Mid-Kau-Nga-Leng 中狗牙嶺

Had been worrying if the weather would allow us to go .... Everything seemed not so favourable. Rain, cold wind and fog were common for days before this day. The 'leader' told me that we could keep going as long as there's nothing heavier than drizzles. Unlike last time when we ventured the West-Kau-Nga, it was overcast the whole day long. Lantau Peak was kept hidden under a layer of rolling fog. I'd been wondering if we could see anything once up there.
We took the Shek Pik Country Trail till we met the junction. This junction branched off much earlier than the one to the west ridge. Unlike the west one, the first part of the middle ridge was gentle and had much more vegetation and shades. We didn't have to do any climbing until we're almost up to the Narrow Escape [一線生機] - a large gap between two crags. Only one of the crags was jagged, the one on the west was not as steep. By then, was a rarely seen clear day, the view of those Mainland islands [ 萬山群島] at the horizon was the best proofs. Right in front of us was the Shui Hau Peninsula [水口半島], Tong Fuk Miu Wan [塘褔廟灣] was on its east shore. It has a large mudflat of which I'd love to visit one day. On both sides of the middle ridge, the bottom of ravines were covered with thick vegetation. The east ridge can only be reached from the catchwater by a stream, thus making it the most unfrequented one among the three ridges of the Kau Nga Leng.
The wind got higher and higher as time went by. Before long, it was as if the strong wind signal was hoisted. In such a condition, it was rather awkward to move uphill against the forceful wind. Even though the wind came from the side, I found it hard to walk with a straight back, nor to steady my stance. Still, the wind helped keeping me cool. The temperature up there should be below 5^oC, nevertheless, I found it alright to have only a T-shirt over a long-sleeve one for most of the time. No hat was needed at all. It was only when the wind got too chilly, then I had to put on a thin windbreaker for a short while. A mask also helped my allergic nose from becoming runny. Yet, the breathing vapour soon blurred my glasses. So you see, summer would be as hot as hell to me. It didn't take us long to reach the Lantau Trail near the summit. No more than two hours were spent for this uphill leg, much less than expected. If not for the strong wind that had made me clung close to the King of Hades Cliff [閰王壁], I could move up even faster. By then, the fog looked as if it was running away from me. It seemed that the fog only enjoyed sticking to Lantau Peak. Soon, we're descending the Jacob's Ladder, its upper part was slippery with traces of dampness on the steps.
Without having a long break, we headed for the donkey shed. The donkeys were having a good time listening to the radio. This time, it was not the western music. Instead, they had been localised and got the interest in horse-racing programs. I tried to greet Oscar who's on the nearest left, he ignored me by retreating into his shed. But when I turned to Larry who's on his opposite, Larry retreated while Oscar stuck his head out. Had they swapped places or were they thinking that I was calling them to work? We moved on downhill via a new path, it was muddy and slippery due to days of pouring rain. Before us lay the magnificient panoramic view of the airport and Tung Chung Bay, we enjoyed it for some time before descending for downtown.

Razor Hill ... Shek Nga Shan 鷓鴣山...石芽山

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The day was chilly, overcast and had intermittent drizzles. Yet, to me, the first two conditions made it a wonderful day for hiking. Besides, the hiking group I joined met my preferences very much since they departed sharply on time, had no smokers, and have no break of more than half an hour [on a later trip with them, it was found that not all of their leaders banned smoking, what a pity!]. We started going up Yau Yu Wan [魷魚灣] Traditional Trail at Razor Hill. As one could realise form its name, the slopes of this hill was steep. Its ridge rose upwards gradually with several small peaks. Disappointingly, the haze and drizzles made it almost impossible to view the scenery properly. At the trigonometrical pole, I only had a short break for photo-taking, then we had to rush in order not to become frozen up there. The descend was somewhat slippery at certain spots, though the one done later at Shek Nga Shan [石芽山] was all the more slippery.
