KOWLOON SHOPPING - NOV 2, 2012

KOWLOON, HONG KONG ISLAND - FRIDAY NOV 2, 2012

Another day of walking our feet off!  We started with breakfast on the 20th floor terrace in the Club Lounge overlooking all the activity in Victoria Harbour.  Then it was the shuttle to  the Kowloon Hotel and a leisurely walk along Nathan Street (where one end is very high end jewellry stores to the other end, very Chinese and lower priced local goods).  Most of the stores don't open until at least 10am so we had all the time in the world. We bought nail polish in a variety of colours at "Bonjour", then after meeting up with Brenda and Mary Lou we all stopped for coffee and milk shakes at the 24 hour McDonalds (and a bathroom break as well!).  

We arrived at 12 noon at the "Ladies Market" which runs from 12 noon until 5pm every day - and found that better than 50% of the stalls were just setting their goods up for sale - so a slow walk through took us 2 hours!  We did buy a couple of miscellaneous items (purse, belt, watch) buy by 2pm our feet and knees were complaining so we took the MRT underground rail transit system at the Yau Ma Tei station back down Nathan to the Tsim Sha Tsui station ($4 HK each).  After debating, we decided to walk over to the Harbour City Centre (huge 3 level shopping mall with every high end store you can imagine).  Unfortunately after walking in circles a couple of times we concluded that we couldn't find the food we fancied, the price we were willing to pay - or the restaurant we were looking for!  So we caught the shuttle back to the Harbour Plaza Metropolis and went for afternoon tea (with cookies and chocolates) in the Club Lounge- where we met up with some of the group and shared an hour chatting on the outdoor deck.  That's when we found out the sad story about one of the others in the group  having their wallet, credit cards, and money stolen this afternoon. More than one hour later they were still on the phone to the credit card companies getting them cancelled - such a sad way to finish 28 wonderful days in Singapore, Borneo, Bali and Hong Kong.

THE PEAK AND STANLEY MARKET, HONG KONG - NOV 1, 2012

THE PEAK & STANLEY MARKET, HONG KONG - Thursday Nov 1, 2012

This turned out to be a long, busy and successful day!  We were all booked into Club Rooms at the Harbour Plaza Metropolis - so everyone ran into each other enjoying the wonderful breakfast in the 20th floor Club Room, and a wonderful breakfast it was.  Cold cuts, salmon, cheeses, crackers, pastries, eggs cooked to order, sausage, baked beans, bacon, wonderful breads for toasting - more than anyone could eat!  So although we had planned a 10am departure from the lobby we were all down in the lobby at 910am and caught the 920am shuttle to the Kowloon Hotel which is right next to the harbour front where the Star Ferries depart from.

We were soon all on the lower deck of the ferry after purchasing tickets for $? HK each at the machine - you receive change and a blue token as your ticket for the ferry which takes about 10 minutes to cross Victoria Harbour from the Kowloon mainland side to the Hong Kong island side.  Then we walked about 10 blocks, slowly going uphill, until we reached the lower terminal for the PEAK TRAM which takes you to the top of the mountain.  This opens at 10am each day and we were there shortly after 1030am and we thought there were quite a few folks in the lineup.  However, when we came back down about 12:25pm we were horrified to see a very long line snaking around the side walk - it was very long so we felt very lucky to have had just maybe 30 or 40 folks in front of us!

We bought a ticket at $65HK $39 for seniors over age 64)  each which allows you to to take the return trip on the tram as well as access to the Sky Deck on top.  The ride up is quite steep, no I really mean VERY steep, and most everyone sits on the tram (125 year old furnicular) facing up hill not downhill - we decided it is less scary looking at where you are going versus how far down can be! The tram stops at a couple of stations on the way up but we all arrived safely at the top!  The top was the final holdout for the British forces occupying Hong Kong against the Japanese invasion in 1941 (The Last Bastion was how the newspapers printed the story back in 1941).  It is a few years since Terry and I rode up to the Peak and we were amazed at how much construction has gone on since then - the Sky Deck is about 10 stories high - and not enjoying heights, I hated the escalators going up in mid air with glass walls on the side looking straight down over 1300 meters to Victoria Harbour below!  However - the views were amazing - what a huge harbour and massive number of buildings there are surrounding Victoria Harbour.  The Sky Deck is outside and it was quite windy, but we had a beautiful sunny, blue sky day so amazing views - great for our photographs.

