One Final Trip

Okay, it’s been a really really long time since I posted… I don’t have an excuse except that it has been a bit of a whirlwind.  I’m back in the USA! It’s been honestly really weird adjusting back to being in the states and living with my family again.  People keep asking what it’s like being back and it’s kinda hard to say, I miss parts of being in HK but I also know that isn’t where I wanted to be long term.  Mostly it’s the little things that will throw me off at random.  Seeing changes in the town and at my house.  It’s a little startling to realize you forgot where things are kept in the house that you’ve spent our whole life.  Plus, as a little talked about side effect of the life I live I really don’t have close friends in my home town or state. I went to college out of state and travel as much as I can so I have friends all around the country and the world but not where I grew up.  Luckily as it happens a number of my friends live in the same state so I’ve spent a fair amount of my time back in the states road tripping through NY to catch up with them.

But on to the more exciting part of this post.  Before I left HK I spent 10 days traveling in mainland China with my mom and my oldest brother. We started the trip by meeting up in Beijing.  They flew from the US and I flew from HK so my first reunion in a year with my family members was in the Beijing airport.

We were only in Beijing for a couple days so we tried to cram in as much sightseeing as possible.  Our first stop was the Summer Palace. It is a large complex of gardens, lakes, palaces, and temple that was first constructed in the 12^th century but underwent numerous remodels and expansions over the years and from different dynasties.

Our next stop was Tiananmen Square, where unfortunately Mao’s Mausoleum was closed for reasons that were not made clear.  There was also so much security at Tiananmen (and really all over Beijing and mainland in general).  Even with the Mausoleum being closed it was still kind awe-inspiring/eerie to be walking in a place that is surrounded by so much emotion and ultimately tragedy.

From there we crossed the street to visit the Forbidden City and the Imperial Garden. Basically living out my Mulan fantasies.  The Forbidden City was the Imperial Palace from 1420 to 1912.  It is made up of 980 buildings and covers 180 acres in the middle of Beijing.  Really just the sheer size of the compound and the buildings when you think about how they were constructed is mind boggling.

Our final stop was The Temple of Heaven. This temple was constructed by the same emperor who built the Forbidden City.  The complex was visited by the emperors to pray to Heaven for a good harvest.  The complex is a beautiful park area with gardens and buildings filling the area.

After our very busy day in the city we got up early the next day to head to the Great Wall (the Mutianyu section- Michelle Obama went to this section too).  It was honestly amazing.  We were lucky because it was slightly overcast when we went so there was almost no one else there, but it didn’t start raining until we were on our way down.  We hiked all the way up thousands of steps to the peak of the Great Wall and were able to experience the renovated and wild parts of the wall. It’s really something to stand on it and just see the wall twisting off into the distance.

The next part of our journey took us the Lhasa, Tibet.  The Tibetan Plateau is the highest in the world with Lhasa itself sitting at 3,490 meters (11,450 ft).  Flying in over the mountains was breathtaking and stepping off the plane into the crisp clean air (especially after living in HK for a year) was such a great experience.  There’s a lot of political tension surrounding Tibet and China’s treatment of it and the people there so we traveled with a guide and made sure we had all the appropriate permits (and were cart some of the religious sites and seeing the trucks of armed Chinese soldiers patrolling the streets certainly gave the air of an occupied territory.  We also suffered from some mild altitude sickness which made the first night/day a bit rough.  But it was worth it and I loved being there.  Definitely adding it to my return trip list!

Our first stop was Norbulingka. It was built in 1755 and served as the summer residence for the Dalai Lama until the exile of the 14^th Dalai Lama in 1959.  It consists of beautiful gardens and buildings and temples.  We were able to see where the Dalai Lama had been living  and the different prayer rooms and meeting rooms.

The next place we visited was the Sera Monastery.  It is considered one of the great three university monasteries of Tibet.  After the Dalai Lama fled to India many of the monks from the Sera Monastery followed him and set up a mirror Sera Monastery in India. Both Sera Monasteries are known for their live debates which we were able to watch in Tibet.

We also visited the Jokhang Temple. This is generally considered the most sacred and important temple by Tibetans. The Jokhang was founded during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the king’s two brides: Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. The original part of the temple was built in 652 and it underwent numerous expansions from then until the final one in 1610.  It is viewed as the “spiritual heart of the city” and sits at the center of a network of Buddhist temples.  At all times of day you will see people circling the temple on their pilgrimages as well as prostrating themselves outside of it.

