This morning was an early morning (again, I really need to choose later flights when they are available…) and after having our early breakfast, we finished off packing our bags and checked out of the lovely Holiday Inn to catch a meter taxi back to Suvarnabhumi Airport. The trip there was quite bemusing as our taxi driver must have been on the wrong side of 80 and insisted on making phone calls throughout the trip, laughing hysterically about what was being said by the other person and then relating the hilarity in his not so great English to us.
All checked in for our return flight with Air Asia, we browsed the duty free shops and came to the conclusion, like at Siam Paragon, that Thailand really isn’t the place for cheap brand name items, that is, unless they have been knocked off and serious copyright infringements have been made.
The flight back to Macau wasn't too bad – my heart did skip a beat when, during take off, our pilot decided to drop a couple of feet down about 10secs into the wheels having left the tarmac before realising his/her mistake and then gaining altitude again. Lets just say, emergency exits were sought out and my grip on the hand rest did tighten a fair bit…
Arriving in Macau, we dropped our bags off at left luggage and caught the free shuttle bus to the Venetian Casino where we spent the next 4 hours or so doing what seems to be the number 1 activity of this trip – SHOPPING. If we were disappointed by the sales and variety of clothes on offer in Honkie Tonks, The Shoppes at the Venetian more than made up for it. 70% signs dotted storefronts throughout the centre and the higher Macau Pataca also made things a bit better.
Dinner tonight was some nice Portuguese food, namely a duck baked rice bowl and some chicken curry. We also loaded up on local sweets of Almond Cakes and Peanut Candy. About 6hours into our 12hour layover (why, oh why?!), we gave up on walking around anymore – perhaps more so being vetoed by our feet than anything else and parked our tired asses on a couch in Starbucks and reading, listening to music and writing 4 blog entries to make the time pass by. We still have about 11 hours worth of travelling to get home, as the fantastic people at Viva Macau (*sarcasm*) generously decided to re-route us through Bali, Denpasar again to refuel (*more sarcasm*). Fingers crossed we get home in one piece!
This will be my final blog entry (unless there is something to write about and we have an eventful flight) until August when my European adventure begins – well actually, it's a bit more of a United Kingdom adventure due to the falling Aussie dollar to euro conversion. Until then, there may be a few domestic trips in between, so stay tuned! ☺
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Bangkok, 29/03/09
Our last full day in Bangkok and we had set it aside to join a tour that would take us to an island located about 20kms north of Bangkok, called Koh Kred. This island is renowned for its ceramics and pottery, and for the bargain basement price of 300baht, we were provided with comfortable seats on a tourist boat, an English speaking tour guide and the knowledge that we would be taken to all the places of interest without having to haggle and find our own way.
On the tour, we spoke with a German backpacker who had been travelling on her own for over 2 months (she was doing an internship here in Bangkok) and an English couple who lived permanently in Spain.
Cruising up the Chao Phraya River, we stopped of first at a temple and then next a well-known restaurant that served traditional Thai curries and sweets. An interesting fact about Koh Kred is that whilst it is currently an island, it did not begin this way. In fact, it was part of the mainland but as the need for a canal to widen the Chao Phraya River was needed, this island was separated from the mainland and as the canal got wider and wider, Koh Kred became its own little island. The island is sometimes translated as Koh Kret and is equally populated by Thai locals and Mong people, a group of people who had migrated from Myanmar/Laos, sharing it with a small number of Indian and Chinese immigrants.
We had about 2 hours to wander around the markets on the islands, with some variety of pottery and ceramics, but generally all fairly similar and of designs difficult to distinguish from one another. There were also other stalls selling other merchandise, not dissimilar to what we had found at Chatuchak Markets yesterday.
The cruise back to Bangkok was leisurely and having had a very pleasant day in the much less bustling island of Koh Kred, we had a quiet evening, again having a Thai dinner at the Irish pub, but tonight I taste tested a Singha beer – not unlike a Toohey’s New.
On the tour, we spoke with a German backpacker who had been travelling on her own for over 2 months (she was doing an internship here in Bangkok) and an English couple who lived permanently in Spain.
Cruising up the Chao Phraya River, we stopped of first at a temple and then next a well-known restaurant that served traditional Thai curries and sweets. An interesting fact about Koh Kred is that whilst it is currently an island, it did not begin this way. In fact, it was part of the mainland but as the need for a canal to widen the Chao Phraya River was needed, this island was separated from the mainland and as the canal got wider and wider, Koh Kred became its own little island. The island is sometimes translated as Koh Kret and is equally populated by Thai locals and Mong people, a group of people who had migrated from Myanmar/Laos, sharing it with a small number of Indian and Chinese immigrants.
We had about 2 hours to wander around the markets on the islands, with some variety of pottery and ceramics, but generally all fairly similar and of designs difficult to distinguish from one another. There were also other stalls selling other merchandise, not dissimilar to what we had found at Chatuchak Markets yesterday.
The cruise back to Bangkok was leisurely and having had a very pleasant day in the much less bustling island of Koh Kred, we had a quiet evening, again having a Thai dinner at the Irish pub, but tonight I taste tested a Singha beer – not unlike a Toohey’s New.
Bangkok, 28/03/09
Today’s adventure was completely dedicated to the markets known with affection by the locals as JJ markets. It’s official title and known by tourists as the Chatuchak Markets, the largest markets in Thailand and possibly South East Asia. You can purchase literally anything in these markets, from jewellery, clothing, shoes, home wares, food, art, candles and even pets. The alleys on which the markets are built on measure roughly a metre or so wide and is cramped with locals and tourists alike. Items on sale range from those where you can haggle to incredibly low prices and then there are also the stalls where prices are fixed and you can argue till you’re blue in the face, not even a single Baht will be taken off the final price.
After about 5 hours of roaming laneway after laneway of the markets, both of us heaved our weary and sweaty bodies towards the closest exit leading to the BTS and revelled in the air-conditioned comfort of the sky train. Have no more energy to continue touring around Bangkok; we called it quits and relaxed in the hotel pool and in the very comfortable beds. To make things confusing for everyone involved, we chose to eat at the hotel’s Irish pub, but instead of ordering standard western fare, we chose from the Thai options and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dishes served. Satisfied after a long and eventful day, we headed in for the night, resting for tomorrow.
After about 5 hours of roaming laneway after laneway of the markets, both of us heaved our weary and sweaty bodies towards the closest exit leading to the BTS and revelled in the air-conditioned comfort of the sky train. Have no more energy to continue touring around Bangkok; we called it quits and relaxed in the hotel pool and in the very comfortable beds. To make things confusing for everyone involved, we chose to eat at the hotel’s Irish pub, but instead of ordering standard western fare, we chose from the Thai options and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dishes served. Satisfied after a long and eventful day, we headed in for the night, resting for tomorrow.
Bangkok, 27/03/09
Our first full day in Bangkok began in a leisurely fashion by having the free buffet breakfast that came with the room and having sussed out the local area, we were able to get to find our way to the Central Pier located underneath the Sathon Bridge to catch the ferry up the Chao Phraya River to Wat Pho where the massive Reclining Buddha is located. Having wandered around sufficiently, we walked through the humid heat to the Royal Palace that is located right next door. Apparently my shorts were considered inappropriate and I had to done some trendy pants that have probably been worn by countless number of tourists before me (I don't even want to know if they have been washed…).
The grand palace has a temple of it’s own and it is here that the Emerald Buddha is located. Whilst much smaller in stature to that of the Reclining Buddha, it is made of precious stones (hence the name, duh!) and precious metals such as gold. Other interesting areas of the Royal palace include the weapons museum and royal artefact/Thai coin museum. It was fairly heavy work walking through the palatial grounds as the stifling heat and muggy humidity ensure that we were sweating profusely throughout the touring. Having drunk a number of bottles of water, neither of us needed to go to the bathroom – thought I’d put a bit of inappropriateness into this blog hahaha.
A short lunch stop in much welcomed air conditioning and then it was down past the markets to the river-crossing pier to catch the ferry across the Chao Phraya River (it costs a measly 3baht). Unfortunately we had crossed a few hundred miles up river from where we really wanted to go and so had to hit the back roads using educated guesses as to the direction of Wat Arun (known by foreigners as the Temple of Dawn). The searing heat was relentless and arriving at the temple finally, we had to sit and rest for quite a while before able to continue on.
The main feature of Wat Arun is the main tower located in the middle of the grounds and climbing up about halfway to the top where spectacular views of Bangkok and it’s river surround you as you circumnavigate the top of the tower. The cool breeze was also very comforting even if the steps and lack of safety railings was fairly concerning for someone who is quite afraid of heights!
Having seen enough of temples and palaces for one day, we called it a day and caught the ferry and BTS back to the hotel. Tonight’s choice of cuisine was the nearby Maccas and a taste test of the Samurai Pork Burger. A bit too sweet and covered in too much sauce, I’d rate it a 6 out of 10.
The grand palace has a temple of it’s own and it is here that the Emerald Buddha is located. Whilst much smaller in stature to that of the Reclining Buddha, it is made of precious stones (hence the name, duh!) and precious metals such as gold. Other interesting areas of the Royal palace include the weapons museum and royal artefact/Thai coin museum. It was fairly heavy work walking through the palatial grounds as the stifling heat and muggy humidity ensure that we were sweating profusely throughout the touring. Having drunk a number of bottles of water, neither of us needed to go to the bathroom – thought I’d put a bit of inappropriateness into this blog hahaha.
