Thursday 19 October – Homeward bound from Honkers.

We went for a final walk around our part of Hong Kong this morning, visiting the Bird Garden and Bird Market.  The garden is where the locals parade their birds – in cages – for exercise (the owners, not the birds) and to display them.  Birds of all shapes, sizes and colours can also be bought and sold at the market. We noticed a sign at the entrance to the male toilet in the park that suggests that China is ahead of Australia on the gender equality scale!

Then on to the nearby Flower Market where beautiful blooms, as well as shrubs and herbs, are sold. Elizabeth was in heaven!  A bit further on, after a walk through yet another street market, we came to the Goldfish market, where many shops deal in tropical fish.  We saw hundreds of small fish, in individual small water-filled bags, hanging from the shop walls.  It was getting close to lunch-time, so we headed in the direction of our hotel, passing a bridal couple, then stopped for a noodle lunch in a very busy, noisy restaurant.  Back to our room to finish packing, and now the wait until this evening when we head to the airport for our 9.30pm flight.

So that’s it.  It’s been a wonderful holiday (despite the bumpy start).  We have seen some beautiful and fascinating places, stayed in some great places, learned some more of our history and, all in all, had a great time.  So - over and out.

Wednesday 18 October – Stepping out to Stanley.

We set off after breakfast by MRT and bus to the famous Stanley Markets, passing the Happy Valley horse-racing track and sparkling Repulse Bay.  We wandered through the markets, a little disappointed that they have been “sanitised”; all the stalls are now in permanent shops, undercover, and without the haphazard mayhem that was so exciting when we first visited here almost thirty years ago.  We weren’t harassed by the stallholders, in fact they seemed almost indifferent to our presence.  Even the toilets have seats that you can sit on!  We lunched overlooking the bay and then caught the bus back to Central (on Hong Kong Island) and walked to the pier, where we boarded the Star Ferry for the trip across the harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui, then strolled up Nathan Road, occasionally darting down some side-alley to explore a market stall or two and stopping for refreshments at a little café that served up whatever you wanted, provided it included mango.  We then succumbed to our aching legs and hopped the MRT for the ride to Mong Kok, which brought us out just near the Ladies Market for a little bit more shopping and gazing before wandering back to our hotel for a refreshing shower and Happy Hour, on this the penultimate day of our holiday (sob).

One thing we have noticed is that despite the changes and modernisation that we have observed in Hong Kong, bamboo is still the scaffolding of choice.  It is everywhere!  No doubt steel scaffolding is used, but it still surprised us the amount of bamboo that could be seen wrapped around new buildings and renovations, both low-rise and high-rise.  We even speculated that this could give rise to a new George Miller movie: Mad Max XVII: Pandemonium – the Rise of the Pandas and the Eating of Hong Kong!

Tuesday 17 October – Life doesn’t get any Buddha than this.

A bit of a sleep-in (jet-lag induced) this morning, then breakfast and off to see Buddha – a very large Buddha.  Two train rides, finishing up somewhere on Lantau Island, then two hours of queuing to get on the cable car for the 5.7km ride to Ngong Ping, home to the Tian Tan Buddha, aka the Big Buddha. The ride was spectacular; it climbs so high that at one stage you have an aerial view of all of the Hong Kong International Airport, with planes taking off about every minute, as well as the canopy of forested mountains beneath us and views out over the ocean.  When you alight from the cable car you walk through a “village”, with restaurants (one of which we patronised for a late lunch) and an oddly–named piazza, with resident sacred cows wandering, snoozing or eating the flowers.  The Buddha is reached by a 268-step climb and absolutely dominates everything around it.  Built between 1990 and 1993, it is 34 metres high and weighs over 250 tonnes – a most impressive monument.  Nearby is the Po Lin Monastery, built as recently as 1906 and there are a number of walking trails for visitors, including the Wisdom Trail (which we were unwise enough to take, because it led nowhere and we didn’t gain any wisdom from walking it).  We also learned that the Big Buddha is 7,381 kilometres from Sydney Opera House.

After a couple of pleasant hours we made our way back to the cable car, passing a display of martial arts by a group of young men then, when we reached the bottom, caught the MTR to Jordan for a walk through the Temple Street Night Market, then a long walk back to our hotel in time for Happy Hour in the Club Lounge and another reasonably early night.