One of our final visits was to the Potala Palace. It is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical home of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.  Its construction began in 1645 by the 5^th Dalai Lama and it functioned as the Dalai Lama’s residence and the seat of the government until the 14^th Dalai Lama had to flee in 1959.  Visitation is strictly monitored with multiple ID checks and limits on the number of visitors and how long you can stay for, as well as having numerous areas off limits.  It contains the Funeral Stupas of the previous Dalai Lamas as well as many other important artifacts.

We finished our time in Lhasa with a visit to a local family where we learned how to make momo (Tibetan dumplings) and printed our own prayer flags.  It was nice to get out of the city a bit and see how people live.  Just standing in the shadows of the mountains and breathing the fresh air was really awe-inspiring.  And experiencing the life of a people who are having their culture and religion taken from them was humbling and troubling.  Throughout Tibet you won’t find a photo of the 14^th Dalai Lama and no one knows what will happen and if he will ever get to have a funeral stupa in the Potala Palace.

The final city we visited was Xi’an.  The city is the starting point of the Silk Road and is surrounded by a restored city wall which offers great views of the city.  Xi’an is also home to the Terracotta Army that we’ve all learned about in school.  Its surprisingly well preserved and really cool to see.  It was honestly kind of hard to grasp, seeing all these soldiers it seems like there’s no way they are actually real and just dug up out of the ground.  This was my mom’s favorite thing on the trip.

We then spent an evening watching the fountain and light show in front of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and it was so fun.  We actually got soaking wet because of how close to the front we were (the whole crowd in that area did) but it just added to the fun of it.

On our last day in the city we visited the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. Both were built in the 14^th century and contained a large bell and drum respectively.  The bell was rung at dawn to mark the time while the drum was beat at dusk.  From there we headed to the Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque.  In my travels I have visited a few mosques, but this one was really fascinating.  While it was not the grandest I have seen, the mix of traditional Islamic designs paired with Chinese architecture created a unique aesthetic.

We left Xi’an and headed back to Hong Kong for less than 24 hours before leaving to head back to America.  Walking around the city I’ve lived in for the past year and knowing I was seeing it for the last time in a while was bittersweet.  I’m glad to be back in the US and see my friends and family, but I had some amazing times in HK and met some great people.  I don’t know where my next adventure will take me, but I’m truly thankful for everything I’ve experienced this past year.

Weekend in Macau

Last weekend was my birthday weekend so one of my close friends and I headed over to Macau to celebrate.  In the past Macau (an hour from HK by ferry) was home to pirates and the Portuguese, but today it is an SAR and welcomes tourists from all over to its casinos and historic sites.  It has many of the famous hotel/casino names: The Venetian, The Parisian, MGM, Hard Rock, Wynn, and more.  But in my opinion it doesn’t quite live up to the moniker “Vegas East”.  While the hotels and casinos are large and impressive there isn’t quite the same night life scene as Vegas is known for.  People go to Vegas to party, people go to Macau mostly just to gamble. But not to worry we certainly still had a great time!

Saturday night we had dinner at Hard Rock and checked out a club, which was sadly disappointing both in music and crowd.  After that we visited some of the casinos and of course took pictures.

Sunday we spent the day checking out some of the historic sights including the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Senado Square, Mount Fortress, the Museum of Macau, and Old Taipa.  After our day sightseeing we headed out to find a bar to celebrate me turning 23 at midnight. We were very happy to find Moonwalker which had great music and a great staff who brought out a flaming drink, a plate of peanuts with a birthday candle, and played the birthday song at midnight for me.  Definitely a great way to start the year!

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Bagan: That’s a lot of pagodas

Last weekend two friends and I went to Bagan, Myanmar.  Let me start by saying that spending essentially one day there is probably not ideal, but sometimes you take the chance you’re given regardless.

We flew into Yangon sometime around midnight on Friday (had to leave after work) and were thankfully picked up by my college friend (who I stayed with last time).  It was a very good thing he picked us up because when we arrived at our super sketchy, nothing like the picture, cheap hostel in the bad part of town, he immediately told us to get back in the car and took us to his family’s hotel and put us up for the night.  Bless good friends. By that time it was around 1am and we went to sleep knowing our bus to Yangon would leave at 8am.

So the next morning (Saturday) we got to the bus station with little trouble thanks to the super helpful hotel staff and taxi driver, and settled in for our 9 hour bus ride across the country… I don’t have much to say about the bus ride, I slept pretty much the whole way (no surprise to anyone who has traveled with me before). So we got to Bagan and our hotel around 530pm and decided we would just eat in the hotel restaurant and plan out or next day (it also had started to storm at this point… it’s the wet season). We had great curry for dinner! Myanmar might be home to my favorite curry.

