Hong Kong - March 17-19, 2010

This is the second set of postings for my 2010 around the world trip, including Hong Kong, Bangkok, Phuket and Vietnam. I hope you enjoy my adventure and look forward to your comments.

Well its been a few days since I've recorded my activity, I hope I remember everything. I left Iguazu on the morning of March 15. It is now the 18th. It was a nice flight to Buenos Aires, but I looked forward to a first class seat to JFK.

My driver in Buenos Aires was late, and the ride to the international airport took forever. I think he wanted to avoid the tolls - he must know Eric's sons. And after we got on the expressway, he ran the fastpass lane. And I think we were traveling over 120 km/hr. But I made it alive.

I spent three hours in the Admirals Club - which ended up being more crowded than the gate. The flight was okay - I say that after having taken my second flight from JFK to Hong Kong. American is probably one of the worse international carriers. They didn't even have the food I wanted. And their liquor selection is pitiful.

So I slept all night from Buenos Aires to New York. I transferred to Cathay Pacific from JFK to Hong Kong. The flight was amazing. The first class seat was more like a suite. It was probably about 6 feet by 6 feet. There were only six seats, and two or three flight attendants.

I had a dim sum snack, and watched two movies. The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock and Inglorious Basterds. I saw Fame on my flight from Buenos Aires to New York. I'm glad I didn't pay to see it. But in fact, I probably paid a fortune, since its part of the airfare.

For dinner on the flight to Hong Kong I had lobster (following caviar, which I'm beginning to like, and three other courses). I had champagne and 18 year old Genfidich - now you know why I like Cathay Pacific. I put on my oriental pj's - supplied by Cathay, and slept the next seven hours - the flight was sixteen hours in total.

I took the train to Kowloon, and a taxi to the hotel. I was again treated to an upgrade, with a great view of Hong Kong Island.

The time change was 12 hours, but I felt great. After a short rest, dinner was an adventure. It was a seven course meal, with many new items for me. The highlight was a strange looking fish called a stone fish. It was one of the ugliest fish I've ever seen. There were two abalone dishes, one raw and one cooked. The shrimp was the only thing I've eaten before. It was a fantastic dinner.


The next morning I took the subway to Hong Kong Island (I'm staying in Kowloon this time - much more exciting).

One of the many beautiful skyscrapers in Hong Kong.

I boarded the two story tram going north. I ended up in Happy Valley, near the horse racing track. Then I got on the wrong tram, going north again - no problem, only about 25 cents a ride. I switched back to a downtown tram.

I walked the crowded streets, and took the long escalator and moving walkways to the mid section of Hong Kong.

I was hungry (well not after seeing the meat market above) and looked for a Chinese restaurant. You would think that was easy, but there was every other ethnic restaurant, but no Chinese. Finally I found one, and had a great noodle soup with dumplings.

I love the signs on the streets, especially at night, which you will see below.

I walked to the Star Ferry terminal, and went back to Kowloon. I walked along the harbour, seeing all the hand prints of Chinese movie stars - kind of like Grumman's Chinese Theater in LA.

I took a short nap before having dinner at a restaurant by the Temple Street night market.

The night market has hundreds of booths, but nothing for me to buy.

Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities, I look forward to future visits.

Today (Friday - March 19) was a travel day. I enjoyed lots of great snacks in two of Cathay Pacific's lounges. The flight was just as good as the one from NYC, just not as much food.

Next stop - Bangkok, Thailand.

Bangkok, Thailand - March 19-24, 2010

Arrival in Bangkok was very smooth. They sure know how to handle priority baggage. I think mine were number two and three on the conveyor belt.

The taxi ride to the city was about 15 miles, and took over an hour. The traffic was worse than I-4 in rush hour. The meter kept ticking away - 105, 175, 223, 287, 348, 337...... which was in bahts, and only about $12.

The hotel was nice, and after settling in I decided just to have dinner at the hotel - they have 8 restaurants to choose from - but no surprise, I picked the Thai one. My mouth is still on fire. I started with the spring roll appetizer - and I finished all eight. For my main course, I had chicken and vegetables in a chili paste - thus my hot tongue, but is was so good.

What a crazy night - I think jet lag finally caught up to me. I was up and down most of the night, so at three I took a pill and slept until eleven the next morning (just like Lisa and Staci).



One of the many many Buddhas in the city. I saw at least 10,000.

I took a tuk-tuk to visit a few Buddhist temples. The driver wanted 500 baht an hour, but I negotiated him down to 200.

