Hong Kong and Japan. December 10 - 21, 2010.

12/10/2010.  CO99 to Hong Kong.  Plane was being towed to gate closed to boarding time.  It took them forever to refuel the plane so we took of about 90 minutes behind schedule.  Arrival was going to be an hour or so late.  Plane was packed – every seat taken.  Flight itself turns out to be not so bad.  Didn’t get much sleep though.

Ling, Wally and Ruth were waiting for us, we brought over some stuff for them.  Had coffee with them and said goodbye.  Anne & I had something simple at JP Porridge.  Our hotel for the night is Regal Airport as we have an early flight the next morning.  Quite expensive, but that’s what happens when choices are limited.

12/12/2010.  Checked in to CX flight: kiosk check in didn’t work (only checked in Anne) so we had to go to manual check in.  We were under the impression the flight was full as the travel agent told me she couldn’t get me on the flight – and I ended up booking the trip myself; turns out it wasn’t even half full.  Uneventful flight to NRT.  Took Narita Express to Shinjuku, about 90 minutes.  It was very dark when we got into the hotel.   We took a taxi even though the distance was quite short.

Checked into the very small room of the hotel, walked a bit (back to the train station, in fact) and had dinner.  Turns out the ticket machines were reasonably easy to use.

12/13/2010.  After breakfast (for me salmon and rice, for Anne sliced beef and noodles) we headed out to the Hamamatsucho Bus Station to purchase tickets for a Mt Fuji Hakone tour for Tuesday.  During the winter the tour often ends up not quite what it is supposed to be as the mountain is snow-covered and inaccessible and visibility is quite low.  We then took the bus to the Ferry Terminal and took the 11:30 am ferry to Asakusa, famous for the temples.  The trip on the boat lasted 35 minutes and was generally pleasant.  Unfortunately today would turn out to be rather rainy day.

Inside tour boat.  Limited ceiling height as boat has to clear some low bridges. Sign says "A Ceiling Becomes Low."

After walking around the Asakusa area a bit, we had lunch at the place staffed with Chinese.  I find it interesting that even in Japan the restaurants are often staffed by Chinese – just like New Jersey!   We didn’t find the temples all that impressive, perhaps we would be if we knew the history a bit (thus the probably with not joining a tour).  I didn’t have an umbrella, and was soaking wet, so we decided to visit museums (indoor) instead.

Asakusa temple.  It is a surprisingly small temple, given its reputation.  Today is a rainy day with a sea of umbrellas.

A short subway ride took us to Ueno where most of the national and metropolitan museums are located.  After walking in the rain for 10 or so minutes, we found out they were all closed (probably Monday is the closing day).  I finally gave in and bought an umbrella for Y100 (clear plastic, disposable.)  We also sat down and shared a cup of Caramel Latte at Starbucks (cost Y510).  We decided then to try the Tokyo Tower.  The observation tower is at 150 meters, even though it was raining we still got a good view of the city.  We then went to Roppongi but didn’t find it too interesting, so we headed back to Shinjuku and had dinner.  We found Japanese a bit tedious and had Chinese instead.  Dishes are very small at this restaurant, which is okay since we have been eating a lot so far this trip.

 View of Tokyo at dusk from the Tokyo Tower.

 Rainbow Bridge over Sumida River.

Tokyo Tower at night.

It is now 9 pm, trying very hard to stay awake …

12/14/2010.  Got a few snacks from 7-11 downstairs as breakfast.  Then it was to the metro station to get to the Bus terminal for today’s tour.  Bought some sandwiches and sweets for lunch during the trip.  Bus departed pretty much on time with 20 odd tourists, a Japanese driver, and an English-speaking Japanese guide.  It took about 2 hours to get to the Fuji Visitor Center, and the weather was quite iffy along the way.  Luckily the weather cleared up and we managed to get to the fifth station – a 50 minute additional bus ride away – which is the starting point of the actual walk to the summit.  It was quite cold, and the clouds still covered the top of the mountain.  After 30 minutes also, the tour bus took us to the Highlands Resort where some people had their lunch as part of the tour.  Anne and I ate the food we bought earlier in the lounge.  The sky cleared up nearly completely and we had a great view of Mt. Fuji.  Too bad the sun glare prevented us from taking too many pictures.  It was about 2 pm that we started our trip to Hakone.  We took a 15 minute boat ride on the small (12 mi circumference) Lake Ashi to get to the cable car.  The 1800 meter ride up the cable car took 7 minutes and it was extremely foggy at the top.  Anne and I decided to visit the Shinto Shrine which is only about 10 minutes away although we couldn’t see it through the thick fog.  Not that we needed it, but we were glad to have the GPS with us.  We were the only 2 in the group to miss the 4:10 cable car down, we took the 4:30 instead (the rest went shopping with the extra time.)  Bus then took us to Odawara Station to catch the bullet train which got us to Shinagawa Station in 20 some minutes.  Bullet train reached a maximum speed in the low 160s mph per my GPS – not the advertised 180 mph.  We were packed in like sardines from Shinagawa to Shinjuku as it was rush hour.  Walked around the electric street a little bit, I am not sure Japanese things are cheaper in Japan – actually things are in general quite expensive here.  Dinner cafeteria style at a noodle shop.

 View of Mt Fuji from the Visitor's Center.

 View of Mt Fuji from the Fifth Station, peak hidden in clouds.

