Hong Kong, Pearl of the orient

It has been at least 10 years since my last visit to Hong Kong. I still own a copy of Lonely Planet Hong Kong & Macau edition from that trip. It's been collecting dust on my shelf back in Taiwan for more than a decade! I didn't remember i had such backpacking spirit back then. I remember calling the hostels listed in the book at the airport, anxious and unsure. At the time I didn't know some ten years later, i would be owning many more editions of Lonely Planet and traveling like this half away around the globe!

Enough reminiscence, time to talk about this trip! :)It was my birthday the day we arrived in Hong Kong. After leaving the airport and taking the airport express straight to the city (HK int'l airport is about the most well organized and efficient airport I've ever been to!), I was taken to my b-day gift - two nights stay at a four star hotel in the heart of HK (picture below)!! After staying at all kinds of budget accommodation, i can't think of a better gift. thanks hon!

We then went out to have dinner, a busy typical HK style tea restaurant. It reminds me so much of the time in LA when everything else is closed at late night, my friends and I would go to this HK style cafe for snacks. good old times! The food is decent, however half way through dinner we heard a huge screaming, we turned around to see a lady jump off of her chair and a fast moving dark object on the floor...yew! We turned back to continue like nothing had happened and hoped that thing won't come our direction...

the next day we got Pascal's visa taken care of first thing in the morning, then went to Maxim's for dim sum (what's a visit to HK without having dim sum anyway?!), after lunch we took the cable car up to Victoria Peak, it has changed so much since my last visit, although the view remains magnificent, only it's not free anymore! There was a big open plaza for people to take in the city view, now it's replaced by a multi-purpose building and requires a separate entrance fee to go up the roof to enjoy the city view!

The skyline is spectacular, it's amazing the density of high rise buildings on this tiny island! Even more spectacular is the panoramic night view on Star Ferry looking back at the Victoria Harbour. HK is a good place to navigate on foot, especially with the pedestrian bridges that span between buildings. we hardly need to get down to street level anywhere from point A to point B within the central area, no waiting for traffic light, no inhaling smokes and competing for right of road with vehicles. wonderful!

night view of Victoria Harbour

very modern pedestrian bridge that connects downtown buildings
the next day we went to my all-time mecca - afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel. Although my improper backpacking attire took away a bit of elegance (if i have any), it's still very enjoyable!

3-tier afternoon tea tray at Peninsula Hotel

needlessly to say, HK is an expensive place. We didn't feel like lingering around for too long. After all, China is the main destination of the trip. We picked up Pascal's passport and headed straight to Shenzhen for a flight to Guilin (flying from HK would have cost more than twice the price!), where mountains, rivers and delicious Guilin rice noodles await us!

A giant update (now updated with pictures)

It's been a while since my last update! I haven't forgot about my blog, neither was I playing MIA. We were just moving at a faster pace and since we are close to taking a little break in Taiwan, I thought I'd wait. And as you might start wondering, yes I am back to Taiwan, sipping pearl tea and typing this entry at this very moment! :)

Before I start to talk about the excitement of being back to my homeland, I'll pick up from where i left off since my last update....

two weeks ago in Egypt.....
Bad luck struck. We were very looking forward to a trip to Coloured Canyon in the Sinai Peninsula and a 3-day safari trip in the Western Desert. They were both canceled or delayed due to lack of participants and bad timing. We would have to wait a few days for the next departure date. We returned to Cairo, bummed and decided to leave for Thailand! After haggling our way through Egypt, we were both tired out and suddenly going to the Land of Smile sounds like a really good idea. :) But I still can't help feeling disappointed and that our Egypt experience was incomplete. I've pictured myself riding a camel into the desert sunset and now I am leaving without even touching one (besides that one time this nasty camel tried to bump me off the trail up Mt. Sinai)! As usual I took out my organizer and made a to-do list for my next trip to Egypt, that instantly lifted my mood. :)

Traveling in a country like Egypt, there is a very fine line between being money smart and overly cautious. In the temples and sites, there are no shortage of gatekeepers or tourist police trying to show you around the site, point out a not-so-obvious point of interest, and ask for baksheesh in return. we know the drill and always just ignored them. But sometimes I wonder, are we missing out some great experiences for being overly protective of ourselves, and our wallets? It really wasn't the money, i think, giving a few Egyptian pounds for a good tip is not going to break my bank. It's the annoyance of being asked for money for virtually anything, and being lied to our faces and treated like we are walking ATMs! I believe many Egyptians are of friendly, good nature, but sadly, in our tourist bubble, most people we encountered are the shady ones who are in the business for tourists' money and are driven by their greed. Sometimes it's just really hard not to get pissed off by that. We had to keep reminding ourselves not to let it get under our skin and ruin many wonders this ancient country has to offer! A delicate fine line to walk on.

