Back in Hong Kong

Yesterday afternoon we boarded a Dragon Air flight in Phuket with destination Hong Kong. We are on our way home. The flight was the flight from hell (almost). I ended up in a middle seat (which I hate). To add to the pain we got a family with 3 noisy kids and a nanny in front of us, and next to me was the grandmother. She was coughing almost all the way - as if she was coughing up her lungs - and blowing her nose. So I spent the flight with my head under the blanket. I was afraid of whatever bug it was that she suffered from. She really should have been waring a mask!

After being directed round in circles at the Hong Kong airport in an effort to find the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, we finally found it and were told we would be thrown out at 12.30! That ticked us off even more. However, we found a "generic" lounge (which of course was NOT free of charge). We decided to take a cubicle each and sleep for 6 hours, as our flight is not until later this afternoon. We had breakfast and now we are back at the Cathay Pacific lounge. Kim is asleep on a couch.

We will be leaving this afternoon, Saturday, and will be back Saturday morning. Yes, Saturday all the way :-)

Eighth Day in Phuket

Today was our last full day here in Phuket. We spent it at the pool although the weather was not cooperating. We had some distant thunder, dark clouds and sometimes a sprinkle. Nothing major though. Just too bad it wasn't sunny on our last day. They have not had any rain here since around Christmas time, so everybody was a bit surprised.

We found out that we have to leave our room at noon tomorrow, but since we don't have to leave until 4 pm for the airport, we were told we can use the healthclub/spa to shower and change. After dinner we checked it out and it is AWESOME! Sauna, hot and cold tubs, big showers and all the amenities. Another thing we didn't notice or check out until it is time to leave! Oh well - next time!

Before dinner we held a little ceremony for Roger at the spirit house on the premises. It is in the middle of a lotus pond. We lit candles, burned incense and left an offering of some of Roger's favorite things: KitKat, rum raisin ice cream, toffees, and a bottle of water. We also lit some candles that were in the shape of Plumera flowers (the fragrant kind they use for leis) set inside coconut shells so we could float them in the pond.

Seventh Day in Phuket

Today was an eventful and fun day. It started out with an hour long ride from Phuket province and into Pangnga Province. Our goal was the Tone Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary where our first activity was elephant trekking. This was by far the best elephant trekking I have ever been part of. Not only did we go through the jungle and over very rugged terrain, but the greatest thing was that Kim got to take the place of the Mahut, i.e. the elephant "driver". She got to sit on the elephant's neck and actually "drive" her. I was sitting on the back in a throne like a real jungle queen. The trek went over rocks and even through a river. Along the way our elephant, Jambee, a 35 year old female with a mind of her own, was grazing and even decided to trek off the beaten path through the bush. She then decided to pose for a picture by lifting her head and wrapping her trunk high around a tree. She was the only one who did that. A true individual; a girl after our own hearts.

From here we drove further high up in the mountain and then took a short hike to a waterfall. Kim went in the water, which was icy cold. I opted to stay out because if I had gotten in I would never have been able to climb out. The rocks were very slippery. After the waterfall we returned to our base camp to prepare for our white water rafting. We were 4 Americans and 2 guides in our raft. Two girls from DC and us. Old age has its privileges - I did not have to paddle - just hold on to a rope and make sure I didn't fall out :-) It was a blast!

After the rafting we were served lunch and then returned to our hotel. We went straight to the pool and stayed there til Happy Hour. We had drinks, watched the sunset, and listened to the house band here at the Marriott. They are great.

For dinner we went to a restaurant that our DC friends told us about. There we discovered a little shopping plaza with several restaurants and shops. So we did some shopping to work up an appetite ;-) Dinner was good and very inexpensive - too bad we didn't discover that until today.

Sixth Day in Phuket

Spent the day at the beach side pool. We both got a little red today, because we were out during the hottest time of the day. The only day we bothered to find out how hot it is here, was yesterday, when it was 102F! Pretty hot! We were a little bit inland then so probably a few degrees cooler here by the water. So - there is not much to report today, but tomorow we are out on new adventures.