Monday 16 October – Arrivederci Roma, hello Hong Kong

We spent most of Saturday on the move – a flight from Crete to Athens, a bit of a wait then another flight to Rome and our nearby accommodation for the night, the “Fly on the World” B&B. After a delicious seafood dinner at a nearby restaurant Saturday evening and a lovely breakfast in our B&B, we left Europe Sunday afternoon for the eleven hour flight to Hong Kong, arriving at 6.30am.  We made our way to our hotel, the MetroPark, and were able to access our room by about 9am, so after a bit of a kip we went for a stroll to the nearby Ladies Market, stopping for an early noodle dinner. After wandering through the market, which seems to go for ever, we returned to our hotel, traversing one street lined with pet shops, for a refreshing drink in the Club Lounge before returning to our room, to do a bit of research on how to best use the next couple of days here.  And that’s it.

Friday 13 October – Rest and reflection.

An easy day on this, our last day on the last of these beautiful Mediterranean islands.  We wandered down to the bus station and caught the bus out to Chersonissou, a beachside resort town halfway between Heraklion and Agio Nikolaus.  We passed through it on our way to and from Agio Nikolaus yesterday and decided to go back, wander the streets and do a bit of window-shopping.  So nothing much to report (we only visited one small church!).  One thing we have noticed is that petrol is expensive in Crete - €1.60 a litre (AUD2.40).  Perhaps that’s why there are so many small cars and motor scooters buzzing around.

We also took the time to reflect on the wonderful places we have seen and reported on.  One thing that has struck us as we have travelled from island to island is that, during several thousand years of human habitation, they have all been invaded, conquered and ruled by all sorts of different people: the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Venetians, Knights of St John, Ottomans, Spanish, French, Austro-Hungarians, British (and we’ve probably missed a couple). In all cases, there have been changes in their rulers as recently as the past one hundred and fifty years or so, and all came under serious threat during World War II. Although this regular change of rule is almost rule-of-thumb for Europe, it is a bit hard to come to terms with when you come from a country that has only been invaded once in the last fifty or sixty thousand years. It leads us to wonder whether the current level of freedom and independence that the people of these Mediterranean islands now enjoy will last. Will Sicily remain part of a dysfunctional Italy? Will Malta retain its independence as the power and influence of its strongest supporters – Britain and the United Nations – wanes? Will Cyprus become totally Turkish?  After all, it’s only about 100 kilometres from Cyprus to the Turkish coast; it’s more than 900 kilometres to Greece - and both countries would claim to have a legitimate historical right of occupancy.  Will Crete remain a province of an almost-bankrupt Greece?  Is it simply too much to expect that the world as we know it will stay as we know it, in the face of almost continuous turbulence and power shifts over the past several millennia.  Is regular change actually the status quo?

Of one thing we are certain: whoever rules these people in the future, it will not change their nature.  Although we only visited these four islands for a very short time, we found them to be charming, happy and resilient people who went out of their way to make our visit enjoyable and trouble free.  We have had an amazing time.

Tomorrow: on the plane to Rome via Athens for an overnight stay before embarking on the long flight to Hong Kong, arriving Monday morning.  We won't post another blog until Monday.

Thursday 12 October – Let’s spin a story about Spinalonga.

Out early this morning and onto the bus for the 90-minute ride to the seaside town of Agio Nikolaos, the stepping-off point (or, more correctly, the sailing-off point) for the island of Spinalonga.  We walked down the long, steep hill from the bus station to the port, then time for elevenses before boarding the “Ostria” to start our cruise to the island.  It’s a good-sized boat, with a snack bar and restaurant and there was a running commentary in about five languages to keep us informed of what we were passing – a very relaxing journey.  We passed the sunken city of Oulos, a Neolithic city that apparently sunk into the sea at some stage; its ruins are still visible on calm days (although we didn’t see any of them today), then we sailed past a cave allegedly used by the pirate Barbarossa, who was very active in this area during his reign of terror in the late 16^th century.  We stopped for 30 minutes at Kolokitha Bay, where some of the younger passengers jumped into the sea for a swim, then continued to Spinalonga, so named because it was once joined to the mainland by a “spine” – but is no longer.

