Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Friday, July 16, 2010

匿埋左一排

嬉水。。
又嬉山。。。


匿埋左一排,終於都回歸。
大家好嗎?

五月尾忙到人都癲。
主要是因為搬辦公室的關係,而且老闆放假去參加遊學團,所以分外添加壓力。
然後趁佛誕假期去了菲律賓度過一個長週末,潛水、遊船河、與老友聚舊(相片存在右手面Flickr的Album裡面)。。

回到香港已經是週一晚上。原來外祖母當日下午因身體不適入院。到半夜時情況突然急轉彎。淩晨三時接到call,趕到醫院,已經進入昏迷狀態。延至早上十一時她終於魂歸天國,享年八十九。

對於我的阿婆,其實認識不太深。從小有點怕她,首先是因為她的湖南話+普通話+廣東話令我根本摸不著頭腦,而且她一向是一個很強的老人家,中氣十足,鬧人大大聲。直至近年我仍然只可以聽得懂她大約六成的說話。曾經每個星期都會到荃灣吃晚飯、打麻雀;但近兩三年,表兄弟姐妹開始要照顧自己的家庭,每個星期到荃灣的家庭聚會已經漸漸成為往事。而且阿婆年紀實在很大,親戚開始沒興趣跟她打牌,因為打得太慢。。。

我阿媽趕回香港幫助辦理身後事;而我亦從她的口中再次認識阿婆。原來當年祖國內戰的時候,我阿公隨著他另外一頭家來到香港,而我阿婆自己帶著我的大舅父及兩個姨媽,從湖南一路走難到香港。一個女人戴著3個兒女逃離戰火走難,雖然不是很久以前的事,但聽落好像天方夜譚。我們會不會以為我們穩定的生活是當然的?莫講80後,我們45歲以下的真的沒有受過什麼苦。

阿婆是我與歷史的一度橋,但我一直沒有聽她講過什麼歷史。一來我沒有問,但是可能她亦沒有什麼想講的。最近兩年的她真的老了,行動不便、吃東西也要下一番功夫。聽不到、看又朦。多個鄰居亦相繼去了,一天一天就丟在單位裏面。聽起來也覺淒涼。希望她現在已經去了更好的地方,不用再為兒女操心,安安樂樂地與舊鄰居打她的麻雀。
________

搬完office,工作暫時輕鬆了一點。也滿意新辦公室的環境。向外望見到沙田市中心、望夫石、獅子山及筆架山的北坡。踏入夏天,見到藍藍的天空,一片片白雲飄過,有點懶洋洋的感覺。

六月下旬帶老爸到日本去了 (相片存在右手面Flickr的Album裡面)。八日的行程由名古屋進出,去了高山(Takayama)、白川鄉(Shirakawa-go)、富山(Toyama)、金沢(Kanazawa)、立山黑部(Tetayama-Kurobe)及松本(Matsumoto),等於在本州中部兜了一個圈。搭了很多local/JR火車、地鐵,登山的纜車、吊車、巴士。吃了很多當地名物:鰻魚飯炸豬排炸雞翼飛騨牛懐石料理(1), (2), (3)。我想這次旅程的食住都算是近年來的「代表作」!

特別喜歡的是高山松本。兩個城市都有保留江戶時代的特色街道。日本在保育及城市更新的工作做得很好,而且把這些富濃厚特色的旅遊資源提供一流的配套,包裝得特別好。除了遇到與我們一樣來自香港的自由行遊客外,也有很多日本和西方遊客。雖然現在是旅遊淡季,但兩個小城的可愛,充滿市內的橫街窄巷。據聞高山木匠的工藝水準為全國之冠。當年京都市內很多寺廟古宅都是出自高山木匠手裡。以前在三藩市的屋子裡,也充滿這些木制的東洋風傢俱。一塊塊大大的原塊木頭桌面、木制衣櫃(Tansu),現在為我帶來不少回憶。在高山的社區裏,我們在擁有過兩百年歷史的古宅裏賞用傳統的懐石料理,必定是這個旅程的highlight之一。

上立山黑部的旅程大部分是參考網友Wordy的游蹤。旅程比較另類但很有趣。上山的一天天氣很冷而且吹著很大的風。氣溫由山下的二十七八度降到山上的七八度低溫。上山的途中遇到一大班由沖繩來的初中學生。負責帶領的男教師沿途與我們用英語交談。原來他們的旅行只有五天,東京、名古屋、立山黑部全部都去,行程非常緊湊。他亦對我們到立山黑部觀光表現好奇。

其實自08年跟老爸去台灣及北京之後至今才再一起去旅行。8天的行程,朝見口晚見面,幸好沒有什麼爭執。不過我想8天應該是一個極限。上兩次都只是五六天的旅行。而今次亦發覺他真的老了不少,亦發覺原來我去旅行是喜歡走很多的路。所以老爸跟我去旅行實在有點兒辛苦了他。

七月都過了一半。世界盃過後,放暑假的感覺也蔓延到office裏面。今年上半年都留在亞洲內,本來北美之旅未能實現;唯有留到十月吧。。。

Monday, April 20, 2009

Thursday, April 09, 2009

火山爆發



遇上火山爆發咪大鑊




Thursday, July 10, 2008

北京之夏

Will there be birds at the "Bird Nest"


People at 798?

Will people visit Jian Wai Soho?

Or take a stroll along the old Hutongs?

Monday, July 07, 2008

Signs of our times


(Note: The taller building in the background to the left is the Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai. Further away on the right is Hang Lung's Plaza 66 on Nanjing Lu West. This prime site being cleared is on Shimen Yi Lu)




(Note: URA H15 Project - Lee Tung Street/McGregor Street has completed site clearance and is ready for Tender)

高高高

(Note: The Centre in the background, towering above URA H18 Project at Peel Street/Graham Street, is actually a “省招牌” URA project completed in the late 1990s.)


(Note: a 3rd and the tallest skyscraper, code named "Shanghai Centre" will start construction next year, with target completion in 2012. From this viewing angle, the new building, which is supposed to look like a "twisting dragon" designed by architecture firm Gensler, will be to the right of the building being constructed (Sun Hung Kai's Shanghai ifc) and in front of Shanghai World Finance Centre. "Shanghai Centre" will probably be about 100m taller than the SWFC)

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

New and exciting vacations!!!

After planning for a couple of months, my summer travel plans are coming together piece by piece...
Most importantly, I finally got approval from work, so now everything is set to go. *YEAH*
Well, there will be two trips this summer, both rather big ones... because they involve places I have never visited... And as I have planned last year, this summer's return to Italy will mark the 10th Anniversary my first and only visit to Italy (gosh... how time flies), a country with so much history, such beautiful architecture, and MANY things good-looking. Would be so much fun to dig out the journal I kept (the only journal I've kept, EVER) and visit the same places again.
Last time I went there all alone, made a couple of friends along the way, and was semi-adventurous. I had just graduated from college, and was living a dream. Now, 10 years on, am I any wiser or smarter? Will I see these things any differently than before?
Well, at least 10 years on, those famous sites will still be there, as they were then. They never seem to change much over such little time, do they? Staying beautiful, magnificent to look at, still loved by visitors the world over. What if the same happens to us?