Oh Hong Hong...

This place never ceases to amaze me...

I'm writing this on the ferry back to Mui Wo.

Mobile Blogging from here.

I went into the city today as Katy brought Jonathan to his Saturday lessons. I started on a wild Chinese goose chase to locate the newly relocated Apple service center to fix my iPood :).....again...

Ultimately, I found out where a bus I often take terminates, an amazingly beautiful and massive park in the middle of causeway bay (victoria park), and I partook in wandering and wandering and sweating and sweating in the 90 degree heat.  Luckinly,  I wasn't on a time schedule and I was so surprised at all the cool new places I found.

I located the building, only to walk around it multiple times.  However, I was able to reconnect to my long lost pal, good ol' pccw hotspot. He's never too far away. I loaded up apple's webpage and got a page with the address in English and Chinese and showed it to the doorman of the building, after almost 3 hours of traveling and searching I found the place on the 36th floor and took a number.

After a short talk with an attendant, she assured me that Steve Jobs would personally fly my replacement iPod in from Singapore and drop it off at the house in his iMobile powered completely off the cumulative energy of Apple owners self-righteousness. She also said that he'd throw in an upgrade to the 160gb model and an iPhone 4. You know, since we are old pals and all...

I then proceeded to walk to Wan Chai looking for a place to exchange my 'merica bux$

I ended up finding a surprising store in my travels; a hardware store in the middle of the city. It had so much more useful stuff than any other place I've been to in Hong Kong. I dare say it is my favorite store in the big HK. I was able to pick up a bunch of knick-knacks that have been frustrating me because I couldn't find them. These include a screw driver, dish towels, putty knife, blu-tac, cotton twine, balloon animals, thermos' plus much much more. I definitely need to go back.

I stumbled into a computer center investigating reports of my digital camera being there, but after scouring the entire place someone told me it "just left." After a little "persuasion" they said it actually went to the other computer center in Wan Chai. Thus, I was compelled to give chase. I scrambled to and through everything in the other store trying keep my mind from exploding with sheer awesomeness at the sights seen within. However, my camera continued to elude me, remaining free for this day...

I found an exchange place with a good rate and then took the tram to central and found an HSBC cash machine to eat my newly acquired pink bill$. then I scrambled to the pier and got a bowl of beef brisket soup and boiled lettuce to go on the ferry with. Now I'm writing the post high on MSG, salt, soy, and noodles. Looks like the ferry has arrived, time to meet Khem at his new place in Pui O...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Macau Fever... (Part 2)

Now for the stunning conclusion:

6:51pm: A massive blast is heard and the blur of a vehicle slams to an instant halt in the blink of an eye. Dama throws some money towards the captain and the other three jump out and race to enter the airlock and clear security.  Dama collects his earth-money change and views the countdown board from the distance.  He thinks to himself, "Why is there no time showing?" Has his super sonic journey slowed time? Stopped time? No, that's crazy; it's just that the "Cut-Off" buzzer has already sounded.  This name is derived from what happens if any body parts exist between the outside world and the airlock when time is up.

6:53pm: A large group of Slowpokes were entering the airlock chamber.  Known for their speed and dexterity this tribe of people often travels aboard the fast vessel bound for the urban jungle.  However, the entry guards tend to be very cautious when tendering fare and this can cause vast hold ups.  Luckily for the quartet, they were able to hop on the coat tails of this group, literally, as the Slowpoke tribe is known for their vast coat tails.  Here is a security photo of the quartet entering the airlock:
 
6:54pm: The quartet was safely aboard their vessel and entering hyper sleep.  Just before nodding off Dama spotted his Janbo next to Samje and released a nervous sigh of relief.  He had completely forgotten about it in the chaos when leaving the transport.

7:35pm: The supersonic vessel battles tidal waves and eludes pirate boats as it enters the CCA (Central Containment Area) Dama awakens from his sleep, grabs his janbo, and leaves the terminal.  He emerges from the megalith and enters a busy concrete metropolis.  Nibra takes off on a quest to acquire something to cover his legs, as this is the generally recognized custom of Macau.  Dama, Samje, and Tane head to a special area where Dama's pocket computer can receive specially crafted radio signals.  These radio waves tell Dama the earth-location of their destination in the density of Macau.

