I have posted pics and “facebooked” about the Navy ships that come into Hong Kong.
We were lucky enough in August to get to tour the USS Ronald Reagan. One of the reasons we were honored with this (it’s a tough ticket) is because the American Women’s Association (AWA) works to host the “Welcome Desk” at Fenwick Pier. I volunteer there, so I lucked into 3 tickets. The Pier is where 99% of the time the sailors exit into and out of Hong Kong.
Today, the USS George Washington and it’s support ships came into Hong Kong waters. This group has over 7,000 sailors, so when they come to town it gets super busy!
The Pier is a little “slice” of home. This is where families are reunited…so cute to watch the kids waiting for parents to come off the ship! The sailors can get US magazines and books relatively cheaply. They can get SIM cards. There is a laundry (very popular…and NO I don’t want to SEE your laundry…just take it to that man over there), a US Post Office, a bar and most importantly WI FI! It is so funny to look into the computer room and see EVERYONE on Facebook or Skype (no Skype on the ships)
Anyway, the volunteers sign up for shifts that are three hours in length. We give out maps and books about Hong Kong. We give restaurant recommendations, tell them where the bars are (stay out of Wan Chai), help them find banks and generally get around.
Sometimes, the sailors ask the most FUN questions:
“Where is China Town?” (Uhhh…you are IN China…)
“Where can I get good Chinese Food?” (Here we just call it “food”)
Nahh…we don’t answer too sarcastically, because quite honestly, many many of those coming off the ships are very young and many have not traveled too extensively. THIS is where the “Mom” stuff comes in! (I swear today I stepped back b/c I thought I was talking to a 12 year old)
I signed up for the first shift available. The first few days tend to be the busiest for us and the most fun.
The groups come over in “Liberty Boats,” so they enter the Pier 100’s at a time, so our desk can get really busy.
Their first priority is to get money. The second is advice on how to get around.
Sadly, the taxi drivers in Hong Kong know the ships are in and take the opportunity to rob the sailors blind. We warn, we talk..but it still happens. It happened today within 90 minutes of the ship coming in.
I had given two young ladies a recommendation to a place for facials and nails, etc. I gave them the “The taxi should have $20 HKD on the meter” speech and off they went. Back they came to ask…”he charged us $290 HKD…were we ripped off?” YES! They failed to see the decimal point…the ride was actually $29 HKD…sigh. It won’t happen to them again.
We love to help them get around on the MTR (subway) and how to buy their Octopus cards. These cards are what we use to pay for buses, subway, and trams. They are preloaded w/money and they are a GODSEND. It works to avoid the taxi scams AND it’s CHEAP! However, when we are talking, glazed looks DO tend to take over…it’s a lot of information that is hard to do in a few words and many times they just want OUT the doors (insert any conversation you have had ever had with a kid here).
The shift just flew by and soon I was going with my friend Lisa over meet others for Tea. However, a Mom’s work is NEVER done.
As Lisa and I were leaving the Pier, there were lines of taxis waiting to take the sailors off to points around the island. When a couple asked us if it was really $500 HKD to go to Northpoint…we scooped them up and escorted them to a different taxi line. Before long, we had 10 people following us so they could find money machines and the Admiralty MTR station (time to go buy those Octopus cards).
Lisa and I hand delivered 3 different groups to various points…Lisa led the way and I was the “sweeper” to keep our groups together.
We just could NOT walk away w/o advising, leading, cajoling. It is amazingly satisfying.
I left our tea and advised two more young men who were struggling with the MTR map and trying to get a ticket to the station near their hotel ...and while Corey would roll his eyes for me getting involved...they BOTH said "thank God you came by"
It lets me be a mom now that I’m so far away and my kids only need a mom a little bit of the time.
Corey is off on a trip tomorrow, so I have signed up to do a few more shifts. When we aren’t busy I get to chat with lovely women and when we are…well…I get my mom fix. I’m very upfront with who I chat with that I’m “momming” them…most are as sweet as can be and just smile say “that’s ok”
Nice!
