4. Courageous Miss C

Cordelia confronted a fear today. She did not want to go on the Hong Kong ferry. She was really scared & dug her heels in last night, citing Meercat's fear & her own tiredness for wanting to take a taxi from Central to Tsi Tsui ?? (location of our hotel).  

This morning, we decided we needed to go. Cordelia was fearful but was persuaded (bribed?) with a rollup to give it a go.  She did & it was all good! She ran onto the ferry, ran to the front & was disquieted by how short the crossing was. The return journey was embraced with no hesitation & saw her taking the whole journey with her head out the window like a dog in a car.  Well done Miss C.

Top 5-no. 4
1. Facing a fear & then relishing the new experience you have given yourself
2. Presenting engaging & imaginative rationale as to why one (& one's companion) can't embark on a new experience
3. Getting a short term reward & a long term skill from displaying courage
4. Embracing the new experience fully
5. Creating a new reality so quickly - I used to be scared of ferries now I love ferries

3. PB on PBS

Tai chi has its own rewards.

PBS filmed Mr William, Tai-chi master at the Hong Kong intercontinental this morning for a TV series on unique & interesting services offered by hotels around the world.

Penelope was Mr William's only student this morning so was also filmed for the PBS special.
Highlights of the filming & prospect of being before an international audience include:

• sporting the literal & figurative just-out-of-bed look
• demonstrating what a beginner looks like doing tai-chi 
• showing that even though you can't bend your knees or touch your palms right to the ground, or stand gracefully on one leg while lifting the other in the air & making an open-winged crane shape with your arms & a pointy beak with your fingers, that you can still enjoy tai chi

Mr William is gorgeous, about 90 years old, fit, centred with a great sense of humour.  He is a gift to greet a new day.

Top 5 - no. 3
1. Learning something new
2. Having the courage to be a beginner
3. Meeting an expert, expertise is admirable & inspiring
4. Being surprised by the turns life can take
5. Committing to waking up early to get the most out of the day & practise tai chi 

2. Travel can be binary

We are either spark-out, dead-to-the-world asleep or dancing in the streets awake.

Robert fell asleep on the plane, on the tarmac, before we had even taken off
Penelope fell asleep in the bath
Cordelia fell asleep while eating room service, mid mouthful

Penelope woke at 6am day 1 & 2 to do tai chi with Mr William
Cordelia stayed awake long after her tired rosy cheeks had formed tired rosy cheek buds to watch cartoons
Robert committed to learning a new programming language when the nodding dog kept advising him to go to bed

Top 5 - no. 2
1. No time pressures or schedules to keep to prevent us from sleeping or resting when we are tired
2. Providing opportunities to laugh at each other for the funny things we do
3. Relishing the luxury of luxury travel (start as you mean to go on - in our case some luxury, most better defined as adventure travel)
4. Having time to learn and practice our interests
5. Giving our family permission to relax & enjoy the day

1. Top 5 - SE Asia

• 3.5 months for 3 Postills to celebrate, reflect & delight in the joys of SE Asia (& Hong Kong)
• 3.5 months of 'Top 5s' we're taking it to the streets!                                                          - Top 5s are our nightly ritual to focus on the good bits of our day, however small 

Our itinerary
Days           Location 
1-5              Hong Kong
6-20            Myanmar 
                   - Yangon
                   - Bagan
                   - Lake Inle
                   - Yangon
21-31          Cambodia
                   - Siem Reap
                   - Phnom Penh
                   - Sihonikville
                   - Kampot
                   - Kep
32-62          Vietnam
                   - Phu Quoc Island
                   - Ho Chi Minh
                   - Nha Trang
                   - Danang
                   - Hoi An
                   - Hue
63-92          Laos
                   - Pakse
                   - Champanesk
                   - Vientiane
                   - Luang Prabang
                   - Vang Veng
                   - Pakse
93-99          Vietnam
                   - Hue
                   - Danang
                   - Hanoi
100-102      Hong Kong
                   HOME

Top 5 - no. 1
1. Being together for such a long, uninterrupted time
2. Being (& feeling) privileged to be able to take time out of the day-to-day to get to know the world a bit more
3. Luxuriating in the sense of adventure that any new journey brings
4. Modern airline entertainment - ongoing movies & TV - a boon for a family without television
5. Starting our journey buoyed by the well-wishes of so many friends & family - thank you!