We flow over the top of the world on the way home, not exactly over the north pole but close.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Saturday, March 29
A busy day, Kathy and Bill went off to T’ianmenn Square and the Forbidden City while Carole and I went in another direction. We went to the old section of the city to see the hutongs. The hutongs are the old neighborhoods that are like rabbit warrens. The streets curve and are about 10 foot wide. Rickshaws are everywhere and the only mode of transport except walking. The area we were in was called Hou Hai and overlooking it was a drum tower. We climbed the tower where there was an ancient time keeping device that used water to calculate the time. Several times a day imperial drummers would beat on the 15 large kettle drums to note the time for the civil servants to ensure the got to work on time! We saw a demonstration of this activity.
Following this we got a taxi to the Llama temple. Taxis and almost everything else in this city have been cheap. We pay $2.50 to go almost everywhere and tipping is not thought well of here in the people’s paradise. Fine by me! The hotel has given us a little card with all of the usual destinations written in Chinese so we can circle where we want to go and give to the cab driver – none of whom speak any English
At the Llama temple we saw a walled city about as large as St. Peter’s Square that contained 10 temples to Buddha in many different incarnations. Much incense burning and chanting.
Next we went to a tea ceremony in one of the many tea houses in the city. We choose the 400 year old Phoenix tea (it came in a foil sealed bag, one of the many inconsistencies in today’s China). The ceremony was quite nice; we had an English speaking girl who instructed us in the ceremony. Pictures to follow when we get out of internet censorship. (We are only able to post words to the blog because I can backdoor into the blog through my google account)
We met up with the Lees for cocktails in their lovely suite and then had another great Chinese dinner at a restaurant Kathy picked. Back to the night market for one more frenetic round of bargaining for souvenirs. We now are fairly skilled at this. The sellers compete for our attention by pulling on our jackets and holding us so we can’t go anywhere else. There is no time to really look at their wares as there is a full blast assault for our attention. We had now determined what we wanted to buy so we got into full scale negotiations. Calculators are used to overcome language differences. They type in a number (always absurd to start with) and you type in a number. This goes on until an agreement is reached. Bill and I were using a tag team approach that seemed to work well but I am sure we overpaid in the end.
It’s now Sunday morning, and we have a 3:30 flight to the states so we are going attempt to see some Olympic venues this morning and then off to the airport. This will be our last post, thanks to all who read and special thanks to those who gave comments!
p.s. Carole says she may post more pics when we return to the states so perhaps not last post.
Following this we got a taxi to the Llama temple. Taxis and almost everything else in this city have been cheap. We pay $2.50 to go almost everywhere and tipping is not thought well of here in the people’s paradise. Fine by me! The hotel has given us a little card with all of the usual destinations written in Chinese so we can circle where we want to go and give to the cab driver – none of whom speak any English
At the Llama temple we saw a walled city about as large as St. Peter’s Square that contained 10 temples to Buddha in many different incarnations. Much incense burning and chanting.
Next we went to a tea ceremony in one of the many tea houses in the city. We choose the 400 year old Phoenix tea (it came in a foil sealed bag, one of the many inconsistencies in today’s China). The ceremony was quite nice; we had an English speaking girl who instructed us in the ceremony. Pictures to follow when we get out of internet censorship. (We are only able to post words to the blog because I can backdoor into the blog through my google account)
We met up with the Lees for cocktails in their lovely suite and then had another great Chinese dinner at a restaurant Kathy picked. Back to the night market for one more frenetic round of bargaining for souvenirs. We now are fairly skilled at this. The sellers compete for our attention by pulling on our jackets and holding us so we can’t go anywhere else. There is no time to really look at their wares as there is a full blast assault for our attention. We had now determined what we wanted to buy so we got into full scale negotiations. Calculators are used to overcome language differences. They type in a number (always absurd to start with) and you type in a number. This goes on until an agreement is reached. Bill and I were using a tag team approach that seemed to work well but I am sure we overpaid in the end.
