After 21 hours that passed with glacial speed, we arrive in Hong Kong. Brrrrrrrr, the weather here is colder than a penguin's ass! Apparently it's the coldest winter in 23 years in HK just what we dont need. Oh well, we gotta make the best of it now that we're here so off we go to find the BP International Hotel and catch up on some much needed Vitamin Zee.
Next morning we're off early by train to the town of Shatin in New Territories which halfway to the border with mainland China. Here, perched high atop a hillside is the home of the Monastery of Ten Thousand Buddhas, one of the most dramatic and sacred sites in Hong Kong. It's still dark when we arrive, and we're here before opening time, but we decide to give it a go anyways and start to climb the stairs.
If your main daily exercise is brushing your teeth you're in trouble, as to reach the monastery you must first climb over 431 steps up the hillside. The entire path is an incredible assemblage of hundreds of life-sized golden statues of Buddhas of all imaginable shapes and sizes lining the path, in poses ranging from serene to outrageous. In fact, the entire climb was a lesson in Buddha diversity!
At the top of the stairs we are met with a closed iron gate which has the monastery sealed off tighter than a crab's buttocks, but we get lucky. While we are taking a few pics, an old fellow meanders up the stairs and proceeds to unlock the gates. We express our awe with the place and gesture to him that we would like to enter. He kindly gives us the OK and then disappears. It was pure magic, with the monastery to ourselves, watching dawn break standing in the stunning courtyard surrounded by the array of silent mystical sentries.
Soon the workers start to arrive and more doors are opened including the one to a beautiful nine story red pagoda and a temple adorned with some 12,800 buddha statues lining the walls. Here a buddha, there a buddha, everywhere a buddha buddha. Simply buddhaful!
So, with enough enlightenment, and a belly full of Buddha's, we head off to find Shatin Park which is located nearby stretching along the Shing Mun River. A lovely spot with banyan trees, waterfall, and a picture perfect Chinese bridge over a huge pond filled with fish. A lovely spot to linger. We soak in the ambiance, and drain our camera batteries. We then find the train and make our way back to Kowloon, where we enjoy a pleasant happy hour rehashing a wonderful day.
After dinner we decide to go have a bo-peep around the Kowloon streets. Wow - the glaring neon sign's are about as subtle as a bagpiper at a yoga retreat! But, while Hongers ain't exactly what you might call a spiritual palate it does have some splendid shopping, with a plethora of shops all vying to separate you form your cash.
We early birds are off again. Today we are on a fast ferry, headed to the island and former Portuguese colony of Macau. We dressed in all the warmest clothes we have, but are still freezing in a bitter wind. I'm not kidding, it's cold enough to freeze the bollocks off a brass monkey!
Finally, we catch the first bus arriving that heads into town, and start making our way to the ruins St. Pauls church. Along the route we have to stop many times for directions, something hot to drink, and of course the famous heated Portuguese egg tarts - yummmmmo.
St. Pauls is Macaus most famous landmark and a dedicated world heritage site. Constructed in the 16th century, it was considered the most beautiful Catholic church in Asia, until at the height of a major typhoon in 1835 it caught fire and burned to the ground leaving only the front wall standing like a cardboard pop-up on a hilltop. It looks a bit surreal but very impressive.
It's just too damn cold to stand around, so we find another bus that drops us in the vicinity of the A-Ma Temple which apparently has been here since Jesus was in pampers. Actually, the official date is 1488 when it was built and dedicated to the goddess of seafarers and fishermen. We smell it before we see it. The place is bathed in a haze of incense smoke from the hundreds of smoldering coils hanging from every possible place.
Holy shitake mushrooms it's cold! Not sure which is louder the clicking of the camera or the chattering of our teeth. We goodbye the island, and take a shivery boat ride back to Hong Kong. We huddle together in our incense smoke laden clothes, anxious to get back to our hotel to try and defrost!
We are putting oodles of klicks on the soles whilst checking out the country, and today we're off to Lantau Island to see the giant Buddha and the Po Lin monastery. This mammoth statue is claimed to be the worlds tallest seated Buddha. Makes one wonder how many other 112 foot, 250 ton bronze statues there are that are NOT seated!
While waiting for the first bus in the bitter cold I run off to order a hot bowl of soup while Christine holds a spot in line. Whilst slurping the noodles I may not have helped things by constantly splashing others with soup juice while fumbling with makeshift utensils. I'm not sure if the looks I'm getting are distain or pity!
Finally the old bus shows up and unfortunately it turns out to be yet another heat free zone. I try to get the driver to either turn off the air, or put on some heat - but he seems to have the IQ of a Tibetean turnip. He can't or won't respond and just stomps on the gas. Off we go, venturing through terrain with ascents that would make even the Dali Lamma tense. Sitting has chilled us to the bone, and when we alight from the bus Christine is near tears, and tells me this is the coldest she has ever been in her life quite something from a lady who comes from Labrador!