We got up pretty early Sunday and rented e-bikes from our hotel.  They’re like the learner’s permit version of a moto and totally electric and eco friendly. After a quick into lesson in the parking lot we were off! We honestly didn’t have much of a plan and so armed with a really unhelpful map we kind of just followed the main road until we saw some pagodas/stupa/temples. Most of these involve turning off onto dirt paths which really added to the explorer experience of my first time on a moto.

We did hit some of the bigger ones of course, my favorite of which was Dhamma-yan-gyi Pagoda because it’s the only one I had known the story behind.  Basically it’s the biggest because the king who built it was really cruel and he killed his father and brother (to get the throne) and then also his wife.  So he built the temple to atone for the sins, but he also commonly would chop the architects’ hands off if he wasn’t pleased with the progress. In the end he was assassinated before it was completed.  For unknown reasons parts of it are bricked closed, and the local belief is that it was done to trap the bad karma inside.

At the end of the day we found a spot to watch the sunset but by that point another storm was rolling in so there wasn’t much of a sunset.  So we grabbed dinner and headed to our hotel.  In the morning we caught another early bus back to Yangon (another 9 hours) and met up with a friend from HK to visit Shwedagon Pagoda since my other two friends hadn’t seen it (if you want my experience on that check out my previous posts about visiting Yangon).

We ended the trip with a 1am flight back to HK arriving at 6am Tuesday morning.  It was a rapid trip but it was a lot of fun.

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2 Weeks Away: Halong Bay

The last stop on our two week trip was an overnight on Halong Bay.  We went out on a very nice small cruise ship and I loved it.  Halong Bay is one of the most peaceful and mystic places I’ve been.  The limestone isles jutting out of the still water and the mist in the distance really just makes you imagine all the movies that could be filmed there.  And it made me imagine what the first people to discover it must have felt like in the shadow of the isles.  It also has the cleanest air I’ve had in a while.

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On the first day we had an excursion to see a small village of fishers floating on the bay and a pearl farm.  Even without common amenities I could definitely feel a draw to the peacefulness of that floating community.

Back on board our main ship we watched the sunset from the top deck before dinner. And after dinner we went squid fishing! (I was not successful)

In the morning we did Tai Chi on the deck before going to see a cave on one of the limestone isles.   Then headed back to shore and to Hanoi for the night before flying back to HK the next day.  I’d definitely recommend Halong Bay for anyone going to Vietnam.  It’s something otherworldly.

2 Weeks Away: Hanoi

After leaving Hoi An we headed to the capital city of Hanoi.  It’s a big city like HCMC but it is also very different. I felt that there was a different dynamic and vibe of the city.  Our first stop was train street.  A less well known place where the train tracks go through a VERY narrow alley between buildings.  Although we didn’t see the train pass you can definitely imagine what it must be like.  As someone whose house would occasionally shake from the train going through town multiple streets away I feel like you’d have to strap everything down and not hang any pictures in those houses.

After that we went to the Temple of Literature.  This is a Temple of Confucious built by the emperor in 1070 and was home to the Imperial Academy. It functioned as a university until the Imperial City was moved from Hanoi to Hue in 1802.

After that we visited the Hoa Lo prison. This is now a museum that remembers and replicates the prison where first Vietnamese political prisoners were held by the French and then US POWs were held during the war (Including John McCain).  The museum has maintained some of the cells to demonstrate the conditions of the prison and carries exhibits on the prison’s use in both cases.

After that somber visit we decided to regroup and relax and watch the sunset over the lake.  While there we were approached by a very friendly Vietnamese student looking to practice his English.  And we spent a fair amount of time discussing all manner of topics with him and even giving advice on finding a career path (not really something I’d say I’m qualified for but oh well) and how it’s okay to not have a plan (more in my wheel house).

The next morning we went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum to see Uncle Ho’s preserved body.  I don’t have any pictures because the military guard are pretty convincing about no photographs (the one I have of the outside of the building was taken from outside the fence and soo far away)… but it was kinda odd… I don’t really know what I expected but you just stand in line and walk through the room he is in (no stopping allowed) and he’s there lit up with some kind of orange light.  The whole place was also full of young children there on school trips.

