A Farewell

It's unbelievable how fast the time can fly by, but we lived each moment to its fullest here, and it's time to say farewell to our beloved city, our beautiful gem, our flashy paradise, our Hong Kong.

I had a very special last day with the HKTB - the PR team took me out for a phenomenal lunch at a Shanghainese restaurant (good practice for tomorrow!) and we took a ton of photos, exchanged cards and gifts, and traded email addresses to keep in touch. Angela, Cody, Wilson, Way and Larry got me a beautiful bracelet and I'll think of them every time I wear it! My coworkers at the HKTB were so very special to me, not only were they great mentors and great friends, but they became my family here too. All the little things they did for me meant so much and made a huge difference - like translating lunch menus for me, teaching me Cantonese phrases, mapping out routes for me, and making sure every afternoon when I left the office that I would be okay in Hong Kong on my own. Some of the nicest people I've ever met, and a lot of fun too. I haven't laughed that much at work in a long time.

Lunch in the Cheung Chau Room

Way, Wilson, me, Cody, Larry, Angela

Farewell lunch

Wilson, Cody, Angela, me, Gloria, Kathy, Suki, Eva, Eliza

PR Team at HKTB: Wilson, Suki, Eva, me, Mayee, Eliza, Gloria

My work Ohana: me, Cody, Angela, Wilson

The rest of the evening has been spent packing everything in my room in anticipation for going to China tomorrow and then returning to "The States" on August 8th. In a room that can barely fit a bed, a toilet and my body, it's been quite a feat organizing and packing into 2 huge suitcases...I've sustained a few bruises but the only things left in my hotel room are those that are bolted into the wall (I'm returning with the entire island of Hong Kong in my bags).

Tomorrow afternoon we begin our trip into Mainland China. We'll spend 3 days in Shanghai, 3 days in Chengdu and then a week in Beijing. I'll post a brief version of our itinerary shortly.

Today isn't just a farewell to Hong Kong, but it is also a *brief* farewell to you, blogosphere. For many reasons - some more disclosable than others - I won't be able to keep up my blog during our two weeks in China. BUT, I do plan on updating with pictures and stories later in August once we return from the trip. While in China I'll have internet access, so I can check and send emails no problem, I just won't be able to blog .... so please do keep in touch over the next 2 weeks!

Thanks for sticking with me in Hong Kong and being a part of my experience! It's often the highlight of my day to share my stories with you and to read your comments here...I hope I've been able to entertain you, teach you a little something about Hong Kong, and open up a window into SE Asia for you. And for some of you in particular, I wouldn't have been able to do any of this if it weren't for you...thank you a million times over for this once in a lifetime opportunity - I am so grateful for your love, support and guidance!

The funny thing is, out of all the Cantonese words and phrases I learned this summer, I never learned how to say "goodbye"...probably because the common expression of "goodbye" in Hong Kong is an often overly emphatic "BYE BYE!" (pronounced BAIIII BAIIII) So instead, for now, I'll tell you "lay ho" or"hello"...I'll be talking and blogging with you again very soon - and for some of you, I'll be seeing you very soon as well!

'Mericans in Manila - Photos

Dom, riding in Fiesta Class on Philippine Airlines,

not to be confused with First Class

A Jeepney...somewhat like a TukTuk

Ohana Portrait

Adriana, Irma, Me, Dominic, Jessica, Melinda, Francesca, Kevin

Fidel Castro

Intramuros - Old Manila

Inside a reconstructed cathedral at Intramuros...everything that appears to be architectural is actually painted onto the walls in great detail!

Phantastic Philippine Pheast

First stop on Saturday night - Manila nightlife

‘Mericans in Manila, July 17 – July 19

For our last weekend getaway in July, we were bound for Manila, The Philippines.

From the outset, this was a really special trip. Francesca is from Manila and her family still lives there, so we were invited to stay in her home and be treated to a real insider’s weekend in the city. I was especially excited to go to Manila, because since as long as I can remember (I was young enough to still have my world globe nightlight on my nightstand) my dad has been traveling there for his public health campaign work.

