Monkeying Around the World

Ivan, Jennifer and I went to the Reed Flute Cave in Guilin on October 17, 2008.  Right when you walk into the area, you get pestered with people trying to sell you books, postcards or a bamboo ride.  Ivan said later to one lady.  For some reason they kept bugging Ivan and not Jennifer.  Most of the locals think Jennifer is Chinese because they just automatically talk to her in Chinese.  She is part Chinese actually.  The caves are beautiful inside.

They add different colored lights to make it look cool.  The Chinese seem to name every rock formation things like Crystal Palace.  Sometimes they look like the name but usually not.  I guess it’s all in the imagination.  The cave is really big.

There were two tour groups inside, so it was pretty busy.  Jennifer thought it was the best cave she’s been to.  We also checked out the Turtle Cave.  There was a few turtles that they claimed were a thousand years old.   Maybe it’s just a name like the thousand-year egg.  It’s an egg that’s preserved for a few weeks or a few months.  I really doubt these turtles were that old.  They did look rather old though.  The old, big turtles didn’t do much and just sat on the table.  The Chinese ladies put money on the turtles.  I don’t know what that means though.  Ivan fed one of the turtles a banana.  I wanted to snatch the banana, but he paid to feed the turtle.

He was pretty slow at eating it.  We left the turtle area.  At the end of the cave, there’s a light show.  It was nice.  We left the cave.  The lady Ivan said later to was back and bugging Ivan to buy a book or some postcards.  Jennifer was trying to communicate in Chinese to this lady.

Jen Speaking Chinese

We took the bus towards the Seven Stars Park.  Ivan was really hungry.  So, we stopped by a Chinese restaurant to get something to eat.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered an eggplant dish and steamed buns.  I got the fried bananas.  The dishes turned out to be bigger than we thought they would be.  The food was real good.  We went to the Seven Stars Park next.  We walked around the park.  They have a cave but we didn’t check it out.  It was close to closing time.

We saw a few monkeys, birds and a camel.  There’s a panda exhibit.  The pandas were in a room by themselves and they were dirty.  Jennifer thought it was really sad and couldn’t take any pictures.  We all thought the pandas should be outside playing in nature.  I guess the park was doing construction and that’s why the pandas were in the rooms.

There’s Camel Hill where the rocks look like a camel.  The park wasn’t very exciting.

We woke up really early on October 18, 2008.  We would be picked up by an English guide to be taken to the ferry.  We were going to take a boat ride from Guilin to Yangshuo on the Li River.  The boat ride is a four hour ride.  We boarded after 9:30 am.  We were going to have lunch at 11:30 am.  The bottom has the dining area.  The top of the boat is where you can view the scenery.  Unfortunately, there’s no chairs on the top.  We were just sitting down on the floor.  A Chinese lady would announce the different names of the hills that were going by on the loud speaker.  Ivan thinks it’s redundant that they tell you the silly name they made up.  Ivan and Jennifer put on their iPods and chilled out.

Jennifer thought it was really peaceful just staring at the water and the passing scenery.  Everybody says it will be the highlight of your trip.  It’s really beautiful, but Ivan and Jennifer didn’t think it was spectacular.  Lunch was actually at 12 pm.  The setup is 8 people to a table.  We were seated with two backpackers from England (from our same group) and then four Chinese people who didn’t speak English.  Each table is served a bunch of dishes.  There was vegetables, omelet, chicken and noodle entrees.  Jennifer was trying to use the chopsticks to pick something up.  The Chinese man was laughing at her because she wasn’t having any luck picking it up.  Jennifer just laughed right along with him.  I was happy with my dish of chicken, onions and bananas with a bowl of rice.  I don’t know how to use chopsticks.  I just use my small monkey hands to eat my food.  It was quite tasty!  The meal wasn’t too filling for Ivan and Jennifer.  We went back to the top to enjoy the scenery.  It was quite hot though.

I hung upside-down on the railing by my tail.  This really made Jennifer nervous.  She didn’t want me to fall into the river.  The tour guide Shopping showed Ivan and some other people how to determine if you have fake money.  It turned out that Ivan had a fake 20 Yuan.  He was talking about it to some of the people from the tour.  Jennifer made a video on the boat for her friends and family.  We finally arrived about 2 pm in Yangshuo.
We didn’t book a hostel for the night.  So, were walking down West Street towards a hostel we were going to book when we arrived.  Instead, Ivan saw the Backstreet Youth Hostel and we went to check it out.  The room was clean and had a window.  It did have a squat toilet.  But, it was going to be for one night so it was alright.  I went out to get a banana ice cream.  Ivan tells me that they have banana pancakes in this city.  I was happy to hear that!  Ivan and Jennifer got their own ice cream cones too.
Dinnertime came and we went to Drifters, which is right by the Backstreet Youth Hostel.  I had 3 banana pancakes.

Ivan had a mushroom soup for a starter.  He thought it needed more flavor.  His main dish was tofu with vegetables.  He didn’t like that it came with too many tomatoes.  Jennifer had the chicken cordon bleu.  She seemed to like it.  The french fries were lacking in flavor.  Ivan and Jennifer each had a banana and chocolate pancake for dessert.
We walked to the Night Market to check out what was being sold.  It’s all about the bargaining here.  The workers seem to start really high.  Here’s what I learned from Ivan about bargaining.  You can name your price and they will usually say no.  You then walk away.  If they really want you to purchase it, they will call you back.  Jennifer has never bargained before.