Life has placed us on the Island of Maui. I will catch up with old posts...go forward with my new experiences. Let the games begin!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Meanwhile…back in Vietnam
Day 3 - Our first true “trekking” day!
CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO SEE IT LARGER!
We arrived in Sapa the night before, and being dark, we did not get to really see what a glorious little village this was!
It truly reminded me of an Alpine Village. Bells rang at 5 AM…which were not too intrusive. Diane and I were super lucky that we were NOT housed in the part of the hotel that also had a Techno-music concert at 5:15 AM. YAY us!
Diane and I would wake up relatively early, head down to breakfast, and then ease into the day. We were perfectly suited in that. I also enjoyed that while we did Trek and sight-see, we were NOT forced out at ridiculously early hours. Both days in Sapa, our start time was 9am. I find that perfectly civilized!
I made it pretty clear at our “pregame” meeting for the trip that I read TREKKING not HIKING. Many of the women on the trip were much more hard core HIKERS…so understandably in my “schlep-rock” (as Corey would call it) way I became a little fussed up over the thought of not being able to keep up. This is something I do pretty regularly…especially when it comes to diving. I really need to learn to trust myself and my capabilities. Something to work on.
Well, the day dawned, and off we went on our first…TREK. First, Thang had to change our travels b/c of construction on the trail. Second, North Vietnam had had plenty of rain over the past weeks b/c of the monsoons that had ravaged Thailand. OK then…off we go!
We hiked with and through villages with Black H’mong. We started our trekking in Lao Chai (Black H’Mong) The Black H’Mong where Black on their heads…this is how they are identified.
We would descend into these rice fields. Trust me that these pictures do NOT do the area justice!
Here is Diane at the beginning of the hike. She said she was happy I snapped a pic BEFORE we started!
There were waterfalls and rivers. All beautiful!
Thang warned us that we were going to be ambushed on our trek. WHAT? Ambushed? Ambushed in North Vietnam is NOT a good word! Americans are VERY sensitive to words like “ambushed” (did I mention I saw the lake that John McCain landed in when he was taken prisoner in Hanoi? I’m just sayin…). In this case “ambushed” meant that locals would come out of the village, escort us, chat us up, and then hope we would buy their wares at the end.
So, off we walked. The trek was not too too difficult. There were some very slick places. I had no trouble keeping up. I stayed in the front for much of the hike figuring I would stay with the more experienced hikers and watch where they put their feet, etc.
Here is a man and baby hanging out in the rice field. He stood up so we could take a better picture!
Much of the path was smooth yet a little rocky. Soon enough we got to the “mountainous” part where the locals came in handy!
The holder on the man’s back is solid wood and HEAVY. He moves it on is back when it is empty and full of rice. They beat the stalks of rice against the walls of this. It is back breaking work. And bring that together with the hills these terraces are carved in to…well, I think I said it before… I will never look at rice the same way again!
You notice that those working in the fields were mostly western clothing. Those helping us on the mountain part wore traditional clothes.
I do not have pictures of the paths where I needed a little help (a hand here, a hand there). I needed that much concentration to not slip. We all did really well! Here is a shadow picture of a heart made from grass that Diane got from her “escort”
Here are a couple of us crossing the bridge before going to the next village. The local in the back was with us the entire way. She climbed down that darn thing in shoes much like crocs…I was in full hiking boots and thankful for it!
This is the OLD bridge…I like the one above..but I did cross this one…it was rickety!
This little guy was picking gourds off the roof of his house under supervision of his dad!
Here is a large carving from limestone. There were much smaller selections but we did not really stop long enough to shop. They were cool!
Rice drying on a mat. It is raked constantly.
TRAFFIC J A M – Village style…we saw more of these…I’ll show those to you tomorrow!
I REALLY wish you could see what was in the hat…it was BEES..yep…this guy was moving through the village w/a hat full of bees…I could not get a good snap of that.