8:10pm: The trio acquire their tickets from the Hyperjet Hydro-Plane Ferry ticketing robot, then try to contact Nibra through special radio waves emanating from Dama's pocket computer.  Nibra is outside the compound unsuccessful in his quest to acquire his leg coverings.  He enters the complex, utilizes the motorized stairs, purchases his ticket, and meets with the group.  Samje and Tane finished their ethanol bubble water, which just so happens to have a slightly higher percentage of ethanol than 7-up, and entered security clearance.

--------That's all I've got for today, tune in tomorrow for a conclusion, maybe, it all depends on how this sickness is treating me.......

Macau Fever... (Part 1)

Pretty crazy last few days, I'll try to reconstruct the events that transpired recently (names were changed to protect the innocent) **Some events dramatized**

Monday:

Approx 5pm:  Dama meets up with Tane, Samje, and Nibra to acquire food at a nearby establishment; the name of which comes from the large American bird otherwise known as the Kutrey. Tane proceeds to inquire to Dama about possibly going to the most densely populated country in the world. Of which Dama takes careful consideration over his blended yogurt/mango drink and earth-potato grease sticks.

6:10pm: Dama realizes that it would be fun to go back to Macau, a place he spent either fleeting moments under cover of darkness or later, in a rain soaked fog.  Dama relays his decision to the group and they take into account their time allotment.  Dama knows a fast ferry leaves at 6:50pm and explains that it will produce a more desirable outcome in relation to earth-time if they are present on this vessel when it departs. 

6:20pm: It comes to light that the outcome may be unobtainable due to the great distance between the eager group and their special pieces of paper.  These papers prove that they are who they are and are actually from where they were born.  The feasibility of the 6:50 option heavily depends upon returning to this very location within 30 earth-minutes.  Thus, the group is compelled to hire a nearby small blue carriage, knowing from past experiences that these carriages can sometimes approach the sound barrier, much to the distress of their occupants.

6:30pm: The quartet reach their village and scramble to reach their individual residences and acquire their necessary components for international travel as well as their highly glossed wooden noisemakers.  Their rocket chariot needs 10 minutes to warm up its afterburners before it can return, thus, the group knows it needs to be prepared for reentry by 6:40.  If this occurs,they will be present at the entry gate before the fast boat leaves.  Dama takes off to his flat to grab his identity book.  Nibra runs to the village washer-woman in hopes of donning a clean pair of trousers, rather than is multi-day old board shorts.  Samje and Tane run to acquire their documents and the noisemakers.

6:35pm: Dama sprints to his mansion on the bluff overlooking Pui O, passes three levels of security, and enters his vast abode.  He throws off his crocs, imitation Billabong shorts, and "Urban Man" shirt (Dama likes to dress down on occasion).  He then dresses in a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and D&G Trousers.  Dama still wants to maintain his casual fashion sense, but still give the impression that he's a man of fine taste.

6:38pm: Dama races back to the launchpad, down the hill and across the bridge.  He grabs his Nexus 1 cellphone, newly imported from The Union of 50.  This one is refered to as "Nexus 3" though, he always buys everything in threes; Nexus 1 and 2 remain carefully locked away.  The wonderful device shows a holograph of Samje getting suited up for his supersonic journey back to the place the quartet started their epic journey less than two hours previous...

6:45: Delays with the supersonic fabric coating cause the carriage to depart late and hopes of the four dwindle to nothing as they race "Fi-dee, Fi-dee" towards their destination.


Will the unrelenting quartet arrive at their destination unscathed and on time? Will Dama almost forget his noise making Janbo in the trunk of the supersonic carriage? Does Nibra have pants on?

----These questions answered and more next time in the stunning conclusion of "Macau Fever"----

Beer Dash Photos as promised

I'm not going to put this as a slide show on here just browse to the picasa site and see them

http://picasaweb.google.com/petrashune/BeerDash2010Photos?authkey=Gv1sRgCK6O1-3igM6HIA&feat=directlink

Goat Party Cancelled

All week we were planning on getting a whole goat to cook up on the roof of our flat.  I was collecting money 100 HKD from each person and last night Khem and I were going to go get it and bring it back.  However, after Chinese New Year the slaughterhouse was out of them I guess so we tried to make other plans.  It's frustrating, we had at least 15 confirm to come and I had collected money from almost half. Oh well, next time

Last night we were trying to get together a plan for acquiring some momos and fresh chicken.  Again this plan fell through, Khem is working today, but everyone else is off, so there is no one to buy any of the stuff for us.  We'll have to do it after everyone gets off work tomorrow, it should be fine.  We only have a half day tomorrow, I'm hoping Khem can get the food and stuff without any help because no one will be able to go into Jordan to get any of the Nepalese food and help him bring it back.

