I had a chance to be a passenger on a motorbike today and it was as fun as I expected. The breeze going through my hair felt so wonderful.
The motorbikes are made for two but Vietnamese families make the most with what they have. Three or four on a motorbike is not uncommon.
The next leg of our trip is 3 days in Hanoi. We had originally planned on going to Sapa but the rain, distance, and fatigue deterred us. Everyone says that Sapa is a must-see for Vietnam and we’ll have to make it a priority for our next Vietnam trip. Henry has family in Hanoi and it has been so much fun eating and seeing the city with all of our “tour guides.” So far, our days have been filled with eating and drinking coffee so here are some photos of the wonderful food we’ve been eating.
Some sort of breakfast pho
Ladies preparing some sort of breakfast noodle
Delicious Bun Cha
Chim Chim: Fried pigeon
Some soup that was served before the pigeon
Beefsteak Restaurant – Go way down through the alley to find it
Beefsteak
Cha Ca Thang Long: Vietnamese Tumeric Fish with Dill
Breakfast pho at the hotel we’re staying at
Porridge from restaurant owned by Henry’s cousin’s wife’s family
Banh Tom: Fried Shrimp Cake
Yogurt Cacao? Not too sure about the name but it’s basically a glass with ice at the bottom, yogurt cubes on top and lots of cocoa powder poured over it. You have to smash it down to make it into a a beverage.
View at cafe overlooking Hanoi (and Ho Kiem Lake)
I’ve never seen HK as a good destination for sightseeing or shopping. The best part of it, for me, has always been the Octopus Card. It is a must-have when in HK, even if you’re only going to be there for 24 hours. The simple explanation is that it is a smart card that you preload with value (initial purchase costs 150HKD and includes 100HKD of deposit) and can be used to pay for public transportation. I know, that didn’t sound impressive at all.
The Incredible Octopus Card
But wait! Not only is it contactless (which means that you don’t have to take it out of your wallet every time you need to use it), but it can be used everywhere in HK. Any sort of public transportation (bus, MTR, minibus, tram, ferry, etc) accepts it and you can save a ton of time using the Octopus Card rather than buying tickets for each individual trip. It is also accepted at the majority of convenience stores, grocery stores, bakeries, fast food and casual restaurants, vending machines, parking meters and other merchants throughout the city.
Octopus Fast Food
Octopus Vending Machine
Self-serve Newstand
Let’s face it. You don’t want to carry around coins smaller than 1 HKD that paying for buses and food/beverages could require. You also don’t have exact change all the time for buses and trams. And really, no one living the fast-paced HK lifestyle wants to wait for people in front of them at the convenience store or fast food reastaurant to dig into their wallets to find cash. Octopus is the best way to go and you can get a refund for any unused amounts; there is a 9HKD return fee but the convenience of having the card far outweighs this slight “donation” to Hong Kong. I would say 80% of our transactions during our two day stay in HK could have been paid for using an Octopus card.
I interned and studied abroad in Hong Kong when I was in college but Henry’s HK experiences have been far more limited. It wasn’t initially a part of our itinerary and was added when we found out that direct flights from Shanghai to Hanoi were ~$500/person while flights going through HK were ~$300/person. I was a bit worried about our airline, Hong Kong Airlines, because I had never heard of them before. However, the planes ended up being very new and modern. The only thing is that the airline doesn’t have gates at the HK airport so you have to take one of those buses from the plane to the terminal.
Walking down from our plane to the bus at HKG
HK is an expensive city and we tried to cut down on our expenses by spending one of the two nights in Shenzhen, just across the border in China and accessible by the MTR. We tried the Water Cube (SLF) Spa across the Lok Ma Chau station. It was a slight hassle to go through HK and Chinese immigration a couple of times but it was an excellent value. My cousin helped us purchase Dianping vouchers for discounted massages. For ~350 yuan ($55) including tip, the two of us each got a 90 minute Thai massage in a private massage room and were able to sleep in the room overnight after the massage. There were also free fruits and ice cream in the main floor area. There are a ton of these large “massage palaces” in Shenzhen and since they’re all open 24/7, they experience a high level of wear and tear. Although Water Cube is certainly one of the newest large scale spas, it’s really showing the wear and I was disappointed by its condition.
Back in Hong Kong, we saw Victoria Peak, Big Buddha, Symphony of Lights and various markets on Hong Kong island and in Kowloon and rode on pretty much every single form of transportation (except the taxi): double decker bus, minibus, MTR, HK tramway, Star Ferry, Peak Tram, Mid-level Escalators, and Airport Express train. We had planned on doing the Dragon’s Back trail on HK island but the weather was looking gloomy so we tabled that for next time.
Some guy with a grasshopper on his head looking at birds at the HK Zoological and Botanical Gardens
One of the many markets around Mongkok
View from Victoria Peak
For our 1 night in HK, we stayed at the newly opened Ibis Sheung Wan and Central. HK hotels are insanely expensive and this hotel was the only one I could find for <$150 (cancellable rate), within 10 minute walking distance to a convenient MTR station, and at least 3 stars (I’m definitely too old for a hostel). The hotel was sterile and the room was small, as expected. It was clean and included a free buffet breakfast that looked quite tasty. But since we had limited time in HK, we weren’t going to waste one of our meals on a hotel breakfast.