The scene is surreal as we step out and are immediately enveloped in dense fog - it looks like a mass fumigation is underway! I approach a rather unfriendly guy standing behind a metal fence and ask "Where is the Buddha?" He turns and points behind him. In a charade like fashion I try to get him to open the gate, but it's like trying to give a fish a bath.
There is nobody else around, but because we are a few minutes early the little pissant won't budge. With all the charm of a constipated rhinoceros, 'orders' is the one word he can manage. What a load of horse puckey! We hop around trying to keep the blood circulating whist silently cursing commies.
We briskly run up the 268 steps to the top where we can see the platform is encircled with 6 bronze bodhisattva statues offering gifts to the Buddha who remains eerily ghostlike in the swirling fog. Click, click, click then a dash back down to the Wisdom Path which is a collection of Buddhist prayers carved in Chinese calligraphy into large erect beams. The idea of this path is to slowly stroll through reading the words and pondering life. With this nasty weather, I'd rather pour honey over my genitals and lie on an ant bed!! Ms C couldn't agree more so back to find a bus down the mountain.
Later on the weather is slightly more tolerable, so we head over to the Soho area on Hong Kong Island. We ride up the worlds largest escalator which is 2,625' long and has a vertical rise of 443'. We find the perfect palate pleasing little Italian bistro, and duck in for some incredible edibles. To our delight the place is actually heated!
While on HK island we set sail for a scenic tour of Hong Kong's harbor. Our transport is a 'Duk Ling' boat which is an authentic Chinese junk complete with red sails. It looks very cool, and is kind of a reminder of the romance and intrigue that was associated with the early traders and taipans.
To finish the day we stroll down to the waterfront promenade to enjoy the stunning Symphony of Lights at dusk. This show synchronizes music with powerful laser beams and searchlights from the towering glass and steel skyscrapers jostling for space on both sides of the harbor. We join with the other watchers amid the oohs and ahhs of the spectacle.
According to the Chinese calendar 2008 is the Year of the Rat and as a result Hong Kong has zillions rat images everywhere. Small rats, rats of humongous proportions (probably on leave from Government) and rats in every imaginable position hilarious!
Our next venture out is Mongkok. Translated it means "flourishing corner" .. which is indeed an understatement, as it's an area just north of ridiculously crowded in fact, according to Guinness World Records, it has the highest population density in the world at 130,000 peeps per square kilometer. As we found out, this translates to some 260,000 elbows many of which we were introduced to! Yes, Mongkok's certainly guaranteed to leave you with a whole new appreciation of personal space!
Mongkok's chock full of wet markets, crumbling tenements, and stores selling everything from electronics to chickens. In one market we walk past a table covered with freshly severed fish heads with the gills still breathing certainly not a place for the squeamish!
Our last visit to Hong Kong was over ten years ago, and today it seems to be a just little more sophisticated - kinda like a rat with a gold tooth! Despite the frigidity, we have enjoyed our stay, but it's now time to put a whole lot of 'gone' between us, and planet chopstick.
Today we arrive in Bali, Indonesia for our 12th visit. Damn, you'd almost think that we enjoyed this place! Surprisingly on arrival we get lucky, and are not harassed by immigration. Usually these clowns are about as friendly as a nest of copperheads, and try and putting the squeeze on for extra cash. In Bali one has to be aware of parasites both in the food - and in the airport!
We walk outside wrapping ourselves in the warmth of Bali. Quickly we find our transport and head off to Ubud, which is the cultural heart of the island and a long time favorite of ours.
Our hotel has a great balcony that overlooks emerald green rice fields ringed with banana and frangipani trees, bougainvillea, and bamboo. We enjoy our happy hour serenaded by melodious bird trills, swooping swallows, a dollop of ducks waddling about shaking their tail feathers, and the cone hated farmer tending his rice fields.
We are also right on the flight path for some 20,000 white herons (kokokan to locals) that fly home at dusk every day to roost in the trees of Petulu village. At the end of the day the old farmer (boss duck) in the field next door collects his flock and leads them back to their enclosure by having them follow a long bamboo pole with a yellow. Quite comical. Our daily ritual of a happy hour sitting on the balcony with a G & T's puddling in the heat are truly magical.
Today we rented bikes and cycled the spine of the Champuan Ridge which plunges down into deep river gorges on both sides. We try not ride over the edge, as we marvel at the stunning tropical tapestry. Like the intrepid explorers that we are, we ride all the way to the village of Tegalallang. I had brought a big bag of toys from home, so we had fun playing Santa Claus along the way. It's wonderful go up to some poor little tykes and present a present. Love to watch their little faces light up like the aurora borealis.