A short lunch stop in much welcomed air conditioning and then it was down past the markets to the river-crossing pier to catch the ferry across the Chao Phraya River (it costs a measly 3baht). Unfortunately we had crossed a few hundred miles up river from where we really wanted to go and so had to hit the back roads using educated guesses as to the direction of Wat Arun (known by foreigners as the Temple of Dawn). The searing heat was relentless and arriving at the temple finally, we had to sit and rest for quite a while before able to continue on.
The main feature of Wat Arun is the main tower located in the middle of the grounds and climbing up about halfway to the top where spectacular views of Bangkok and it’s river surround you as you circumnavigate the top of the tower. The cool breeze was also very comforting even if the steps and lack of safety railings was fairly concerning for someone who is quite afraid of heights!
Having seen enough of temples and palaces for one day, we called it a day and caught the ferry and BTS back to the hotel. Tonight’s choice of cuisine was the nearby Maccas and a taste test of the Samurai Pork Burger. A bit too sweet and covered in too much sauce, I’d rate it a 6 out of 10.
Hong Kong to Macau to Bangkok, 26/03/09
Today we were flying to Bangkok from Hong Kong, and thus it involved an early morning (getting up at 5am). I really need to stop choosing early morning and red-eye flights – this could all be solved if I paid a bit extra and chose to fly full service legacy airlines but alas until someone hands me over a Platinum or even better a Centurion American Express, I will continue to dream. Alas I digress.
So after catching a bus down to the Macau Ferry Terminal in central, Hong Kong. We waded through the hoards of Chinese tourists to go to the ticket windows and purchase our one-way tickets to Macau. We were able to score free upgrades to Cotai First class, so that was a bonus this morning. Want we didn't count on this morning however, was the sheer number of Chinese tour groups that would be crossing immigration to get out of Hong Kong the same time that we were passing through. You would expect that this sort of thing happens quite regularly and that immigration would provide lines for independent travellers to ensure that they are able to make it to their ferry on time. Natalie and I pushed our way through to the front (when in Rome, eat pizza; when in China, lose all sense of social etiquette). We managed to get the attention of some tourists and were told off by one such woman who suggested that we join the queue like everyone else. Considering she was on a tour and it didn't matter which ferry she boarded –the ferries leave every 15mins for them and they board which ever one is about to leave next, I thought this was a bit rich. Luckily, immigration was understanding of our situation (our ferry was about to leave in 15mins) and we were let through and processed straightaway… take that mole! Lol.
On board comfortable in the first class cabin, we settled in for the hour cruise and were served breakfast shortly after departure. The Macau people sure do like the word Cotai. It’s possibly to travel by Cotai strip’s Cotai jet in Cotai class to go see a performance in the Cotai arena. Not a Cotai a lie! Arriving into Macau, we took a short taxi ride to the airport and checked in for our Air Asia flight to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport. For those not acquainted with Air Asia, it is basically the Jetstar of Asia and half owned by the guys of RyanAir fame (shudder at the memories…). The flight was a fairly uneventful 2½ hours made only a little annoying by the large number of buckles being popped to release seatbelts as soon as the wheels touched down.
Upon arriving in Bangkok, it was a half hour cab ride to the Holiday Inn Silom, which was to be home for the next 4 days. A free upgrade for the room (yay to priority club gold!) and we were settled in and temped to lie on the bed and just sleep. We weren’t however about to waste and afternoon in bustling Bangkok and so began wandering one of the main streets until we hit a BTS skyrail station. The afternoon was spent wandering inside Siam Central/Siam Paragon (nice shopping centres, but the usual brand names that are no where near the reach of us mere mortals). More appropriate price-wise was the MBK centre, but it was more market like and being dazed by so many choices was not the most ideal way to shop after being up since 5am. We topped the night off by having some Japanese Ramen noodles and then heading back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest.
So after catching a bus down to the Macau Ferry Terminal in central, Hong Kong. We waded through the hoards of Chinese tourists to go to the ticket windows and purchase our one-way tickets to Macau. We were able to score free upgrades to Cotai First class, so that was a bonus this morning. Want we didn't count on this morning however, was the sheer number of Chinese tour groups that would be crossing immigration to get out of Hong Kong the same time that we were passing through. You would expect that this sort of thing happens quite regularly and that immigration would provide lines for independent travellers to ensure that they are able to make it to their ferry on time. Natalie and I pushed our way through to the front (when in Rome, eat pizza; when in China, lose all sense of social etiquette). We managed to get the attention of some tourists and were told off by one such woman who suggested that we join the queue like everyone else. Considering she was on a tour and it didn't matter which ferry she boarded –the ferries leave every 15mins for them and they board which ever one is about to leave next, I thought this was a bit rich. Luckily, immigration was understanding of our situation (our ferry was about to leave in 15mins) and we were let through and processed straightaway… take that mole! Lol.
On board comfortable in the first class cabin, we settled in for the hour cruise and were served breakfast shortly after departure. The Macau people sure do like the word Cotai. It’s possibly to travel by Cotai strip’s Cotai jet in Cotai class to go see a performance in the Cotai arena. Not a Cotai a lie! Arriving into Macau, we took a short taxi ride to the airport and checked in for our Air Asia flight to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport. For those not acquainted with Air Asia, it is basically the Jetstar of Asia and half owned by the guys of RyanAir fame (shudder at the memories…). The flight was a fairly uneventful 2½ hours made only a little annoying by the large number of buckles being popped to release seatbelts as soon as the wheels touched down.
Upon arriving in Bangkok, it was a half hour cab ride to the Holiday Inn Silom, which was to be home for the next 4 days. A free upgrade for the room (yay to priority club gold!) and we were settled in and temped to lie on the bed and just sleep. We weren’t however about to waste and afternoon in bustling Bangkok and so began wandering one of the main streets until we hit a BTS skyrail station. The afternoon was spent wandering inside Siam Central/Siam Paragon (nice shopping centres, but the usual brand names that are no where near the reach of us mere mortals). More appropriate price-wise was the MBK centre, but it was more market like and being dazed by so many choices was not the most ideal way to shop after being up since 5am. We topped the night off by having some Japanese Ramen noodles and then heading back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hong Kong, 25/03/09
Today was our final full day here in Hong Kong and so as I have previously visited all tourist sites and due to the lack of success with my purchasing prowess, there was nothing else to do but… You guessed it! Shop. Lol.
We had breakfast downstairs again and got some food for the flight tomorrow to Bangkok before catching the MTR to Kowloon Tong where we were going to go to Festival Walk, my favourite shopping centre here in HK cos it literally has everything (ok, well besides Zara). A couple of hours shopping later, I could shop no longer and we called it quits for the day (and hence, the trip).
Otherwise a boring day, we are going to have an early night, as we will be getting up early tomorrow to fly from Macau (catching an early morning ferry over) to Bangkok.
We had breakfast downstairs again and got some food for the flight tomorrow to Bangkok before catching the MTR to Kowloon Tong where we were going to go to Festival Walk, my favourite shopping centre here in HK cos it literally has everything (ok, well besides Zara). A couple of hours shopping later, I could shop no longer and we called it quits for the day (and hence, the trip).
Otherwise a boring day, we are going to have an early night, as we will be getting up early tomorrow to fly from Macau (catching an early morning ferry over) to Bangkok.
Hong Kong, 24/03/09
This morning was a lazy morning spent catching up on the news back home and around the world (checking 6 newspapers online ends up taking quite a while! Lol). It was soon time for us to take grandma to the train station, where we met with Aunt and Uncle 1 who were going to be accompanying her back to Guang Zhou and we got to spend some time with Aunt 5 and baby Kyle who had brought aunt and uncle 1 to the train station.
When the train passengers were off, we made our way towards Tsim Sha Tsui and stopped along shopping centres around the area doing…you guessed it! Shopping. Lol. Some photographic opportunities popped up down along the Avenue of Stars which is HK’s version of the walk of fame, but its located along the glory of the HK harbour.
As we made our way along HK’s infamous Nathan Road, popping into shops that came to our attention, we stopped off at a restaurant that advertised its Macau cuisine. Thinking that it would be a nice change, we chose the place to eat. Whilst it was definitely a little different from the usual Cantonese cuisine, it was not all that special/exciting to write home about. The Portuguese egg tarts, which were made out to be fantastic, weren’t that impressive either.
It was back along the yellow brick road (ok, so not that funny…) and headed toward our cousin’s wife, Ivy’s store where she worked. Nat and my aunt had a look around while I was so tired that I ended up falling asleep on the chair – classy! We also went to visit family friends who are absolutely loaded – they own hotels and that in Vietnam and have a huge sewing machine business here in HK.
Tonight we were going out for dinner and went to sushi, with massive slices of salmon sashimi and other glorious seafood. Much too full and very content, we continued the sporting ways of the Hong Kongers and I finally broke – buying some clothes and cook nick knacks from a Japanese department store.
When the train passengers were off, we made our way towards Tsim Sha Tsui and stopped along shopping centres around the area doing…you guessed it! Shopping. Lol. Some photographic opportunities popped up down along the Avenue of Stars which is HK’s version of the walk of fame, but its located along the glory of the HK harbour.
As we made our way along HK’s infamous Nathan Road, popping into shops that came to our attention, we stopped off at a restaurant that advertised its Macau cuisine. Thinking that it would be a nice change, we chose the place to eat. Whilst it was definitely a little different from the usual Cantonese cuisine, it was not all that special/exciting to write home about. The Portuguese egg tarts, which were made out to be fantastic, weren’t that impressive either.
