Unfortunately, I stopped filming just before the dragon regurgitated a head of lettuce.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Video - Noonday Gun
This was the least underwhelming experience of our trip. Even C did not regret taking the time to attend.
Video - Tea at the Peninsula
Camber shows off her vast knowledge of proper English tea service. Turn your head sideways.
Goodbye to the HK
Sadness: Leaving Camboor. Happiness: A good hamburger. Our final day began at a garden, which we came upon by happenstance (C's favorite method of planning). Some lovely pictures:
There was also a Zen rock garden here. After consulting with Jeff, we determined that yes, I am the ONLY person who just wants to go in there and play in the rocks and sand. I am apparently opposed to zen-ness.
Then on to our original stop, the Chi Lin Nunnery. No pictures allowed inside (spoiler: it's a bunch of giant Buddha statues), so this is the exterior.
TM - notice your offspring in the picture? We hurried back to Central, so as not to miss the Noonday Gun. It was so much more impressive than we expected.
And then there is Camber:
And then there is us with the Noonday Gun Guy:
I love awkwardness! We went to another temple that C recommended, but she'll have to remind me of the name.
We were going to get our fortunes told, but they wanted $600, so we figured we could wait until whatever it is happens. Our final destination was the Kowloon Walled City Park. We took a taxi, and C tried to explain to the driver where to go. Apparently, her Cantonese has not yet included learning the words for "wall" or "park", but she was able to get us there by telling him "where all the prostitutes used to be". Who knew that "prostitutes" would be such a valuable word to know?
Yay for Cam being a tour guide! Thanks for allowing us to invade your life. Now I'm caught up, and will hopefully be able to post about our current trip as our schedule allows.
There was also a Zen rock garden here. After consulting with Jeff, we determined that yes, I am the ONLY person who just wants to go in there and play in the rocks and sand. I am apparently opposed to zen-ness.
Then on to our original stop, the Chi Lin Nunnery. No pictures allowed inside (spoiler: it's a bunch of giant Buddha statues), so this is the exterior.
TM - notice your offspring in the picture? We hurried back to Central, so as not to miss the Noonday Gun. It was so much more impressive than we expected.
And then there is Camber:
And then there is us with the Noonday Gun Guy:
I love awkwardness! We went to another temple that C recommended, but she'll have to remind me of the name.
We were going to get our fortunes told, but they wanted $600, so we figured we could wait until whatever it is happens. Our final destination was the Kowloon Walled City Park. We took a taxi, and C tried to explain to the driver where to go. Apparently, her Cantonese has not yet included learning the words for "wall" or "park", but she was able to get us there by telling him "where all the prostitutes used to be". Who knew that "prostitutes" would be such a valuable word to know?
Yay for Cam being a tour guide! Thanks for allowing us to invade your life. Now I'm caught up, and will hopefully be able to post about our current trip as our schedule allows.
A Desperate Attempt to Keep This Chronological
Posting this from Utah:
After one failed attempt to get to Macau, we made it! Lesson #1 - do NOT go on a public holiday. It makes Camboor grumpy, and there are very long lines at immigration. Really, for everything else, too. Our taxi driver refused to take us where we told him to go, and instead dropped us off here:
I'm not exactly complaining. It kind of reminded me of a Dr. Seuss book!
After taking it all in, we went to a pork bun / custard place that was a Macau tourist trap for unsuspecting Hong Kongers. I'm not sure why we didn't get what we ordered.
I think I'll have a Number 20. More wandering on our way to the ruins of St. Paul's, and a trip into the Museum of Sacred Art.
I'm not sure if this is either sacred or art, but there it is. C also introduced us to the wonder that is jerky. Jeff got hooked.
We finally made it up the hill to St. Paul's, where C attempted to take our picture. It was a bit of a problem, because people kept obliviously standing directly between us. We were all laughing so hard by the time she got the shot that I look as if I am having an aneurysm. Therefore, this is the one I will post:
After finding a taxi willing to take us to our original destination (the only Italian restaurant in Macau), we discovered that it did not open for another hour. Some aimless wandering took us past the Turkish Barracks and this temple, which C claims is famous.