On the ride back we decide to stop and treat ourselves to a spa at the Spa Hati. Good choice. In a wonderful setting we enjoy an outdoor massage by a pool with gently falling water. We are serenaded by little frogs making big noises is the rice paddies next door. Then with joints soothed we slink into a beautiful stone walled heated Jacuzzi pool. Water cascades down from the jaws of lions, as we sip our hot ginger tea, a chicken struts by and gives us the eye. My - what a change from Hong Kong!
Ubud is always an interesting place to wander about, watching the locals pursue their timeless and mystical ways. Seems there is some sort of ceremony nearly every day, and women dressed in their traditional garb carry pyramids built up of fruits and flowers (and often chickens) to the temples as offerings for the gods.
Unfortunately we are here in the rainy season, and getting too much H2O for our liking, but despite that my tan is starting to kick in, and we are thankful for the warmth.
Woke up several times last night by an over enthusiastic rooster cock-a-doodle-doing his brains out. Didn't he realize that I need all the beauty rest I can get? In my younger days I would have had far more appreciation for a cock that stays up all night! Hmmmmm methinks I'll have sate for lunch!
We arranged for a driver to meet us early for transportation today. When he arrives he isn't his usually jovial self, because coming to picking us up, a woman on a motor bike ran into his car. She broker leg and was carted off to hospital, and the car's damage included a wipeout of the air con. He asks if we would still go so we agreed although it wasn't the same without AC.
Our destination is the Besakih Temple which is 900 meters up the slope of Bali's Mount Agung. It's the largest of the islands 11,000 temples and is referred to as the 'Mother Temple' of Hinduism and has been around since the 10th century. I fend off the pushy 'guides' with the Canuck equivalent of "have sex and go away", and then dressed in a sash and sarong, we proceed to explore the humongous temple on our own.
On the way back our driver Ketut entertains us with a story of how just recently a giant python snake ate one of his uncle's goats. Apparently the snake was so full it couldn't move, so the next day they found and killed it. They retrieved the goat and the whole family had a huge feast of both snake and goat delicious according to Ketut! Interesting way to tenderize the goat!
It's raining again which is starting to get on my nerves. As is the case with cold - rain and I never really liked each other all that much. So I decide to head out on a long run. For me running is a great for solving problems it's like the feet are little psychiatrists. Out in the lush countryside, I enjoy a hallo here and a wave there while being silently observed by some sinister and moss laden stone gods. Good for the soul(s)!
Christine and I enjoy several more fabulous country walks, being careful to cover up with mozzie repellant because Dengue fever is in the area. I have to be particularly alert since I contacted this fever in the Caribbean while on a rugby tour many years ago. If you get Dengue for a second time it can be fatal, and a most unpleasant death.
After a week in Ubud we move on to another of our old stomping grounds - the relaxing beach side village of Sanur.
Today we again rent some bikes early to explore the area. At one point we come across several guys riding past on motorcycles with rifles over their shoulders - kind of unnerving. Also unnerving is that tonight Christine is violently ill with a terrible case of Bali belly that normally last 3 or 4 days.
Christine is still sick today, and when she can't make an appointment tonight, I explain her problem to our tailor, he offers me a suggestion on how to fix it. He spends time showing me how to massage a special area of the leg and foot, as taught to him by his grandfather. I'm somewhat doubtful but willing to try anything. These folks can do some remarkable things as we have seen with the trances etc. So I go back to the hotel and get to work - doing exactly what I've been shown. Fingers crossed.
Amazingly, Christine is recovered this morning. Yup, cured by the amazing Dr. Colegrave at least that's the story I'm sticking to. Christine is thrilled, and happy not to loose any more of the holiday. Great to have her back to health.
We are spending our time here pampering ourselves great food, beach walks, having clothes made, massages, etc.. Don't tell anyone but for the first time in my life I actually had a manicure! Nobody's going to come in that will recognize me so what the hell!
The spa was delightful sitting in an area open to the outside on the edge of a large koi pond. Lots of ferns and wispy bamboo swaying in the breeze, and gentle instrumental music playing in the background. There are certainly much worse ways to spend a couple of hours.
Today is Valentine's Day, so we opt for something special. It's a rare sunny day so as we're strolling along the beach, we decide to hire a boat guy to take us sailing in a traditional Balinese sailing boat, called a Jukong. This is quite the craft. It's one piece a carved out monstrous mango tree, and has whopping bamboo pontoons on each side for stabilization.
A most pleasant afternoon, with a nice breeze making for a great sail around the coral reef. On the turquoise waters of the Bali Sea, Christine and me, in our mango tree. Hmmm seems there's a song to be written somewhere here.
Alighting from our mango tree we head to a beachside bar. The sun has leached out the moisture so it's up to me to replenish it and my first choice is grain alcohol. With our chairs slowly sink into the sand, we sit and sip. It would of course, be a cosmic perversity to be in a Bali, and miss the local Bintang beer. Being a professor of 'Bintangology' , on this sunny day I'm in my element. Poetry of the elbow indeed!
