Hong Kong & Lantau Island

We spent 3 days in Hong Kong, staying on the 31st floor of a hotel on the main island, near the financial district. 

View from our hotel room:

We enjoyed walking the streets, as well as taking the double decker tram, going up the longest elevator in the world (800m), and seeing the city from the top of Victoria Peak. And of course, delicious dim sum every day!  Our servers absolutely loved Zac and pinched his cheeks saying what a beautiful boy he is!

Selfie overlooking Hong Kong from the peak:

On the downside, we have had trouble getting our Chinese Visa. It turns out that the rules have changed since we left home. While it is supposedly easier, in order to get a visa for longer than 30 days we need Zac's birth certificate, which we didn't bring. An employee yelled at us when we didn't understand some of the unexpected rules. He said, "what?  Don't you speak english?  I already told you that!""  We were overwhelmed and decided to hire a visa service to help us - though this will cost a lot more, maybe up to $1000 as we may need to leave the country and re-enter after 30 days. 

We then met up with Chao, Danny's cousin who lives in Chicago but is also visiting Hong Kiong - he speaks Cantonese so has been a big help to figure things out.  He is going to go to the embassy with us on Monday and thinks he can help us, especially if Erica can find and email Zac's birth certificate. If it all works, we might still be able to go to China for a few months. If not, we are looking at other affordable options and are considering Malaysia, Taiwan, or even Peru!

10 years ago I had a student who was from Hong Kong and she was very homesick. She told me then that HK is not just a big city but is surrounded by beautiful islands with beaches and forests. Ever since then, I have always wanted to see this part of Hong Kong - and now we are!  We have a tiny little AirBNB apartment on Lantau Island and will be spending the week on the island, exploring the beaches, trails and local spots. 

Lantau island is a Hong Kong suburb, just a half hour ferry ride from downtown. The ferry dock parking has a thousand bicycles from people who take the ferry in to work. I don't think there was any car parking!:

After this week, we have 3 more days in the city and then (if we get a visa) off to Tianjin (north of Beijing) to visit Danny's relatives for 1-2 weeks. 

Good morning Vietnam!

I write this while riding an overnight train from Hanoi (northern Vietnam) to Hue (central). We slept on the train last night in our own little compartment - Zac thought maybe the train was going to Hogwarts!

While I didn't get much sleep, This morning the sun is shining and I am enjoying seeing glimpses of life in the oh-so-green rice paddies and water buffaloes.

We spent 6 days in Hanoi and loved the city. There is so much hustle and bustle on the streets and much to see. There are few cars, instead motorcycles and pedestrians swarm the streets. 

Restaurants and street vendors are everywhere, with most people choosing to eat their meals while sitting on tiny stools on the sidewalks and watching people go by.  If they aren't eating, there is beer or coffee to drink, the beer being much less expensive at 25c a glass with coffee from 1-2 dollars. Egg coffee is a famous local drink where sweetened whipped egg yolk is added instead of milk - it is decadent and I wonder why this isn't served in Toronto?

But Hanoi is about food. The first thing we tried was, of course, Pho. This noodle soup dish is one of our favourites at home. At first we were surprised that we found it to be not very flavourful - but then learned that it is usually eaten for breakfast so that is when you get the good stuff. We were ordering it at the wrong time of day. 

We took a food tour of the city so we learned where, when and how to get all the best  food, like pho with tamarind broth, bun cha noodles with BBQ pork and kumquat juice, rice pancakes filled with meat and topped with fresh herbs, and banh mi - meat, herbs and pickled carrots in a baguette. Heaven!

While dog meat is popular, it is bad luck to eat it during certain phases of the moon so was not available. 

After that, it felt like we filled our days with activities just so we could get hungry and eat again. Don't get me wrong, there is lots to do in Hanoi and we enjoyed our time. We even went to a mall to go ice skating (!) and watch a movie (Avengers). But in a trip to Hanoi the street food is the best part. 

And yes, we went to a shopping mall, something we never do at home. But like Zac said, "Most tourists go to the market to see local culture. But really, the markets are 50% tourists. The mall was 100% Vietnamese - we were the only foreigners there!"  And Zac was definitely the best skater at the rink too!

Songkran in Northern Thailand

When we arrived in Thailand, we were so happy to see blue sky!  It was burning season in Laos which means that all the crops were being burnt to get ready for the upcoming rainy season. The sky was always hazy, with sometimes still-hot pieces of char falling from the sky.  We stayed our first few days in Chiang Rai where we saw children parading through the streets as it was the last day of school before Songkran (Thai New Year) and the start of their "summer" holidays. 