Melinda, Adriana, Irma, Francesca, Jess, Dominic, Kevin and I arrived in Manila on Friday evening, after flying “Fiesta Class” on Philippines Airlines. On our ride from the airport to Francesca’s house, our faces were pressed to the windows, trying to catch glimpses of the city at night, which we decided uncannily resembled Los Angeles, from what we could put together.

Francesca’s lovely mother, Cecile, made us feel right at home. Staying in Francesca’s house felt like staying in a luxury hotel. Since she has five siblings, the house had plenty of room for the eight of us to sleep comfortably. And much like other families in Manila, a handful of maids, cooks, and a driver live with her family. It was a real treat to spend a weekend there, enjoying home-cooked meals, not worrying about how to get around town, and playing with Fidel Castro (Francesca’s dog), even if he did get overly excited by strangers and pee on the floor several times a day.

Francesca’s friends came over late Friday night and we sang karaoke until the early early early morning hours. We maybe got three hours of sleep before needing to wake up Saturday morning for the day’s activities.

On Saturday, Francesca arranged a group tour of Old Manila (“Historic Intramuros”) with her friend, and famous tour guide Carlos Celdran - featured in Time Magazine and on the Discovery Channel – check him out at: http://celdrantours.blogspot.com/ Carlos was incredibly engaging, entertaining and really fascinating. Going through the tour of Intramuros, I realized how very little I knew about Manila and The Philippines, and it was eye-opening to learn the complex and somewhat sad history of the city.

After touring around in the morning, we went to Makati, the financial and commercial center of Manila, where we devoured a traditional family-style Philippine lunch. What struck me about Makati was just how very modern it is – being there didn’t feel like being in The Philippines, or whatever my perception of The Philippines was. Makati, and for the most part, all the places that Francesca took us to and all the parts of the city that we drove through seemed very modern and developed. Although we were warned numerous times that crime is everywhere and the city lives in abject poverty – my classmates and I didn’t really see this part of Manila. Perhaps instead we got a sense of the disparity of wealth in the city, but I would say from our experience that Manila is much more first world than Ho Chi Minh City or Bangkok.

After lunch, Francesca took the boys to a cockfight, while her mother Cecile took us girls to the local markets. I wasn’t totally opposed to going to the cockfight, although once I learned that the birds are affixed with sharp blades to slash each other to death, queasiness and my adamant Americanized ethics on animal cruelty took over.

Dom, Kevin and Francesca had an awesome time at the cockfight – they won over $100 USD and they got to hang out with the trainers to watch the birds get fitted with their blades before the fight and observe the surgery performed on the winning birds after the fight. Dominic, who was pre-med before switching to journalism, provided me with an especially graphic and enthusiastic account of the guts falling out of the winning bird, and the ensuing ringside stitch-up job.

Saturday night we enjoyed a phenomenal dinner at Francesca’s house – all the Philippine local delicacies and beloved dishes prepared by the house cooks. Oxtail stew in peanut sauce, amazingly fresh and sweet mango relish, glass noodle salad, spring rolls, stuffed milk fish, barbequed pork skewers, garlic rice, eggplant salad and a variety of rice-based desserts.

After the feast we hit the town for a taste of nightlife in Manila. Francesca took us to her friend’s clothing boutique, located in a very bohemian part of town, where there are tons of cool little bars to hop around and a good crowd to mingle with in the street. The bottom floor of the boutique had a small bar, and we enjoyed drinks there and met more of Francesca’s friends. Then Francesca took us to a newer, swankier part of the city, where the clubs can only be described as reminiscent of Los Angeles and Acapulco. We rubbed elbows with the socialites and underage kids in Manila before moving along to the red light district. In the red light district Francesca took us to a circus-esque boxing show, during which Adriana was called up into the ring to announce the rounds. Many pictures were taken, none will be posted…a fantastically crazy way to end a whirlwind day in Manila.

Sunday was a lazy and indulgent day since we were still feeling exhausted from the happenings of the last 36 hours. Francesca called masseurs over to the house, and we all enjoyed hour-long massages for less than $10 USD and without ever having to leave our beds. I’ve decided that perhaps when I retire, I’ll move to Manila :)

After massages, we had just enough time to go to a nearby market and buy some souvenirs (and eat cheese and chocolate ice cream) before going to the airport. It was hard to say goodbye to Cecile and Fidel and 24-hour kitchen staff and on-call massages and a conversion rate of 50 pesos to $1 USD, but our last week in Hong Kong was calling us back home.

