Day 6
Today we spent most of the day in Lantau Island. The object of our excursion was a monastery with the world’s biggest Buddha. We took 2 ferries and a bus ride to the top of the mountain. We had a monastery vegetarian meal which was not so impressive. We’re really spoiled by the high quality, inexpensive food in Portland. We have not really found anything to eat that’s better than what we have back home. We’ll try an Indian restaurant next time and see if it is better. Anyway, after eating our lunch and an enjoyable conversation, we ventured out into what was fast becoming eerie atmosphere. The clouds had come down and quickly blanketed the monastery and its surroundings. Visibility became very poor. We started climbing up the stairs that led to the Buddha statue and it started raining. The lady at the entrance was very kind and lent us jackets. After reaching the top, it got even worse and the whole statue, which is gigantic, was barely visible. So we went inside the building that supports the Buddha or you can say on which the Buddha sits. It had the history of the massive construction and paintings which depicted the Buddha’s life.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Day 5
Day four here in HK (day 5 of travel) started a little rough due to some struggles with travel options. (We are still contemplating our travel options and have not decided how the trip will unfold after we leave Hong Kong.) But once we talked it out, things seemed to be in focus again. We went by subway to see a Taoist temple with so many worshippers and lots of incense burning. The air was really heavy with smoke. Then we hopped back on the subway and went to the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was a very nice temple made of wood and constructed with neither nails nor screws. There were many golden Buddha statues and the altars are lovingly tended with orchids and fruit offerings. The landscaping was dotted with bonsai plants. We ate in a vegetarian restaurant today and seemed to have confused the waiter with our order because Dad did not get what he ordered. Anyway we found a place later that is like Subway, except instead of bread there are 6 different kinds of rice to choose from as the wrap and then you choose your fillings, up to 6 kinds—sour cabbage, gluten strips, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, etc. We often go to a grocery store nearby and get bread, bananas and oranges. We had a couple more ferry rides today.
Yesterday, we took a ferry to Hong Kong Island and walked around. We noticed hundreds of groups of up to a dozen women playing cards, eating or just chatting. As we walked further we encountered so many that they covered several blocks of public space. So we stopped and asked what’s going on and found they were ALL Filipinas. Apparently, every Sunday is their day off and this is how they spend their Sunday. They seemed to favor a particular church. There were hoards of them going to it. It was quite a spectacle to see so many of these women. There were probably a couple thousand of them, maybe more. We also visited a botanical garden complete with a jaguar and flamingos. There we had a snack of tomato flavored potato chips and bottles of soymilk. Soymilk is very popular here.
We had a very interesting tour of Hong Kong Island which is like a forest of sky scrapers. The lower levels are shops and the upper levels either businesses or residences. We took a tramway from one side of the city to the other. It and busses are great ways to see the city in contrast to the subway since you are traveling on the surface.
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Stayed at the Kowloon Hotel, dorms for HK$50. The first not was a real struggle to sleep. The office has been moved into the dorm area as the real office space is being remodeled. The night shift woman got into an argument with one of the helpers. She started shouting and the other woman who fled to the laundry area (the access is through the dorm). The angry woman ran after her screaming and slamming the door. I approached her and told her to be quiet as we are trying to sleep. She said sorry, but then lashed at me and said this is a shared area. If I want peace and quiet, I should rent the private room. Then she said that anyhow it is only 9 pm. At 11 pm is when it is quiet. The following day, Ole complained to the owner and also complained about people smoking in the dorm. She said she would take care of it and we never saw the screaming woman again.
Day four here in HK (day 5 of travel) started a little rough due to some struggles with travel options. (We are still contemplating our travel options and have not decided how the trip will unfold after we leave Hong Kong.) But once we talked it out, things seemed to be in focus again. We went by subway to see a Taoist temple with so many worshippers and lots of incense burning. The air was really heavy with smoke. Then we hopped back on the subway and went to the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was a very nice temple made of wood and constructed with neither nails nor screws. There were many golden Buddha statues and the altars are lovingly tended with orchids and fruit offerings. The landscaping was dotted with bonsai plants. We ate in a vegetarian restaurant today and seemed to have confused the waiter with our order because Dad did not get what he ordered. Anyway we found a place later that is like Subway, except instead of bread there are 6 different kinds of rice to choose from as the wrap and then you choose your fillings, up to 6 kinds—sour cabbage, gluten strips, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, etc. We often go to a grocery store nearby and get bread, bananas and oranges. We had a couple more ferry rides today.
Yesterday, we took a ferry to Hong Kong Island and walked around. We noticed hundreds of groups of up to a dozen women playing cards, eating or just chatting. As we walked further we encountered so many that they covered several blocks of public space. So we stopped and asked what’s going on and found they were ALL Filipinas. Apparently, every Sunday is their day off and this is how they spend their Sunday. They seemed to favor a particular church. There were hoards of them going to it. It was quite a spectacle to see so many of these women. There were probably a couple thousand of them, maybe more. We also visited a botanical garden complete with a jaguar and flamingos. There we had a snack of tomato flavored potato chips and bottles of soymilk. Soymilk is very popular here.
