Back at home....

This is the end of my Asia Tour 2008. Not sure when I will return to Hong Kong...but I think the next time will include Shanghai, other parts of China, Japan and maybe Taiwan/Vietnam.

During this trip, I shopped around for lots of Asian cookbooks (exotic Chinese and Thai). So I am going to commit myself in trying out various recipes, in hope to be a little better cook...so I can show off to my friends.

One more Hong Kong Museum

For a person born in Hong Kong and who have returned numerous times, there are many places I have never been to. Hong Kong's Museum of Coastal Defense (香港海防博物館) is a gem that I should have visted long ago. This museum spells out the history of Hong Kong, from the Ming and Qing dynasty to the day Hong Kong returned to China. Hong Kong has been through a lot, from oppression of British (and other European countries) during the Opium Wars, to Japan's occupation in WWII, o the financial ups-and-downs in the past 3 decades.

The rest of the day was to make my last run for last minute shopping...though there really isn't a whole lot to buy.

Lantau Island...another Buddha!!!

Besides my phobia of water, I also have a phobia of heights. Today's trip was to Lantau Island (which is the same island that houses the HK International Airport). To see the big buddha in Hong Kong, one can take a long 25 minute cable car, called Ngong Ping 360 (昂坪360), to the peak.




Overlooking the Hong Kong International Airport

To be at the foot of the big buddha, one has to climb 268 steps. If you know your Chinese, the number "268" sounds like "easy to continaully be rich". I am so out of shape...

After the big buddha, more shopping...


The Big Buddha of Lantau Island...not as big as the one in Phuket

Hong Kong Museum Day

Every Wednesday, Museum is free in Hong Kong. So I went to Hong Kong Museum of Art (香港藝術館) and the Space Museum (香港太空館). Museum of Art was interesting, Space Museum was stupid.

The rest of the day was devoted to shopping...then I went to a bar in Central which served free Vodka drinks from 7pm to 10pm on Wednesday. FREE!!!! EVERYTHING TODAY WAS FREE (except for the shopping)!!!

Bad News come in Three's....

As soon as I landed back in Hong Kong, I went shopping...

First bad news: I left my ATM card at a Citibank ATM machine...the machine eats ATM cards left in the teller if customers does not take his/her card immediately after transaction....my card was eaten :(

Second bad news: My MTR subway transit card died....somehow demagnetized. So, MTR customer service gave me a receipt so that I can reclaim my HKD$50 deposit and any unused money in 5 business days. I leave in 4 days.

Third bad news: my credit card...may have been demagnetized too...

Not a good day...

Bored...

Like my last day in Prague back in 2005, I was bored to death on this last full day in Phuket. So, I went shopping and go see the new James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace. Pretty cool movie. What is even more cool are the theatre seats, they are so comfortable...at an incredible price of US$5 (this is what US theatre should charge!!!). You can even get sofa loveseats for US$10!!!

One very, very interesting note in watching a movie in Thailand is that before the movie starts (after the trailers and before the main feature), the theatre shows a short film featuring the present King of Thailand. Everyone was to pay respect and stand for the duration of the short. Thai really love their King and the Royal Family.

In the evening, I went to a Thai Massage parlor. In front of the parlor, the billboard said 350 Baht (US$10) for a one-hour massage. However, there was a little small sign inside that said I was to tip a minimum 500 Baht (US15) for the massuer!!! Though this was still super cheap by US standards, I was a bit shocked and felt I have been had. So...Thailand did not end on a high note.

Island Hopping...my first snorkling experience

Today the weather held up well....at least during the island hopping day trip (Phi Phi Island, etc). My friend, Howard and I took this 1900 Baht (US$50) per person trip around nearby islands...laying on beaches and snorkling (which is the first time for me).




Phi Phi Island...the beach and the coast

Since I really did not see much blue skies, it is best to go here to see how nice Phi Phi Island is.


Some stupid woman risking going to the hospital with a monkey (known to have a virus) on her head

I have a bit of a water phobia, so it did take me awhile because I could get used to the breathing method. At one point, my leg was being nibbled by fish in the water....I was so paranoid, thinking of shark attacks that can happen in the area. So needless to say, I was not relaxed at all during the entire experience (not to mention some box jellyfish was sited in the region).