In other news Jer and Snowy are getting married

How I learned to make perfect roti canai!

I finally finally figured out how to make roti canai, just like the kind I bought on Tioman Island and Mersing in Malaysia! It took a few weeks of looking for ghee in the stores and then making my own, then realizing that ghee is useless in making the kind of roti that I wanted...

The first batch of roti used just flour and butter and turned out like biscuits.
The second batch used flour and ghee and also turned out like biscuits
I used this recipe for the first two tries, it failed for me pretty horribly

The third batch was based on this youtube video and it turned out alright, much better than my previous tries.  It was more like naan bread, like a puffy tortilla, but it wasn't what I wanted, so back to the drawing board.

I took what I learned with these first three tries; you don't mix butter or ghee with flour, it simply doesn't allow the flour to become rubbery enough to stretch, instead you get biscuit dough.  I also learned that water is what you need to mix with flour to get the ultra rubbery tissue paper thin dough.  There was still something I was missing, I still couldn't get the dough thin enough without it drying out or sticking to itself and turning into another biscuit or crumbly/sticky mess.

I did three test batches at once after the first three separate tries.

The fourth batch was two balls of oil and flour mix, just to see if vegetable oil was different than ghee, it wasn't. I didn't even try cooking them, they went right into the "lapsap doi" aka garbage bag

The fifth and sixth batch I found this website and used this recipe:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cooking oil 

In one bowl I had one ball of water and flour with a light coating of vegetable oil
In the other bowl I had 4 balls of water and flour, but soaking in oil

After letting them sit for about 4 hours I prepared them for cooking.  The one that wasn't soaking in oil was alright, it was a little sticky though, but it did get really thin, the oil coating was the secret.

The four that were soaking in oil were very easy to work with, the oil coating on the outside contains all the stickiness of the dough and it makes it a big rubber sheet that you are free to stretch to tissue paper thickness.  My technique isn't quite like this guy's but I did get my roti canai pretty thin.  I'd just work the ball in my hands like pizza dough and then flop it down on the lightly greased counter and then stretch it more there.  After a good amount of stretching you fold in the edges and throw it on the hot and greased fry pan for a few minutes where it bubbles up and then flipped.

Don't forget to crush them like the guy in the video, they did that at every place I ordered it while in Malaysia, just let it rip!

After hours of searching the internet and trying different recipes and techniques, while wasting cups and cups of flour, ghee, oil, and tears...I've found the way to make roti canai that I'm very satisfied with and I will be making it this way many more times.

My little ball of deliciousness soaking in it's glorious oil, almost ready for its transformation

 

This one is a little weird shaped but no less delicious!

 

 A little closer look at the flaky, bubbly, chewy, puffy, greasy, wonderful roti canai

 

 The finished product shortly before disappearing without a trace.

Hong Kong Thanksgiving

Yesterday was "Hong Kong Thanksgiving" here on Lantau since next Thursday we have program (actually 3 simultaneous programs) so we had it yesterday at 2pm.

I prepared my dish the night before and let it sit overnight to let all the tastes melt together as per the directions. I went to Jacky's house in Mui Wo to use her oven. It's crazy how only one person in my circle of acquaintances actually has an oven in Hong Kong. I arrived there shortly before noon and put my two 13x9" pans in her gas oven to cook for an hour at 350.

Onnalea showed up and I helped her cut up stuff for her squash,apple,onion, and curry soup that turned out to be incredible.

After the baking was done I loaded up the pans in my fleece lined New Balance shopping bag and walked to get a taxi straight to Pui O (Saataan) Beach. We had snacks and appetisers for a few minutes while waiting for the rest of the people to show up and then dug in to the feast.