It’s now Sunday morning, and we have a 3:30 flight to the states so we are going attempt to see some Olympic venues this morning and then off to the airport. This will be our last post, thanks to all who read and special thanks to those who gave comments!
p.s. Carole says she may post more pics when we return to the states so perhaps not last post.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday, March 28
The only bad weather of our trip was today. We had hired a taxi to take the four of us to the Great Wall at Mutiyien. It was raining lightly when we left. It took about 1.5 hours to get there and the rain continued. The portion of the Wall we visited was north of Beijing and a little off of the usual tourist spots but it did have a cable car that took us to the Wall. Kathy did just fine traveling up. When we got to the Wall itself the snow started! Quickly the ground was covered and by the time we were leaving there was a pretty good storm in progress. We have gone from hot beyond belief to frozen thru at the wall. Unfortunately we did not get great views but this section of the was very hilly and
The trip took most of the day so we had an early dinner at the Peking Duck restaurant that Chis A had recommended. It was excellent. Even Kathy and Bill who are not adventurous when it comes to food enjoyed. No forks here everyone eating with chopsticks and doing quite well. Who would have thought we’d get Bill doing this and still smiling!
After dinner we braved the horrendous Beijing traffic and went to the Silk Market to shop. Shopping here is quite the tiring experience as everything must be negotiated; We preserved and made some purchases, including designer bags for Kathy and me. That was a story in itself but will have to wait as we are running late this morning. It’s our last day and we’ve more to see.
The trip took most of the day so we had an early dinner at the Peking Duck restaurant that Chis A had recommended. It was excellent. Even Kathy and Bill who are not adventurous when it comes to food enjoyed. No forks here everyone eating with chopsticks and doing quite well. Who would have thought we’d get Bill doing this and still smiling!
After dinner we braved the horrendous Beijing traffic and went to the Silk Market to shop. Shopping here is quite the tiring experience as everything must be negotiated; We preserved and made some purchases, including designer bags for Kathy and me. That was a story in itself but will have to wait as we are running late this morning. It’s our last day and we’ve more to see.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Beijing, March 27
It took us all day and then some to get from Boracay to Beijing but we were up early and out to see the sights. At Tiananmen Square there were huge numbers of people, most Chinese on tours. We spent several hours touring the Forbidden City but saw only part of it. The Forbidden City is huge, about twenty city blocks long and several wide, enclosed by a wall and surrounded by a moat. There are 75 palaces within the city all well preserved. Most of the Forbidden City was built in the 1400-1500s and only opened to anyone beyond Chinese royalty in 1941. A most spectacular place. We left there and went on to the Temple of Heaven across town, again really unique place.
We meet up with the Lees in the late afternoon as they arrived from Manila and the last of the wedding festivities. Everyone tired from travel and all of the time changes so we had an American dinner and made a short foray into a night market here to check out the souvenirs. The street vendors here are very aggressive and it takes some doing to get by then. All things bought in the market need to be haggled for with ridiculous trading situations. The vendor quotes a price by showing you a number on a calculator. The number is about 10 times higher than he will accept. You are then expected to enter a number in his calculator as to what you’d offer. These exchanges go on until a price is agreed on. All in all not enjoyable!
There is some tension in the city with the situation in T*b*t. The censorship is heavy handed. On the TV when news reports are given about the situation there the TV goes blank for portions of the broadcast that are not favorable. Internet access is also censored, no one can get to certain stories on web sites and some websites like youtube are not accessible at all. While we can still post to the blog we cannot view our (or any other) blog. It doesn't appear that we can continue to add photos to the blog also. I’d like to make some other comments but won’t right now.
Off to the Great Wall today!
We meet up with the Lees in the late afternoon as they arrived from Manila and the last of the wedding festivities. Everyone tired from travel and all of the time changes so we had an American dinner and made a short foray into a night market here to check out the souvenirs. The street vendors here are very aggressive and it takes some doing to get by then. All things bought in the market need to be haggled for with ridiculous trading situations. The vendor quotes a price by showing you a number on a calculator. The number is about 10 times higher than he will accept. You are then expected to enter a number in his calculator as to what you’d offer. These exchanges go on until a price is agreed on. All in all not enjoyable!
