Lamma Island Hike

Fall is finally upon us in Hong Kong, after Summer heat and humidity lasted into early November. When a 'cold' front brought the temperature down to around 65 last week the locals all bundled up in coats and scarves. Annette and I decided it was perfect weather for a hike on Lamma island. Unlike the locals, we felt that wearing sunscreen was more appropriate than a winter coat.

We set out a little after noon and walked down to the central ferry pier. HK$20 (~US$2.60) got us a ticket on the ferry to the island's main village, Yung Shue Wan, which features a small harbor and a surprisingly large number of 'earthy' shops offering handicrafts, artwork, and organic/vegetarian fare. As we discovered, Lamma is home to many expats seeking a slow-paced alternative to the city.

The next thing we discovered is that we had arrived on Lamma on "Lamma Fun Day." A poster promised live music, games, food, and more. "What luck!" we thought. It turns out that our excitement was a bit unwarranted. We followed the narrow pathway through the village to a beach on the other side where the expatriate residents had set up face-painting and carnival games on the beach. Back on the concrete path there were 'booths' set up where you could buy arts and crafts and other items. (The 'other' items being decades old self-help books, second hand knick knacks, and HK$20 shots of cheap liquor. We passed.)

Soon we felt we had experienced all the "Lamma Fun Day" had to offer so we headed down the trail. A quick note about Hong Kong Trails.. unbeknownst to most outsiders, Hong Kong has a great amount of green space. This may be one of the most populated places on the planet, but most people are crammed into a small area, leaving a great deal of park land and over a hundred miles of nature trails. The trails themselves are, for the most part, concrete paths about 3' wide. Despite the finished walkway, many of the trails are quite challenging since they scale even the highest peaks.

Anyhow, our trail took on a bit of elevation as we traversed the island on our way to Sok Kwu Wan, a village on the opposite side. We hiked up to a vantage point where we could get a good look at the coastline and passing boats. After a water break we continued on our way.

The trail into Sok Kwo Wan offered scenic views of the village and the harbor which contains floating homes and fish farming cages. We walked down to the beach to enjoy the view from there. We were disappointed to see how much broken glass and garbage was strewn about that beach - it looked like the last beach cleanup was a few decades ago.

Sok Kwo Wan itself is popular for its harborside seafood restaurants. Most of the restaurants have tanks in front of the kitchen so you can choose exactly which fish or crab you'd like to have for dinner. It was still a little early so we decided to pass on the seafood and catch the ferry back to Hong Kong.

Well, that sums up our trip to Lamma. There are dozens more islands to explore, so we will be taking advantage of the cool weather to see some of them before the heat returns.


Lamma Beach

Sok Kwo Wan

Sok Kwo Wan

Annette on the beach

What's for dinner?

Lots to choose from..

Macau

Largo de Senado (Senate Square)

After Wes' visa was approved, we had to plan a trip outside Hong Kong so that we could leave and re-enter to 'activate' the visa. While Hong Kong is part of China, it is treated as a 'Special Administrative Region' (SAR) and has its own immigration policies. For example, 'mainland' Chinese citizens are not allowed to immigrate to Hong Kong without a visa.

Macau is another SAR and is a popular place for expats to visit to fulfill a 'visa run' since it is only an hour away by ferry and Americans can visit there without a visa. Not as internationally well-known as Hong Kong, Macau was formerly a Portuguese Colony (in fact, the oldest European colony in China). Macau became a Chinese SAR in 1999.

Upon our arrival in Macau, we boarded a bus that took us to the historical square of Macau, Largo de Senado. The square was bordered by historical buildings built in the Portuguese style. Also, the street was lined with black and white stones that reminded Annette of Lisbon.


Largo de Senado


Hiking up from the town square, we made it to Monte Fort, which was built by Jesuits in the 17th century. In 1622, one of the priests singlehandedly defended Macau from invading Danish forces with a lucky canon shot that hit the powder supply on one of the Danish ships.


Monte Fort

Next we walked down from the fort to the ruins of St. Pauls' Cathedral, dominated by an ornate facade that tells the story of the church through its many statues and sculptures.


St. Paul Church Facade

While Macau was dominated by Christianity in the 1600's, today it is better known for its casinos. Annette and I decided to check out the Hotel Casino Lisboa, which is one of the most 70s-hideous buildings either of us has ever seen. The hotel lobby was luxuriously furnished with interesting artwork and historical artifacts. We proceeded to the casino but found that we first had to check the backpack that Wes was carrying. But, when Wes got to the bag check, the casino staff searched the bag and attempted to make Wes throw away the snacks and water bottle inside, at which point we decided that it wasn't worth the sacrifice to go into the casino.