In the afternoon we went for a presentation here at the resort and also visited the new Marriott Mai Kao resort nextdoors and joined the Marriott Asia Pacific Club. After that we had a drink at the "Out of the Blue" bar and then dinner at the Deli.

Here are a few more pictures from our day yesterday.

Fifth Day in Phuket

On our itinerary today was a full day of touring Phuket Island. Our first stop was at an elephant camp where we had a short ride on an elephant. While at this camp we found out that another camp up the road had a brand new elephant baby! He was born on Valentine's Day and appropriately named Valentine; he was thus only 8 days old. It was quite special because normally the mother will not let you touch the baby, but this mother was very generous and let us pet him. He was sooo cute! From here we took a scenic road to Karon View Point. We then carried on up the mountain to see the new Big Buddha. He is 45 meters tall and made of white jade from Burma, his eyes are black jade from Burma and the white if the eyes are made of Mother of Pearl from Phuket. He is seated on a marble lotus and is supported by 76 pillars representing the 76 provinces of Thailand. He is still under construction because he went over budget! Quite impressive nevertheless, not to mention the views from the site are outstanding. A bronze model is situated next to the jade one (but smaller) and will remain there even after the big one is completed.

Having visited the Big Buddha and the temple up there, we continued to Chalong Temple, the largest and most famous temple in Phuket. One of the differences between a Chinese and a Thai Buddhist temple is that the Thai construction uses real 24 Carat gold leaf in its decorations. After the temple we went to a state controlled jewelry and hand craft place. There was a nice sapphire ring that I liked, but did not buy. Next stop was a cashew factory. Here we were shown how they harvest the nuts one by one. They actually crack open each nut by hand! Amazing. The fruit looks a little like a pear and the nut sits at the end of it. Only one nut per fruit. No wonder they are expensive in the US. We were given numerous samples and also bought some. Our last stop before lunch was a Chinese mansion over 100 years old. It contained items from many parts of the world and scenes from several movies, such as The Killing Fields, The Young Indiana Jones and Good Morning Vietnam were filmed there. Surprisingly a family still lives there on the upper levels, but have kindly opened portions of the mansion as a museum.

We were supposed to have lunch inside a waterfall, but unfortunately due to climate changes it has dried up and they moved the restaurant to a different location. The ambiance was less than spectacular but the food was good, except the beef was tough as shoe leather. Our last stop was at a farm cooperative - it was run by the entire village. Here they grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers such as orchids and Birds of Paradise. They also have water buffalos and they had a white one. Quite rare - only one in a thousand born. In addition they grow and harvest rubber trees. We saw how they tap the trees and process the natural latex. One of the highlights was the coconut picking monkeys. Our demonstration was given by an 11 year old, female pigtailed macaque, named Linda. After our demonstration she was rewarded with fruit. We were told that she also likes candy and I had some toffees from the cashew factory that she loved. She took the paper off herself and was really happy with the fruity and milk variety, but she dissected the peanuts out of the coconut/peanut one because she only likes cashews! Very funny! It was quite a day!


Back at the hotel we had a swim in the pool and later went to the Owners' Party here at the resort.

Fourth Day In Phuket

Today we were picked up by a mini van from the hotel and drove across the island to the north east coast to Ao Po Pier. We were going sea kayaking with Andaman Sea Kayak Company. I have done this trip with them twice before and it is spectacular! This time there were 15 Australians, 2 South Africans and the two of us from the US. The hour long boat trip on the "escort boat" brought us to Phang Nga Bay National Park. This is a natural art gallery full of majestic limestone formations.