We disembarked and were taken on a guided tour.  Fortunately the English language group was fairly small and our guide was very knowledgeable on her subject and provided us with a potted but detailed history of the island: not much is known of the ancient history of the area, however it was generally depopulated around the 7^th century due to the frequent Arab raids. The Venetians later settled it and in the 16^th century built fortifications around the island (which only occupies just over eight hectares in total).  The Venetians held onto the island even when the rest of Crete had fallen to the Ottomans, however it finally succumbed in 1715 and the last Turks did not leave until 1903; although the rest of Crete had been restored to the locals by 1878, the Turks on Spinalonga did not want to leave.  In 1903 the island was set up as a leper colony (that got rid of the Turks!) and remained so until 1957.  Although totally isolated from family and friends, the lepers were well looked after; they were provided with food, water, medical attention and social security payments, to the point that many were able to help support their relatives at home, and eventually were able to receive visitations from family on  the island.  During World War II, despite the attacks on Crete as a whole, Spinalonga was left alone simply because it was a leper colony and thus became probably the safest place on Crete.  When the decision was taken in 1957 to no longer use the island for lepers, those remaining on the island were transferred to a hospital in Athens.  Some did not want to leave and had to be “escorted” off by police.

We walked through the village, past the dilapidated buildings including the hospital and disinfecting room, and the two remaining churches.  We also climbed up to the highest point on the island to look at the remains of the Venetian fort.  Then back on the boat for the return voyage to Agio Nikolaos, the long walk back up the hill to the bus station, then the journey back to Heraklion, arriving home about 8pm.

Tomorrow: who knows? Nothing planned, as we prepare to leave Crete on Saturday morning

Wednesday 11 October – Knice time at Knossos and a mesmerising museum.

We walked to the nearby Eleftherias Square this morning and boarded a local bus for the short journey to Knossos and Crete’s most famous historical attraction, the Palace of Knossos. The site began with a neolithic settlement in the 7^th millennium BC and the palace was built by the Minoans in about 1900 BC on the ruins of previous settlements. It was destroyed for the first time about 1700 BC, probably by a large earthquake or foreign invaders. It was immediately rebuilt to an even more elaborate complex and until its abandonment was damaged several times during earthquakes, invasions, and in 1450 BC by the colossal volcanic eruption of Thera, and the invasion of Mycenaeans who used it as their capital as they ruled the island of Crete until 1375 BC.  In contrast to most of the other archaeological sites we have visited, Knossos has been partially restored (by British archaeologist George Evans, who excavated the site in 1900) so it is possible to get a good idea of the grandeur that would have been presented those three or four thousand years ago.

It is a most impressive palace, covering 20,000 square metres.  According to Greek mythology, it was designed by the famed architect Dedalos with such complexity that no one placed in it could ever find its exit. King Minos, who commissioned the palace, then kept the architect prisoner to ensure that he would not reveal the palace plan to anyone. Dedalos, a great inventor, built two sets of wings so he and his son Ikaros could fly off the island, and so they did. On their way out, Dedalos warned his son not to fly too close to the sun because the wax that held the wings together would melt. In a tragic turn of events, during their escape Ikaros, young and impulsive as he was, flew higher and higher until the sun rays dismantled his wings and the young boy fell to his death in the Aegean sea. The Labyrinth, another feature of the palace, was the home of the Minotaur - half man, half bull - who was imprisoned beneath the king’s chamber and idled away his time by munching on youth and maidens, and many associate the palace of Knossos with the legend of Theseus killing the Minotaur.  From these examples it can be seen that the Palace of Knossos figures prominently in Greek mythology.

We spent a couple of hours wandering around, marvelling at the complexity of the whole structure and the sympathetic way it has been restored – you can clearly see how parts of it would have looked all those centuries ago, but you can also clearly see what is restoration work and what is original.  And in the middle of the great throng of visitors, we spotted a lone archaeologist patiently working on the floor of one of the lower sections.  Some of the restored rooms have replicas of the famous frescoes, with remnants of the originals now housed in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.  So after lunch at a nearby rooftop restaurant, that’s where we headed.

The Museum is absolutely amazing; thousands upon thousands of relics from Neolithic through to Roman times. The Minoan collection is breathtaking; the artefacts are beautifully displayed and include pottery and metals, jewellery, coins, weapons, sarcophagi, mosaics, sculptures and frescoes.  We also saw the original 4000-year-old Phaistos Disk (which we mentioned yesterday) and when you look at it closely it is easy to understand why it has withstood interpretation.  This is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and best-presented museum of antiquity that we have visited; perhaps not the biggest, but certainly the best.

After an absorbing couple of hours at the museum we wended our way home – another long but immensely satisfying day.

Tomorrow: on the bus again for the 90 minute (fingers crossed) journey to Agio Nikolas and the island of Spinalonga.