San Francisco

We had a one night stop over in San Francisco. This was our 4th time here and we felt no need to rush around the usual sight seeing stops. I had difficulty booking a hotel in the city here. I found out it was due to a huge conference for Oracle (software/ hardware corp). Apparently there are 50,000 delegates here for it. Thats alot of hotel rooms! We have ended up at a small place we have stayed in before, but it is getting a bit tired now so wouldnt rush back. It is however very convenient to all we wanted to do.

After checking into the hotel, showered and headed out for an afternoon stroll. This is the parking inspectors vehicle.

We went in the vague direction of to the waterfront and Embarcadero area. Passing Chinatown and down through the Financial district. It was not too busy and we enjoyed the old and new architecture.

The waterfront is where the local ferries were leaving from. The market was not quite what I expected. Interesting for sure but not quite like the markets food markets in Melb which is what I was expecting. This was a combo of food and local crafts. There was a wine bar which we stopped in for a sip. We had also spotted an oyser bar and figured we would have a second glass there with some oysters. By the time we got there, the after work folk had arrived. There was a queue of about 50 ppl waiting for a spot at the bar or one of the outside tables. We didnt bother waiting.

We went back to a lovely looking restaurant we had spotted earlier. Delicious octopus carpaccio with chorizo, poached pear & rocket salad, salami & prawn pizza... By the end of the meal, Marks eyes were literally glazing over and closing. We were finished, back to the hotel and in bed by 8pm. Exhausted but happy to have stayed awake until a fairly civilised hour.

The morning was breakfast at a local deli before a cab to airport for our flights to Salt Lake City, via LA.

Is this the meeting place for all lost Marks? And finally we looked up the weather for the next few days in Yellowstone... its looking mighty chilly!!

And finally an update on my 'aches'.. im feeling pretty good after a couple of days of walking. My ribs on my right side hurt when I cough and there is a general dull ache on my right side. All in all... Im ok with that.

The Joys of Flying....

We enjoyed an easy flight to Auckland. We got upgraded to pod chair seats... very roomy and comfy. As for the flight Auckland – San Fran, not so roomy and comfy. We had a family with 2 young kids under 3, in the row in front of us. After hours of babies crying they finally settled to sleep. I managed to doze a little. When I opened my eyes, I noted the Mum of the kids had come around to the aisle next to her husband. He was nursing the sleeping baby in his arms. I then saw his wife ’collapse’ to the floor in the aisle. He was trying to help her up but alas she was unconscious. I said over his shoulder, I would help. In my eagerness to help it seemed to take me ages to get out of my tangle of seat belt, remote control and glasses hooked on my top. He was trying to stand and press the call button all at once. All still with sleeping babe in arms. I offered to take the baby while he sorted his wife out. The staff came quickly and were great. They carried her unconscious body to the space in the emergency exit area. Within a minute there were 3 staff and they had oxygen on her etc. They handled the situation very well. Well I was quite enjoying nursing this lovely little poppet. Mark then woke to find me next to him holding a baby. An unexpected image for sure. The dad came back to ask could I also watch the sleeping 3 yr old lying on the seats in front. No worries I said... as most the passengers around us were sleeping through the drama. Well after about 10 mins the 3 yr old woke up. So I handed the baby to Mark and attend to the waking child. She was not so happy to wake up with no sight of her family and in a darkened plane. I tried talking to her and offered to take her to her Mummy and Daddy.... this just helped her cry!!! Finally I got the Dads attention, as they were sitting the Mother up. He came to collect the 3 yr old and it was just Mark & I with the baby. Eventually all settled down, the unwell woman was up and settled back in her seat and regretfully we had to give the baby back. They were very grateful for the help and the Mum thanked us 3 times over an hour. The temperature in the plane was very hot. I’m usually cold on a plane but even I was peeling layers off. I don’t think the heat helped her. Miss you all already... xD FYI - believe it or not, I am posting this at 31,000 feet whilst on a Delta flight. On board wi-fi. How civilised is that!!!!

USA / Canada ... Nearly didn't make it....