View of Mt Fuji from Highland Hotel.  It eventually turned into a very clear day. 

View of Mt Fuji from Highland Hotel.  The sun glare made a great picture impossible.

 On the Cruise Ship (boat) in Lake Ashi.

 What is a Tall Ship doing on a small lake 12 miles in circumference?

 Small Torii Gate in Lake Ashi.  Shrine is built to commemorate a priest who calmed a sea beast.

Cable car station.  Very dense fog.  We were the last tourists to leave.

Bullet Train pulling in the Odawara Station.

12/15/2010.  Checked out of hotel a bit before 9 am, and left our luggage with the front desk staff.  Strolled to Shinjuku station to purchase Narita Express tickets, then went to the Shinjuku Gyoen Park and walked around for about an hour.  This is one of many former feudal lords’ palace grounds that got converted into parks.  Very quiet, but quite pleasant.  Trees here are greener in general than in New Jersey for the same time of year: Tokyo’s winters are more moderate than what we get in NJ.  Took train back to Shinjuku Station (2 stops, Y130 each) and walked back to hotel.  Too tired to walk back to station, so flagged down a taxi instead.   Bought some Japanese takeout (my first sushi meal) and ate on train.  Got here (at airport) at about 2 pm for a 4:20 pm plane.  Everything is going quite smoothly so far.

 Shinjuku Gyeon Park.  There are some huge carps in the ponds.

 Shinjuku Gyeon Park.  A very calm place despite its being in an urban area.

Narita Express.  The airport is so far away that it would take about 90 minutes from Shinjuku.

The 747 was quite crowded.  We had one of the empty seats next to us which made the flight quite pleasant.  The return flight would take about an hour additional, I assume the winds are quite strong from west to east.  We landed a bit ahead of schedule, and Tim picked us up at the airport and we all came to the Tai Po house.  Had some of Ling’s spaghetti and some dessert.  The stuff we (more like Anne) bought at the airport turned out to be quite popular with Ling, Wally, Ruth and others.

Tai Po House, our home for the next several days.

12/16/2010.  Went to Tai Wan Tau Village to meet up with the Lau’s.  Picked quite a bit of the fruits in their “orchard”: pommelos, papayas, and star fruit.  Went to Hang Hau to have late lunch.  We had a lot of food for HK$400.  Takeout food purchased at Tai Po Market.

 Tai Wan Tau house.  I was told I was born in this house.  While I don't remember that, I do remember spending much time there as a kid.

 Inside the house which has been unoccupied for a while; it'll probably collapse soon.  Room now used to hang laundry to dry.

The Ding house (丁屋) now occupied by Mr.Lau.  They rent out the upper two floors.

12/17/2010.  Memorial service for Wally’s mother at Evangel Hospital, lunch afterwards catered by Café de Coral.  Stopped by Rev. Pao’s room to have a brief visit.  He has been there for quite a while after his stroke.  Toured Kowloon City a bit and then to Hong Kong Club to have a short visit with Larry and Elaine.  Victoria Park to visit the 45th Annual Industry Exposition (工展會) which has turned into a shopping venue for many local and mainland people.  We joined in the “fun” and bought a few bags worth of food.

12/18/2010.  Morning hike with Wally started at Tai Shui Heng, went up to Mau Ping, Ngong Ping, and then to Ma On Shan station.  About 7 miles, took close to 4 hours.  Some sections were quite strenuous.  Along the way had great views of Sai Kung and Ma On Shan.  Lunch with Ling at a well-known Dai Pai Dong in Lik Yuen near Shatin.

In front of some Mau Ping Village Ruins.

One of the main reasons we came back to Hong Kong this time was to attend the 50th anniversary celebration of George and Mana Leung, old family friends.  We all showed up – except for Alfred.  The banquet was held at Hotel Nikko.  It was close to 1 am when we got back to Tai Po.

12/19/2010.  Tim came by this morning to pick up us to go on his boat.  Rode to Lamma Island for a vegetarian lunch at Yung Shue Wan.  Dropped Anne off at Stanley so she could buy some gifts and visit her mother, we had coffee at ABC Middle Island.  Went on elliptical for 45+ minutes to burn some calories.  Dinner at Tai Hing in Tai Wai with two sisters and their husbands, bill totaled about HK$500.  Looked for dessert place in Tai Wai but couldn’t find any; so we went to Tai Po and ate at the shopping center.

12/20/2010.  Lunch at Beef Brisket Noodle place by Kowloon Walled City Park.  Strolled around park by myself for a while afterwards.  Tried “French Toast” twice, neither satisfactory.  Ling cooked dinner at Tai Po House.

 Hau Wong Temple.  I lived nearby for many years but never visited.

A model of Kowloon Walled City.  I also lived close by.  Never visited as it was known as a very "bad" place.  It has been torn down more than 20 years ago, and is now a park.

12/21/2010.  Trip from Tai Po to airport via private car was quick.  Flight back was uneventful, except that it was quite full.  Anne did have an empty seat next to her.  Ellie picked us up from the airport.

Pensacola, Florida. November 26 – 30, 2010.

Anne finished her first semester at school, so we were looking for a place to go for a long weekend. One possibility was London and we do have some mileage we wanted to use, but we decided going international maybe a bit tiresome, given we came back from Asia not too long ago, and will be heading out again on December 10. Turns out the flight down to Pensacola (with one stop) will take about as much time as flying non-stop to London.