We finished with this part of the hike…it was about 12K. We then took our bus to Ban Ho, which is the home of the Tay minority hill tribe. It was here that we learned many things!
This is where we had lunch…and you know what greeted us? GARLIC Sweet potato FRIES. If you closed your eyes you would swear you were at the ballpark.
First however, it had been a long walk and we had consumed water. SO, we needed a restroom. OK…I did NOT take pics of this…but here is where I saw first hand it is REALLY important to live as high up on that mountain as you can. The toilets consisted of two sheds. There were two cement troughs poured with mountain water constantly running down through the sheds. Yep….holes in the ground. The rest I leave to you. Suffice it to say…strong leg muscles are a good thing, as is good balance. “Nuff said!
ANYWAY, meanwhile back at lunch. We were treated to local fair cooked in the home. There was a soup, greens, rice and two or three different meat dishes Now, if you like, you can come and board here when you hike! They have beds and will take good care of you. After a lunch we walked through this village…beautiful streams (umm, I think??)
(See the terraces in the back?) That is a water power station on the right…it has made the water pretty dirty in that area…yes, I swear the power plant did it!
When we got back, we had two cooking demonstrations. We made two desserts.
The rice ball looking thing was made from rice we helped pound. These were both interesting experiences, and yes we tasted, but I will probably not miss never eating them again! The tamale looking things were steamed.
After this, we headed back to Sapa and the resort. The drive was interesting because the roads are CHOPPY and were damaged further by the rains. Sometimes if felt like we had to all move to one side of the bus to keep us from going over an edge.
We got back to the resort where Diane and I headed off to our 90 minute massages. This cost a total of $55 USD.
It was definitely a treat after our day of hiking.
I had never had a Vietnamese massage, and lets just say, I as pulled, contorted and stretched into shapes I did not think myself capable.
I had never had a masseuse ON TOP of me (get out of the gutter people)…and in the end, I was not sure if the next day I would sore from the hiking or the massage.
When I awoke the next morning…I could not tell!
It was the best massage I ever had. (Let’s just say…there was toe pulling involved…my family is now instantly jealous!)
I love Vietnam!
CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO SEE IT LARGER!
We arrived in Sapa the night before, and being dark, we did not get to really see what a glorious little village this was!
It truly reminded me of an Alpine Village. Bells rang at 5 AM…which were not too intrusive. Diane and I were super lucky that we were NOT housed in the part of the hotel that also had a Techno-music concert at 5:15 AM. YAY us!
Diane and I would wake up relatively early, head down to breakfast, and then ease into the day. We were perfectly suited in that. I also enjoyed that while we did Trek and sight-see, we were NOT forced out at ridiculously early hours. Both days in Sapa, our start time was 9am. I find that perfectly civilized!
I made it pretty clear at our “pregame” meeting for the trip that I read TREKKING not HIKING. Many of the women on the trip were much more hard core HIKERS…so understandably in my “schlep-rock” (as Corey would call it) way I became a little fussed up over the thought of not being able to keep up. This is something I do pretty regularly…especially when it comes to diving. I really need to learn to trust myself and my capabilities. Something to work on.
Well, the day dawned, and off we went on our first…TREK. First, Thang had to change our travels b/c of construction on the trail. Second, North Vietnam had had plenty of rain over the past weeks b/c of the monsoons that had ravaged Thailand. OK then…off we go!
We hiked with and through villages with Black H’mong. We started our trekking in Lao Chai (Black H’Mong) The Black H’Mong where Black on their heads…this is how they are identified.
We would descend into these rice fields. Trust me that these pictures do NOT do the area justice!
Here is Diane at the beginning of the hike. She said she was happy I snapped a pic BEFORE we started! 
There were waterfalls and rivers. All beautiful!Thang warned us that we were going to be ambushed on our trek. WHAT? Ambushed? Ambushed in North Vietnam is NOT a good word! Americans are VERY sensitive to words like “ambushed” (did I mention I saw the lake that John McCain landed in when he was taken prisoner in Hanoi? I’m just sayin…). In this case “ambushed” meant that locals would come out of the village, escort us, chat us up, and then hope we would buy their wares at the end.