We were split up with 2 persons + a paddler (local) for each kayak and started to explore these wonderful islands with its caves and hongs (Thai for "room"). To enter the sea caves or tunnels, it is almost like a dream and you feel pretty small. You have to enter when the tide is low as the tunnels fill with water at high tide. The caves (tunnels) are 20 - 150 meters long and at several points you have to lie flat in the kayak or you cannot get through! In one cave, the skirt of my bathing suite got stuck and my boobs touched the roof! Mind you, inside these caves there are bats hanging above you! Not for the faint of heart! Parts of the tunnels are of course pitch black and you have to navigate with a flash light. We visited 3 different islands with caves and hongs. Inside these hongs some of the walls are covered with vegetation, others sparkle like diamonds. We also saw some monkeys and walking fish. They look like a mix between a frog and a fish. While on the big boat we saw a lot of eagles, rather small and reddish and they were diving in the water for chicken bits thrown from our boat.

After the cave exploring we once again got onboard the big boat and lunch was served. The goal this time was Naka Yai Island where there was a beach with a bar and Kim had a Pina Colada served in a coconut. We spent about an hour on this beach and then we went back to Ao Po Pier and then returned to the hotel in the minivan.

Back at the hotel we once again witnessed the sunset dance and then went back to our apartment to shower and change for dinner. Tonight we managed to get a table at the Thai restaurant. Delish!

Third Day in Phuket

We started the day with breakfast on our balcony. It was an unadventurous day spent mostly by the pool. The complex has 3 large pools. Today we first went to the main pool with its waterspouting elephants. We stayed there for lunch as well, took a stroll on the beach and I actually got into the sea with its strong currents, but managed to get both in and out without any incidents.

Later in the afternoon we moved over to the Blue Pool. Kim went for her daily massage and then we went to watch the traditional Thai sunset ceremony at the Mirror Pool by the lobby. It looks like the dancers are dancing on the water. It is very slow and controlled movements and quite beatiful. There are also men dancing with fire and a drummer. This ceremony is repeated daily shortly before sunset. After this we went for Happy Hour - 2 drinks for the price of one. We had 2 each :-)

Back to the room to change and get ready for dinner. First we planned to go to the Japanese restaurant, but found out that a steak dinner was US$150!!! No steak is THAT good. Then we tried the Marriott Cafe, but they did not have any vegetarian dishes so we walked to the other end of the compound to visit the Thai restaurant, just to find out that they had a wine tasting thing going on and that it was sold out! So we ended up at the Siam Deli again. Definitely the least expensive place here and decent stuff to eat.

Second Day in Phuket

This morning we finally moved into our apartment. It is a lovely 2 bedroom with 2 baths, living room and kitchen. We also have a large balcony.

We had breakfast at Siam Deli and then we were picked up for our ATV drive. It took about 40 minutes to get to the site. There were a bunch of young Japanese tourists, a strange family and us, plus a couple of hotshots who were going a bit faster than the rest of us. We cruised through the rainforest, a rubber plantation, mud and sand. The only wildlife we saw was 2 roosters, 1 hen and a couple of chicks, although we were almost promised  monkeys! We stopped by the beach for refreshments. The ride lasted for about 1 hour and was quite wild!
 

After the ride we returned to the hotel, changed into swim suits and went to the pool. Kim also exercised in the ocean (strong currents and rough surf) and had another massage. What a life! We had dinner at the cafe.

Tomorrow we are going to have a relaxing day and stay home.

First Day in Phuket

We left the hotel quite early for the airport. The Hong Kong airport is really huge! We didn't realize how huge when we arrived a week ago, but this time we saw quite a bit of it. We had our breakfast at Starbucks and boarded our Dragon Air flight on time. Flying time was about 3.5 hours. The plane was nice but the food was terrible! Nevertheless, it was great to land in Phuket even though immigration is painfully slow. It was only +8C with light rain when we left Hong Kong - arriving in Phuket we found clear blue skies and around +30C! Almost too warm, but we are NOT going to complain!

After checking in and having received out leis and welcome drinks, we had to wait to actually get into the room. So to kill time we booked all our excursions. The girl we booked with is called Oy and she was here 3 years ago when Roger and I were here last (in 2007). We got upgraded to a first floor room quite close to one of the pools. Great! Kim wanted to have a swim so as soon as we could get into our room we changed and went to the pool.