It was back along the yellow brick road (ok, so not that funny…) and headed toward our cousin’s wife, Ivy’s store where she worked. Nat and my aunt had a look around while I was so tired that I ended up falling asleep on the chair – classy! We also went to visit family friends who are absolutely loaded – they own hotels and that in Vietnam and have a huge sewing machine business here in HK.
Tonight we were going out for dinner and went to sushi, with massive slices of salmon sashimi and other glorious seafood. Much too full and very content, we continued the sporting ways of the Hong Kongers and I finally broke – buying some clothes and cook nick knacks from a Japanese department store.
Hong Kong, 23/03/09
Today was grandma’s last full day in Hong Kong before she was to go back to Guang Zhou and so when we got up in the morning, we spent some time just chatting with her once we had gone downstairs to an eatery to have some breakfast. Some family friends were coming over for yum cha so when they arrived (with baby Kyle who had come with his grandma), we went over to the restaurant.
After eating, Natalie and I made our way back to New World Plaza in Sha Tin as there were some shops that I didn't actually end up going into and that Natalie wanted to see too, so we again perused the racks of the shops within the centre. Some stores were revisited, but again I ended up coming away with nothing, just like yesterday (yay to saving money!).
Not exactly the most interesting day but a long one and tiring one – who knew shopping is so exhaustive!
After eating, Natalie and I made our way back to New World Plaza in Sha Tin as there were some shops that I didn't actually end up going into and that Natalie wanted to see too, so we again perused the racks of the shops within the centre. Some stores were revisited, but again I ended up coming away with nothing, just like yesterday (yay to saving money!).
Not exactly the most interesting day but a long one and tiring one – who knew shopping is so exhaustive!
Hong Kong, 22/03/09
After the previous night being a fairly late one, I had hoped to sleep in a little this morning as check out of the hotel wasn't until noon, but as my uncle was leaving to go back to Guang Zhou early in the morning, I was woke up and wasn't able to sleep again, hence the previous two long blog entries.
Other members of my family were then leaving at around 10am so I had to pack my bags and get down to the lobby to meet them. We were going to drop off our luggage at one of my aunt’s houses here in HK so that we could be free to go out and hit the shops (the national sport in HK is actually shopping… like seriously). We hit Sha Tin New Town Plaza, which is roughly the size of Parramatta Westfield only with many smaller shops, and no really major department stores bar one. We spent all afternoon shopping and walking around going into each and every store there basically was, but I survived the afternoon without purchasing anything (I was being fiscally responsible) and I will be thanking myself later when paying for the cards…lol.
All shopped out and nowhere else to go, we headed back to the apartment to rest a little (I was still exhausted from the flight, the wedding and today’s shopping) until dinner and after eating, had some family time to catch up and chat.
Other members of my family were then leaving at around 10am so I had to pack my bags and get down to the lobby to meet them. We were going to drop off our luggage at one of my aunt’s houses here in HK so that we could be free to go out and hit the shops (the national sport in HK is actually shopping… like seriously). We hit Sha Tin New Town Plaza, which is roughly the size of Parramatta Westfield only with many smaller shops, and no really major department stores bar one. We spent all afternoon shopping and walking around going into each and every store there basically was, but I survived the afternoon without purchasing anything (I was being fiscally responsible) and I will be thanking myself later when paying for the cards…lol.
All shopped out and nowhere else to go, we headed back to the apartment to rest a little (I was still exhausted from the flight, the wedding and today’s shopping) until dinner and after eating, had some family time to catch up and chat.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hong Kong, 21/03/09
Today was the day the main purpose of this trip was for – the Wedding of Yan and Kwan. It began much too early for my liking with members of the family who were staying at the hotel (the Harbour Plaza Metropolis) meeting for the mini-bus at 8am down in the lobby so that we could be at my aunt’s house by 9am. It was here that we all got prepared for the traditional tea drinking ceremony that was to take place. Make up, last minute preparations and grabbing a little bit of breakfast so that we could all be ready for the groom and bride’s arrival shortly after 10am. Now with Chinese weddings, the groom and his groomsmen must first travel to the home of the bride where they must participate in a number of challenges (today they are more games than anything else) to show their love, dedication and worthiness for the bride. It is one after they pass these challenges that they must then read out a contract of obligations they promise to uphold during the marriage (i.e.: things like to always love, honour, make the bed, cook dinner, clean etc) to the satisfaction of the bridesmaids and parents. This also requires the groom to settle on a monetary sum, much like a dowry in Indian culture, as a parting gift to the bride’s parents before he is allowed to whisk the bride away.
With the bride in his ‘possession’ (for want of a better word), the couple and all the groomsmen/bridesmaids then make their way over to the groom’s parents house where the couple is presented to the parents and are offered red envelopes and well wishes from relatives in response to the offering of tea by the couple. The tea ceremony passed quickly with members of our extended family playing musical chairs from closest relatives to those further down the line making the trip 2 at a time to receive the tea and offer our well wishes. Photos taken and all done, we cleaned up and had to make our way down to the church for the more traditional western ceremony. The ceremony was held in the Methodist International Church and was presided over by an English pastor and translated into Cantonese for those who didn't speak any English. Prayers, the wedding vows and some singing later, we were all soon filing out of the church, taking some photos with an uncle’s Rolls Royce and then it was time to head back to my aunt’s house for some lunch.
Seeing as we had a couple of hours to kill before the reception, those of us staying at the hotel made our way back to the hotel and enjoyed the benefits of a nanna nap for about 2 hours. Passing all too quickly we changed outfits and it was a short walk from the hotel to the restaurant where the reception was to be held, so we shopped around (well actually, the women shopped while us men hung around the front of the shops – fun!) until it was time for the reception to begin. More photos were taken before dinner (we are after all, Asian) and catching up with long lost relatives and family friends – the usual family politics prevailed.
Throughout the 8-course dinner, we watched photos, videos and other funny/cute/embarrassing media of the happy couple and toasted to their marriage. By the time all the festivities, photo taking and other wedding related extravaganza, we made it out of the reception at about midnight and caught a taxi back to the hotel. Today has been an incredibly long day (and my mouth hurts from smiling so much taking photos) especially after the loooooong flight from Sydney the day before!
With the bride in his ‘possession’ (for want of a better word), the couple and all the groomsmen/bridesmaids then make their way over to the groom’s parents house where the couple is presented to the parents and are offered red envelopes and well wishes from relatives in response to the offering of tea by the couple. The tea ceremony passed quickly with members of our extended family playing musical chairs from closest relatives to those further down the line making the trip 2 at a time to receive the tea and offer our well wishes. Photos taken and all done, we cleaned up and had to make our way down to the church for the more traditional western ceremony. The ceremony was held in the Methodist International Church and was presided over by an English pastor and translated into Cantonese for those who didn't speak any English. Prayers, the wedding vows and some singing later, we were all soon filing out of the church, taking some photos with an uncle’s Rolls Royce and then it was time to head back to my aunt’s house for some lunch.
Seeing as we had a couple of hours to kill before the reception, those of us staying at the hotel made our way back to the hotel and enjoyed the benefits of a nanna nap for about 2 hours. Passing all too quickly we changed outfits and it was a short walk from the hotel to the restaurant where the reception was to be held, so we shopped around (well actually, the women shopped while us men hung around the front of the shops – fun!) until it was time for the reception to begin. More photos were taken before dinner (we are after all, Asian) and catching up with long lost relatives and family friends – the usual family politics prevailed.
Throughout the 8-course dinner, we watched photos, videos and other funny/cute/embarrassing media of the happy couple and toasted to their marriage. By the time all the festivities, photo taking and other wedding related extravaganza, we made it out of the reception at about midnight and caught a taxi back to the hotel. Today has been an incredibly long day (and my mouth hurts from smiling so much taking photos) especially after the loooooong flight from Sydney the day before!
Hong Kong, 20/03/09
Day one of our trip to Hong Kong and the lesson of the day was brought to our attention loudly and clearly. Today we were flying to Hong Kong the budget way, and instead of getting there by flying directly to HK Chep Lap Kok airport, we decided (more through the price difference than anything else) that we would fly Viva Macau to Macau and then take the 1hr ferry into Hong Kong. Everything seemed like it was set, except that Viva Macau decided to change our flights about a month before we were to leave and our departure time had now been delayed for 2 hours and we were stopping at Denpasar Airport, in Bali. A little inconvenienced, but not too worried.
When we actually boarded our aircraft, we weren’t exactly impressed by the cabin ambiance of the ageing 767 (it was purchased second hand from Mexicana, for those of you who are playing at home) and the social etiquette of fellow passengers. When budget airlines come to mind, we are spoilt by Jetstar and Virgin Blue, who like many others around the world operate on the principle of newer airlines equate to better fuel economy and lower servicing needs. Apparently Viva Macau got the aircraft for peanuts and saves money that way… Settled into our flight, we managed the first 6 hours to Bali with no issues, save the for social ineptness of fellow passengers placing their bare feet on the seat rest in front of them, and were looking forward to getting off the aircraft to get a bit of dinner and poke our heads around the airport in Bali, Denpasar.
Imagine our disappointment (putting it lightly…) when we found out that we were in fact not allowed to leave the aircraft and had to stay put while the aircraft was being refuelled – a surprising fact not lost on me, as 767s are operated on routes all over the world where flight times are about 9hours (i.e.: Sydney to Honolulu as flown by Qantas). This forced us to purchase food from the food for purchase cart, a measly $10 later for instant noodles and a can of coke. The next 4 hours were a bit more difficult to get comfortable because it was in effect the 7-11th hour that we were holed up on the plane. I should interject at this point that water, which is required to be available for free by NSW law, was also something you needed to purchase from the flight attendants. About an hour or two before landing, the smell of cigarette smoke would waft through the cabin in short bursts and came to our attention a number of times. The flight attendants also soon noticed and were soon roaming down our section of the plane (yay!) to look for the perpetrator. Turns out it was an elderly gentleman, of the Asian persuasion, who possibly like us had looked forward to Bali like us…lol. A stern talking to from the flight attendants, and continued denials by the man brought us to an impasse so all the flight attendants could do was glen 20 the cabin (again…yay!) and repeat the non-smoking announcement.