There was all the usual stuff, just cooked differently. The two turkeys were boiled, maybe brined? Gravy and cranberry sauce, stuffing that looked like jello pudding with raisins (but tasted really good), squash, green bean casserole, my cheesy potatoes, salad, and a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.












































We gorged ourselves with food and after emerging from a food induced coma Katy and I went for a walk on the beach. When we came back everyone was running out on the beach dressed in PFDs and holding paddles getting ready for a game of Hurley.

I jumped into the game and Katy was taking some pictures with my phone. After less than 5 minutes into the game, Craig and I went for the ball at full speed (illustrated on the left) and somehow we ended up both face first into the sand. Except my face was aided by Craig's knee in the back of my head as he flew over me. That was it for me, I'm still feeling a little of the effects and still removing the sand from my nostrils...















I met with Megan this morning to go over my schedule for next week and see what I'm doing as the co-coordinator. It's a 2.5 day/2 night camp with ~140 5th graders.... 15-17 per group, it should be.....interesting..... Is it December yet?

Anyway it's in upper 50s and lower 60s again today, this is frigid for Hong Kong, looks like it might be a cold winter.

One month left?!?!

That's right, many people are flying out of Hong Kong and back to the states around the week of December 14-17, moving on... another batch comes and goes and I stay... so it goes in the outdoor industry leading such a transient lifestyle, ahhhh but that's the draw of it too.

Anyway two weeks of hell just ended, haha, my tribe finished 5th out of 12 today, with a strong 2nd in the tribal chant that took place at West Island School on Hong Kong Island this morning. We would have taken 2nd overall if my kids handn't broken "Daanald" their egg to care for throughout the week. Daan is how you say egg in Cantonese, hehe, only my Chinese kids got that one...

We also have the weekend off AND next Wednesday and Thursday off, so nice! I'm in desperate need of this time off since I definitely need rest to fight off this cold that is hitting me. I feel ok energy wise, but just getting a cough and sinus aches.

After our debrief at the school I went in to Tom Lee Music in Wan Chai and picked up a spare set of guitar strings just in case I have any breakages, you can't just drive 20 minutes to Plattsburgh and take your choice of 15 different kinds at Bob's Music. It's a 5-25 minute wait for the bus, a 25 minute ferry ride, a 25 minute walk/subway/walk to the nearest music store with maybe 3 kinds of acoustic strings and these times are if you hit the transports exactly and don't have to wait.

After picking up strings I made my way back to Tung Chung via the MTR (subway) to meet Katy after she got out of work. After talking for a while she headed home and I went and grabbed some Indian food with my dinner allowance from T.I. and then caught the 7:05 bus back to Pui O and arrived here about 25 minutes later.

Now I don't think i'm going to move from this spot on the futon for a couple days....I might be able to actually do it, I have my laptop and music for entertainment, leftover food scraps scattered around me for sustenance, an old tea bag and some half filled leftover bottles of water for hydration, an air conditioner that I could turn on with my reachin' stick, and hey this futon is sketchy enough that I'm sure a few "accidents" would go unnoticed at least for a few days....

Philippines Pictures!

Back from Bohol

I just arrived back from "the second greatest island in all of the Philippines" Bohol :)

I left early Wednesday and took the 2hr ferry south to the 11th largest island in the Philippines. When I arrived the usual deluge of people offering rides and tours emerged, but I knew what I wanted and got a tri-cycle ride right to the bus terminal. I went to the ATM at the mall nearby and bought some dried mango and jack fruit along with 3 liters of water. I hurried back to the bus and we began at noon. We rumbled down the sometimes gravel, sometimes cement and often rugged roads for about 2 hours before getting a flat tire. The crew had the tire changed in less than 10 minutes which was quite a relief. At the 3rd hour we arrived in Danao where I jumped on a motorbike (habal-habal style) and made my way towards E.A.T Danao. I had called them before I left Tagbilaran, right after getting off the ferry and getting their number from the motorbike driver.