Friday 11/26/2010. We had people over yesterday for Thanksgiving dinner and they left about 10 pm. So we had to rush a bit to get ourselves ready for today’s trip. I dropped Anne off at the South Amboy Train station, then drove back to our house, and then walked back to the station. I was quite sweaty by the time I was done, even though it was a rather cool morning. From door to security took about 90 minutes, a bit longer than I expected. Security at the airport was easy, no X-ray machine was in sight or in use, and the lines were remarkably short. All the fears of a busy travel day didn’t materialize.

We got upgraded to first class on the EWR-TPA flight, so got free Direct TV and a free light lunch, which is great. The wait at TPA was a bit long at about 2 ½ hours. Good thing they have free WiFi and restaurants on the air side. The TPA-PNS flight was called for early departure (!) and we did leave about 30 minutes before scheduled departure. It was quite easy to round up the 5 passengers. The Beechcraft 90 could sit 15 or so, and we had two pilots. I haven’t been on one of the turboprops for a while, so it felt a bit noisy. Good thing turbulence was a minimum. The 90 minute flight was quite uneventful. The PNS airport looked more crowded than TPA.

Our hotel SpringHill Suites isn’t as nice as I had hoped. We got upgraded to a “ocean and pool” view room, but you have to stand by the window to see the ocean. Let’s hope it’s better during the day. (It turns out we didn't spend a lot of time in the room during the day anyway.)

 On the balcony of the hotel room.

Hotel as seen from the Beach.

Dinner at Crabs restaurant. Anne had the crabs, crabs, crabs (flash fried claws, crab cake, stuffed crab, and softshell crab) and I had the mixed grill (crab cake, grouper, mahi mahi, chicken, and stuffed crab). Each dish costs $19.99. The piece of grouper was exceptional, rest seemed so-so.

And it is a cold evening. With a stiff wind blowing, it felt like New Jersey. Forecast calls for improvement over the next several days.

Saturday 11/27/2010. Drove to Ft. Pickens. Then along Santa Rosa Island to Navarre Beach, Navarre, and Destin. Santa Rosa Island at 40 miles or so is the longest barrier island. Many high rises, but looked quite quiet. Fishing pier at Navarre Beach – Cow Rays were being caught. Late lunch KFC buffet at $5 each. Dinner was sushi and potato salad bought at Walmart and eaten in hotel room. A full day: left around 10 am, got back after 6 pm.

Heron outside entrance to Fort Pickens.  We didn't get to see that many birds on this trip.

Looking at Pensacola Beach from Fort Pickens.  The sand is white.  There are multiple theories as to how the barrier islands were formed.

Cow Rays swimming leisurely at Navarre Beach.  There were fishermen trying to hook them, and we saw one got caught.

Sunday 11/28/2010. We first visited the Pensacola Visitor Center to check out bird watching locations. We then stopped by KFC (again!) but had only light meals this time. After purchasing a pair of binoculars from Walmart, we went to our first site: Big Lagoon State Park. This must be off season as all we saw were a blue heron and a couple of egrets. The place was very quiet. We then drove across Perdido Key which is shared by Florida and Alabama, ending at Fort Morgan. Quite a few high rises – most barely occupied – along the way. Houses are all on tall stilts, I guess both to have a view of the ocean and to avoid flooding during storms. Waited about half an hour for the ferry to Dauphin Island: a 30 minute ride on a boat that can take 25 or so cars. Many rigs in the water, this area is one of the high natural gas producers. The water is quite shallow (11 feet per poster) but the gas fields are 20,000 ft deep. It is evening by the time we got to the other side, and we drove in the dark to Mobile. Couldn’t see anything at night, but we visited the state for the first time! And crossed many bridges, this being “bayou” country. Dinner at Outback’s in Pensacola. It was about 8 pm when we got back to the hotel.

Fort Morgan, LA to Dauphin Island Ferry Terminal.  Notice the oil rig (natural gas, actually) in the Bay.  Our camera's battery ran out at this point.

This area was threatened with the BP oil spill. We saw miles and miles of beaches, there are tar balls here and there, but they don’t detract from the overall beauty. There is a lot of clean up activity involving scooping up the sand, sifting out the oil (not sure exactly how that’s done) and then returning the cleaned sand to the beach. We saw some “before” and “after” stretches right outside our hotel and frankly couldn’t tell the difference. The claim is the oil is somehow buried in the sand – in which case do we really care? Also, there are a lot of safety officers asking beach-goers to be careful, to the point that the make crossing guards downright careless in comparison. Makes you wonder if that’s the best way to spend the $20B or so (or whatever fraction thereof) set aside for the cleanup.

 Signs of Oil Spill are posted throughout the area.  They are more conspicuous than the spill itself.

A stretch of Beach with quite a number of tar balls on it.

Beach cleanup in progress.

Meanwhile many businesses are closed because of the drop in number of tourists.  They are many posters out telling people where to make claims for economic damage.

It’s been sunny the last couple of days. However, it has been quite windy and the highs are only in the low 60s. Cape Coral on the other hand has highs in the mid 80s per weather.com. I am surprised there is that much difference.