Jennifer saw a good cotton hat she wanted.  Ivan asked for 20 Yuan.  We were going to check out another stand to find a good price.  The lady walked to where we were.  Ivan said 15.  She accepted that price.  The hat fit Jennifer pretty well.  Jennifer thought she looked like a fisherman in her new hat.  It was a good busy day.  It’s been crazy moving around so much.  But, any day with lots of bananas is good.

October 21st, 2008 | Category: Caves, China, Ferry, Food, Guilin, Yangshuo | Leave a comment

I forgot to mention that I put a video of Ivan sawing wood at the Happy Valley Racecourse.  Check it out on the post called Buddha drinking tea while on a horse or on the video page.

We wanted to see more of Macau.  We had some sandwiches right by the hostel on October 14, 2008. The cafe had some awesome egg custard tarts. They’re even more delicious than the ones in Hong Kong! It’s a speciality here in Macau.

We decided to check out the Macau Tower. It’s 338 meters tall. We saw the beautiful view at the Outdoor Observation Deck. It’s actually not outdoors at all.

They have bungy jumping from that level and we saw two people jump. I don’t know how they do it! Jennifer was getting quesy just watching it. Another activity up on the tower is called Sky Walk X. You can walk around the rim of the tower (connected to a harness) where there’s no rails. We went down to the other deck.

At the bottom, there’s a great mini Macau Tower made out of Legos. There was a display of artwork including one of Bruce Lee.

We took a taxi to Macau’s Fisherman’s Wharf.  We walked around and saw different cool buildings.

It contained mostly shops and restaurants.  The place is really big but there was barely any people around.  We had lunch at a place called Lulala.  It was a great place since there were trees outside and a few monkeys.

I got to eat a great banana and chicken dish.  Ivan and Jennifer had a semi-buffet inside.  Jennifer was glad to be inside since it was so hot and humid outside. Ivan saw the arcade and we ventured inside. Ivan and Jennifer played air hockey and a racing game. They’re both very competitive at video games.

We headed back to the hostel to relax. We were going to dress up and have dinner at the Venetian hotel.

We went to check out a few fountain shows at the Wynn first.  They’re so amazing!!

Wynn Macau dancing fountains

We walked to the Sands. There we picked up a shuttle and it took us to the Venetian on the Cotai Strip. The Venetian Hotel is much bigger than the one in Las Vegas. It has 3 canals.

Ivan, Jennifer and I walked around the Grand Canal Shops looking for a place for dinner. A few restaurants looked good. We saw the 3 Monkeys and had to eat here. The restaurant had a variety of food like Italian and Mexican cuisine. Monkeys were seated at a few tables in the restaurant. I made a new monkey friend named Sherry. She had big red lips and was holding this cute red heart. She was a cute monkey. She’s much older than me though. She’s 12 years old. It wouldn’t have worked anyway, since I’m going to be traveling so much. Oh, also she already had a monkey boyfriend. Jennifer told me I’m too young to have a monkey girlfriend anyway.

The food was good here. I had a banana pizza. Jennifer had the bolognese. Ivan had the mushroom soup and bbq chicken pizza. It was a decent meal. We walked around the shops more. The area is much more spacious than the shops in the Venetian in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, there wasn’t many people walking around. Ivan doesn’t think the area is very inviting. He also thinks the casinos don’t look too inviting from the outside. We did walk around. I stayed quiet in the backpack again since it’s only 18 years old and older in the casinos – probably not a monkey friendly zone either. Ivan and Jennifer were trying to find a nice bar. There didn’t seem to be a good one in the Venetian.
We walked to the shuttle area to go back to the Sands Hotel. There was a good bar at the Sands. It was buy one, get one free for Ladies’ Night. They thought the drinks had great flavors. I was enjoying my banana shake. We were watching Shakira in concert on the big screen tv. There was a band on but they weren’t too good. They sang a few love songs. Ivan mentioned that Chinese people loved love ballads. Jennifer didn’t know that at all. We left after a few drinks.

We checked out of the Auguster’s Lodge on October 15, 2008. We walked to the ferry station. We left around 2 pm for the boat ride to Shenzhen. It was about an hour and 20 minutes ride. We arrived in Shenzhen. Then we got the train to Guilin at 6pm. Jennifer has never ridden a train before.

So, she thinks of Harry Potter and anime when train rides comes to her mind. The train ride is 12 1/2 hours. We got a hard sleeper which has six beds in one section. So, there’s 3 beds on each side. Jennifer got the bottom bunk and Ivan got the middle one. The top bed is really high and takes some effort to get up to. A lady comes around and collects our ticket and gives us a card with our car number 15 and the section of your bed. She put our tickets in a black folder with the other tickets she received. Our section had bathrooms containing squat toilets inside. Ivan went to explore the train cars.

There’s a restaurant and a bar towards the middle of the cars. There’s better beds that have four beds instead. Also, there’s even better accommodation with two beds. Of course, these beds cost more. These areas have silver Western style toilets in their bathrooms. I was busy working on a blog post. Shortly after Ivan returned, we walked to the restaurant for some dinner. I just ate a few bananas. Ivan was having a problem since the vegetable dish wasn’t available. He asked what the fried chicken cube was. But, the server spoke no English. We were picturing a chicken shaped in a cube. Ivan decided to give it a go since the options were limited. Jennifer ordered the Fried Beef. Jennifer said her dish was pretty tasteless. Ivan’s was spicy, but not too good. It was actually chicken and rice. Ivan and Jennifer played some Mario Cart on the Nintendo DS’s for a short while. We walked back to the beds. We all talked for a little while. The train was expected to arrive around 6:30 am. So, we decided that we should try to sleep. It was a bit noisy on the train. The beds are really small. It comes with a nice comforter (duvet) and a pillow. Jennifer popped in her earplugs and went to bed. Ivan went to bed as well. He didn’t sleep too good though. There was a bar on his bed since it was in the middle section. He’s over 6 feet tall so the bed was too small for him. They both woke up around 12:30 am. Ivan and Jen talked for a bit. They both couldn’t sleep. They were going to try to sleep some more.

