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Here I would love to share with you our travels and adventures as international mushroom consultants. MEMOIRS about husband Pieter Vedder, who was a SCIENTIFIC PIONEER in Commercial Mushroom Cultivation Education. His practical handbook is in 9 languages and is called the MUSHROOM BIBLE: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2020/08/modern-mushroom-growing-2020-harvesting.html

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

{Part XIII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Hong Kong}

On April 2, 1987 the People to People Citizen Ambassador Program team arrived by train in Hong Kong! 
Husband Pieter enjoyed this train ride so much! 
Not the greatest weather but still.
View from Pieter's hotel room in Hong Kong's Central Business District.
As Pieter wrote: 'So far Hotel Furuma Inter-Continental was the most luxurious on this trip!'
Too bad, they only stayed for 2 nights...
This is a post card from the FURUMA Inter-Continental
A sad fact is that the hotel is HISTORY... 
After 28 years of service this 517-room hotel with its 30th floor La Ronda Revolving Restaurant had to make place for a leading global insurance company's office tower by the end of November, 2001
Farewell, Furama Hotel Hong Kong! ←just click the hyperlink.
In the first photo at the top, you saw the Hilton hotel...
In the spring of 1993, there were four big hotels in the island's Central Business District: the Hilton (now demolished), the Furama (now demolished), the Ritz-Carlton (demolished, now relocated across the harbour in Kowloon) and, to give it the full name on one ever uses, the Mandarin Oriental.
The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong turns 50 ←click hyperlink for reading the afore mentioned... Sad in fact!
In the afternoon, after arrival, the team got a guided cultural orientation of Hong Kong, including a visit to Victoria Peak from where Pieter took this photo.
As mentioned already during the train trip, the weather was not suitable for photos...
This was a better deal, buying post cards that show vistas from the Peak!
Pieter wrote to me in his letter that Hong Kong Island is so vast and so beautifully build around the bay and those sky scrapers nestled against the slopes of the mountain. There are no words to describe it; you have to see it with your own eyes!
Hong Kong and Kowloon from the Peak (post card)
Hong Kong and Kowloon from the Peak... different view (post card)
Hong Kong and Kowloon from the Peak (post card)
The Peak Tram Hong Kong with its funicular railway, carrying both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island (post card)
They also got to visit the fishing village of Aberdeen. Here you see the Floating Restaurant of Aberdeen (post card).
This belfry at Tsim Sha Tsui, which has a long history, is a symbol of Hong Kong (post card)
A very typical view for Hong Kong is such a Chinese junk (post card)
Don't you love the exotic sight of these Chinese junks? (post card)
On the second day, the team had a lovely evening sunset cruise through Hong Kong Harbor, followed by dinner at the famous 240 meter high Revolving 66 Restaurant that sits already on a hill.
Imagine the breathtaking view!
The restaurant is seen at the left and Pieter's hotel to the right... (just click to enlarge and see the bubble where I wrote the info).
Also seen is the ferry, by which Pieter went to the other side for a morning meeting with a Campbell Soup business person in Hong Kong.
He skipped the shopping and exploration for that morning.
The team all met in the afternoon with Dr. S.T. Chang of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Pieter is a co-author with him and both of us do know him from different International Congresses and from his visits to the Practical Training College for Mushroom Growing that my husband founded and headed as the Principal and Active Teacher.
YES, they all could say: 'We've been to Revolving 66', the topmost restaurant in Southeast Asia...
Another post card of the Revolving 66 Restaurant by night...
Magical looking city!
Next day they would be taking off for Taipei, Taiwan after only 2 nights in beautiful Hong Kong!
This is a post card showing the runway as seen from Lung Tseung Road.
And yes, I too have been to Hong Kong some six years later but never had such excellent guided cultural orientation of course. 
Just attending a Mushroom Science Congress with very limited time off!
Do you have any idea how SMALL Hong Kong is?
Here it is laid out over the area where I live, near our city of Dublin, Georgia...

See you for next Part in Taiwan...

