Gangnam Style!

Our flight from Hawaii back to Hong Kong included a stop over in Seoul so we took full advantage of the opportunity to see the city. We bought day passes for the Seoul Tour Bus, their version of a hop on, hop off bus - a super easy and convenient way to check out the city.

Our first stop was the Namsangol Hanok Village. Here we were able to see some traditional Korean houses like those built during the mid 1800s (during the Choseon dynasty). As it turns out they were also having a festival with live musical performances. There were men on stilts, groups of dancers in traditional costumes and even TV cameras there to capture it all. The Namsangol Hanok Gardens includes pavilions, ponds and rocky streams amongst all of the native plants - a very peaceful walk and definite contrast to all of the action we saw when we first arrived at Namsangol Hanok. 

While waiting for the bus some locals passed us eating this fish waffle looking thing which looked to have nutella inside. After looking around a bit I was able to find the lady making these fish. We had no idea what they were or what was inside but Melissa felt adventurous and took a big bite. As she handed it over for my turn I noticed it was not chocolate but red bean...yuck! They have red bean everything all over Asia, but I pass... every time!

 As the bus winded it way through the city we passed an area that had a ton of American restaurants, such as Popeye's, Papa Johns, Dominos, TGI Fridays, Outback just to name a few. We are so jealous (and annoyed!) that Hong Kong doesn't have any those eating options. 

Insadong is a great place to check out traditional Korean teahouses, craft shops, antique shops and local art galleries - bonus also that the streets are restricted to pedestrian traffic only.  There weren't many western options available here, so we decided to try some Korean food. We stumbled upon a restaurant in a back ally that had a photo menu - score! We ordered a Korean pancake, glass noodles with vegetables, and seafood tteokbokki. As this was our first experience with Korean food (of the non-barbeque variety), we didn't know what to expect except for spicy (Koreans love their spicy food.) When the dishes started to come out we realized quite quickly that we ordered way too much! Oh well, this way we got to try a little of everything plus with more choices, you increase your odds that you will at least like one of the dishes. 

After walking off our lunch, it was time for dessert. We spotted a HUGE line in front of a store with these strange cane like ice cream cones. This place was so popular that they had someone on the street for crowd control. After finally making our way into the shop, there was an assembly line of sorts - at the first counter, a guy takes your money, at the next counter, a guy hands you one of these hollow cones and then right next to the exit there is a guy that takes your cane/cone and pumps ice cream into it. Melissa said it was like McDonald's ice cream just in a fancy cone. I got my ice cream fix a few blocks later from the Turkish ice cream stall - strawberry which was AMAZING! 

Insadong is great for picking up local souvenirs, which we found a few. Melissa also found the perfect white elephant gift for her next Christmas party, YEP gangnam style socks. 

That evening the hotel concierge recommended that we check out Itaewon which was just across the street from the hotel - which we couldn't miss if we tried with all of the crowds of people and all the neon lights - seriously there were so many lights on some of the streets that you almost forgot it was nighttime! 

The Koreans sure do love their street food! We passed a stall that was cutting and frying potatoes on a stick, tastes ok but sure does look cool. There was another stall we passed that looked to have corn dogs with french fries stuck to it, good if you are on the go and want to eat fries with your corn dog I guess. We passed on that one. We also stumbled across a guy dancing very enthusiastically with a giant cat head on holding a sign that said something about cat cafe. Melissa had read that people go to these places to play with cats or dogs (at a dog cafe) while they drink their drinks. Interesting concept I guess. 

As we were starting to get hungry  we stumbled on a Korean BBQ restaurant and figured why not. There were pictures on the menu here but everything was in Korean so after sitting down we did our customary looking at the other tables to see what people were ordering. The couple next to us were grilling some meat on the grill so we pointed at that and the waitress very loudly grunted MMMM!!! with satisfaction as she pointed it out on the menu. Okay, I guess that was a good choice?? After ordering, they prepared the grill in the middle of our table and then put two large pieces of meat on it, periodically coming by to flip it for us. When the meat was cooked they took out a pair of scissors and cut the meat for us and then prepared the noodle with vegetable dish we ordered.  Again we ordered way too much! Oh well, when traveling abroad and tying new things it is all about variety. Before we got started eating the beef we noticed the couple next to us making lettuce wraps with the meat then shoving the entire thing in their mouth. Not so gracious looking but at least it tasted good! 