After an amazing weekend, moreover an amazing month of traveling the region – Manila was the perfect lead-in to our last few days in Hong Kong and our departure into Mainland China.

Pictures from Manila will be posted soon!!!

SATURDAY in HCMC, ‘Nam: Dodging Motorcycles, Crawling through Tunnels, and Dunking Everything in Fish Sauce

On Saturday we explored some historical and architectural sites and attractions in the city center. The French influence was evident (Vietnam was a French colony) in the architecture of the Central Post Office, Notre Dame, the City Hall Building and the Opera House. We were able to go inside Notre Dame and the Post Office – which was surprisingly impressive – but unfortunately, the Opera House and City Hall were closed, as were the Wharf and the Reunification Palace.

After a quick morning of sightseeing, we went to the Ben Thanh Market – the largest in HCMC. Like many other markets we’ve been to (and love) in SE Asia, Ben Thanh had hundreds of vendors in pint-size stalls, selling everything imaginable that you could dream to put a price on. We stayed at the markets until hunger pangs and heatstroke kicked in, and we went to lunch at the highly-recommended Lemongrass, which did not disappoint – another delicious meal in Vietnam! We washed down our lunch with frozen yogurt at TuttiFrutti – the YogurtLand of ‘Nam, although no match for the real YL in LA.

Kevin and Melinda decided to cool off at the hotel pool while Dominic and I, who are a little bit shopping obsessed, continued to brave the heat and scour the streets for more great deals on Vietnamese art, gifts, jewelry, watches and food. Between the two of us in a few hours time, we bought 3 watches, coffee, candy, a wallet, CDs, 6 pairs of earrings, 2 sets of coasters, and wooden statues…and made “friends” (I don’t think they liked us) with the market vendors – they’re some real characters.

We stayed until the market closed down at 6pm and met up with Kevin, Melinda and Irma (who caught a flight Saturday morning to join us – and stayed in HCMC until Monday morning with Kevin) back at the hotel. We had a relaxed cocktail hour down by the pool and then whisked Irma off to Quan An Ngong (who said we can’t eat at the same place the entire time we’re in town?) for another outstanding meal. We sat next to the grill this time and the clothes I wore still smell like meat…I’m almost sad to do laundry tomorrow.

After nearly eating ourselves sick at Q.A.N, we went back to the hotel because we were all exhausted, and Dom, Melinda and I needed to leave for the airport at 4am to catch our 6am flight back to HK. We hung out watching the top 40 countdown of Michael Jackson’s greatest music videos, singing along, ordering room service cocktails and dessert, and getting an hour or two of sleep before starting the journey back home.

We said our goodbyes to ‘Nam with one last bowl of steaming Pho at the airport at 5am. I don’t know if I’ll ever find myself in Vietnam again, I’m not sure it’s a place I’d really want to go back to at the end of the day…but this weekend and the memories I made in HCMC, I will keep in a very, very special place in my heart.

Notre Dame

Post Office

Reunification Palace

Opera House

City Hall

FRIDAY in HCMC, ‘Nam: Dodging Motorcycles, Crawling through Tunnels, and Dunking Everything in Fish Sauce

Friday morning we fell victim to our first taxi scam in Vietnam, which was bound to happen, but was upsetting nonetheless. On what was supposed to be a 10 minute/$20,000 VND ride to the War Remnants Museum, our driver took us on a loop of the city, double-backing on streets and going in circles, which with traffic, took 45 minutes and cost close to $70,000 VND. About 30 minutes into the trip we knew something wasn’t right and Kevin, aka The Human GPS, figured out we’d been taken for a ride, literally…and there was nothing we could do about it except sit patiently fuming until he eventually dropped us off at the museum. Not wanting to get into a confrontation and essentially having no other choice, we just paid the guy in full. However, I did (from a safe distance outside of the cab) throw the driver an intense glare/pouty-face while pointing to the map and telling him “I know what you did!” In the grand scheme of things it was an extra $2 USD, that he needs more than we do, but it’s still infuriating and hurtful to be duped and cheated because we’re foreigners. This is one of the more extreme examples of how difficult and isolating it is to be an outsider – in all of SE Asia, from Vietnam to Hong Kong.