We could also see a faint glimpse of mainland China:
After some disappointing pasta, we headed to the Grand Lisboa, where Man told us we could see the worst stage show ever in the casino. It was only slightly better than we anticipated. T,D would have loved it.
The ferry deposited us back in HK around 2 am. We slept in while C attended church the next morning, and met up in Kowloon Park to see a Kung Fu demonstration, complete with drummers and a dragon dance.
When we had seen enough, we walked to the Peninsula Hotel for a proper English Tea. We spot someone who vaguely looks like TM, and Camber proves she is incapable of posing normally for a picture.
One of us is more comfortable with the whole pinky-in-the-air thing.
After tea, we walked around the markets, and I was able to purchase some sandals, since my giant feet were swelling in the smart pumps I had worn to tea. There were no giant sandals in the female shoe department, but they were happy to sell me some giant man shoes for my giant man feet. C was pleased that I got to go through this. Me and my giant feet. Our final adventure of the night was dinner at a Thai restaurant, where we were overlooked by the King and Queen of Thailand.
I believe T,D, has this same picture. The best part of dinner was the hottie sitting with his parents at the table next to us. The proprietor of the restaurant and the mother of the hottie kept trying to set him up with Camber. She can tell you the rest of the story. One of the things I wanted to do in HK was to try some 24 herb tea. C insisted that it did not exist (kind of like the flamingos in Kowloon Park), but her coworkers told us where to go (kind of like the flamingos in Kowloon Park). We located it that evening, and it was undrinkable. I politely took 3-4 giant sips, then C took one and grimaced. Jeff took one for the team and downed the whole cup. One more day to go!
After one failed attempt to get to Macau, we made it! Lesson #1 - do NOT go on a public holiday. It makes Camboor grumpy, and there are very long lines at immigration. Really, for everything else, too. Our taxi driver refused to take us where we told him to go, and instead dropped us off here:
I'm not exactly complaining. It kind of reminded me of a Dr. Seuss book!
After taking it all in, we went to a pork bun / custard place that was a Macau tourist trap for unsuspecting Hong Kongers. I'm not sure why we didn't get what we ordered.
I think I'll have a Number 20. More wandering on our way to the ruins of St. Paul's, and a trip into the Museum of Sacred Art.
I'm not sure if this is either sacred or art, but there it is. C also introduced us to the wonder that is jerky. Jeff got hooked.
We finally made it up the hill to St. Paul's, where C attempted to take our picture. It was a bit of a problem, because people kept obliviously standing directly between us. We were all laughing so hard by the time she got the shot that I look as if I am having an aneurysm. Therefore, this is the one I will post:
After finding a taxi willing to take us to our original destination (the only Italian restaurant in Macau), we discovered that it did not open for another hour. Some aimless wandering took us past the Turkish Barracks and this temple, which C claims is famous.
We could also see a faint glimpse of mainland China:
After some disappointing pasta, we headed to the Grand Lisboa, where Man told us we could see the worst stage show ever in the casino. It was only slightly better than we anticipated. T,D would have loved it.
The ferry deposited us back in HK around 2 am. We slept in while C attended church the next morning, and met up in Kowloon Park to see a Kung Fu demonstration, complete with drummers and a dragon dance.
When we had seen enough, we walked to the Peninsula Hotel for a proper English Tea. We spot someone who vaguely looks like TM, and Camber proves she is incapable of posing normally for a picture.
One of us is more comfortable with the whole pinky-in-the-air thing.
After tea, we walked around the markets, and I was able to purchase some sandals, since my giant feet were swelling in the smart pumps I had worn to tea. There were no giant sandals in the female shoe department, but they were happy to sell me some giant man shoes for my giant man feet. C was pleased that I got to go through this. Me and my giant feet. Our final adventure of the night was dinner at a Thai restaurant, where we were overlooked by the King and Queen of Thailand.
