May 14, 2013 - Blind Date!

This is one for all the romantics out there, particularly the girls. It is not suitable for male reading so if you consider yourself a macho male, do not read any further, log out now! You have been warned. Last night we had arranged to meet a friend of mine in Causeway Bay. This brought back memories of when K and I first met on a blind date at the Dickens Bar in The Excelsior Hotel. The story went like this.... I was working for Peat Marwick Mitchell (PMM)in 1980. The highlight of the PMM social calendar was the annual ball, a very flash...

May 11, 2013 - Hong Kong

Finally packed and ready to go. It's been a long while in the planning (dreaming?) but we're now up and running. Friday, May 10, Aidan was good enough to drop us at the airport. The flight wasn't full so check in was a breeze. After a light lunch we boarded, the flight took off on time and we were away. Flight was uneventful, landed 30 minutes early, took the bus to the hotel and managed to check in by 11.00 pm. Had a few beers and went to bed. Saturday, May 11. A pleasant and relaxed start to the trip. Met up with Katherine's mum and...

Apr 30, 2013 - Tues - Hong Kong Island

Woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. Headed off on the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island. Boarded the 'green' Red Bus to Aberdeen and the Stanley markets (mainly cheap crap but, yes, I did buy a few things). Weather turned foul in a matter of minutes and I was drenched. Intended to take the red tour to Victoria Peak but it was so wet and the visibility across the harbour was gone so I headed back to Kowloon. Being a creature of habit (when you're on a good thing ...), I enjoyed another wine & cheese 'time out' at the Sheraton and wandered...

Apr 29, 2013 - Monday - Hong Kong

After feeling a bit nervous and a bit rushed all day Sunday, I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare (including 2 trips over the West Gate Bridge). It's worth it to print out your boarding pass from the Internet before hand. With my nerves gone, Janine and I had time for a drink and chat (and an attempt to register a Woollies global sim into a spare mobile phone) before we had to temporarily break the hip-tie (it's only 3 weeks really - not 4 :-)). The plane hit a couple of bumps on the 'road' but was pretty smooth really. I...

Apr 11, 2013 - Chapter 8: Closing thoughts on Hong Kong

I had always wanted to visit Hong Kong and it certainly did not disappoint. I would be remiss if I did not note how clean, cheap, and efficient the transportation system is there. The MTR is clearly marked and easy to navigate. You rarely have to wait more than 3 or 4 minutes for a train, no matter the time of day. Plus, you have to make a concerted effort to spend more than the equivalent of US$1.50. Essentially, it's the exact opposite of the DC Metro which, after nearly 8 years living here, has become one of the banes of my existence....

Apr 10, 2013 - Chapter 7: "No Can Fly"

I also considered calling this post "The $200 Mistake" but decided to go with the declaration that ended what had been a string of great luck thus far on the trip, with quick flight connections going smoothly and unexpected hotel upgrades. My flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, formerly Saigon) was a United flight scheduled to take off shortly after 11:00 pm and I was very much looking forward to getting to Vietnam. As an added bonus, I had received an email earlier in the day informing me that I had been given a status...

Mar 31, 2013 - Chapter 6: Hong Kong (Part IV)

Being Sunday, today I slept in and had a leisurely morning updating the blog in the hotel lobby and sticking around the neighborhood. This being my last night in Hong Kong, I was saving my energy for the evening when I planned on visiting the Temple Street Night Market. Located in the Jordan section of Kowloon, it consists of 8 or 10 blocks of unceasing commercialism with every knock-off item mainland China can spit out. Ray-Ban sunglasses, Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, designer jeans...all can be had for US$20 or less. There are also your...

Mar 27, 2013 - Chapter 5: Hong Kong (Part III)

I slept in this morning and picked up some food and coffee at the Starbucks across from the hotel. After walking around the neighborhood for a bit it was back to the Star Ferry to head to Kowloon for my shirt fitting at David's. Unlike the day before, this only took a few minutes as there were only a couple of minor alterations necessary on the test shirt. From there I waled over to the Hong Kong History Museum. At only HK$10 (about US$1.25) this is a great bargain as it is very large and can take a few hours to thoroughly go through. The...

Mar 25, 2013 - Chapter 4: Hong Kong (Part II)

I woke up this morning in a Triad opium den in a seedy part of Kowloon. Actually, this did not happen (though I expect I have your attention). In reality, I woke up this morning in my comfortable bed at the Renaissance. I then got cleaned up and trekked off to meet Scott for breakfast in the Soho area. This would serve as my second introduction to the hills of Hong Kong as the walk from the MTR station, unbeknownst to me, was straight uphill...for 6 or 7 blocks. Streets that were so steep that they were built with staircases on either...

Mar 23, 2013 - Chapter 3: Hong Kong (Part I)

(NOTE: Thus far my updates have been pretty slow. OK, they've been glacial. However, I've been keeping notes and will be working to get up to date within the next wekk before returning home. I'm also going to start writing shorter posts to make them easier for you to read and for me to write.) The next stop on the tour was Hong Kong, a city I've always wanted to visit. After an early flight from Taipei, I arrived shortly after 9:00 am. Lines at immigration here are notoriously long and today was no exception, but I got through and...

Mar 21, 2013 - China

Hello, I am in Hong Kong. Did you Hong Kong is one of the biggest in China. Then i visit the Great Wall of China it was one of the biggest thing I have every seen in my life!! Did you now they have over 1,500 warriors in China. Did you now chines invented candy and they invented ping-pong to. Then I tried the food the rice was good and the noodles were very good and the dumplings very the awesome. Well I better go to bed right now. GOODBYE!!!!!

Mar 14, 2013 - Clumsy on the way to Hong Kong - Kadence's traveling teddy

Hello Grade Three Class, I hope you remember me. My name is Clumsy and I am Kadence's friend. I am living in Calgary this year with my travel friends. It has been a long time since I last wrote to you. It was in December and we had just returned from Asia--China, Vietnam and Cambodia--in time to celebrate Christmas in Calgary. After a few short weeks, we got on another airplane and flew to Hong Kong again. It is a very busy city with many very tall buildings. The city of Hong Kong is made up of several islands, and so getting around this...