What do we know about Finland? It gets very cold. But our trip is in August. That is the warmest time in Finland and that is when Finns seem to leave Helsinki, making hotels much cheaper.
It looks like Helsinki has an efficient public transportation system. They have lots of trams, which I like a lot better than subways, and you don't have to take a taxi from the airport into the city. I would rather take a train from the airport than a taxi any day. Taxis have different rules and systems everywhere in the world and you have to know how the locals do it to do it successfully. Trains are pretty straightforward and don't charge different prices at the driver's whim.
Most of the main attractions in Helsinki are all in the same part of town. That just makes it easier. There are cities in China where everything is a million miles from everything else. You can't just walk from one sight to another. When I'm in a city for the first time, I want to be able to walk as much as possible. You don't see as much from a taxi that is taking you on a wild goose chase, and you see even less from a subway.
None of us can speak any Finnish at all. I don't know a single word in Finnish. But I can say, “Jag pratar inte svenska” in Swedish. A lot of people seem to speak Swedish in Finland.
Not that it matters. I don't think you need to know the local language to enjoy your visit. Sometimes not knowing the language makes it more interesting. I don't know a single word in Thai, but I had a great time there. I don't know any Dutch and precious little Italian, but Amsterdam/Rome was a great trip. I don't know any of Indonesia's languages, but Bali was one of the best trips of my life.
English is also very common in Finland, so there should not be any problems. We were thinking about Thailand, the Netherlands, Israel and Jordan and none of us speak any of those languages.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Vacation to Somewhere part 3
Lily, Kevin, Ryan and I finally decided where to go on our big summer vacation. Our short list was Amsterdam, Thailand, Scotland, Bali, Israel and/or Jordan.
We ruled out Amsterdam because there were too many temptations for the men. I am generally not fond of judging people, but I don't want my travel companion to be baked the entire trip. I wanted to get some cheese in Alkmaar, but it would have been hard to get the others to leave Amsterdam, even for a little while.
We ruled out Thailand because it would have been a pain to get to every place we all wanted to go. If we just went to Bangkok that would be easy, but going to one place then another and another is never the most relaxing vacation in the world.
We ruled out Scotland because I was the only one who wanted to go there. There are four of us, so it has to be somewhere with more interest.
We ruled out Israel/Jordan because there are just too many issues. Going to one or the other might be easy, but flying into one and then flying home from the other turns out to be problematic. I don't care about the politics, but Ryan and Kevin do. We could not get past the unnecessary bullshit enough to have a good trip.
That left us with Bali. I'm always up for a private villa with a private swimming pool. With four of us, we could get a four bedroom villa with a bigger pool. Indonesia has been in the news lately with some less than flattering stories, but that was true the first time we went to Bali. None of it ever affected us. Bali seems to be removed from a lot of the general turmoil, or at least they do a good job of keeping it under the surface.
Then Kevin came up with Finland. We all collectively said, “Finland?” I assumed that since no one else liked my Scotland idea, no one would like Kevin's Finland idea.
We ruled out Amsterdam because there were too many temptations for the men. I am generally not fond of judging people, but I don't want my travel companion to be baked the entire trip. I wanted to get some cheese in Alkmaar, but it would have been hard to get the others to leave Amsterdam, even for a little while.
We ruled out Thailand because it would have been a pain to get to every place we all wanted to go. If we just went to Bangkok that would be easy, but going to one place then another and another is never the most relaxing vacation in the world.
We ruled out Scotland because I was the only one who wanted to go there. There are four of us, so it has to be somewhere with more interest.
We ruled out Israel/Jordan because there are just too many issues. Going to one or the other might be easy, but flying into one and then flying home from the other turns out to be problematic. I don't care about the politics, but Ryan and Kevin do. We could not get past the unnecessary bullshit enough to have a good trip.
That left us with Bali. I'm always up for a private villa with a private swimming pool. With four of us, we could get a four bedroom villa with a bigger pool. Indonesia has been in the news lately with some less than flattering stories, but that was true the first time we went to Bali. None of it ever affected us. Bali seems to be removed from a lot of the general turmoil, or at least they do a good job of keeping it under the surface.