As we had just found out, the casino scene in Macau is not quite as customer friendly as Las Vegas. Casinos have strict dress codes, table minimums are quite high (around $35 for a hand of blackjack), the dealers automatically take 10% of your winnings, and there aren't even free drinks for players!

Leaving the hotel Lisboa, we walked to Guia hill, where we paid HK $2 (about $0.25) to ride a small cable car to the top. The hilltop was lined with WWII bunkers, one of which was turned into a museum. Guia hill is also home to the oldest lighthouse on the China coast (ca. 1865).


Guia Hill Lighthouse

Portuguese-style tile street sign

Mosaic on ceiling at Hotel Lisboa

Our last stop in Macau was the Sands casino, which had just opened in the last year. It is part of a new wave of casinos that are more 'Vegas-style'. At the sands Wes was able to check the backpack successfully, so we went inside for a look. The interior of the Sands was felt much more like a Vegas casino, with rows and rows of slot machines and table games, a theatre, and a seafood buffet. We tried our luck at the slot machines but went through our $12 in credits without hitting the jackpot. We thought about staying for the buffet but ultimately decided to catch the ferry back to HK for a relaxing dinner at home.

Lantau Island and the Big Buddha

Annette goes hat shopping

Lantau is the biggest island in Hong Kong, home to the international airport, Disney Land, and the famous "Giant Buddha." On a sunny Saturday in October, we decided to go have a closer look at the Buddha.. though I had to promise Annette we would come back later and go to Disney Land.

Our trip began with a subway ride out to Tung Chung, a city on the tip of Lantau. From there we caught a bus which took us across the island to Po Lin Monastery, home of the Buddha. Once there we checked out the impressive Buddha, which at 34 meters is the tallest seated Buddha in the world. But, Annette is somewhat hard to impress. She quickly got bored and went hat shopping. She tried on a traditional straw hat but later settled on a cloth one.

Next week took a walking tour of the monastery, where the air was rich with the smell of burning incense. As we wandered about the temple we admired the intricate decorative carvings and Chinese architecture.



Checking the monastery directory... we thought they respected their elders?!

Burning incense outside temple

Lily in a fountain in the temple

Stone carvings on temple wall

Circular portal


Leaving the temple, we headed off on a trail leading back to Tung Chung. The trail took us past more monasteries and through a densely forested valley.



Hiking down from the mountain

Ah! A boulder! Annette clears the path.

After over an hour of hiking (thankfully mostly downhill), we made it back to Tung Chung, where we stopped at the Tung Chung Fort, which was built in 1817 to defend against pirates and opium traders.



Tung Chung Fort

Honeymoon in Alaska

It has been a few months since our honeymoon in Alaska but we wanted to tell everyone what a great time we had in the 49th state.
The day after our wonderful wedding we departed Houston for Anchorage. We arrived late, so we didn’t get to do much sightseeing the first day.



aaaahh!

After sleeping late the following morning, we headed out to see some sights on our way to Whittier, where the cruise terminal is located.

But first we had to make one quick pit stop at the Anchorage Wal-Mart, which has the biggest selection of Alaska souvenirs on the planet. Caps, shirts, moose dropping earrings, ulu knives.. you name it, they have it. (To those of you reading this who got a gift upon our return.. we bought your gift from a local craftsman in the Alaskan wilderness. Er, right.)

So, after the serious business of souvenir shopping was over, we continued down the scenic Alaskan highway, stopping a couple times to take short hikes and view wildlife. One place where we got to see many of the big Alaskan animals was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a non-profit organization that rescues injured animals. There we saw bears, elk, moose, and more.

The next stop was the town of Whittier, where our ship was docked. Upon arrival we dropped of the rental car and boarded the Princess Dawn. We waved bon voyage to Whittier and stopped by the buffet before calling it an evening.