The Vietnam War Remnants Museum was very intense and grisly. The photographs and exhibits were horrifying but magnetic – really capturing the essence and pain and terror and darkness of the war. It was hard to look at, but hard to take my eyes off of at the same time. There were some famous images that I instantly recognized, such as the photograph of children running and screaming in the street. Other photographs showed sickening images of dead people, severed and shredded body parts, murdered children and bombed villages. Almost more horrific than the images were the captions explaining the scenes – soldiers who killed children on the side of the road for no reason, a photographer who requested soldiers to hold fire so he could snap pictures of a terrified family before they were executed…It was just death and gore everywhere, but I guess that’s what happens in war.

The most disturbing exhibit featured hundreds of images of (and displays of preserved fetuses with) severe physical deformities and disfigurations caused by Agent Orange (Napalm) – which has continued to cause horrendous and crippling birth defects and abnormalities in certain areas of Vietnam since it entered the food and water supply. I’ll spare you any more details than that.

Throughout the museum, anti-American sentiment was palpable and the experience of being in Vietnam and seeing the war from the opposing point of view was deeply thought-provoking and in a way, challenging.

In the afternoon we went on a private guided tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, located in the Vietnam countryside about 1 ½ hours outside HCMC. During the war, the residents of Cu Chi engaged in amazing guerilla warfare against the American troops. They built an incredibly complex underground city and tunnel system, using nothing but handmade spades and straw baskets. It took more than 10 years to build the underground labyrinth, and there was no definitive architectural plan or structural design – yet they built an intricate world to near perfection, in which they lived and fought for the duration of the war. The tunnels stretch from Cu Chi all the way to the Cambodian border and there are over 250km of viable tunnels still existing today.

The underground tunnels had three levels. The top level was made up of large rooms: dining rooms, kitchens, weapon-making rooms, bathrooms, apartments, etc that were connected by tunnels. The second level was a series of tunnels and wells, while the third level was for emergency escapes as well as trapping enemies. The people of Cu Chi would live underground for months at a time – made possible by the strength of the earth (clay soil did not cave in or flood) and air chutes and vents that were incorporated into the design.

The people of Cu Chi were incredibly resourceful, intelligent and scrappy (as if this weren’t already evident by the fact that they built an underground city that still exists in pristine condition today) They made new weapons out of the pieces of old American weapons. When American soldiers used dogs to sniff out the air vents of the tunnel system, the Cu Chi people lined the tunnels with dead American soldiers’ clothing and tobacco leaves so that the dogs would ignore these familiar scents and not discover the Cu Chi. The Cu Chi people created dozens of booby-traps to seriously wound and kill the American soldiers. During the war, they managed to stave off American troops with their wits and the resources of the earth around them. The Cu Chi people and their tunnels are legendary in Vietnam.

It was truly awesome to be at Cu Chi, not only because you have to appreciate such an amazing underdog story, but because we had the unbelievable opportunity to go into the tunnel system. Many of the rooms on the first underground level had been dug up after the war and we got to descend into these various rooms by ladders and stone steps. The rooms were surprisingly large (some bigger than my apartment in LA) and we could see the tunnel entrances and exits. Above ground, we got to see the various booby-traps made by the Cu Chi people – some of which were still in their original places. We also walked through bomb craters and got a chance to go into camouflaged hiding holes.

Halfway through our tour the skies opened up in a torrent of rain and thunder. All of a sudden, we found ourselves caught in a tropical storm, still sweating from the heat and dirty from the tunnels, hiking through the thick brush and forest of Cu Chi, and in the distance hearing the gun shots from the nearby shooting range…an uncanny feeling of what it must have been like in the war crept up on us.