Monday 11/29/2010. First stop was Naval Live Oaks Station where we saw an interesting introductory film that talked about the barrier islands, how oak trees were used in ship-building, and the forts in the area. The guns in the Forts were never used to defend the USA from other countries, but shot at each other during the civil war. Drove across the Garcon Point Bridge which is very long, sparsely used, and cost $3.50. Went on a bird watching trail and saw a few small birds – couldn’t identify them. We then drove to Milton and visited the Blackwater River State Park. The river has banks of white sand, is quite shallow but flows rather rapidly at 3 miles or so per hour. Didn’t do much walking as it started to rain. Late lunch at Shrimp Basket in Milton. Headed back to the hotel after that: it was about 4 pm when we got back to our room.

 

Naval Live Oak with Spanish moss.  It takes acres of this to generate enough wood for a battleship.

Blackwater River in Milton.

We wanted to have a “light” dinner so we drove to a Whataburger place in Pensacola. There are quite a few of them in the area, yet I don’t recall seeing one anywhere else in Florida. The burger was okay, but nothing special.

It was quite a bit warmer today, but the sky was overcast most of the time. We ran into a few showers, and there was a stretch of heavy thunderstorm while we were driving.

Tuesday 11/30/2010. Mostly overcast today, and rainy. We drove back to the Fort Pickens area, today there were quite a few pelicans and other shore birds. While at the Fort we decided to drive to the Pensacola Lighthouse, which is less than two miles away as the crow flies. To drive there would take over half an hour, and involve going through a check point as the lighthouse is on Naval grounds. We didn’t go into the lighthouse as the weather was quite ominous, we wouldn’t know what to do if we got caught in a thunderstorm. There was also a Naval Air Museum which seems to be quite popular with the large number of cars in the parking lot. Afterwards we decided to call it a day and had lunch (at about 2 pm) at a Siam “diner” close by the airport. The 3-variety combination was freshly prepared, and cost only $8 or so.

Pensacola Lighthouse up close.  We didn't go because it was threatening to rain, with lightning in the area.

We were booked on the 6:30 pm PNS-Houston flight, and couldn’t get on the 3 pm flight. Many flights at PNS were canceled or severely delayed because of thunderstorms east of the area.  Our flight left on time, but we had to rush from the commuter terminal in Houston to the main terminal, with a few minutes to spare. The plane was late getting into Newark, the luggage (which we had to check because we boarded too late) took a while to find its way to the carousel, and the taxi line though not long moved very slowly. We got home at about 2:30 am.

Portsmouth, NH. November 13-14, 2010.

Went to up see Joe Jr & Jess run the Seacoast Half Marathon. Jess ended not running because she wasn't feeling well.

Hotel (Fairfield Portsmouth) was a "comp" from previous hotels.com stays - cost $15 or so for the processing fee. It was infested with runners.

We drove along the running route and it is quite pleasant. Anne & I had lunch at Poco's Bow Catina and headed down to Somerville to meet up with Joe Jr before we headed back to NJ.

 Meet Ruby, a one-year old dog adopted by Jessica and Joe.

 Joe about one mile from the finish.

 Portsmouth waterfront.  Maine across the river.

Lighthouse at the the Coast Guard Station by Fort William and Mary in New Castle, NH.

Hong Kong and Kunming, October 22 - November 5, 2010.

The main purposes of the trip are (i) attend the 70th anniversary of Grace Evangelical Church and (ii) visit Hope International’s new offices in Kunming, China. Anne has a business meeting in China and will come down to Hong Kong after that is done. She is still in NJ at the moment, leaving on Sunday for Beijing.

Tim wrote me an email a couple of days ago saying typhoon Megi is aiming directly for Hong Kong and will hit about the time I land (Saturday 6 pm local time). Indeed the initial tracking reports were not very encouraging. As the hours progressed, however, the typhoon has been veering a bit more north and will now always be more than 400 km from Hong Kong (forecast). So we dodged a bullet here, the Grace Church events are Sunday; if I missed them there would be no reason to be in Hong Kong until Thursday. Let’s hope it isn’t too bumpy as we descend.

A note on the travel arrangements. I end up flying UA (via SFO) and the ticket costs $1170 or so. When I first looked, CO had an airfare of less than $1000 but the price kept creeping up and got to as high as $1500 plus. And I kept holding off on the purchase while I kept kicking myself for not having done so earlier. So when I saw this lower price on UA I grabbed it, even though I had to leave EWR at 6:30 am instead of 3:15 pm, and get into Hong Kong at 6 pm instead of 5 pm. Hotels are quite expensive also, I booked myself into this L’Hotel in Aberdeen. It’s new but in an industrial area. Wonder how that would turn out. Ruby took care of the Kunming trip reservations.

Friday 10/22/2010. UA91 EWR-SFO. Being incapable of getting to bed early, I woke up “this” morning at 3:30 am after 2 or so hours of sleep. When Anne came back from LAX Monday morning, she said the CO terminals were packed, and lines were so long that they overflew to the next level. I had two suitcases to check – bringing a security system and some wine to Tim, among other things – and was worried on the way up that I might not have enough time. The UA terminal was very quiet, someone helped me right away with the luggage, and security screening had only a few people in line. The plane left one time, I had a lot of leg room with an exit row Economy Plus seat, and managed to doze off quite often during the 5:30 hour flight. Had shrimp fried noodles at SFO Fung Lam.