I'll have to post pictures for this when I get back to Hong Kong

I reserved one room there for 600 pesos (about 12 USD). So I arrived and checked in to my room with double bed, ceiling fan, and bathroom. I placed my things down and went up to the "extreme adventure area" I decided to do the "Suislide" so they strapped me in and sent me down the cable. It was the most amazing feeling, almost exactly like flying because you can't see anything but the ground underneath you and your entire periferal vision is just the gorge and river underneath you. They send you down the first slide, which is almost 500meters then they unhook you and you walk up to another part and they hook you up and send you back. Totally amazing, the entire thing took about 5 minutes and cost about $7 US. They were trying to sell me on "The Plunge" which is a freefall and swing, which cost 700 peso, but I didn't really think it was worth it, so I went back to get my camera and got a personal tour on a short nature walk and learned about Fransico Dagohoy "the hero of Bohol." After the walk I headed back to my room and took a shower, the accomodation is pretty far away from the city so the only things going on were with the workers cleaning and preparing various things. I showered and read and then went out to order some dinner.

I ordered rice and a pork dish with fried vegtables, it was a nice meal. I also asked about how to get back to Tabilaran and as luck would have it someone from EAT Danao was driving back there in the morning. Tata had to drive back early, i.e. leaving by 6am, I took the opportunity, not know what other options were available (besides a 3hr bus ride back at who knows what time) So I finished my meal and had a early night, mostly because there was nothing else to do and no other non-workers around...

I awoke early, had a breakfast of dried mango and water and was off in the small cab of the yellow jeepney back towards Tagbilaran, the place I arrived the day before. After two hours we arrived, I was dropped off at a mall and had to wait about an hour before it opened. I got a cup of coffee and a cookie to hold me over. Once it opened I ordered some breakfast at "Jollibee" and then caught another tri-cycle ride to Hinagdanan Cave. Another wonderful place, I wandered around there for a while and then walked out to the main road in search of transportation to Alona Beach on the end of Panglao Island. After walking for maybe 20 mins another tri-cycle went by and brought me to a place James and I stayed last time we were there. 480 pesos a night. I rested/read in the room for quite a while and then emerged to walk the beautiful white sand beach for a while and then eat some grilled dinner on the beachside. After a meal of baked potato, pork, chicken, and chorizo I headed back to my room, ordered breakfast to be ready at 8am and then went to bed.

This morning I woke up and had breakfast and met my tricycle driver that brought me to Alona the day before to head back to the ferry pier in Tagbilaran. I arrived pretty early, but had a nice surprise while I was waiting. A tri of musicians benefiting the disabled persons of Bohol were playing a set of music for the crowed that waited. I read and drank more coffee and listend to an awesome version of "Tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree" and then boarded the Weesam Express back to Cebu. I arrived at about 1pm and went to SM mall watched "Surrogates" and then got a taxi to where I'm sitting now....

phew.... I guess it's good that i put this all down now (seeing how good i've done with transcribing the events of my last trip to the Philippines...It's coming I swear!)

Tomorrow is my last full day here and then it's back to the ol' HK

Only 2 new posts in July...

I was going to twitter more but I'll just write a quick post since I really need to post more, only a week and a half left and I only have 2 posts this month.

Excuse the randomness...

Today really felt like being at home, woke up at 10 made coffee and pancakes, drank and ate while watching baseball...went in to work, ate lunch, set up beach olympics, pitched 3 tents, picked up surf camp stuff and came home before 4pm, did laundry and ate the appetizer sized dinner of pizza, i.e. loaf of bread with pizza crap on top of it. (Later they brought us a bunch of spaghetti because so many people complained...)

Ate some ice cream, now i'm watching Colbert Report and messing around with computer stuff...I could be sitting in New York right now. It feels good to be "going back to my roots" these are all things that I haven't done much of lately. It's tough when so many things go on to take care of these things.

I need a hair cut...

I bought some really good sun screen recommended by Karen

I'm trying to learn Down Yonder on the fiddle

The water coming from the sink is the color of yellow tea because of the typhoon that just went through.

One of the new staff is leaving to go back to New York next Monday, actually he's our flatmate, so we'll have an empty room for a little bit.

I have my first pair of flip-flops since I was like 5, I bought them on my birthday for 48 HKD aka $7 'merica bucks

McDonalds has a new summer promotion here with a Strawberry kit-kat mcflurry and a Italian coffee shake, they're both unbelievably spectacular.

I'm really really missing bluegrass festivals right now, they are such amazing places, I feel so free travelling to them every summer

I've actually found some decent icecream at the central ferry pier 6, 7 HKD for a soft cone, I think it's actual good instead of just Hong Kong good

I just found out there is a movie coming out with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, thanks to Katy for keeping me in the loop


So there's a collection of a bunch of "Twitters" that I could have posted...

