Becoming Nomads

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Our First Week in Hong Kong

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We started off as we usually do by visiting a few of our favorite touring sites...the day tour company sites, TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet. From there we got an idea of the thins there were to see and do and what interested us the most. Hong Kong is a SHOPPING destination...but if you look carefully you can actually find some history and culture hiding among the shopping malls and tall buildings.

We walked down to the waterfront and enjoyed the views across the harbor at Hong Kong proper.

Hong Kong Tower is to the right and is quite impressive, although the one on the Kowloon side is our favorite.

The historic Kowloon Clock Tower

Opera House

Current season and interior of the opera house.

Gardens on the way to the history museum

A nice surprise...a really well done National Museum of History

Yes there were tigers at one time.

Wonderful circular hats

Paper costumes

Behind the scenes at the opera. Don't ask how I got the photo.

Giant paper "gods"

Opera performers.

Puppets.

MASKS!!!

Pharmacy.

Tea Shop.

50's diner.

School kids getting ready to visit the museum. Great uniforms.

Lunch in the park.

Night market,

Amazing gold leaf jewelry. The largest neclace was priced at $450.

On our second day we headed across the harbor first to check on our India visa which was a bust. Even though the website clearly indicarted all we had to do...and for those that know me, you know I understand how to follow directions, once we got there, our appications were declined becuase the embassy in Hong Kong has decided it only wants to issue 90-day visas. Since the start the day they are issued we are out of luck. So three weeks of preparation and documentation, printing and photos, etc....and we will now have to wait until we get to Nepal.

While there we decided to walk through the finanacial district to admire the buidlings. This one caught our eye...and ended up being two towers side by side.

We found the Peak Tram and took a ride up to the top of Victoria Peak.

The views from the Sky Terrace were outstanding...and it was HOT.

We opted to ride the escalators down and headed back home. It was a nice day and we only walked 6.9 miles.

On Day 3 I woke up with a sore throat and headache. Within a few hours it blossomed into a raging head cold. Digging into my magic bag of meds, I set to the time tested routines of treating the symptoms. Deciding early on that it was a cold and not the flu was a plus. Being the good doctor that I am...all boasting intended, I stayed in bed for three straight days. On Day 7, voila! No sniffiles...alas, it was now Bobbie's turn. We share everything.

I close this entry hoping she follows the same course and we are back outside soon.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Transferring to Hong Kong - Another One of Those Long, Long Days

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Transfer days...the ones we love to hate. Along with meeting amazing people and the sights and sounds of foreign places, there are certain aspects of Nomadic life that are less appealing than others. Transfer days are at the top of the list. Here is how our move from JB, Malaysia to Hong Kong transpired. Thanks to free airfare using reward points, the whole day cost us $65 USD and of course 15 hours of our time.
8 AM – Checked in and through the second checkpoint. Malaysian Immigration.
8:30 AM – Third checkpoint and the 8 y/o kid with the gun in his backpack.
9:15 AM – Our plane takes off on time.
!2:30 PM – We land in Macau 25 minutes ahead of schedule speaking Portuguese.3:30 AM – Up and finished packing. Breakfast, a final clean of the apartment, and some last minute email and internet stuff while still on a secure network.

6 AM – Out the door. Ordered a Grab. One hour ride to the airport…this is Saturday morning with no traffic.

7 AM – First security check at the airport. Even though we had done an online check-in yesterday, we still have to get boarding passes printed, along with luggage tags. One hour later…

1:00 PM – It was a long walk to Macau Immigration.

1:30 PM – A visit to the ATM to get money. We decide on Hong Kong dollars even though we are in Macau. The lady at the information desk says we will need Macau dollars for the bus ride and the ferry ticket. We exchange $100 HKD for a candy bar and change in Macau dollars at the airport 7-11. Some coins for the kids.
1:45 PM – On the bus to the ferry terminal where we get in line to purchase our tickets. We are short on Macau dollars. They graciously accept some Hong Kong as well. Whew! We were only in Macau long enough to get to the ferry terminal and took the bus so that we could see a bit of the city. Some really amazing buildings.

2;15 PM – High speed ferry to Hong Kong

3:15 PM – Arrive Hong Kong. Immigration again.

4:00 PM – Taxi to our Apartment in Kowloon.