Well I had a close call this morning. I hadn't even made it to the driveway and I slipped and fell quite hard onto my elbow and hip. Was nearly under my car! I feel quite jarred but let me assure you.... it took me less than 3 seconds to assess the damage and confirm I would be fine to fly! Fingers crossed thats the most damage we get.

HK - in retrospect

Well I'm only 6 months late... but I would like to add a few images from our last trip to Hong Kong. I was too busy at the time, having fun, to post while we were there. On the night the Rugby 7's finished, Mark's parents John & Jan arrived for a few days with us in Hong Kong. It was a treat to have this time away with them. This is their first morning stroll not far from our hotel.

Mark has always been fascinated with the amount of stock the little stores there hold. He sent John in onto this hardware store pretext of finding a philips head screwdriver. He had luck within about 4 mins.

We headed over to the mainland from HK island to Mongkok. Besides the usual street markets selling clothes, handbags etc, we also went to the morning food markets. This one even had a stall selling frogs for eating.

Not too far from Mongkok was the Chi Lin Nunnery and Monastery with the Nan Lian Gardens. I had always been keen to see them and had not managed it on previous visits. The buildings were reconstructed around 1990 having been damaged by fire. The craftsmanship of the timber was incredible. There were no screws or nails. Just interlocking timber pieces.

The gardens were quite extensive and very beautiful. We ate lunch in a restaurant that was situated under a waterfall.

We went to Macau again as J & J hadn't been before. It was good to have had the few days there earlier so we knew the lay of the land. One of the foyers in the Venetian hotel. Can you spot Mark, J & J on the balcony?

Jan is a fan of Venice and gondolas. I may have 'pressured' them into this ride, but I know they enjoyed it in the end.

Then it was time for a drink. So we headed to the Ritz Carlton bar. Its located on the 102nd floor of the ICC building. We did a big launch there for work in 2007 so I was quite familiar with the precinct. The hotel itself occupies the top 20 or so floors and the bars have the most incredible views over Victoria Harbour to HK island.

On our last day we went to check our the view from The Peak, which is on HK island and just above our hotel.

Mark & I headed out one night for a late night drink in Lan Kwai Fong. We were watching the passing parade and discussing the joys of traveling and how we wanted to see as much while we could. The bar we were at put out this sign around 11:30pm. With a couple of drinks under our belt we firstly read it as Seniors hour. So Mark jumped up for a photo, only to realise later that it didn't read Seniors after all.

Hong Kong Rugby 7's

The main reason for our trip to Hong Kong was to attend the Hong Kong Rugby Seven’s tournament. This event had about 20 nations playing seven aside for seven minute halves. The football action was fabulous but the entertainment from the crowd was simply amazing.

On the Friday night launch my mate Neil and I found our way by mistake into the southern stand and we sat next to the funniest bunch of guys from the USA, UK, Aussie and Hong Kong....well could these guys tell a joke...one was so good I will need to practice and hopefully do it justice when I am next around ”the boys”. It was a bloody funny night.

We found ourselves back at the same location at opening time Saturday, alas the funny guys were nowhere to be seen, however we discovered that Saturday was dress up in your best costume day....and they all sat in the southern stand around us. We saw, bikie’s with stocking painted tattoos on their arms and legs making them look real mean, Marilyn Monroe’s, Fire Chiefs, Amy Winehouse (girls with makeup tattoos all over them), Matty Johns ”bring back the biff” boys, Amish people, Star Wars characters, cowboys, Indians, the hulk, you name it and it was there. However the most entertaining group was about twelve big guys from South Africa who were dressed in a pink Sharks rugby jersey board shorts and blue construction helmets.

