Days 3 & 4 – Hong Kong – Kowloon / Train to Beijing

Today started out fairly uneventful. I (Jon) am still suffering from jet lag and found myself awake at 5 am. I headed out around 6 am to the Starbucks around the corner from the hotel, but was unlucky – closed till 7 am.

So we headed down to the hotel for breakfast – typical hotel breakfast of egg omelet’s, coffee, orange juice and Miso Soup – all good.

After breakfast I decided that it wasn’t fair I was the only one privy to the Temple Street Market where I stumbled upon toads, pig snouts etc from day 1 and convinced Ashley that she needed to see firsthand. So, we set out to the market. Probably not the best idea right after breakfast.

We went into the indoor market and were flooded with the smells of live fish, toads, turtles mixed with the smell of filleted fish and other meats. Then we saw them again – the TOADS in the cages ready for the plucking. An older lady was eyeing them and decided she should have one. Here she is picking her choice toad:


We took a few more photos in the indoor market and left before nausea got the best of us. We walked up and down the outdoor market and again saw exotic meats and other things we’re just not used to seeing in America. Not that it’s bad – just foreign.

We headed back to the hotel to check out and head over to the train station to board our 24 hour train adventure to Beijing. After a quick taxi ride we arrived at the train station with about 3 hours to spare before boarding. In America, I can honestly say Ashley and I have never eaten at McDonald's, but in the Hong Kong train station McDonald's was our oasis:


After indulging in good ol' American fried food, we bought a couple beers and sat down at Starbucks for Ashley to update the blog (yesterday's post).








We were mentally preparing for 24 hours of solitary confinement en route to Beijing...


At 3 pm or so we finally boarded the train. We were in a deluxe soft sleeper cabin (apparently the best you can buy on this train) and it proved to be a pretty decent accommodation. Bunk beds, a table & chair and our own private toilet. Here are a few pictures:




The train departed around 3:30 pm and we nestled in for the long haul. Unfortunately, I (Jon) was feeling a bit under the weather - either from utter exhaustion / jet lag or the beginning stages of a cold. I got in the top bunk and before I knew it, it was 8 pm and Ashley awoke me asking me if I wanted to go to the meal cart for dinner. Groggy, I agreed.


We sat down for a meal and after a few minutes a train worker asked for our order; Ashley in her foresight had spoken with one of her China supplier contacts who prepared 'flash cards' of common items for us in Chinese (chicken & vegetables) being one of them. So we pointed to the flash card and placed our order. The waitress told us it would be $45 (~$7 USD) dollars so I reached for our Hong Kong $45 and she shook her head no and pointed to Chinese RMB dollars. We had NO RMB's. We asked if she took credit cards - a shake of the head meant no. With empty stomachs we retreated to our rooms.


I should point out that earlier in the day, Ashley mentioned we should probably buy water and other snacks, etc. for the train. I wasn't as concerned about the train thinking that we'd have no problems with getting water or food...but we ended up getting two big bottles of water and had a good amount of snacks for the train. It turned out we needed ALL of them! Here's our dinner, breakfast and lunch for the train:



*I owe Ashley big time for insisting we get water and food :) - I won't doubt her again!


After our failed dinner attempt, I fell back asleep and Ashley eventually did too. We woke up around 5 AM or so and given that I'd slept for 12 hours I was feeling much better and well rested. Ashley went back to sleep and I watched a few movies.


The rest of the train ride was pretty uneventful. We watched a movie on the laptop, read about Beijing, nothing all that exciting.


Overall, 24 hours on this train was not bad at all. We both slept pretty well and time went by fairly quickly. MUCH better than being on a long flight. We'd definitely do it again (and will in a few days as we venture on to Shanghai!)


We arrived in Beijing around 4 pm on Friday and after a mad rush at customs hailed a taxi and arrived at our hotel, the Park Plaza. The Park Plaza is a beautiful hotel - exquisite in comparison to our Hong Kong broom closet! We're on the 14th floor and have a view of the city - very nice hotel.

Pretty tired after the train ride and calling it a night early. Off to explore all that Beijing offers tomorrow! Til then!

