Asia 2010

Hong Kong (Day 1&2)

Family Time-Great to see all my HK relatives for the first time since our wedding and Chloe and Kathy, the recent new additions (Congratulations Ricky and Polly!)








Getting prepped for Monestary...



















Kuala Lumpur (Day 3&4) Grand Chulan-good pool, fantastic buffet breakfast

I figure you can always tell how much a city is booming from the number of construction cranes but KL is so much more than a developing country looking for acceptance. They are an Islamic Asian culture making a statement to the West, "look what we have and what we can do" The food is amazing and very hospitable nation.






























And did I mention it was hot!!! We seem to be the only ones breaking out in an uncontrollable sweat though.








Angkor Wat, Cambodia (Day 5&6) Borei Angkor-great service and friendly driver
(Amatat)
It's just amazing how much this country has gone through just in the last generation, 2-3 million of a 7 million population wiped out by a tyrannical leader and only since '93 started recovering. What a parallel to the temples of Angkor, pillaged and raided over the past 1,000 years by bordering nations. These people have gone thru a lot but remain so upbeat and proud of their nation. We've been to many places where kids are on the front line begging and struggling and here is no different, but the main difference is these kids look genuinely happy even with the very little they have.
We went thru a lot just to go to Cambodia, malaria pills, Hep A shots, re-routing some flights, and once here, waking up at 4:30 for the sunrise...all well worth it.



























































Woke up at 4:30 for this sunrise over Angkor Wat, better be good!


























A relaxing way to end the day by the pool after temple trekking







Hangzhou (Day 7) Red Star Culture - decent room, good Chinese breakfast

Originally only a stopover based on the fact Air Asia (budget airline) stops here 2 hrs outside of Shanghai it was a blessing in disguise. The old capital before Beijing, the featured West Lake (soup??) it is now a getaway spot for the Shanghai residents and a top tourist attraction in China. Most things have been rebuilt in the past 10 years but the lake is untouched and sends you back thousands of years. Excuse me for the appearance of the blog as I am not able to review based on China's policy of no social networking sites, life without Facebook?


























Shanghai (Day 8&9) Intercontinental Pudong-Great facilities, breakfast

Where "East meets West", "the most cosmopolitan city in China" are a couple descriptions I've heard to describe Shanghai. So far on Day 1 I would have to say this is quite accurate with skyscrapers & western shops abound, KFC around every corner and even Papa Johns!







The Bund







Who would have thought you were supposed to drink your xiao lung bao!






Beijing (Day 10&11) Crowne Plaza WangFu - good location

If Shanghai is East meets West, then Beijing is where the East shows the West, "look what we did!" Forbidden City, Great Wall, Olympics '08, all so grand and awe inspiring. I won't forget the driving in China either, they get a bad wrap in the States but come here and you understand driving in two lanes, cutting people off, running lights, it's all the norm!

Tiannamen square and Forbidden City















Mao's tomb







Olympic Stadium and Water Cube
























Seoul (Day 12) - Intercontinental Grand
Korea was an unplanned last minute squeeze-in based on how the flights worked out but we're so glad we visited if only for one night. Such a clean efficient city, there was no need to go outside it seemed. Our hotel was connected to a large underground mall that had countless food options. The mall contained a subway that took us to other underground malls so really no need to go outside which was a good thing since it was pouring. The people are so friendly, one lady ran with Evonne and left her street stall unattended to show us the restaurant we were looking for and an old lady helped roll one of my luggages when she saw me struggling! Evonne loved the cheap clothes and stores that open until 5am! We'll surely be back to Seoul and explore the outside next time...

Replica of old East gate into the city








Evonne recommends Doota, mall of crazy deals, great clothes and opens until 5am!










Osaka(Day 13) Hotel Monterey Grasmere
A quick day in Osaka, arrived about 10pm but that was fine as the Osakans are up late. Our hotel was cool with a funky theme, it even had a church building inside and we got to see a wedding the next day. At night we ventured into the Dotonbori area, lots of nightlife and eateries and a red light district that we accidentally (honest) stumbled upon.









Home of the Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza)
















Kyoto (Day 14)
What a difference from bustling Osaka. Kyoto holds a lot of the Japan's history, it was the old capital before Tokyo around 1860'ish. Based on a great recommendation from Waynele we stayed at a Ryokan (Japanese guesthouse) decked out in kimonos and ate a traditional meal with Kobe beef, soooo goooood! Our guesthouse waitress said she had never been to Tokyo even though it is only a couple hours away. Initially surprised, but after visiting Kyoto, see could how a traditional Kyot'an would not appreciate the liberal, up all night concrete jungle. Kyoto is a city full of green, temples and zen gardens and even has practicing Geisha's still. It was really great to take the bus and walk the narrow city streets. Reminded me of a medieval European village with an Asian twist.
































One thing noted about this trip, things aren't really designed with people 6ft.+, I've banged my head so many times!








See ya Kyoto, I'll be back.

Tokyo (Day 15-17)
We were both looking forward to capping off our trip in Tokyo, the genesis of our trip was to come here and the other cities were a great compliment. It did not disappoint, it reminded me of London and New York, a business hub but a sense of style with distinguishable parts of town for both the youth and white collar work force. We were so looking forward to the food and filled up as much as we could on sushi, ramen, shabu-shabu, desserts. The people are so polite and we'll miss the high pitched melodic greeting as we entered every store or restaurant. Service and presentation is unparalleled to anywhere we've been before.


Sushi was about the same price as SF but just melts in your mouth




No imitation crab here...




Ramen Nazi...






Shabuya






Shinjinku, so hard to find anything in Tokyo, funky address system and even if you find the building, it could be on anyone one of 10 floors!



Ended the last night in Golden Gai in Shinjinku, 280 tiny bars in 5 blocks catering to locals, mostly with a cover, but we were drawn in by the sign " no cover, I love English" could have been shady, but Tsuyoshi was a cool guy, went to U. Of Colorado and bought this bar, tends at night until 6 and plays in a band in the day, what a life!





Sayanara!