Here are the red shirts you've read about. The first time I saw them I didn't have my camera, but they reappeared at least a dozen times during the day. They were very peaceful, just causing major traffic jams.

The red shirts kind of reminded me of Gay Days at Disneyworld, with everyone wearing a red shirt.

Dinner was in a great steakhouse - oops, sorry, I'm not in Buenos Aires. Dinner was at an upscale Thai restaurant, where I had six more spring rolls to start and something resembling Peking duck. I think I had half a duck.

Tomorrow night I'll be daring and try eating with the locals.

Following dinner I headed off to the gay section of town. There were over 20 massage parlors, bars and saunas. The street hawkers almost forced you to see the boys on display.

Well I found a cute guy and arranged for an hour long massage. It was very relaxing and erotic.

Tomorrow I have a 6:00 am wake up call to visit some ancient ruins north of Bangkok.

I was awake at 4:00 am, still feeling the effects of jet lag. I had a quick breakfast before my pickup to go to Ayutthaya, the original capital of Siam.

We passed lush rice paddies before reaching the Bang Pa-In Palace, the favorite summer resort for Thai royalty.

I did climb to the top of this tower.

We then visited three temples ("Wat" in Thai). Two were in ruins and one restored. You were forbidden from taking a picture with your head replacing the one missing on the Buddha - immediate ejection from the grounds.

Here are three of the nine Buddha positions I learned about.

In the afternoon we cruised down the mighty Chao Phraya River on the return trip to Bangkok.

I had a nice Thai dinner before calling it a day.

The next day, Monday I think, I found out that many tourist sites were closed until late afternoon. The Grand Palace was open, and I spent a few hours viewing the magnificent architecture and statues - and at least 2000 Buddhas.

Tuk-tuk is the cheapest way to travel. I then went to the Amulet Market, where they sold food, antique coins and jewelry. I took a boat back to the elevated train, which I finally discovered is the easiest way to get around.

After lunch and another shower, I headed out to see the Wat Pho, which has the 46 meter long reclining Buddha. This is just a picture of his head. There were too many columns to get a good shot.

I wandered around taking more Buddha shots - probably over 100 pictures now.

I hopped in a tuk-tuk and went to the Golden Mount and Wat Saket. The climb gave a great view of the city, and I got more Buddha pictures - and some monks featured above.

I tried visiting the Giant Buddha, but the demonstrators had the streets closed.

Here's the modern elevated train that stopped right outside my hotel.

I had my first ever Thai massage that night (the one at the gay massage parlor was really an oil or Swedish massage). They gave me a silk shirt and pants to wear - the pants had at least a 50 inch waist, with no belt. They don't use any oil, mainly pressure and stretches. I absolutely loved it and will be back again tomorrow. The best part was the cost - 250 baht plus tip, less than $11 in total.

March 23 - probably Tuesday. No Wats today, I hope.

I started the day visiting the Victory Monument. Then went to the duty free shopping center, which is like any airport duty free - no bargains whatsoever, but I did get a free gift

Then I headed to the shopping area, but found out nothing opened until late afternoon. They have such crazy hours here. So I hopped on the train and boat and headed for Chinatown.

Chinatown was not what I expected at all. Thousands of alley shops selling material, toys, jewelry and assorted crap. It seemed like hundreds of shops with identical merchandise. What I wanted was a good Chinese restaurant, but after 40 minutes of wandering I gave up. Instead I had great Japanese food near my hotel.

After a rest, and another change of clothes (at least 95 degrees and 110% humidity) I walked through Lampani Park, like Central Park, with joggers, swan boats and people just sitting in the heat. I couldn't wait to get back to my freezing a/c room.

For dinner - Thai again, followed by a 90 minute Thai massage. I might have to bring a Thai masseur home since I'm not sure where to find one in Orlando.

I then walked the popular night market - they are in almost every Asian city I've visited. Probably since it is much cooler at night. I bought one small gift, since there really were no bargains.

This is an orchid arrangement at the Bangkok airport.

The next morning I packed, then got a manicure and pedicure, before having my third Thai massage. I sure hope I can find them as cheap in Phuket, my next stop.

Phuket, Thailand - March 24-28, 2010

Kata Beach in Phuket is about an hour south of the airport. The hotel was beautiful, right on the water.

I went to dinner across the street, where I had a great Phuket lobster - kind of like a Caribbean lobster.

For the next three days I sat by the pool, relaxed, read, did crosswords, listened to my book on CD, and had a few more massages. They were even cheaper in Phuket than Bangkok - about $6.50. If the airfare wasn't so high, I would come back twice a year. One thing I didn't try was the fish spa. You place your feet in a large fish tank, and watch as the fish eat your dead skin away. It looked like fun, but I passed.