There is some tension in the city with the situation in T*b*t. The censorship is heavy handed. On the TV when news reports are given about the situation there the TV goes blank for portions of the broadcast that are not favorable. Internet access is also censored, no one can get to certain stories on web sites and some websites like youtube are not accessible at all. While we can still post to the blog we cannot view our (or any other) blog. It doesn't appear that we can continue to add photos to the blog also. I’d like to make some other comments but won’t right now.
Off to the Great Wall today!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Carole's comments on Wednesday March 26
The Wedding Rings- part 2: If you watched the wedding video carefully you probably already know that the rings arrived in time for the ceremony. Bill called someone in Manila, who called someone, who handed the rings to someone coming to Boracay on Monday, and the rings were hand delivered to the hotel in plenty of time for the 4:30 event. But it doesn’t really matter because we will never let Bill live this one down.
The Food: We had a question about the food. I am enjoying most of the Chinese and Philippine food – lots of seafood and shellfish (crab, shrimp- with their heads on) and also plenty of chicken and pork, but not many vegetables – at least in the Philippines. There was an entire roasted pig at the reception; I plan on Peking duck at least once in Beijing. But there are plenty of things I am not even tempted to try - like the dried fish heads served with the breakfast buffet. (At least I think that is what they are. I try not to get too close to them at that hour of the day!)
Today’s travel: Up at 5 am (AGAINL). So far today we’ve been on a van, a boat, a tricycle, a plane, a taxi, and then another plane. (The last plane was a new Boeing 777- the most comfortable plane I’ve ever been on – with enough leg room to cross your legs!). It is now 3 pm - we have a 3 hr layover in Hong Kong before taking our last plane into Beijing this evening. The Lee’s and Fitzpatrick’s are staying in Manila tonight and attending a Chinese dinner in honor of the newlyweds.
One final note: I meant to mention this when we were here before…Hong Kong is the CLEANEST place I have ever been - I am very impressed. With this many people it would be easy to understand if there was garbage everywhere - but instead I’m amazed at how spotless every place is – including the harbor. I wish Philadelphia were even a tenth as clean as HK.
The Food: We had a question about the food. I am enjoying most of the Chinese and Philippine food – lots of seafood and shellfish (crab, shrimp- with their heads on) and also plenty of chicken and pork, but not many vegetables – at least in the Philippines. There was an entire roasted pig at the reception; I plan on Peking duck at least once in Beijing. But there are plenty of things I am not even tempted to try - like the dried fish heads served with the breakfast buffet. (At least I think that is what they are. I try not to get too close to them at that hour of the day!)
Today’s travel: Up at 5 am (AGAINL). So far today we’ve been on a van, a boat, a tricycle, a plane, a taxi, and then another plane. (The last plane was a new Boeing 777- the most comfortable plane I’ve ever been on – with enough leg room to cross your legs!). It is now 3 pm - we have a 3 hr layover in Hong Kong before taking our last plane into Beijing this evening. The Lee’s and Fitzpatrick’s are staying in Manila tonight and attending a Chinese dinner in honor of the newlyweds.
One final note: I meant to mention this when we were here before…Hong Kong is the CLEANEST place I have ever been - I am very impressed. With this many people it would be easy to understand if there was garbage everywhere - but instead I’m amazed at how spotless every place is – including the harbor. I wish Philadelphia were even a tenth as clean as HK.
Tuesday, March 25
A low energy day on the beach. Everyone tired after the wedding. Some of us had massages on the beach. Tonight we went for a sunset sail and then dinner on the beach.
We are off to Beijing in the early morning. The Lees have one more wedding dinner in Manila and will catch up with us in Beijing. The Fitzpatricks are then off to Japan!
I hope we can continue to post when in Beijing but not sure that will work out. We'll see.
We are off to Beijing in the early morning. The Lees have one more wedding dinner in Manila and will catch up with us in Beijing. The Fitzpatricks are then off to Japan!
I hope we can continue to post when in Beijing but not sure that will work out. We'll see.
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Reception - at sunset on the beach
The setting for this reception is stunning. We have watched all day long as scores of people have worked to set up the reception area. There is a large tent fully equipped with lighting, tables for dinner, a cocktail area, a buffet area and a wooden dance floor. There is even a 5 foot sand sculpture with their names engraved in sand.