I have never seen the UA SFO Red Carpet Club (International Departure) so crowded. Very few empty chairs. I wonder if this is a time-of-day or UA/CO merger issue. Now they cross-recognize each other’s elite flyers, there are many more people looking for upgrades and lounge access. With Gold status at both airlines, the merger so far doesn’t benefit me. It may be different if the miles get pooled though. One improvement is the availability of internet access, all I needed was a card from the receptionist.

Of course now CO for its domestic flights sell food (cold) instead of giving it away (sometimes warm). Can’t quite fault them, but still makes for unhappy campers.

10/22/2010. UA869 SFO-HKG. To drive home the point about the merger, Economy Plus is quite packed (this is about 9 hours into the flight.) I have Seat 38G, not much legroom (I have to tilt the computer as I type this), but an empty seat next to me – my definition of a good flight still holds. I also managed to dose on and off a bit. Somehow I managed to catch the three movies soon after they started. They are all mindless comedies that I had no trouble following. “Cyrus” talks about a son trying to ruin his mother’s relationship with her new boyfriend; “Dinner for Schmucks” is about bringing idiots to dinner and making fun of them, and how one participant ended up learning more about himself; and “The Back-Up Plan” has a woman meet a man she likes soon after she got pregnant through artificial insemination. All have potential to be real funny, but ended up being just so-so. There is still about 5 hours to go before landing, I want to do three things: read Oliver Twist on Kindle, listen to Mahler’s Symphonies, and sleep some more. We shall see. (I am resuming this on Tuesday morning 10/25 local time.) Managed to get some sleep while listening to Mahler, didn’t read much of Oliver Twist, though. The descent was quite smooth. Turns of the typhoon (Megi means catfish in Korean) veered way to the north, unfortunately some casualties resulted from its hitting the Fujian area.

Saturday 10/23/2010. Plane landed a bit ahead of schedule. By the time I collected my luggage and arrived at Hong Kong Station, Tim, Wally and Ling were there waiting. We drove to Aberdeen. After checking in at the hotel, we had dinner at the LIS (L’hotel Island South) Restaurant. Busier than I expected – it was after all Saturday – but the meal wasn’t as good as I expected. The lobster and bouillon main course was just a bowl of soup … The hotel itself is nicer than expected. This part of town is industrial, so there isn’t much nearby, but as I found out the next morning, Aberdeen town is only a short bus ride away.

Sunday 10/24/2010. Woke up at 6 am. Took minibus to Aberdeen for breakfast at Café de Coral. Went to ABC (walked from hotel) and got on Tim’s boat heading to Lamma for lunch. It looked very deserted, and we thought we were too early – it was around 11 am – so we went to ABC Middle Island for coffee and then headed back. It was still deserted, turns out some restaurants were closed in preparation for the typhoon that never hit. Had a simple lunch at Lamma Rainbow. Wally, Ling and I were then dropped off in Kowloon City so we could attend the Grace Church 70th Anniversary Service which lasted two hours. Then we all took a bus to Laguna Restaurant in Hong Hom for a banquet, attended by over a thousand people. A bit long. We left before dessert and it turned out to be quite easy to get back to the hotel. Hong Kong does have an amazing public transportation system.

I have mixed feelings about the service. It is good I got to go, but there is a strong feeling of “you cannot go home again,” which is a bit sad. I spent a lot of time at the Grace Church when I was in elementary and high school, and had many good memories of people and events from that time. I did get to meet up with several old friends, but we all felt like strangers with not much in common. I suppose if I live in Hong Kong I will be comfortable with attending this church, but I feel I would need some time reconnecting and regaining a sense of belonging.

Monday 10/25/2010. Went to Aberdeen to have breakfast – Tsui Wah Café. Then to Central Wing On Building to pay for Alfred Wong’s HKG-KMN tickets. Alfred is a last minute add to our group. Also booked hotel in Kunming for Alfred.

Had French Toast and coffee at Tsui Wah in Central – couldn’t resist.

Delivered coat to Liang Huei’s friend while sitting at Starcbucks – Tai Po station. Then went with Wally and Ling to see Tai Po house, coming together nicely. Came back to hotel, tried but failed to sleep. Decided to skip dinner with Ling and Wally, and I went to South Horizon’s Shopping Center to find dinner. Not that many offered cuisines that I wanted, so went to Coconut Hut and had curried lamb. Took wrong bus (90B) and had to change to 75 to get back to the hotel.

Anne got into her Beijing hotel. She will have a late night teleconference call for her USC class.

Tuesday 10/26/2010. Not much to report today. Did bring laundry to Aberdeen.

Ran into a bit of a problem trying to get more pages for my passport at the US Consulate. Last time I went they would just let you in and you wait for them to add the pages, for free. That would be around 2005, it turned out my passport was in too bad a shape that I had to get a new one instead. When I showed up at 10:30 am or so this morning the guard said the system has changed, now you have to make an appointment over the web (I tried calling with the numbers the guard gave me and they wouldn’t make an appointment), but in the afternoon they take ten walk-ins, and that the passports are usually available late in the afternnon. And they will collect a fee. I am a believer of fee for service, so that doesn’t bother me. But it would be three trips altogether where there used to be one, which is really stupid. Since I couldn’t fight City Hall (best I can do is to write a letter) I went back in the afternoon. It was relatively simple and the whole process took about 45 minutes.

Wednesday 10/27/2010. Went to get blood test at Tim’s, then went to the Peak and hiked down to Pokfulam Road (about 3 km). Dinner was at Tim’s. He unexpectedly had to do a show, so it was more hurried than we’d like. Had coffee with Wally & Ling afterwards.