We had breakfast dim sum at the famous Luk Yu Teahouse. It was 7am in the morning and the other diners were all regulars so it was a good sign. Unfortunately, the dim sum turned out to be average at best and very expensive. I can think of half a dozen dim sum places in the SGV with better food and for half the price. We also tried the HK Station branch of Tim Ho Wan, a 1-Michelin star budget dim sum restaurant, and since the wait was very long at lunch time, we ordered food for “takeaway.” Their famous pork buns were delicious and so were the har gow we ordered. It’s certainly a step up on terms of quality and value from Luk Yu but again, it didn’t blow the SGV out of the water.
Ngong Ping 360 cable car ride from Tung Chung to Big Buddha. The guy sitting across from me couldn’t keep his hands off his gf. The pda was a little too much for me.
Little Jade Buddha (gift from my grandpa) meets Bronze Big Buddha
Big Buddha
On our last full day in Shanghai, we went to the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) Observatory to get a panoramic view of the city. Back in the late 90s, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower was the spot to get the best views of the city. A few years later, the JinMao Tower was constructed and all of the tourists left the Pearl to go to the taller JinMao Tower. After the 101-story SWFC was completed in 2008, it was become the go-to observatory in Pudong. We tried, unsuccessfully, to purchase a Dianping voucher (similar to Groupon) so we ended up paying full price to visit the observatory. 300 yuan (~48) for two is really pricey but any visitor to China will tell you that all tourist attractions in China are insanely expensive. In fact, when my aunt came to visit the US earlier this year, she was shocked by the number of free attractions and the modest fees of the ones that did charge. The SWFC is currently the tallest building in China but it will soon be surpassed by the Shanghai Tower upon its completion in 2014 and presumably the tourists will move onto the Shanghai Tower for its observatory as well.
(from L to R) SWFC, JinMao Tower, and uncompleted Shanghai Tower
View of Shanghai on a hazy day from SWFC. Pagoda-like building in foreground is JinMao Tower, TV tower near river is Oriental Pearl.
Model of Shanghai City. Puxi in the foreground and Pudong in the background on the other side of the river.
We also made a quick stop to the Oriental Pearl, not for its observatory but for the Shanghai History Museum in its basement. It provided an excellent overview of Shanghai’s economic development and the impact of Western countries during the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum consisted of mainly models of streets, businesses and residences and was very interactive. It was definitely worth the 35 yuan we paid to get in.
Model of Old Shanghai Teahouse
Even though I’ve been to Shanghai plenty of times, I always try to check out new areas with each trip. This time around, I planned a long daytrip to Fengjing Water Town, Jinshan Peasants Painting Village, Thames Town and Chedun Film Studios, four attractions SW of Shanghai. I found a car and driver on the internet to take us around. Lee drove a new red Passat and offered the best all inclusive rate (tolls, parking, gas, wait time) but was terribly slow and never went over 2,000 RPMs in order to save gas and maximize his profit. It was certainly frustrating but at least we were able to see everything we wanted.
Our first stop was Fengjing Water Town, one of a dozen or so “Venice of China” near Shanghai. The ticket was inexpensive compared to some of the more established water towns like Zhujiajiao, Wuzhen, and Zhouzhuang. I visited Xitang (whose claim to fame is being in Mission Impossible 3, but did anyone actually watch that movie?) the last time I was in China and it was far more impressive than Fengjing. If you’re interested in visiting Fengjing, my tip is to skip the main gate where you buy tickets and explore the old town on your own. The town is accessible without buying a ticket and individual “attractions” can be paid for on the spot. If you’re determined to buy an entry ticket, make sure to bring your student ID (we all have one from some school years ago, don’t we?) and get 50% off here and pretty much anywhere in China. Grandma liked Fengjing more than us as it was home to quite a few famous Chinese painters that she and Grandpa were friends with.
Henry and I were a bit bored but we did enjoy drinking tea on a balcony overlooking the canal. The teahouse even had a bird that could say “NiHao.”
A nice peaceful canal in Fengjing
Bridge and canal in Fengjing
This garden in Fengjing is one of the paid attractions (included in the main ticket or can be purchased separately). The garden is built in the typical style of the region.
Next on the agenda was the nearby Jinshan Peasant Painting Village where farmers have given up farming and have become peasant painters. The peasant painting style focuses on rural scenes through the use of bold vibrant colors and joyful characters.
Peasant painters sell their art to the public
Jinshan Peasants Painting Village
After a quick lamian (handpulled noodle soup) lunch stop, we moved onto Thames Town. Thames Town was constructed in 2006 as one of 9 new satellite towns of Shanghai. The English-style town features homes and a commercial area and while the homes were sold rapidly, they were purchased as investment properties or vacation homes and actual population in the area is very low. Although it is a virtual ghost town at night, it is very popular during the day time as a backdrop for wedding photos. Aside from a few cafes and restaurants, almost all of the retail space has been leased to wedding photography studios. From a commercial real estate banker perspective, this town (and so many other developments in China) is a failure and would have a hard time obtaining construction financing in the US. But as a tourist, it was quite entertaining.
Wedding photo central
More couples taking wedding photos
More wedding photos
Our final stop of the day was the Chedun Film Studios, kind of like the Universal Studios of Shanghai but far lower-tech and without all of the rides. The streets and sets were constructed in the old Shanghai style (prior to the “Liberation”) and there was even an operating cable car that we were able to ride.
My 360 didn’t match perfectly but this is Old Nanjing Road at Chedun Film Studios
Old Shanghai street at Chedun Film Studios
Old Shanghai Commercial Street
Old Shanghai Street Car
Adventures of Yi 