Thundering Rain....Tuk Tuk Tour Redux!!

With the dark clouds above, there isn't a whole lot to do (obviously not a day to be at the beach), so I hired a Tuk Tuk again for a cheap tour of Phuket Island. The driver drove all around the island to some really nice spots, but I was met with pouring rain.

The highlight of the tour was a visit to the biggest Buddha in Southeast Asia (still under construction)....called the Big Buddha. This 45 meter giant is perched atop Nakkerd Hills at an altitiude of 350-meters and can be seen from much of southern Phuket.


The Big Buddha on top of the hill


One of the shrines at the Big Buddha

The other highlight was watching people riding motorcycles in the pouring rain. A side note...at the inner 3-4 rings of Beijing, motorcycles are illegal...in Bangkok, all I see is motorcycles, because with the traffic, you'd be insane to even drive. Tuk Tuk gets the best of both worlds, a roof over one head and the vehicle is small enough to make illegal maneuvers.

Phuket...I feel miserable... :-(

I cannot sleep last night...not because I was super excited about relaxing at Phuket....it was because of the terrible mosquito bites (I kept waking up looking for ice cubes to sooth the itch on both arms). I had such a bad allergic reaction that I had to make a trip to the pharmacy to get some hard-core anti-inflammtory medicine (naproxen) to take along with the allergy meds (prednisone).


City Streets of Phuket...hmmmm...the clouds don't look too good today...


The Beach of Phuket...the only sunset I saw...

Tuk Tuk around the polluted Bangkok streets...

With nothing better to do today because streets are closed until 2pm for more cremation rehearsal of the late Princess Vadhana, I hired a Tuk Tuk to get a city street tour around Bangkok (and go to Wat Pho for a view of the Reclining Buddha).

I was not all that thrilled about this Tuk Tuk ride...I was literally inhaling carbon monoxide from all the cars everywhere. I felt kinda sick after a few minutes...


From within a Tuk Tuk




Wat Mahaprutaram


The Reclining Buddha in Wat Pho...she is HUGE!!!!

At one of the stops at one of the older temples in Bangkok, a local talked to me about how happy he was that Obama won along with the history of the local temples. Little that he knew that I was not paying attention to him at all (as a matter of fact, I was waiting for him to shutup), because I was being attacked by mosquitos. I am allergic to mosquitos... 'nuff said.

However, a local friend did take me to eat (finally) at a really nice Thai Restaurant called Taling Pling.

Yuck...beyond yuck!!!

Took a river boat tour today around the various rivers and canals in Bangkok. Seven to eight years ago, when I was here with tour group, the guide avoided doing this tour because the river just stink with all the human garbage and "waste" that flows....


On the Boat...the river is brown....


Some interesting floating on the Bangkok River...


I don't care how poor I am....I need my Satellite TV for the latest Thai soap!!!

What I saw was pretty much something quite disgusting....on my right, I see a concrete sewage pipe dumping some yellow-brown liquid into the river. On my left, I see a woman bathing....she even submerged her head underwater. What more can I say?


...to my right hand side...


...to my left hand side...

The river boat also took people to some zoo/snake farm. Off course, the animals are in terrible living conditions which I did not really want to see. The zoo provided a snake show, which was quite heart pounding. I wonder if these folks ever made any mistakes...




Snake Farm Demos...a bit too close for me

In the afternoon, I visited the Jim Thompson House. A historical figure who brought Thai silk to the mainstream, Jim has an eye for art through his background in architecture. This Jim Tompson House has some very interesting decor (they don't allow pics inside his home, so you'd have to go visit his website). His shop has some very nice products, but they are considered quite expensive in the midst of how cheap Thailand is suppose to be for everything...


Jim Thompson House Exterior

OK....Weather isn't behaving today

Today was a visit to the gem of Bangkok: Wat Prakaew and the Grand Palace. To get there, I took a boat ride from Sathom. The boat ride went through the river and I got to see some nice modern Thailand scenary.

Wat Prakaew and the Grand Palace was very beautiful. The decor is vastly different than that of China. However, the visit was rushed once the thunder and lightning started. The pouring rain came in another 10 minutes thereafter. I was stuck a bit. But then made my way to the Grand Palace but was blocked due to the cremation rehearsal of Thailand's well respected princess, Princess Galyani Vadhana.