After touring the top-most layer, we were given the chance to go through a section of tunnel that had been widened for tourists. As the four of us looked into the darkness of an impossibly small hole (widened for tourists – really?!), Kevin and I got up the courage to go inside, while Dominic and Melinda opted to wait at the other end. Inside the tunnel, we couldn’t help but feel terrified – it was dark, the air was stale, and we were closed in by dirt walls all around us. Our breathing started to quicken and our hearts raced as the walls closed in even more and our crouch turned into near crawling. Just when I was about to have a panicked breakdown and tell Kevin I couldn’t do it anymore, we saw the daylight and heard Dom and Melinda. The guide told us we were in the tunnels for 40 meters…it felt like a year. We emerged filthy, breathless, and thrilled that we had done something so incredible.

The Entrance to the Tunnel

Kevin and I, Emerging Victorious

Next, it was off to the shooting range, where we could pick from a dozen different rifles and machine guns. Guns scare the hell out of me, and I’ve never been interested in coming close to one, I’m sure I once swore I would never touch one, nonetheless fire one…but coming off the high of my tunnel feat, and caught in the moment, we all lined up with an AK-47.

I forced everyone to shoot before me, which did nothing to calm my nerves – the sound was deafening and the overload of adrenaline coursing through my body was making me shaky. Finally it was my turn, and after making the guide reassure me 15 times that it wouldn’t hurt when I shoot it, and after checking my ear-protectors twice, and taking several photos Sarah Palin-style, I got into position and squeezed the trigger.

And I freaked out. There was screaming and near-crying and total spazzing-out…which for those of you who know me well, I’m sure can picture the scene in close to perfect detail. And to the delight of many of you, you don’t have to imagine it -- after we were a safe distance from the guns and I finally calmed down, Kevin showed me that he recorded the entire thing. I’m glad I’m so predictable to be a spectacle…or I’m glad that he was brilliant enough to capture this moment, which as soon as I can get it from him, I’ll post here on the blog, for your entertainment.

We went to dinner when we got back into HCMC, at Quan An Ngon – one of the most popular restaurants in all of Vietnam and definitely the best in HCMC. We indulged in a feast of perfect, fresh, fragrant Vietnamese flavors: cilantro, mint, basil, lemongrass, garlic, bean sprouts and onions and chilies on top of grilled beef and chicken and pork and squid, steamed clams and shrimp, vegetables, rice noodles and summer rolls, all drenched in sweet, tangy, pungent and sour fish sauce. Each dish was more vibrant and delicious and inspiring than the next, and all were about $2 USD. The entire tab ran us under $10 per person, including 4 appetizers, 8 main courses, 4 desserts, and rounds of beers. The ambiance matched the food perfectly – the restaurant is an open air, romantic bungalow with big palm fans, large wooden tables, aglow with candles and twinkling lights and the fire from the grills and the buzz and energy of the people sharing and taking delight in food that can only be described as having the power to enhance life and emotion.

Reflecting on the day, and on the greater expanse of our lives – here we were, the four of us, sitting in Vietnam, eating and laughing and living as if we did this everyday and as if today were the most special day in the world. How could any of us have dreamed we would have been here?

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing by the hotel pool, chatting with the bartender about geckos, looking up at the Vietnam sky, and being grateful for who we are, where we are, and our time together in this significant place.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, July 9-12: Dodging Motorcycles, Crawling through Tunnels, and Dunking Everything in Fish Sauce

This past weekend Dominic, Melinda, Kevin and I traveled to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.

Although only a quick 2-hour flight from here, it felt like a world away from Hong Kong. We didn’t really know what to expect of HCMC; we figured it would be on par with Bangkok, but once we arrived we discovered it to be much more “third-world” – much less industrialized and westernized with much greater widespread and visible poverty. Air conditioning and refrigeration are rare commodities in the over 90-degree heat and humidity, toilets are of the squat-variety, children beg and sell cigarettes and gum in the streets, cockroaches and rats run rampant, electrical wires dangle in tangled heaps from street poles, and most roads have yet to evolve past a plain expanse of pavement. It makes for one of the wildest street scenes I’ve witnessed yet – raw and real and romantic and shocking. From the moment we set foot in this city, we witnessed one extraordinary thing after another.