Crossing Clear Water Bay Road, we took a lane between Pik Uk Prison and a village, bounding for Hebe Hill [尖風山]. At Lower Hebe Hill [葵拗山], a hidden path led us pass beside Hebe Knoll, then down to Nam Pin Wai [南邊圍]. This part of the leg covered mostly indistinct paths in the forest. From Nam Pin Wai onwards, we took the vehicle track to Kai Ham [界咸], passing by a golf course. The path leading uphill to the ruin of Tai No [大腦] Village was hidden behind a boarded up small construction site. The stone steps led us to the side of an almost dried up waterfall of Wong Chung [黃涌石澗]. After a break outside a clan house, we headed for the Maclehose Trail via Sheung Yeung [上 洋]. The path cut through a thick bamboo wood, out of this wood, a maze of trails in the sea of sedges lie before our eyes. Such a maze did look like a brain [Tai No]. Spectacular views came into sight ever since we ascended West Buffalo Hill [黃牛山]. Sharp peaks of Buffalo Hill [水牛山] and Shek Nga Shan seemed to compete with that of Ma On Shan. At Ngau Au [牛坳], we turned south-west for Fa Sum Hang [花心坑] where Kwong Yuen [廣 源] Estate was within hearing distance.

Ho Hok to Tai Lam 蠔殼山>掌牛山>四排石山至大欖

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從兩個可能路口中選了較近的一個，那即是從油站旁路口進入。可是地圖上部份路被封了，後來得村民指點才得以越閘上蠔殼山。但仍沒有山路，只有一片剛從山火中復原的雜草地。山頭上有著十分遼闊的景觀，只是霧還沒全散去，一些較高的山頭，譬如雞公嶺就蓋了一頂小白帽。由於四周大部份是本地少有的平原區，十八鄉，元朗市中心，錦田及八鄉等，全都盡入眼簾。今天本來是約好了去薄刀屻的，但天氣預告說有霧又有微雨，惟有改地方，結果卻十分好陽光又熱！加上初時的兩山不屬於郊野公園，植物不高又少，更覺炎熱。不知是否只有元朗區好天氣呢？
下一個山丘便是掌牛山，這山比前一個高一點，接著的四排石山則再高些。從掌牛山開始便有不少大小沖蝕溝，跟青山大冷水的差不多。而大欖郊遊徑自四排石山起始，很多石級面已被侵蝕，令得那直豎著的石屎板有機會絆倒下山的人。郊遊徑接麥徑的永吉橋段，繼後我們訪伯公凹的其中兩間小廟宇。後應要求改下麥徑十段走塘畔迂迴小徑出掃管笏，並加遊黃金海岸。在水塘範圍的車路上，不時有私家車風馳電掣的經過，彎也沒先響號，對行人做成很大危險。那不是限制道路嗎？以前已常聽到有遊人不滿，我也在吉慶橋那兒見過不少私家車經過，活像無王管。其實這次我有遇過漁護處巡邏，可是那時還未碰上私家車。

Hung Shek Mun 紅石門

　Sunny w/smog　BF1　 18 ^oC　photos 相簿
The bus was detained at the roadblock for more than a quarter of an hour at Tai Mei Tuk due to a marathorn race. Hence, a train of vehicles were held up with engines on, polluting the air all the more. We hurried on from Bride's Pool to an indistinct path [GPS GR reading: KK189911] branching off from Miu Sam Ancient Path [苗三古道 ]. From that junction onwards, we scurried through a bewildering mix of paths in the forest of Ma Niu Shui [馬 尿水] area. The end of the path led to a cliff, a nameless creek lied below. The creek had already dried up, making it easier for us to clamber among the boulders. Its estuary situated near the dead end of Pak Hoi Tuk [ 北海篤]. The secluded shore was covered with remarkably pink sandstone, with weird weathering features. It was ebb tide when we moved along the coast to the next cove - Tai Shui Wu [大水湖]. Taking the path again from its east end, we reached Hung Shek Mun village not long after descending a path from the junction at KK215909. A weir blocked much of the water from the sea. Further inland lied another pond. The kind of rock at this part of coastline was not as pink as those at Pak Hoi Tuk, yet it was much easier to reach this ruined village from the main path. On the other side of the strait was Double Island where the OBA was located. A small reservoir was found en route halfway uphill. Perhaps the eastern wind and the sunshine had worked the wonder, the haze was not as thick as expected. Visitors could enjoy a splendid panoramic vista of the rolling hills and numerous islets in the vicinity of Double Haven.
