J&M got Maui'd!

We got picked up by our taxi at 0400 so that we could make our 0640 flight back home. Getting up was not as annoying as I thought it would be and I was surprisingly awake, until I sat down on the plane and my eyes started to droop. I think I passed out a couple of times on our three hour trip to Hong Kong. I wanted to stay up until our long haul flight back to Toronto so that I could get my body in sync with Toronto time and hopefully minimize the effects of jet lag. I only have a day to recover before going back to work and I do not want to doze off on my first day back. At least we had the entertainment system working on the way back, so I was finally able to watch Avengers 2: The Rise of Ultron, as well as Interstellar. The first movie was a little disappointing, while the second was enjoyable, but did require paying attention. I did seem to fall asleep for most of the flight back, although it did not feel like I got a lot of sleep. I did feel a lot less jet lagged than Maggie w

We got up late today and went straight to Terminal 21 to try out Tim Ho Wan, the Michelin Star dim sum restaurant in the mall. The mall opened at 1000 and we wanted to get there early to get a seat. When we got there at 1030, there was already a long line, and the restaurant did not open until 1130. When the restaurant opened, we were not lucky enough to be one of the first wave of customers to sit down, so we had to wait another forty minutes before we got a seat. Fortunately we were able to take a look at the menu and set up our order before we got our table. The food came really quick, and it was all tasty, although considering the prices we were paying, most of it was fairly standard dim sum fare. Just the BBQ buns really stuck out as interesting and worthwhile. Tim Ho Wan's version of BBQ pork buns. We went to our last massage session at Health Land, which was kind of sad because we had gotten used to getting cheap hour long therapeutic massages each day we were in Ba

We got up late (as usual now) and went to Chu for breakfast. I had been meaning to go there for a little while because the hot chocolate was apparently really good. We both had very western breakfasts, me a eggs Benedict and her a standard eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, bread, etc. The mushrooms were interesting though. Oh yeah, the hot chocolate was really good. Really chocolaty. After our meal, we headed to Health Land for a two hour therapeutic massage. After all of the walking we did the day before, getting my calves massaged was good for me, although quite a painful one. I think I had huge knots in both of my calves, although I think they were probably there for months if not years now. I really should stretch them out more now. After getting cleaned up at the hotel, we went to MBK to do some exploring and shopping. I wanted to get post cards and a clean shirt. This mall was the largest one in Bangkok, but it was older, had lower ceilings, and definitely more crowded than Ter

We booked our third and final cooking class with Chef Leez. Her lessons were billed as one of the top ones on Trip Advisor so we Decided to check it out for ourselves.  Some interesting things you can not do in a taxi.   The website had very specific instructions on how to get to the location and how much it would cost. Taxis in Bangkok have a tendency of overcharging tourists because they don't know any better. We were lucky enough to have our hotel book the taxi for us and we did not get shafted. Another thing we noticed was how locations were not always address driven as numbers and street names were really difficult to find. Sometimes you just had to go by a displayed name or landmark.    Maggie making Pad Thai at Chef Leez. In any case, the lesson started like the others with the chef walking us down to the local market to check out the produce and pick out some ingredients for the dishes we were to make later that day. She gave us a bit of history about her

I was feeling a little better this morning despite getting a call on my phone after midnight and my alarm going off at 0330. We found a laundromat that would clean our clothes by the kilo (rather than by the article at our hotel) and went to drop off our laundry before getting a shoulder and neck massage at Health Land. We will probably go back there later. Afterward, we had lunch at Madam Saranair. The food was a mix of Thai and Italian, and our dishes were spaghetti dishes using Thai ingredients in a crock covered by a pita and baked. The flavors were tasty and the fusion of the styles came up with and interesting dish. We then spent some time setting up the events for the rest of the week and decided on watching Muay Thai Live tonight. I was going to book online, but had to delay - and when I went back to the website, the tickets were no longer available for the day despite having plenty of seats available! So we sent in e-mail and they were able to accommodate us. On top of that,

My original plan was to take a bus from Siem Reap back to Thailand. Maggie had wanted to spend some time on the beach to rest and relax and I was looking at Ko Chang island as a potential stopping point on our way back to Bangkok. However, Maggie was a little hesitant about taking the bus, or any land route after reading the reviews and stories. After a short discussion, I relented and started looking for flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok. I had looked earlier and found the flights costing $400+ per person unless I was willing to go with a really cheap airline for the bargain basement price of $200. Amazingly enough, when I started looking at flights again, tickets appeared for the boutique airline Bangkok Air, which was a much better rated airline with prices close to beating the bargain prices of the cheaper airlines. One drawback was that our flight was early in the morning so we had to get up early. I was feeling better than yesterday, but still was not all that well. I did wa

We got up even earlier (0430) to catch the sun rise at Angkor Wat. It was already starting to get light out when we arrived at the entrance of the temple.  Maggie and I in front of the main temple of Angkor Wat at sunrise. We could see the streams of tourists and tourist guides heading to the one pond known for it's excellent shots of the main temple complex during the sunrise. The place got packed fairly quickly, but there were still many spots to get a good shot of the temple. The throng of tourists watching the sun rise. Because of the jungle cover, we had to wait quite some time before the sun's disk was visible. Until then, we were able to capture some nice photos of Angkor Wat with the clouds illuminated by the red and yellow hues of the rising sun. Angkor Wat in the sunrise. We stood there watching the sun rise for abouth an hour before having a boxed breakfast that we got from the hotel. Since we had already explored the temple, we left Angkor Wat