We also took a little walk along the beach so that Kim could get an idea of where things are at the resort. We found the massage ladies on the beach and Kim went for her first massage here! She loved it! After the massage she took her first swim in the ocean, walked the beach, and found 4 dogs to pet (she misses Sulu very much), then it was time for Happy Hour. We sat at the bar "Out of the Blue" with our drinks until the sun settled in the sea. Once the sun had set and we finished our drinks, we went back to our room and got ready for dinner. Tonight it was BBQ on the beach with a live band that was really good!

Now we are back in our room and are getting ready to go to bed. Tomorrow our adventures will start with ATV ride. We are also going to move from the hotel to the timeshare apartment.

Sixth and Last Day in Hong Kong

We had nothing planned for the day so after a slow start we took the MTR to the Jade market. It was raining so we were happy to find that the market was actually covered. Here they sell tons of jade in every shape, form and color as well as some other chinese trinkets. There was a lot of the same stuff in the different stalls so you could take your time and also bargain with the merchants. We made out pretty well. After a couple of hours at the Jade market we walked to Nathan Road and found ourselves a Starbucks where we had bagels and latte.

Feeling refreshed we turned our steps toward Temple Street and the night market there. More shopping of course. Talk about "Shop till you drop". That's us. Exhausted we returned to our hotel to have some dinner and pack.

We are off to Phuket tomorrow morning very early. Can't wait for the sun and warmer temperatures!

Fifth Day in Hong Kong

Another 2 fleece + raincoat day - it is just getting colder. After morning latte at Starbuck's we took a cab to the Pier to catch our boat for the morning cruise of Victoria harbor. The harbor, as many other things in Hong Kong, is named after Queen Victoria of England.
Following the cruise we landed at Hong Kong Cultural Center for Dim Sum lunch, which is basically a bunch of steamed slimy stuff. After lunch we boarded a bus to Lantau, one of the many islands in Hong Kong (there are a couple of hundred islands, but only around 20 are populated.)

To get to Lantau we had to drive across Tsing Ma bridge, which is 2.2 km and the world's longest road- and rail suspension bridge. In Lantau we got on the Ngong Ping cable car that took us up in the clouds to the giant buddha. The cable car ride was about 25 minutes, 5.7 km sky rail across the lush terrains of Lantau and the South China Sea.

On top of the Ngong Ping plateu sits the world's tallest seated outdoor bronze buddha. Inside the buddha are 3 floors with paintings and a relic. The relic was a piece of a neck bone. There was also a giant bell from Shanghai as well as a carved wooden buddha made from 600 year old wood from the forbidden city in Beijing. The bus broke down and we had to walk the 256 steps down to the Po Lin monastery. The monastery was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu and was initially known as "The Big Hut". It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses 3 bronze statues of the Buddha representing his past, present and future lives as well as many Buddhist scriptures. Tian Tan Buddha, the giant Buddha statue was completed in 1993,and is an extension of the monastery.

We got a new bus that took us down from the mountain to the historic Tai O fishing village. It is distinguished by its stilt houses in its main creek. It is inhabited mainly by the Tanka people, decendents of Hong Kong's first settlers. This humble village is popular for its dry sea food and traditional life. We walked through the village market where they offered "yummy treats", such as dry fish bladder, dried and salted egg yolk, seahorses, sharks and puffer fish. Mmmmmm! 

We missed the 6 o'clock ferry so we enjoyed McDonald's coffee and french fries while we were waiting. The coffee was awful but a good hand warmer as we were all freezing from being up in the mountain where it was even colder than in Hong Kong. Only around 4 or 5 Celcius - I guess lower 40'sF. Brrr! 

Back on Hong Kong island we took a cab back to the hotel. We had planned to hit the night market on Temple Street, but decided we are too tired. So we will just get some food and stay in!