Ascending towards Hung Shek Mun Au, we joined the main path from then on. It was shocking to find that the haze was almost as thick as a shroud of mist over the Plover Cove Reservoir. Without proceeding on to Chek Ma Tau [ 赤馬頭], we descended Tai Tung [大峒] for Ha Miu Tin [下苗田].

Ching Tai Stream : Tai Shui Hang & Tai Lang Stream 青大石澗：大水坑及大冷溪

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隨隊從下 白泥穿過果園及漁塘，於堆填區閘口旁經廢村入澗，那一帶充滿荔枝椿臭味。這次水位比去冬高了不少，植物也茂盛多了。因 酷熱關係，我多涉水降溫。臥龍潭大休地獨欠樹蔭，水則不太深，面積又寬廣，大伙人也不會擠。下午與其中數人沿大冷溪上 溯。此段出奇地多姿采，計有全程最清幽碧綠的小潭，也有因前幾天下了不少雨而造成的流瀑和氣勢。上次在花香爐山腳見到 的棕色水也沒有了，換成一泓清水。至花香爐山下，轉東上山脊走去冬走過的路，途經大量溝壑及一片焦林下五渡水，繼而沿 澗左上山。抵坳後，我與其餘友人分手，跟一友人上青山頂。經訊號站，從亭旁石切小徑下山。今天不單止萬里無雲，灰霾也 沒有。青山腹地一帶視野廣闊，站在山脊甚至可清楚看見大陸的城市，可惜城市景不會迷人。抵539米時夕陽剛天際小島落下。 步下屯門市時而可看到屯門一帶的夜景。接馬路前一段為石級，馬路旁房屋多狗。途中遇警車巡邏。

North Island, New Zealand, spring 2004

Taking the opportunity of being in NZ - the Middle Earth - for a fortnight, I had spent some days of pasttime visiting a few wonderful places in the North Island. My "base camp" was at Henderson in Auckland. It was about an hour's bus ride from downtown; however, the bus was rather infrequent. One night on my walk back home, the idea of star-gazing suddenly came into my mind. Looking up, I was stunned by the 'Orion' just above my head. The 'hunter' was of enormous size, appearing to be very close, so close that it looked as if it was 'within shooting distance' to me. The three stars of 'his' belt could be clearly seen with my poor eye-sight. What's more was that, I could make out two of the stars in M42 too! SW of the Orion, there were a set of six stars which seemed familiar to me. I wondered which constellation they belonged to. Some days afterwards, I was shocked to find out from the postcard that those were the Southern Cross and the Pointers. They looked much smaller when I saw them at the Outback in Australia. Even the Orion was much bigger in NZ than in HK. Not sure of the reason why. It was a pity that during my stay, most of the nights were cloudy ones. Worse still was the fact of light pollution in the residential areas. Unexpectedly, I found that there was a native plant with the name same as mind. The most common species had bunches of tiny purple flowers. The NZ dollars was strong comparing to HKD during my visit. Although some of the expenses during my stay at Henderson were sponsored, the sightseeing trips elsewhere were not. I had to be very careful in spending every dollar. The bus/rail pass was not a best buy, especially when I did not travel a lot. It was not as practical as the JR pass or the Europass. Yet, I had to travel between places on a certain public transport. In the end, after lots of comparison, I had chosen to travel with different bus companies for each of them might offer a bit more price cut for various routes.