A lady woke Jennifer up around 6:15 am on October 16, 2008. She had no clue what was going on. She had been dreaming until she was woken up in Chinese. The lady wanted the card back in exchange for the train ticket. Ivan didn’t know what the purpose was of the card that was exchanged. I woke up shortly from a nice dream about running around a field covered with bananas. The train came to a stop a little after 6:30 am in Guilin. We all walked out of the train station. A guy started talking to us. Ivan showed him the map on the computer of where our hotel was. It was called Guilin Oasis Inn. The guy said he would do it for 20. Ivan said no. He walked to a cab and said he wanted him to use the meter. The guy and his other cab friends started laughing when they heard the word meter. Jennifer noticed that the guy had really long fingernails. They were like an inch past the nail bed. I think human women seem to notice more things than human men.  We walked away when he said he wouldn’t use the meter. Then, finally he gave in. Ivan and Jennifer put the bags in the trunk. We got in the backseat. A lady hopped in the front seat with this young guy. We were off to the Oasis Inn. It turned out that the lady named Lu was a tour guide. She was trying to sell us different tours in Guilin. She seemed to have our day planned out for us. Ivan knew that we were going to do a few things on the list, but not through her. We were all tired and knew we wouldn’t be doing a tour in an hour. We drove around. It seemed like the guy was just going the long way to the hotel. Ivan said it wasn’t easy to find. The guy seemed to be frustrated and he looked like he was going to cry. Both Lu and the young guy were trying to find the hotel. Finally, we found it. The cab fare turned out to be 8. So, Ivan was definitely smart for insisting that he use the meter. Lu walked us to the Guilin Oasis Inn. We checked in and then the owner Joe walked us to our room. Jennifer was happy to walk in to a big room with two beds. It was a great room compared to the rooms at the guesthouses in the Chungking Mansions. There was even a bathtub and a Western style toilet.

Ivan and Jennifer were happy. I was happy to hear there were stalls with a variety of bananas near by.  They had a nice American Breakfast. It came with an egg omelet with ham, bacon or sausage. They both seemed to enjoy the meal. Ivan doesn’t eat meat so his omelet was bigger.  I had a nice banana pancake.  We were all very tired so we took a nap.

We were going to Yaoshan Hill Park.  Ms. Jeannie, who works at the Oasis Inn, was going to accompany us.  She speaks decent English.  It was good to have her around since she speaks Chinese as well.  She’s a friendly girl.  She actually taught herself English.  The Yaoshan Hill has cable cars which takes you up the mountain.  It has some good scenery.

We went all the way up and then walked around.  Then we went half way down the mountain.  We got into the toboggans.

I was riding with Ivan.  I asked if they had smaller monkey toboggans.  But, sadly they didn’t.  I wanted to drive it myself!  Ivan and I went first.  The driver gets to control the toboggan by going forward or slowing down.  Ivan went so fast!  Jennifer and then Jeannie were in their own cars. 

Jennifer on the toboggan

They were going a lot slower.  We had fun at the park.  I wanted to ride the toboggan again!

At nighttime, we walked around Guilin.

We were in search for a restaurant called Rosemary’s.  The pizza was alright.  The dumb waitress got Ivan’s order wrong.  She thought he said chili beef pizza not tuna steak pizza.  Of course Ivan wouldn’t order beef since he’s vegetarian.  There’s a Night Market in the middle of the street where the center of Guilin.  We walked back to Oasis Inn to catch some shuteye.

October 18th, 2008 | Category: China, Food, Guilin, Macau, Nightlife, Train | Comments (24)

Ivan, Jennifer and I met up with two local couchsurfer girls on Sunday, October 12, 2008.  They both were named Winnie.  One of the Winnie girls thought we should go to a wanton noodle shop that was near by.  So, we went inside to order.  Ivan had the fish ball soup.  Jennifer got the shrimp dumpling wanton noodle soup.  I asked the chef to make some fried banana wantons for me.  It was really tasty!  Everybody wanted dessert.  Ivan and Jennifer shared this dish that had bean curd sheet in a milky substance and it had a boiled egg as well.  It was different, but they seemed to like it.  Winnie had walnut paste.  Ivan and Jen tried it and thought it tasted similar to chocolate.  I just got sliced bananas with honey on top.  A nice simple dish, but anything with bananas is usually good.  The meal was rather small.  Ivan and Jennifer weren’t full from that meal.  I think the Winnie girls are so skinny because they don’t eat much.

We walked to a park a few minutes away.  There was a dog event going on.  Dog owners could show off their dogs.  The park had sticks where dogs could jump over and crawling tubes.  I climbed on the sticks and tried to get the dogs to jump over the sticks.  It seemed better when the owner would jump over a stick, then the dog would follow his or her example. 

There were different varieties of dogs like Corgis, basset hounds, Chihuahuas, beagles and dachshunds.  Jennifer let me play for a little while.  I was chasing around a few of the smaller dogs.  It was good fun!  We kept looking and the dogs and petting them. 

We saw a lot of cute dogs. 