So, off we walked. The trek was not too too difficult. There were some very slick places. I had no trouble keeping up. I stayed in the front for much of the hike figuring I would stay with the more experienced hikers and watch where they put their feet, etc.
Here is a man and baby hanging out in the rice field. He stood up so we could take a better picture!
Much of the path was smooth yet a little rocky. Soon enough we got to the “mountainous” part where the locals came in handy!
The holder on the man’s back is solid wood and HEAVY. He moves it on is back when it is empty and full of rice. They beat the stalks of rice against the walls of this. It is back breaking work. And bring that together with the hills these terraces are carved in to…well, I think I said it before… I will never look at rice the same way again!
You notice that those working in the fields were mostly western clothing. Those helping us on the mountain part wore traditional clothes.
I do not have pictures of the paths where I needed a little help (a hand here, a hand there). I needed that much concentration to not slip. We all did really well! Here is a shadow picture of a heart made from grass that Diane got from her “escort”
Here are a couple of us crossing the bridge before going to the next village. The local in the back was with us the entire way. She climbed down that darn thing in shoes much like crocs…I was in full hiking boots and thankful for it!
This is the OLD bridge…I like the one above..but I did cross this one…it was rickety!
This little guy was picking gourds off the roof of his house under supervision of his dad! 
Here is a large carving from limestone. There were much smaller selections but we did not really stop long enough to shop. They were cool!
Rice drying on a mat. It is raked constantly.
TRAFFIC J A M – Village style…we saw more of these…I’ll show those to you tomorrow!
I REALLY wish you could see what was in the hat…it was BEES..yep…this guy was moving through the village w/a hat full of bees…I could not get a good snap of that.We finished with this part of the hike…it was about 12K. We then took our bus to Ban Ho, which is the home of the Tay minority hill tribe. It was here that we learned many things!
This is where we had lunch…and you know what greeted us? GARLIC Sweet potato FRIES. If you closed your eyes you would swear you were at the ballpark.First however, it had been a long walk and we had consumed water. SO, we needed a restroom. OK…I did NOT take pics of this…but here is where I saw first hand it is REALLY important to live as high up on that mountain as you can. The toilets consisted of two sheds. There were two cement troughs poured with mountain water constantly running down through the sheds. Yep….holes in the ground. The rest I leave to you. Suffice it to say…strong leg muscles are a good thing, as is good balance. “Nuff said!
ANYWAY, meanwhile back at lunch. We were treated to local fair cooked in the home. There was a soup, greens, rice and two or three different meat dishes Now, if you like, you can come and board here when you hike! They have beds and will take good care of you. After a lunch we walked through this village…beautiful streams (umm, I think??)
(See the terraces in the back?) That is a water power station on the right…it has made the water pretty dirty in that area…yes, I swear the power plant did it!When we got back, we had two cooking demonstrations. We made two desserts.
The rice ball looking thing was made from rice we helped pound. These were both interesting experiences, and yes we tasted, but I will probably not miss never eating them again! The tamale looking things were steamed.
After this, we headed back to Sapa and the resort. The drive was interesting because the roads are CHOPPY and were damaged further by the rains. Sometimes if felt like we had to all move to one side of the bus to keep us from going over an edge.
We got back to the resort where Diane and I headed off to our 90 minute massages. This cost a total of $55 USD.
It was definitely a treat after our day of hiking.
I had never had a Vietnamese massage, and lets just say, I as pulled, contorted and stretched into shapes I did not think myself capable.
I had never had a masseuse ON TOP of me (get out of the gutter people)…and in the end, I was not sure if the next day I would sore from the hiking or the massage.
When I awoke the next morning…I could not tell!
It was the best massage I ever had. (Let’s just say…there was toe pulling involved…my family is now instantly jealous!)
I love Vietnam!