Fourth Day in Hong Kong

Monday - After our long day yesterday we slept in today. We had no particlar plans other than the fireworks in the evening so we took the MTR (subway) to the Ladies Market again. Today we felt more in the mood for shopping and got some real good bargains!

After several hours of shopping we went to the Peninsula for Afternoon Tea. This is a must when in Hong Kong. The Peninsula is now the oldest hotel in Hong Kong and quite elegant. It is affectionately known as the "Grande Dame of the Far East". We had to wait in line for 40 minutes to be seated for our tea! Anyway, it was a proper British tea with sandwiches, scones and pastries. 

When we had finished our tea, it was time to walk to the waterfront and the fireworks. We first stopped by Starbucks for a latte as we hadn't had any decent coffee all day! Then we made tracks with thousands and thousands of Chinese (and some foreigners) - like a herd of cattle. There were police everywhere controlling and directing the crowds. Amazingly we didn't see any drunks or misbehaving people. It was all very orderly, even in the subway they had crowd control police and things worked remarkably well. We are very impressed with the subway system here. It is efficient and easy to use even for us foreigners as well as being very clean. No food or drink allowed and people actually adhere to that.

The fireworks show started on time and it was great. It lasted for about 20 minutes non stop and was worth the trek!

Third Day in Hong Kong

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Chinese New Year and also Happy Valentines Day!

We started the day with Starbucks of course. At one o'clock we were treated to the lion dance at the hotel. Young men are dressed in lion costumes that look like dragons almost - 2 men in each costume. They jump from one tiny platform to another quite high up and it is amazing that they can do this. All the time a bunch of other men keep beating big drums. This is a traditional dance that they perform every New Year. The decorations for Chinese New Year are beatutiful and you see them everywhere (like our Christmas decorations). Most of the stuff is red and gold, because red keeps away the evil spirits and it also brings you luck. Children (and adults) receive red envelopes often containing money. We each got one envelope with chocolate gold coins, a pretty box with chinese sweets and a stuffed tiger (as this is the year of the tiger) from the hotel. The tiger is the 3rd of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac cicle. The Chinese fortune tellers predict a difficult year but with promise and opportunity for wealth. One Chinese fortune teller says that the world economy will turn around in the next 12 months!

A funny thing with the red envelop tradition we witnessed at Starbucks. A family came in and the little boy, about 4 years old, dressed in a traditional chinese silk suit, with HK$20 (about US$2.50) and his red envelope in his hand, ran up to the counter, pointed to a pastry and screamed: Twenty! That one! He had no idea what it was, all he cared about was that he had a twenty and that was the price for the pastry! Too cute!

After the lion dance we took the trolley to the Midlevels escalator. Yes, escalator. It happens to be the world's longest outdoor covered escalator, 800 meters long. Travelling the whole length takes about 20 minutes with many opportunities to get off for shops and eateries. Mind you, the escalator runs uphill and you have to walk all the way down! Not for bad knees, but mine held up!

Once we got up there was really nothing there so we started to climb down. We stopped about halfways down, at Hollywood Road, and went to the Man Mo temple. It is one of the first traditional style temples built during the colonial era. Some random local guy, decided to be our personal guide through the temple and told us all about it and what to do once inside. We banged the drum and the bell (three times on each) and had to tell our names and age for good fortune (a toll free call to the gods). Then we burnt incense to pay homage to the Taoist gods. The temple was filled with people and smoke. Kim's hair still stinks.

From there we hopped on the subway to Kowloon where the New Year's Parade was to take place. First we explored the markets and then found ourselves completely exhausted and hungry and stopped to eat at California Pizza! We also found out that we were in the wrong place for the parade, so once again we took the subway to the proper parade location. This year (I experienced it once before) the parade was a complete dud. We did not get a good spot and on top of that the parade started late and was booooring. So we left early, back on the subway and trolley and went to bed.