Day 7 - Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Savannahket to Laos on a local bus!

12:15pm
We woke up, packed up, and caught a tuk-tuk (a motorcycle with a carriage/trailer on back of it) to the bus stop. Our breakfast consisted of a baguette and water with some mixed nuts.

From DrB HK

From DrB HK

From DrB HK

Along the way a woman on the bus gave us some golf ball sized fruits that had a taste a lot like grapes. Irvin gave us some Filipino fruit very similar to this on back in Hong Kong. ***As I write this a sign that says 70km to Pakse passes by*** Hopefully we will get in to Pakse around 1pm. I'm ready for some food, coffee, and a nap. I think we're going to push for Cambodia/Siem Reap/Angkor Wat tomorrow, so we can have a day of not travelling and enjoying the sights instead of pushing though them

-9:45
We made it into Pakse Laos around 1:30 and were dropped off outside of town. A tuk-tuk brought us into the town center. We were dropped off at a hotel and decided to keep looking around. We then went to a travel agency to check on a bus service to Siem Reap. We found out it would be a day and a half travel with an overnight stop and 3 transfers for $44. We really didn't want to lose that much time, so we were quoted a price for a 1 hour flight right into Siem Reap, Cambodia at $130 US. We wanted to think the investment over and were in desperate need of some food after the grueling bus ride.

Off we went towards Lonely Planet recommended "Delta Coffee." We ordered a round of iced coffees and I asked for some spring rolls, green curry chicken, and red spicy chicken soup. We sucked down the iced coffees like God himself had fresh brewed it for us.

From DrB HK

Our main course came and I devoured the deliciously fresh, but curiously piquant dishes. This was the most expensive meal yet, coming in at a whopping $10 US for each of us...It was worth it though.

We arrived at the decision that the extra $90 we'd spend on the airfare was worth it for one extra day and a half of taking in everything we possible could. After our gourmet cuisine was finished, we wandered around and checked out a few more places to stay. We ended up deciding on the Lankham Hotel for $5 a night each, with all the fixins' A/C, TV, huge bathroom. After resting up and using the Internet we set out to finalize our airborne time saving plan. There were 5 seats left on the plane leaving Friday morning so we booked 3 of them. We also booked a tour tomorrow (Thursday, May 7) to see a coffee & tea plantation, 3 waterfalls for $30 each for a guided all day tour with free lunch. The travel agent (Chan) finalized the tickets and we went across the street to get some more locally grown iced coffee @ 8,000 Kip each (aka ~$1) after a few minutes Chan returned and handed me (the so called dad/father of the trip) the envelope with our confirmation letter for the flight.

We wandered a bit more and browsed around a mall, there was a crowd gathered around a stage with a Laotian man doind feats sharp blades. We watched for a few minutes, he was trying to get a volunteer from some of the locals in the front, but no one was accepting. Then he looked back at us (the only Westerners in the place) and coaxed Meghan to go up on stage. She reluctantly accepted to the cheers and applause of the crowd. He situated a cucumber in her mouth and had her lean forward. He rose the suspense of the moment by dropping his blade as he was playing up the spectacle of the show, then proceeded to chop little bits of the cucumber in her mouth inches from her face. He sent her back to the crowd to much applause and then looked back at me and motioned for me to go up next. Ever the showman and not wanting to disappoint a crowd I made my way up to the stage. He sat me down and placed a cucumber between my thighs and proceeded to chop off pieces of it as the crowd oohed and awed. A flurry of applause erupted and my 15 minutes of Laotian fame was over.

We moved on, I bought some lightweight sock, I don't know what I was thinking bringing my wool socks on this trip...

We stumbled across a Laotian acoustic band playing at an open cafe on the side of the street. We sat and enjoyed fresh ice cream (coffee and coconut) as they played on a small stage in front of us.

I write this as I lie in bed high on life, (and caffeine from Pepsi, in a glass bottle!) I'm feeling as if my soul has somehow been refreshed and fulfilled by the deliciousness imbibed today. Spectacular coffee and ice cream hasn't occurred at all since arriving in Hong Kong. Time to read up on Angkor Wat and watch some crappy TV with Laotian subtitles, hooray for sleeping until 7:30 tomorrow!

