It was a big contrast to go from Burma to Hong Kong. We enjoyed Burma but we were excited to go back to a big city. Hong Kong was delightfully decorated for the holidays.
It was our first time to visit Hong Kong so we went to the Hong Kong History museum to learn about it. The museum had great cultural displays that showed what markets were like and explained about festivals.
We rode the Star Ferry to Hong Kong island. The air quality was poor, hence the grey sky.
IM Pei designed the Bank of China Tower. The building is said to resemble bamboo shoots growing, but we didn't really see that, instead we just enjoyed the unusual shape.
We stayed on the 73rd floor of this hotel.
Here's the view from our window. We were surprised how many hills are in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is known for having great food, and we were not disappointed. We ate dim sum most mornings for brunch.
We waited over an hour to eat at One Dim Sum, but didn't think it was better than a shop near our hotel.
It was surprisingly quiet inside the tiny restaurant.
We celebrated our wedding anniversary at Duddells.
The fried lobster was fantastic!
We celebrated Kristina's birthday at Oyster Station. We had four types of oysters, including our favorite kumamotos. Can you see Kristina salivating at the sight of these oysters?
We also enjoyed these spot prawns. After we finished the bodies, the waiter took the heads back to the kitchen to have them fried for us. They were delicious.
Our friend Pat sent us a review of Yardbird, a Japanese style yakitori that specializes in chicken. Yardbird is a great restaurant that makes their own pickles and sake.
We loved the silken chicken liver mousse on toasts.
This is their take on a Caesar salad. It had shredded nori (seaweed) on top.
One of Yardbird's specialty dishes is KFC, Korean fried cauliflower. It tastes like chicken!
We celebrated New Year's eve at Ronin, a Japanese seafood restaurant. This photo shows the bar where we ate; they don't have tables.
This meal was one of our best all year, with 14 courses on the tasting menu. These are sardines topped with pickled eggplant.
This is a sashimi sampler, and the most unusual fish was the mackerel (at the bottom right of the photo) which tasted smoked but wasn't cooked.
We loved this katsuo bonito sashimi salad.
The flower crab shell held crab and sea urchin that melted in our mouths.
These tiny crabs, served with a yuzu citrus sauce, were a surprise offering from the chef.
As midnight approached, the bartender poured sake for all the customers and staff.
We enjoyed talking with these three people who sat next to us.
Happy new year!
Because Hong Kong was the final stop of our trip, we spent time reflecting on our experiences and remembering our favorites.
During 2013 we visited 14 countries: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, China, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. Here's a favorite flower photo taken at the Singapore orchid garden.
Our trip was 347 days. Here's a favorite photo of a Balinese butterfly.
We spent 33 days on meditation retreats, which was 10% of our time. Shown here is the Haeinsa temple gate in South Korea.
The longest time we spent in one country was 52 days in Indonesia, with 38 days in Bali and 14 days in Java.
We followed the best weather around Asia, taking 41 airplane flights.
Some of our favorite memories of the trip are the times we traveled with family and friends! We had fun with Kristina's folks, Patty and Bill, in Japan. It was awesome cycling with Ken in Kyushu. Exploring Laos, Cambodia and Thailand with Cynthia was amazing. And we loved eating and chillaxing with Paul and Julie in Thailand.
Best sunrises were at Borobodur temple and on Mt Merapi. Both are in Java, Indonesia.
Our favorite meals ended up being Japanese, with many courses of small, exquisite dishes. Two were in Japan at Roan Kikunoi in Kyoto (photo is of sashimi served in a "bird cage") and Kirishima Onsen in Kyushu (where all the courses were served together). The other two were Sushi Tour in Taipei (the chef is using a blow torch to sear some squid) and Ronin in Hong Kong.
The most delicious individual dishes we ate were chili crab in Singapore, braised pork belly in Taipei, dried beef in Hanoi, ginger fish in Bangkok, and smoked duck in South Korea.
Physically we were most challenged by climbing Mt Merapi, an active volcano on Java, and trying to learn to surf in Bali.
Best hotels we stayed at were the Hitayoshi Ryokan (a Japanese national treasure), and the Oakwood in Hangzhou, China that had the best pool and other accoutrements.
We visited so many interesting cities that it's hard to limit ourselves to just five favorites: Bangkok, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei. This photo is Osaka from the Umeda Sky Building.
The most interesting modern art was in Fort Kochi, India at the Biennale, including this piece in the bay by Rigo 23.
Our best hike was at Mt Palgong in South Korea. The trails were gorgeous.
Favorite holidays were Songkran and Loy Krathong in Chiang Mai Thailand, and the Seoul Lantern Festival.
We rode bikes in 8 countries, with multiple days of riding in 5 countries: India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan and Burma.
Total miles cycled was over 1,700 miles.
Our favorite scuba dive was at Richelieu Rock in the Thai Similan Islands.
The best sunsets were in Halong Bay, Vietnam; in Kuta, Bali, and over the Irrawaddy River in Bagan, Burma.