I will share with you how we got gypped the first day in Cairo. Please don't laugh! I feel really stupid when I think about it now! If you are having a bad day, this should give you a good laugh!
We were in Islamic Cairo and we saw our first mosque. I was excited and couldn't wait to go in. I walked up to the doorman and asked him how much is the entrance fee. He looked at me going "30 pounds" (must be thinking stupid tourist!), I asked him if there is student discount and took out my student ID. He acted like he's thoroughly checking it and finally decided it's legit and gave me the student rate of 25 pounds (and probably thinking his prayer has been answered! 55 pounds fallen from the sky). It wasn't until later when it finally registered - no mosques should charge any entrance fee because they are public places! No wonder the doorman treated us like we were his VIP guests, showed us this hidden path behind an iron door to the top of the minaret (mosque towers), where we had a great view of Cairo. Although feeling stupid and cheated, i have to say looking out on the minaret was one of the highlights of our stay in Cairo. This goes back to the delicate fine line I was talking about. :) sometimes you just gotta think of it as paying for an experience, or do more homework in advance - reading travel bible Lonely Planet more thoroughly!

Since we started traveling January, we had Lonely Planet guide for every country. But we've never felt as much attached to it as in Egypt. We even said jokingly we were going to frame it once we settle down. In a country where nothing has fixed price and everyone is trying to get a piece of the tourism pie, the meticulously provided details saved our days, many times! I know I already said that, but we swear by our L.P. Egypt guide! :)

With that, we left Egypt. But I know I will return one day. Anyone interested in going together? I can be your resident bargaining specialist and only ask for a small baksheesh in return.. ha!:)

Arriving in the Land of Smile - Thailand....

After Egypt, traveling in Thailand is a walk in the park. Everything is well indicated, people are genuinely friendly and helpful, price tags never looked so lovely before(they are non-existent in Egypt), and taxis use meters!! Sometimes we had to remind ourselves we are not in Egypt anymore. When this guy on the street point out the direction for us, I almost expected him to ask for baksheesh. but nope, he just wanted to help! :)

I had a rough start in Bangkok though. I had menstrual pain followed by upset stomach. And being so close to Taiwan makes me feel a little homesick. But still, we did many things in Bangkok - visited the Grand Palace, took a riverboat on the canals, watched Thai boxing, and Mambo Cabaret (a transvestites show). Those ladyboys are so beautiful,well figured, and elegant - until they talk! :) (left picture)


We spent the rest of our time in Chiang Mai, which i absolutely love! We joined a 2 day/1 night trekking that includes visiting the long neck Karen village (picture on the left), elephant ride and bamboo rafting. When we booked the tour on Khao San Rd. (Bangkok's backpacker's street), we were sold quickly by the pictures. What the tour agency failed to tell us is that we are going to trek through a mosquito infested jungle for 3 hours to the hill tribe village where we spend the night! Imagine how happy i was when our guide broke the news to us (mossies love me but the feeling is not mutual). It was quite a rough, steep hike and there is not really a trail at some points. I felt like one of those survivors in the show LOST. :)

We were dead tired when we reached the hut where we slept. The guides had being collecting fresh ingredients along the way and now prepared delicious Thai dinner for us, including fried salty bamboo worms for appetizer (very tasty!). That night I took the quickest shower (bathroom shared with one big spider and other unknown living objects), thoroughly examined the bedding and mosquito net with a flash night, then turned in and slept like a baby! The next day we trekked through the jungle again, crossed a few rivers on balance beams (that is if there is any). In one case we just crossed in the river (with waist-high water) because the bamboo that spans the river looks like one for the kung-fu masters, not for ordinary people like us :) We got soaking wet!

Pascal and I squeeze out last bit of energy to smile for the camera

talking about crossing a river!

elephant ridingthis is where we spent the night

At long last we arrived at the place for rafting. As we drove parallel to the river I got increasingly worried looking at the rapids. That on a bamboo raft? What else hasn't the tour agency told us?! We were so relieved when we arrived at the embarkation point and saw a rubber raft! hallelujah! Actually we got a combo of both. We first took the rubber raft through the rapids, and switched to a bamboo raft when the water is calmer. Riding on a bamboo raft is one special experience. They put seven of us on the same raft and my butt was underwater the whole time, didn't the guide just say he saw a snake in the water? That night we took the longest shower and felt grateful for being back to civilization. Our simple room at the guesthouse suddenly looks very luxurious. :)

the next day we went outdoor climbing and rappelling. This is the first time we both climb outdoor and it was lots of fun, although it left me with many bruises and scratches. I thought rappelling was going to be the easy one but I was so darn wrong! When the guide told us we were going to descend a 60m deep cave, all three girls in the group went pale. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, think about rappelling as belaying oneself down a cliff by slowly releasing the rope through a belay device tied to you. In other words, life is in your own hands. :) Although it's just a learning session and there are experienced guides backing us up, i can't help thinking my life is hanging by a thread. My stomach was turning and legs shaking before stepping off. After several very long minutes I finally reached the bottom, feeling accomplished and a little adventurous about myself. :)