There are about two thousand more pictures taken on the beach with the sunset as the backdrop. The wedding planner is guiding everyone down to the surf to have their pictures taken with Bill and Steph. Every guest appears to have a camera, so more pictures are being taken. The wedding planner would like Steph to go into the surf for a picture but is dismayed to learn Steph is saving her dress for another wedding (the May reception in the US). Just a hoot!
The dinner was excellent, every kind of fish or meat you could imagine including a whole roasted pig. Following dinner an 8 piece band played for two hours and had everyone (including big Bill) dancing. To differentiate the Bills Steph's family calls Billy- dollar bill and Bill hundred dollar bill.
I think the wedding and reception were a great success and fulfilled everyone's hopes. I don't know when I've seen a more exuberant bride and groom, they appeared to have a great time at the wedding. I gotta think their faces hurt from smiling with all of those pictures though.
There are about two thousand more pictures taken on the beach with the sunset as the backdrop. The wedding planner is guiding everyone down to the surf to have their pictures taken with Bill and Steph. Every guest appears to have a camera, so more pictures are being taken. The wedding planner would like Steph to go into the surf for a picture but is dismayed to learn Steph is saving her dress for another wedding (the May reception in the US). Just a hoot!
The dinner was excellent, every kind of fish or meat you could imagine including a whole roasted pig. Following dinner an 8 piece band played for two hours and had everyone (including big Bill) dancing. To differentiate the Bills Steph's family calls Billy- dollar bill and Bill hundred dollar bill.
I think the wedding and reception were a great success and fulfilled everyone's hopes. I don't know when I've seen a more exuberant bride and groom, they appeared to have a great time at the wedding. I gotta think their faces hurt from smiling with all of those pictures though.
The Wedding - Sunday 4pm
The time has finally arrived. We are all dressed to the nines and off to church in tricycles. The ceremony will be a nuptial mass. The church which is quite poor has been redorcated with white muslim sheeting on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. There are orchards everywhere. All of the men in the wedding party have had traditional Filipino shirts and pants made for the wedding. Very functional as it has been about 90 degress with 100% humidilty since we got here. The ceremony begins with Bill, Kathy and Billy processing down the aisle. Following them are the principal sponsors, for Steph her two sets of godparents for Bill, his aunt and uncle. Next is the wedding party which is about 4 couples and includes Steph's sisters and Kevin and Ryan F. Then the doors of the church are closed and slowly opened and Stephanie standing alone is seen through a gauze curtain. She looks positively stunning in her dress. The church erupts in applause! Then her mom and dad on either side accompany her down the aisle.
The mass is what we are familiar with and the nuptial vows are taken right after the sermon which was a little long. Both Bill and Steph spoke their vows in strong voices leaving no doubt they are happy! Additionally there is a candle lighting ceremony to join the two families (Kevin for the Lees), and a ceremonial joining with a veil over Stephanie and attached to Bill. Ryan participated in that one. Everything went quickly after that. The amount of professional photography going on needs to be seen to be believed. They have both a still photo team and a video team, all told about 8-9 people working on this. Not to worry Claire you'll get to see everything when they get the pics and the video!
Bill is well represented at this wedding, including me, Carole, the Fitzpatricks, his best man Steve from Philly, there is a group of about 10 from all over the US who've made the trip. The group are their friends from Duke where both Steph and Bill went to grad school. From Stephanie's side there are about 60 people mostly family and close friends.
Off to the reception!
The mass is what we are familiar with and the nuptial vows are taken right after the sermon which was a little long. Both Bill and Steph spoke their vows in strong voices leaving no doubt they are happy! Additionally there is a candle lighting ceremony to join the two families (Kevin for the Lees), and a ceremonial joining with a veil over Stephanie and attached to Bill. Ryan participated in that one. Everything went quickly after that. The amount of professional photography going on needs to be seen to be believed. They have both a still photo team and a video team, all told about 8-9 people working on this. Not to worry Claire you'll get to see everything when they get the pics and the video!
