Hong Kong

We arrived HKIA at 5:40am aboard a Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A330. We were parked at a hard stand and bussed to the immigration hall. Immigration and customs took about 8 minutes, including walking time.

We booked a room at the Ibis in the Sheung Wan district. We hoped on the airport express and 17 minutes later we were on Hong Kong Island.

Our room was not available yet so we headed out on the town. We hit the mid-level escalator and headed up to the small American breakfast eatery, The Flying Pan. This 24 hour diner is quite popular with ex pats.

After breakfast we continued ascending the mid level escalator to its summit. We snaked back down to Sheung Wan utilizing Hong Kong's walking path system and strolling through parks.

Back at the hotel, we rested.

At mid afternoon we headed for the star ferry terminal and hopped a ride to Kowloon. We headed to The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong's oldest hotel. We stood in line for about one hour waiting to get into afternoon high tea. We relaxed, enjoyed the tea, a couple of fancy cocktails and the offerings of the tea tower. It was quite delicious.

After tea we headed for the promenade. This place offers the quintessential view of Hong Kong Island. We enjoyed the view for a bit before heading back to Hong Kong Island and our hotel for some much needed sleep.

Gili Meno to Hong Kong

Time for us to leave the tiny island. The spiders on Gili Meno are huge. I've never seen spiders this enormous. Oh, I mean barley fit in the palm of your hand big. Cows, chickens, goats and cats roam free. I made friends with a baby goat. His (or her) photo was included in my last post. I was petting my goat and paused to take a photo and he (she) jumped on me, like a dog would, asking for more attention. The goat was also very partial to Amy. James had to kick a small scorpion out of his room. Alex noticed that there were no dogs on Meno. The owner of the bungalows explained that, for some unknown reason, dogs living on Gili Air and Gili Meno die after extended stay on the islands. This is a bit unnerving!?

I will report more as I have time to digest and reflect on island life.

The islands are connected by a ragged bunch of "fast boat" operators. Fast boats are short eel looking boats with up to six heavy duty outboard motors attached. They bang, crash and hop cutting through the waves. If you're prone to sea-sickness I would avoid using a fast boat. The fast boats float quickly into port, wedging themselves into the sand. A rickety small wooden ladder is brought to the front by boat staff and passengers wearily disembark and embark. One must use extreme caution while boarding a fast boat, for if you misstep you will go into the drink. James, Matt and I said our goodbyes to Amy and Mike beach side.

We were, once again, the three amigos.

Our fast boat made a few stops before dropping us at Padang Bai, Bali. A 1.5 hour ride in a mini bus and we were dropped off to find our hotel as our driver had trouble locating it.

We all depart on red-eye flights early Monday morning, so we opted to get a hotel room. The Bliss Surfer Hotel is a clean, kitch place to rest, all for only US$29 a night.

Matt and I went in search of massage while James relaxed at the Bliss Surfer. Matt and I found a nice spa. We opted for the 90 minute sport (heavy duty)  massage. It put us back US$12.

After our massage we slid into a cab and headed to The Arana Suites, our previous residence on Bali. Matt had forgotten a shirt, and they were holding it for him.

Dinner was at a quaint family fun. Both Matt and I had chicken in chili sauce with rice. The sauce was tangy, sweet, and had delicious fresh cut vegetables. The perfect last meal in Indonesia. The cab driver had trouble finding our hotel, again, WTF is with this hotel, no one can find it!

Matt is headed to Denver via Seoul and Tokyo. James and I are headed to Hong Kong, he'll head back to Chicago Tuesday and I'll head back to Denver via Tokyo on Wednesday.

Gili Meno, Again

After breakfast we went in search of the local yoga community. Matt and Amy were feeling disconnected from their inner cheese. The yogis are located in a very tranquil cove way back in the far reaches of the island interior. Their complex was very nice yet simple. The yogi we chatted with was from Brainerd, Minnesota. Small world!

Our next errand was to Divine Divers Dive shop. Amy, Matt and Mike were interested in going for a dive. Amy and Mike are experienced divers. Matt is a novice. Up until arriving at the dive shop it hadn't even dawned on me to go scuba diving. I've never even been snorkeling. But, all of a sudden there I was signing the release form to go on a discovery dive. I sat through the lesson and donned my gear all while feeling minimal anxiety. It wasn't until I got in the water that I realized breathing underwater using a breathing apparatus was uncomfortably foreign to me. I couldn't mange to keep my head underwater long enough for my brain to register that I could breathe. After a few long minutes of trying to ease into allowing myself to breathe underwater I gave up. I lumbered back to the dive shop, de-geared and made myself a Nescafe. James showed up shortly after my defeated return and him and I chatted with one of the dive instructors while we waited for the others to return.