The trip ...
The overnight flight from HK to Auckland was 11 hrs long. I had some worries because of the phobia caused by the Russian flight taken some years ago. The movies were not that interesting, except the "Making of Lord of the Rings". For the next few days, I stayed at Henderson and took a lift downtown once.
Day 4 - Initially, I planned to visit Rangitoto volcano off the east coast of Auckland. However, time was limited, and I just got enough time to take the ferry to Devonport where I walked up Mt. Victoria and along Cheltenham beach under very unsteady weather. Both of these places overlooked Rangitoto across the strait. I was going to go up North Head when I found that it was already time to take the ferry back to Ferry Building at Quay Street. From that spot, I followed the map to the rendezvous near Auckland Domain where I took a lift to Lloyd Elsmore Park for the orienteering event held there. It was the first time I took part in an overseas event. Fortunately, it was a promotion one, which meant that it was mainly aimed for novices. The park was situated within a residential area, competitors had to go through park area and among lanes and roads of residences. The couse I chose was 6-7 km, with two maps of different scales. I did the course without a compass and wore a pair of fancy canvas shoes. They were alright for running on grass. All in all, I was exhausted by the end of the day.
Day 5 - Took a break in the afternoon and was given a lift to Muriwai, a place facing the windy open ocean west of Auckland. Beaches with black sand stretched endlessly along the rugged coastline of precipices. The sun was shining above us, yet, the shore seemed to be veiled by the haze all the time. We were there to see the gannets, a kind of white migrating seabird with yellow head and black "eye-shadow". Their habitats were on top of sheer sea cliffs.
Day 6 - There were only a few passengers on the [Guthrey] mini-bus to Rotorua on that rainy day. The whole morning was spent on the bus, with a single stop at Hamilton. The screening spot [Matamata] of the Hobbit Holes was located nearby. It was still raining upon the arrival at Rotorua station. Much time was spent at the information centre arranging the bus trips for the coming days, besides selecting the favoured activities for the next day. While strolling in the shopping area, I came across another visitor centre. There I got a map with guides of the boardwalk along the lakefront. Some of the places by the lake were steaming spas with lots of thermal outlets and calcified soil. Back at the YHA, I enjoyed the outdoor thermal pool in the evening under daylight.
Day 7 - Early in the morning, staff from the kayak store came to pick me up to their place. Since I was the only customer for the kayak trip (NZ$80 0830-1630) on that day, I could enjoy the freedom of kayaking at my own speed to anywhere I would like to go to. We departed from a jetty by the riverside near their store. The estuary meandered among reedy areas, entering Lake Rotoiti which led to another lake further east. Unlike the day before, it was a fine day. The untanned part on my right wrist, shaded by the watch stayed for weeks afterwards. The lake was tranquil and placid, with little traffic. Contrasting Lake Rotorua, Lake Rotoiti could only be visited thoroughly by vessels. The latter had no boardwalks nor roads along its shore. Fresh green weeds waved leisurely under sparkling water as clear as crystal. The guide led me to places with thermal outlets on sandy beaches and those submerged in shallow water by the shores. We had a break and enjoyed some relaxing moments at an outdoor lakeside thermal spa. We had lunch at a cove with a small yacht moored not far away. The yacht's master read her book leisurely in the shade. The wind intensified some time after lunch. Fortunately, rudders were installed on our voyage kayak, yet, I was not used to handling rudders. Being all in after a day's trip, I still had to walk a long way to and fro the supermarket for food. Incidentally, I found milk and bread the only cheaper things than in HK. The "miracle" happened to me again aboard, and I was able to drink lots of milk, while the same thing caused quite serious allergic symptoms back in HK. The same "miracle" had happened before while I was aboard, e.g. in USA. Reason yet unknown to me.
