Deborah's Southeast Asian Adventure

On my last day in Hong Kong, I did a classic thing: had an hour-long foot massage which I can only describe as "heaven on earth". The lady did things to my foot that I'd never experienced before. I had no clue that there were so many errogenous zones on your feet. One minute I was screaming in pain, the next moaning in ecstasy. (I'm so glad I will never see that woman again!)

The two and a half hour flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok was uneventful. Sat beside Gabriel, a guy from Mexico who was on his honeymoon, a Princess Cruise through Asia. His wife was seated up front. Ironically, Bangkok reminds me a lot of Mexico City. It's just this monstrosity of a city stretching forever.

Then, all hell broke loose when I hit Bangkok. I caught the Airport Express Bus to Silom Road, the busy street close to my hotel. Wham! We hit rush hour traffic - no joke in Bangkok. Gridlock for kilometres. Luckily, I was sitting beside this really cool young guy from Chicago who has been working in finance in Australia and New Zealand and hanging out in Asia and he gave me tonnes of tips. TIP #1: Never, ever pay full price for anything. Negotiate. Golden rule: offer 60% of what the first asking price is. After haggling and haggling, if a merchant refuses to go any lower on price, this is usually a fair price. Expect a 300 - 400 mark up on everything. After being dropped off in the middle of a busy street (night had fallen already), I was wandering around slightly stressed, clutching my purse and dragging my 20 kilo suitcase. (Kitty, I opted to bring a duffle bag/knapsack with rolling wheels which has come in quite handy.) I finally became so desperate, I asked a soldier for directions. My saviour! He pointed me in the right direction (about a 20-minute walk). Twice I wasn't sure where I was and he mysteriously appeared on a motorcycle, pointing in the right direction. The last time, he appeared on his motorcycle along with his wife and two children. They escorted me right to the hotel. Guardian angel #1.

On my walk to the hotel, I passed a busy street where people were shopping, eating, chatting, etc. Thai cooks set up woks on the sidewalk with makeshift tables and chairs around where people just eat. I passed one area where a man was cutting up some delicious-looking pork with greens and rice. Did I not go back and find that exact spot after I'd checked in? There are some sights of food that make you damn near lose your mind. That pork was it. Let me tell you, it was the best meal I've had since I've been in Asia and it cost me EUR 85 cents (1.23 Canadian, 1.10 American). The whole time, I'm thinking 'Please don't let me get Montezuma's Revenge but if I do, it will almost be worth it!' The streets are so alive here at night. People live on the street. The smell is so distinct. It's hot and humid here (around 32 degrees) and you smell food cooking, pollution, and garbage simultaneously. It's loud - three wheeled motorcycles (tuk tuks) motorcycles, horns honking, karaoke, yelling, etc. Thank goodness, my hotel is very quiet. I slept like a baby.

This morning, I work up early, had breakfast and headed out to visit some temples, or 'wat' as they are known here. I ended up taking the boat on the Chao Praya River which is even better than taking the bus, subway or Skytrain. You bypass all of the hustle and bustle of the city although the waterways are also quite busy. First stop: Wat Po to see the huge reclining Buddha. This buddha is amazing. About 45 metres in length. His smile alone must be 5 metres wide. His toes are made of mother of pearl and the bottoms of his feet have some important Buddhist design on them. I also treated myself to an hour-long Thai massage which was the best massage I've ever had. When I first saw my masseuse, I was sceptical as she was this petite, little Thai woman. But looks are deceiving. This woman stretched and pounded and kneaded and squeezed me and I didn't want it to end. She laid me on my stomach and pulled my legs and arms together in the middle of my back, hog-tied style. After it was over, I felt like I was floating. Wonderful. Cost: EUR 7.50 (CDN$11.50, US$9.80)

I later visited Wat Arun, another beautiful temple across the river. These temples are so impressive. They resemble pyramids a little but their walls are made of ceramic mosaics in the shape of flowers and other things. The ceilings are made of pure gold and have little hooks. I met two really nice African-American women from New York (Naomi and Cherelle) who are hanging out in Thailand for a month. We ate lunch together and are hooking up tomorrow to rent a longboat and cruise the canals and main attractions by water.

The weather is stifling hot. You pray for clouds because when it's sunny, it's unbearable. In late afternoon, I headed back to the hotel for a dip in the hotel's rooftop pool. But with a small detour: I ended up on a shopping street and in a store which sells turquoise. I've always wanted a turquoise neclace and bracelet and had them custom-made at a shop owned by Said Muhammed Walif, an Afghan who does a brisque trade in gems and carpets in downtown Bangkok. After speaking my few words of Arabic and Turkish (Persian is similar), the price of the turquoise began to drop...and drop...and drop, until at the end, I was short 50 Thai Bhat (about EUR 2) which he waived away (small fortune here). So folks, my advice is to pick up a few handy words from as many languages as possible (shukran, tessikir = thank you in Arabic and Persian).