Day 1 - Thursday April 30, 2009 - Hong Kong to Hanoi, Vietnam

I want to start posting what I have completed. This post is unfinished I still want to add pictures to it when I get to a computer with a USB drive and if my USB stick isn't toast...

Also keep in mind this is a flashback post...queue harp arpeggio and wavy lines fading to black...


We went to the airport at 11:25 after finishing getting ready in the morning, we exchanged money, ate, and caught our plane. We were pretty tired and our plane waited in line a while before taking off. We had a 1.5 hour flight into Hanoi, we made it though customs pretty easily and helped out a British couple who didn't bring any US dollars with them to pay for their visas... So we took their Hong Kong dollars in exchange for some US greenbacks.

We found a local bus going into the city which was supposed to be "leaving in 10 minutes" an hour later we pulled out for the hour ride into the city. It was alright though we were able to pick up a few Vietnamese phrases from some of the bus attendants that would come in handy over the next few days.

We didn't really have a destination, just the Old Town part of the city. The bus attendant waved to us to get off at this one intersection near a park. We stepped off the bus and into a world of chaotic craziness; walls of motorbikes, zooming cars, and relentless beep-beeps coming from all directions. We walked around awestruck and overwhelmed. Eventually we found our way to the "Blue Sky Hotel" which was a very nice place for $7 each per night which included Breakfast, TV, Air Conditioning, and Internet. Most of these Hotel/Hostels were also travel agents and could hook you up with pretty much anything you needed to do to be a tourist.

We bought Halong Bay tickets for a 2 day, 1 night stay on a tour boat called "Fantasea Adventures" this included meals and transportation to and from Halong Bay which was 3 hours from Hanoi.

We also decided to take an overnight bus from Hanoi down to Hue, Vietnam on Sunday night.

We went out exploring around the bustling streets and found a place to get traditional Vietnam food. I ordered a really great meal of Pineapple, beef, and cashews in a mild sauce with rice and some spring rolls. This cost about 79,000 VND (Dong) which ends up being about $4.5 dollars for a excellent and filling meal. Really tired as I write this entry.

Dim Sum

Dim Sum in the city was pretty awesome on Sunday. You can have hundreds of different varieties of mini-portions of stuff.

Sunday was the most humid/muggy day I've experienced so far in Hong Kong. It was probably in the lower 80s with around 90% humidity. Walking around the city was quite the experience, you get short little blasts of cold air every once in a while as you pass the shops.

We played music for quite a while in an area on one of the busy streets and then had some dinner.

Last night was Bryan's last night in Hong Kong (for a while?) and he wanted some Nepali momo








1 Bus Ride to Mui Wo $3.2 HKD
1 Fast Ferry Ride to Central $25.50 HKD
1 Star Ferry from Central across to Kowloon/mainland $1.8 HKD
1 MTR ride from Tsim Sha Tsui to Jordan $3.8 HKD

Walking for an hour around the streets of Jordan at 11pm looking for "that one place" that sells momo: priceless

We found "the place" but it was closed, but we did find another place that sells momo, it was a small little place, but was really nice. We overran them with orders I think, they were very nice. I don't think they get a lot of of Westerners in there or at least not ones that like to talk or are friendly like us.

We bought 4 platters of momo, a chicken curry, a boiled potato curry (alum dum), and some really spicey cilantro nacho dish that I forgot the name of.

I really enjoy Nepalese food, it's definitely one of my favorite things to eat here in Hong Kong.

Namaste, Happy 2066!

The Nepalese New Year was pretty awesome, we got there a little late so we only saw 3 monkeys instead of the dozens last time.

The usual bags and bags of chicken wings, pork chops, and hotdogs were brought out once we got a barbecue pit. Along with some Baji and some really great Nepalese pickle sauce.

I ate so much, everything was really great



The last two days were pretty uneventful just playing and listening to a lot of music, I really enjoy these down times as I can always find ways to keep myself occupied. Now that Austin has given me a new direction to go in banjo playing I won't be bored for a while.

Probably will be camping out at Tai Long Won again this weekend, not 100% sure though.

Word is circulating about my leet computer skills so I have a little bit of work tomorrow for some supplemental income.

Lost in the rain in Juarez And it's Eastertime too...