I believe T,D, has this same picture. The best part of dinner was the hottie sitting with his parents at the table next to us. The proprietor of the restaurant and the mother of the hottie kept trying to set him up with Camber. She can tell you the rest of the story. One of the things I wanted to do in HK was to try some 24 herb tea. C insisted that it did not exist (kind of like the flamingos in Kowloon Park), but her coworkers told us where to go (kind of like the flamingos in Kowloon Park). We located it that evening, and it was undrinkable. I politely took 3-4 giant sips, then C took one and grimaced. Jeff took one for the team and downed the whole cup. One more day to go!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
I've Been Guilted Into Posting More
So I'll be combining two days (4 & 5) into one post. Partly because I'm lazy, and partly because Day 4 was lame. The lameness was not the fault of Camber. It was primarily lame because Jeff & I needed to practice harp for a couple of hours, since we had a four-hour duet gig to play the day after we got back. We found a fabulous business - the Hong Kong Harp Center - and they rent practice rooms by the hour. It sounds like a sleazy hotel, but they charge more than that so they must be legit.
Camber found the building in which the Harp Center was located without any trouble whatsoever. We were all (C included) impressed by this feat. After the marathon practice session, we met up with C's little friends for dim sum. C has already shared some pictures of us, so I'll just show you the food.
The main/only attraction on the island is this seafood restaurant. It is frequented by rich snobs with yachts - and their giant dogs.
We sat upon the beach for awhile, and I collected souvenirs from the Ming Dynasty. Camber wouldn't let me keep them.
More pictures from the island. It was...primitive.
Camber found the building in which the Harp Center was located without any trouble whatsoever. We were all (C included) impressed by this feat. After the marathon practice session, we met up with C's little friends for dim sum. C has already shared some pictures of us, so I'll just show you the food.
Yeah, those are fish heads and cow stomach. Yum! Fortunately, C's normal friends don't eat that stuff either.
Poultry comes in colors not found in nature. Duck necks, anyone?
Camber was convinced that there were no flamingos in Kowloon Park. The one that's directly behind her office. Her coworkers, however, were on our side, and we have proof of the pink birds' existence.
That evening we took the Peak Tram to "take it all in" from Victoria Peak. No long lines for the tram, and apparently it is also much safer than the SkyRail 360. Strange that C came with us for this one, but not Ngong Ping.
Look at that view! The next day, we took the bus to Stanley to visit the juice stand where The, Dad, consumed large quantities of apple juice.
Camber was kind enough to pose long enough for me to take the picture of the hot guy behind her.
Sometimes you need a little religion, sometimes you need a newspaper. Then you need more religion. It's so convenient!
We saw the harbor and the temple...
Then C & I went to the maritime museum where we saw boats carved out of ivory and got to play a rescue simulation game. As it turns out, neither of us is very good at Morse Code.
Serendipitously, we found a boat bound for Po Toi leaving from Stanley that very morning. Po Toi was high on the list of places I had asked C to include in our "itinerary". It can only be reached by ferry twice during the week, and we happened to catch it! The sea was angry that day, and I realized that I get motion sickness. This was our boat to the island:
Upon our arrival, we decided to climb a hill, following the signs to some cave hut or grave. It said it was 13 minutes. An hour later, we gave up. But we did get some good pictures for our effort!
The main/only attraction on the island is this seafood restaurant. It is frequented by rich snobs with yachts - and their giant dogs.
More pictures from the island. It was...primitive.
Back in Stanley, we got pills "for when you get in the boat, go up and down, clutch your stomach". Camber's Cantonese saved the day again! Going through the market, we saw this example of capitalistic subtlety:
We took the bus from Stanley to Aberdeen, and saw this group of women doing the hand jive.
I received a bad sunburn at the Buddha, and requested that Camber find me some ancient Chinese cure. I was a bit surprised when she brought this:
Thanks for taking care of me, C!
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