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Liz is loving Asia: a trip report!
Hi Fodorites,
Well we're here in Asia and having a great time! Here's a brief rundown of the trip so far: <b>March 4th:</b> We headed to the airport, headed back home because Tim forgot his glasses, and re-headed to the airport. Luckily we only live a few minutes away. After relaxing in the NWA World Club (a 60-day temporary membership, $85, which allows a person to bring in two guests, is very much worth its cost IMO) we boarded the flight. We had great seats (for economy), 35H/J, which are exit row seats without anyone else in our row. The service was great, the food was terrible. No free wine on NW Trans-Pacific flights so we drank water which was for the better! <b>March 5th:</b> Narita airport was a traveler's dream-- NO lines, anywhere. Bags out on the carousel before we could get there. We found a Citibank ATM, got our yen, bought our bus tickets, played with the vending machine, were amazed by the toilets, and finally boarded our bus for the 90-minute ride to the Park Hotel Tokyo. We really like our hotel a lot. It's a great value, and we were given a room on the 31st floor with a direct view of Tokyo Tower AND Mount Fuji. Beautiful! Upon check in we had a note from our fish market guide, Naoto. We were to meet him at 4am on the morning of the 6th. After checking out our room (and the robotic toilet of course) we decided to try to find the meeting space for the fish market tour. The Shiodome complex can be quite confusing, and even with a map and directions from the front desk, it took us almost 90 minutes to find it. But we did. We were so tired we just bought some wine, mixed nuts, snacks from the convenience store and went to bed about 9:30. <b>March 6th</b> We woke up at 3am and departed the hotel at 3:30am in order to meet Naoto by 4am at the meeting spot. We loved the fish market tour and highly recommend it. There is absolutely no way that we would have known where to go or what we were seeing without Naoto. The cost is 7,500 yen per person for a 2-2.5 hour tour. http://homepage3.nifty.com/tokyowork...ijiTourEng.htm Lots of photos on my blog. (Email me for access at [email protected]) He took us to his favorite market sushi spot at the end of the tour. I believe it was called Sushi Daiwa, but there was no English sign. It consisted of one long counter, about ten stools, and no room. The set meal was 3,500 yen per person. We had soup, green tea, tuna maki, salmon roe maki, sea urchin (uni) maki (not sure if it was technically maki, but resembled loose maki), tuna nigiri, fatty tuna nigiri, yellow tail nigiri, raw shrimp nigiri, grilled eel with sauce nigiri, something similar to cuttlefish nigiri, sweet egg cake, and more. There was one thing, served by itself, about 1 inch long. It was slightly crunch and tasted like shrimp. Any idea what it was? Or don't I want to know?? We stopped at Starbucks on our way home and stayed in the hotel for a few hours. |
Liz,
Loving the blog! And thanks for the mini-trip report...so glad you guys are having such a good time (like anything else is to be expected?) Looking forward to following along--you have lots more adventures in store...that's the best part! |
Looks like a great tour of the market. Looking forward to reading more.
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loving the report so far and looking forward to the pic access
bob |
Hi Liz-
Just checked out the Blog. Great photos of the fish market. I've always wanted to go there! Someday... How are you liking the new camera? I think we have the same (nikon D40x)? It looks like we have the same camera bag too, judging from your luggage photo. I got both the camera and the bag for xmas and am looking forward to using them soon in Rome. How's the bag working for you? Looking forward to more. |
Hi Liz, Just arrived in the Executive Lounge of the Holiday Inn BKK from Chiang Mai this AM. Now using their free internet access. Great photos.
Do you know that i have lived in Japan for over 10 years & have never been to Tsukiji Market? I really need to do that soon. Will be following you through your travels. We return to Tokyo this Sunday. |
Love the report and pictures. I was very impressed with the tres modern toilets in Narita too...so many options I didn't know what buttons to push! ha
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Thanks, all! It's so fun to get these messages while still on vacation.