In the same complex is the One Pillar Pagoda which is consider one of the most historic temples in Vietnam. The temple was built by Emperor Lý Thái Tông.   According to records, Lý Thái Tông was childless and dreamt that he met the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who handed him a baby son while seated on a lotus flower. The Emperor then married a peasant girl that he had met and she bore him a son. The emperor constructed the temple in gratitude for this in 1049.

From there we visited the Tran Quoc Pagoda, which is the oldest pagoda in Hanoi. It is a very popular place for worshippers because monks live and pray at the temple.  Many people bring offerings at specific times of the year to gain good fortune.

Our last stop for the day was the Vietnamese Women’s Museum.  I thought this was a really cool museum because how many other places is there an entire museum dedicated to the role women have played and still play in a culture.  They even have exhibits discussing the lives of women in the various minority groups in Vietnam and honoring those who played important roles in the war.  I just think it is so awesome to see that kind of representation and care for what women do.

2 Weeks Away: Hoi An

In the morning we flew back to Vietnam and made our way to Hoi An.  This is a much more relaxed city compared to HCMC (and Hanoi we would learn).  We wandered around the Old Town (admittedly touristy but still cool and fun) and since Hoi An is pretty famous for their custom clothes and accessories we order some (inexpensive) shoes and I got a bag as well.  It was cool to go through the whole process of choosing the style and colors and then getting your feet measured.  Also since it’s all small business/family owned you can feel a bit better about where your money is going.

The next day we went outside of the main part of Hoi An to spend the day at the beach.  Since my cousin was confident in his abilities and the traffic was a bit less crazy we rented a moto and road around the area on our way to the beach.  It was a beautiful beach and not crowded at all.  However, we did both manage to get a little burnt… For me though it was fairly obviously a case of failed sunscreen because I managed to only burn my right knee and inside of my left ankle. But man was it a bad burn, that’s what happens when you’re 13 degrees off the equator.

Our last day in Hoi An we took part in a Vietnamese cooking class that was lots of fun! In the morning we went to the market and bought all the ingredients (they even adjusted some recipes for me to be meatless).  Then we went to a little island with an outdoor cooking area where we got to learn from a great chef.  We learned to make fresh spring rolls, banh xeo (a crispy pancake thing), beef noodle salad (seafood in my case), and beef/seafood pho.  The whole thing was so fun! We would first watch the chef and then go to our stations where everything was set out for us (like a cooking show) and then try to recreate the recipe with some guidance, of course.  It was also great because I feel like I can make all four dishes on my own now.

2 Weeks Away: The Floating Village

We spent the morning just relaxing near the pool and getting some of our only downtime on this fast paced trip.  In the afternoon we headed to Kamplong Phluk, a floating village on the edge of the Tonle Sap.  It was the end of dry season so the village wasn’t actually floating at the moment, but I think that made it even more interesting.  With the skeletons of the stilt houses exposed you could really see the drastic difference in the water levels.  We walked down the main street which would normally be under meters of water.  I think when you see the village during wet season it can be hard to imagine what it looks like without the water, but seeing it without the water you can see the physical markers of how high the water rises.  Don’t get me wrong I’d love to go back and see it floating for sure!

We were able to stop for a little while and talk to some young children in their English class where we answered numerous questions about our favorite things and became the arm wrestle champion of all the young boys (although it was a pretty close call).  It was really fun to chat with them and they were all excited to practice their language skills with us.

From there we headed out onto the actual lake and had dinner at a floating restaurant where we were able to watch the sunset.

2 Weeks Away: Siem Reap- Sunrise and The Big 3

While all the temples at Angkor are fairly well known and definitely amazing to see, everyone can agree there are three that everyone wants to see: Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and Bayon.

We started our day off at about 4am when we left our hotel and headed to the temple complex to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. And it was totally worth it.  I love a good sunset as much (or more) than the next person, but I feel like there’s something more tranquil and magical about seeing sunrise (of course if you go somewhere super cool to see the sunset on purpose that evens it out a bit).  I think because you have to go out of your way to be there for it (no one is asleep for sunset) and it’s not like you’re doing something else and happen to see it, like you are there only to watch.  Even with a whole bunch of tourists at the temple everyone was just silent and watched as the sun came up.  I’m not an early riser, so this was one of very few sunrises I have seen in my life and it was amazing.

After the sunrise we set out touring the massive grounds of Angkor Wat (it is the largest religious monument in the world).  It was originally constructed by Khmer King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple of Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century.  It is the only Angkor temple to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation.