We walked over to Causeway Bay.  We browsed the shopping malls.  There was an area called LaForet which had mostly women’s shops.  The Winnie’s seemed to like the place.  Ivan and Jennifer went to get some crepes at Marion Crepes.  It’s a place that puts great ingredients in a crepe and then rolls it into a cone shape.  So, it looks like an ice cream cone.  Ivan got one with bananas, vanilla ice cream and cream.  I got one with bananas, banana ice cream and cream.  Jennifer got the mango, vanilla ice cream and cream.  We were so happy with our lovely snack.  It was sooo delicious!

Ivan, Jennifer and I went out that night since it was our last night in Hong Kong.  We went to a Malaysian restaurant called Good Satay.  It was really good food there.  We wanted to find a good bar next.  There’s some bars that actually allow young monkeys inside.  I call them monkey friendly zones.  Of course, I wasn’t allowed to drink though.  Ivan and Jennifer were in search for a bar called McLovin’s Tavern.  Jennifer read about it on the internet.  They both love the movie Superbad.  So, they thought this would be a funny place to go.  The bar was actually around before the movie was released.  A lady was passing out free beer coupons at a place called Bulldogs.  It happened to be right next door to McLovin’s.  We stopped by Bulldogs for the free drink. 

There was a band of Filipinos there.  The music was alright.  We went to McLovin’s to check it out. 

Ivan found out that the band would soon be going on.  They ordered two taffy ciders for themselves and a banana juice for me.  The band was called April Fool’s.  Everybody in the band was Filipino.  The band was really good.  There were two singers, a man and a woman.  They both had great voices.  The band were taking requests.  Ivan submitted his paper.  Unfortunately, they didn’t know any Pink Floyd songs or Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.  We were having a good time in the bar.   Ivan felt at home at McLovin’s Tavern.  Jennifer was wearing a Little Miss Sunshine shirt.  Also, Ivan wanted her to wear pigtails, so she did.  Jennifer thought she was going to get carded, but she didn’t.  At one point, the male singer said This song is for Little Miss Sunshine.  Jennifer looked at Ivan and they both laughed.  He was singing You Are the Sunshine of my Life.  Jennifer blushed since it was aimed towards her.  It’s funny and cute when she blushes.  We went home.  Our last night in Hong Kong was fun.

On October 13, 2008 we checked out of Tom’s Guesthouse at the Chungking Mansion.  Ivan and Jennifer were at the internet cafe for a little while.  Ivan wanted to use the internet for awhile.  Jennifer was going to take the subway by herself with me in tow.  She was nervous because she’s never ridden the subway by herself.  She doesn’t have a good sense of direction.  Ivan told her what stop she had to go to and gave her a map of where she was going.  She was going to pick up the train tickets from Shenzen to Guilin.  We were going to be leaving for Macau tonight after we got our Chinese visa.  Of course, I had to pretend to be a stuffed animal to avoid any trouble.  Evidently, countries don’t issue monkey visas.  Jennifer said she’d leave me a few extra bananas if I behaved.  Jennifer and I went to the MTR (subway) to go to Mong Kok.  Jennifer wrote down exactly where the internet cafe was just in case.  We got there alright.  There’s many different ways to go when you are exiting the subway.  Jennifer saw the Ladies Market and decided to go that way.  We started walking and got to Nelson Street.  But, then there was a mall in the way.  So, somehow we were going the wrong way.  Jennifer only noticed this since Argyle Street turned into Cherry St.  Jennifer got all mad and started crying.  I asked her what was wrong and offered her a banana.  She didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture.  I think it’s because she’s not a monkey.  Finally, we were going the right way and got to CTS (China Travel Services).  Jennifer picked up the tickets and then we were on our way back to see Ivan. 
We then picked up the Chinese visas and headed to the ferry to Macau.  The ferry ride was a bit bumpy. We checked in to the Auguster’s Lodge which is a hostel.  We were in a room with three bunkbeds.  We all headed to the see some casinos.  We saw the Wynn Hotel.  The colors of the decor remind Jennifer of the inside of the Bellagio in Las Vegas.  Next, we walked to the MGM Grand. 

Lobby of the MGM Grand Macau

The casinos are huge in Macau.  There are many table games and not much slot machines.  The most popular game seems to be baccarat.    We ended up at the M Bar.  Ivan and Jennifer had a drink and listened to some music.  We left to go catch one of the Wynn fountain shows.  We caught the last dancing fountain show of the night.  It’s like the Bellagio fountains except it’s smaller and more intimate.  You can stand a lot closer to the show. It’s really awesome.  It has different color lights and fire.  I was watching the show on Jennifer’s shoulder. The fire came of of nowhere. I got so scared that I jumped on Jennifer’s head. She didn’t seem to appreciate that! After the show, we walked back to the hostel and went to bed.

October 16th, 2008 | Category: Ferry, Food, Hong Kong, Macau, Nightlife | Leave a comment

On the 10th of October we all went to Ocean Park. It was a short bus ride away from the center of town, in Aberdeen. I had heard lots about it, as its mentioned in all my monkey Hong Kong guides. Apparently they have a few rides there that even little monkeys like me can go on!

When we arrived, we all immediately got on the cable car, as this takes you to the main section of the park. The cable car ride was quite spectacular -it went along the coast, and had amazing views of the Chinese ocean. A really nice way to spend the day. We were all starving when we arrived at the top, so had some lunch in the cafe overlooking the ocean. Ivan was disappointed that they had no vegetarian, so the chef said he would make some pasta for Ivan. I was disappointed that they had no bananas, so the chef said that I should eat something other than bananas, and I told him that was impossible because I was a monkey!

We then started exploring the park. None of us were very impressed. Jennifer said that they should rename the place ‘walking park’ – because all we seemed to do all day..was walk!!! its all so spread out, and yet there aren’t many rides at all really.  There was a jelly fish display.  It showcased tons of cool looking jelly fish.