HappyCheesehead- if you read this- we are also so, so sad about Brett Favre. Tim has been streaming video from espn.com to keep up with it all. I was only 12 when he started playing, and I really don't remember Sundays without him. It's truly the end of an era! We are currently in the Narita World Club. This WC is better than the rest-- there's a fancy beer machine and sushi! Love it. Kristina- I have the D40. I absolutely love my bag. I used it in Munich/Venice over Christmas and am used to it. It's nice how it can still be strapped on and you can access the camera from the side. I also like the other strap that comes around from your right side-- it gives a lot more support than a usual one-shoulder bag. And hi to Bill, Femi, Bob, bmt and Marksfour! MORE REPORT After relaxing post-fish market, we headed out to the Asakusa area. Those of you who read the blog will have read the stories and have seen the photos-- but let's just sum it up by saying it was a beautiful day! We loved the area around the temple. We met some Japanese schoolchildren who interviewed Tim for a class project. It was nice. Then, thanks to bmttokyo, we walked over to the Kappabashi (sp) area to see the plastic food models. Great suggestion! Jet lag hit us hard, and we returned to the hotel to nap until 5:30pm (we set a wakeup call). We didn't actually wake up until 8:30pm. We walked around the Shiodome complex and grabbed a quick dinner- nothing special- and decided that we'd have a good day on Friday. We didn't get to see Tokyo all lit up at night, but hey, I have a feeling we'll be back. Friday we checked out and headed to Shibuya. Wait, first we had breakfast at Vie de France-- thanks tower (Stu) for the recommendation! On to Shibuya. We took my photo next to the dog statue (Hachiko?) and then wandered over to the Ometesando (sp; sorry I don't have my notes and am going off of memory) street. We stopped in the Oriental Bazaar and picked up a few items. We then went to the egg/batter/shrimp/scallion pancake (o something) restaurant hole-in-the-wall place recommended by tower (Stu). His detailed directions took us directly there! Unfortunately it was not open-- at about 12:30pm. I was so disappointed as it sounded great. But we can go next time. We grabbed a quick Italian lunch and went back to the Shiodome to await our airport bus. These airport buses make everything easy, I highly recommend it over the train if the bus goes directly to your hotel. Now we're at the Narita airport waiting for our flight to Hong Kong. We have three nights there, three in Siem Reap, and five in Bangkok. I just want to quickly add that we *really* enjoyed ourselves in Tokyo. I thought it would be OK, but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did! More soon! Thanks for reading! Liz |
The WC has a fancy beer machine and sushi!? Clearly we have to get to Narita
;) Great photos on the blog Liz - have fun in HK! Liz |
The Narita WC also has free WIFI, plus Macs for guest use for those w ho don't have their own, sandwiches, salad, 2 kinds of soup, showers, comfortable chairs...great place.
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Very nice reporting. Clearly, in the midst of the trip, no penalty attaches. Looking forward to more.
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love the photos
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Enjoying your report Liz. Thanks for the tips. I think I might look into the fish market tour.
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Loving your report, Liz, have fun!
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A great start to your trip! I'm looking forward to more.
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Liz - I loved your blog and your pictures - you did a great job!
I have to add that when I went in to check on your progress I saw a link to your parents luggage for their round the world cruise. Well, OF COURSE, I have to read their whole blog about said cruise, WOW! That is one amazing trip. I was going to post a note to your mom but worried she would think it bizarre. :) Glad to know the Narita WC is a good one, I do believe we have a few hours to spend there on our way to and from Bangkok, at least I hope so from the sounds of it. I get so tired of the same cheese/crackers/carrots/cookies at Detroit! |
Glad you were able to see Kappabashi Dori Liz. Keep your neat travel adventures coming !!!
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The flight to Hong Kong was uneventful, and we arrived 30 minutes early. We had to wait about 20 minutes to get through immigration, but again our bags were waiting for us.