Each of the floors in the new building leading to the Sky Deck have stores on them - so this is a big marketing and shopping centre now.  Several of us enjoyed a variety of gelato flavours at ? - we especially enjoyed the coconut and pandas palm flavour!  But I also heard sighs of delight at the three different chocolate flavours, then there was the mango, pistachio....... I'm sure you get the picture!  (55HK for 1 scoop, 68HK for 2 scoops, and 83HK for 3 scoops). We rode down back to the starting point for the tram and several of us were standing - when you stand you are leaning a long way back to stand perpendicular to the hill side because it is so steep. We had lots of chuckles as one of the group leant forward through the bars due to the slope and her boobs were displayed quite grandly!

This is when we saw the huge lineup to go UP to the Peak and we were so glad not to be in that line.  We started to walk over to the moving escalator, which is an outside escalator, and goes a long way up the hill for those folks who live up the hill.  We stopped to ask the policemen in a police wagon next to the USA Consulate if we were on the correct route, but eventually decided to skip the escalator and head straight to the Exchange (bus terminal)where the buses depart from.  The next stop for us was Stanley Market - built on the shore of a bay on the opposite side of Hong Kong Island.  You can catch bus number 6, 6A and 6X which all cross over the island, or the #260 Express which goes through the Aberdeen Tunnel, directly to the other side.  To get there reasonably quickly we caught the 260 Express ($10.80HK each) that departed at 1224pm and were in Stanley Market by 1pm after some amazing drives along the far side of the island - narrow roads, hairpin turns. lots of traffic - and did I mention that these are double decker buses and we were all sitting upstairs at the front of the bus!  Everyone breathed in every time another double decker came racing around the corner towards us and we swore that there was only a few inches between the two buses as they passed!   The views were spectacular and seeing these incredible high rises and amazing designs was a wonderful sight seeing trip all on its' own!

At the terminus in Stanley Market - everyone went their separate ways and we arranged to meet back at the bus stop at 330pm for anyone wanting to return back to Kowloon and the Harbour Plaza Metropolis Hotel with us.  The first purchases that we saw made were small 5" by 7" colour paintings of names done in Chinese characters ($30HK each).  Then there were the pashminas (2 for $100HK) and small pure silk square scarves ($10HK) - yes, everyone was going to have fun shopping in the Stanley Market as did we.  In fact, that night we shopped at the Night Market in Kowloon, and the next day the Ladies' Market in Kowloon - and everyone agreed that shopping at the Stanley Market was the most enjoyable and the best prices.

After walking through the market we came out 

BALI TO HONG KONG - OCT 31, 2012 HALLOWEEN

OCT 31, 2012  BALI INDONESIA TO HONG KONG
TRANSFER DAY
coming soon ********

BEACH & SPA, TANJUNG BENOA - OCT 30, 2012

OCT 30, 2012
LAST DAY ON THE BEACH IN TANJUNG BENOA, BALI
coming soon *********

KUTA, SANUR & SEMINYAK BALI - OCT 29, 2012

OCT 29, 2012  KUTA, SANUR & SEMINYAK BALI
coming soon*********

SILVER, ART & BATIK in BALI - SUN OCT 28, 2012

BALI SHOPPING Sunday OCT 27, 2012

NOT YET COMPLETE******

Monument Arjun proficient archer, brother of ?

Today is a short shopping tour to visit UC Silver, Batik and 

Breakfast on the terrace at Casablanca - they make a great cup of tea here first thing in the morning!  Sue and Aud had already headed out just after 7 for their walk down the beach board walk to Nusa Dua - the sun was shining and it promised to be a beautiful day.

11 of us headed out at 820am for our half day (5 to 6 hour) shopping tour - as usual Tour Guide Nick was prompt and early arriving at 8am.  The roads were a little less busy than during the work week which is every day except Sunday.  We were passing the Sanur area at 9am on our way to our first stop at UC Silver.  The mot unique and expensive silver jewelry available on the island, and the wealthiest man in Bali.  Sanur is a busy area but a good location to stay for proximity for visiting the capital Denpasar, the airport, Kuta, as well as the North, Central and Eastern areas of Bali or tours.

UC SILVER - we arrived at 930am and left at 11am - everyone found items to buy.  The designs were simply amazing!  We could have spent hours here but I'm not sure that our credit cards could handle more time.  We started looking at the showroom where normally every station would have a craftsman working on a design - but being Sunday there were just a few craftsmen working today.  The designs are very intricate and beautifully made.  The showroom lower floor has silver and the second floor is gold - but I didn't make it there - yet!!!