Some observations:

Unlike Hong Kong, you see dogs and cats in the street and in the temples. No comment on why this is not so in Hong Kong. You know what they say...

Thai people must have amazing facial muscles. They are always smiling. I couldn't do it! How can you read them? My face usually makes it clear what I'm thinking but not so with these people. They have been incredibly polite and helpful. This may be because Thailand is Asia's top tourist destination.

It's 9 p.m./21:00 and I'm now going to head out for some food on the street.

Didn't make it to the Penninsula Hotel for afternoon tea. There was a line and I didn't want to wait. So I had lunch at the Inter-Continental Hotel with a magnificent view of the skyline (right across from the Philips and ING buildings). I struck up a conversation with Lincoln and Eunice, a lovely retired Australian couple here for their 54th wedding anniversary. Lincoln was hilarious: the very gruff, no-nonsense the owner of a successful fan manufacturing company in Adelaide. He cracked me up, providing me with details about his three heart attacks and treatment involving a camera inserted into his groin area.

I then visited the Hong Kong Museum of History which provides a really interesting look at the development of Hong Kong from prehistoric times to present. Then, I headed to SoHo, an area frequented by expats which was recommended in a New York Times article. I went to G.O.D. (Goods of Desire), a shop which is a cross between IKEA and a Chinese craftshop. Very cool. True to fashion considering my obsession with Morocco, I had a cocktail in this cool bar/restaurant called Kasbah run by a guy from Marrakesh. (TIP: If you ever get there, try the Sahara cocktail.

Some general observations about Hong Kong:

Shoes and Dress Style: I can't get over it. The first thing everyone does when they look at you here is focus on what you're wearing on your feet. It's incredible. I've tested this over and over. They are discreet enough not to be caught staring at your face but they have no compunction about staring at your feet. I don't quite get the dress code here. It's 22 degrees, sunny and humid yet the women are usually decked out in suits or pants and closed shoes. (I'm walking around in sandals.) Most working women are dressed in conservative suits, mostly black, with sensibly-heeled shoes. Some more young at heart are sporting knee-high boots (can't believe it in this weather!) Of course, most are wearing very expensive handbags such as Louis Vuitton and Prada. The guys, including the tonnes of mostly white foreigners, are decked out in black or pin-striped suits, a tad bit boring.

Foreigners: The vast majority of people here are obviously Chinese but there are quite a fair number of foreigners who are mostly white Europeans, Australians, Kiwis and North Americans. Surprisingly, there is a community of African refugees and illegals as well as muslims from Pakistan but they are segregated in the poor area of the city. The other day, I was on the elevator at the hotel with a Chinese woman, her nanny and her baby girl. The baby was smiling at this white tourist but took one look at me and became terrified. It was a bit awkward so I asked her mom what was wrong. The mother replied, "She has never seen a foreigner before". I found it weird that she didn't consider the white guy a foreigner too.

Signage: It is almost impossible to get lost in Hong Kong as this has to be one of the best cities for signage that I've ever seen. Signs are everywhere telling you exactly where you are and pointing out major destinations such as museums, hotels and shopping malls. There are lots of information desks with English-speaking staff.

Overall, I think Hong Kong is a great mix of Chinese industriousness and British orderliness and efficient infrastructure. Everything runs so smoothly here. The subway is the most impressive system I've seen as of yet. Clean, punctual and easy to understand. Hong Kong is considered a "Special Administrative Region" which was passed back to China in 1997 with the promise that it would remain capitalist without major changes for 50 years. I'm curious what will happen in the future.

What an amazing city!

I arrived early on Tuesday morning (7:30 a.m.) after a very comfortable flight on Cathay Pacific. Believe the hype - Cathay Pacific provided excellent food and service although very little leg room. The descent into Hong Kong International Airport was dramatic - over the water, past the largest Buddha statue in the world ("Big Buddha"). On the Hotellink shuttle bus to my hotel, luck would have it but I ran into some Canadians from Toronto. Small world!

I'm staying at L'Hotel Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island which is very conveniently located across the street from the subway.

On Tuesday, I went to Victoria Peak, an area which offers an amazing view over the harbour and skyline. You get there by taking this 117-year old trolley car up a very, very steep hill. (Evelyne, you would have died!) At some point, it felt like we were going up almost vertically and for the whole eight-minute ride, I was calling on Jesus to let me make it to the top. (Three days before, the trolley broke down and passengers were stuck on it for 20 minutes before being escorted off!) Anyway, the ride was well worth it. There is a look-out deck at the top which offers an amazing view of the city from where you can see skyscrapers designed by I.M. Pei (referred to as "the knife") and Norman Foster (which I believe is the most expensive skyscraper ever built). It's amazing to see residential condos (more like monstrosities) which have 80 floors! Despite all of the concrete, Hong Kong is very lush and green in places. According to the guidebook, Victoria Peak was trees and greenery until the British employed cheap labour to clear the terrain and build houses.