Day 8 - The Taiwanese girl I made friend with at the YHA, accompanied me to the bus station and saw me off. It was a 2-3 hrs [Intercity] bus trip to Waitamo caves, with a drop-off for lunch. The guided-tour at the glow-worm cave lasted 1-2 hrs only, including a walk in the limestone caverns and a boat-ride with thousands of glow-worm threads hanging above our heads. The ride back to Auckland took several hours, arriving at Quay Street late afternoon. Just like the other trips in sunny days, sceneries of green landscapes were inexplicably fascinating. At the bus stop opposite Britomart [train station], I waited for the bus back to Henderson. It was past nine at night, when I finally got off the bus at a stop about 2 km away from my "base camp".
Day 9 - Got up early for the lift to Potluck at Woodhill Forest. It was a promotional orienteering event held at a pine tree plantation on sand dunes. I only learnt about this fact after the event. However, I had this doubt when I noticed the grey sandy footpaths. Just as before, after purchasing the maps and renting the compass and electronic stick, I did the self-start some metres away in the forest. The landscape was undulating with few features to use as references. Simply speaking, everywhere looked the same to me, with hundreds of tall trees all around, the visibility was limited. Going up a slope for a point up on a knoll, I had a panoramic view of the sea of pine forest on one side and the rough open sea striking the sandy beaches on the other side. I was stuck by the stunning view, almost forgetting to move on. That afternoon passed slowly with me dozing off on the Norhtliner bus to Paihia. The reception of the YHA was already closed upon my arrival.
Day 10 - Woke up early in the morning to reserve seats for boat trip for the day, plus another trip for the day after. The yacht of 7-8 m departed from the wharf 10 minutes away from YHA. There were about 18 passengers in addition to the skipper couple. Snack and lunch were included in the charge. The weather was fine at departure, soon clouds moved in and showers followed. We had both the mainsail and jib hoisted, sailing with the wind of around BF4. We moored at a wind-shielded cove for a bush walk on an isle. It was the first time I walked bare-footed for so long. The feel of walking on soft grasses was unforgettable. On the contrary, it would be unwise to have such practice at a place with litters everywhere. Actually, it wasn't a rare scene seeing locals walking with bare-foot on the streets of towns in NZ. Before lunch, some of us put on the wet suits for a brief snorkeling in the bay. There were quite some urchins but no corals. After lunch, the skipper decided to sail back home with only the jib. We alight at exactly 4.30 pm as scheduled. Again, I did some shopping at the supermarket and bought a set of Lord of the Rings stamps at the post office. That evening, I did some stargazing outside the hostel and at the beach. It was hard to find a place with little lights around. Same as that very night at Henderson, I was only able to tell the Orion and Southern Cross apart from the other constellations.
Day 11 - That morning, I woke up at daybreak to prepare breakfast and lunch pack, for the tour departed at 7.30. Our first stop was at the Kauri forest to have a boardwalk around this kind of giant trees. That part of the forest was under conservation, the Kauri had been under exploitation for years for its timber. The next stop was at Cape Reinga, some kilometers south of the northern-most spot of NZ. As you will see somewhere around the estuary of Pearl River near Macau, you are also able to see the meeting of two oceans with different colors in front of you. Just like the rest of the west coast, high wind kept blowing in from the west, making that side of shoreline rough but spectacular.
Then came the most exciting part of the trip - sand-surfing at '90 Mile Beach'. The coach bus ran downstream along a stream with huge sand dunes on one side of it. We carried the boards provided uphill for a dive downslope towards the sand-bed stream. The dunes were as high as hills, I felt like in the Mongolian desert again. Unlike that time, I made full use of the opportunity to take pictures and to walk freely along the sand ridges. Needless to say, I tested my courage by doing sand-surfing twice. The first time was smooth, I was able to control the speed and direction, without landing down at the stream or on the other side of it. My courage soared after the first try, so I let myself go faster this second time. There was a narrow landing some distances away from the stream. No sooner than I stood up, did I realise that the speed was still fast enough to throw me off the board sideways. Fortunately, with the experience of windsurfing, I knew that it would be safer to curl up and let myself roll on to reduce speed. It took several rolls till I was able to stand up again. Where was the board? It was found lying some metres away downwind. Both the board and I were unscathed, thank God! That's what I thought at that time, yet, I got allergy in the eyes because of the sand. It took me more than a week to recover. The bus dashed along the Beach for almost an hour, with the Hole in the Rock out at sea in the waves. In between sightseeing spots, we had some refreshment stops for food and drinks at our own costs. This trip was the best bargain, costing about NZ$75 for 12 hours of fun.