Friday, October 28, 2011
10,000 Buddhas Monastery (aka herding cats)
CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT!!
One of the BEST kept secrets in Hong Kong! It is not really in many of the tour books, and I am SO glad. I felt kind of silly NOT having been there before, but it is out of the way, and I just never made it. Well, I was not the only one! There were a couple others like myself who have been here less than a year. We were 16 in all.
Today I was actually “working” the tour. When we go out, the AWA has a coordinator and a sweeper. I was the sweeper today. It’s my job to make sure no one gets lost and the group stays together. Now, don’t get me wrong, these are all HIGHLY intelligent woman…but sometimes you just blink and one has wandered (a quick peek in a shop or to snap a pic) off. This was my first time being a sweeper for a tour that involved the MTR, so it was a little bit of pressure to make sure we all got on and off at the right times. This trip involved three transfers…no pressure!
I made sure everyone had their Octopus cards out in advance (this is how we pay for the MTR and other modes of transport), and off we went.
The thing is….we do all walk at different rates so keeping an eye on our coordinator who is tiny and moving the slower walkers along is a little bit of a task (this is where the herding kittens thing comes in)…but I achieved it. We arrived at Shatin…which is our MTR stop. The Monastery is just a few minutes away on foot, which is amazing since Shatin is a pretty busy place.
The Monastery is located on a mountain behind Shatin Pai Tau Village which is still there today). It was founded in 1949 by the Reverend Yuet Kai. It took 8 years to build. Now the Reverend was very old when the work started, but he carried building materials himself up the mountain.
Look closely: See the monkey…the Monastery as PLENTY of these guys running around. You DO NOT smile at them…they think seeing teeth is a sign of aggression…good safety tip!
This is the very first thing as you enter the Monastery grounds:
Group shot AND a close up. These Arhans line the walkway up to the main level. There are over 400 steps and hundreds of these statues. Most are gold like this one above, and yes, he has been…enhanced…with red lips and the flower is painted. Here are a couple more!
With the sun and rain and pollution…these guys must need touching up ALL the time. This lady was being very meticulous.
You come to the first level, which is where the Pagoda is and most of the attractions (like the hall with over 10,000 Buddhas in it)..but I kept walking b/c what I found the most interesting was JUST ahead…
Now…notice these guys are NOT gold…they are painted painted. Well, these are some original artifacts that were here in Hong Kong before World War II that were sent into China for safe keeping. These were the few that came back…China decided to keep the rest.
At the top of the next series of steps (that was lined w/the painted statues was this guy. I sadly did NOT get his name..but he was beautiful and his beard reminded me of GPA.
Then, just a few steps more….was THIS!
In the Dragon’s mouth is an orb…and it looks like the same orb she is holding…not sure of the significance of that…but I am checking it out.
Here I am near a “garden” of gold statues
I made my way back down to the main area where the founder of the Monastery is entombed. THIS is where the walls are lined and lined w/small Buddhas. NO picture taking of any kind is allowed here…so I can’t show you that, but I am talking floor to ceiling Buddhas!
Then, our time was done, and it was time to gather the ladies and head off to lunch. As we walked past the path lined with golden statues…THIS was there to greet us…
We waited until he was done snacking to NOT smile at him and sneak our way passed.
Another great trip…with another great group of women. I’m glad this one is kept pretty quiet.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
I Interrupt Vietnam…
I had THE most fun experience today that did not involve an airplane, TSA or body searches!
After my first 7 months here, I went back to the US for 6 weeks. After back and forth and some great travels (details still to come)…I determined that I needed SOMETHING to do that did not involve…well, lunch.
Enter the “English Conversation Program” that the AWA coordinates.
This program involves volunteers (ME and others) to go to local schools, and urge, cajole, draw forth…English from students who want to improve their English speaking skills.
Our students are 3A students, which I understand, are the top of their class (like Junior year of HS?).
There were MANY more girls than boys. It IS a volunteer program for the students. I think the boys are able to see a “target rich” environment. (smart guys)
The school is only 10 minutes by MTR from my house. We walked about 7 minutes to the school where we were met by the IT guy (not the English speaking expert).