Bill is well represented at this wedding, including me, Carole, the Fitzpatricks, his best man Steve from Philly, there is a group of about 10 from all over the US who've made the trip. The group are their friends from Duke where both Steph and Bill went to grad school. From Stephanie's side there are about 60 people mostly family and close friends.
Off to the reception!
Get Me to the Church on Time
A day on the beach with beauty treatments right in the beach chairs! Some had their makeup done professionally, others pedicures, manicures. and massages. Truly a magical place. They set up a tent, chairs and a dancing area right on the beach for the reception later. We saw big Bill, Kathy and Bill getting photos at 2pm. Everyone looked great in their linen shirts and Kathy in a lavendar dress. We'll try and post photos later tonight. We are so sorry Deirdre, Claire, Jack, Greg and Harry aren't here. We miss you all!
We are off to get on the tricycles to go to the church.
The rings did get here about noon - more on that later. Bill will never live this down.
We are off to get on the tricycles to go to the church.
The rings did get here about noon - more on that later. Bill will never live this down.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
A post from Chuck Fitzpatrick
The adventure is incredible. In ways it is so surreal that words do not do it justice. The excursion from Manilla to Boracay was like something from an Indiana Jones movie. First a packed Mercedes van from the hotel. Then an hour in the airport, surrounded by a thousand happy tourists of all nationalities on God's green earth. The weigh-in of the baggage and the people, talk of "we're going to need a bigger boat [sic]", the delays waiting for the plane,etc. Once settled into the domestic departure area, Estrella unveiled the Red Ribbon pastries since she just knew there would be unanticipated delays. very Kennedy-era airport complete with a shrine to Our Lady of the Airways. To whom I can assure more than one prayer was said! The walk on the tarmac to the plane was exciting, since no one actually pointed us to the correct plane and each one I asked (and showed my ticket to) merely smiled and shook his head yes without actually looking at the ticket. The plane was very modern (which was a disappointment after the intense attention to individual passenger weight at weigh-in.) The arrival at Catalan was uneventful once you got over the exciting landing. Then the f rry ride. Then the motorcycle tricycle ride up to the resort. Five people in a vehicle made for three, and with more luggage than expected. At one point, we overtook another tryke with about seven folks in it that could not make it up the hill. I suspect several had to get off to walk up to the top of the hill before getting back on! This type of stuff is why we travel . . . totally unplan-able - but worth its weight in gold. The resort is incredible - white sandy beaches surrounded by the bluest water and palm trees. Truly heaven on earth
"Rings? What rings?"
One last moment from earlier today....Right after the plane takes off, Bill realizes he doesn't have the wedding rings...Stay tuned..... (Carole)
Manila to Boracay part 3
Now onto the outrigger boats which took us over to Boracay Island. Really need to see this activity to believe it but better than the boats was the tricycles which took us from the boat landing to the hotel! We did it all in the way of transportation today, but we are now finally here at Boracay and it is a beautiful tropical island. Our hotel is right on the beach, surrounded by palm trees. The beach itself is beautiful, the water crystal clear. Everyone is delighted to be here.
We really have to give kudos to Stephanie's mom Estrella who guided us every step of the way from Manila to Boracay. She made it all go very smoothly.
Manila to Boracay part 2
Next all 25 of us finally get on the prop plane that is to take us to the island next to Boracay. The flight was smooth but the landing was something else. We bounced twice and then swayed side to side for about 15 hair raising seconds! In the end all was fine and we reclaimed our luggage and got in a van to go to the outrigger canoes that took us to Boracay Island
Carole's commentary for Sunday Manila to Boracay part 1
Another early day- up at 5am.
After caravaning to the airport, all of our checked baggage was placed on a scale in one gigantic heap. Seems we were over all of the legal limits. Much discussion ensued - though I'm not really sure how it was resolved. Next - WE had to be weighed, along with our carryon bags. There was lots of strategy employed to have the lightest people weighed with the heaviest bags. This is a video of Steph's grandmother being weighed with the heaviest piece of carryon baggage. I think this went on for about an hour. I supposed it all worked out since eventually we were all allowed on the plane.