At one point we had to go down these really really really long escalators – and it took ages to go down them, and all there was at the bottom was some birds and flamingoes.

There was a log flume which we all went on – which was okay…but nothing special. I got my fur all wet , but it was so hot I dried really quickly.

I wasn’t allowed to go on the rollercoaster as I’m too small -and Jennifer was too scared-  but Ivan went on it, but he said it was nothing special at all. I think Ivan likes really fast and tall rollercoasters and this one didn’t really fall into that category.

The only good thing about the place was the views – the whole park was facing the ocean and it was a lovely day so there wonderful views all day long.

We watched a show with some sea lions and dolphins and then got the cable car back down again and went to the giant panda enclosure. Unfortunately the pandas were all sleeping – so didn’t see too much there.

After the bus ride back to our hotel- we went out for an Indian meal in the Chungking mansions where we were staying. It was called the Delhi Club, and was recommended in the lonely planet. Ivan had some chicken karai and Jennifer had chicken jalfrezi. I had a banana curry, with extra banana (requested by me), a banana naan, and some banana infused rice. We all agreed that the food was absolutely amazing!! Ivan even went so far as to say that it was one of the best Indian meals of his life and He’s eaten tons of Indian food so that is quite a powerful statement! We all agreed that we would go back again the next day.

On the 11th of October, we all agreed that we should take it easy today, as we had done so much walking the previous day. We checked in to Tom’s Guesthouse located in the Chungking Mansions.  After a Japanese lunch, we went and saw a movie ‘ my best friends girl’. It was nice to be in a air conditioned place and not have to walk around.. I sat on Jennifer’s lap to watch the movie  so that I could see. She put her hands over my eyes and covered my ears at the bits which she said little monkeys are not meant to watch/hear,  but I could still hear what they were saying, and I think I’m going to ask my dad back in England if it’s okay if I use those words too, but I’m not sure if he will say yes .

We chilled at the hotel afterwards – I sent some emails to my dad, then went back to the Indian restaurant again in the evening!  Jennifer had a chicken Tikka Masala this time, but I had the same thing again and so did Ivan. We all agreed it was delicious again but that tomorrow we would eat something different. I asked them for the recipe for the banana curry, but they said it was a secret and they couldn’t tell me!!!

October 14th, 2008 | Category: Food, Hong Kong | Leave a comment

Ivan, Jennifer and I went to Lantau Island on October 7, 2008.  Yes, another day out.  I am not used to going out so much.  We took the Ngong Ping 360 railway cars up to the top.  It takes 25 minutes to get to the top.  There’s a pole in the middle of the railway car.  I went to the top of the pole since I do like high places.  Jennifer told me not to swing around since you’re not supposed to rock the car.  She said it wasn’t safe. 

The view was beautiful in the car.  We reached the Ngong Ping Village.  Here you can see the Tian Tan Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery.  Ivan picked out a vegetarian restaurant to eat near the Monastery.  They said it didn’t have much flavor.  I was happy with my banana sandwich that Jennifer brought with her.  We walked around the village some more.  The Giant Buddha (or Big Buddha as Jennifer calls it) is quite big. 

I’m not sure how they got it up there.  Next, we went to see the show in the Monkey’s Tale Theatre.  I thought it was so funny.  It was a story about three monkeys named Clever, Tag-a-long and Doofus.  Clever kept trying to get this apple that was protected by a monkey stone statue.  It was a great animated film.  Of course, I liked it since it had monkeys in it.  The moral of the story was that it’s better to give than receive. 

We stopped by Walking with Buddha afterwards.  It talks about a man named Siddhartha who became the Buddha.   

We headed to Soho to the Take Out Comedy.  We were going to meet Michael there since he performs there.  It was open mic night.  Michael told Ivan earlier in the day he should hypnotize somebody.  But, there is a time limit of how long a person can perform.  Michael said it was fine to bring your own alcohol since the comedy club didn’t serve any drinks or food.  Ivan and Jennifer bought some Subway and  wine a few coolers.  Ivan took us to the front row to sit.  The host Jami picked on them for eating in the front row.  The comedians were mostly funny.  I wish they told monkey jokes.  But, I don’t think they knew a monkey would be in the audience.  There was an Indian guy who was really good.  Michael was the last comedian to go on.  He was good but he didn’t seem to prepare anything.  He seemed so natural on stage.  We joined Michael and his friends.  They ordered some pizza from a restaurant.  The pizza was a New Orleans style.  I was sad that it wasn’t a banana pizza.  Soho is a lively area filled with young people. 

Ivan, Jennifer and I were chilling during the day on October 8, 2008.  I was happy as long as I had some bananas to munch on. 

We ventured out into the city and walked around the markets.  The Happy Valley Racecourse was the event for the night.  It’s relatively cheap to get in.  We got tickets for the bottom level which had a beer garden.  The first race hadn’t started yet. 

Ivan and Jennifer went to search for food.  We all sat down to enjoy dinner.  I enjoyed my banana crepes.  We went to see the horses.  They show off the horses by letting them walk around a little grass area.  I was going to jump in there and hop on a horse’s back.  I know Jennifer would have scolded me, so I didn’t do it.  I think one of the horse’s said hi to me as he went by us. 