SEMAR KUNING I art cooperative (UBUD SOUTH) - after a lovely drive North through the countryside we arrived about 1120am and saw the artists painting in several styles, both young boys learning and older Balinese doing very complex paintings.  Paintings included pen and ink, oils, acrylics, watercolors and traditional styles, tropical, realistic and very modern.  The gallery we walked around was huge - set in multiple rooms and amidst balinese gardens - such a sense of peace and tranquility.   Carrie bought 2 small watercolours from artist Reis for $40.  JENN bought a large canvas $350 from artist Merta, representing harmony in the home, planning to hang on the large wall as you enter Jenn's new home in Nova Scotia.  Harry Smith from Belgium came to UBUD in 1933 and taught Balinese how to use bright colours but keep traditional style of paintings.  Harry still alive and living in Ubud.

SARI AAMERTA BTIK  1230pm

NUSA DUA, BALI - SAT OCT 27, 2012

NUSA DUA BALI OCT 27, 2012

What a great day - there was a huge cloud on the horizon at sunrise - but false alarm - it disappeared quickly with the heat of the sun and we had a very hot 33 degrees celcius clear blue sky day!  After a slow start with tea and coffee on our deck watching the beach boys get all the cushions set out on the sun cots (lovely white thickly padded cushions on teak sun cots) and a quick breakfast on the outside deck of the restaurant overlooking the mornings activities getting going, we headed out for a walk.

Since we were here in Bali at the Aston Bali hotel some 13 years ago, there has been a long boardwalk, built of interlocking stones, all along the beach next to the hotels - this makes for a really pleasant walk from the top of the Tanjung Peninsula at the harbour south to the south east point at Nusa Dua.  They have also built breakwaters with a small pagoda at the ocean end - so they provide a useful function as well as a picturesque spot to sit and enjoy the sunrise, and views, while getting protection from the sun.  We left the Aston Bali which is towards the very north end of Tanjung Peninsula around 10 am and arrived back around 12:45pm, unbelievably wet and hot!

We headed South taking photos as we went, and stopping at a couple of beach markets along the way for just a few minutes to browse.  We found a lovely beach club next door at a facility that is a wedding location Taman Bhagawan, for locals and international visitors alike.  The Beach Club is very spa like, very serene and as long as you spend 1250 rhupiah each day on food and beverages (about $14) then you can use the pool and facilities for free - there was not a single person there.

The 5 star and international hotel chains are on this Southern end including such hotels as Hyatt, Sheraton Four Points.  We loved the look of the Royal Santrian, and the Villas at the Laguna Resort and Spa (this is Four Points and the rest of the hotel beach areas looked pretty busy).  The Club Med property had a great location and looked quite appealing.  At the tip there was this amazing monument that could be seen from a long way off - it was massive, maybe 100 feet tall, two characters ??.  This is a large public area with a grassy field and building busily going on - maybe for food stalls or market stalls - we saw an advertisement for a festival Nov 2-4 so this must be in preparation for that.  

If you walk around and behind the monument you come to the blow hole on the rocky coral cliffs - the ocean is a glorious azure colour and the swell meant that some water was coming into the blow hole in the coral but not crashing in.  There were lots of locals arriving, especially younger folk in their teens and 20's - obviously a place for socializing on the weekends - today was Saturday.

Very close to here is the Nusa Dua upscale shopping centre where we managed to get a taxi back to the Aston Bali 3000 rhupiah, around $4 - we were so hot and so wet and decided walking back was not the thing to do!  

The afternoon was lazy - we had lunch sitting under the palapa with lovely cool breezes, we swam (or at least cooled off) in the huge free form swimming pool complete with a waterfall and also a pool bar where we enjoyed several umbrella drinks during the course of the afternoon.  We started with a pina colada which was green!  The barman was mortified when we questioned the colour and he realised that he had mixed us a blue hawaii by mistake!  At 430pm we were treated to a beautiful small wedding ceremony (or renewal of vows) right on the beach - lovely decorations - beautiful white flags blowing in the breezes against the backdrop of the azure Indian ocean.  Flags are used a lot in Bali for decorations - they are set on very tall bamboo poles, maybe 15 feet tall and the flags are triangular - very narrow at the top and about 18 inches wide at the bottom. 

We were still relaxing on the sun cots just before 6pm - still very warm although the sun had disappeared behind the hotel which faces East across the Lombok Strait to the island of Nusa Penida (still in Bali).   After a quick shower and change we shared a cocktail on the lounge balcony next to the main lobby which overlooks the gardens and pool, before dinner in the Bella Luna. We celebrated Rob's birthday (we surprised him) and Michelle had ordered him a black forest Birthday cake from the kitchen.  A nice bonus was that there were 3 excellent musicians in the Bella Luna restaurant so they sang Happy Birthday to Rob in both Indonesian and English.

So we went to bed tired and satisfied after a very full and enjoyable day in Bali.