By the time we touched down in Macau, it was after 11pm Macau time (2am Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) and was over 11hours since our departure from Sydney. Luckily Macau airport is tiny and we breezed through immigration, baggage and customs hitting the taxi queue and racing to the ferry terminal, making it with 10mins to spare to purchase tickets for the midnight ferry to Hong Kong and passing through immigration again to board the Turbo Jet bound for Tsim Sha Tsui, HK. Exactly one hour later, we were docked at Hong Kong and greeted after immigration/customs by Ivy and Justin who dropped me off at the hotel where I was staying for 2 nights during the wedding. By the time I had showered and ready for sleep, the local time was 2am and I finally was able to get some proper rest prior to the early morning tomorrow!
When we actually boarded our aircraft, we weren’t exactly impressed by the cabin ambiance of the ageing 767 (it was purchased second hand from Mexicana, for those of you who are playing at home) and the social etiquette of fellow passengers. When budget airlines come to mind, we are spoilt by Jetstar and Virgin Blue, who like many others around the world operate on the principle of newer airlines equate to better fuel economy and lower servicing needs. Apparently Viva Macau got the aircraft for peanuts and saves money that way… Settled into our flight, we managed the first 6 hours to Bali with no issues, save the for social ineptness of fellow passengers placing their bare feet on the seat rest in front of them, and were looking forward to getting off the aircraft to get a bit of dinner and poke our heads around the airport in Bali, Denpasar.
Imagine our disappointment (putting it lightly…) when we found out that we were in fact not allowed to leave the aircraft and had to stay put while the aircraft was being refuelled – a surprising fact not lost on me, as 767s are operated on routes all over the world where flight times are about 9hours (i.e.: Sydney to Honolulu as flown by Qantas). This forced us to purchase food from the food for purchase cart, a measly $10 later for instant noodles and a can of coke. The next 4 hours were a bit more difficult to get comfortable because it was in effect the 7-11th hour that we were holed up on the plane. I should interject at this point that water, which is required to be available for free by NSW law, was also something you needed to purchase from the flight attendants. About an hour or two before landing, the smell of cigarette smoke would waft through the cabin in short bursts and came to our attention a number of times. The flight attendants also soon noticed and were soon roaming down our section of the plane (yay!) to look for the perpetrator. Turns out it was an elderly gentleman, of the Asian persuasion, who possibly like us had looked forward to Bali like us…lol. A stern talking to from the flight attendants, and continued denials by the man brought us to an impasse so all the flight attendants could do was glen 20 the cabin (again…yay!) and repeat the non-smoking announcement.
By the time we touched down in Macau, it was after 11pm Macau time (2am Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) and was over 11hours since our departure from Sydney. Luckily Macau airport is tiny and we breezed through immigration, baggage and customs hitting the taxi queue and racing to the ferry terminal, making it with 10mins to spare to purchase tickets for the midnight ferry to Hong Kong and passing through immigration again to board the Turbo Jet bound for Tsim Sha Tsui, HK. Exactly one hour later, we were docked at Hong Kong and greeted after immigration/customs by Ivy and Justin who dropped me off at the hotel where I was staying for 2 nights during the wedding. By the time I had showered and ready for sleep, the local time was 2am and I finally was able to get some proper rest prior to the early morning tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Honolulu, 11/03/09-12/03/09
Today was our final day in the US and Honolulu delivered a fantastic day to finish off the holiday. We woke up late and spent the morning in bed with the windows open, watching trashy American chat shows. As soon as I was able to peel myself out of bed and got to a point where I looked decent to go out, we walked over to Ala Moana shopping centre to spend the last day doing what is America's true national sport – shopping! Some last minute purchases and the discovery of a great Japanese supermarket (sushi, teriyaki, tempura and Calpico soft drinks) to have lunch in, we spent the remainder of our budget.
It was back to the hotel to begin packing our bags and taking stock of all the items we purchased and collected over the last 9 days before watching a little bit of MTV and going down to the local IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for dinner. That is one thing that I will not miss about the US, is the disgusting food that is served throughout the country. Nothing that is served at restaurants of fast food outlet tastes remotely healthy, with everything being cooked in fat, over salted or sugared, preserved and artificially flavoured. That along with the need to tip waiters/waitresses which in essence just adds 15-20% to the total bill. Why can’t they just pay them more, charge more for food and do away with gratuities. Our final meal in the US of A over, we came back to the hotel after some shopping in the local ABC store to get some last minute things and an early night was ahead as we had to be up early the next morning to head to the airport.
We were checked out and at the pick up spot for the airport shuttle by 5.30am in the morning and at the airport by 6am (brought back memories of flying with Dan to Rome from London Luton on RyanAir *shudder*) and checked in ready to come home. As a final dramatic twist, our flight was delayed by an hour and a half due to the late arrival of the flight coming in from Sydney, so that meant we didn't end up leaving Honolulu until about 10am (we were scheduled to leave at 8.15am). The flight ended up being quite enjoyable, save the fat Bogan sitting behind us, and we did find out that Natalie Cook was again on our flight, so she must have been in the US for the same amount of time we were.
Its good to be home for the week – no need to worry about where to go for dinner and all that, but I’m excited to head off to my second favourite city in the world on Friday! ☺
It was back to the hotel to begin packing our bags and taking stock of all the items we purchased and collected over the last 9 days before watching a little bit of MTV and going down to the local IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for dinner. That is one thing that I will not miss about the US, is the disgusting food that is served throughout the country. Nothing that is served at restaurants of fast food outlet tastes remotely healthy, with everything being cooked in fat, over salted or sugared, preserved and artificially flavoured. That along with the need to tip waiters/waitresses which in essence just adds 15-20% to the total bill. Why can’t they just pay them more, charge more for food and do away with gratuities. Our final meal in the US of A over, we came back to the hotel after some shopping in the local ABC store to get some last minute things and an early night was ahead as we had to be up early the next morning to head to the airport.
We were checked out and at the pick up spot for the airport shuttle by 5.30am in the morning and at the airport by 6am (brought back memories of flying with Dan to Rome from London Luton on RyanAir *shudder*) and checked in ready to come home. As a final dramatic twist, our flight was delayed by an hour and a half due to the late arrival of the flight coming in from Sydney, so that meant we didn't end up leaving Honolulu until about 10am (we were scheduled to leave at 8.15am). The flight ended up being quite enjoyable, save the fat Bogan sitting behind us, and we did find out that Natalie Cook was again on our flight, so she must have been in the US for the same amount of time we were.
Its good to be home for the week – no need to worry about where to go for dinner and all that, but I’m excited to head off to my second favourite city in the world on Friday! ☺
Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Honolulu 10/03/09
This morning was an early one as we had to check out of the hotel before 9am and have all our things and the car started up by 9am because we had a long drive ahead of us to get back to LA so that we could catch our flight back to Honolulu. Heading out of Vegas however, we stopped down at the Welcome to Las Vegas to take some photos (more Jetstar jumps yay!). It was then time to fill up the car as we were about running on empty, and the US has nothing to complain about the price of petrol - $2.24 a GALLON! That's about 60c a litre. Like seriously, no wonder they still consider Falcon/Commodore cars as medium sized cars…
Car filled up, the stereo set to the road trip playlist and with Las Vegas behind us, we continued down I-15 with the cruise control set to just above the speed limit (lesson learned from the trip to Vegas! I drove non-stop until we got back to Barstow where the In & Out Burger just in time for a bit of lunch. Bellies again full, it was only a couple of hours back into the limits of the Los Angeles area and it was directly to the closest Wal-Mart to check out the height of American consumerism and retail prowess. To give you a perspective about the size of a typical Wal-Mart, think about how big a typical Bunnings warehouse is, bolt on a Coles, Kmart and Target and you pretty much have the size of the store. I.e.: MASSIVE.
A quick stop in Barnes and Nobles later and it was time to begin making our way to the airport via a gas station to fill up the car, and the total petrol cost of driving to and from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (well over 1,000kms) was about AU$80 – freaking cheap!
Car returned and saying goodbye to Sally (that was what I had named her), we made our way to the American airlines terminal to check in for our flight and wait for our departure. The 5-hour flight was fairly non-eventful; the only thing of note was the mention of a USMC marine in the seat behind us and the whole plane gave applause – only in America. Arriving into Honolulu, we eventually made it to the hotel (Holiday Inn Waikiki) and settled down for the night, although Shauntelle did head out and make an appointment for tomorrow morning to get a second tattoo for this trip.
Overall a big day - three states/three cities/one day!
Car filled up, the stereo set to the road trip playlist and with Las Vegas behind us, we continued down I-15 with the cruise control set to just above the speed limit (lesson learned from the trip to Vegas! I drove non-stop until we got back to Barstow where the In & Out Burger just in time for a bit of lunch. Bellies again full, it was only a couple of hours back into the limits of the Los Angeles area and it was directly to the closest Wal-Mart to check out the height of American consumerism and retail prowess. To give you a perspective about the size of a typical Wal-Mart, think about how big a typical Bunnings warehouse is, bolt on a Coles, Kmart and Target and you pretty much have the size of the store. I.e.: MASSIVE.