After caravaning to the airport, all of our checked baggage was placed on a scale in one gigantic heap. Seems we were over all of the legal limits. Much discussion ensued - though I'm not really sure how it was resolved. Next - WE had to be weighed, along with our carryon bags. There was lots of strategy employed to have the lightest people weighed with the heaviest bags. This is a video of Steph's grandmother being weighed with the heaviest piece of carryon baggage. I think this went on for about an hour. I supposed it all worked out since eventually we were all allowed on the plane.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Saturday, March 22 in Manila
Up at o dark hundred to fly from HK to Manila. Smooth flight with no excitement. Finally hooked up with Bill and Steph at the airport in Manila. They took us to a great lunch spot on Manila Bay where we had all types of Filipino food that was excellent. We then had a tour of the old section of Manila where we rode on kalesas - which are horse drawn carts - quite the exciting ride. Manila is an interesting city, a lot like parts of Spain. The Spaniards arrived in 1541 and immediately founded schools. Some of the best colleges in the East are in Manila. There was incredible damage to Manila City in WWII, some still in evidence.
Following that everyone hit the wall except me. Stephanie took me and several of her friends from Duke off to shop in a local market where all sorts of bargains were available. Our luggage is getting even heavier!!
Our group has now gotten larger, we've acquired Bill's friend Steve the best man and several friends from Duke Gail and Melanie. We were all guests of Stephanie's parents on Saturday night. We had a wonderful dinner in a Singaporean restaurant. I've enjoyed all of the food but not all travelers are so enthusiastic about the cuisine.
Following that everyone hit the wall except me. Stephanie took me and several of her friends from Duke off to shop in a local market where all sorts of bargains were available. Our luggage is getting even heavier!!
Our group has now gotten larger, we've acquired Bill's friend Steve the best man and several friends from Duke Gail and Melanie. We were all guests of Stephanie's parents on Saturday night. We had a wonderful dinner in a Singaporean restaurant. I've enjoyed all of the food but not all travelers are so enthusiastic about the cuisine.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Friday, March 21
Just a quick post tonight as we are done in and have a 4:30 wake up call in the am. The Lees and Fitzpatricks were off to Macau today and haven't been seen since. Hopefully they had a good day.
Carole and I were up early and ended up birding with a Chinese group in Kowloon Park. Quite the multilingual adventure. Following that we took a ferry to one of the remote islands - Cheung Chau. Very small and picturesque. People are still living on junks and support themselves through fishing. We hiked around the island, had a nice seaside lunch before returning to HK. Tonight we watched a laser light show in the harbor - as each of the 30 buildings that participated were introduced they either presented multicolored lights or flashed laser lights. A crowd of over 10,000 watched this show. Everything here is supersized.
Off to Manila in the am for a day and then onto Boracay Island Sunday morning.
Carole and I were up early and ended up birding with a Chinese group in Kowloon Park. Quite the multilingual adventure. Following that we took a ferry to one of the remote islands - Cheung Chau. Very small and picturesque. People are still living on junks and support themselves through fishing. We hiked around the island, had a nice seaside lunch before returning to HK. Tonight we watched a laser light show in the harbor - as each of the 30 buildings that participated were introduced they either presented multicolored lights or flashed laser lights. A crowd of over 10,000 watched this show. Everything here is supersized.
Off to Manila in the am for a day and then onto Boracay Island Sunday morning.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery March 20
We've added the Fitzpatrick Family (Kathy's brother Chuck, his wife Karen and their boys, Kevin and Ryan) to our group. Today we started out for one of the more remote parts - Lantau Island. In the East, half of the adventure is getting where you're going. To get to the island we first walk to the Star Ferry and take the 10 minute sailing across HK bay to HK Island, from there we took another 45 minute ferry ride to Mui Wo, from there a bus ride up the side of a mountain to the remote Po Lin monastery. The monastery is noted for an enormous statue of Buddha that is among the largest in the world. Buddha sits on a bed of lotus leaves 85 ft tall. The bad news was we had to then climb about 400 steps straight up to get to the base of the statue. It was well worth the trip, we felt as if we were in the foothills of the Himalayas, with mist encircling us and Buddhist monks chanting in the distance! The entry to the monastery was free but you are encouraged to buy a vegetarian lunch from the monks, which we did. More mystery food but all in all not bad. Some among us are losing weight but not me!