The race went on.  It’s pretty exciting to see the horses race by so fast.  Ivan and Jennifer bet on three games.  I wasn’t allowed to bet since I’m not old enough.  Actually, I’m not sure if monkeys are allowed to bet at all.  I’m positive they wouldn’t accept bananas at the betting counter.  Ivan won one race.  There was few games for Oktoberfest at the racecourse.  Jennifer noticed one called Sawing.  You pay 20 HKD to saw a piece of wood in half.  If you did it in 30 seconds, you’d win a pint of beer.  If you did it in 11-15 seconds, you got 15 pints…. less than 10 seconds, you’d receive 10 pints.  If you did it in less than 5 seconds, you’d get 100 pints.  Ivan thought this was a good game since the beer he purchased earlier was 30 HKD.  So, Ivan gave it a go!  He sawed the wood so fast… in 9 seconds!  He’s so cool.  Ivan won 10 pint vouchers. 

Ivan sawing away!

If it was bananas offered as the prizes, I would have tried it.  Ivan and Jennifer drank a few free beers.  This was our first time being at the racecourse.  We had a good night.

We left Michael’s place in the afternoon on October 9, 2008.  It was great staying there for 3 nights.  Michael’s a cool guy.  I’m sure Ivan and Jennifer will not miss going up the 10 floors every night.  We ventured  out to Tsim Shaa Tsui (TST as the locals call it).  Ivan wanted to find a hostel to stay at in the infamous Chung King Mansions.  Right when we walked in, an Indian guy approached Ivan about a guesthouse.  Ivan told Jennifer he’d check it out to make sure it was decent.  It was called the Disney Deluxe Guest House.  The room had one bed and a bathroom.  The bathroom was small with the shower inside the same area.  It was actually alright.  It had a powerful fan and even a window.  Ivan had read horror stories about bathrooms being in the same room as the bedroom.  We went to have high tea at R66 in the Hopewell Centre building.  The revolving restaurant is located on the 62nd floor.  It has an awesome view of the city. 

Ivan and Jennifer got tea for two.  It came with slices of cakes, cookies and little sandwiches. 

I was disappointed to find no banana cakes in the assortment.  Ivan and Jennifer played Mario Party on the DS.  Jennifer worked on a blog post for awhile.  It was nice having tea in such a great setting. 

We took the MTR (subway) to TST and then walked to the Hong Kong Space Museum.  We bought tickets for The Alps which was playing on the Omnimax.  It was a story about this guy who wanted to climb the North face of the Elgier.  His father had died trying to climb it.  So, he wanted to climb it in order to honor his father. The screen was round.  The picture was so big that it felt you were there on the tall mountains.  Ivan, Jennifer and I headed to the Avenue of Stars.  We only caught the end of the Symphony of Lights show. 

We strolled down the Avenue of Stars.  It has stars of famous Chinese people in the concrete.  Jennifer wanted to walk down the street to see the Bruce Lee figure.  Of course, it was towards the end of the walk.

It’s always good to get some exercise though.  We walked back towards the Chung King Mansions. 

Ivan was hungry.  So, we were looking for a Subway.  Jennifer has been getting tired of Chinese food.  She wanted something different.  There wasn’t a Subway to be found.  We did see a Pizza Hut though.  We went inside and checked out the menu.  The menu was filled with a variety of items like rack of lamb, pasta and soups.  Ivan and Jennifer ordered garlic bread and salmon pancakes for starters.  The were going to share a Fishermen’s Pizza.  I got my own little banana pizza.  It was good, but of course not as good as my dad’s pizzas.  Everybody was now happy and full.  We walked back to the Disney Deluxe Guest House and called it a night.

October 11th, 2008 | Category: Food, Hong Kong | Comments (3)

We all woke up on October 4, 2008. It was time to check out of the Marriott Courtyard. I watched while they both packed everything up in the room. I packed up my monkey bag too, and made sure that I didn’t leave any bananas behind. Ivan, Jennifer and I went to a couchsurfer’s house in Kowloon East. We were on the MTR (subway) forever to get there. Jennifer had her big ol’ backpack on the whole time. She thinks it’s a bit hard trying to put it back on. I think she’s trying to get used to the weight. I’m sure it feels like a big brick on her back. Sid invited us to meet him for dinner that night. He was going to meet a friend at the mall. We all relaxed in Sid’s apartment while he went out. We went to dinner at the Fruit Stand which is in the mall. It’s a vegetarian restaurant. Sid’s also vegetarian like Ivan. We met Sid’s friends Scott (an American guy) and Grace (a Chinese girl). It was a good time. Jennifer got a chicken steak entree with garlic sauce. She thought it didn’t have much flavor. I got sauteed bananas with a garlic sauce. Pretty good. Next, we headed to the UA Cinema to see if there was anything good playing. The theatre only plays certain movies in English. Eagle Eye was playing in about 20 minutes. Ivan was hungry and wanted to get a snack. We stopped by a place called Super Sandwich. Ivan picked out a banana, peanut butter and chicken wrap – yes that is really true! He shared some with me and Jennifer in the theatre. It was a weird combination, but anything with banana in it, is fine by me. Jennifer said she couldn’t taste the peanut butter. It was a good action packed movie.

We went with Sid to a vegetarian restaurant on October 5, 2008 for lunch. We walked around to the markets to do some shopping in Mong Kok. I liked the Goldfish Market. It had lots of different fish you could buy.

Most of them were in plastic bags just ready to be purchased. The Bird Garden was nice too. There was so many birds in cages.