Little girl trying to sell stuff to Dom

We arrived in HCMC around 10pm on Thursday evening. The first thing we did was exchange our money into Vietnamese currency: VND or Dong. The funny name aside (I won’t even mention what we joked VND was an abbreviation of) the exchange rate for VND wins the award for most complicated and most awesome: $1 USD is equal to $16,000 VND. Upon exchanging our cash into VND we each were holding about $3 million and I spent the entire weekend making purchases with $500,000 and $100,000 bills. It felt like I had won Monopoly every time I opened my wallet. This moment should have been our first indication that we would be scammed all over town.

I had been warned ahead of time about pickpockets, taxi scams, and other unfortunately common woes that Western travelers fall victim to in HCMC. Armed with some street smarts, we negotiated the price for our taxi ride into the city and then sped off toward the hotel. This first taxi ride is one we won’t forget any time soon. Apparently HCMC has the worst traffic in the world and the number one cause of death is motorcycle accidents. Driving through the streets of HCMC, it’s no wonder…most streets are just a patch of pavement with no lanes and even when dividing lines are drawn, no one seems to adhere to their boundaries. There are few traffic lights and no stop or yield signs; honestly there are no rules – it seems to be every man for himself. And there are thousands and thousands of motorcycles – it’s like a motorcycle infestation. The street is total chaos, set to the frenetic beat of a relentless cacophony of honking horns. Attempting to cross it on foot is almost madness, and don’t for a minute think you’re safe strolling down the sidewalk, which, to many motorcycle drivers, appears as a convenient bike lane. Amazingly, we arrived safely and didn’t leave any Vietnamese people dead in the street.

HCMC Street Scenes

We checked into our hotel, which was palatial (it had a giant stallion in the lobby) and offered beautiful views of the city and the Saigon River where it was located. Anxious to get out on the town and experience HCMC, we went to nearby street with bars and restaurants and street food and neon lights and all nature of vermin and hookers…everything we love about SE Asia. We grabbed a table at a packed bar, munched on peanuts and sampled some awesome local beers (Saigon and Hanoi) and danced and sang along to the music; let it be known that you can travel all the way to southern ‘Nam and still hear Michael Jackson.

Views across the Saigon River from our hotel

Me and Dom rockin out to MJ's Greatest Hits

We ended the night with, you guessed it, street food – a weird pink, purple, green and black rice concoction which Melinda astutely pointed out the vendor scooped with her bare hands…thank you, USC Travel Clinic for that hepatitis vaccine. Full of Vietnamese treats and amoebas, we went to sleep, anxious to awake for our first day in HCMC.

Street Rice

36 Hours in Thailand: Life in the Tuk-Tuk Lane

For the month of July, some classmates and I have planned trips to different places in Southeast Asia each weekend. The great thing about the region is that it’s fairly compact but each country has its own distinct rhythm and flavor to experience and wonders to discover; this makes SE Asia an awesome and easy (and unbelievably inexpensive) place to travel around. The only obstacle for us, with working full-time, is finding cities we can go to on quick weekend trips. After much debate over locations and itineraries (and heartbreak for me…Cambodia will have to wait another 22 years) we landed on three destinations: Bangkok, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Manila, The Philippines.

This past weekend, Friday July 3rd – Sunday July 5th, we went to Bangkok for a grand total of 36 hours, and it was inspiring. As we knew it would be when we booked the flight, it was much too short a trip to fit everything in (especially sleep) and only served to whet our appetites for more of Thailand. We now dream of Phuket and Chiang Mai and the Andaman Coast…the more exotic and pristine, less-industrialized areas of the country.

Yet it only took 36 hours in Thailand for me to get the third-world-bug (the good kind, not the stomach kind)…I now have this intense desire to give up on my scholarly and professional American dreams and just live life in some wild, gritty, enchanting corner of the earth and wander from remote village to foreign city – and maybe pick up a lover and a lemur for company along the way.

The preserved culture and character of Thailand is amazing and it’s pervasive under the blanket of westernization happening in major cities like Bangkok. More than exotic and evocative, it was eye-opening. It’s one thing to hear my father talk about what life is like in the rest of the world and it’s a wholly profound experience to see it with my own eyes. Although we stuck to enjoying touristy-delights and achieving sight-seeing-records in the capital city, and even staying in a too-high-end-for-our-own-good luxury hotel, the feel of the city, the smell of the streets, and my interactions with the people of Thailand are what I hope to remember years from now.