Then Kevin came up with Finland. We all collectively said, “Finland?” I assumed that since no one else liked my Scotland idea, no one would like Kevin's Finland idea.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Old Ryan, New Home
This was going to be my turn to visit Ryan in Fuzhou, but since we just moved into the new apartment, we decided that he should come here to check it out. Usually when Ryan comes to Hong Kong, we go to a hotel. The old apartment was just too small for everybody at the same time. Staying in a hotel gave Ryan & I some time alone and also worked out for Lily & Kevin. Now that there is plenty of room for everyone, Ryan can stay here whenever he comes to Hong Kong.
Lily & Kevin were at work a lot, so Ryan wanted to test drive the apartment. His top priority was to have sex on the balcony, but that was never going to happen. It is certainly a big enough balcony. It is the biggest balcony I have ever seen in Hong Kong. There is plenty of room to do all manner of unspeakable things, but this is still in Hong Kong. Our building is not pressed against the next building, but we still have neighbors who can easily see our balcony when they are out on theirs. The balcony is big enough to have a party, but you are never going to have any privacy on it.
Naturally, Ryan suggested we wait until night time. Hong Kong is never truly dark at night. There are always plenty of lights on everywhere, but you could probably go unnoticed on the balcony with the living room lights off. So maybe there is slightly more privacy at night, but there are also far more mosquitoes. There are plenty of mosquitoes in the day time, more than enough, in fact. But night time is when they really come out in full force. Since this is mosquito season – anywhere between March and December is mosquito season – I would prefer to be as covered as I can when I'm outdoors at night. There are parts of my body that really don't need mosquito bites.
Lily & Kevin were at work a lot, so Ryan wanted to test drive the apartment. His top priority was to have sex on the balcony, but that was never going to happen. It is certainly a big enough balcony. It is the biggest balcony I have ever seen in Hong Kong. There is plenty of room to do all manner of unspeakable things, but this is still in Hong Kong. Our building is not pressed against the next building, but we still have neighbors who can easily see our balcony when they are out on theirs. The balcony is big enough to have a party, but you are never going to have any privacy on it.
Naturally, Ryan suggested we wait until night time. Hong Kong is never truly dark at night. There are always plenty of lights on everywhere, but you could probably go unnoticed on the balcony with the living room lights off. So maybe there is slightly more privacy at night, but there are also far more mosquitoes. There are plenty of mosquitoes in the day time, more than enough, in fact. But night time is when they really come out in full force. Since this is mosquito season – anywhere between March and December is mosquito season – I would prefer to be as covered as I can when I'm outdoors at night. There are parts of my body that really don't need mosquito bites.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
New Year, New Home part 6
What I like most about the new apartment is the kitchen. Most Hong Kong apartments have no kitchens. They all claim to have a kitchen, but a sink against a wall is not my idea of a kitchen. The newer expensive luxury apartments all have kitchens, but they are also ridiculously overpriced. People in Hong Kong are more than happy to pay way too much for something if it gives them a sense of status. If a building is famous or is in the neighborhood that is more fashionable this week, they are more than willing to pay twice as much as it's worth. We found a few reasonably priced apartments with kitchens, but most were smaller than this one.
I predict I will be spending more time in the kitchen than any other room. Now that I have space, I can make more than toaster oven brownies.
What Lily likes most about the new apartment is the gym. Newer apartments all seem to have gyms. Most of the older apartments do not. I don't know when they started putting gyms in Hong Kong apartments, but you can always tell when an apartment was built by the gym. The gym in our apartment is decent. It is not like a club that you would join, but for something just downstairs, it is pretty good.
What Kevin likes most about the new apartment is the balcony. Most apartments in Hong Kong have balconies, but they are usually very small. They all seem to have tiny laundry balconies that are just big enough for a washing machine and a little bit of space to hang your clothes out to dry. Our apartment has the laundry balcony, but it also has a real balcony outside the living room. It was the biggest balcony we saw in our entire apartment search. Even the new luxury apartments had smaller balconies. Some had no balconies at all.
There was a building overlooking the harbour that had great views of the Hong Kong side, but it did not have any balconies or even big windows. That seemed strange to me. They build something with this great view but don't take advantage of it.