It smelled weird in the garden area. We went inside a few places that were selling dogs. I really wanted to hop on one of the dogs’ backs and ride it. But, Jennifer said they wouldn’t let me. I used to ride Max (the wolf) back in Las Vegas. He didn’t seem to mind. Ivan and Jennifer thought the dogs were so cute. It was raining off and on all day. We were looking for some deals in the Ladies Market. They bought a few cool t-shirts. There’s a lot of t-shirts with monkeys on them. It started raining really bad. Ivan was searching for a umbrella for sale. We kept staying in certain outside shops since the area is covered. I can’t believe it was raining so hard. It wasn’t any fun. Ivan found a big umbrella at 7-11. We walked further on. Ivan bought a small umbrella for Jennifer. I didn’t see any monkey umbrellas for sale. I stayed nice and dry in Jennifer’s daypack. Ivan wanted to find this vegetarian restaurant for dinner. We had dinner at the Light Vegetarian Restaurant. It had vegetarian dim sum for dinner. Usually dim sum in Hong Kong stops before dinner. The food was really good. Unfortunately, the service was really slow. They would bring you two dishes or even one at a time. Then it took forever for the next entree to arrive. Ivan was getting a bit peeved. I did have a great banana dim sum. The rain had pretty much stopped. We took the MTR back to Sid’s place in Kowloon.

We left Sid’s place in the afternoon on October 6, 2008. We went to Causeway Bay and headed to Times Square. It’s a 10 story shopping mall. Ivan wanted to check out the Northface store there.

Hiding Out in the Backpacks

His old Berghaus backpack had a hole in it. He found a nice blue backpack. We went to meet the couchsurfer Michael. We would be staying at his house for a few nights. He walked us to his apartment. His place doesn’t have an elevator. He’s on the top floor. So, Ivan and Jennifer had to climb up 10 floors with their heavy backpacks on. That was tiring! Michael had cold beers for Ivan and Jennifer when they reached the rooftop, and some cold banana juice for me. The rooftop has a great view of the city. It also has a table with chairs, so you can sit outside and chill. Ivan, Jennifer and Michael talked for a little while. Michael recommended a few good restaurants. He said the mango pancakes were great. I did enquire as to whether there were any decent banana pancake shops nearby but I was told that no, its just mangoes. I think the chinese need to be educated on the deliciousness of banana pancakes! Michael left to go meet his dad. He was in town for business. Jennifer worked on the blog for a little while. Ivan was getting hungry. I stayed in. Ivan and Jennifer went walking around to find a restaurant for dinner. They decided for the Japanese restaurant that had an English menu. The people who worked there didn’t speak any English though. They wanted to try the mango pancakes. The dessert place was really crowded. Ivan just went inside and they got some seats. The mango pancakes were basically mangos and cream in a pancake. They enjoyed it. They walked around the area a little. The bars didn’t really interest them. They did play a fighting arcade game. They decided to head back to Michael’s place to rest. I decided to sleep on the roofop under the stars all by my little monkey self.

October 7th, 2008 | Category: Food, Hong Kong, Kowloon | Comments (8)

On October 2nd, 2008 we went to The Peak on Hong Kong Island. It’s a high area overlooking the city. There are shops and restaurants at the top. Ivan, Jennifer and I waited in the long line to buy tickets. It was still busy because of the Chinese holiday. The guide book says the holiday lasts a week. The tram took us all the way up to The Peak.

Jen and Ivan on the tram

The view is really nice. You do see a lot of the smog though. Jennifer said it was comparable to the smog in Los Angeles. We went up to the top on the Sky Terrace. Ivan thought the view would be better in an hour or so.

We headed to Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant. Jennifer was going to work on a blog post on the laptop. Ivan and Jennifer each had a strong drink. There was also a nice view of the skyline and the city. We tried to go back to the Sky Terrace. But, you can only use your ticket once. I thought that was dumb. Oh well.

The line for the tram back was extremely long. Ivan thought we could walk back or take a taxi. A policeman said there was no walking down but there were taxis around the corner. It was getting dark, so I don’t think walking would be a good idea. The taxi took us to the Lan Kwai Fong area. It’s a cool area with great nightlife. It’s filled with restaurants, bars and clubs.

Ivan wanted to go to a restaurant called Life. It’s a vegetarian restaurant. We went up the longest escalator to the area. The restaurant was above the retail area downstairs. Jennifer thought it was a cozy, romantic place. I guess because it was dimly lit in the restaurant. Jennifer had a wheat pizza with mushrooms. It had a nice sized portion of rocket on top. She thought it was a bit odd. She enjoyed her pizza.

Ivan sent me home in a taxi. Unfortunately, I’m too young to enter bars. Ivan and Jennifer went in search of a bar called The Cavern. Jennifer read online about this bar and another one that had free drinks for ladies on Thursdays. They found it. Ivan asked if there was any live music for the night. There would be two bands playing. The first band was already playing. It was a band of five guys. They were really good. The band played nice rock songs like Live or Gin Blossoms. Ivan asked to see when they would be playing faster music. The band plays slower music since people still have dinner. It would be faster in an hour or so. Ivan and Jennifer walked around the area to find another bar in the meantime. They went inside Club 97. It was free cosmopolitans for ladies. The music playing inside was hip hop. Ivan ordered a fruity drink and Jennifer got a free cosmopolitan. The music wasn’t very good. They decided to go back to The Cavern. The Cavern had another band later on. It was upbeat music like We Will Survive. All the members are Filipino. Jennifer wasn’t feeling good. Her throat was sore. She didn’t feel like staying out too late. Ivan and Jennifer left around midnight and headed back to the hotel.