Wow, what a trip! We are so happy to share our 2013 travel adventures through our blog. Thanks for reading.
It was our first time to visit Hong Kong so we went to the Hong Kong History museum to learn about it. The museum had great cultural displays that showed what markets were like and explained about festivals.
We rode the Star Ferry to Hong Kong island. The air quality was poor, hence the grey sky.
IM Pei designed the Bank of China Tower. The building is said to resemble bamboo shoots growing, but we didn't really see that, instead we just enjoyed the unusual shape.
We stayed on the 73rd floor of this hotel.
Here's the view from our window. We were surprised how many hills are in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is known for having great food, and we were not disappointed. We ate dim sum most mornings for brunch.
We waited over an hour to eat at One Dim Sum, but didn't think it was better than a shop near our hotel.
It was surprisingly quiet inside the tiny restaurant.
We celebrated our wedding anniversary at Duddells.
The fried lobster was fantastic!
We celebrated Kristina's birthday at Oyster Station. We had four types of oysters, including our favorite kumamotos. Can you see Kristina salivating at the sight of these oysters?
We also enjoyed these spot prawns. After we finished the bodies, the waiter took the heads back to the kitchen to have them fried for us. They were delicious.
Our friend Pat sent us a review of Yardbird, a Japanese style yakitori that specializes in chicken. Yardbird is a great restaurant that makes their own pickles and sake.
We loved the silken chicken liver mousse on toasts.
This is their take on a Caesar salad. It had shredded nori (seaweed) on top.
One of Yardbird's specialty dishes is KFC, Korean fried cauliflower. It tastes like chicken!
We celebrated New Year's eve at Ronin, a Japanese seafood restaurant. This photo shows the bar where we ate; they don't have tables.
This meal was one of our best all year, with 14 courses on the tasting menu. These are sardines topped with pickled eggplant.
This is a sashimi sampler, and the most unusual fish was the mackerel (at the bottom right of the photo) which tasted smoked but wasn't cooked.
We loved this katsuo bonito sashimi salad.
The flower crab shell held crab and sea urchin that melted in our mouths.
These tiny crabs, served with a yuzu citrus sauce, were a surprise offering from the chef.
As midnight approached, the bartender poured sake for all the customers and staff.
We enjoyed talking with these three people who sat next to us.
Happy new year!
Because Hong Kong was the final stop of our trip, we spent time reflecting on our experiences and remembering our favorites.
During 2013 we visited 14 countries: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, China, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. Here's a favorite flower photo taken at the Singapore orchid garden.
Our trip was 347 days. Here's a favorite photo of a Balinese butterfly.
We spent 33 days on meditation retreats, which was 10% of our time. Shown here is the Haeinsa temple gate in South Korea.
The longest time we spent in one country was 52 days in Indonesia, with 38 days in Bali and 14 days in Java.
We followed the best weather around Asia, taking 41 airplane flights.
Some of our favorite memories of the trip are the times we traveled with family and friends! We had fun with Kristina's folks, Patty and Bill, in Japan. It was awesome cycling with Ken in Kyushu. Exploring Laos, Cambodia and Thailand with Cynthia was amazing. And we loved eating and chillaxing with Paul and Julie in Thailand.
Best sunrises were at Borobodur temple and on Mt Merapi. Both are in Java, Indonesia.
Our favorite meals ended up being Japanese, with many courses of small, exquisite dishes. Two were in Japan at Roan Kikunoi in Kyoto (photo is of sashimi served in a "bird cage") and Kirishima Onsen in Kyushu (where all the courses were served together). The other two were Sushi Tour in Taipei (the chef is using a blow torch to sear some squid) and Ronin in Hong Kong.
The most delicious individual dishes we ate were chili crab in Singapore, braised pork belly in Taipei, dried beef in Hanoi, ginger fish in Bangkok, and smoked duck in South Korea.
Physically we were most challenged by climbing Mt Merapi, an active volcano on Java, and trying to learn to surf in Bali.
Best hotels we stayed at were the Hitayoshi Ryokan (a Japanese national treasure), and the Oakwood in Hangzhou, China that had the best pool and other accoutrements.
We visited so many interesting cities that it's hard to limit ourselves to just five favorites: Bangkok, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei. This photo is Osaka from the Umeda Sky Building.
The most interesting modern art was in Fort Kochi, India at the Biennale, including this piece in the bay by Rigo 23.
Our best hike was at Mt Palgong in South Korea. The trails were gorgeous.
Favorite holidays were Songkran and Loy Krathong in Chiang Mai Thailand, and the Seoul Lantern Festival.
We rode bikes in 8 countries, with multiple days of riding in 5 countries: India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan and Burma.
Total miles cycled was over 1,700 miles.
Our favorite scuba dive was at Richelieu Rock in the Thai Similan Islands.
The best sunsets were in Halong Bay, Vietnam; in Kuta, Bali, and over the Irrawaddy River in Bagan, Burma.
Wow, what a trip! We are so happy to share our 2013 travel adventures through our blog. Thanks for reading.