We took a taxi to the Salisbury YMCA. The cost was about HK$285. The taxi driver did not understand us but called an English speaker who straightened it out. We were slightly disappointed with the Salisbury room. Although I had booked this (non-smoking double) room almost a year ago, and paid extra for the harbour view, we were given a room on the seventh floor (the lowest floor with rooms) where the view was somewhat obstructed by the cultural center. It was also a smoking room and quite dingy. They were able to move us to a non-smoking room on the eighth floor, although it has two twin beds. They could move us again today, but we don't want to pack up all of our stuff again! It is fun to watch the harbour traffic from the window. We had the breakfast buffet on the 4th floor this morning-- it was delicious. So much Western and Chinese food. I was able to have bacon, hashbrowns, noodles, and three kinds of dumplings for breakfast- quite the mix! We then headed out to the flower market and bird garden. I took a lot of photos. Tim isn't feeling too well so we came back to the room for a little bit. I think we'll head out on the Star Ferry next and hopefully hit up the Yellow Door if Tim feels up to it. Otherwise I might just do the above by myself. We're on opposite sleeping schedules-- I am tired at 10pm and up by 5-6am, he's up until 2am and then feels like sleeping in. This is the total opposite of how we are in the US--must be jet lag related. We also started the Malarone today since we'll arrive in Siem Reap on Monday. HappyCheesehead- my mom loves getting comments on her blog, so comment away! She sometimes posts on Fodors, and has made a lot of friends from cruisecritic, so she "gets it." :) |
Loving your report....keep it coming!
Aloha! |
Liz - that's too bad about the Salisbury - I think we were on the 11th floor which got us up above the cultural centre - if you have a chance the art gallery there is quite lovely.
How was Yellow Door? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm |
Great report and photos! Thanks for sharing.
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Liz_S: I am satisfied with our room. I realize that checking in at 11:30pm on a Friday means that we get whichever room is left, but I did not want a smoking room! This YMCA is a wonderful location!
Unfortunately Tim is quite sick. I think he has the norovirus, or a different stomach virus, just a fever of about 100F and some vomiting. I sure hope that he gets better soon. And I hope even more that I don't get sick next! I guess these twin beds may have been a blessing in disguise. So we missed the Yellow Door tonight, and it's closed tomorrow (Sunday). Bummer! I am totally determined to get there for lunch on Monday! Even if Tim is still sick tomorrow, I will be busy running around HK with my parents who will be here in port from 8am-midnight. |
Also have you visited Montserrat yet?
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Sounds like you are having a really wonderful time. Thanks for reporting back to us! I'm going to have to go over to your blog and have a look (might look at the RTW cruise also...I also have posted on cruisecritic)
The WC's at NRT are a hoot! I came home and told DH about the mechanical toilets with mist, warm seat, massage, etc... he's curious! Keep up the reporting. Carol |
Liz
Just went back to read your posted (on another thread) itinerary. I see you are staying at Adelphi Suites in Bangkok. I just stayed there last month, and will stay there again in April. It's a really nice place in a great location. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I like the largest size apartment, with the washer/dryer in the kitchen! Not a bad deal for about $106/night! The studios are also really nice. Love the rainbath shower head!! Thought I'd try a studio for my solo trip in April, but couldn't resist having a washer/dryer in the large apartment one more time! Hope your jetlag doesn't last too long. Carol |
Thanks for the link to your blog! Loving the photos!
Carol |
Liz, I hope Tim feels better soon! That really sucks. You've got such a good attitude about it, though. I'm sure he'll feel better soon...those things tend to go away as quickly as they come on.
Enjoy HK and your time with your folks! |
Liz, I'm so enjoying your report. It all sounds very exotic.
I sure hope Tim is feeling better.. all the best to him. I hope you both get over the jet lag too... have a great time, and I will have a great time reading all about it! |
I hope Tim is feeling better. It's no fun to be sick, and even worse to be sick on vacation!
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Thanks for all of the well wishes, both here, and in emails and on the blog. I am happy to report that Tim recovered mid-day on Sunday. Kathie, I think you know what this is like, as Cheryl fell ill on your recent trip (although if I remember, she was sick for longer than one day.) I am happy that he's recovered and am crossing my fingers that I'm not next!!