Lunch was across the path from the dude shop at a beach side café. Lunch went long. Our meals on the island have a tendency to linger.

We all met back at the same café for cocktail hour, sunset and dinner. Island life is easy to adapt to.

Gili Meno

The bungalows we are staying at have a distinctive roof line that makes it look like an abbey. We are 1/6 mile from the beach. There are free roaming chickens, goats and cows. In the morning there is the almost constant sound of rooster song.

Breakfast was a delicious banana pancake served with honey and lime. The coffee is thick and if you drink all the way to the bottom gritty.

After breakfast we headed beach side. I made a sand boob fort for Matt. Matt was slightly injured while attempting a sea-handstand. He forgot to put his hands out and hit and scraped his head on a lot.

We noticed a small bar, offering free WiFi, across from where we were camped beach side. In an attempt to get their WiFi password James and I ordered a fresh fruit juice. While we were enjoying our juice I pulled my phone out and the friendly bar keep said "sorry WiFi broken." Oh well who needs it anyway! Eventually the whole group joined us at the beach side bar. Amy and Mike went for a scuba dive.

For lunch we headed inland to a small eatery located next to our bungalows. The food was exceptionally fresh and delicious.

After lunch, it was time for a rest. It really had been a terribly exhausting day.

A very relaxing siesta later Matt, James and I went in search of the others. We headed toward the beach and reunited with everyone. We headed west to view the sunset. It was an incredibly brilliant and peaceful.

Dinner was up the beach and delicious. This was our last dinner with Ben and Alex as they are headed back home. Our waiter was very friendly. We also enjoyed the local boys rendition of Korn's Creep. It was lovely.

The view of the stars is quite brilliant. We enjoyed trying to locate familiar constellations and identity ones specific to the southern hemisphere.

Bali to Gili Meno

The hotel we stayed at on Bali was exceptional. The open-air lobby opened to a quaint infinity pool. Behind the pool was the stone path that led to the rooms. The path was lined with very healthy, thick beautiful foliage.

It was time for us to leave Bali. Today we travel to the Gili Islands. We've booked passage aboard a speed boat to take us from Serangan on Bali to Gili Trawangan via Padangbai (Bali), Teluk Nare (Lombok) and Gili Air. The boat ride was splendid as we hopped from wave to wave. The views of the green islands and ocean vistas was literally breathtaking, but that may have been due to our speed powered by four heavy duty outboard motors. The boat ride took three hours and two minutes. They served sponge cake and water.

Once we arrived on Gili Trawangan we had to find transportation to Gili Mano. After some negotiating we hired a small boat and driver (both were small) to take us the short distance across the strait. It became clear to us pretty quick that the seven of us, plus two boat operators, plus are luggage was over the recommended payload for the small boat. The ten minute ride to Mano was borderline terrifying. During the ride the boat lurched so excessively a couple of times that I thought we were done for. I actually thought "this could be the way I die."

Alas, we made it. We were dropped off beach side, bags in hand, all looking stunned we had survived. There are no automobiles on the Gili Islands. There are horse-drawn taxis, but that's the extent of Gili public transportation. We walked for a bit looking for our hotel. News of our arrival had spread as someone came to find us to escort us down the path to our bungalow resort.

Life here is very simple. There are limited activities. The island is so small we keep seeing the same few people (tourists and locals.) It's extremely slow paced and  relaxing.

After a relaxing lunch, of fried noodles, we followed the beach around half the island.

After some more relaxing back at the bungalows Matt, Amy, Mike and I went in search of massages. We had no luck. We had to settle for watching the sun set on the beach. We sat on the beach for quite some time before finding a place for dinner. The restaurant we choose had fresh fish displayed that had just been pulled from the Indian Ocean.

Bali Day 2

I've been sleeping like a ton of bricks. I'm catching up from all this nights of only getting five hours of sleep bookend by twelve hour shifts. 

Today we headed out for a tour of the island. We hired a cheerful driver, Kadee, who showed us around. 

The first stop was to the beautiful temple, Taman Ayun, and its surrounding grounds. There was a sign at the front prohibiting entry to women who are currently menstruating.

The second stop was to a beautiful terraced rice plantation, Jati Luwih, some 2,000, or so, feet above sea level. It was exceptionally beautiful. We followed a irrigation-canal-wall to a small waterfall surrounded by brilliant green foliage. 

Next we enjoyed a very delicious, although very expensive, buffet lunch. Of course by U.S. standards lunch was reasonable but for Bali standards we got gouged. Last evenings dinner, for seven  of us, was around US$24 TOTAL. lunch today was around US$80. 

After lunch we climbed higher and ascended to the temple by the lake, Bedugal Ulundanu. It is a beautiful location for a temple. 