Day 12 - This was the last day at Paihia before returning to Henderson. I went on foot along the waterfront towards the start of the bush walk to Haruru Falls. The early part of the walk was through a forest with little open view. Only the paths at the two ends were paved. Whilst the part through the mangrove area had boards. The middle section of the route had the most attractive sceneries, with the stream flowing serenely across mudflats of mangroves on its banks. There were no other hikers, except at the area around the Falls. If you did the kayak trip, the guide would bring you upstream to this falls. Leaving the falls behind, I walked back downtown along a road without any sidewalk. To my great surprise, litters of bottles and packets were found on most part of the route. I wondered if those were left by the drivers or tourists.
At the end of that road, I went shopping at the supermarket for food to be prepared back at the hostel before taking the bus in the afternoon. I cooked a mud crab in the casserole, without spices, the crab didn't taste as good as I expected.
Day 13 - Before dawn, I got up and had myself ready for the flight back to HK.
Just like its currency, the sunrays were strong in NZ. With its high level of UV, people got tanned easily. I could feel a big difference in temperature under the sun and that in the shade.
In general, the Kiwis [NZ people] were friendly and easy-going. NZ was also the place where I came across the least smokers and litters! Excellent!
I longed to return soon for a visit of the South Island.
Written on 11 Mar 04　Revised on 24/12/04
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SLOVENIA+CZECH+POLAND+HUNGARY

SLOVENIA Ljubljana Slovenia, formerly belonged to Yugoslavia, is now an independent country with Ljubljana being its capital. Cost of living was higher than expected there. The landscape en route to Ljubljana was quite scenic, but the facilities were poorer than those in Austria. Lake Bled has the most scenic landscape in Slovenia but we hadn't gone there because of time constraint and limited information. The train we took actually headed for Croatia, though we got off before that. A girl at the hostel in Hungary told me that she had just been to Croatia, and it's safe to go. Still, I didn't have much travel information about it. Due to misunderstanding of the instructions from the tourist officer, we walked in the opposite direction, thinking that we're heading to the hotel. Though we realised the mistake and turned back at once, I was exhausted pulling the broken luggage along under the heat. Going along the riverside near our hotel after checking-in, we reached a shopping area where I was curious enough to check a rather old-fashioned department store. As a matter of fact, most of the other shops in the area were selling merchandise of American brand names which were less expensive than in HK. Yet, I couldn't tell if they're genuine. The children whom we asked the way to a castle on the hill actually took us there. The walk took us about 20 minutes. There's a small architecture museum besides the castle itself. The next day, we travelled back to Vienna, spending the afternoon shopping separately. I was looking for a replacement of my trolley luggage at the shopping area just a few blocks away from the hostel where I stayed. When this was done, I went back to St Stephansdom shopping at leisure. Frankly speaking, the prices of Austrian crystals sold in their home country were almost the same as in HK. CZECH Prague/Praha After getting off the bus, we walked uphill to Prazsky Hrad --- a castle on the hill overlooking the city. Inside, there're several cathedrals and a famous clock tower. Zlata ulicka was a lane within the castle walls. There used to be many goldsmith shops which are now replaced by souvenir shops having their bright-coloured facades. Over the Vltava River lied the Karluv most [bridge], it was full of hawkers selling souvenirs, e.g. hairpins, fridge-mags, paintings ... etc. On one side of the bridge, most of the shops sold crystals which looked more like plastic products than glass ones. On the other side of the bridge, there's also a shopping area where I lingered at a shop selling wooden toys with a wide variety of choices. It was Mid-Autumn festival, the moon was full and bright that night, still, we got lost and had to spend sometime in finding our way back. After a canned-food dinner, I