Hong Kong

I made this trip to be the medical escort of a returning overseas worker to the Philippines after she suffered a stroke and was admitted to the hospital in HK for 5 months. Good thing quality medical service is readily available. The daily fee is only about $10 in a goverment hospital which is very clean and doesnt have that smell we associate with hospitals in the Phils.

 

A meeting was set in Majesty Restaurant on Queen's Road with OWWA representative Ms. Rea Estrada, by the way she's single and rich, attn. Julius. Dinner was sponsored by another very rich lady Ms. Madina Cerbo, to my far left, much thanks to you and President Wilma Padura and officials of the Hk Assn. whatever is the official name i cant recall right now. A dinner like this will cost you about $150. I'm talking U.S. not HK dollars. But an ordinary meal in Fairwood or Cafe de Coral which are ubiquitous chinese fastfood restaurants will set you back only about $4. 

CITYGATE FACTORY OUTLETS

You can find many high-end brands with factory outlets in this place. Ride the MTR to tung chung then take exit C. The prices may be cheap but the merchandise is not really up to par. The quality is not as good as those found in the regular stores, not like the factory outlets in ashford, england where the merchandise is of very good quality.

 

 

JUMBO FLOATING RESTAURANT

This restaurant is very popular among tourists, the locals almost never go here. To come here, ride a bus to aberdeen then disembark near the mall. There is a free boat shuttle to the restaurant near the mall.  I actually thought it was a boat that was converted to a restaurant but it's actually a concrete structure in the water. It looks more beautiful at night when the lights go on.

 

The food is quite expensive, almost a hundred dollars for these, fortunately i have a rich friend who paid for it, Neveh Casis.

 

You can have your picture taken as a chinese emperor for $6.

Uluwato Temple, Bali

 Uluwato Temple is a Hindu temple set on a cliff bank and overlooking the Indian Ocean. It's quite near Jimbaran Bay so you could schedule a  seafood dinner after a tour of this temple. There is a nominal entrance which includes a kecak dance performance.

 You have to climb a small wall to get this view of the cliffs. Together with my Indonesian friends Yosua, Inez and Teqyu.

You have to wear a sarong before you could come inside if you are wearing shorts.

Vinpearl, Nha Trang

Vinpearl is an Amusement Park in Nha Trang with the world's longest cable above the sea. Entrance fee is $30 to $40. Rent a scooter because its cheaper and if you come back late, taxis may be difficult to find.

I insist on riding alone...

Bad idea.

Not too many people come here or probably the place is just too large. some rides are deserted, plus we came on a weekday. There are actually many people at the beach area. The photo above is the shopping area.

You can watch a short 3d movie but the experience pales in comparison to the one in the London Eye.
The pillars of the cable car light up like the Eiffel Tower at night.

 

DIVING IN AMED

Public transport in Bali is rare. Taxis are available and the drivers are worse than in the Philippines. Taxis are equipped with meters but they dont want to use it, instead they want to charge a fixed price. You remember the way it was in Iloilo before they had meters installed in taxis? Its like that, only worse. Almost everyone owns a scooter so a public bus is not a good business. Public transport would not be an issue if you stay in Kuta or Ubud, but we stayed in Nusa Dua which is an hour away from Ubud. I joined some indonesians, Teqyu and Yosua and their friend from Papua, we rented a van for 2 days, rent: $80/day. You can go anywhere in Bali for the whole day. Gas is included in the fee. 

Teqyu suggested we go snorkelling in Amed which was recommended by his friends. Of course i was excited expecting to see very beautiful views. When we finally arrived after about more than an  hour of travel, my sister and i just laughed off our disappointmment. We expected to see some kind of Boracay island, fine white sand and resorts, but what we found was black sand in a sleepy fishing village hahaha. What are we going to do here, we asked each other. We decide to enjoy anyway. She had a massage with Suez by the beach and i went snorkelling with Teqyu and Yosua. The underwater scenery was beautiful with well preserved corals unlike in Boracay where all the corals are dead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

UBUD MONKEY FOREST

The Ubud Monkey Forest is a nature reserve and temple complex which you can enter by paying a minimal fee. The macaques roam freely and are not afraid of humans. Hold a fruit and a bunch of monkeys will chase you and climb you.

 

Meet Mymy and Fergie

 

 

 

 

 I put a rambutan on Suez's shoulder and signaled the biggest monkey to get it, surprisingly it understood and chased the very scared Suez and made me laugh so hard there were tears in my eyes. Although Suez does not speak english we still managed to laugh a lot, or rather i did.