Thursday 10/28/2010. Breakfast at Lin Heung Restaurant with Ling and Wally. Had 14 dim sum dishes. Cost HK220 (Ling paid). Picked up Anne at airport. David & Ruby arrived at about the same time and we had dinner together at the airport.

Friday 10/29/2010. Dropped off laundry at Aberdeen cleaner, then took taxi to visit Anne’s mother who was heading to Central for a medical check up. While Anne waited a while at the Doctor’s office, I went to Tim’s office to pick up Joe Jr’s ID. Then we met up with Larry for lunch at Hong Kong Club. Went back to Aberdeen after lunch to pick up laundry, and I bought several long sleeve polo shirts as the weather is much cooler than I expected. Back to hotel, changed, and took bus/MTR to Ling’s apartment to drop off a suitcase we don’t need for our trip to China tomorrow. MTR to City Hall, and joined up with David & Ruby first for dinner and then a Hong Kong Philharmonic – All Schumann concert. Took bus back to the hotel. A lot of running around, yet not much accomplished.

Saturday 10/30/2010. When elevators don’t have the capacity to accommodate the demand, a couple of things happen. First the cars stop at every floor, the doors open, people realize no one can get in, door closes, and then the process gets repeated one floor below. Second, people jump into the cars going up, ride them to the top and then back down again. This results in a very slow through put for the system when it should be running at full capacity. That’s what we had this morning at 9 am at the L’Hotel. And there were very few taxi’s in that part of the city. So it took us 30 minutes after we left our hotel room to get into a taxi. Good thing the traffic wasn’t too bad, and we got to Hong Kong Station in 20 or so minutes. Rest of “process” was quite smooth.

Met up with Ruby & David for breakfast on the airside of the airport. Flight MU734 to Kunming was rather full, some turbulence, and a bit of a rough landing. After checking into the Grand Park Hotel we went for a walk, then had tea, and decided to have dinner as well. Things are relatively cheap in Kunming, taxi to hotel was RMB30, dinner for 4 RMB132.

Alfred showed up at around 9 pm. He said Hong Kong Express flight was quite empty.

Sunday 10/31/2010. Breakfast at hotel. At 10 am five our us took rented minivan to go to Shilin, about 1 ½ hours each way. This was our second visit to the place and isn’t nearly as impressive as the first one. Nice weather, though. And we got to know the driver got less than ½ of what we paid the hotel, and the guide got less than 1/3 of what we paid the park. Had noodles when we got back. Then we went to visit the Ruyles, chatted for a short while and then to Red Bean Garden for dinner. Had a lot of dishes for about RMB300, for eight people.

 Bunches of ears of corn hung out to dry.  I am told they are ground into corn flour.

 Alfred, Anne, me, Ruby and David in Shilin.

Another picture taken in Shilin.

Monday 11/1/2010. Alfred felt sick, so he stayed behind at the hotel. The four of us went to meet with the Ruyles for a short while and then went to lunch at a Thai Restaurant by Cui Hu (Lake). Chatted for quite a while afterwards, and got back to hotel in time to see Alfred off. Laws and we went to a Yunnan Restaurant (where we went last time) for dinner.

Tuesday 11/2/2010. Early flight to Hong Kong. Had one of the most expensive cups of coffee I ever had at the airport (at RMB48). Checked into the Royal Park Hotel. Went to meet K Choi to talk about some of Hope’s plans and potential issues. Stopped by Hankow Road to try the noodle restaurant Johnny recommended, probably ended up in a different one. Went to Ling’s to pick up luggage left at her place. Late snack with Ruby and David. Anne didn’t join because of class.

Wednesday 11/3/2010. Anne went with Ruby and others to Shenzhen for the day. I decided not to go. Went jogging along Shing Mun River. Went to Tim’s place to have dinner. Ling cooked some wild boar (Italian style). It was so well marinated and stewed that there was no gamey taste. The skin was nice. Worked with Alyson on her physics homework. Anne had dinner with Elaine and Larry Jr.

Thursday 11/4/2010. Spent the day with David & Jamie Hsieh, Alfred Wong, and David & Ruby Law. Started with a trip to The Peak and talked about various landmarks. Had “Mak Un” noodles and Pacific Coffee. Then taxi’s to Aberdeen Boat Club to get on Tim’s boat. Julie (Ruby’s sister) joined us. Today wasn’t the most pleasant – cool, windy, and a bit of rain. We ate lunch at Rainbow/Lamma. Afterwards the ladies went shopping in Kowloon, and the men walked around Pacific Mall and had some coffee. Dinner at Chiu Chow Garden in Vicwood Plaza joined by Mamie, Ka Shi, Kan & Carmen.

David, David, Alfred and me at Mak Un Noodles at The Peak.

Friday 11/5/2010. I’m in the SFO Red Carpet Lounge as I type this. This was one of the more bumpy flights I have experienced, and I had a “regular” aisle seat in a row that was fully occupied. The young lady one seat over threw up, but seemed okay. A good thing is the flight was relatively short at about 11 hours. The audio system didn’t work; wonder what compensation we’d get. The plane landed at 9 am, and the Newark flight is at 2:10 pm. We went to the Hong Kong Airport early this morning because Anne has a different itinerary to get home. She is now in Seattle and won’t leave until 4 pm local time. Alfred Wong and I were in the same flight so we had breakfast together, and we saw each other briefly in the Red Carpet Lounge. He said he slept most of the way, I only did so fitfully.