5:00 PM Head out to the supermarket for supplies. The Marketplace was fresh, modern, with a great selection of supplies. We found real Rib Eye steaks for our first night.

6:30 PM – Back home to prepare dinner and watch some Star Trek.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Johor Bahru

Our last two days in Kaula Lumpur were quiet ones. We read, rested, and caught up on "stuff." We walked over to the mall where I finally succumbed to the heat and cut off all the air I have been growing for the last two years...smile...the beard is next.

We once again compressed and reevaluated out luggage. This is becoming a ritual on transfer days. With the new backpack I bought in Chinatown, I am able to replace two bags with one...and it all fits.

My carry on is reduced to just my laptop case and man-purse. And I'm at 11KG for checked bags. Bobbie is still holding at 23KG. She's working on it.

We used GRAB again for our ride to the airport. The flight was 40 minutes from take off to touch down and once in Johor Bahru we "grabbed" another ride into the city. Our apartment is on the river that separates Malaysia from Singapore and we are a five minute walk to the border. Once again we scored with a great fully updated flat on the 17th floor with an awesome view of Malaysia's second largest city.

We started our routine that includes our usual visit to a local market. Interesting this time was that the meat section was only fish and chicken. There was no beef on display. After a thorough hunt we did find some frozen buffalo, some chicken sauasage, and a can of pork. The later turned out to be fat swimming in a broth when opened...yuk!

The "yellowtail" was not tuna, but delicious pan-fried and only $1 USD a pound.

The buffalo was edible to our tastes when made into a strogonof and I did potatoes to sooth Bobbie's savage beast.

We had a great TV and were able to hook up our computer and once again stream some Star Trek onto the big screen. We are up to Season Three of "Enterprise." This will cover everything done for TV in the genre for the last few decades. It will soon be time to return to the original with William and Leonard again...just can't get enough Star Trek you know.

We've been close to the equator now for months and now we are on it...and it is HOT, HOT, HOT...and humid. Lohor doesn't offer much in the way of our kind of interest. There is a zoo, a museum, and a palace. The later two we are informed are closed due to the queen mother's passing a few days ago.

We will enjoy many days relaxing in our very "cool" apartment enjoying the views from far above the city...

Singapore

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After searching for "affordable" housing in Singapore, we opted to stay on the Malaysia side of the border in the city of Johor Bahur. Our plans for the week included spending several days in Singapore. Being right on the river that separates the two countries, it was a one minute taxi to the immigration terminal, a five minute train across the strait, and then a twenty-minute taxi into the city center. The whole journey on paper looked like a snap...in actuality it took us almost three hours...LOL. Even though we got a very early start, we didn't arrive until 11AM.

Singapore is lovely. It is like visiting the United States. Everything is modern...more modern than back home to be exact. Everything is in English as well. The architecture was outstanding and it was fun to see some of the iconic buildings up close that one sees in movies and advertising.

We opted once again to use the Hop On Hop Off system to get a good overview of the city. What we learned very quickly was that like most major modern cities, it is all about big buildings, finance, and high ticket, tourist-oriented venues. There were countless amusement parks (LegoLand, Universal Studios, 4D Adventureland, Hello Kitty World, etc.) and it was UNBEARABLY HOT...like over 100^.

We did one of the two circuits offered and took a few notes. We opted to return on the circuit for a stroll through the Botanical Gardens in hopes of not only seeing some awesome flowers, plants and trees, but also that it would be cooler. The prior was spot on and the park was beautiful...the later was not and between the humidity and the heat we just about melted.

We enjoyed a REAL beef burger at a lunch joint, a $35 Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel bar, and strolled several of the air-conditioned, underground malls. With the day ending quickly, and the sun setting, we opted to return the next day for to visit Little India, the National Mosque, and the National Museum.

We hailed a taxi and headed back to the immigration checkpoint for our trip back into Malaysia. The earlier 20 minute drive took almost a full hour, the checkpoint was jammed with some of the 500,000 migrant workers who come across the border daily for work, and the lines were amazing. Two border checks, to passport checks and we were back in our apartment on the Lohur side in two plus hours.

It was at that point that we decided one day in Singapore was enough...smile. We have a great apartment with amazing view of the island and that will be enough.

Here is a video of our "day in Singapore."