A quick stop in Barnes and Nobles later and it was time to begin making our way to the airport via a gas station to fill up the car, and the total petrol cost of driving to and from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (well over 1,000kms) was about AU$80 – freaking cheap!
Car returned and saying goodbye to Sally (that was what I had named her), we made our way to the American airlines terminal to check in for our flight and wait for our departure. The 5-hour flight was fairly non-eventful; the only thing of note was the mention of a USMC marine in the seat behind us and the whole plane gave applause – only in America. Arriving into Honolulu, we eventually made it to the hotel (Holiday Inn Waikiki) and settled down for the night, although Shauntelle did head out and make an appointment for tomorrow morning to get a second tattoo for this trip.
Overall a big day - three states/three cities/one day!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Las Vegas 9/03/09
Today was our one and only full day in Las Vegas, and after a very lazy morning watching Sin City type daytime shows (Maurie, Jerry Springer and other white trash TV shows), we finally got our lazy asses out of bed and down to the Starbucks for some breakfast (no bagels!!!). We felt like we were both hung over, although strangely enough – due to lack of funds – we hadn’t actually drunken any alcohol. Shameful I know, but when you’re spending purely on credit cards, alcohol is not exactly a top priority. Our first stop today was the Venetian hotel and the Grand Canal shops inside, which has Venetian vibe (duh!).
A short pit stop at Sephora, we continued on to have some Maccas and then it was time for back-to-back casino tours, being Paris and Planet Hollywood. Paris has a fairly Parisian feel to it (the name does inspire it) and it is truly inspired to have everything within the casino to begin with Le or Les as well as adding the appropriate symbols to make everything sound French. Case in point, take the hotel lobby: it was renamed Le’Lobby. Ingenious!
Planet Hollywood isn’t really the planet Hollywood that you are used to, in fact there is nothing remotely planet Hollywood about it (an interesting fact, the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood restaurant is in fact inside the Caesar Palace Forum Shopping centre). Instead, the most interesting thing about Planet Hollywood is the Miracle Mile Shopping centre with everything ranging from FCUK, Urban Outfitters, the Hawaiian ABC stores and even a tattoo parlour. To take a break from all the casinos, we stopped along the two themed stores of Coca Cola and M&Ms. The first was the Coke store which sold everything from Coke branded apparel, badges, bottles and money banks. They also sold a Taste of the World tray that allowed you to taste 16 different types of Coke and Coke products from around the world.
Satisfied with the 2 floors of Coke, we then stopped over at the M&M world store, which doubled the number of floors, found at the Coke store and included a full M&M wall of all the possible colours of M&Ms in both milk chocolate and peanut. There were numerous numbers of M&M product timeline references, spoofs on movie posters, featuring Red, Yellow, Green and Blue as well as a level that is dedicated to a mannequin exhibition of the making process where by a 5mins 3D movie was presented at the conclusion of the walk. The final floor of M&M world was all dedicated to the M&M Nascar team.
All merchandised out, the final stop of the day was the MGM Grand, it is after all Maximum Las Vegas and the city of entertainment (according to their slogans anyways). We saw the MGM lions, which had just come back from the ranch that is about 12miles from the casino (its set on 12 acres of land). We also signed up to a TV rating survey that let us watch a new episode of CSI (it was alright), but what was exciting about that was that we got to use the worm! Lol. Before coming back to the hotel, we passed Walgreens (a supermarket) to get some dinner of sandwiches, drinks and chips ahoy for dinner. We ate while watching the CBS comedy night but came down to Sirens Cove to watch the Treasure Island show, but due to the high winds that is affecting Las Vegas right now, they had cancelled the show.
Tomorrow we will be heading back to Los Angeles to fly back to Honolulu, so hopefully I don't get pulled over by the Highway Patrol again! LOL.
A short pit stop at Sephora, we continued on to have some Maccas and then it was time for back-to-back casino tours, being Paris and Planet Hollywood. Paris has a fairly Parisian feel to it (the name does inspire it) and it is truly inspired to have everything within the casino to begin with Le or Les as well as adding the appropriate symbols to make everything sound French. Case in point, take the hotel lobby: it was renamed Le’Lobby. Ingenious!
Planet Hollywood isn’t really the planet Hollywood that you are used to, in fact there is nothing remotely planet Hollywood about it (an interesting fact, the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood restaurant is in fact inside the Caesar Palace Forum Shopping centre). Instead, the most interesting thing about Planet Hollywood is the Miracle Mile Shopping centre with everything ranging from FCUK, Urban Outfitters, the Hawaiian ABC stores and even a tattoo parlour. To take a break from all the casinos, we stopped along the two themed stores of Coca Cola and M&Ms. The first was the Coke store which sold everything from Coke branded apparel, badges, bottles and money banks. They also sold a Taste of the World tray that allowed you to taste 16 different types of Coke and Coke products from around the world.
Satisfied with the 2 floors of Coke, we then stopped over at the M&M world store, which doubled the number of floors, found at the Coke store and included a full M&M wall of all the possible colours of M&Ms in both milk chocolate and peanut. There were numerous numbers of M&M product timeline references, spoofs on movie posters, featuring Red, Yellow, Green and Blue as well as a level that is dedicated to a mannequin exhibition of the making process where by a 5mins 3D movie was presented at the conclusion of the walk. The final floor of M&M world was all dedicated to the M&M Nascar team.
All merchandised out, the final stop of the day was the MGM Grand, it is after all Maximum Las Vegas and the city of entertainment (according to their slogans anyways). We saw the MGM lions, which had just come back from the ranch that is about 12miles from the casino (its set on 12 acres of land). We also signed up to a TV rating survey that let us watch a new episode of CSI (it was alright), but what was exciting about that was that we got to use the worm! Lol. Before coming back to the hotel, we passed Walgreens (a supermarket) to get some dinner of sandwiches, drinks and chips ahoy for dinner. We ate while watching the CBS comedy night but came down to Sirens Cove to watch the Treasure Island show, but due to the high winds that is affecting Las Vegas right now, they had cancelled the show.
Tomorrow we will be heading back to Los Angeles to fly back to Honolulu, so hopefully I don't get pulled over by the Highway Patrol again! LOL.
Las Vegas 8/03/09
Today we were heading to Las Vegas and so getting up early in the morning (we also had lost an hour due to daylight savings, so that compounded our tiredness. Catching the free shuttle to the metro station, we caught that to Union Station and connected that with the FlyAway bus which took us to LAX and we had chosen US Airways, which ended up being the first terminal – lucky guess. There it was a short shuttle ride to Thrifty and we headed straight for the VIP line as I had joined up as a Blue Chip member. Paperwork all done, we were told we could choose any car from Lot 3 and so walking down the line, we saw a Mustang and it was the obvious choice!
After a little issue with the hood, we finally got the boot open and all the luggage piled in and ready to head off. It was fairly straightforward to get to the interstate. The usual speed limits for the freeways/highways are about 70mph but it seemed that most cars were going at least 80mph so as we had a fair distance to cover, and the power of the Mustang was not to be ignored, we averaged the speed that most cars were doing. About an hour and a half into the drive, just as we were about to pull over to get some lunch at In & Out Burger, I was pulled over by the Highway Patrol. Being over 10mph is pretty big, its equivalent to about 15kph, so I was expecting a fine, but the officer took my insurance and licence details then just gave it back to me and joked that the tip is to “drive slower than the faster guys”. That kind of confused us, as I wasn't quite sure I had gotten a fine or not… Hopefully it was just a warning and I got let go.
In & Out Burger was pretty good, as there was a good portion and fresh lettuce/tomatoes in the burger and properly potato cut fries. All full, we continued on for another 70miles or so before making another stop for the bathroom and then it was full speed ahead (and just slightly above the speed limit so as to not attract the attention of the highway patrol again – it's a bit attention seeking in a Mustang lol. The view of Las Vegas as you come over the hills is pretty spectacular as it seemingly just rides from the middle of the desert. All parked at Treasure Island, we joined the queue for the 3pm check in (it was looong!) and then headed up to our room to settle in. We were ready to head out to the strip and ended up walking the Bellagio/Caesar’s Palace side of the strip, seeing the shops at Caesar’s (including the Apple store to use their Internet), the art works inside Bellagio, walked around New York, New York as well as riding the Manhattan express roller coaster that wraps around the casino and then continued through the Excalibur and onto Luxor to have a look at the pyramid.
Tonight we settled on Hooters for dinner, but they have changed their policy of letting you take a photo with the Hooters girls on your own and now you have to pay for them! Feeling full (and a little sick, even though I had a salad for dinner!), we made our way back to the hotel, passing by the fountain show at the Bellagio as well as the volcano show down at The Mirage. Tomorrow will be another big day (and again filled with more walking), as we will be going into all the casinos on The Venetian/MGM Grand side of the stip.
After a little issue with the hood, we finally got the boot open and all the luggage piled in and ready to head off. It was fairly straightforward to get to the interstate. The usual speed limits for the freeways/highways are about 70mph but it seemed that most cars were going at least 80mph so as we had a fair distance to cover, and the power of the Mustang was not to be ignored, we averaged the speed that most cars were doing. About an hour and a half into the drive, just as we were about to pull over to get some lunch at In & Out Burger, I was pulled over by the Highway Patrol. Being over 10mph is pretty big, its equivalent to about 15kph, so I was expecting a fine, but the officer took my insurance and licence details then just gave it back to me and joked that the tip is to “drive slower than the faster guys”. That kind of confused us, as I wasn't quite sure I had gotten a fine or not… Hopefully it was just a warning and I got let go.