I don't know how much time Kevin, or any of us, will spend on that balcony, but it is nice to have. My old apartment only had the tiny laundry balcony which only had a view of the building next door. We can see plenty of other buildings from this one, but we can also see the harbour. Looking out the window and seeing water is a nice change of pace. Seeing anything besides other buildings is a luxury in Hong Kong.
I predict I will be spending more time in the kitchen than any other room. Now that I have space, I can make more than toaster oven brownies.
What Lily likes most about the new apartment is the gym. Newer apartments all seem to have gyms. Most of the older apartments do not. I don't know when they started putting gyms in Hong Kong apartments, but you can always tell when an apartment was built by the gym. The gym in our apartment is decent. It is not like a club that you would join, but for something just downstairs, it is pretty good.
What Kevin likes most about the new apartment is the balcony. Most apartments in Hong Kong have balconies, but they are usually very small. They all seem to have tiny laundry balconies that are just big enough for a washing machine and a little bit of space to hang your clothes out to dry. Our apartment has the laundry balcony, but it also has a real balcony outside the living room. It was the biggest balcony we saw in our entire apartment search. Even the new luxury apartments had smaller balconies. Some had no balconies at all.
There was a building overlooking the harbour that had great views of the Hong Kong side, but it did not have any balconies or even big windows. That seemed strange to me. They build something with this great view but don't take advantage of it.
I don't know how much time Kevin, or any of us, will spend on that balcony, but it is nice to have. My old apartment only had the tiny laundry balcony which only had a view of the building next door. We can see plenty of other buildings from this one, but we can also see the harbour. Looking out the window and seeing water is a nice change of pace. Seeing anything besides other buildings is a luxury in Hong Kong.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Paperback Writer part 2
Hailey's Bali Diary is now in paperback. As usual, if you buy the paperback, you can get the e-book for free. The price will probably change all the time. Nudist Cruise seems to have a new price every day. I don't have any control over that.
Most stores and sites price match, so if they find it somewhere cheaper, they will lower the price. I don't know if they raise the price when they find it higher, but I would not be surprised.
Most stores and sites price match, so if they find it somewhere cheaper, they will lower the price. I don't know if they raise the price when they find it higher, but I would not be surprised.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
New Year, New Home part 5
Moving is a pain in the butt. I like to think that I don't have a lot of stuff, but when you move, you find out just how much you have. I definitely have less stuff in Hong Kong than I did in Minnesota, but it is still too much.
I came to Hong Kong with a suitcase and a backpack. If I knew then what I know now, I would have brought less. Most of the clothes I brought were completely inappropriate for Hong Kong. I even brought a big winter coat. That just seems ridiculous to me now. Most of the clothes I wear now are from Hong Kong anyway.
Lily & Kevin came to Hong Kong with three or four suitcases, two carry-ons, and backpacks and bags. Like a lot of expats, they brought everything they thought they would need. Like most expats, they found that they did not need most of it and ended up buying the things they needed here. Now they have a crazy amount of stuff. Every time I take a trip out of Hong Kong, I bring back souvenirs and gifts for other people. Every time they go out of Hong Kong, they bring back gifts for others and souvenirs for themselves. They have boxes full of trinkets from their travels.
We also had to move Ryan's stuff. He did not bring nearly as much to Hong Kong as Lily & Kevin, but he has bought more here than I have. He left most of his stuff here when he went to Fuzhou because he never knew how long that would last. He has been there for almost two years now, but he still sees it as temporary. Now he is buying more stuff there.
We decided to go through each other's stuff and throw away whatever we did not think was necessary, but that was never going to work out. If I suggested throwing out Kevin's golf clubs and all the junk that goes with them – balls, tees, gloves and a bunch of other crap – he said he might start playing golf again. He has not played in all the time he has been in Hong Kong. I think he should at least sell them to someone who might actually use them.
Kevin wanted to throw out Lily's CD collection. She has I don't know how many thousands of CDs. We could not even count them. It is endless boxes and boxes full of CDs. Obviously, music is good and nobody suggests she do without it, but all of the songs on all of those CDs can be put on her computer. It would probably take an extra hard drive, but at least that hard drive would be a lot easier to carry. These are not rare, unusual prints of hard to find LPs. These are garden variety CDs from China and Japan.
