you have ever seen my father Tim pack the boot of a car for a family vacation then you would probably understand the state of our bags.  Ryan did an awesome job too, he has become a suitcase packing supremo! They are packed within an inch of their lives.  We had to spread the fridge magnets out as all of the bags were gravitating toward each other and sticking together (kidding)!

We managed to finally find some good food for dinner - our tummies haven't really taken well to the food here. But the food tonight made up for it.

Three alarms set for an 0500 wake up.

Day 23 - A Good Day To Do Nuffin!

Last night we ventured out to discover that they (the friendly bar staff) tend to pour drinks incredibly strong. Picture a highball glass 3/4 full of vodka, a little room for some giant icebergs/cubes with a splash of coke for colour. There were plenty of high kicks and grapevines on the dance floor!

So you can then understand why today is a lazy day. Well, yesterday was busy!

While lying in bed this morning the nearby church reminded us every 15 minutes of the time (from 6am). One bell at the 15 minute mark, extending to four bells on the fourth quarter, being on the hour. With a lovely complement of the OTHER bell indicating what hour it bloody was. Soooo at 10am there were 14 damn bells!

The hunchback nearly copped it, oh wrong country.. I think he was French.

Anyway, please enjoy our view...from Barceloneta. Handy one train stop from the hotel.

Flights are now all rebooked and we are now spending a night in Honkers on the way back so that the knacker-factor is limited. 

By the looks of the VA flight we would have been allocated a spot in the baggage hold. So Lufthansa and Cathay Pacific it is..... At this stage anyway! All projected typhoons seen to dancing around HK this time.

Anyway back to our beach nap - need to get the blood out of my alcohol stream. (yep there is internet on the beach).

Day 22 - Gaudi Day

After a bit of a sleep in we hit the road to check out the works of Gaudi.

He comes across as having an eccentric outlook with some of his work being inspired by dragon fights and flooding water. At times we were wondering what time the Oompa Loompa parades would start....yep that kooky!

Park Guell overlooking Barcelona was, at a time, the home of Gaudi. He was able to keep an eye on his various construction works from up the hill. You can see his church in the background.... with the crane hanging out of it.

We visited his house and learned a little more about this amazing man. Clyde was very impressed with all of this crazy looking stuff!

It was this part of Barcelona that won me over... It is ok to be a little left of centre!

Looking forward to coming back sometime. But we still have 2 more days to enjoy!

We also visited the Sagrada Familia...yep still unfinished. We have seen many churches on this vacation, but nothing like this....

The front door....

The back door...

The pictures don't really do it justice. There was also the Gaudi 4D experience which offered a really cool insight to this fellow and his inspiration. Looks like Clyde made a new friend...

It is a shame that there haven't been too many folks like him to brighten the world.

Fridge magnet..check!

Well, after a lot of walking today it is time for a siesta. The locals don't eat until 10pm so best to get the nap in now.

Tomorrow may be beach day... Aka recover slightly from a possible hangover!

We have also now commenced project managing the homeward journey. After checking loads it has been decided that the original plans via Middle Earth, I mean Middle East are not the best. Business class is not the be all and end all. We would rather go to an airport dressed and prepped for economy, without the bollocks and have a stress free ride. So the current plan is flag away our flight to London to connect and possibly fly Barcelona-Frankfurt-Hong Kong.

Get some rest there for a night and then directly into Brisbane. We hope the Lufthansa / Cathay staff travel gods are with us and that brewing typhoon  buggers off!

Will keep you posted!

Day 21 - Part 2, Hola Barcelona!!

We got in at the crack of dawn, actually before that!

We were able to drop our bags off early and get our bearings in this magic city.

We stumbled across a tribute to a NZ car aerial... A Maori Koh-tungha (coat hanger).

 

This is the first time that we have both been here and in many ways breathtaking! The people, the architecture and the general vibe is very unique. The cathedral was stunning, even though we are a little over the whole church / religion thing..

Some oddly named shops and hotels too...

After downing a Spanish Big Mac... Check... We had a siesta then ventured out. Dinner was a little average so we decided to retire early and make up for it the next day.

Tomorrow we plan to see the Gaudi architecture. This chap heavily contributed to the feel of the city and the buildings which look like gingerbread houses, and that church which is still being competed - Sagrada Familia.

Here are a few buildings that we have stumbled across...so far!

Day 21 - Good Bye Ruby....

All good things must come to an end, the cruise was terrific and a good way for both of us to push the stop button, to see some incredible sights and work on an enviable tan :). It was great to have someone else do the organising and driving (and cooking). Some of the best food we have ever tasted.

Clyde made a new friend named Leo. Leo was the nice chap in charge of looking after our cabin....and supply of bedtime chocolates. This supply seemed to increase following the issuance of a tip :) and he made sure Clyde was tucked in every night.

While Clyde waited to disembark we kept ourselves busy on deck...

It was tempting, but no... Bit more like this...

Disembarkation was very well organised and painless. Bags were left outside the cabin the night before and magically found on the dock in the morning.

Although sad to bid the Ruby farewell, it meant the next chapter of our adventure began. BARCELONA!

Princess Cruises were sensational. Absolutely no need to look elsewhere for the next cruise!! Nothing was a problem, and well worth the money spent.

Already planning the next one...seriously!

Day 20 - Cars, Cars and more Cars..It's Time To Go .... Monte Carlo! (Part 2)

We also saw some pretty posh metal! Car metal...

Peek-a-boo!

Ferrari seems to be like Holden here...

And not being a complete petrol head ourselves it was still rather incredible to see a McLaren showroom!

There is a long history of automotive happenings here, probably due to the money and also the Grand Prix.

We took some panoramic shots to try to explain things, this one if up atop the hill in "old" Monte Carlo near the palace.

Well it is time to set sail for our last stop in our adventure, Barcelona. Better hurry before the pirates get us!!

Off to pack! Spot you in Barcelona!

(Time to start workshopping the trip home...good old standby...Abu Dhabi may be an option (doubt it), Hong Kong might be the other... Will check for forecast storms!

Still got 4 days of fun left before all of that drama unfolds!