Storm is coming to Wat Prakaew


Inside Wat Prakaew


The Snakes behind the Buddha


One of the god figures guarding entrances

With rain overhead, all the taxis and other public transportation took advantage of the situation and charged an arm and a leg. Refusing to pay 200 baht (which was actually US$6), I took the boat back to Sathom and returned back to the hotel.


Bangkok City Skyline from the River

The forecast doesn't look all that good. I just hope this thunder storm weather doesn't carry onto Phuket this Friday...


A poor kitty caught in the rain at Grand Palace...she was meowing sadly...

Too tired to do anything....

First day in Bangkok...and I just don't feel like doing any tourism stuff. So, I just walked around the Silom area and then go to some of the big boutique malls. That's it. Ate at some mediocre Thai Restaurant called Bua for dinner. So far not all that exciting. Then the bomb news on TV...the storm that flooded Vietnam will be here...ALL WEEK!!!!

Lost a day.... :-(

I flew out of Beijing early in the morning at around 10am. Arrived in Hong Kong at 1:30pm for a layover, just to find out my flight was delayed from 4pm to 5:30pm. I got onto the plane...the plane moved away from the terminal to start its engine. Captain announced that the engine seems to be a bit problematic....so we were delayed for take off for 1 hour. An hour passed, and the captain announced that we will have to switch plane....and the new departure time is 7:20pm. Everyone got off the plane (on the runway near the terminal) and was driven back to the terminal.


Everyone getting off the plane...at least we did not take off with an engine problem!!!

Everyone rushed to the new gate. Plane is again delayed until 8pm. Everyone got on the plane. Two stupid girls were missing. The plane waited until 8:30pm. The girls showed up....apparently was shopping at the Duty Free Shop. I kept wishing the plane left them behind.

I arrived in Bangkok at around 10:30pm (Bangkok is 1 hour behind Hong Kong and Beijing). Checked into my hoteol: Silom Serene. Got a nice Thai Massage at 11:30pm. Now it is 12:45am...time to sleep....zzzzzzzz....

No Blue Sky....until the wind blew the smog away...

I was a bit bummed to see the sky being hazy and grey-brown. Today's trip was to the beautiful Summer Garden. Upon arrival and walking to the lake area, I realized that this place is HUGE!!! The beauty was magnificent, even more than the Forbidden City.


Summer Garden Palace View from the Lake


The Lake from the Summer Garden Palace....the lake is bigger than you think!


Area where visitors cannot visit

As I walked through the various quarters of this park, I tried to envision what the days of old when queens and princesses strolled and enjoyed the scenery. Seeing all this historic site helped me to actually visualize better the locations of various martial arts novels I have read that takes place in the Qing Dynasty.


On top of the Summer Garden Palace


On the Steps toward the top of the Summer Garden Palace

Within the park, there is also a museum that showcased some of the oldest artifacts I have ever seen dating back to 11th century BC!!! The crafts at the time was just as delicate and beautiful. After the Summer Garden, the next stop was the Beijing Olympic Stadium...the Bird Nest and the Water Cube. Hundreads and thousands of people flooded this world famous stadium. Indeed the exterior and interior was grand and the design was breathtaking. Now I wished I had actually been there for the actual event.


Bird Nest Exterior...so massive!!!


Bird Nest Interior...everybody wants a piece of history here!


The Water Cube

I only went into the Bird Nest but not the Water Cube....no time. That is...I must visit the world's biggest adidas store in Chaoyang District!!! It turns out to be one of the newest shopping mall in Beijing. However, just across a small alley way, there exists another shopping mall....selling the same thing...except they are all knock-offs. So odd....


The World's Biggest Adidas Superstore!


The Night of Beijing...no motorcycles. Just cars and bicycles.

Tonight is the last night at Beijing, so I went to eat at a great dumpling restuarant: Dong Fang Dumpling King (东方饺子王). I think it is probably the best dumpling I have ever had. If you ever have the chance to visit this place....definitely give it a try!!!


Dong Fang Dumpling King. A great place to eat!!