Asia page 3

East meets West
Posted Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Hong Kong has a much different feel than either Beijing or Shanghai. This is truly an international city -- not at all like our other stops in China. Most people speak English, and there is about a 500 percent increase in white boys/girls -- albeit most of them speak with that irritating English accent (apologies to the infinite number of bands I hold dear that also speak with a similar irritating accent) and wear some accent of pink in their custom-made suits. After a week of noodles, dumplings, soups and spices, I had bangers and mash for dinner and it was damn tasty. We took the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour and the funicular to the top of Victoria Peak -- and both afforded excellent views of the city. From the top of the peak we hiked down through near rain-forest like vegetation. In between and after we sipped giants glasses of Hoegarden beer while taking in the sights. The pics/vids:

Tomorrow we’re going to the Po Lin monastery on Lantau Island, where we’ll find Tian Tan Buddha (giant) and we’ve heard rumors that there might be a Kung Fu exhibition there. We’ll see. -cmg

One big Buddha
Posted Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Just about time to bid farewell to Hong Kong and possibly the blog for a few days. We’re off to the Li River area for a cruise amongst the karst peaks and some bike riding among the rice fields. I have no idea (but plenty of doubt) whether or not we’ll be able to blog until we reach Bangkok.

Today we visited the BIG BUDDHA (it’s huge) on Lantau Island. It’s a monastery with one very impressive centerpiece. Just as awe-inspiring was the 30-minute cable car ride to the summit, which floated up the hillside and along the South China Sea (on the way back we watched dozens of people searching for fish or fish-like somethings in the tide pools). We climbed to the foot of Buddha and then viewed the monastery. After checking the rules (a change for me), I even bathed a smaller Buddha in a ceremonial water (the only downer was that Kung Fu wasn’t scheduled until the weekend). It’s really amazing to see the devotion of the monks and followers of the religion (not pictured, because it’s not allowed -- see, I’m following the rules). Afterward, we trained back to our hotel, where I got some pool time while the girls chatted while overlooking Victoria Harbour. We capped the day with harbour-side drinks and then a great Nepalese dinner in SOHO (south of Hollywood, not Houston). The spectrum of different restaurants from different Asian (or English) countries is reason alone to visit Hong Kong (my mouth is still burning and begging for more of what I had for dinner). We also had dim sum by the water for lunch. Things should get “interesting” as our trip now moves away from the cities.
The pics/vids:

--cmg

We’re crispy
Posted Thursday, May 8, 2008

So we thought we’d start our last day in Hong Kong with an hour of relaxing at our beautiful rooftop pool. Retrospectively, this may have been a bad plan. Although we spent only an hour up there, we’re completely cooked. How cooked? The guy at customs to re-enter China did not believe Tiff was Tiff. He kept looking down at her passport and looking at her and then looking back down at her passport with a puzzled look. Even with a second form of photo ID, he wasn’t convinced that this little red woman was the person on the passport without some pleading. It was an interesting day. After the pool (and before the burn really set in) we had lunch on the waterfront followed by tea (yes, a proper English afternoon tea) at the prestigious Peninsula Hotel. Juxtapose that scene with our arrival in Guilin, where I counted no fewer than eight brothels (they were not discreet and you could see PLENTY just by peering in). Tomorrow we’re taking a four-hour river cruise to the town of Yangshuo, where we’ll be staying for the next few days. Despite the fact that our hotel in Guilin claims to have internet service, I’m striking out right now, so you’ll likely be reading this along with some other posts. The pics/vids:

-cmg

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