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At last the long awaited family holiday to Hong Kong has arrived.

We’re travelling Garuda to Hong Kong, which gives us the fortunate bonus of  a stop over in Bali on the way home.

It also meant we transferred in Jakarta on the way there. What a horrible airport. Maybe it was just my experience though. Firstly, there must have been heavy air traffic, because we had to circle above the Java sea for about 45 minutes before we were allowed to land.

When we did eventually land we taxied for what seemed like hours. We disembarked onto the tarmac and into a bus. The bus ride was at least 15 minutes. Into the terminal – and an another security check. Jakarta is one hour behind Perth. That’s very puzzling seeing it’s west of Perth – and Bali (east of Jakarta) is the same time as Perth. It meant our layer-over was 1 more hour than I expected. The terminal was hot and not bar to be seen. The “gate” was shared with at least one other flight, which meant there was few seats available. And of course another security check. We had to quickly drink the water we’d bought. We were called to board about 45 minutes early – to allow for the bus ride to the plane. Goodbye Jakarta!

Hong Kong airport, on the other hand is a delight.

We arrived at 5.30am. We were all feeling remarkably fresh and decided to start the adventure by catching public transport to our hotel. Again it was a delight. The train was fast and efficient. There was a free shuttle bus that dropped us at the door of our hotel.

We arrived during the breakfast service and decided to check-in and have breakfast straight away. Breakfast was very good with a large variety of food and a cute young chef at the egg station 🙂 . After breakfast we all had a quick nap before exploring Kowloon.

We finished the day having a Tsingtao or two, while the kids explored the Temple St markets.

Next stop Disneyland.

2017 is going to be a big year for travelling for me.

I already have these trips booked:

• Hong Kong and Bali with the family after Christmas.
• Melbourne weekender in Feb
• Manila in March
• Bali with the family in May
• Singapore in June
• Bali in November

We also are planning to go to Europe in August – still working out the details

Stay tuned!

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been to Bali. Probably more than 12.

This time was a four day family trip to “turn around” Nanay. She’s on a tourist visa and has to leave the country every three months. We found cheap airfares and accommodation in Bali … so why not?

Bali is the number one destination for Perth travellers for probably one good reason: it’s cheap. As Perth is so isolated going on a vacation to another country usually involves a long (and expensive) plane flight. Bali is only 3 hrs 45 min from Perth and there’s roughly a million flights a day. You can usually snare a cheap flight. Our family of five flew Air Asia return for $1565 (AUD).

It’s not only its cheapness that lures Perthites to Bali. There’s something for everyone here. Whether you just want to get away from it all and laze by the pool, or pamper yourself with massages and beauty treatments (not that I need it of course), or you’re into adventure or water sports or you just need to experience a different culture – Bali is your place.

Anyway, as I said, I’ve been to Bali many times. This was going to be just a relaxing weekend for me. Jane and the girls had other ideas. Shopping, hair, nails and massages were the go. I spent most of my time sitting around waiting for them (mostly with a Bintang in my hand). I had to escort them so they wouldn’t get lost.

I watched the world go by and took some “street photography”.

We stayed at the Sun Hotel and Spa, just off Jn Melasti in Legian. My review is here.

We ate in a different restaurant every meal. A few noteworthy were:

Mozzarella (at the Magani Hotel, Legian)

Mid range prices. The menu selection was large. We all enjoyed our meals and the service was excellent.

Koko (Legian)

Cheap, but the food is great and staff are very friendly (and funny). The location is great on Jn Melasti.

Yuyake Teppenyaki (at the Legian Beach Hotel)

We decided to splurge on our last night. Yuyake is expensive, but it was worth it with great food and great entertainment from Teppenyaki Chef Gusti

Waroeng Tan Poh (down an alley way off Jn Legian, Legian)

We loved this place for the decor. Lots of retro machines and signs. We went for breakfast. The food was nice and cheap.

On out last night we checked out the sunset on Legian Beach. Very nice way to end our trip.

Next trip: Manila.

Busselton is a little town in the South West of Western Australia about 3 hours south of Perth. I love this part of the world. Busselton is close to Dunsborough, Margaret River and the Leewuin – Naturaliste Nation Park.

I have been coming to this area for vacations all my life, but for the last 15 years I’ve been coming the the Busselton Beach Resort time share. Usually we go in February in the middle of summer, but this time we swapped it for a winter getaway.

It was cold, yes, but the area is beautiful and green.

We drove down on Saturday morning and arrived at the resort after lunch (MacDonalds in Bunbury) where we just bummed around the resort until dinner. We ordered pizza from Cena – which is a bit of a tradition. The pizzas are always great and we were looking forward to it on a cold rainy night. But it was a disappointment. The bases of both pizzas were under cooked.