By the time we wander/wobble back to the hotel it's time for the mandatory happy hour. Tonight it's a tango with rum and mango. Man those go down well! However, after sitting on the balcony for a bit, my smeller picks up the scent of food. Happy hour is over we're now in the mood for food.
After getting all dressed up (in my best set of jeans) we hit the street, sardine ourselves into local bemo transport, and are off to the Village Restaurant for Valentine's dinner. This has to be the classiest restaurant in town. We agree that we have never enjoyed a meal more anywhere! Yes, yumalicious - like angels copulating on the tongue.
Outside however, a nasty thunder and lightening storm is raging. Monsoonal rain and winds have converted the streets into rivers, and the Italian chef who we've befriended does not want to let us leave. He is worried that we may be struck by a falling tree or branch. Eventually we leave, and the manager gives Christine a red rose and flags down a cab. When we arrive back at the hotel, it turns out we have to walk the last 100 meters down a driveway that is now underwater.
Huddled under the umbrella, pondering our dilemma, a shopkeeper beside us comes up with a solution. Christine removes her newly purchased high heels, and the guy quickly makes her a perfect pair of booties out of plastic bags to put over her bare feet. Ahhhhh . what a sight the elegant Christine all dolled up, a rose in one hand, an umbrella in the other, adorned in plastic booties, while fording the driveway with big time rain cascade all around her. An unforgettable Valentine's day to be added to our scrapbook of special memories.
Our last day is another bike along the sea side and to our surprise we end up in the middle of a swarm of dragon flies. Hundreds and hundreds of them all around us. Invasion of the dragonflies! We keep our heads down to make sure we don't accidentally inhale one, or get one stuck in an orifice. Just plain weird!
Like the ice in our drinks, the days melt away, and our lengthy stay in Sanur concludes. Today we move on to the last stop of the trip Kuta.
The streets are crowded and chaotic and in many of the street front restaurants, you can't help but end up with a carbon monoxide entrιe. Now I've gone into great detail about this place before, so I'll spare you this time. Let's just say that it's my opinion that if the world was given an enema, Kuta would be the place where the tube is inserted.
But, if you like to shop, this is a place where you can do it without being afraid you might have to sell a kidney to pay for it. Most stores however, have an overkill of 'shopping assistants' who are inescapable it's like having a personal stalker for the duration of your stay in the store.
The days are spent bartering, buying and 'bintangulating'. The good news is that we have a lovely penthouse suite at the Kusnadi Hotel which really is nice. An oasis when you tire of the streets.
Today we read an interesting newspaper. We learn that Jakarta has arrested 25 foreigners for flirting and no I'm not one of them! Another article says that in Bukattingi Sumatra, Valentine's Day has now been banned, because it can lead to kissing and hugging in public which according to Islam is an 'immoral act'! Guess they just ain't into foreplay.
The last article is to do with a 'rat-ical' development in China and the Year of the Rat. Apparently the price of hamsters has recently gone up six times, because the Chinese want 'rat-like' pets. Maybe they should visit Bukattingi sounds like a lot of rats there!
Today we hire transport to visit Bali's new Safari Park. We are taken in some protective vehicles through areas with lions, tigers and an assortment of other African species. Interesting, but a let down after our incredible recent adventures in Africa and Swaziland. The neat part was being able to cuddle a lion cub and orangutan, and pet a while tiger.
Weather in Bali is still ugly. Humidity up at 90% , and rains so heavy and loud that we have trouble sleeping at night. We are both fed up with this crap. Early this morning as I was lying in bed room started to shake, and I later learned that it was caused by an earthquake on a neighboring island. In addition, high winds are causing havoc in the seas, and it's so bad that the ships carrying coal for the massive power generators on Java cannot dock. Coal shortage is now critical, and the Bali is incurring rolling blackouts.
The area we are staying in has been without power today for nine hours. The Pacific Rim of Fire features some of the most volatile weather on earth. We are clearly ready to pull the plug. Beam us up Scotty!
For our last day the rains are holding off so we head out to a place called Ulawatu at the south western tip of the island. There is a temple perched at the very edge of a sheer cliff some 210' above the crashing waves of the mighty Indian Ocean below.
With the temple as a backdrop, the famous trance induced Kecak dance is performed at sunset. It offers no music only the chanting of the 50 or so performers, and serves up an outrageous ensemble of mythically dressed characters. We enjoy the show, and it ends with the stage being turned into a fireball of burning coconut husks being kicked and stomped by the performers. Quite a performance for our final night on the Island of the Gods.
Alas, the time to pack our bags has come. We are ready. Thanks again Bali for the memories over the past 23 years.
Mark Colegrave
February 2008