We got up early for our 0800 meeting with Mr Chandra for our tour of the Ankor area. Our first stop was Ta Prohm, also known as the "Tomb Raider" temple, before heading to the gates of Angkor Thom, then Bayon in and then to Ankor Wat.  Next to one of the trees that was slowly taking over Ta Prohm. The temples were very impressive, the structure and architecture was magnificent and the fact that all of this was done basically by hand is a little mind blowing. Standing in front of Bayon (temple of the smiling buddas) inside Angkor Thom. I recall seeing the pyramids and temples of the ancient Mayan civilizations in the Yucatan peninsula, but some of the structures here seem to be much larger and more elaborate than those in the new world.  Looking into the outer courtyard of Bayon from the east. Exiting Bayon from the western entrance. It was also sad to see how willful and wanton destruction had caused so much damage to these priceless monuments.

Woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel. Apparently we were staying at a B&B and I had forgotten that we had free breakfast here! Doh! No worries, at least we remembered and got to try it once, even if it was the last day. The restaurant itself was basically one of the hotel porches which had five small tables, four of which only sat two people while the last could seat four. Makes sense considering that the only clientele are hotel patrons. The food came out before ordering: fruits, bread, pastries, and noodles. Maggie also ordered an omelet which altogether was more than enough food for the two of us. After our meal, we headed back to the old town to look for a larger piece of luggage to carry our recently purchased suits and clothes. I had initially thought of having the clothes shipped overseas but we want to use some of this stuff in a couple of upcoming weddings and express post is a little pricey. Our water pressure was extremely low this morning, and basically we

We got up semi-early for our Thuan Tinh Island cooking tour. We got picked up from our hotel and brought to the market in Hoi An where we walked with the chef, tour guide and six other tourists (class sizes were 10 or less) and went through the morning market, picking up ingredients for the dishes that we were going to make later that day. The experience was quite interesting as the market was bustling, the food on display was fresh, the seafood was still alive, and the market was right next to the river. I even found out that turmeric came from a root that looked like ginger! After the market tour, we got on a boat and had a relaxing cruise up the river to Thuan Tinh island where we found a very well laid out building with three separate open air cooking classrooms. The tables were set up with the required ingredients and cooking equipment and was continuously updated by the various workers on site as the class progressed. There was never a time when anyone was missing anything, and

We got up a little late this morning and went out for brunch at Minh Hien Vegetarian Restaurant. There we tried some won tons and white roses which were tasty. I ordered the lemon shake, but was disappointed when I ended up with a lime shake instead. I have noticed that many of the Vietnamese places here will call something a lemon, but offer limes instead. Something to keep in mind the next time we ever visit. We finished off with a young rice ice cream. Our tour guides in Hanoi recommended that we try that out when we had a chance, so this was our chance and we tried it out. It was so tasty! It had a nice smooth texture and had a soothing and fragrant ricey taste to it. People who say that rice has no taste really should try fragrant rice with a little bit of water some time, not all rice needs to be doused in soy sauce! The wall of Minh Hien Vegetarian Restaurant was full of manga. We headed back to the hotel to rest and get cleaned up for our fitting that afternoon. Maggie t

I got woken up by the constantly changing temperature of the cabin. For some reason, the air conditioning would turn on and off throughout the night, making it nigh impossible for me to sleep. Eventually I just stayed awake with my eyes closed, hoping that something would knock me out, and knowing that nothing will. I did manage to get some short naps in here and there, but I did not get a good night's rest. I gave up at one point and decided to look out of the window for a while to watch the scenery rush by. Another scenery viewer started talking with me. Apparently he was a Vietnamese resident who was studying in China. His English was passible, but he struggled with communicating at a number of points. I had booked a driver to pick us up at the railway station so we did not have to wait long before he showed up. We headed to the hotel where we were happy to find our room had a working air conditioning unit. We quickly took a bath to clean up the grime from the train and disc

This morning I woke up early again to do some tai chi. Again, the experience was quite refreshing, except that I was the only one who participated this time. It was kind of disappointing, but having the whole boat to yourself is quite a liberating experience. I watched the islands pass by while some of the workers were busy preparing the ship or breakfast, but for the most part the place was very calm and relaxing. After breakfast, we headed out to the Vung Vieng fishing village where we were given a tour of the village on one of the row boats by one of the locals.  The Dragon Legend II. The cruise back was a little sad, as we knew the trip was over, but still quite interesting to see as junks and boats from all over converged on the port, like some massive human migration that happens every day of the year. Our trip back to Hanoi was on a different luxury van with a different set of people. In between, we stopped off at Yen Duc village to watch a water puppet show. We were