Pascal, conquering the wall

Me, rappelling down the 60m cave. I look like a spider.

the day after I took a thai cooking class. I've always been a thai food lover and have tried making a few dishes before. But not until this point did I realize i've been doing it all wrong! Just because I put a scoop of curry paste in doesn't make it a thai curry! :) each of us get to learn 6 dishes of our choice! I picked the standard ones - phad thai, Tom yum soup with prawns, sticky rice with mango, red curry chicken, papaya salad, Ka Pow (ground chicken with basil). The instructor also took us to a local market to select the ingredients and that's an eye popping experience. all these different herbs seem to serve a special, irreplaceable purpose and simply altering one will lose the original flavor of the dish. I wonder how they were concocted together the first time to create such tasteful recipes? We only used fresh ingredients in the class, nothing canned or packaged. we watched the market vendor sending fresh coconuts through a machine to make coconut milk, then diluted it to make coconut juice. we even crushed the herbs in a mortar to make curry paste! The class is so well organized and hands-on. Each student gets enough individual attention from the instructor, who is really competent and friendly, and speaking good English. I had a blast and walked away with many good tips and recipes.

watching how the local thais making fresh coconut milk

preparing curry paste. the mortar on the table is what we used to pound and mash the ingredients

my red curry chicken and KaPow

that concluded my short stay in Thailand. I flew back to Taiwan the next day while Pascal went on to Kao Tao for his advance PADI open water. On a side note, I loved the bangkok-taipei line with EVA AIR! Each passenger has a personal screen with wide selections of programs and movies. i wasn't bored a second on the plane and that helped the time pass and calmed my anxiety of going home. :) I'll finish this entry here, I'll post more pictures on flickr soon. stay tuned!

Sunrise on top of Mt. Sinai

We are now in Dahab, on the red sea coast. When we arrived in our hotel, we were surprised to see many familiar faces, the Canadian sisters, Swedish, and an Aussie couple on the felucca! it's great, feels like finding old friends back. :) Lonely planet suggests coming here to recover from "chronic pharaonic fatigue", we happily oblige. :) (we soooo swear by our L.P.) it is indeed very relaxing here, the coast is lined with colorful Bedouin style cafe and restaurants (picture on the left). there's significantly less street hassles. people are more laid back and friendly and the souvenir t-shirts printed with "Dive now, work later" just says it all!

As restless as us, we decided to balance out the relaxation with some physical activity. that is, to climb Mt. Sinai for the sunrise (where Moses received the Ten Commandments). We started at about 2am, the hike is not so difficult but the darkness adds a bit challenge to it, especially when we have to share the route with camels (and their poops)! One of them even pushed Pascal. what an aggressive creature! the sun rise is so beautiful, the scenery from top is breathtaking. It's the first time i ever see a cloudless sunrise. definitely worth the hike!

pictures below: the beautiful sunrise and the crowd on the summit

a long journey to Sinai

After visiting many of the beautiful ancient sites in Luxor (Valley of the Kings, Temple of Luxor, Karnak Temple, Medinet Habu, etc), we departed on a long journey to Sinai (see the map on the left). The public bus slowly took us through the Nile valley and across the eastern dessert with absolutely no hurry - quite a contrast to the taxis in Cairo!Not long after the sun disappeared below horizon, the bus made an unexpected stop in the middle of nowhere and all the Egyptians just ditched the bus and flocked to this roadside eatery (see the picture below). the driver didn't even kill the engine. Ten minutes later we finally realized they are breaking the fast. what a sight! Other than that the bus ride was pretty uneventful except the red moon rising above the dessert after sunset. that's just beautiful! when the bus reached the coast we were surprised to find out how different it is here, roads are much wider, buildings newer, and for the first time we rode in a taxi that does not look so beat up. Almost feels like we are in a different country!

we arrived in the coast city Hurgada with about an hour and half of delay, starving and exhausted (now we have our own fast to break!). Since we are on the coast, I decided not to waste the opportunity and had some nice seafood tagin (egyptian claypot) it was so yum and a good reward for the day's long road trip. the next morning we took the ferry for Sinai Peninsula, after 2 hours of bumpy ride and some puking (only me), we are finally in Sharm el-sheikh!

there's not much to say about Sharm el-sheikh. we don't feel quite fit in as the place is what you can call Vegas on the red sea coast, only that Vegas has MUCH nicer buffet and more things to see and do. Here even the palm trees are plastic! it's full of tourists on package tour and everything is so overpriced. we knew about it but well, they have world class dive sites. we spent a couple nights here so Pascal can dive, then fled the place for the Dahab, where true relaxation awaits us.