Lily wanted the throw out most of my Disney stuff. When you work at Disneyland, you get a pretty good discount and I went a little overboard when I started working there. Kevin thinks it is all junk and Lily is not impressed by anything she sees every day at work, but I think some of it is cute. I'm not going to work at Disneyland forever and someday I will want some of this stuff when I look back on this time. People are always saying they wish they still had Disney things from 20 or 30 years ago that Disney does not make anymore. Maybe I will feel the same way in 20 or 30 years.
In the end, Lily got rid of a few boxes. She kept all of her CDs, but she threw most of the old clothes she never wears anymore. Kevin kept his golf clubs, but threw out maybe 10% of his stuff. I was the most drastic. Though the new apartment is much bigger than the old one, I like the idea of having less clutter. I threw out several boxes of Disney stuff, almost as many clothes as Lily and pretty much anything that had been sitting in a box since they moved into my tiny apartment. If I never used it, I don't need it.
I came to Hong Kong with a suitcase and a backpack. If I knew then what I know now, I would have brought less. Most of the clothes I brought were completely inappropriate for Hong Kong. I even brought a big winter coat. That just seems ridiculous to me now. Most of the clothes I wear now are from Hong Kong anyway.
Lily & Kevin came to Hong Kong with three or four suitcases, two carry-ons, and backpacks and bags. Like a lot of expats, they brought everything they thought they would need. Like most expats, they found that they did not need most of it and ended up buying the things they needed here. Now they have a crazy amount of stuff. Every time I take a trip out of Hong Kong, I bring back souvenirs and gifts for other people. Every time they go out of Hong Kong, they bring back gifts for others and souvenirs for themselves. They have boxes full of trinkets from their travels.
We also had to move Ryan's stuff. He did not bring nearly as much to Hong Kong as Lily & Kevin, but he has bought more here than I have. He left most of his stuff here when he went to Fuzhou because he never knew how long that would last. He has been there for almost two years now, but he still sees it as temporary. Now he is buying more stuff there.
We decided to go through each other's stuff and throw away whatever we did not think was necessary, but that was never going to work out. If I suggested throwing out Kevin's golf clubs and all the junk that goes with them – balls, tees, gloves and a bunch of other crap – he said he might start playing golf again. He has not played in all the time he has been in Hong Kong. I think he should at least sell them to someone who might actually use them.
Kevin wanted to throw out Lily's CD collection. She has I don't know how many thousands of CDs. We could not even count them. It is endless boxes and boxes full of CDs. Obviously, music is good and nobody suggests she do without it, but all of the songs on all of those CDs can be put on her computer. It would probably take an extra hard drive, but at least that hard drive would be a lot easier to carry. These are not rare, unusual prints of hard to find LPs. These are garden variety CDs from China and Japan.
Lily wanted the throw out most of my Disney stuff. When you work at Disneyland, you get a pretty good discount and I went a little overboard when I started working there. Kevin thinks it is all junk and Lily is not impressed by anything she sees every day at work, but I think some of it is cute. I'm not going to work at Disneyland forever and someday I will want some of this stuff when I look back on this time. People are always saying they wish they still had Disney things from 20 or 30 years ago that Disney does not make anymore. Maybe I will feel the same way in 20 or 30 years.
In the end, Lily got rid of a few boxes. She kept all of her CDs, but she threw most of the old clothes she never wears anymore. Kevin kept his golf clubs, but threw out maybe 10% of his stuff. I was the most drastic. Though the new apartment is much bigger than the old one, I like the idea of having less clutter. I threw out several boxes of Disney stuff, almost as many clothes as Lily and pretty much anything that had been sitting in a box since they moved into my tiny apartment. If I never used it, I don't need it.
Monday, April 21, 2014
New Year, New Home part 4
We finally moved to a new apartment. We looked at so many different places that now I can't even remember what any of them looked like. Each one could be classified into two different styles. Every apartment in each style was just like all the others. There were always minor differences here and there, but it almost looked like they were all made by the same company. Maybe that is how buildings can go up so quickly in Hong Kong. They all follow the same blueprint.