chatted with the receptionist who was a nice old lady, and a Japanese guest [Hi, Yuji!] at its small lobby. Marianske Lazke Passengers crowded near the entrance of the railway station, waiting for the bus in the heavy rain. Spring water from taps were offered free of charge at the Lazenska Colonnade [arcade] next to a park. Tourists might either use their own cups or purchase from the counters. Waffles made of spring water were the most popular souvenirs at both Marianske Lazke and Karlovy Vary. Shops were few, and most of them sold crystal and glassware. I had a glass of mousse as dessert at a local restaurant for I enjoyed trying various local food while travelling. Karlovy Vary The rain had reduced to drizzles that day. There were more spring water taps at the arcades than at Marianske Lazke. By the way, if your bowels are sensitive, then don't drink too much spring water. On the other side of the river, were some colourful terraced houses. Opposite the post office, there's a fast food shop at the corner. Its roasted chickens were of bargain price. Of course, we had tried them before making this recommendation to you. POLAND Warsaw On the night train to Warsaw, we met an Asian boy travelling with his father to study in Poland. They were nearly driven out by the Polish customs officers since they could not provide enough supporting documents initially. On the morning of the arrival, we'd spent several hours looking for the Slovakian consulate and obtaining the transit visa. Only an old lady was in charge who's often on the phone rather than issuing visas. Again, the hostel was on the 6th floor! We had to carry our luggage all the way upstairs. Outside the railway station, we had lunch at a local food stall to find that it was not that inexpensive at all. The Palac Kultury I Nauki [Cultural Palace] was in our view, it was an old tall building in Russian style. At the other end of the Krakowskie Przedmiescie [the King's road] was Stare Miasto [old town]. It was not that old for it'd been rebuilt after WWII. The mermaid statue which used to stand on the city wall was now at a skywell, being guarded against further damage by rascals. There at Stare Miasto, I was much delighted to discover that the American pizzas were not only inexpensive but crispy. A slice of pizza plus a soft drinks cost about HKD12! Wow! We enjoyed our food in the sun outside the restaurant. After watching the duty-shift procedure at P. Grob Nieznanego Zolnierza [Anonymous Heroes Monument] at Plaz Zwyciestwa Park, we went to Lazienkowski Park by bus. The rays of the setting sun fell on the Chopin statue at the entrance of the Park. We strolled leisurely inside this large park before heading back to the main streets blocks and blocks away from there. We found another outlet of the same pizza restaurant at a shopping area downtown. No need to say, we had a set meal again to save time looking for other choices. Cracow/Kracow The morning train to Krakow took about 2 hr. As we're told by the staff at Warsaw station that we didn't need to do any seat reservation, we just boarded the train with our rail pass. However, we're fined by the ticket conductor. A passenger told us that no matter what, seats on all inland trains needed reservations. At Krakow Glowny Station, we couldn't find any lockers that were large enough for our luggage, therefore, we had to trust them with the baggage counter. Outside the station, there's a bus terminus where we took the bus to Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka [Wieliczka salt mine] --- the largest salt mine in the world. It's only a 15-20 minutes' walk from the bus stop at Wieliczka. We'd joined the tour to go down a shaft leading to various chambers of the mine. Inside those chambers were statues and shrines, having stories for each of them. Throughout the years, most of the sculptures had been darkened. Anyhow, we had joined a Polish-speaking guide, so we could only guess what's happening all the time. The last chamber was a large hall with a large chandelier. On the walls were pictures of stories from the Bible. All these masterpieces were carved by three mine workers, using salt as material. Every hour at Rynek Glowny [old town square], a trumpeter would play a short piece of melody from the spire of Kosciol Mariacki Church. The tune stopped all of a sudden as it was years ago when a faithful trumpeter was shot dead by the Mongolian invader. The