Sunday was great day. We decided to drive down to Hamelin Bay through Cowaramup and Marget River having lunch at a winery on the way. We had lunch at Brookwood Estate. I lovely little winery near Cowaramup. Of course we sampled their wines. Jane loved their “Mellow Rouge” blend, while I chose the Cabernet Shiraz. Lunch was very nice. Bianca and I had the Lamb Rump, Jane had the Seafood Chowder, Bettina had the Beef Cheeks and Nanay had the fish of the day (Blue Eyed Trevalla). No complaints by anyone! (this is not a food blog).

After we filled our bellies, we continued our drive down to Hamelin Bay. I’d seen photos of big sting rays that come right to the shore line looking for food. But i guess the ocean was too cold and rough for them on that day. The beach was clean and fresh though.

On the way home we drove through the Boronup Karri Forest. Driving through the big beautiful Karri trees was lovely, but the girls were looking at their phones in the back seat most of the time – probably googling pictures of forests.

We stopped at Fonti Farm on the way back to Busselton to pick up some locally made cheeses. We tasted all of the cheeses and bought the Vintage Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar and Camembert. Back at our Busselton villa we had the cheese and wine – ah the south west life!

The next morning we woke late and went out for fish and chips lunch at the famous Busselton Jetty. Another tradition. There we met Alex and Mary and their baby Marcus who were staying with us Monday night.

After lunch we decided to visit Sugarloaf Rock for some sightseeing and photography. Like myself, Alex is a keen photographer.

 

On the way back home we stopped in town for dinner at the Busselton Chinese Restaurant. The food was great and the waitress, although run off her feet was friendly and did her best.

Tuesday was our last day. We had lunch at the Equinox cafe, which was great. They had $20 “Winter Warmers” specials. I had the rump steak, with chips and salad. Very nice for the price. Others had the Lamb Shanks which they enjoyed.

It was a great weekend. Any visitors to Perth should check out this region. There’s lots to do and see, even in winter. (Zelle and Dave – I’m looking at you!)

I have prepared my Google Photo Albums. Please take a look.

As I touched on before in a previous post, I have been greatly impressed by the sincerity, friendliness and of the American people.

People that know me well, know that I have quite a low opinion of Americans in general. This has come about from my limited contact with Americans. I don’t actually know many personally. Most of the Americans I have seen (excluding TV) have been when they’re on vacation in Australia, Philippines and other Asian countries. Loud, obnoxious and wearing Hawaiian shirts.

“Where I come from, they don’t like Americans much
They think they’re so loud, so tasteless and so out of touch”
– Joe Jackson (Forty years)

But after being in their country for the last three weeks, my opinion has changed. They are actually decent people – almost nice …haha actually most people we met were nice. Some went out of their way to help us, offering suggestions on where to go, where to eat, what to see. And I’m not talking about  people in the tourist industry. I’m talking about normal everyday people we bumped into in the street, in Uber ride-alongs and standing in queues.

So I must offer an apology…

To all Americans – I sincerely apologise for my unfounded, uneducated, ignorant opinions of you. I now have a much greater respect for you, your culture and country. I hope you’ll welcome me next time in the same warm manner as you welcomed me in this recent trip. When you visit Australia I promise not to mutter “dumb Yank” under my breath – except maybe if you’re from New York.

We’re back home in Perth now.

Wow, what a fantastic holiday!

America was everything I thought it would be and more.

My standout highlights were:

• Helicopter ride through the Grand Canyon
• Yosemite National Park
• Colorado Rockies
• Driving from LA to Las Vegas
• Seeing the famous landmarks such as: Hollywood sign, Golden Gate bridge, Las Vegas “strip”, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and 9/11 ground zero.

It was also great catching up with some old friends. Zelle in Sacramento and Mike in Denver. This was an unexpected bonus. We were so lucky to have such good friends. Both families invited us into their homes and toured us around their part of America. Thank you so much to Zelle and Dave and Mike and Lara.

We’re definitely going back sometime. There’s still plenty of things to see:

• Yellowstone National Park
• Monument Valley
• Skiing in the Rockies
• Things I haven’t thought of yet

 

The last leg of our USA trip is New York.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Big Apple, but it’s got a lot to live up to compared to the other cities we’ve been too.

 

Let me start by saying that I have been greatly surprised by the politeness and friendliness by Americans in general. I will talk more about this in a later post. Californians in particular were courteous, friendly and always happy to have a chat. People in Las Vegas are all tourists in party mode – or in the service business – again all happy and nice. Then we hit New York – impatient, grumpy and rude. It doesn’t feel like we’re in the same country. I’m making generalisations of course, but that’s the vibe I get. Brooklyn seems to much friendlier than Manhattan.

But with that out of the way, New York is a great place. Lots to see and do. We only had five days here. We could have had another five days for sure – although Jane is getting homesick.

Our first two days were quite difficult. We had to navigate the subways and organise tickets for activities. Once we worked out the subways and what streets were what, we got a good feel for the city. We had a New York City Explorer pass that gave us access to 10 activities. Choosing those activities was quite difficult. First one was the “hop on hop off” bus tours. There were Five”loops”. Downtown, Uptown, Brooklyn, Bronx and ferry. We only had time for uptown, downtown and half the Brooklyn tour. They were all very long and packed full of information. Some of the streets were blocked because of a police shooting, which made the traffic worse than normal. There seems to be police, ambulance and fire engine sirens endlessly blaring. There are police everywhere, some carrying assault rifles.