Aloha, Kauai!..Better Late than Never

The plan was to meet my mom for her birthday in Kauai...at least that was the plan. Before we even left for the HK airport I knew the flight was going to be delayed. As soon as we arrived at the gate I reconfirmed how late and asked how many of the passengers would be connecting on to Honolulu - 46, a large number as it turns out and I was reassured by the gate agent that they would likely hold the plane for such a large group. When we arrived in Guam, the gate agent informed us that the Honolulu passengers (we!) missed the flight and would have to go wait in line to be accommodated on a later flight. We got put on a flight 6 hours later to Tokyo (um the opposite direction of Kauai and oh yeah, closer to where we started from than where we were trying to go), then another 5 hours waiting in Tokyo then finally on to Honolulu. We had a connecting flight on to Kauai which the Guam agent confirmed would connect with our Tokyo flight. After clearing customs and immigration in Honolulu we ran down to the inter island terminal to check in for our flight to find out that apparently United didn't actually confirm our seats and they were rereleased. To make matters worse, even at 7 am  there were no seats out to Kauai all day October 12.. my mom's birthday! We then ran all the way back over to the other terminal for United to try and sort it out but the best they could do was to get us into Kauai on the 13th.

Making the most out of the hand we were dealt, we headed down to Waikiki and after checking in at the hotel (which we booked literally in the taxi as we left the airport!), did some shopping and scoping out all of the restaurant chains we miss. I found a 30 pound tiki statue that I was just barely able to fit in my bag and then we then headed to the mall for Melissa's turn to do some damage (which she did). Surprisingly the place we chose for dinner was PF Chang... most might thing we came all this way to have Chinese food, but they have American Chinese food, the type we grew up on.. and LOVE!

We took an early morning flight into Kauai. This was our first time into Kauai and I thought we were landing in Jurasic Park when we passed the Na Pali coast line... the first scene in the movie with the helicopter. The mountains push right up against the coast, so much so that there is no room for them to build a road!

After meeting up with the birthday girl we got settled into the time share. After losing a day, we got right to it and headed to the closest town, Hanalei for some lunch and to explore the various local shops. After walking around a bit, Melissa stopped for a fresh pineapple juice at a juice stand.

Kauai is known as the garden isle, but it is know to locals as rooster island. There was a strong storm in the past that knocked over chicken coops and with no predators the wild chicken population has EXPLODED. They are everywhere, from the side of the road to your open air restaurant, and yes you will hear the roosters every sunrise. Hotel wake up call not needed. 

The next morning we went on a tour of the island starting with a stop at Kilauea Point. The government shutdown, made it all the way to Hawaii! As they charge an entrance fee, it would seem they were actually losing money by closing it down. I guess Obama succeeded by making the shutdown as painful as possible! Kind of surprised they didn't put spike strips and erect something to block the view from the road. Oh well, at least we got some good views from the parking lot. 

After driving around the windy coastal roads of Kauai, we were ready for lunch. We saw numerous advertisements for Shrimp Station and their "best on the island coconut shrimp", so we had to try it. Actually we had it twice while in Kauai (albeit 2 different locations), can't get enough of a good thing! There were even a handful of chickens roaming the restraunt looking for some table scraps. 

We did a 2nd day of driving making it around to the Na Pali coast. Driving down the coast from Princeville, an elevated road passes through a valley hillside of trees that look to be over a hundred years old and look very unique to the island, another reference to Jurassic Park.

After making our way to the other side of the island after passing through half a dozen sleepy Hawaiian towns, we finally arrived at the Waimea Canyon Lookout point. We have not made it to the Grand Canyon yet but this is what we imagine it looks like - but with a touch of green. A little further up the mountian was Kalalau lookout which offers a great aerial view of the Na Pali coast.

We saw a lot of shaved ice stands so Melissa had to relive her childhood days. They have the usual flavors such as pineapple and coconut but also have some strange ones like li hing mui and lilikoi. We were so intrigued by li hing mui we asked for a sample which Melissa and my mom testify was not that bad but nevertheless, Melissa ordered the traditional flavors. 

At my mom's time share there are gas grills for the guests to use and as this is one of the things I miss the most from back home, we picked up some fresh mahi mahi filets and some vegetables to get some grill time in. I am not sure what I enjoyed more though...grilling or the views just past the grill... absolutely PERFECT...and the food was good too!

After lunch we went on a walk around Princeville.

Posts in Hong Kong

Our flight from the Philippines arrived into Hong Kong early in the morning, giving the Post's 3 full days to see HK. Since it was a public holiday (China National Day),  Central (Hong Kong's downtown area) was packed with all of the domestic workers like it normally is every Sunday (their day off) and HK public holidays. The ladies literally take over that part of the city - closing roads and changing bus routes.

Can you spot Mr. & Mrs. Post?