In & Out Burger was pretty good, as there was a good portion and fresh lettuce/tomatoes in the burger and properly potato cut fries. All full, we continued on for another 70miles or so before making another stop for the bathroom and then it was full speed ahead (and just slightly above the speed limit so as to not attract the attention of the highway patrol again – it's a bit attention seeking in a Mustang lol. The view of Las Vegas as you come over the hills is pretty spectacular as it seemingly just rides from the middle of the desert. All parked at Treasure Island, we joined the queue for the 3pm check in (it was looong!) and then headed up to our room to settle in. We were ready to head out to the strip and ended up walking the Bellagio/Caesar’s Palace side of the strip, seeing the shops at Caesar’s (including the Apple store to use their Internet), the art works inside Bellagio, walked around New York, New York as well as riding the Manhattan express roller coaster that wraps around the casino and then continued through the Excalibur and onto Luxor to have a look at the pyramid.
Tonight we settled on Hooters for dinner, but they have changed their policy of letting you take a photo with the Hooters girls on your own and now you have to pay for them! Feeling full (and a little sick, even though I had a salad for dinner!), we made our way back to the hotel, passing by the fountain show at the Bellagio as well as the volcano show down at The Mirage. Tomorrow will be another big day (and again filled with more walking), as we will be going into all the casinos on The Venetian/MGM Grand side of the stip.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Los Angeles 7/03/09
Our final full day in Los Angeles, we woke up at a very leisurely 10am and made our way down to the shuttle bus to get to the metro, which we caught down to Hollywood/Highland, the station closest to the Kodak theatre/Chinese theatre. Upon arrival, I did some shopping at MAC for my cousin, Jenny and then it was off down the road to go visit Kat Von D’s tattoo store, High Voltage Tattoos. From the outside, it's a fairly non-descript yellow building but inside, the store has been tastefully decorated and sports pictures and signage from the TV shows and previous customers throughout the studio. While we were in the store, a middle aged Aussie couple was in there getting a quote for a tattoo, but had no idea what they wanted and sounded like absolute tools.
Satisfied with our LA Ink fix, we caught the bus to Rodeo Drive (surprisingly for a city obsessed with cars and valet parking, the metro system is really well run). Arriving at Rodeo Drive is hardly the most stylish way to get there, but considering how we were dressed, we weren’t going to fool anyone. Inside Ralph Lauren, I did a little shopping, on Jenna’s behalf, to satisfy my need to spend money in the premier shopping area of LA.
Satiated, we caught the metro bus into downtown LA to walk up to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which is basically the Sydney Opera House of the US. It was a bit difficult to find at first, due to the fact that the clerk at 7-11 we asked didn't actually know what it was (I think that she didn't really speak much English either, so that didn't really help) and then finally we found a Starbucks and thank god for free wi-fi, iPhone and Google maps, we were able to get directions from my phone and found we were only about 5mins away. Taking in the architectural delights of the concert hall, we made our way back to the metro station and caught the metro rail back to Universal City to go to Ralph’s (unfortunately no celebs were doing grocery shopping tonight) to get some dinner and it was back to the hotel to eat and pack our bags as we are road tripping it to Las Vegas tomorrow!
Satisfied with our LA Ink fix, we caught the bus to Rodeo Drive (surprisingly for a city obsessed with cars and valet parking, the metro system is really well run). Arriving at Rodeo Drive is hardly the most stylish way to get there, but considering how we were dressed, we weren’t going to fool anyone. Inside Ralph Lauren, I did a little shopping, on Jenna’s behalf, to satisfy my need to spend money in the premier shopping area of LA.
Satiated, we caught the metro bus into downtown LA to walk up to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which is basically the Sydney Opera House of the US. It was a bit difficult to find at first, due to the fact that the clerk at 7-11 we asked didn't actually know what it was (I think that she didn't really speak much English either, so that didn't really help) and then finally we found a Starbucks and thank god for free wi-fi, iPhone and Google maps, we were able to get directions from my phone and found we were only about 5mins away. Taking in the architectural delights of the concert hall, we made our way back to the metro station and caught the metro rail back to Universal City to go to Ralph’s (unfortunately no celebs were doing grocery shopping tonight) to get some dinner and it was back to the hotel to eat and pack our bags as we are road tripping it to Las Vegas tomorrow!
Los Angeles 6/03/09
Day two of Los Angeles, we had allocated today as Universal Studios/Universal City day. After a lazy morning, spent mainly in bed and slowly waking up, we made our way to the courtesy bus that took us up to Universal Studios. Getting our ticket (using some other people’s coupon that had been left on the counter lol). Once inside, we made a beeline to the studio back-lot tour, hosted by my good friend Whoopi Goldberg. We got to see a lot of the older sets that had been used over the past 80 or so years of Universal Studios. The one place that I took the biggest interest in was the Desperate Housewives set however, that was a closed set because all the housewives were in a shooting a new episode.
Finished with the tour early, we made our way around the top lot going on the new Simpson’s ride, watching the Waterworld show, get some lunch and take some photos with our friends Spongebob, Dora and Curious George. Once we had finished exploring the top lot (including going into the House of Horrors), we travelled down the Starway to the lower lot and it was there we went onto the Mummy Rollercoaster and watched some special effects shows such as Backdraft and the Special Effects Stages (the presenters there are HILLARIOUS!).
We had one more go on the Simpson’s ride before it was time for us to head out into Universal City to wander around the shops and get some kid things like candy, popcorn, souvenirs and also a jumper for Shauntelle as it was so cold out. I also got another book that is part of the self-hurt series, this time it is How To Have an Ill Behaved Dog (I already have How To Get Into Debt).
We decided on having dinner at Bucca di Beppo’s as we felt like good hearty Italian food and no one does it better chain-style in the US than Bucca. We got the Spaghetti Bolognese with meatballs, garlic bread and a salad that was mean to be shared between two, but the size of the meals were so huge that we weren’t able to finish it all and I’m sure we would have been able to have another dinner out of what was left over! That was pretty much it for the night (we finished off by getting some chocolate covered strawberries as well as strawberries and cream popcorn…YUM YUM!).
Finished with the tour early, we made our way around the top lot going on the new Simpson’s ride, watching the Waterworld show, get some lunch and take some photos with our friends Spongebob, Dora and Curious George. Once we had finished exploring the top lot (including going into the House of Horrors), we travelled down the Starway to the lower lot and it was there we went onto the Mummy Rollercoaster and watched some special effects shows such as Backdraft and the Special Effects Stages (the presenters there are HILLARIOUS!).
We had one more go on the Simpson’s ride before it was time for us to head out into Universal City to wander around the shops and get some kid things like candy, popcorn, souvenirs and also a jumper for Shauntelle as it was so cold out. I also got another book that is part of the self-hurt series, this time it is How To Have an Ill Behaved Dog (I already have How To Get Into Debt).
We decided on having dinner at Bucca di Beppo’s as we felt like good hearty Italian food and no one does it better chain-style in the US than Bucca. We got the Spaghetti Bolognese with meatballs, garlic bread and a salad that was mean to be shared between two, but the size of the meals were so huge that we weren’t able to finish it all and I’m sure we would have been able to have another dinner out of what was left over! That was pretty much it for the night (we finished off by getting some chocolate covered strawberries as well as strawberries and cream popcorn…YUM YUM!).
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Los Angeles 5/03/09
Upon our arrival at LAX, we dragged our weary and still sleepy bodies down to baggage claim to wait for our suitcases, made all the more uncomfortable (as if we weren’t feeling terrible already) by the incessant chatter emanating from what could only be described as an American version of a bogan. Too much make up (especially for an overnight flight), fake, glittered track suit and too much gold only someone without any sense of style what so ever could muster the courage to wear spent approximately 19.5mins of the 20mins it took to get our bags on the phone talking about getting her new TV screwed onto her bedroom wall (the other 30secs was spent dialling the number of someone else and repeating the conversation).
Baggage collected and relieved of the annoying chatter, we found the LAX FlyAway bus stop to catch the coach into Union Station where we connected to the Red Line Metro up to Universal City and hauling our suitcases down the streets of suburban Los Angeles to Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn (it is in fact owned and built by Mrs Garland and her husband. After spending some time checking in at the desk, we were soon heading towards our room (thank god for the ability to check in at 8.30am!). We literally showered and crashed into bed to get some well-earned rest – so much for choosing to fly the red-eye!
NB: for those (i.e.: Ben: -p) who do not know, Red-Eye is a term used by airlines and travellers alike to describe a flight that takes off in the evening and flying time is mostly spent over the night. Hence you usually disembark the aircraft with red-eyes due to the inability or lack of sleep.
Waking up with time to catch the last morning shuttle into Universal City, the two of us made use of our Metro day pass and caught the metro back into Hollywood-Highland to visit the Chinese Theatre, Kodak Theatre and Walk of Fame. Whilst sightseeing there, we were offered the opportunity to watch a rehearsal of the Bill Maher Show, Real Time, a comedic show similar to Newstopia and Good News Week (minus the guests). We had some time to kill upon arriving at the studios and so walked around The Grove (and upmarket shopping district frequented by Lauren Conrad and Audrina in The Hills) after lunch at another old-fashioned diner and a lap around the local Kmart. The show as commendable, but really not worth the travelling distance and time it took. Too bad the Ellen show and the late night shows were all sold out already.