Moose at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Elk at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Wilderness south of Anchorage

During the next two days our cruise took us to College Fjord, which is home to 16 glaciers named after Ivy League Colleges, and Glacier Bay, which is home to massive glaciers and a plethora of sea life. Annette was particularly excited when we got to see puffins. Did you know that a group of puffins is called an improbability? This is what the onboard naturalist told us. Apparently it is true. In Glacier Bay the captain parked the ship a couple hundred yards away from a glacial wall so we could all watch and wait for the glacier to calve. Unfortunately while we were there we didn’t see any major ones.. only a few ice cubes plopping into the water below. As we continued southward we did get to see the first of many humpback whales. We were often close enough to the shoreline to see black bears foraging on the beaches.


College Fjord

Annette whale watching

Did we mention it gets cold in Alaska?

Glacier Bay

Day 4 brought our first stop in the town of Skagway. Annette and I decided to pass on the organized tours and instead took a walking tour of town and the neighboring wilderness. We were rewarded with beautiful views of waterfalls and the bay, and streams full of red and brown salmon swimming upstream to their breeding grounds.


Skagway

Skagway

Waterfall near Skagway

Hiking near Skagway

Beach near Skagway

Our ship

Our next stop was Juneau, the capital of Alaska, where we took a tour to the Mendenhall glacier and learned more about how glaciers form. We found out that many of the glaciers in Alaska (including Mendenhall glacier) are receding, while others are actually advancing.

Next we departed for a whale watching tour in the waters around Juneau. At first the whales eluded us, but we enjoyed the chance to see bald eagles and harbor seals. Finally the captain found a pod of humpback whales and we were able to watch them feeding in the bay. Later, back on the big ship, we decided to jump in the hot tub and watch the world go by.


Mendenhall Glacier

Whale watching outise of Juneau

On day 6 we arrived in Ketchikan (future home of the $200 million ‘bridge to nowhere’), where we had a real adventure in store – sea Kayaking! Annette was a bit apprehensive at first, but I promised that I would not tip over our two-person kayak. After all, the water is a bit chilly in Alaska. Once we arrived at the outfitter, we suited up in rain gear and life jackets and boarded an inflatable boat that took us to a remote island in the Tatoosh wilderness. There we were given some brief instructions before we squeezed into our kayak and set off. The waters were mostly calm as we paddled around the small wooded islands. There were many bald eagles nesting in the tall pine trees. Below us we could see brightly colored starfish. One of the tour guides retrieved a starfish for us to examine more closely. On our way back to our home beach we were visited by dolphins that were feeding around us. We never tipped over, but Annette did accuse me of making her do all the paddling. Not true! The inflatable boat ride back was even more fun since the seas and wind had risen a bit while we were kayaking. We were forced to huddle up as sea spray and cold winds battered us all the way back. Ok, so Annette did not think it was that fun, but to me it was a true Alaskan experience.

Back in Ketchikan, we toured the town and visited the Totem Heritage Center, which preserves totem poles and educated visitors about their history.


Getting ready to kayak near Ketchikan

Wes has a Starfish

Annette - pro kayaker

Totem Heritage Center

Who is scarier?

That evening, back on the Dawn, we dressed up for the second formal night. This was also the evening that the ship’s staff set up a ‘champagne waterfall’ by stacking hundred of glasses in a pyramid configuration. Then they poured champagne into the top glass so that it would cascade into the glasses below. Annette thought it looked like fun so she decided to take part by pouring some champagne with the help of the head maitre d’.

I suppose I should also mention some of the entertainment offered on board – each night there was a Broadway-type show put on by the ship’s entertainment team. These were about what you would expect from a cruise ship but were adequately amusing. One evening we attended a magic show and I got to take part in the juggling act. Annette was so proud. The art auctions were also a big draw. We did not buy anything but we did find it entertaining to see which passengers were willing to spend large sums of money on some of the tackier pieces, for example a painting of a green olive snow skiing.


Champagne Waterfall

Cruising the inside passage

On our final full day aboard the ship we sat on the deck and enjoyed views of the inside passage. We were again rewarded with humpback whale sightings, and also several killer whales. The day was capped with a beautiful Alaskan sunset.

The next morning we arrived in Vancouver Canada. After disembarking we had time to tour downtown and Stanley park before heading to the Airport.

Alaska exceeded our expectations; we greatly enjoyed the cool weather, beautiful scenery and wildlife. It is definitely on our to-do-again list.


Annette makes friends with the wildlife

Welcome to our adventures!!

We have put this blog together to keep our friends and family updated on where we have been and the fun and interesting things we have seen. We will also be giving updates on our new life here in Hong Kong. Things are great so far!! Keep reading...we will be starting from the beginning.

Wes and Annette