I did pass the Premium Discount Outlets on the way from the airport, and they have the same stores as our discount outlets.

On my final day I had two massages - a Thai massage after lunch, and an oil (Swedish) massage after dinner. I know I'm going to have massage withdrawal soon.

Here are some of the many orchids in the hotel lobby.

For dinner I treated myself to a two pound lobster - great, but I still prefer Maine.

Saigon, Vietnam - March 28 - April 2

The next morning I packed my bags and headed to the airport and Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam. I used all my USAirway miles for a first class ticket on Lufthansa. Not nearly as good as Cathay, but way better then American Airlines.

I found the most challenging part of Saigon was the traffic. I don't think there are any traffic rules, and if there are, no one bothers to obey them. The taxi from the airport to the hotel was a cheap $5.00. The Majestic Hotel, one of the old famous Saigon hotels, was right on the Saigon River.

Above is Hoat, my tour guide for the next two days, and yes, that was my transportation. There is a video clip of the ride at the bottom of this posting.

Motorbikes are the most popular means of transportation. The city has 9 million people and 5 million motorbikes.

Hoat met me in the lobby and before I knew it we were off on the motorbike - the only way to travel in Saigon. The motorbikes from China cost about $500 new.

At first I was really scared - swerving in and out of traffic, but later in the day I kind of got used to it. Our first stop was the Ben Thanh Market, where you could buy anything - prepared food, clothing, vegetables, meat (unrefrigerated, of course) and fresh flowers. I made my first purchase of the trip - five t-shirts. I'm sure I overpaid, even bargaining down to $4 each.

The fresh flowers were amazing - and millions of orchids.

I have no idea what this is, but it was colorful.

Next we took a long ride to the much larger Binh Tay Market in Chinatown. I doubt there isn't anything you couldn't buy there. It just amazes me that there were 10-25 stalls selling identical merchandise. I made no purchases here, but took many photos.

Then we stopped at three Chinese temples. There are memorial plaques for people who recently died. You can see the dates on the bottom of the cloth.

Most people who enter light some incense - interesting smoke pattern above.

The War Remnants Museum was the most disturbing stop on the tour. I know it is one sided, but it graphically showed the US atrocities during the war. I'm still thankful for my high lottery number - 222 - in 1970.

This is the Reunification Palace. It was the former residence of the French governor general, later occupied by the president of South Vietnam. The president fled the palace from the rooftop helipad before the army from the north crashed through the gates on April 30, 1975.

We motorbiked back to the hotel. I was so comfortable that I took the video footage, which you can see at the bottom of this post.

The next day Hoat and I headed to the Saigon River to find a small tour boat. But first we had to cross the main street of at least ten lanes, with no stop lights in sight. You just slowly cross as the motorbikes gently swerve around. Hopefully the buses, trucks and cars do the same.

We hired a small boat and headed down the river. This is the main port for the country - so there were many freight ships loading and unloading. Rice is the major export, as it was in Thailand.

We saw where the Viet Cong hid during the war. We then passed some half million dollar homes. After returning, we had an excellent Thai lunch.

We wandered the city in the afternoon. Above is the post office and below is the city hall. We also visited the opera house, Notre Dame and many old and famous hotels. I took a nap before another Vietnamese dinner.

Here's a vendor we bought coconuts from.

The next day I visited the Mekong Delta. The boats were probably pre-war and scary as hell. We road in large and small boats (four man paddled by oars). There were only eight of us on the tour and all had a good time. On the ride to and from the delta we saw many rice fields. Most had tombstones, since the farmers wanted to be buried with their family and crop.

Here are the small boats we rode in.

If you recall, when I was in Ushuaia I took two penguins with me to give to Eric and Rachel. Well they escaped from my room in Saigon and this is what happened to them. Oh well.

On my final day of this five week journey, I took a hydrofoil to the popular beach resort of Yung Tau - about an hour and a half away. When I got there I had my best meal in Vietnam - a spicy shrimp dish with vegetables - yum, yum. It was in an air conditioned restaurant, which means the windows are open and the fans are on.

It was then back to the hotel to pack for my flight home. It took 41 hours from when my first flight took off until I landed in Orlando. My luggage even made the three connections. I went from Saigon to Bangkok to Tokyo to Dallas and finally to Orlando. Home at last.

Here's a video clip of the boat ride in the Mekong Delta. My own African Queen video.

Here I am on Hoat's motorbike.