From Central, we hopped on a bus out of the city and headed down to Stanley for a change of scenery. As is happened, Stanley was hosting a beer festival. First on tap was Tsingtao, one of the most popular Chinese beers which Mr. Post and I had a glass of.  The girls opted for a local Hong Kong craft beer that was mango infused. 

Heading back to the apartment from Central, we took the opportunity to show Mr. Post one of Hong Kong's most convenient transportation options - the Central-Midlevel Escalators - the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system. The entire system covers over 2,600 feet in distance and elevates over 443 feet from bottom to top and is the easiest way to get to the residential areas which are up hill.

For an "authentic" Chinese experience, we took Melissa's parents to Temple Street Night Market for dinner. This place is a shocker for most foreigners, but the restaurants (I use that term very, very loosely) all have really large menus with photos and the prices are fairly reasonable for Hong Kong standards. This place really is a must do for any tourist!

The next morning I showed the Posts one of our favorite things to do on the weekend - hiking the Morning Trail up to The Peak.

After an hour of walking uphill, we reached The Peak. We took some time to explore the shops and enjoy the views of Hong Kong island and Kowloon across the harbor.

For lunch, we  met up with Melissa at the park across from Statue Square, right in the heart of Central. 

That evening, we took the Star Ferry over to Kowloon to see Hong Kong Island skyline.

On the Posts' last day in Hong Kong, we took a bus to the other side of the island to Aberdeen. While walking down the promenade we were summoned by a captain of a boat and handed a card with all the sights and the price for his tour around the harbor.  As the boat weaved in and out of the fishing boats, we got a glimpse of the local life here - families drying clothes, making dinner and their pets sunning themselves. The driver was a real character, even with one hand to steer the boat and the throttle between his toes he looked to be in complete control. On the more exclusive side of the harbor were the luxury yachts side with many boats worth tens of millions of dollars...each. We had the captian drop us off at the most famous restaurant in Aberdeen.. Jumbo floating restaurant.

The inside of Jumbo is just as impressive as the outside with a massive mosaic mural and elaborate seating area at the back of the hall.

It's More Fun In the Philippines

 When we got up the next morning, we were really excited to see that the rain had stopped and we were going to enjoy another sunny day. After breakfast, we grabbed a couple of beach chairs and umbrellas along the beach. The wind created some slightly larger waves than normal, nothing too big but just large enough to have fun jumping in. Mrs. Post even came in to join Melissa and I. Mr. Post watched the bags with his friend San Miguel.

For sunset we took a long stroll along the beach. We were looking for these huge sandcastles 

Boracay is known for but only came across a tiny one compared to the one we saw in 2009. After taking our photos we were looking around to find the builder to give a small tip, but the cops ran them off. I was told that they need to buy a permit...guess the government is nickel and diming the locals too.

It looked like everyone came to the beach to enjoy the sunset and it didn't dissapoint! After the sunset we did some shopping for some cheap local crafts and souvineers. For dinner we went back to a place Melissa and  found on a previous trip - Ole, which is a Cuban, Mexican, and Spanish restaurant. One thing we remembered they knew how to make was a good jug of sangria! Or two. While this time we took it easy, we did throughly enjoy the pallea. 

Our last day in Boracay was really just a morning as we had to take a car to the port, boat to the main island, then a 2 hour car ride to the airport, but we took full advantage of the time we had. We went for our morning walk in the opposite direction showing the Posts the place we stayed at on our previous trip.. which was about 1/2 the stars of the hotel we stayed at this time, includes the word "hut" in the name and was somewhere in the neighborhood of US$30/night.  

After our walk we went back to our beach spot in front of the  hotel and enjoyed the beach for a little bit longer before we had to start getting ready for check out. 

On the return to the airport I arranged the more expensive private option through the hotel so we would not have to wait for the other passengers. The hotel shuttle van picked us up right on time and we drove through the city getting a quick look into the local island life, but as we drove out of the town we thought the driver was lost as we passed the port!? I didn't say anything in case he was taking us on another route, but then he turned into a neighborhood down an unpaved road. We realized we were okay as the ocean came into view. When we walked from the car to the boat we passed a couple of caged roosters that looked ready for a cock fight! As soon as we jumped into the boat the engines started and we all looked at each other... private boat too! We spent at least 30 minutes on the trip down waiting for the ferry so this was a nice plus. 

As we walked to our plane I stopped and asked one of the ramp workers if they minded if I took a photo as 90% of the time they don't let you take photos (security concerns). But, he said sure and proceeded to reach for the camera and take the photo for us! That's a first!