We had a very interesting tour of Hong Kong Island which is like a forest of sky scrapers. The lower levels are shops and the upper levels either businesses or residences. We took a tramway from one side of the city to the other. It and busses are great ways to see the city in contrast to the subway since you are traveling on the surface.
----------------
Stayed at the Kowloon Hotel, dorms for HK$50. The first not was a real struggle to sleep. The office has been moved into the dorm area as the real office space is being remodeled. The night shift woman got into an argument with one of the helpers. She started shouting and the other woman who fled to the laundry area (the access is through the dorm). The angry woman ran after her screaming and slamming the door. I approached her and told her to be quiet as we are trying to sleep. She said sorry, but then lashed at me and said this is a shared area. If I want peace and quiet, I should rent the private room. Then she said that anyhow it is only 9 pm. At 11 pm is when it is quiet. The following day, Ole complained to the owner and also complained about people smoking in the dorm. She said she would take care of it and we never saw the screaming woman again.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Day 4
Transferred to the Garden Hostel in Mirador Mansions, stayed here one night. Reason for this move was so we can meet other travelers but the dorm was full. We ended staying in a private room, but did not like the quality of it. The beddings didn’t seem fresh and there was a lot of smoking, including the owner, in the common room.
Transferred to the Garden Hostel in Mirador Mansions, stayed here one night. Reason for this move was so we can meet other travelers but the dorm was full. We ended staying in a private room, but did not like the quality of it. The beddings didn’t seem fresh and there was a lot of smoking, including the owner, in the common room.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Day 3
Ole writes:
We arrived in Hong Kong last night without problems. We're emailing from a free wifi connection we can pick up on the hotel balcony in downtown Kowloon, Hong Kong. We're staying at the Dragon Inn in Chung King Mansions, a high rise sandwiched between the Sheraton and the Holiday Inn. But it's actually only $20 a night for a small room with attached bath and shared fridge in the common area.
It's early morning Saturday and we will be going out in a few minutes to tour the nearby park and shoot some more photos of the Nathan Road area. It's like the biggest Chinatown you've ever seen -- with plenty of neon and shops galore.
Today we will probably move into dorm style accommodations so we can meet some fellow travelers. Also, we need to check out the airfare situation and determine how we will spend our time on this trip. The main decision is whether we will do a round the world fare going through Bangkok, India, and Europe, or just return to the West Coast via Manila. If we do the latter we will stay almost the entire 2 months traveling around Philippines. Otherwise we will do a short stay there and then return to Hong Kong to resume the trip. Another option, much less likely, would be to return to Portland via Australia, Bali, Fiji, and Tahiti. We figure the airfare for all these options will be similar, although this may not be the case.
The rest of today we will take it easy, try to find some vegetarian eateries, and do some sightseeing. Hong Kong is one of the world's most beautiful cities, split by the harbor between the mainland and several islands. It's very densely populated and a rather intense traveling experience. So far we are really enjoying the experience -- first real overseas vacation together in 12 years. We're taking great care to avoid any of the usual hitches like thefts and tummy upsets.
Last night we had soy milk, spicy Indian snacks called samosas, and some of my homemade whole wheat walnut bread that we brought along.
The flight from San Francisco was over 14 hours long. We had 3 vegan meals. They played 5 movies: Just like heaven, In my shoes, Babe: pig in the city, and one 2 other we did not enjoy so much.
Maitri writes:
Hello, everyone! We took a double-decker bus from the airport to downtown Kowloon. It was my first double-decker bus experience. Pretty cool! We went on the longest suspension bridge in the world to get to Kowloon. As it was evening, we can only see lights and not much landscape/waterscape. Hong Kong people are so well dressed. It looked a huge modeling ramp. With a few pudgy-looking ones, everyone all looked so trim. I'm looking forward to see a couple of gardens and a ferry ride. Hongkong is for shopping. This is where you come and shop. The high-rise in which we're staying is a bit dumpy. So far we've taken the stairs (not a pretty sight due to the piles of trash) because the elevators are very crowded.
After breakfast of our walnut bread and soymilk, we walked towards the waterfront and strolled through the Avenue of Stars. Hong Kong Island across the bay looked imposing. We had lunch at Kung Tak Lam Vegetarian Restaurant on the 7th floor of One Peking Road. Quite pricey.
Money notes:
Changed $100 at airport = HK$716.
Expenses: HK$300 mass transport pass, $150 hotel, $8.20 soymilk, $10 samosas.
Ole writes:
We arrived in Hong Kong last night without problems. We're emailing from a free wifi connection we can pick up on the hotel balcony in downtown Kowloon, Hong Kong. We're staying at the Dragon Inn in Chung King Mansions, a high rise sandwiched between the Sheraton and the Holiday Inn. But it's actually only $20 a night for a small room with attached bath and shared fridge in the common area.