Other activities were Liberty Cruise to see the famous lady; Top of the Rock observation deck; 9/11 tribute tour; Bike ride around Central Park.

 

 

We saw “Aladdin” on Broadway. Great show. James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie stole the show.

 

Today was the best day weather wise and we spent some time around the Brooklyn bridge. I took some photos of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges – one of my “must dos”.

We did some shopping in Macy’s.

 

Our last night will be spent in Times Square to get one more look at the mesmerising lights.

 

After leaving Las Vegas we spent the weekend in the “Mile High” city of Denver. Nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, it’s the capital city of Colorado.

The main reason we stopped there was to catch up with my old mate Mike. Mike and I worked together in the mid 80s at the Mines Department WA. Mike moved to Denver about six years ago.

Mike and his wife Lara graciously offered to let us stay in their lovely home for the weekend. What wonderful hosts they were. They picked us up from the airport and toured us around the city.

 

When we got back Lara cooked a fantastic meal of pork ribs and REAL vegetables. It’s strange to say, but the veges were a welcome sight after what seemed like an endless supply of pizza, burgers and burritos over the last two weeks. The meal was delicious, and was matched on the second night with a hearty lamb curry.  They introduced us to Moscow Mules too. I nice little cocktail made from vodka, lime and ginger beer. Apparently they have to be served in special copper mugs. We’re going to buy some in Macys in New York.

The other reason to visit Colorado was to see some snow. Mike had promised there’s be some snow on the mountains. I thought being close to summer there wouldn’t be much snow about – maybe a small patch we could play in for 10 minutes or so.

But how wrong I was! There was snow and plenty of it.

The Rockies are stunning.

One hour out of Denver and we’re 3500m above sea level. When we reached the Continental Divide marker at Loveland Pass it started actually snowing. It was magical. This was a first for Jane – she danced around the snow like a little girl.

It was strange to think on Friday we were standing in the middle of the desert in Arizona and on Sunday we’re on top on the Rocky Mountains while its snowing.

We  continued on to Keystone and Mt Evans. The scenery was spectacular. The road up to Mt Evans is the highest road in North America. It was still closed because of the snow.

We returned back to Denver for another Lara Barker home cooked meal and we toasted marshmallows and made s’mores on the back deck.

What a day. Thanks so much to Mike and Lara and their girls for inviting us. It really was a fantastic weekend.

I hope we can make it back there one day and maybe go skiing.

My thoughts on Las Vegas…

Its strange ; its unique ; its fun ; its tiring ; its full-on

There’s something in Vegas for everyone. The whole place is geared for entertainment. So whatever your pleasure, you can find it there … well except maybe a beach.

Some standout points:

• Casinos are all smokey. It can be hard to stand for a non-smoker
• Its hot outside.
• Everyone walks around drinking frozen cocktails or large cans of beer.
• All the girls seem to have big boobs
• Slot machines are everywhere – even in the airport
• Starbucks drinks are more expensive on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays

 

Las Vegas Monorail

Don’t bother with the Monorail. It doesn’t really get you anywhere interesting. It runs North – South up and down the back of the hotels on the East side of the strip. Good for some hotels – not that great for most.

MGM Grand hotel

We stayed at the MGM Grand hotel. Everything about the hotel is indeed grand.

It’s like a small city. Lots of restaurants, bars, shops, theaters and of a big casino. We often found ourselves lost. Trying to find the lift lobby or the exit was a challenge everyday. Quite often after a long day of walking the strip, we’d see the hotel entrance and think “we’re home, thank goodness we can rest.” No… it takes another ten minutes to get to our room!

One thing we didn’t like was the lack of roulette tables in the casino. Americans seem to love craps. The roulette tables that were there started at $10 minimum bets. I little pricey for us. We play a half mechanical / half computerised version, but the minimum bet was still $5. We found later a similar machine at the SLS casino that accepted a 25c minimum bet. We stayed there over an hour and got drunk on the free drinks.

The hotel was great. I would stay there again.

Penn & Teller

We saw the Penn & Teller show on Tuesday. That was awesome. See previous blog entry.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon tour was the highlight of the holiday so far. See previous blog entry.

Pin up Burlesque

On our last night we went to see the Pin up Burlesque show at the Stratosphere theater.It was good without being spectacular.

It featured Playboy’s 2011 playmate of the year Claire Sinclair.

It consisted of some rockabilly songs with dancing from 4 girls and a guy. The Band and Singer were great. The singing numbers with dotted with Claire doing various strip teases showing most of her stunning body. It stopped short of being dirty though. She kept her g-string and pasties on. Still quite sexy though.

The meet and greet after the show was disappointing. The whole cast came out, but we were not allowed to take personal photos. We decided against the “meet”