I met two fantastic guys, Andy and David from San Francisco, at a restaurant on Victoria Peak. One thing led to another and we hung out for the day. Andy and David are Chinese-American. Andy is learning Cantonese while David speaks it fluently and visits Hong Kong and China frequently. What a treat to hang out with them and suffer severe vertigo with them! Why? After the trolley ride up Victoria Peak, I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle the ride down so we decided to take the double decker bus down instead. Big mistake! It was a 20-minute ride with lots of bends and turns, with a driver driving at breakneck speeds. To give you an idea of his driving style, he would accelerate just before a bend without being able to see if there was any oncoming traffic. I was so traumatized by the ride that I ended up getting off the bus about 25 stops to early and having to take a taxi back to the hotel.

Later that night, Andy, David and I hooked up at the famous Penninsula Hotel on Kowloon. (I arrived a little early to have a cocktail in ultra-trendy Felix, a restaurant and bar designed by Philippe Starck. I ended up chatting with the CEO of an American private equity firm searching for Chinese investments.) Andy, David and I went for a stroll on Nathan Street and ended up eating in this fantastic Korean restaurant where you grill your own meat at your table. We ate the most fantastic cow tongue, amongst other things. We later sampled crunchy pork and tjau tsiu on the street. Delicious! Andy wanted to visit the infamous Chungking Mansions, this run-down building which offers very cheap accommodation. I was amazed to see lots of Africans (mostly Nigerians and West Africans) hanging around as I thought Hong Kong would be the last place where they would come. Chungking Mansions are very strange: at the bottom, there are lots of storefront stalls selling everything from underwear to prepared Indian food. The Mansions feature in many Hong Kong movies. I was glad to get out of there.

My jet lag finally hit me so yesterday, I had a late start. After enjoying the hectic pace of Hong Kong, I decided to go to Lantau Island to see Big Buddha. It's a beautiful, 45-minute ferry ride to this island and then a lovely bus ride to the Po Lin Monastery where the Big Buddha sits above on a hilltop. The Buddha itself is immense and very impressive. On his chest, there is a swastika symbol which represents harmony. I strolled around the monastery, taking in the incence which is burned everywhere. Very nice place to visit.

Next, I took the bus and ferry back and hung out in Central, the heart of the financial district, where all of the skyskrapers are located. What's really cool about Central is that there are different layers of activity: street-level where people walk and catch the bus and trams, the first level which is full of walkways and entrances to the skyskrapers and shopping malls, and then levels that go up to 120 floors inside the skyscrapers. I went into the International Finance Centre which is my favourite skyscraper, before heading back to the hotel where I ordered room service and collapsed into a coma-like sleep at 9 p.m. Jetlag has finally caught up with me.

Today, I will have afternoon tea at the Penninsula Hotel, visit the Hong Kong Museum of History, visit a temple and then enjoy sundown cocktails at one of the hotels on the water. Tomorrow, I fly to Bangkok to hopefully hook up with Eggamarin, a friend of my friend, Marco in Amsterdam.

Okay. Everything seems to be ready. Plane tickets, cash, traveller's cheques, immodium, guidebooks, etc. I can't believe I'm about to leave after a month of intense preparation. Initially, my attitude towards the trip was 'buy a ticket, throw a few things in a backpack, catch a flight and...ADVENTURE, ADVENTURE, ADVENTURE'.

Lovely! Romantic! Intrepid traveller, blah, blah, blah. I did a similar thing 17 years ago when I went to eastern and southern Africa for a year. The only complication was that I didn't hold up well then and I was younger, more foolish and hardy: bedbugs, mouldy rat-trap hotel rooms, shady fellow travellers dispensing less than perfect advice, and a wicked case of malaria which landed me in an African hospital and almost killed me. So...major attitude adjustment for southeast Asia.

This time it will be nice hotels, lots of time on the beach, air-conditioned buses and trains, lots of sipping of cocktails with little umbrellas, daily massages, etc. Some of my friends say that I should experience the real Asia by backpacking and staying in low-budget hotels which are by all accounts decent and clean in this part of the world. I will walk past these hotels and perhaps even drop in and ask to see a hotel room. I will admire the austerity and cleanliness and then... say "thank you very much" and hightail my butt out of there and back into the five-star hotel room waiting for me, complete with bathrobe, slippers and turn-down service. Hey, you only live once!

Just my luck, tomorrow the new EU airport security regulations come into effect. Cathay Pacific Airlines has advised me to show up at the airport at least three hours in advance (more is better) and advised me not to bring bottled water, toothpaste, and perfume in my carry-on luggage.

First stop: Hong Kong!