We came back to Hollywood and walked around Hollywood Boulevard (Walk of Fame) before heading back towards the hotel and to the Ralph’s nearby. It was here that we saw Vanessa Hudgens wheel her trolley out of the supermarket to load her car up. For those of you playing at home, Vanessa was sporting a long shaggy brunette haircut wearing a plaid shirt and jean shorts. Buzzed with our first Hollywood sighting, we continued to do our dinner shopping and while perusing the drinks, we stumbled upon none other than Australia’s own Sophie Monk. Sporting her usual blonde curls, Sophie today was dressed with high waisted skinny jeans and a t-shirt. She was sunglass-less and did make eye contact with yours truly. Unfortunately, the contact was fleeting and Sophie was heading in the opposite direction. By the time I had turned around, she was headed for the checkouts (self service mind you) and was soon out the door.
Our first eventful day in Hollywood over, we came back to the hotel to eat and chill out in front of the TV (American Idol wild-cards special) and rest after the drama’s of the morning and afternoon.
Baggage collected and relieved of the annoying chatter, we found the LAX FlyAway bus stop to catch the coach into Union Station where we connected to the Red Line Metro up to Universal City and hauling our suitcases down the streets of suburban Los Angeles to Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn (it is in fact owned and built by Mrs Garland and her husband. After spending some time checking in at the desk, we were soon heading towards our room (thank god for the ability to check in at 8.30am!). We literally showered and crashed into bed to get some well-earned rest – so much for choosing to fly the red-eye!
NB: for those (i.e.: Ben: -p) who do not know, Red-Eye is a term used by airlines and travellers alike to describe a flight that takes off in the evening and flying time is mostly spent over the night. Hence you usually disembark the aircraft with red-eyes due to the inability or lack of sleep.
Waking up with time to catch the last morning shuttle into Universal City, the two of us made use of our Metro day pass and caught the metro back into Hollywood-Highland to visit the Chinese Theatre, Kodak Theatre and Walk of Fame. Whilst sightseeing there, we were offered the opportunity to watch a rehearsal of the Bill Maher Show, Real Time, a comedic show similar to Newstopia and Good News Week (minus the guests). We had some time to kill upon arriving at the studios and so walked around The Grove (and upmarket shopping district frequented by Lauren Conrad and Audrina in The Hills) after lunch at another old-fashioned diner and a lap around the local Kmart. The show as commendable, but really not worth the travelling distance and time it took. Too bad the Ellen show and the late night shows were all sold out already.
We came back to Hollywood and walked around Hollywood Boulevard (Walk of Fame) before heading back towards the hotel and to the Ralph’s nearby. It was here that we saw Vanessa Hudgens wheel her trolley out of the supermarket to load her car up. For those of you playing at home, Vanessa was sporting a long shaggy brunette haircut wearing a plaid shirt and jean shorts. Buzzed with our first Hollywood sighting, we continued to do our dinner shopping and while perusing the drinks, we stumbled upon none other than Australia’s own Sophie Monk. Sporting her usual blonde curls, Sophie today was dressed with high waisted skinny jeans and a t-shirt. She was sunglass-less and did make eye contact with yours truly. Unfortunately, the contact was fleeting and Sophie was heading in the opposite direction. By the time I had turned around, she was headed for the checkouts (self service mind you) and was soon out the door.
Our first eventful day in Hollywood over, we came back to the hotel to eat and chill out in front of the TV (American Idol wild-cards special) and rest after the drama’s of the morning and afternoon.
Honolulu, 4/03/09
During our last day in Honolulu before flying out to LA, we spent the day travelling up the east coast of the island of Oahu. The menu for breakfast this morning was again Starbucks, however, this time I got the blueberry bagel, and this was a slight disappointment from the original bagel.
Our first destination for the day was Hanauma Bay, which was about an hours ride from Waikiki on Bus number 23. The bus was pretty much packed with tourists who all had the same idea that we had of heading up to the north of the island and up to the beaches there, away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki and Honolulu city. Upon arriving at Hanauma Bay, we walked over to the cliff face to look down onto the bay and the reefs that were clearly visible from the shore. The crystal blue waters and the coral found beneath the surface of the waters looked fantastic and seemed like a beautiful place to spend the day. Unfortunately, we didn't have our swimwear (as we were to fly out on the red-eye tonight to LA, it wasn't really a good idea to go swimming seeing as we didn't have anywhere to shower before the flight). The weather also looked like it was going to rain soon, so after spending enough time and taking some photos, we headed back to the bus stop to wait for the bus to head up further along the coast.
It began to pour rain down while on the bus and so that meant we had to be content to watch the coast go by from the bus windows instead of getting off along the stops. We continued to ride the bus until the end of the line and stayed on for the return journey back into Waikiki. When we finally got back into the city it was around lunch time and so we made our way to a little shopping area called King’s Village where a lot of retro/souvenir stores located, especially one particular one called Rock Island café, which was decked out in Elvis, Betty Boop and other artefacts from centuries gone by. It was classic American Retro Diner; Shauntelle got the pizza while I got a pizza hot dog and both of us had the soda float (basically a coke spider). Full from lunch, we made one last trip over to Ala Moana to do a little more shopping, getting a t-shirt for both myself and Daniel (thanks Dan for letting me shop!).
Back at the hotel, we rested a little and had some dinner (combination of Cheesecake Factory take out and sandwiches from one of the thousands of ABC stores found on Oahu island (they are literally like Starbucks on every corner, sometimes there are two within 100ms of one another!). All set and our shuttle arriving to take us to Honolulu airport, we checked in with American Airlines ready for our flight bound for Los Angeles, California. What we didn't bank on was the need to pay to check in baggage, as there had been no notification from the online agent that I had booked the tickets through. That solved, we were through TSA (Transport Security Authority?) and at the gate with an hour or two to spare. Our flight was also slightly delayed due to headwinds coming in from California but once we had boarded and settled on the plane, we were told that we would be able to make up most of the time because this headwind would become tailwind on the return journey.
Now onboard, I made a comment to Shauntelle as other passengers were still filing in that it would be funny should one of the homeless looking guys that had just stepped on board the plane sat in the seat next to us. Lets just say it wasn't so funny when he came down the aisle and plopped himself right next to Shauntelle. Shaggy beard, dirty clothes and a little bit of a smell to him, he was rude, annoying and most of all, non-compliant when it came to moving to an empty row, even when suggested by the flight attendants. I didn't really have a problem with the situation, as I was asleep for most of the 4½ hours, however Shauntelle barely got any sleep and so the flight did in fact turn into a red-eye. We had left Honolulu just before midnight and arrived the short 4½ hours later into LAX, at around 6.30am Los Angeles time.
Our first destination for the day was Hanauma Bay, which was about an hours ride from Waikiki on Bus number 23. The bus was pretty much packed with tourists who all had the same idea that we had of heading up to the north of the island and up to the beaches there, away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki and Honolulu city. Upon arriving at Hanauma Bay, we walked over to the cliff face to look down onto the bay and the reefs that were clearly visible from the shore. The crystal blue waters and the coral found beneath the surface of the waters looked fantastic and seemed like a beautiful place to spend the day. Unfortunately, we didn't have our swimwear (as we were to fly out on the red-eye tonight to LA, it wasn't really a good idea to go swimming seeing as we didn't have anywhere to shower before the flight). The weather also looked like it was going to rain soon, so after spending enough time and taking some photos, we headed back to the bus stop to wait for the bus to head up further along the coast.
It began to pour rain down while on the bus and so that meant we had to be content to watch the coast go by from the bus windows instead of getting off along the stops. We continued to ride the bus until the end of the line and stayed on for the return journey back into Waikiki. When we finally got back into the city it was around lunch time and so we made our way to a little shopping area called King’s Village where a lot of retro/souvenir stores located, especially one particular one called Rock Island café, which was decked out in Elvis, Betty Boop and other artefacts from centuries gone by. It was classic American Retro Diner; Shauntelle got the pizza while I got a pizza hot dog and both of us had the soda float (basically a coke spider). Full from lunch, we made one last trip over to Ala Moana to do a little more shopping, getting a t-shirt for both myself and Daniel (thanks Dan for letting me shop!).
Back at the hotel, we rested a little and had some dinner (combination of Cheesecake Factory take out and sandwiches from one of the thousands of ABC stores found on Oahu island (they are literally like Starbucks on every corner, sometimes there are two within 100ms of one another!). All set and our shuttle arriving to take us to Honolulu airport, we checked in with American Airlines ready for our flight bound for Los Angeles, California. What we didn't bank on was the need to pay to check in baggage, as there had been no notification from the online agent that I had booked the tickets through. That solved, we were through TSA (Transport Security Authority?) and at the gate with an hour or two to spare. Our flight was also slightly delayed due to headwinds coming in from California but once we had boarded and settled on the plane, we were told that we would be able to make up most of the time because this headwind would become tailwind on the return journey.
Now onboard, I made a comment to Shauntelle as other passengers were still filing in that it would be funny should one of the homeless looking guys that had just stepped on board the plane sat in the seat next to us. Lets just say it wasn't so funny when he came down the aisle and plopped himself right next to Shauntelle. Shaggy beard, dirty clothes and a little bit of a smell to him, he was rude, annoying and most of all, non-compliant when it came to moving to an empty row, even when suggested by the flight attendants. I didn't really have a problem with the situation, as I was asleep for most of the 4½ hours, however Shauntelle barely got any sleep and so the flight did in fact turn into a red-eye. We had left Honolulu just before midnight and arrived the short 4½ hours later into LAX, at around 6.30am Los Angeles time.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Honolulu, 3/03/09
After a fairly restless night, considering how tired I was from the flight and the long day, we woke up early-ish (about 9) and made our way down to Starbucks for some breakfast. The hot chocolate and toasted bagel w/cream cheese I had for breakfast was not only cheaper, but also infinitely more satisfying than the crap that we had eaten yesterday for breakfast at Maccas. Filled up, ready for the day, we caught bus number 20 towards Pearl Harbour, finding out that most of the other people on the bus were also headed for the USS Arizona Memorial (and most of them ended up somehow depending on me to get off at the right stop – how?!).