So on Saturday afternoon, I was hungry, Tim was still feeling weird but not yet "officially sick", so we looked in our guidebook and headed to Ned Kelly's which is just a block away from the hotel. I had a pint of Tetley's and a ham and pineapple melt ; Tim ordered a pint of Carlsberg and nachos, although either of his was barely touched. This place is what it is-- an Aussie pub full of expats. The food was very good. Tim had to leave to return to the hotel and I settled the bill. I was glad we stayed "close to home." The rest of the evening Tim slept while I blogged, caught up on email, downloaded "Lost," and watched the light show from our room. I really liked the light show. We also saw it Sunday night without the music. It doesn't look like much without the music, but with the music it's pretty cool. Or maybe I am just easily amused? Sunday morning I met up with my parents. We had breakfast and then took the Star Ferry over to HK Island. We walked on the skyways over to the mid-level escalators. There were hundreds of women sitting on deconstructed cardboard boxes having picnics. Hundreds and hundreds of women, all over these skyways. Has anyone else seen this? Is it a Sunday thing? I took some photos which will be put up on the blog soon. I really liked the escalators because they took us through a lot of different types of areas-- markets, retail, residential... We got off on Gage Street and I found the Yellow Door, so I know where to head for lunch today! If you want to get off the escalators and wander around, Gage St. is a good option. We then took the escalators all the way to the top. We caught a cab over to the Peak. I didn't really want to go because it was so foggy/hazy, but Mom did and so we went. I definitely don't think it's worth it to go unless it's a relatively clear day. We could barely see anything. (Again, more photos will show you...) We took the tram down the hill (fun!) and then walked back to the skyway area to the Admiralty MTR station and returned to the hotel. It was about 3pm at this time. We picked up Tim. We stopped at Starbucks because apparently the coffee on the Queen Victoria is not good; Mom and Dad needed some Bucks. We took the MTR to the Mong Kok station and walked around. Many streets were blocked off for pedestrians only, not sure if this is a Sunday thing or what. We wandered over to the Ladies Market and bought just a few small things. It was fun to people watch there. We caught a cab back to the Y and changed for dinner. We took the 6:30pm Aqua Luna ride and I LOVED it! It was really cool. There were only 5 other passengers besides the four of us. We left right around sunset (which you couldn't see due to the haze) but it started out light and was dark by the time we got off at 7:15pm. I highly recommend this ride. Thank you Cicerone, so much, for the recommendation. On board we met two Americans... they asked if we happened to be going to Cambodia, and I said, "Yes, tomorrow!" They were surprised by that. It turns out they are both teachers in Cambodia, I think in P.P. They said that Cambodia couldn't be more different than HK but that they just loved it. On to dinner at Aqua Roma/ Aqua Tokyo: the view: WOW! Couldn't be better. The decor is great. The food was pretty good. A little overpriced, but way underpriced if you figure in the view. I wanted to time dinner to coincide with the light show, but it was a bit underwhelming without the music, so I don't think that matters if you're trying to decide on a dinner time. Make a reservation way in advance. Again, thank you Cicerone for the recommendation. We dropped Mom and Dad off at their shuttle. We'll see them again on Thursday night. They're going two places in Vietnam before then, and we'll be in Cambodia. Today I'm taking Tim to the escalators and YELLOW DOOR for lunch, and then tonight we'll be meeting Ponheary when she picks us up from the airport! I can't believe it! |
It all sounds great, Liz. I'm so glad Tim is feeling better.
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The hundreds of women you saw sitting around on cardboard boxes are some of the 150,000 Filipina maids “enjoying” their one day off a week. Many of them spend the day socializing with each other in Central (Indonesian and Indian maids congregate in Causeway Bay), as they have no where else to go and can’t afford to spend it shopping at a mall or in a restaurant (and they tend to get chased out of malls even if they sit, don’t know if you noticed that there are very few open seating areas in the malls here as opposed to the US, I have always suspected that one of the reasons is to keep the maids out). It is quite a contrast to see these women sitting in front of the Gucci, Prada, etc shops in Central. Many of them are second or even third generation maids, raising other people’s kids while they see their own kids about once a year. This is a fairly common phenomena in Asia; for example if you go to Singapore, you will see maids hanging out in the Botanic Gardens on Sundays.