These boys were in for a big day as we would soon find out.....games started at 9.30 and at 9.35 the chant went out from our little area SHOE...SHOE...SHOE...at this point one guy removed his shoe and held it up and pours in his 1 litre cup of beer into his shoe and proceeds to skull the whole shoe filled of beer which he does easily to the crowds delight. No more than 10 -15 minutes goes by and around us we hear the chant HELMET...HELMET...HELMET at which point previous shoe sculling man stands up holds out his blue helmet and people all around him donate beer to his helmet and again once full - proceeds to skull his helmet of beer and then put his helmet back on. Crowd is delighted with his mighty efforts...took me two hours to drink my beer and this guy does it in one minute. I think this guy was the smartest of all his 12 mates because he went first. As the day went on each guy was encouraged shall we say to do the SHOE skull and then followed by the HELMET skull. Each time more and more crowd participation in voice and beer donating. I don’t think these guys by the end of the day saw any rugby action and in fact I don’t think they would even know they were in Hong Kong....but the crowd sure was glad as Neil and I were as they sat two rows in front of us. I have never laughed so much and seen so many antics at one day at the football...unbelievable fun all day.

Imagine my surprise when reading the paper the next morning. The photo above shows the South African lads and a few others at the football in a news paper story that ran on Sunday in the South China Morning Post...if you look carefully you will see me in the photo!!!!!

That night when Dominique and I were walking back to our hotel room I noticed this car and said to D that it looked like a new Aston Martin sports car.

The grill was a give away but the lights where different, well to my amazement when I got up to the side it was only a two door car about the size of a mini!!!!!

Saturday night we went to a Japanese restaurant being managed by a friend of Neils. He insisted we do sample some high percent vol sake from his cellar. By the time he got to the 60% proof I was asking for only a few drops! It was deadly stuff.

It was above the streets of Lan Kwai Fong. For those who dont know, Lan Kwai Fong is party central in Hong Kong. Particularly for westerners. Here is a shot D took of the street as we were leaving.

There is no limit on drinking outdoors so people just buy a beer and stand in the street and chat. Each tiny bar was pumping out lound music, each competing with each other. Still they were drowned out by the competing chanting of the costumed lads having fun.

The cars are amazing over here this trip....Bentleys and Rolls Royces, Maserati’s everywhere...makes the little old Porsche look very common indeed. Check out this diamante grill and number plate surround on this Mercedes!

Anyway the football was a blast and will do again in the future....better start thinking of my costume ... anyone want to come?

Last day Macau

I was fascinated with the detail carved into the granite door way. This section was raised to support the door so it didn’t scrape on the ground.

A couple of the street signs in the older areas.

Chinese and Portuguese buildings next to each other.

A couple of the staff at our hotel were helpful with tips of local places to see. One suggestion was to go to Vila de Taipa. It was a small residential community opposite the Galaxy hotel. A very cute few streets with trees and public seating areas. We were drawn a mud map to a place that was famous for their ‘Pork Chop buns’.

We had to find the BIG coke bottle (6’ tall) and there was a little shop with a queue out the door. After a 10 min wait we had pork chops, literally still on the bone, lightly seasoned and crumbed in a bread roll. Nothing else.... but very tender and tasty.

Contrasts here...

On our last day we went to the City of Dreams, House of Dancing Waters show. I have been hearing about it since its conception and it was one of the reasons for me wanting to spend time in Macau. It truly was incredible. In a newly built indoor theatre the stage includes a massive pool. It would go from being a deep pool that enabled high divers to dive into it then within a matter of seconds, transformed into a dry stage. At time performers sunk or dived into the water and didn’t come up. Obviously they have sneaky ways to get out and find oxygen. Massive props would rise out of the water... It was like watching an amazing special effects movie, though with little discernible story line to follow!! The performers numbered at least 50 and they spent most of the time wet. There was no language so could be enjoyed by anyone. It is VERY popular with people travelling from far to see it. 2 shows a day, 5 days a week, and close to capacity seating each time. Seating was predominantly in the round.

After the show we had dinner in the Beijing Kitchen again. Excellent food at very reasonable prices. Our pre-ordered Peking Duck being carved at the table. Firstly he carved most the skin off and said not to eat it in the pancakes but to have it separately with sugar sprinkled on it. Was interesting and all of it delicious.

We stayed at the City of Dreams. The site included the Crown, Hard Rock and Grand Hyatt hotels. This is the view from our hotel room across to the Venetian and through to the Galaxy hotel.

The Hard Rock hotel had some memorabilia from different performers. You can see how impressed we were with seeing Elvis' shirt!