Sukiennice Cloth Hall was a 2-storey building at the same Square. Gems, wooden handicrafts and so on could be found inside. As I had spent much time being at the cathedral uphill, and had pizza for dinner at a local restaurant, shops were closing when I reached the Cloth Hall. HUNGARY Budapest On the night train to Budapest, we were woken up 7 times! Five of which by customs officers from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. The other times were by the ticket conductors. I was wise enough not to reserve the couchettes even for a long ride of more than 10 hours, for it would be awkward to get up again and again from the bunk beds having our passports inspected. Near the end of the voyage, the youth hostel staff boarded the train offering room reservation services to passengers. Once the passengers agreed to stay at their hostel, a car would pick them up outside the station. As the hostel had a metro exit nearby, I bought a one-day ticket for travelling around the city that very day. Halaszbastya [Fishermen's Fortress] was on a hill at Buda area, i.e., at the other side of the harbour. In order to have a panoramic view of the city, one had to pay a certain sum for going up to the roof of the arcade. Not far from the Fortress was Matyastemplom cathedral. Its roof and the mosaic inside were both made of colourful tiles from crafted hands. A museum and the National Library were close to the funicular station. Back at Pest, I spent my time doing some window-shopping before having pizzas for dinner again. As usual, I had also an ice-cream cone just as I did in most of the countries I'd been to in those days. An incident happened at the railway station that afternoon. A landlady came up to me trying to persuade me into staying at her pension for the following days. She presented to me a sheet with praises of the pension in different languages. She even said that the one I was staying at had lots of thefts. Actually, I didn't find the hostel I was staying at that dangerous as she said. After the day at Balatonfured, I went to Hosok Tere [Hero's Square] on foot. Behind one of the columns of arches was the Vajdahunyad castle. It's a small castle with a pond and a peaceful atmosphere. Before going back to the shopping area for a Hungarian lunch, I walked across the Chain Bridge towards Buda but was drawn back by the serious air pollution to move further on. Back at the shopping area, I ordered Gulyas, Hungarian beef soup at a nice restaurant. Usually I didn't eat beef for fear of allergy and so forth. I took the risk only because it's one of the most famous food in Hungary. By the way, the waiters there were not only nice but were also handsome! So, of course, the soup tasted much better. Balatonfured It's only a lakeside resort area with some chapels, sanatoriums and villas within walking distance. Each way took 3 hours by train, so if you're having a tight schedule, just skip this place. Szentendre It was a suburban historical town with River Danube running through it. Years ago, some Yugoslavians fled to this place and settled down afterwards. There's no signs at the railway station to show the way to the historical part of the town . While in fact, one had to go through a tunnel and then went on along a street lined with shops. I bought a fruit tart at one of the shops there, only to find that it was a bit too sweet. Most souvenir shops and cafes were located around the Foter Square. Further away uphill was a church overlooking the whole area. At 6pm, shops were closing. I was just in time to have a nice local set meal at a restaurant for just HKD20-30. The return flight The next day, I took the air bus from a stop at a hotel near Ersebet Street. Just as before, the plane arrived at Moscow earlier than scheduled. Yet, the flight to HK departed on schedule. Hence, we had to wait for more than 6 hours at the restricted area. I had no idea at all that passengers like us could get complimentary meal coupons from the airline. When I found it out in the end, the counter was temporarily closed. As soon as it was re-opened, there was a chaos. I reached the counter after some struggles, only to be rejected by the staff saying that the time for my flight was near. The long hours of flight became more of a stress to me with the seatbelt light was being on throughout the trip. revised on 9 Aug 01 Any parts of the diary must be used with permission from the webmaster.