The air pollution was really awful yesterday, probably the worst it has been this winter (although it is not much better today). I was hiking in the New Territories and even that was not clear, and driving back in the afternoon you could not see across the harbour. That is one of the disadvantages of the winter, if you come back in summer you should have clear days (rain notwithstanding). You are here for some of the best weather we have had since abut mid January however, warm and sunny, so at least you ccan appreciate the outdoors a little bit. (It’s been in the 40s some days very cold for us, and overcast and even rainy which is quite unusual for winter.) |
Oh I'm so glad Tim is feeling better.
Nothing worse than being sick away from home. Your trip is sounding fabulous. |
Thanks, Kathie and kodi.
Cicerone-- Thank you for the information. It was really interesting seeing all of those women set up for the day. I am glad I understand the reasoning behind it now. You are truly an invaluable resource--your name came up a few times yesterday when my parents and Tim asked, "How did you find out about (x,y, or z)??" Thanks again. I didn't specifically state it above, but I really, really like HK. We'll definitely be back! |
looking forward to the SR info
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Liz, glad to hear that Tim is better! And glad to know you loved HK. Me too--I'm not typically a city person, and I was shocked at how much I really loved being in HK. So clean, so orderly...and the shopping. My god, the shopping!
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Tim and Liz - Glad you guys like Hong Kong, despite the poor air quality.
The streets in Mongkok are like that every day of the week. The street for the Ladies' Market is always blocked off, while the adjacent one with all the electronic stores is only for delivery vehicles, which tend to only go there in the morning. In the afternoon and evening, all become just one huge pedestrian zone. Have a fun time in Cambodia. |
Thanks for the report on HK. We will be there in early April and will also be at the Salisbury YMCA. I booked a partial view so we'll see where we end up.
Glad to hear Tim is feeling better. I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. I haven't even been to HK yet, and I'm already looking forward to my next trip (without DH and lots more shopping and eating!!!) Linda |
Hi all,
We're in SR! The HanumanAlaya does have wireless internet. Not sure why they don't advertise it, but we are glad to have it. We had a great lunch at the Yellow Door yesterday and a wonderful flight on Siem Reap Airlines (partner of Bangkok Air). Why can't all economy flights be like that? We also departed 15 minutes early. We didn't do the e-visa, but we were completely through the airport within 25 minutes of landing, and we were the last people from our flight to clear immigration due to being assigned to a very slow line. No problem. Ponheary was there to pick us up and we swung by Angkor Wat to see it lit up at night. Wow! I really like the HanumanAlaya. Lots of atmosphere. The common rooms are not a/c, but that is really the only potentially negative aspect about staying here. (Fine for me, Tim would prefer it to always be 50F or cooler! :) ) This morning we had breakfast and then Ponheary picked us up at 7:30am. We went to Bantey Srei and got through most of it before the swarms, and I mean swarms, of tourists arrived. It was beautiful. Our next stop was Knar Primary School. Tim and I brought a duffel bag of secondhand children's clothing, which Ponheary handed out to those most in need. The kids are SO CUTE. I took over a hundred photos. We toured the school as well. If anyone is coming to SR and has extra room, I highly recommend bringing some hand-me-downs if you have access to any. Wait until you see the photos of the grateful kids-- it was fun. Also if anyone is coming soon, Ponheary would appreciate a pencil sharpener-- the kind that bolts to a wall or a desk. We had a nice lunch and a swim and are now resting before she picks us up at 3pm. This afternoon: Ta Prohm, Bayon, and sunset at Pre Rup. Tomorrow morning: sunrise at Angkor Wat, more temples. Tomorrow afternoon: handing out uniforms at the city school. Thursday: Tonle Sap and sunset at Angkor Wat. Cambodia is what I expected, but even more so. I love it. |
Thank you for the great posts. I love the real time trip report! Can't wait to see your sunset at Angor Wat pictures :)
marksfour |
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