This morning I woke up early to try my hand at some tai chi. When I got there, there were only two other people who were participating. A few minutes after arrived two more showed up. Practicing Tai Chi on the top of the junk early in the morning while cruising through the quiet waters of Ha Long Bay was a very serene and relaxing experience. Trying to balance on a rocking boat while tall island mountains pass by you is a scene that rarely plays out in real life. Hon Co Island. I did not get to play on the beach. The first event after breakfast was a trek into Thien Canh Son cave on Hon Co Island before some time to rest and relax on the beach or doing some kayaking. Maggie started to suffer from heat exhaustion after climbing up the stairs to the cave so the two of us headed back to the junk to recuperate while the rest of the group stayed in the island. Maggie and I on the beach of one of the islands of Da Xep geological park. After lunch, Maggie felt a lot better but s

The luxury van for our Halong Bay cruise with Indochina Junk on the Dragon Legend was supposed to pick us up at 0740, so we did not have much time for breakfast. Maggie wanted to eat someplace other than the restaurant at the hotel, as the food there was, although free, pretty meh. Unfortunately, there were no places open really at 0600 and we ended up going back to the hotel restaurant by default as it was open at 0630. The luxury van picked us up a little later than expected, but it had something that I was surprised to find: Free Wi-Fi. I was in the midst of booking some train tickets with Vietnam Impressive for our trip down to Da Nang from Hanoi and our stay in Hanoi coincided exactly with the weekend, which was when the train ticket company was closed. I had sent e-mail earlier to book the tickets but they did not receive the payment and confirmation information until the weekend. So I was a little apprehensive with the whole train situation as our arrival in Hoi An hinged o

I got woken up by the street traffic which seemed to go on through the wee hours of the morning. It was 0100 when I got roused from my slumber and I had serious trouble getting back to bed. This made getting up this morning that much harder. We had planned a home cooking meal for the morning and then a half day tour in the afternoon. Maggie did all of the arrangements with Hanoi Nom Nom since she wanted to learn how to cook Pho properly. We were to meet our guide at 0900 so we had an early breakfast at 0700 and I had time to walk down to the cruise office to pay the balance of our account before then. After our guide showed up at the hotel we headed straight to her house, where we picked up her mom (who did not speak English) and the second guide (who spoke English). We walked down to the market which was just down the street and picked up some ingredients for the pho and some other food. We headed back to the house where we prepared the stock for the (chicken) pho, some beef and green

This morning we had time to go out and check out an actual Thai restaurant called Siam House Café near the hotel. Even though the website said that the restaurant would be open at 0900 and the sign on the window said that they were open from 0800, we were told to come back in 30 minutes after arriving after 0900. We took the opportunity to head to the Full Moon Bakery to grab some snacks before heading back to the restaurant. The Siam House Cafe had some good Pad Thai and Phat Si-io but due to the delay, We had just enough time to head back to the hotel, pack, and grab a taxi to go to the airport to catch our flight to Hanoi. Despite the tight schedule, I realized as we were checking out of the hotel that I had left my sunglasses at the restaurant and had Maggie head back to the restaurant to pick them up. Apparently the restaurant owner had wrapped my glasses in a plastic bag and recognized her the moment she walked in so we were all good there. We had no problems finding a taxi and w

We had planned to look at the Grand Palace and get a massage in the area but after having trouble finding a breakfast restaurant, we ended up eating in the dining room downstairs (the buffet food was blah) and ended up sleeping in all day. Did go out at night for dinner after sunset and found a late night massage parlor. It was a lot cooler (and a little less stinky) at night. They have signs like this all over Bangkok. For good reason too! Being jet lagged is good in the sense that we are not awake during the hot and steamy daytime, but also annoying that we miss out on some of the attractions due to their short windows of availability.

We arrived in Hong Kong a little late, so we had enough time to grab a drink of water before catching our flight to Bangkok. The internet connection was so slow that I barely got anything done while I was in the airport. When we arrived in Bangkok it was still daylight. I don't think we ever saw the sun set during our trip. We flagged down one of the taxis at the airport and was a little worried when the driver did not seem like he knew the hotel we were going to. I had the address printed out, but maybe he could not read English? He actually got out of the taxi to call someone on his phone for directions. He came back five minutes later and we were off. Off to where? Hopefully the hotel. Traffic in Bangkok was terrible! We did arrive during the evening "rush" so I expected it to be a little slow, but it was pretty ridiculous. Four lane highways became five when drivers squeezed onto the shoulders to use up all available space. There did not seem to be any observance to

We had a twenty hour flight to Bangkok with a stopover in Hong Kong. With our flight path, we would be flying at a high enough latitude that we would always be in sunlight. As such, we were advised to keep the window shades closed as the sunlight would mess with our circadian rhythms. Not like a 20 hour flight into a 12 hour shifted time zone won't mess with our circadian rhythms. We would also be losing half a day so our landing would take place on the afternoon of the 6th, which removes one day form our itinerary. At Hong Kong International Airport. Still wide awake! In any case, our plane departure was delayed as the technicians were trying to get the entertainment system working on board. However, even after half an hour, they were unable to get the system up and running and we ended up in the air with the entertainment system disabled. No movies for us! It was not a complete loss however as I had time to write up my blurb about Kat and work on some minor things. Althoug