The hardest part about picking an apartment was not what it looked like. It was finding one that we could all agree on. We did not want to vote and let the majority rule. We wanted it to be unanimous. If we took an apartment that one of us did not like, there would only be problems later. Since we all agreed on this apartment, hopefully we can stay here longer.
The second hardest part was location. Lily & I work at the same place, but Kevin works on the other side of town. Most expats, and most of the better apartments, are on Kevin's side of town. Living there would only make it harder for Lily & me to get to work. It would not really be hard. We would still take the MTR. It would just take longer.
I don't want to live around a bunch of expats anyway. What is the point of living in a foreign country if you are only surrounding yourself with other foreigners? I already work with a bunch of foreigners and I'm sharing an apartment with two foreigners. The last thing I want is to live in some gated foreigner community or exclusive building. I want as many Chinese neighbors as possible. I want to go outside and be in a Chinese neighborhood.
The third hardest part was the price. Kevin makes more money than the rest of us combined. We agreed right from the beginning that we would all pay an equal third of the rent. This meant that it had to be based on Lily's & my salary, not on Kevin's. Finding a cheap apartment in Hong Kong is easy. There are a lot of dumps out there. We wanted something nicer. With three people we could still afford something better, but we had to ignore some very nice places. There are a lot of cheap run-down apartments in Hong Kong, but there are also a lot of very nice luxury apartments. We limited our search to something in between.
Eventually, we found a place in our price range that was more or less half way between our jobs. It is technically closer to Kevin's job, but it has a free shuttle to an MTR station that goes almost directly to our job. That was the clincher for us. We were trying to decide between this apartment and another one that we all liked when we found out about the shuttle. We can always walk to the nearest MTR station, but then we have to transfer to the line where the shuttle goes. That shuttle just makes our lives easier.
The hardest part about picking an apartment was not what it looked like. It was finding one that we could all agree on. We did not want to vote and let the majority rule. We wanted it to be unanimous. If we took an apartment that one of us did not like, there would only be problems later. Since we all agreed on this apartment, hopefully we can stay here longer.
The second hardest part was location. Lily & I work at the same place, but Kevin works on the other side of town. Most expats, and most of the better apartments, are on Kevin's side of town. Living there would only make it harder for Lily & me to get to work. It would not really be hard. We would still take the MTR. It would just take longer.
I don't want to live around a bunch of expats anyway. What is the point of living in a foreign country if you are only surrounding yourself with other foreigners? I already work with a bunch of foreigners and I'm sharing an apartment with two foreigners. The last thing I want is to live in some gated foreigner community or exclusive building. I want as many Chinese neighbors as possible. I want to go outside and be in a Chinese neighborhood.
The third hardest part was the price. Kevin makes more money than the rest of us combined. We agreed right from the beginning that we would all pay an equal third of the rent. This meant that it had to be based on Lily's & my salary, not on Kevin's. Finding a cheap apartment in Hong Kong is easy. There are a lot of dumps out there. We wanted something nicer. With three people we could still afford something better, but we had to ignore some very nice places. There are a lot of cheap run-down apartments in Hong Kong, but there are also a lot of very nice luxury apartments. We limited our search to something in between.
Eventually, we found a place in our price range that was more or less half way between our jobs. It is technically closer to Kevin's job, but it has a free shuttle to an MTR station that goes almost directly to our job. That was the clincher for us. We were trying to decide between this apartment and another one that we all liked when we found out about the shuttle. We can always walk to the nearest MTR station, but then we have to transfer to the line where the shuttle goes. That shuttle just makes our lives easier.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Vacation to Somewhere part 2
Our short list is Amsterdam/Alkmaar, Scotland, Bangkok/Chiang Mai, Bali, Israel/Jordan. There are pros and cons of each.
The only downside to Amsterdam is that Ryan & I have been there, but we both liked it and we would never complain about going back. I really want to check out the cheese in Alkmaar, which is just outside Amsterdam. Lily wants to rent a houseboat, but I think if we go to Amsterdam, we will get nice hotel rooms or a suite.
Scotland is mostly my choice. My family was originally from Scotland and I know everything about our family tree, though I have never seen any of the places I have heard about. Kevin is a little interested in Scotland, but nobody else really cares. So we probably will not go there. If we do, there is a castle where we can stay.