Hong Kong - Kowloon, Day 2

Day 2. 3am: Ashley tries valiantly to not yell obscenities at the front desk attendant when she receives her wake up call. Singapore is a "fine" city (you can be fined and in extreme cases, jailed, for breaking such laws). 6:50am: Ashley's plane departs Singapore, exhausted but incredibly excited to finally meet up with Jon10:40am: Darth Vader is standing behind Ashley in the custom's line, rhythmically breathing mechanical exhalations down her arm. He is very much inside her personal space bubble. 11:00am: ASHLEY AND JON ARE REUNITED!! After splurging on a taxi, they head to their luxurious hotel room in Kowloon. See photo for additional details on the room.noon: Ashley and Jon arrive at City View, their home away from home. It quickly and valiantly lives up to the picture painted by Jon. Two beds, which when pushed together combined to create one regular sized twin bed, are topped with cardboard pillows. After tripping over the ever present step into the bathroom, Ashley is transported back to a cruise ship sized restroom. Its perfect.Early Afternoon: After filling up the only free space in the room with our refrigerator suitcases, we trip out the door and head to lunch. The thought of eating yet another noodle bowl quickly turned Ashley's stomach so when they pulled out the city map to find a restaurant, the sight of "Outback Steakhouse" lit up like a beacon in the night. It didn't take much to convince Jon :)
Late Afternoon: Jon and Ashley head back to their 'little slice of heaven' and take a fantastic nap...signs of Jon's onset of insanity showed themselves briefly when he kept laughing in his sleep. It took 4 resets of the alarm plus a couple handfuls of GORP to finally wake them up.
Evening: Re showered and map in hand, Ashley and Jon head back out into the sweltering humid city. They catch a cab and head towards the harbor to watch the laser light show across the bay. Jon's gets some fantastic night skyline shots as cruise ships and smaller boats sailed across the foreground with white Christmas lights twinkling on their masts. Next was dinner, dear god let us find somewhere safe and if at all possible, also tasty. Ashley had enjoyed the guidance of their supply chain hosts last week, so fabulous tasty safe meals occurred once every 4 hours or so. Venturing out on one's own is a very different story. They finally settled on a restaurant inside a shopping mall near the Peninsula Hotel. It wasn't until they began the trek back to their table for the two, that the smell of fish, eye balls and death caught their attention. Both sets of pupils dilate in fear. Jon swallows down the bile that has risen into his mouth. Before they're fully seated Ashley says "wanna go" and as Jon stands back up he answers "yes". They end up at a simple cafe eating beef curry and chicken mushroom gratin. Not really Chinese (at all) but "getting it done" for day 1 together in China. Jon's onset of insanity rears its ugly head again, when all of a sudden there's curry splashed across his face, shirt, pants (and a little on the waitress). "What happened?!" Ashley asks. "I slipped," Jon replies. There are so many questions but all Ashley can do is laugh as the waitress tries to dab off the curry hanging from Jon's eyebrows.
Evening: Ashley and Jon return to their room, push together the mini beds and drift off into a happy slumber.

Hong Kong - Kowloon, Day 1

So, it begins. I arrived in Hong Kong late last night (Monday evening) and after a pretty uneventful trip through customs cabbed it to the hotel. First, never trust hotels.com. Our 3.5 star hotel was a 100 sq ft room with 2 single beds and a bathroom that was not created for average size Americans. But, it's a bed, so all is well.

Woke up this morning earlier than one should, but guess that's the price you pay for jet lag. Ashley is in Singapore today and won't arrive in Hong Kong until Wednesday morning (tomorrow). So, the next 24 hours should prove interesting sans Ashley :).

I decided to head out of the hotel this morning after breakfast (traditional American - nothing fancy) and just started walking. Not really intending to go anywhere in particular - just see the city. So where does one end up when that is their goal? The Temple Market. Prior to coming to China I had heard that cuisine and customs were a bit different than the average American was accustomed to, but I had no idea what I was in store for.

Upon entering the market I saw the typical hanging beef, chickens, etc. that one can see in any major US city (Chinatown in NYC, example). But I kept walking. Live fish you can pick from, dead fish filleted open. So far not too extravagant. Then I saw a small cage. In the cage were live toads; huge live toads. WHO EATS TOADS? I vomited a little in my mouth and quickly jettisoned this market.

I walked up and down a street market and saw some exotic things - cooked dead goose, more fantastic beef and chicken cuts. And the smells - who says open sewers smell bad?! :). I was fighting nausea and vomiting the entire time.

So what does a good American do when they feel like they are in the bowels of the unforbidden? We find BEER. The oasis was a Circle K convenience store that fortunately sold beer in cans and they were on special. 2 for $14 Hong Kong Dollars; equals ~$2.00 USD. Nice. 1 in hand, 1 in my short pocket I head back out on the street. 1 beer disappears in record time; 4 seconds I think. Second beer chilling in my pocket, ready to be drank when necessary.

Some photos from the street market:

I end up at a Starbucks (where I am writing this post because the hotel Wi-Fi is as reliable as, well can't really think of an analogies right now. It's not reliable), and buy a bottled water. Feeling a bit tired I left Starbucks and retired to my hotel room / broom closet.

After resting a bit, I decided to head back out into the city. I was walking randomly again when a glowing sign lured me in like an oasis. It read, 'Full Body Massage'. Hmm, Ashley has told me good things about her massage experience(s) in Bangkok, so I said, 'What the hell, how much?' Roughly $35 USD for a 90 minute full body massage. The gods were smiling upon me.

I enter the massage palace and quickly see a sign, 'Men only - if you have a communicable disease you cannot proceed any further'. First thought - what have I done?

The gentlemen working the front office area escort me back and ask me to shower - I politely decline as I am not sure the cleanliness of the shower or the water. I get down to my skivvy's and put their robe on (after declining their boxer shorts) and head upstairs. They sit me down, bring a cold Coke and offer me a cigarette to relax. Second thought - Oh God, what have I done and how am I going to explain the Herpes to Ashley?

They ask me if I am in a rush - I stutter out a 'No' and they tell me good, an experienced lady will be with me in 20 minutes. Third thought - I am not going to make it out alive. Side note - I have my laptop and camera in my bad in THEIR locker. Jon = dumb ass.

Finally, a young girl, probably 14 comes in and escorts me back to get a massage. She asks me my name, I tell her Jon, she says "J" and I say, "Jon", she says "Joe" and I nod and smile. I am Joe. Your average Joe.

She proceeds to massage and, well, it was a pretty decent full body massage. JUST a massage - thankfully no happy ending was offered and I left there with my dignity and my belongings.

Guess I lucked out.

Rest of the day pretty uneventful - ate a fairly normal dinner in the hotel and am deciding to call it a night. Going to pick Ashley up at the Hong Kong airport tomorrow! THANK GOD!