Second day in Hong Kong

Woke up to a grey day here in Hong Kong. We had a rather late start but hadn't planned much anyway. Yesterday we had been looking for a Starbucks and stupidly thought that we would have to cross the water to Kowloon to find one :-) Well, as it turned out we had a Starbucks just across the street from our hotel! After a breakfast of fresh fruit, blueberry scones and latte we took the bus to Stanley for shopping.

We made out pretty well. I bought 2 very nice cashmere shawls, 2 linen blouses and a fleece (it's cold here) adding to my 2 T-shirts from yesterday. All dirt cheap! Kim got a beautiful silk top, 5 silk handbags, some other silk purses and yesterday T-shirts and some little fishes. We also got some gifts. By the time we finished shopping it had started to rain and we took the bus back to the hotel. Unfortunately we got off far too early and ended up having to walk quite a distance in the rain. Made a pit stop for some Starbucks along the way :-)

We haven't decided yet what to do for dinner. Will let you know.

We ended up going to dinner at a Japanese restaurant which was located within a shopping complex adjacent to the Marriott, which meant we didn't have to go outside where it is still raining and cold. They say that this weather is coming from mainland China and that it is snowing there. Luckily it is not that cold here, but cold enough!

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year - the year of the tiger. Too bad that it is going to be raining. Nevertheless a lot of stuff is going to be happening and I will report about it tomorrow.

First day in Hong Kong

Arrived in Hong Kong on time after more than 14 hours fly time from San Francisco. First Class on Cathay Pacific was absolutely wonderful. The nuts were not warm on this flight, but nevertheless very good! For starters we could have had caviar which we declined. But there was a lot of other food stuff, but I actually think that the food on American is a tad better! We decided to take the Sky Bus to the hotel. Oh, btw, one of my suitcases got left behind in San Francisco. They are supposed to deliver it to the hotel tonight. Luckily it was the suit case that was packed for Phuket and not the one for Hong Kong.

We have now arrived at the J.W. Marriott. Unfortunately, we have to pay for internet access, which I refuse to do, so this blog will be updated daily but may not be published every day. I have had a shower and Kim is next. Then we will go out to find something to do. Will report later!

A few hours later.
I actually broke down and decided to pay for internet after all - $600HK for a week! Absolutely ridiculous. We spent the afternoon taking a guided bus tour of Hong Kong island. First we made a stop at Victoria Peak, then there was a short tour at the fishing village by boat -quite chilly -and after that a stop at a jewelry factory. No, we didn't buy anything even if the temptation was great. On the bus again, past Repulse Bay and on to Stanley for a short shopping tour - only 30 minutes! So we are going back tomorrow :-)

My bag just arrived and I am so tired I am almost cross eyed!

Arrived in San Francisco

Well, we made it out of Boston a little bit late, but still arrived in San Francisco on time. And yes, warm nuts again :-) and champagne, but I settled for OJ. Then we got a salad, prosciutto with cantaloupe sauce and bread, Main course was beef tenderloin for me and 4-cheese ravioli for Kim. Dessert was ice cream sunday - mine with hot fudge, whipped cream and nuts. Kim choose strawberry topping, Even though we were in 1st class, it was not very comfortable. The seats did not go back very far, we didn't have our own little screens for the movie so I got a stiff neck from watching. We saw 2 movies: This is it - Michael Jackson and some comedy about lying. Not so great.

After de-planing it was a long walk to the international terminal where we now is in the British Airways First Class Lounge. Not terribly impressive.

Next post from Hong Kong!

Trip to Hong Kong

Well, today Kim and I are leaving for Hong Kong and then to Phuket, Thailand. I am going to try to write something every day about our adventures. Hopefully we get out on time. There is a snowstorm coming and our plane leaves Boston for San Francisco about 6 pm, which is when the storm is going to be the worst!!

The dogs are on vacation in Belmont, and they don't even know that I am going away as well. Well, Macintosh probably suspects it, but both he and Willie feel happy with the Sclafanis :-)

If I get connection I will write from the airport Boston or San Francisco.