Aesthetically speaking the construction and symmetry of the temple is astounding and so beautiful.  It really is just amazing to see what people were building centuries ago with none of the equipment we have now.

Our second stop was Ta Prohm, affectionately known as the Tomb Raider temple since many scenes were filmed here.  It was built in the 12^th/13^th century by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university.  It was left mostly unrestored with the tree covered ruins surrounded by the jungle providing an eerie atmosphere that draws crowds… and Hollywood.  Seeing this temple pretty much made me want to be Lara Croft and head out into the jungle.

Our final stop of the day was Bayon. It was built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the official state temple of the King Jayavarman VII.  Originally it was a Mahayana Buddhist temple, but following Jayavarman’s death, it was modified by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.  The most distinctive feature (and what makes it so well-known) is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak.

All of the temples that we saw both days were amazing and awe inspiring.  Those feelings combined with the fact that it had been over 100F and humid that two days we were touring the site made us decide to take a brief siesta at our hotel after finishing our tour.  In the evening we went to the night market and found a really cool bar in an old stilt house.

2 Weeks Away: Siem Reap- The Grand Circuit

On our first full day in Siem Reap we took a tour of the Grand Circuit temples at Angkor. We had a really great guide who gave us the history and key features of each of the six temples we stopped at.  There’s no possible I will be able to relay all of that knowledge to you so really you should just visit for yourself.

The first we saw was Pre Rup. This is a Hindu temple that was the state temple of King Rajendravarman built around 961. Its name means “turn the body” which reflects the belief that it was used for funeral practices and cremation.

The second temple was East Mebon.  This was built by the same king and was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and honors the king’s parents.  We learned that during that time each king was expected to construct three temples during his reign.  One as his state temple where he worshipped (which would later become his tomb), one to honor his family, and one for the common people to use.  The location of this temple shows off the Khmer people’s concern with the orientation and cardinal directions as it is built on a north-south axis with Pre Rup and an east-west axis with the King’s palace temple. ( I was most excited about the elephant statues..)

Our third stop was Ta Som (so named for the farmer that most recently used it as his home…).  It’s a smaller temple built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII who dedicated it to his father. It was largely left unrestored and has really amazing regrowth.

Fourth on our tour was Neak Poan (or Pean) which is an artificial island with a Buddhist temple. Historians believe it represents the mythical lake in the Himalayas, Anavatapta, whose waters are said to cure all illness.  Neak Pean was originally designed for medical purposes (it was believed that going into these pools would cure a disease) and it is one of the many hospitals that King Jayavarman VII built.  It is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance. Four connected pools represent Water, Earth, Fire and Wind.  Each is connected to the central water source, the main tank, by a stone statue of one of the “Four Great Animals” namely Elephant, Bull, Horse, and Lion, corresponding to the north, east, south, and west. Originally, four sculptures stood on the floor of the lake. The only remaining statue is that of the horse Balaha, a form of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, saving sailors from the ogresses of Tamradvipa.

Our fifth stop was Preah Khan, another temple constructed by King Jayavarman VII. Supposedly upwards of 100,000 officials and servants resided here.  There is an entry “bridge” that is lined on opposing sides with the gods and demons.

The last stop for the day was Banteay Srei, a 10th-century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. It is built largely of red sandstone, which gives it a mildly pink coloring, and has elaborate and extremely detailed carvings.   It is known as the “citadel of women” for the intricate work and many devatas (female deities that are depicted dancing).

2 Weeks Away: HCMC to Siem Reap

In the morning we visited the Notre Dame, but it wasn’t open for visitors on the inside so we just saw it from outside.  After that we had lunch at a great restaurant called Huang Lai.  This restaurant hires young people from disadvantaged families to provide them with training and an income to help their families.  It is a great cause and the food was delicious too!

After lunch we headed to the airport to catch our flight to Cambodia.  Let me give a disclaimer: we were in Siem Reap not the capital city Phnom Penh, but the whole atmosphere of the place seemed much more relaxed and friendly than Vietnam.  It was also way hotter there… We stayed in an amazing hotel called Soria Moria and learned that there is a great story behind that hotel as well.  It was started by a Norwegian couple to provide jobs and school and training for people coming from less fortunate situations and it is actually majority owned by the staff members themselves.  They also partner with various community organizations to provide opportunities for local women to sell products in the lobby.  Beyond the great cause, the people that work there were just so friendly and helped us plan our excursions for the next 3 days.  I don’t usually recommend hotels or services, but if you are ever going to Siem Reap I definitely recommend staying here.