It's early morning Saturday and we will be going out in a few minutes to tour the nearby park and shoot some more photos of the Nathan Road area. It's like the biggest Chinatown you've ever seen -- with plenty of neon and shops galore.
Today we will probably move into dorm style accommodations so we can meet some fellow travelers. Also, we need to check out the airfare situation and determine how we will spend our time on this trip. The main decision is whether we will do a round the world fare going through Bangkok, India, and Europe, or just return to the West Coast via Manila. If we do the latter we will stay almost the entire 2 months traveling around Philippines. Otherwise we will do a short stay there and then return to Hong Kong to resume the trip. Another option, much less likely, would be to return to Portland via Australia, Bali, Fiji, and Tahiti. We figure the airfare for all these options will be similar, although this may not be the case.
The rest of today we will take it easy, try to find some vegetarian eateries, and do some sightseeing. Hong Kong is one of the world's most beautiful cities, split by the harbor between the mainland and several islands. It's very densely populated and a rather intense traveling experience. So far we are really enjoying the experience -- first real overseas vacation together in 12 years. We're taking great care to avoid any of the usual hitches like thefts and tummy upsets.
Last night we had soy milk, spicy Indian snacks called samosas, and some of my homemade whole wheat walnut bread that we brought along.
The flight from San Francisco was over 14 hours long. We had 3 vegan meals. They played 5 movies: Just like heaven, In my shoes, Babe: pig in the city, and one 2 other we did not enjoy so much.
Maitri writes:
Hello, everyone! We took a double-decker bus from the airport to downtown Kowloon. It was my first double-decker bus experience. Pretty cool! We went on the longest suspension bridge in the world to get to Kowloon. As it was evening, we can only see lights and not much landscape/waterscape. Hong Kong people are so well dressed. It looked a huge modeling ramp. With a few pudgy-looking ones, everyone all looked so trim. I'm looking forward to see a couple of gardens and a ferry ride. Hongkong is for shopping. This is where you come and shop. The high-rise in which we're staying is a bit dumpy. So far we've taken the stairs (not a pretty sight due to the piles of trash) because the elevators are very crowded.
After breakfast of our walnut bread and soymilk, we walked towards the waterfront and strolled through the Avenue of Stars. Hong Kong Island across the bay looked imposing. We had lunch at Kung Tak Lam Vegetarian Restaurant on the 7th floor of One Peking Road. Quite pricey.
Money notes:
Changed $100 at airport = HK$716.
Expenses: HK$300 mass transport pass, $150 hotel, $8.20 soymilk, $10 samosas.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Today is the first entry of our diary of a trip to the tropics from February 23 to April 16, 2006. We will be visiting Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Day 1 and 2
Didi Ananda Krsnapriya took us to PDX at 5 am to catch our flight from Portland to San Francisco and then to Hong Kong. We spent most of our time sleeping on the plane. There were five movies shown, but we managed to see only the first two as we were quite tired. The food was okay —- Asian vegan.
We arrived in Hong Kong 7 pm, 2/24, after a 14-hour flight from San Francisco. After going through immigration and customs, we changed some money and boarded a double-decker to Kowloon. We found lodging at the Dragon Inn on the third floor of Chung King Mansions (a high-rise right downtown). We got a very tiny room about 6’x8’ complete with tv and its own bath. We were delighted to find an open spot between the rooms and the hotel’s office and were able to get wifi connection.
After settling down, we took a walk along Nathan Road to find something to eat. We didn’t find any fruits, but found samosas and a quart of Vitasoy, a chocolate flavored soy milk. Much later we found out that it contains dairy! Very disappointing.
It seems that Hong Kong hardly sleeps. Many shops are open until 11 pm or midnight.
Day 1 and 2
Didi Ananda Krsnapriya took us to PDX at 5 am to catch our flight from Portland to San Francisco and then to Hong Kong. We spent most of our time sleeping on the plane. There were five movies shown, but we managed to see only the first two as we were quite tired. The food was okay —- Asian vegan.
We arrived in Hong Kong 7 pm, 2/24, after a 14-hour flight from San Francisco. After going through immigration and customs, we changed some money and boarded a double-decker to Kowloon. We found lodging at the Dragon Inn on the third floor of Chung King Mansions (a high-rise right downtown). We got a very tiny room about 6’x8’ complete with tv and its own bath. We were delighted to find an open spot between the rooms and the hotel’s office and were able to get wifi connection.
After settling down, we took a walk along Nathan Road to find something to eat. We didn’t find any fruits, but found samosas and a quart of Vitasoy, a chocolate flavored soy milk. Much later we found out that it contains dairy! Very disappointing.
It seems that Hong Kong hardly sleeps. Many shops are open until 11 pm or midnight.
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