I got upgraded to first class on the SFO-EWR flight, which was a pleasant surprise. Too bad the seats are just “regular” first class seats. I plan to wait for Anne and take a taxi home together.

[Note added on Sunday] I ended up getting in quite early so took a taxi home and drove back up to the airport to pick up Anne. My seat in first class was in the last row so had limited recline. I still managed to catch some sleep.

Florida, September 17 - 20, 2010

9/17/2010 Friday. Got upgraded to first class EWR-TPA, the 757 is used for international flights and have nice first class seats. Staying at the Chiu's Port Charlotte house with Peter. Dinner with Peter at Sakura buffet.

9/18/2010 Saturday. House inspection. Lunch and dinner with Peter at Iguana Mia in Cape Coral and Red Lobster in Port Charlotte.

9/19/2010 Sunday. A plumbing emergency at the house - couldn't shut the shower faucet. Managed to get the plumber across the street (TitanZ) to take a look. Lunch was takeout purchased by Peter. We then drove around and visited Englewood Beach (nice) and Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. Talked to a local guy who was telling us how dangerous the current could be. He also complained about the crash in real estate prices in the area.

9/20/2010 Monday. Drove up to Tampa (Pinellas Park) and had lunch at Panera Bread with Paul King. Again got upgraded TPA-EWR.

Overall. Inexpensive trip since plane ticket was less than $200 and I stayed for free at the Chiu's house. Unfortunately the main purpose of the trip (to buy a house) may be for naught as the deal is falling through as I type this.

Boston, Tampa & Cape Coral. August 25 – September 1, 2010.

Wed 8/25. Walked to South Amboy Train Station. It’s only a 15 minute walk but today was seasonably warm (it had been quite cool the last couple of days) so I worked up a sweat. Train to Newark Penn was on time. Waited about 40 minutes at NWK before boarding 3 pm Amtrak Regional to Boston. This train makes many (18 or so) stops along the way. I was seated in the last car and it was very quiet. Joe, Jessica, and Anne came by to pick me up in this commuter van. Anne has been here since last Saturday. Will be staying at Joe’s until Saturday.

Thu 8/26. Woke up relatively early. Went to Costco to shop for stuff for Summerbridge BBQ lunch tomorrow. Ate half a chicken which I also got from Costco; I guess I’ll have that tomorrow for lunch. Did some translation (Anne was helping with a document from Greta). Tried to take a nap in the afternoon but failed to. Took T to Chinatown to meet up with Anne, then came back to Station Landing to have dinner at Kelly’s Restaurant. Despite their name, they serve up traditional fast(ish) food. I had Fried Scallops Platter, Anne had the lobster roll & roast beef burger; we also ordered a large soup to share. Turned out to be too much food.

Fri 8/27. Ran around Mystic River. Dinner at Boston Sail Loft by the harbor. Dishes are expensive, but they look and taste only so-so. Poor service.

Sat 8/28. Brunch at S&S in Cambridge. Place reminds me of Perkins. Flights BOS-IAD and IAD-TPA were quite uneventful. Caught in a huge downpour as we got to the hotel. Went to Checkers to get take-out for dinner.

Sun 8/29. Spent most of the days with the Kings. Sunday Worship at Bay Ridge Baptist Church in Seminole. Lunch in Panera Bread, then back to hotel for a long discussion on some business possibilities. Dinner at Columbia Restaurant in Tampa. We had visited the pier on our prior visits to the Tampa area.

Mon 8/30. Met up with Real Estate agent in the afternoon. Looked around a few houses. Checked into Port Charlotte La Quinta.

Tue 8/31. Visited Cape Coral again. Continued down to Naples and had lunch. Then drove to Venice Beach, and had takeout dinner from a local Thai restaurant.

Wed 9/1. Anne had a morning conference call. I went to the hotel gym. Drive to TPA airport was uneventful. I got upgraded, Anne was left in coach. All I can say is these planes (757-200) configured for international routes have great first class seats, and the meal (beef short ribs) was great. Took train and walked home.

Sydney, Australia. August 11 – August 23, 2010.

8/11 Wednesday. Anne dropped me off at Newark airport, the airport was very quiet, with only a few passengers waiting at security screening. The EWR-ORD flight was delayed by about an hour, so I went to the Red Carpet Club, and there were very few people there. Got upgraded to first class, since this was a non-meal flight, and I had an exit row seat in economy, it wasn’t much of an improvement. The ORD-LAX flight was packed but uneventful. However, listening to the pilot on channel 9, I was amazed how busy LAX was. It seemed everyone had to talk very fast to get the number of conversations in. I don’t fly UA that much nowadays – since CO is that much more convenient – and their planes feel old. In any case, picked up a few boxes of See’s Candy, and am now enroute SYD, about 5 hours from landing. I got quite a bit of (fitful) sleep. Another passenger and I occupy the middle 4 seats, she is acting a bit like a camel, now taking 2 ½ of those seats.

8/13 Friday. Plane landed on schedule at 8:10 am. Since we were one of the first to land, and used a gate close to immigration, the lines were short in comparison. It took all of 15 minutes from the time the plane landed to the time I got to the waiting area. Must be a personal record. Ruth and Steven picked me up. After a brief rest and shower, we went to Hurtsville to visit mother. She looked okay. Dim Sum brunch at a Chinese Restaurant. Susanna came by with Amy and Peter to spend the afternoon. I also took a quick nap in the late afternoon. Ruth prepared dinner. Went to bed early today.