Ryan & I have been to Bangkok and Kevin wants to go to Chiang Mai. If we do this one, we will fly into Bangkok, stay there for a few days and then go to Chiang Mai. I think this could be a pretty good trip, but going from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and then back to Bangkok might be a hassle. There are flights from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai, but far more options to Bangkok.
Lily really wants to go to Bali. A lot of people seem to want to go there now, and of course, she heard all about our trip. One of the great things about Bali is that with four people, we could get an exceptional 5 star villa. I would also like to see more of the island since we saw precious little the first time.
I would love to go to Israel and/or Jordan, but Ryan and Kevin have opposite opinions on all the political issues. I don't care about any of that. I want to see the history, meet the people and eat the food. Lily thinks if we go there, we should spend equal time in each country. That way Ryan and Kevin can have equal time. That sounds fair, but I have no idea where to go in Jordan outside of the most obvious places. I also don't know anything about hotels in Jordan, but I can figure it out. In Israel, I know that we can rent a house. I would rather stay in a nice house than a hotel.
The only downside to Amsterdam is that Ryan & I have been there, but we both liked it and we would never complain about going back. I really want to check out the cheese in Alkmaar, which is just outside Amsterdam. Lily wants to rent a houseboat, but I think if we go to Amsterdam, we will get nice hotel rooms or a suite.
Scotland is mostly my choice. My family was originally from Scotland and I know everything about our family tree, though I have never seen any of the places I have heard about. Kevin is a little interested in Scotland, but nobody else really cares. So we probably will not go there. If we do, there is a castle where we can stay.
Ryan & I have been to Bangkok and Kevin wants to go to Chiang Mai. If we do this one, we will fly into Bangkok, stay there for a few days and then go to Chiang Mai. I think this could be a pretty good trip, but going from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and then back to Bangkok might be a hassle. There are flights from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai, but far more options to Bangkok.
Lily really wants to go to Bali. A lot of people seem to want to go there now, and of course, she heard all about our trip. One of the great things about Bali is that with four people, we could get an exceptional 5 star villa. I would also like to see more of the island since we saw precious little the first time.
I would love to go to Israel and/or Jordan, but Ryan and Kevin have opposite opinions on all the political issues. I don't care about any of that. I want to see the history, meet the people and eat the food. Lily thinks if we go there, we should spend equal time in each country. That way Ryan and Kevin can have equal time. That sounds fair, but I have no idea where to go in Jordan outside of the most obvious places. I also don't know anything about hotels in Jordan, but I can figure it out. In Israel, I know that we can rent a house. I would rather stay in a nice house than a hotel.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Vacation to Somewhere
Lily, Ryan, Kevin and I have decided that we should all take a vacation together. One of the major benefits to all of us going together is that we can afford a better place to stay. When Ryan & I go somewhere, we don't splurge that often when it comes to hotels. The villa in Bali was surprisingly affordable, the cruise was practically free, we chose smaller boutique hotels in Europe and we almost never go for anything expensive in China. Lily & Kevin are pretty much the same, and they stay with family whenever they go back to Canada. With all four of us, we can aim a little higher.
We don't know where we are going yet, but we know it will be in August. That is pretty much the only month all of us can take a vacation at the same time. August may not be the ideal time of year to travel, especially since most of the world is hotter than usual and millions of other people are also on vacation, but that is when it has to be. Hong Kong is hot and very humid in August, so I'm sure it will not be too difficult to adjust to the heat and humidity of wherever we go.
Right now, we are trying to decide where to go. I'm open to pretty much anywhere that does not treat women like property. Ryan wants to get out of Asia, but will settle for getting away from China or anything Chinese. So Singapore or any place with a large Chinese influence is out. Lily wants to stay away from war zones. Kevin prefers somewhere with exotic food. That could be almost anywhere, except Canada and the United States. Those are not exotic to any of us.
Usually whenever I go somewhere, I have very little time to plan anything. All of my trips from Hong Kong seem like they have been at the last minute. This time, there is plenty of time to pick a good place and get everything right. We should have more than enough time to get visas if we need them and find a nice place to stay.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Ryan in the Rain
The timing of Ryan's trip to Hong Kong was pretty good. There was a big hail storm while he was here, but he arrived before it all started and left after it was over. The hail storm delayed some flights, but he did not have to deal with any of that.