We visited the "white temple". This stunning temple is an ongoing art project - the artist has plans for a total of 9 buildings to be completed by 2070!  The paintings included images from pop culture - Star Wars, Minions, iPhones and Michael Jackson - I think these were supposed to be symbolic of the distractions that take us away from our spiritual lives. He also had some interesting paintings depicting Bush and Bin Laden destroying the earth together, and also about climate change. 

We arrived in Chiang Mai and stayed just outside the center at a modern AirBNB apartment. We were located in a hip section of the city (Niamennen Road) near the university, right next to a public square and shopping mall. This seemed to be a major destination for Thai's to celebrate Songkran. We watched the revelry build and bought water guns to take part. There were very few falangs (foreigners) around and it was lots of fun. 

Then we moved to the center of the city, a historic section surrounded by brick walls and a moat. This is the center for both culture and tourism - and the Songkran celebrations were crazy!  There was water everywhere - not just water guns but hoses and buckets (usually filled with ice water). We fully took part!

Danny getting doused with Zac looking on in the background:

The vibe on the street was so positive, a lot like Pride in Toronto. You would think that with all the water spraying there would be animosity but people seemed to keep things positive. It was also amazing to see a monk or a group of elders walk right through the chaos with hardly a drop of water on them. People were able to maintain their respect even amongst the revelry. 

After Songkran ended we were finally able to walk around and see the city. We found some amazing restaurants and I became addicted to Khao Soi, a curried noodle soup dish of northern Thailand - hoping I can find this back in Toronto. 

One of our favourite restaurants called Cooking Love that had excellent Khao Soi:

As a diversion and to see the jungle, we went zip lining!  It took some convincing to get Zac and Danny to try it but they both had lots of fun and were glad they did it - as was I!

Unfortunately it got really hot (40C+) and as we left Chiang Mai after 10 days it felt like there was lots of the city that we hadn't yet seen, (we were happy to have a pool and AC) but it was just too hot to walk around for much of the day. We were looking forward to Vietnam where the temperatures would be much more bearable. 

Chiang Mai street musicians:

We visited an optical illusion museum where you can interact with the paintings:

Up the Mekong - part 2

Over a three day journey, we travelled up the Mekong River from Luang Prabang to a Houay Xai, a border town with Thailand, and then a bus the next day to Chang Rai in Northern Thailand. 

We had heard many horror stories about this trip involving delays and broken boats but everything worked out fine. It was a long 2 days, 9 hours each, spent watching the countryside and Lao riverside life. 

We were on a boat like this:

And spent much of the day like this:

or reading, sleeping or chatting with other tourists. 

Occasionally there were some interesting sights with local people:

And lots of haze due to people burning their fields:

There are few ways in and out of Luang Prabang, and even fewer that are financially feasible for Lao people so we saw how important the river is for Lao people. 

China has proposed a plan to build a train from southern China (Yunnan) through Laos to Bangkok and eventually Singapore. While this would be an incredible engineering feat, reminding me of the train through the Copper Canyon in Mexico that I travelled with my Dad, it would be a poor deal for Laos people. 

On our last morning in Laos, our day started with a friendly chat with a monk and Zac helped him with his English lessons.  A good end to a great visit in Laos!

We eventually arrived in Chang Rai, Thailand and wont see the Mekong again until we are in Yunnan, China in about 3 months. 

Time travelling in Luang Prabang

I've been reading a series of books for months (Outlander by Gabaldon) about time travellers. Sometimes it feels like we must be time travelling. We often have conversations like, "I can't believe we only left Vang Vieng 2 days ago. It feels like we have been in Luang Prabang for a week already!"  Each day is filled with so many new experiences that 1 day feels like about 3 days. 

We are currently in Luang Prabang.   It is a peaceful, remote city nestled in the hills beside the Mekong River in Northern Laos. It is a quiet place but rich with visual, cultural and dining delights. 

Here are some photos capturing a typical day:

Monks collecting alms in the early morning:

The  morning market:

Temple visit:

Cross the Mekong River on a bamboo bridge to go for lunch:

Eating a delicious Lao hot pot lunch:

Listening to musical story telling in the evening:

It's going to be hard to return to the pace of normal life after this trip!

Up the Mekong

People often ask us how far we plan ahead for our travels. While we have a vague plan, we are usually only thinking a couple of weeks ahead, the rest of the plan is in flux. While this gives us some flexibility, sometimes hotels and plane tickets have to be booked ahead which results in less flexibility. 

While in Cambodia, we were considering going to Vietnam next. It made sense, the border was close and that was what many backpackers do. But we were concerned that this route might limit our time in Laos or Chiang Mai - or even eliminate them altogether - and we kept hearing everyone say what fantastic places these are. So with the help of some budget airlines, we decided fly to Vientiane, Laos instead. 