Ivan, Jennifer and I went out on October 3, 2008. We were celebrating Ivan’s birthday. It’s actually a month earlier. But, since Ivan and Jennifer were apart. Ivan thought they should celebrate in Hong Kong a month later. Jennifer picked out a nice dim sum restaurant to go to. We all hopped on the Star Ferry to head to Kowloon. The Jade Garden was the restaurant of choice. It had a nice view of the skyline. Jennifer and Ivan ordered like nine different dim sum items like shrimp dumplings and chicken and rice wrapped in a lotus leaf. They both enjoyed the food there. We went walking around the shops area to find some good things to buy. I saw lots of bananas.

They tasted so sweet! Yum! I wish they was more bananas everywhere.  We all went inside an arcade.  Ivan and Jennifer played against each other in a racing game.  We went to a big park. It had two cool fountains there.

I was put in a cab to go back to the hotel. I miss out on all the good fun!
Ivan and Jennifer went to the Wan Chai area. They wanted to find some good bars to hang out in. Ivan found a bar called Bell Inn. It was happy hour and the drinks were a little cheaper. He bought two San Miguel beers. San Miguel is a beer from the Philippines. Jennifer said she had never tried one before. But, of course, she had heard of it (since she is Filipino). Ivan asked the bartender if he could borrow a deck of cards. They played the card game Cheat! Ivan won the 3 out of 5 games. Jennifer said she was getting a bit drunk. They went to a bar called The Makati. Jazz music was playing inside. Ivan didn’t want to stay though. So, they left and went in search for another bar. There was some live music playing inside Club Amazonia. Jennifer thought the music was okay, nothing special. It was nice to relax though. Ivan and Jennifer sat on uncomfortable chairs just chatting and having a drink. They went back to the hotel afterwards. It was a great day!

October 4th, 2008 | Tags: dim sum | Category: Food, Hong Kong, Kowloon, Nightlife | Leave a comment

Jennifer and I had to wake up early to catch our flight to San Francisco on September 29, 2008.  It was nice because it turned out that nobody was sitting to Jennifer on the first flight.  She let me sit in the seat.  It was definitely better than being in a backpack for the whole ride.  We stopped next in Tokyo.  It was raining there.  Jennifer bought some cute little souvenirs at the airport.  Finally, we arrived in Hong Kong.  Jennifer was so tired.  She kept sleeping on all flights.  But, it was much needed since she hasn’t been sleeping much lately.  I saw Ivan at the airport first.  I don’t think Jennifer saw him because she kept walking to the exit.  We were both happy to finally be in Hong Kong and be done with flying.  It was a long day of flying like a total of 15 1/2 hours.

The taxicab took us to the hotel.  Ivan chose a nice hotel called the Marriot Courtyard.  It’s located on Hong Kong Island.  It’s a great hotel.  I don’t think this is officially backpacking yet.  It’s much too nice.
We woke up early on October 1, 2008.  It was time to go exploring the city.  Ivan had bought a cool walking tour book of Hong Kong.  Ivan, Jennifer and I walked so much in Central.  We went to this park where people show off their birds.  Nobody had birds.

But, they had a bird shop right next to it.  We took the Star Ferry to Kowloon.  It was a Chinese holiday.  There was going to be a fireworks display at night.  Jennifer also wanted to go to Kowloon.  She played a game a long time ago called Shenmue 2.  The main character went to Kowloon.  She thought it looked like a great place to go.  It was already busy near the Avenue of Stars since there was a fireworks display.  People were lined up already at 5 pm for the celebration.

Jennifer wanted to check out the Space Museum.  It’s free admission to the exhibitions on Wednesdays.  Unfortunately, it was nothing special.  Jennifer said she only stayed because it had great air conditioning.  We had been walking all day in the humid heat.  It wasn’t that hot but the humidity will get to you.  We went to find the Chung King Mansions.  It’s a big building that contains restaurants, shops and hostels.  Ivan heard about a great Indian restaurant called Everest.

After dinner, we headed to the Avenue of Stars.  It was even more crowded.  We were going to catch the 8 pm Symphony of Lights show.  It was hard to see since there was so many people there.  I only saw part of the show with Jennifer and Ivan.  I didn’t think it was that exciting.  It’s just a light display with the buildings on the Hong Kong skyline.  But, Ivan said we’d see again another night so we’d get a better view of the show.  The firework show was going to be on at 9 pm.  We just sat down near the area chatting and wasting time.  The fireworks came on.  It was soo amazing!  The fireworks were really loud.

It went right over the bay.  Jennifer said it was the best fireworks display she’s ever seen.  I saw fireworks that said Hi.  It was really worth the long wait to see these fireworks.  The fireworks went on for about 20 minutes.  I’m sure you can imagine how busy it was after the show.  Ivan, Jennifer and I were walking through the crowds on the street.  We were going to take the train back to Hong Kong Island.  Whew!  It was a busy day.  Ivan and Jennifer were both tired and their feet hurt.

October 2nd, 2008 | Tags: fireworks | Category: Hong Kong, Kowloon, Museums | Comments (8)

Jennifer and I are leaving to go backpacking in four days. I can’t believe it’s finally here! We’re going to Hong Kong first for about three weeks.

Jen let me stay at my friend George’s house for a few days. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with George. He’s my best monkey friend. I’m going to miss him a lot. Jennifer is really excited. She is stressed she won’t be able to get everything done though.

George and I made banana fritters the other night. I found the recipe on the internet. The fritters turned out great. I hope I can learn how to cook more banana dishes while we’re traveling. Cooking is good fun!

George, Bart and I have a secret tree house here in Las Vegas. I haven’t even shown Jennifer where it is! We play, go on the internet and watch movies in the tree house. I’m going to miss playing with George and Bart. I’m counting down the days now. I am anxious to try some exotic bananas.

September 25th, 2008 | Category: Pre-Trip | Comments (10)