After we arrived, we took roll. Each student picks an “English” name…(examples? Suki, Karen, Bruce, Mark…Zita?? – you get the idea). We then had them line up alphabetically (by English names…this only took 5 minutes) THEN…count off and into groups. We made sure that we changed things up so the kids could not put themselves into groups and hang with friends. The whole point of this is to push them to speak English, and they tend to be shy anyway, so we try to mix it up!
The first part of the hour we had them interview each other. Questions such as “Who is your Idol?” and “What annoys you” inspired some enthusiastic answers. Each person had a different questionnaire so they cold not “copy”
One coordinator in each group had to be interviewed..and I was that person. Sigh. Poor Suki…My idol? John Adams (at least it was easy to spell…but she still has no idea who he is). Favorite music? (rock n roll) After we did the interview, we had to introduce the other person. Least favorite subject in school is STILL math!
Suki likes green tea (favorite food) and Avril Lavigne. After school she wants to see an Avril Lavigne concert and travel to France!
The thing about language, is that when we wrote the questions, we thought it was SO obvious what they meant...like "what do you want to school when you get out of school?" Many of the students answered "sleep" or "play a video game". WE thought long term, their "out of school" was short term! I have lots to learn!
There was lots of giggling and really really quiet voices, and the group did a terrific job talking about each other...but it did NOT fill the hour!
hmmm…what to do?
There is a game I played as a child. We would sit on our porch in PA at night, catch lightening bugs and play this. It’s the “Store” game. You had to run through the alphabet…name what you would buy…then repeat each thing until your new letter was up …For example…”I went to the store and I bought an apple. I went to the store and bought an apple and a banana. I went to the store and bought an apple, banana and a carrot” ETC
Well, this group good naturedly played the entire game…funny, they would help each other when one person stumbled on a letter (Nametag)…but when my partner and I had trouble and could not remember a word ... (well, my partner…not me) not a PEEP…we were on our own.
The kids played the game…they seemed to be good sports. They came up with great words (elephant, yo yo kitty - I wanna shop at THAT store!) and the game DID make them use the English alphabet and apply words..Mission accomplished? Yes... My guess?
My students will be defecting to another group!! :)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Lao Cai & Bac Ha
Vietnam – Day 2
We took the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. There were four of us in the sleeper car, and I have to say, it was pretty darn comfy. Our fearless leader handed out ear plugs, which helped tremendously. We were in the last car, the second to last cabin…so we felt a lot of the rocking.
One man decided NOT to read the “no smoking” sign and lit up. He was pretty much ATTACKED by some of the group. (go girls!)
This is our train. After we got to Lao Cai, we stopped and had breakfast. I was pretty hungry! It gave us a chance to use the restroom, get some strong coffee, and generally get ourselves in order for another great day.
This is the day that we would really start seeing the countryside of Vietnam! Our first drive was to Bac Ha. They have THE most colorful Sunday Market in the area. I posted some pics on FB of this day, but here are some more!
It was so strange to see the women in traditional garb (underneath which they wore blue jeans)…in their hands most had a cell phone! The women wear their prettiest things in the hopes of attracting a husband. Those that HAVE one, still wear their best because it is their “dress up” day.
I only picked up a few things here. The shopping was fun! The market was very crowded.
That is the market from above…and you can see Sue waving…she was surrounded.
As we prepared to go…so did the locals:
Finally settled, off they go. Let’s hope the Mom held on tight! Helmets ARE required…but NOT for children under 6 (anyone else just find this ODD??)
We took a little walk before heading to the Victoria Resort for the night:
My first close up glimpse of the rice terraces. It would not be the last!
This walk took about an hour. Afterwards, we loaded onto the bus to head to the resort (a three hour ride…much of which was UP a mountain…pretty curvy road).
We checked in, showered, and headed to dinner! Day 2 in the books and it rocked.
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