There are too many times when you have to plan your air travel carefully around here. During Chinese New Year, everything is just insanely crowded and expensive. I would avoid the airport as much as possible that entire month. During the summer, you have to consider the rain. Most days are just rainy, but sometimes it rains enough to cancel flights. During typhoon season, you have to think about typhoons. They give you plenty of warning before they hit, and they rarely hit Hong Kong, but if you plan a flight a week or more in advance, you can easily get stuck because of a typhoon. Now we have hail storms wreaking havoc at the airport when it should be perfectly safe to travel.
I still live in my tiny apartment, so we stayed at a hotel while Ryan was here. I picked the Regal Kowloon on Mody Road, between Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom. It was a little expensive, but definitely worth every penny. This is a nice hotel in an area full of nice hotels. It is not close to any MTR stations, but that also means it is not as close to all the crowded tourists spots. This is the kind of neighborhood where you can go out and walk around without walking through a million other people. But it is not in the middle of nowhere. The hotel is a block from Salisbury Road and the beginning of the Promenade.
There is another hotel between the Regal and Victoria Harbour, but they are not right on top of each other, so some rooms have views of the harbour. Even if you don't have a view, it is only a block away. The hotel is also close to the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Science Museum.
A lot of hotels don't have any outlets to plug anything in unless you unplug one of their lamps. This hotel had plenty of open plugs on the walls that were easy to get to and readily available. I don't know why all hotels don't do this. I don't have a bunch of smart phones and ipads and tablets, but most people have things they need to charge. Usually when I stay at a hotel outside of Hong Kong, I have a cellphone and camera to charge.
With the hailstorm, we spent most of our time in the hotel. The easiest things to walk to are the Promenade and Avenue of Stars. We have seen all that a million times. Even in perfect weather, we would not have gone there. This was a good hotel to spend more time indoors. Some hotels are good for sleeping and little else. I would not recommend that anyone who comes to Hong Kong just stay in their hotel all day, but if you do, this is a pretty good place to do it.
There are too many times when you have to plan your air travel carefully around here. During Chinese New Year, everything is just insanely crowded and expensive. I would avoid the airport as much as possible that entire month. During the summer, you have to consider the rain. Most days are just rainy, but sometimes it rains enough to cancel flights. During typhoon season, you have to think about typhoons. They give you plenty of warning before they hit, and they rarely hit Hong Kong, but if you plan a flight a week or more in advance, you can easily get stuck because of a typhoon. Now we have hail storms wreaking havoc at the airport when it should be perfectly safe to travel.
I still live in my tiny apartment, so we stayed at a hotel while Ryan was here. I picked the Regal Kowloon on Mody Road, between Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom. It was a little expensive, but definitely worth every penny. This is a nice hotel in an area full of nice hotels. It is not close to any MTR stations, but that also means it is not as close to all the crowded tourists spots. This is the kind of neighborhood where you can go out and walk around without walking through a million other people. But it is not in the middle of nowhere. The hotel is a block from Salisbury Road and the beginning of the Promenade.
There is another hotel between the Regal and Victoria Harbour, but they are not right on top of each other, so some rooms have views of the harbour. Even if you don't have a view, it is only a block away. The hotel is also close to the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Science Museum.
A lot of hotels don't have any outlets to plug anything in unless you unplug one of their lamps. This hotel had plenty of open plugs on the walls that were easy to get to and readily available. I don't know why all hotels don't do this. I don't have a bunch of smart phones and ipads and tablets, but most people have things they need to charge. Usually when I stay at a hotel outside of Hong Kong, I have a cellphone and camera to charge.
With the hailstorm, we spent most of our time in the hotel. The easiest things to walk to are the Promenade and Avenue of Stars. We have seen all that a million times. Even in perfect weather, we would not have gone there. This was a good hotel to spend more time indoors. Some hotels are good for sleeping and little else. I would not recommend that anyone who comes to Hong Kong just stay in their hotel all day, but if you do, this is a pretty good place to do it.
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