8/14 Saturday. Walked to visit father’s grave in the morning. Ruth, Steven & I went to Opera House to see La Sonnambula. Had early lunch at Opera Café. The owner knew Ruth and Steven and gave us free dessert plus a discount. Walked around the park (Domain) afterwards, then caught train to Chatswood to have dinner at Fook Yuen with quite a few people: Ruth, Steven, Susanna, Chris, Amy, Peter, Wilson, Wendy, Ryan, Ling, Wally, Alfred, Toby – 14 in all.

8/15 Sunday. Went to Praise Evangelical Free Church; we all agreed that the preaching by the seminary student was quite good. Dim Sum lunch at Zilver Restaurant was good. There were lots of people waiting for a table by the time we were done. I then got dropped off at Circular Quay where I bought a $20 Day Pass and took the ferry first to Manly and then to Watson Bay. Finished a novel while sitting at Manly Beach. Got back to Jennings Street at around 5:30 pm; enjoyed a beef pie from “House of Pi” along the way. Dinner was prepared by Ruth – supplemented by some take-out Chinese food.

8/16 Monday. Drove to Watson’s Bay to have lunch with Steven & Ruth. Short run around Matraville in the afternoon. Dinner (mostly leftovers) at Jennings Street.

8/17 Tuesday. Dim Sum lunch at Chinese Restaurant in Marouba (Wilson and Ryan joined us). Bought another DayPass and took ferry to Watson’s Bay for a short walk in the Gap Park. Didn’t get back in time to catch Darling Harbour Ferry, so did another Manly roundtrip – this time it was much less crowded. Took train to Chatswood and got picked up by Ruth to go to Alfred’s apartment in Hornsby. Got to see Naomi and their new son Josiah. Dinner prepared by Ling.

8/18 Wednesday. Lunch at Palace Restaurant in CBD with Steven, Ruth & Wilson (who brought Ryan along). Took Bus 555 (free) to Museum of Sydney which contains a good exhibit on the history of Sydney; spent over two hours there. Then took 555 back down and spent the rest of the afternoon in the Darling Harbor area; finished another novel. Dinner at Szechuan Chilli with Ruth and Steven. Since I didn't want any spicy food to aggravate my cough, we had only limited choice of dishes to pick from.

8/19 Thursday. We left a little after 11 am for the trip to Nelson Bay, which according to Google Map is about 3 hours away. Enroute we had a quick lunch at the Westfield Mall in The Entrance. I am glad the BB GPS managed to have enough battery charge to last us till our arrival, which was at about 3:45 pm. Ruth drove the whole way – a record distance for her. Took a walk along the shore before BBQ dinner prepared by Chris. The whole gang is occupying two 3-bedroom apartments.

47 Christmas Bush Ave, Nelson Bay, NSW

Pool

Nelson Bay Marina

8/20 Friday. We left mid morning for what we thought was a reasonable length trip to Hunter Valley. Turns out it would haven taken over 2 ½ hours each way. Wally suggested a restaurant in Newcastle (called Restaurant II) instead. I had only the main (lamb rack), share in some dessert, and a coffee. Food was reasonably well prepared, a bit on the expensive side, though. Jogged for a couple of miles with Wally before dinner. Ling prepared several dishes for dinner: seafood spaghetti, baked pumpkin and baked vegetables. This was supplemented with raw oysters and boiled shrimp brought at a local market. It was quite hectic with 4 kids running around, which makes the peace and quiet after they go to sleep especially enjoyable.

8/21 Saturday. Drove around the area, including Soldier Point and Fingal Bay. After a simple sandwich lunch, Wally and I made it up the 161 meter Tomaree Head, which involved hiking up a rather steep slope and about 300 steps. Good view of the surroundings. We then visited the Stockton Sand Dunes which turned out to be quite spectacular. Dinner back at the Nelson Bay house.

View of Fingal Bay from Tomaree Head. It was so windy that I soon lost the cap I was wearing.

A tour on camel back of the Stockton Sand Dunes.

8/22 Sunday. Walked around “downtown” Nelson Bay with Wally. It's a neat small town anchored by a marina. Checked out of house at 12 noon. Had Fish & Chips (Flathead) at BUP's, pretty good. The rest of the gang ate at Hog's Breath. Trip back to Sydney was uneventful, but quite a bit of traffic. We stopped by Susanna's house and we all went to Chatswood for dinner. It's now 8 pm and we are all ready to wind down.

Love Birds (pictured here) and cockatoos are very common in NSW.

8/23 Monday. Departure day. Even though the stay has been relaxing and enjoyable, I am ready to go home. Wilson – who has the week off - stopped by with Ryan and we headed off to the airport together. Lunch at Oporto’s in the SYD foodcourt. Plane left and landed on time. UA870 was crowded, but seat next to mine was empty. Didn’t get much sleep on both the SYD-SFO and SFO-EWR segments. Today I must have stood out as I was flagged both at the SYD security check and SFO customs check for additional screening. Neither was too time-consuming as I had only minimum luggage. The SFO domestic security even re-screened my bag of liquids. Chung Shu picked up and I was home at around 11:30 pm.