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Hong Kong

07 Thursday Apr 2011

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Big plane and lots of turbulence. Frightening. Saving grace was that they had Glee episodes that I could watch during the flight. And I was totally that girl who rewound the same scene over and over again to listen to one of the songs (Neil Patrick Harris when he and Matthew Morrison sung Dream On. I kept looking around to see if anyone noticed me replaying scenes. But it got me through the flight! Sue was sitting a row behind me so she wasn’t able to calm me down. I think the turbulence might have even shaken her nerves a bit!

We were relieved to have found all the signs in english so we had no issues finding tickets to the airport express train and then to the station itself. We took a cab from the station to our hotel which was actually like a 5 min can ride. Guess it was closer than we thought! But probably would have been a bit hard to walk to.

We checked into our hotel and found our room. Tiny but totally cute! I wish I had taken a decent picture of it. I am not a tall person but the bed barely was long enough for me.

We got changed and then headed downstairs. My brother happened to be on town for business but I couldn’t get any wifi so was unable to get in touch with him. We talked to the concierge about how to get to the Star Ferry and then walked out the doors and to our left. Just as we turned left, we walked into my brother. He had come to the hotel looking for us but they said there was no one there by our name! Perfect timing and meant to be. A couple minutes earlier and we would have missed him. Now we had a tour guide!

We walked to the Star Ferry terminal and took in the view of Hong Kong island. So amazing!

The Star Ferry is a great way to get across to the island. Such great views.

Once on the other side we walked up to the Peak Tram to find a huge lineup. We heard the views were so incredible from the top so we waited in line for the hour so we could experience it. We planned our spot well when we got to the front because we got the first pick of seats. And was I ever glad. The angle the tram gets to at some points is crazy. Standing up would not have been enjoyable.

There was a series of escalators that we need to go up in order to get to the Sky Terrace. I am not a big fan of heights so this was not pleasant for me. I am sure I had the most ridiculous look on my face as we made our way up them but it was worth it when you stepped outside. Simpy stunning. It was a hazy night so the view wasn’t as crisp as I am sure it is on a clear night but wow!! Totally worth it!

We then made our way back down and took the MTR to Temple Street Night Market where we immediately plunked ourselves down for some good old street cuisine! So yummy! We ate (and drank) our fill!

We wandered the booths at the market and then through some of the other streets before heading back to our hotel. I absolutely loved Hong Kong at night!

We said goodbye to Jason (again) and turned in.

In the morning, we grabbed some breakfast and then took the MTR to Causeway Bay. I wanted to check out the Triple O’s there. I know that is totally nerd like of me but I did work as the Marketing Manager for them for 6 years so it would have been strange for me not to visit one of the Hong Kong locations.

We weren’t sure how far away Central (and the escalators) were so we started walking in that direction. It ended up taking us an hour and a halfbut it gave us a great chance to see a lot of the island and all the buildings.

You could really see the British influence especially with the cable cars!

We finally got to the escalators which are the longest covered outdoor escalators in the world spanning about 800 meters.

 We settled in for some lunch at the top and then made our way back down to the MTR which we took to the Ladies Market.

Sue and I both bought some copy bags before heading back to our hotel for a little chill time. We ended up at the same place for dinner as the night before. It was too good to pass up! And then it was time to get changed into our travel clothes and make our way to the airport.

The flight home was turbulent but my cocktail of wine and a sleeping pill took the edge off and got me through it. It was so great to be home and sleep in my own bed. Although sleep was really to be had for the next 10 days. I had the worst jet lag!!

What a great trip. So memorable. I got to see different cultures, eat new food, meet new friends, hang out & laugh with my good friend Sue and spend some quality time with my brother. What more can a girl ask for!

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

01 Friday Apr 2011

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5 flights down. 2 to go. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City late morning and again took a taxi to our hotel. I thought Hanoi was busy. Ho Chi Minh City is WAY busier than Hanoi. Amid all the chaos (and an accident- a girl on a moped hit our cab), we got to our hotel. Well it took some searching for it actually. We walked by it the first time and only found it after back tracking.

Our room wasn’t ready so we changed into some more suitable clothes for the weather. It was SO humid and hot so we needed light clothing on. We hit the streets to find some food. Within feet we found the Le Pub of HCMC…. we laughed that we had found it that easy (we had spent some time in the Le Pub in Hanoi) and decided to have lunch & a beer there. The food was ok. The beer as always hit the spot.

Our mission for the day was to see the Reunification Palace, the post office and Notre Dame. We eventually found the Reunification Palace after a good 30 minute walk but of course it was closed for an hour. So we made our way a block to see Notre Dame. Also closed. So not a good start to our day! We decided that we would go back to the palace and wait it out.

The Reunification Palace is like going back in time. It is so retro!!

 

We were exhausted at this point and wanted a nap so made our way back to the hotel. Our room was so cute but only one problem… there were no windows. I don’t think I have ever stayed in a hotel with no windows before but it was all good.  It was a comfortable room so we didn’t care! We napped the afternoon away and then got ready for our dinner. We had heard that the view from the Rex Hotel was great so we ventured down that way. A little scary trying to cross the busy streets.  An example of one of the round abouts we had to cross.

 

The view from the Rex Hotel was wonderful. We had a great meal. A few cocktails and listened to their hilarious lounge singer who entertained the crowds.

