Home and a Hue
Trip Start
Nov 05, 2008
1
14
Trip End
Nov 30, 2008
San Francisco,
California,
United States
Sunday, November 30, 2008
This morning we got up, had breakfast at the hotel and then took the train into San Francisco. The city was mobbed with people. I think Ginger and I forgot this was the big shopping and traveling weekend. We had lunch in downtown SF at an Irish pub and then got on a Cable Car and rode to Fisherman's Wharf and just mixed in with the crowd. Fisherman's Wharf now has a new character who sits behind a bush that he carries around and scares unsuspecting tourists. The funny thing is that he sits on the side walk next to a trash can and people don't notice that that is a strange place for shrubbery. It is a hoot. Of course this is done for tips. How much money do you suppose he makes each day?
After a nice long walk around the wharf area we took the cable cars back into the city. There was such a traffic tie up we walked the final three blocks to take the train back to the airport. Caught a sandwich at the airport and brought it back to the hotel for dinner. We are going to go to bed early tonite.
Our last two days in Hong Kong were lots of fun. The first day we walked from our hotel through Hong Kong Park to the Tram Terminal that takes you to what is called "The Peak" , the highest area overlooking the city and area surrounding Hong Kong. It was built 120 years ago if you can imagine something of that magnitude being built without the technology and equipment that we have today. The tram goes straight up the mountain at a very steep angle. At the top there is a building full of shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and of course the main draw is THE VIEW. The building is six stories so the height above the city is amazing. The view alone is worth the trip to Hong Kong.
We spent the rest of our time riding the ferries to and from Kowloon and traveling all over the city via the subway system and double-decker busses. Public transportation is so well done here and everyone uses it. At home it seems that we all feel that public transportation is for the use of everyone else.
We're afraid that due to the lack of internet access while we were in Hue, Vietnam we neglected telling you about another amazing part of our trip. So we'll give you the "Readers' Digest" version: Although we had a lot of rain while in Hue, we found it fascinating and one of our favorite stops. We visited several royal tombs (a zillion steps again) which were intact and opulently treasure filled. We visited the Citadel where we saw many more relics and treasures on a huge area of land where they are still doing archeological digs and finding more things each day. Our guide for Hue actually has her office in the Citadel and when she's not busy with tourists she helps with the digging and measuring. One thing we did while visiting the Citadel's theatre where the rulers were entertained was get dressed up in the costumes of a king and queen (and Ginger even had some of the kabuki-type makeup applied) and have our picture taken while sitting on the thrones. It was a great diversion from the seriousness of the rest of the activities of the area. And we supplied some photo ops for the rest of the tourists who were too cheap to do it themselves. Our pictures are now being passed around at post travel parties around the world! We also visited a museum that holds the history of the Champa people of Vietnam, an embattled group who were almost totally annihilated. Our guide for Hue was one of the most wonderful people we met on the trip and helped make it so memorable. Anh is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her country and its history as well as being a charming and genuine person that she should be cloned. She works full time for the government and has a husband and two daughters, so we were amazed at how much time she devoted to us during our stay. We have already exchanged a few emails and plan to keep in touch. Wouldn't it be great if someday she or her daughters could come to visit us?
I think that we are finally out of things to say, although I'm sure that for those of you who will spend any time with us in the next few weeks will hear more travel tales. We've seen so many places that we've read about for most of our lives and managed to have a little "crazy" fun. We've met some wonderful people along the way, from our Vietnamese tutor (before leaving) to guides and drivers who really made a difference in our experience. It's been a wonderful journey and although it will be good to be home (especially to spend some serious cuddle time with our dogs) we'll be working on planning the next trip soon.