The return to HK was equally challenging. From the top of the mountain we took a 45 minute cable car ride to the base at Tung Chung. The cable car ride provide spectacular views of the area, but the acrophobic among us struggled. Following the cable car ride we took the spotless HK metro to our hotel. A pretty tiring day, with jet lag catching up to us we settled for Pizza Hut for dinner. (Except for the Fitzpatrick's - who were last seen on the metro heading for Victoria's peak.)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Fitzpatrick's safely in Hong Kong
Chuck, Karen, Ryan and Kevin were sighted Wednesday night safe, sound and jet lagged in HK.
Carole's comments on the trip so far
1. Our first meal in HK:
Tuesday night we took a pass on Mickey D's and opted for something authentic. The restaurant was upstairs- so we hauled our jet lagged butts up 5 flights - where they seemed astonished to see us. [We thought it was because we were the only Americans there but after dinner we found out the real reason - when they escorted us to the ELEVATOR!]. The menu was in Chinese and they didn't speak English- so we were in trouble from the get go. But turns out there was actually only 1 item on the menu anyway- rice noodle soup with a variety of additions. As I slurped noodles from my chopsticks and splashed my shirt - I asked for a napkin- but was told they don't have napkins! Maybe packing light was going to be a bad thing...
2. Money:
We have had great fun calculating the price of things. Each US $ is about $8 Hong Kong. A bottle of Australian chardonnay is $100HK, Bill bargained for a watch at the Temple Street Night Market that started at $25 HK, while dinner for 4 costs us only $160 HK.
Speaking of dinner- Wednesday night we ate in a Japanese restaurant because we didn't notice the difference!! We chose it mainly because the menu was in English- but the food was very good (AND they had napkins.)
Tuesday night we took a pass on Mickey D's and opted for something authentic. The restaurant was upstairs- so we hauled our jet lagged butts up 5 flights - where they seemed astonished to see us. [We thought it was because we were the only Americans there but after dinner we found out the real reason - when they escorted us to the ELEVATOR!]. The menu was in Chinese and they didn't speak English- so we were in trouble from the get go. But turns out there was actually only 1 item on the menu anyway- rice noodle soup with a variety of additions. As I slurped noodles from my chopsticks and splashed my shirt - I asked for a napkin- but was told they don't have napkins! Maybe packing light was going to be a bad thing...
2. Money:
We have had great fun calculating the price of things. Each US $ is about $8 Hong Kong. A bottle of Australian chardonnay is $100HK, Bill bargained for a watch at the Temple Street Night Market that started at $25 HK, while dinner for 4 costs us only $160 HK.
Speaking of dinner- Wednesday night we ate in a Japanese restaurant because we didn't notice the difference!! We chose it mainly because the menu was in English- but the food was very good (AND they had napkins.)
Hong Kong - Wednesday March 19
Out and about in Hong Kong today. The weather was sunny but some fog kept us from getting the great views at Victoria Peak. We took the bus up to the top of the peak and the tram back down. Exciting for those who don't like heights.
I am amazed at how Hong Kong has changed since I was here in 1985 - no one living on junks in the harbor, truly a modern city with more sky scrapers than any western city. We took the Star Ferry from Kowloon where we are staying across to Hong Kong Island - 25cent bargain. Prices here are quite reasonable, less than NYC.
We are off to the Temple Street Night market in search of bargains.
Our picture today is of Kathy G, and Kathy and Bill Lee at Victoria Peak
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Greetings from Hong Kong
We had a great flight from Newark to HK. thanks to John MacA who chauffered us to the door at Newark airport - first class service. On the 15 hour flight Carole and I scored exit row seats which was terrific. Bill and Kathy also did well but not as much sleep as us! We got into HK Tuesday evening. No need to reset watches we are exactly 12 hours ahead. We walked a bit last night and got Bill his first unusual eating experience at a local noodle house. He did well for a meat and potatoes guy.
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