Once we arrived at the memorial, we headed right for the counter to grab a ticket and were allocated ticket number 29. We had about half an hour before we were to begin our tour so hung around the museum and the surrounding areas. The tour began with a short film with some history and background on how World War 2 began and the Japanese strategy for bombing the US Pacific Naval base as well as and explanation about why the US had all their battleships at Pearl Harbour (apparently they were basing all their ships there to begin their campaign against the Japanese in SE Asia and also the Pacific Ocean). The US had thought that they were ready for any campaign that the Japanese may plan again them, however when the Japanese fighters appeared on radar, they thought that it was a group of US Air Force planes that were expected to be arriving from California and so by the time they realised that it was the Japanese Empire, it was too late. As such, all the US’s Navy Battleships were damaged and a number destroyed (including the USS Arizona which sustained the most damage, being hit where the ammunitions storage facility on board was located).
Sombre from the video, we filed out to the Navy boat, which was to take us out to the harbour and onto the USS Arizona Memorial. Once on board, we saw remnants of the battleship as well as the wall that commemorates all the soldiers, navy personnel and marines lost on that day. A silence fell upon us and spread throughout the memorial (it is after all, atop a cemetery with many of the bodies in the ship still contained within). Once our time was up, we filed back onto the boat and back to the shore where our tour concluded.
Our next stop was then back to the Ala Moana shopping centre for a spot of lunch and the transfer point to interchange with the bus heading towards Diamond Head Monument. Slowly but surely, we made our way up the side of the hill and the stairs to the top of the mountain where the structure of the old Honolulu fire control station remains and is the site for magnificent views out towards the North Shore and Honolulu City/Waikiki beach area. It was a fairly strenuous walk up there, made more difficult for Shauntelle by her choice of footwear (Havaianas, due to the tattoo on her foot).
By the time we got back to the hotel here in Waikiki, it was time for us to have dinner. For dessert we were spoilt by the scrumptious delights of The Cheesecake Factory. I chose the fresh strawberries while Shauntelle went for the caramel. Stuffed to the brim, we settled down with some trashy American reality TV.
Once we arrived at the memorial, we headed right for the counter to grab a ticket and were allocated ticket number 29. We had about half an hour before we were to begin our tour so hung around the museum and the surrounding areas. The tour began with a short film with some history and background on how World War 2 began and the Japanese strategy for bombing the US Pacific Naval base as well as and explanation about why the US had all their battleships at Pearl Harbour (apparently they were basing all their ships there to begin their campaign against the Japanese in SE Asia and also the Pacific Ocean). The US had thought that they were ready for any campaign that the Japanese may plan again them, however when the Japanese fighters appeared on radar, they thought that it was a group of US Air Force planes that were expected to be arriving from California and so by the time they realised that it was the Japanese Empire, it was too late. As such, all the US’s Navy Battleships were damaged and a number destroyed (including the USS Arizona which sustained the most damage, being hit where the ammunitions storage facility on board was located).
Sombre from the video, we filed out to the Navy boat, which was to take us out to the harbour and onto the USS Arizona Memorial. Once on board, we saw remnants of the battleship as well as the wall that commemorates all the soldiers, navy personnel and marines lost on that day. A silence fell upon us and spread throughout the memorial (it is after all, atop a cemetery with many of the bodies in the ship still contained within). Once our time was up, we filed back onto the boat and back to the shore where our tour concluded.
Our next stop was then back to the Ala Moana shopping centre for a spot of lunch and the transfer point to interchange with the bus heading towards Diamond Head Monument. Slowly but surely, we made our way up the side of the hill and the stairs to the top of the mountain where the structure of the old Honolulu fire control station remains and is the site for magnificent views out towards the North Shore and Honolulu City/Waikiki beach area. It was a fairly strenuous walk up there, made more difficult for Shauntelle by her choice of footwear (Havaianas, due to the tattoo on her foot).
By the time we got back to the hotel here in Waikiki, it was time for us to have dinner. For dessert we were spoilt by the scrumptious delights of The Cheesecake Factory. I chose the fresh strawberries while Shauntelle went for the caramel. Stuffed to the brim, we settled down with some trashy American reality TV.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Honolulu, 2/03/09 (Ground Hog Day)
Aloha from the islands of Hawai’i!
So this blog is a combination of the inability to sleep and boredom of having nothing to do at 2am in a dark hotel room trying not to wake Shauntelle...
Shauntelle and I arrived on the beautiful central pacific island of Hawai'i very early this morning – at 6.45am to be exact. During the flight here though, it was not exactly a conductive flight for sleeping. Upon boarding, we were greeted with the sight of about half a dozen or so children under the age of 5 sitting directly in front of us (there were only 2 rows between us and the exit…). Lets just say children are group screamers and criers – one sets off the other in a chain of events and then eventually, you get a whole choir of them in full voice. One of the mothers jokingly asked us “who put us in the no sleep section of the plane?” We laughed at the time, but about 6 hours later, not so funny… Eventually once we were at flight level, the kids began to rest the vocal chords and that was when it hit – turbulence. The little bit of silence everyone was treasuring was broken by the instant piercing of all the children crying out at the same time. The flight ended up experiencing turbulence a number of times during the 9-hour intermittently spaced throughout the flight for maximum discomfort.
Once we arrived in Honolulu (with just 2 hours of sleep under my belt), we caught the coach transfer to our hotel, the Aqua Waikiki Wave but as it was still 8.30am in the morning, we had to wait until 3pm to be able to check in. With HOURS to kill, we wandered down along Waikiki beach and downtown Honolulu including one of the worst’s breakfasts at a Maccas ever. I think we’re pretty lucky to have decent Maccas at home (proper bacon rashers, proper egg and all cooked in canola oil). The only redemption was pineapple as a side with the breakfast, but that was immensely disappointing – tasted nothing like actual pineapple.
After a wrong bus ride, thinking we were on the correct bus to Ala Moana shopping centre (it did help waste some time), we finally made it to a shopaholic’s heaven. We ran errands for Jenna (thanks Jenna for letting me feel like I was actually shopping for myself!) and then just began looking around stores for ourselves. Personal favourites as usual were Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, Ruehl No925 and American eagle. Credit card spent ($180 on t-shirts later…), we caught a Waikiki trolley to come back towards the hotel, but passed a tattoo parlour where Shauntelle was distracted and ended up getting a tattoo (as you do, but it did look very good).
Upon check in at the hotel, we found out we had been upgraded to the top floor (Yay! I heart free upgrades!) With views of the ocean and also of Diamond Head, the room is really nice for the low price we paid! Once again, Trip Advisor has pointed me to another great hotel. Grabbing some food for a late lunch/early dinner, we came back to the room and showered off the flight and our first day in Honolulu before crashing for the night.
So this blog is a combination of the inability to sleep and boredom of having nothing to do at 2am in a dark hotel room trying not to wake Shauntelle...
Shauntelle and I arrived on the beautiful central pacific island of Hawai'i very early this morning – at 6.45am to be exact. During the flight here though, it was not exactly a conductive flight for sleeping. Upon boarding, we were greeted with the sight of about half a dozen or so children under the age of 5 sitting directly in front of us (there were only 2 rows between us and the exit…). Lets just say children are group screamers and criers – one sets off the other in a chain of events and then eventually, you get a whole choir of them in full voice. One of the mothers jokingly asked us “who put us in the no sleep section of the plane?” We laughed at the time, but about 6 hours later, not so funny… Eventually once we were at flight level, the kids began to rest the vocal chords and that was when it hit – turbulence. The little bit of silence everyone was treasuring was broken by the instant piercing of all the children crying out at the same time. The flight ended up experiencing turbulence a number of times during the 9-hour intermittently spaced throughout the flight for maximum discomfort.
Once we arrived in Honolulu (with just 2 hours of sleep under my belt), we caught the coach transfer to our hotel, the Aqua Waikiki Wave but as it was still 8.30am in the morning, we had to wait until 3pm to be able to check in. With HOURS to kill, we wandered down along Waikiki beach and downtown Honolulu including one of the worst’s breakfasts at a Maccas ever. I think we’re pretty lucky to have decent Maccas at home (proper bacon rashers, proper egg and all cooked in canola oil). The only redemption was pineapple as a side with the breakfast, but that was immensely disappointing – tasted nothing like actual pineapple.
After a wrong bus ride, thinking we were on the correct bus to Ala Moana shopping centre (it did help waste some time), we finally made it to a shopaholic’s heaven. We ran errands for Jenna (thanks Jenna for letting me feel like I was actually shopping for myself!) and then just began looking around stores for ourselves. Personal favourites as usual were Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, Ruehl No925 and American eagle. Credit card spent ($180 on t-shirts later…), we caught a Waikiki trolley to come back towards the hotel, but passed a tattoo parlour where Shauntelle was distracted and ended up getting a tattoo (as you do, but it did look very good).
Upon check in at the hotel, we found out we had been upgraded to the top floor (Yay! I heart free upgrades!) With views of the ocean and also of Diamond Head, the room is really nice for the low price we paid! Once again, Trip Advisor has pointed me to another great hotel. Grabbing some food for a late lunch/early dinner, we came back to the room and showered off the flight and our first day in Honolulu before crashing for the night.
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