I put some audio clips in this post, but I'm not sure if they will work for everyone, play all at once, or do something else funky so let me know if it's messed up and i'll try to do something different with them.

Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues



I've played so much music this week. "The Lapsap String Band" practiced so much to get ready for our gig at the Turkish Restaurant in Mui Wo.

We've been "on tour" to various parts of Hong Kong, we took a trip up to Tong Fuk on Lantau last week and then to Lamma Island last Monday.

We have a pretty good deal worked out, we walk around or talk to some local people to find out where a good place to play might be. We go there and or a drink or whatever and we just "happen to have our instruments with us" then within 5 minutes of being there the inevitable question comes. "You guys playing somewhere?" "Do you guys know and Beatles/Dylan/Metallica?" or something along those lines To which we reply, "Maybe...we'll pick out a couple songs if you're interested" Then by that time the owner/bar tender is usually into it since 5-10 of his customers want to hear live music. So we sit down and play, while usually acquiring food/drinks from the audience.

Going to Lamma Island was pretty awesome last Monday, although it was a little challenging at first. I had to transport all our instruments to Central alone, so that meant taking a bus with a guitar strapped to my back, hardshell mandolin case in one hand and my hardshell banjo case in the other. So the bus pulls up and just my luck it's standing room only, haha. It was quite the operation holding two hard cases, keeping the guitar from falling off, and balancing myself on a seat. As I was falling all over everyone in the first two rows during the 10 minute ride to Mui Wo an older lady motioned to me to hold the mandolin so I gave it to her for the rest of the ride, it made things much much easier.

So I caught the 4:10 fast ferry into Central and arrived around 4:40 where I met Nate, James, and Bryan. We caught the ferry Lamma and had some dinner at an Italian place there, then talked to some people about where to go to find people that might want to hear some music. We ended at "The Island" supposedly where most of the expats hangout. Sure enough the usual plan came together and we were playing through their P.A. within 10 minutes of getting there. One guy came up and asked if we wanted a bass player, we said "sure" and he came back with his full size acoustic upright. Then the other Lamma Islanders that he plays with showed up, so there was another mandolin, a classical guitar, and a fiddle player. I guess they play Jewish blues music together once a week on Lamma. I had my mp3 player so I recorded a few of the clips from that night:

Red River Valley->St. Anne's Reel->Foggy Mountain



Wagon Wheel



Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad


Unfortunately the last ferry from Lamma is at 11:30 so we had to make a mad dash back to the pier to catch it. We made it with 3 minutes to spare.

The rest of the week consisted of finished up our second set of music so we could have two solid 45 minute sets of music.

We had our sound check on Thursday, the owner wanted to do it early so he could have an idea of the setup on Friday (not a lot of music played there comes from acoustic instruments). That went really well, it wasn't the greatest sound setup I've ever played, but definitely definitely not the worst.

I also went to the monthly full moon party that some of the locals put on. There's a bonfire circled with candles and a bunch of drums an rhythm makers lying around for anyone to use. I arrived a little later and there were 3 police officers there talking with some of the Cantonese speakers and they left after a little while, supposedly someone complained about the noise, which is surprising since it's a good 800 meters (meters?!? yea, meters) up the beach from where there might be people camping in the public site. Anyway, they "recommended that they put the campfire out" and that was it. Police are so much different here than in the US, I could just picture 5 squad cars showing up and hauling people away. After 20 minutes of them leaving the drumming started again and it was fine until I left.

The show on Friday went well, we showed up around 8, finalized our sound setup, and were treated to our complimentary Turkish dinner which consisted of a hot and cold Meze platter and a large lamb skewer. Pretty good food, although nothing compared to the Nepalese food I had last week.

We started off with a set of slow songs since there were still quite a few people still eating. Then took a break and then opened it up a little more with our second set. Before we knew it 11pm arrived, we could have stopped there, but instead decided to play a few more songs and we really let it loose. It was all a blast and we were paid $1000 HKD for our work. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go back and play again sometime before Nate leaves for Malaysia for the summer.

Nepalese Barbecue

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This is where I went today for a Nepalese party, at a park in The New Territories. I think I ate like 5 lbs of beef, chicken, and pork from the barbecue. I'm glad Khem invited us, it was pretty awesome.