Monday, April 4, 2016

{Part XII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - By Train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong}

From the subtropical southern city of Guangzhou, where husband Pieter also stayed for 3 nights, the team went by train to Hong Kong in about 3-½ hours time. 
As Pieter wrote in his letter to me, that train trip was the best way of traveling of the entire trip so far. 
Passing through the beautiful countryside of the Pearl River Delta near Baiyun Mountain. Also being able to observe far better than from a bus, or let alone, from a rattling Russian Ilyushin Il-62 
Just to give you an idea about the distances traveled so far...
From Tokyo they flew in to Shanghai and on to Beijing.
By plane to Fuzhou, which is some 2,000 kilometers south of Beijing.
Again by plane to Guangzhou and now by train to Hong Kong, visible south of the mainland of China.
From there they will fly to Taiwan...
Find more info here: Guangzhou Explained
The weather looked rather cloudy on April 2 in 1987, but they did enjoy passing through areas with wet rice cultivation.
We both know this too well from Indonesia and it does look more tropical.
Such a train trip indeed gives one a good view of the country with all its bridges, homes and fields.
Wet rice wherever you look and very fertile grounds with palm trees.
The train at that time in 1987 did not go that fast, so you really could observe the countryside!
A chimney, for maybe brick making?
Flooded rice fields...
Guess here they produce big part of the nation's consumption of rice.
People working the rice paddy...
Always a muddy job to work in the rice paddy!
Everywhere you see people!
What job for the people working the wet rice fields...
Beautiful vista with the mountains in the back and some trees behind the rice paddy.
Quite impressive to see that many people out on the fields!
A kind of kolkhoz (Russian abbreviation for Kollektivnoye Khosyaistvo - collective economy) that was also quite common in communist Russia.
Nearing Hong Kong...
As husband Pieter wrote: Arriving in Hong Kong, the vertical build city...!
Very cloudy looking... the sky pregnant with rain!
Rolling into Hong Kong's railroad station.
Husband Pieter took this photo from the train's balcony...
Postcard from the Kowloon - Canton Railway Terminal with the grand view.
Canton is the former name for Guangzhou

See you next in Hong Kong!

Saturday, April 2, 2016

{Part XI of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Impressions of Fuzhou, China}

It sure was early rising for the team members as the bus picked them up at 6:15 AM for going to the airport and fly to Fuzhou, some 2,000 km to the south.
China is a VAST country!
Again flying on such a rattling Russian Ilyushin Il-62 ...
This is husband Pieter at a Shii-take farm...
After lunch, Pieter did lecture for the Fuzhou Academy on March 27, 1987.
 His translator already got better acquainted with the topic, after his first time in Beijing...
There were several meetings with the Center of Trade etc.
Walking around the city, it again was quite obvious that most people used their bikes!
One can tell it is 2,000 kilometer to the south, more green and people are not that bundled up as in Beijing.
Laundry is hanging outside almost everywhere.
Most are in their shirt, without a coat or jacket...
City life...
In East Asia it always looks like one half of the population is selling something to the other half...
Guess they had not often seen tourists...
Police is watching out...
 Balconies seem to be loaded with plants...
Again laundry hanging to dry from the balconies and windows.
Plants and laundry and one can see the construction with some bamboo poles for hanging things...
Very narrow alleys!
Bikes and laundry hanging from the balcony.
More laundry...
Even hanging from the tree!
Going home with a life chicken...
Just interesting to walk a bit around...
More green trees here.
No markings on the road...
Like mentioned before, everybody seems to be selling something...
Looks like this kid had more often an ice cream...
Did you notice his 'sleeves'?
Guess that is for protection or what... Does anyone know about this?
Is that where the saying 'Having something up your sleeve' comes from?
Everything is being done at street-side...
Nice, road repair or whatever, in front of this shop...
Some goat meat for sale...
No, thanks!
Any chicken?
That was Fuzhou, People Republic of China for a 3-night stay.
Next we will go from Guangzhou, which is even more south from Fuzhou, to Hong Kong by train...

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MARIETTE'S BACK TO BASICS © 2009. All rights reserved - Text and images may not be copied for distribution or sale.

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