We then headed back toward sea level. On the way down our driver asked us if we wanted to stop at a coffee plantation. I screamed YES. Upon arrival at the plantation we were escorted back into the woods to a picnic table adorned with small jars of coffees and teas. Bali, of course, is known for their coffee, but there is a particular emphasis on the delicacy of poop coffee. The beans are ingested by a mongoose which then poops the beans out, they are roasted, grinned, brewed then enjoyed. I found the flavor to be nice, but the finish was smooth. It was a nice coffee, but not worth the IR400,000 (US$40) they wanted for a half pound. Overall we sampled close to fifteen or so coffees and teas. The favorites were coconut coffee and the ginger tea. The caffeine sampling session was really awesome!

After we got our buzz on we headed for another temple, Tanah Lot. The highlight of this temple was the Magnum Gold ice cream bars Matt, James and I enjoyed; vanilla ice cream dipped in dark chocolate, then dipped in salted caramel. There was a very large python resting on a chair as well. This was very unnerving for me, but was even more unnerving for Matt. I can't believe I know someone who is more afraid of snakes than I am. 

Amy, Mike and I, still high from the hour and a half full body massage we got the night before, we're plotting to get back for another massage. We were unsuccessful. Instead we headed out for dinner. Dinner was excellent. We enjoyed some great food and some cold local shit pilsner beer. I've had more beer in the last two days than I've had in the last month. I've had four beers. 

We ended the evening pool-side relaxing, chatting, enjoying.

Bali Day 1

It's quite nice here. We're staying in the town Legian. Breakfast was served at 8:00. It was traditional Indonesian fried noodles and fried egg. It was very good.

Mike and Amy arrived late last night. We enjoyed a nice catch up session with them after breakfast.

After breakfast we headed to the beach. A nice 25 minute walk down a narrow bustling street led us to a popular beach. It was littered with covered chaise lounges and make shift bars. We found a pleasing bar under some palm trees and staked our ground. We enjoyed some cold beers and great company.

After a while we went in search of grub. We found a busy little Indonesian style diner. All the food is on display; the server dishes up exactly what you want. It was very tasty.

We're back at the gorgeous hotel we're staying at contemplating if we should get a massage. Life in Bali for us is hard.

Arriving in Denpasar

The arrival process for Indonesia is rather lengthy.

Step 1. Flight arrives with several other wide-body aircraft. Aircraft de-plane and dump hundreds of passengers into Immigration area.

Step 2. Find working A.T.M. to pay for visa.

Step 3. Stand in queue to purchase visa.

Step 4. Stand in long ass queue (12 switchbacks) for Immigration.

We're currently at step 4.

At least there is some major global eye candy in this room.

Singapore to Bali

We were all awake at 4:30am. Matt and James rolled back over for some more shut eye. I was unable to return to sleep.

Breakfast was again excellent.

Today, we head to Bali. We did not have a ton of time to play with, but we had enough to make us want to squeeze one more attraction in. Mary, the extremely pleasant hotel receptionist, suggested we take the #123 bus to the The Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Not only were the gardens free to visit, but they were beautiful. It was the perfect finisher to our stay in Singapore.

I would definitely be up to spend more time exploring Singapore. I will be back.

I am currently composing this aboard a Qatar Airways 777-300 bound for Denpasar/Bali. There we will unite with Alex and Ben. Amy and Mike will arrive a few hours after us.

The three amigos are about to become the sassy seven.

Singapore

Our request for a room that sleeps three was interpreted as a room that sleeps two comfortably and one who gets to sleep on a short roll-away designed for a small Asian female that will fold to create a human taco when you attempt to lay on it. We pushed the two single beds together and made do.

Breakfast was buffet style with an excellent assortment of world breakfast cuisine. My stomach is growling right now thinking about it.

The hotel provided us with a map which can double was a table cloth for the average American sized dining table. It's humorous to watch people, especially small Asian people, unfold and attempt to use the over-sized map on the street corners.

It's very warm and humid in Singapore, so humid it's sticky.

Today we saw: Marina Bay, Esplanade Theater, The Raffles Hotel and The Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

The views from the 57th (Park Level) floor of the Marina Bay Sands are magnificent.

Architecture in parts of Singapore is so modern it made me feel as though I was on a set of a science fiction thriller. It's almost intimidating. 

Dinner was authentic and delicious. We were the only crackers at the street side eatery. We enjoyed noodle dishes, fried prawn balls and dumplings.

787

We're on our way to Indonesia. Matt and I are enjoying a ride in Business class on the 787. Despite all the hype and drama that has surrounded this airplane it really is an absolute joy of a ride. I'm completely impressed. It's very quiet. It's more quiet than I was expecting. The extra tall windows allow for effortless non-neck-wrenching gazing. The window tint feature is way bad ass too. I'm sitting in a peacefully darkened cabin and yet I can clearly enjoy the view of the ocean below.