Galaxy hotel bar - relaxing in the ‘gorgeous’ chairs for a drink.

Next stop Hong Kong.

Macau - March 2012

Well the Budgen’s are on the go again...this time we are in Macau. We have been here for a few days and have covered many things to see and do and found some out of the way places for local foods as we do so well.

We had a great flight from Melbourne... very easy, pretty good seats and reasonable leg room. We landed in Hong Kong mid afternoon on Monday and took the ferry directly from the HK airport to Macau. Before we knew it we were at our hotel on the southern island of Macau (on the Cotai Strip) and enjoying a nice drink with Laureen who had arrived a couple of hrs earlier.

DAY ONE we headed off, walking through the City of Dreams (where we were staying) and across the road to the Venetian (morning tea was a local delicacy of egg tart – yummy baked custard tart – not too sweet and deliciously warm.

From there we jumped into a cab to the historic Portuguese centre and found it quite fascinating. Amazingly Macau was under Portuguese rule until 1999 and now it is a special administrative region (SAR) of the “People’s Republic of China” (PRC), and like Hong Kong operates as part of the one country but has two systems.

This is the view from the front of the facade below.

Many of the old Portuguese buildings are painted in lovely pastel colours, are very well looked after and are located in the central region on the northern island of Macau.

This facade is St Paul's cathedral which was destoyed by fire in 1835 (?) and they have maintained the facade since then.

Tiled panels in a laneway.

St Dominic's

Senado Square.

So pretty!

We stumbled across a doorway to municapal offices which lead in to this quiet tiled courtyard. Very peaceful for sure....

That night we had drinks in the lobby lounge bar and dinner in the hotels, Beijing Kitchen restaurant. Delicious cuisine from north China region!!

DAY TWO we jumped into a cab and went straight to the southern end of the south island to a region called Coloane Village. We explored the old Portuguese settlements to get a feel for the more traditional Macau and the simple way of life.... we found fascinating old Chinese temples - hundreds of years old. We challenged ourselves to try yet another Lord Stowe’s...... egg tart to ensure they were OK.....I can tell you...they are OK...... (today we have gone from buying one at a time each to now buying a six pack to ensure our stocks don’t run out...they are sooo delicious).

Next was a bus trip to Hac-Sa beach. Recommended as it is apparently famous for its black sand. Well let me assure its no Aussie beach. The black sand just looked like dirty brown to us and the water seemed full of minerals and the little waves rolled in. We were on the lookout for a little restaurant we had heard about called Fernandos. After a short walk past a few beach huts/BBQ’s stalls selling all sorts of BBQ’d items....the only one I could identify was octopus...and I was tempted....but alas lunch was not far away and there is only so much we can eat.

Note the thick layer of ash from the incense!

On searching for the restaurant we navigated around approx 2000 school kids on the beach having bbq lunches before we found our destination at Fernando’s. It was great, huge menu and busy which is always a good sign....we ate whole grilled sea bream, wood fire roasted Portuguese chicken, Macanese fried rice (has chorizo in it) drank sangria and rolled merrily back onto the bus and headed home to recover.

That night we headed back into the south of the north island to visit Wynn and the MGM casino’s....thankfully our hotel concierge wrote where we were going in Chinese so I only needed to give the card to our driver and away we went. The money spent on the casinos is amazing; it must be hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. They just go on and on, they have shopping centres around them with all the name brands, cinemas, restaurants of all types etc.. There are many unique attractions in the front entrances and its a competition as to whose is the best. Every casino has one to two each, from the “Dragon of Fortune”, “Tree of Prosperity” and one that fascinated me was the massive diamond at Galaxy casino which rises out of the crystal swan lined pond with the water fall following it skyward with the ever changing light show and dramatic music. All so tackily fabulous!!!

Tonight we are off to see “The House of Dancing Water” and later I have booked a table at the Beijing Kitchen restaurant (yes again) under the name of Mr Mark,( long story) and have pre-ordered Peking duck.....will let you know how it goes....
We wish you were all here to share this with.... take care
Much love
M&D xx