Arriving in Laos felt like a dream. It was cooler, calmer and green. There were sidewalks!  Our first day in Vientiane was spent with Marie-Do, a friend of my sister-in-law Julie. Marie-Do has a beautiful home and three nice kids and we enjoyed spending an afternoon with her and learning about expat life in Laos. Zac especially enjoyed swimming in the pool with her kids!

Eating street food in Vientiane:

After a few days exploring central Vientiane, we moved to an AirBNB that we call Mike's place (also known as The Jungle House). Mike and his Lao wife Xukiet were amazing hosts and provided much insight into Lao culture. Mike, who is a great storyteller, was the creator of the COPE center (center for prosthetics), and gave us a personal tour of the center as well as further information on the terrible ongoing impact on Laos of US bombing during the Vietnam. The food was excellent and the conversation even better - we loved our stay. 

Chilling on the patio at Mike's house:

From there to Vang Vieng in the mountains. While this city is known for crazy party life, we stayed at an organic farm on the outskirts of town in a mud hut. Zac and I loved this place (Danny had a different perspective) and wanted to stay longer, but we had already booked and paid for our next hotel so had to move on. 

Our mud house:

Zac made a new friend:

Danny emerging after an hour spelunking in nearby caves:

After a harrowing 7-hour bus ride through the mountains, we arrived in Luang Prabang, another city upstream on the Mekong River. (See my previous post for photos). As promised by many, it is a special place and worthy of its Unesco heritage status. Our last day here we visited, hiked and swam at the beautiful Kuang Si waterfall:

Beautiful natural pools for swimming:

From here we will continue our trip up the Mekong River on our way to Chang Mai - this time by boat. We considered taking a more comfortable tourist boat but decided to take the boat that Lao people take. It's going to be 2 hot days, unplugged, watching life on the riverbank from onboard a slow boat.  I am not sure if I am looking forward to this  or dreading it!  

But I will let you know how it goes as we continue our journey up the Mekong. 

Reflections on Cambodia

Our initial plan was to come to Cambodia for a few days to see Angkor Wat but since we are travelling without a timeline, those few days turned into 16 - 9 days in Siem Reap and 7 in the capital, Phnom Penh. While talking with my brother Tim on the phone, he asked the question "why do you like it there so much?" and I didn't know how to answer right away but I have given it some thought. 

Food is always a big part of travel. Khmer food is delicious, not as spicy as Thai and lots of coconut, kafir lime, and lemongrass flavours. Fish amok (fish cooked with coconut in banana leaves) is one of my favourites. There are almost no American franchises. 

A delicious Cambodian breakfast:

The ruins of Angkor were breathtakingly beautiful and it was interesting to see the ancient architectural styles repeated throughout the country, but the landscape is dry and dusty at this time of the year and very hot (38C or 100F). 

We took part in many cultural activities, like learning how to cook and eat bugs and desserts, how silk is grown and woven, and a bike ride through the countryside. 

Taking a ferry across the Mekong with our bikes:

However, it was most interesting to observe how people live, especially adapting to the extremes of wet and dry seasons, such as the fishing villages that adapt to 12m water depth changes:

To begin to understand Canbodia's culture, it was important to learn about the history, especially the horrific genocide that occurred during the Pol Pot era of the 70's when millions were killed. We visited a prison and the killing fields to help us understand these horrific events. (We discussed this first with Zac and decided he could handle this emotionally, though I think a lot of 9-year olds could not). We learned even more by talking with Cambodians who had lived through these events. One man told us about losing 6 siblings - 3 from napalm and 3 from touching previously unexploded bombs - both from the US. This also generated a lot of good conversations with Zac: "But Mom, I thought the US were the good guys?"

Bracelets tied to the fences that marked the mass grave sites:

In Phnom Penh we stayed at an AirBNB house and experienced middle-class life in the city, even getting a week-long membership at the local gym where we swam almost every day. 

Our Phnom Penh 3-bedroom home:

Zac's swimming is improving and he's learning a few tricks too:

Modern day Cambodia is a place of rapid change as they are still rebuilding and growing. Phnom Penh felt like a city under construction. There is immense poverty, but also extreme wealth - few cars on the road but numerous Rolls Royce's, and also the excesses of the Royal Palace. We also leaned about the current politics and the hopes of the younger generation for the next election in 2018. 

The Royal Palace with the city's sole sky scraper in the background:

So why did I like Cambodia?  It is a country I knew nothing about before we went but learned a lot about their culture in a short time and will watch with interest the changes to come.  This is a country Zac might return back to in 30 years and he will say, "It was so different back then".