We took a detour on the way back to the hotel just to see more of the city. Love the streets at night!

The next day we took a taxi to one of the markets and spent the next hours puttering around all the aisles. Holy busy! But what a great experience! So much to see!

There were a bunch of pagodas on our list to see and luckily there were not too far from the market so we made our way from one to another until Susan couldn`t take the incense smoke anymore. Her eyes were stinging so badly!

I loved spending time in the pagodas and watching the people who come in. Of course there are a lot of tourists but it is so interesting watching people who come in to worship.

We then made our way back to town to the Ben Thanh market and wandered around there. I had heard a lot about the market mainly for pick pocketing but it was really nothing special unless you wanted to buy cheap clothes. We didn`t stay long. Instead we went for a nice cold bear and a pub close to our hotel.

Another thing we hadn`t experienced yet was taking a ride on the bike taxi`s so we negotiated a rated to take us to Notre Dame and off we went!

My little driver was quite funny and although I saw my life flash in front of me once when a very large bus got close to us, we made it in one piece!

Unfortately we couldn`t walk all the way through the Notre Dame cathedral as there was a wedding taking place but we were able to stand at the end at watch for a bit. Very strange watching random people get married but the ceremony was beautiful.

And with an early dinner and an early night, we said our goodbyes to Ho Chi Minh City. And very much looked forward to spending some time in Hong Kong.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

01 Friday Apr 2011

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Oh how I hate to fly. Even more so on tiny prop engine planes. Our flight to Nha Trang was not a fun one for me. Way to turbulent for my liking. But we landed safe and sound and that was all that mattered!

The airport is about 30 minutes outside of the resort area so we grabbed a taxi and headed to town!

Nha Trang is your typical beach town. Beautiful sandy beaches lined with hotels. This was exactly what we needed at this point in our vacation. We didn’t waste much time in our hotel (Asia Paradise), We ate a quick breakfast, changed into our bathing suits and off we went to the beach. We wanted to get there early and get us a little beach cabana to chill out under all day. We chose the Sailing Club and paid 30,000 dong ($1.50) for the use of a cabana for the day. Just as we were settling in, we saw Caley and Kyle walk by.  We were not supposed to see them until that night but of course we would randomly run into eachother!! So they settled in beside us.

Before long the wind picked up. Apparently this wind hits the beach every day around 11am. It can really blow! But it did keep you cool on a very hot day!

We lounged until about 3. People watched and laughed at people in the ocean as they got thrown about. The waves were super big! By the time we got back to the hotel, I was feeling a bit red. And by the time it was time to get ready for dinner, I was a full on lobster! That wind, although cooling, also masked the fact that we were frying our asses off!

We had to deal with the peddlers trying to sell us stuff throughout the day but you just say no a couple times and they will leave you alone. Or you can just ignore them. That worked too.

There were a lot of kite surfers out on the water and I managed to get some cool shots!

 

And then there was this poor woman with her feet just a dangling. She doesn’t look comfortable at all!

We had a little nap before getting ready for dinner. Sue and I picked a mediteranean place to eat that night. Needed a good full stomach for our night of drinks with Caley and Kyle. We then walkled the block to the Guava Bar (Sports Bar) to meet up with them. I am sure it is a great place to watch sports but was kind of dead that night so we had a drink with them and then we made our way down the street to the other Guava Bar that was much more happening. They had a band playing and it was quite packed. We sat outside on the patio as it was a lovely evening. I was looking around for the owner who I was introduced to on facebook through a friend. I finally found him and he came over and had a drink with us. There were some shots. Lots of vodka. Lots of conversation. Good times.

When Sue and I got back to the hotel we were happy to see the security guard hard at work… actually the exact opposite. He was sleeping in his chair outside the hotel.

The next morning, I was in a little bit of a vodka fog. I definitely needed to eat and drink a lot of water! But we were still up early and wanted to get to the beach in good time. This day we decided to head down a bit from the Sailing Club and plunk down at Louisiane Brewhouse. The cabanas were slim pickins but we managed to find one eventually. Again, the day was about lounging. We had a bit to eat. We tried their beer. We swam in the pool. We people watched which meant having to watch the guy with the red banana hammock all day long. It was like a train wreck. We couldn’t stop staring.

Caley: “The guy with the banana hammock just turned over!”

Kyle: ” I will take your word for it!” 

And then it was time for Caley, Sue and I to go for our massages. We had booked at one place but when we went buy it, it looked suspect so we ended up at Crazy Kim’s Spa.

The massage was really quite good but it was so cold in the room. They had this fan blasting. By the time the massage was done I was shaking I was so cold. And spent the next 2 hours under 2 massive blankets trying to get warm. All the while googling symptoms and was convinced I had malaria! I eventually stopped shaking but still felt totally out of it. I think it must have been a combination of being dehydrated and some sun stroke.

We met Caley and Kyle for dinner at a restaurant on the main strip. Had a lovely meal. No booze for me. I just needed water, water and more water! And then it was time to say our goodbyes to our lovely Canadian friends! They were staying one more day in Nha Trang before continuing on their travels and Sue and I were heading to Ho Chi Minh City in the morning.

Besides the near malaria scare, Nha Trang was just what the doctor ordered! Total relaxation in a beautiful setting!