My first day was spent exploring the Central District, Hong Kong's business area. Got up early and watched the nearby medicinal shops set up with the help of their cute shop cats.
Visited parks to watch people practice their morning Tai Chi and wandered alley ways checking out street art. Visited Man Mo temple, sandwiched by high rises, and then took the mid level escalators just to see where they went, stopping to explore a mosque and some side streets. Wandered into the zoo and botanical garden on the way back down and hit up an art gallery showing an exhibit by a favorite artist of mine (Vik Munoz of the documentary Wasteland). Wandered the antique shop area and stopped for lunch at Dim Sum Square on Jervois Street. Headed to the Peak Tram to ride up to Victoria Peak. Long lines of people pushing and shoving, but luckily my Octopus Pass made it so I didn't need to buy a ticket and I got to cut part of the line. 
Took a hike around the peak along Lugard Road which was full of plant, bird, and butterfly information. Enjoyed my first Hong Kong eggette, this waffle cone made with a fluffy, thick waffle instead of hard cone with a scoop of mango ice cream and syrup. Enjoyed the free views from the top of Peak Galleria to watch the sunset and the nightly city light show before heading back. 
Didn't eat at the overpriced tourist restaurants at the Peak, so I stopped in an alley way and found plastic tables and chairs set up for dinner at a little place with a menu I was unable to read. When they came to take my order, I just pointed to whatever the guy behind me was eating and said "That!" I ended up with yummy noodles and some kind of seafood... cuttlefish, I think? Feet and legs are tired after walking 15 miles around the city, I headed back to my hotel to plan out my next day.
The next day, it was sunny and warm. I decided to get out of the city and head to Lantau Island. Took the subway to Tung Chung and then a bus to Tai O stilted fishing village. The island is so lush and green! I felt an instant weight lifted on the bus trip while admiring the view over the hills and around curvy roads. It was nice to escape the city hustle and bustle. 
I arrived before the hordes of tourists and jumped on a local boat tour with four other Chinese women to see the village from the water and to try spot a pink dolphin. Alas, the pink dolphin remains elusive after my many attempts in many countries to no avail (this search only cost me $3.90, so worth it I guess). 
Wandered the little village, which is a sharp contrast from the city. No cars, only bicycles and boats. Stopped for a yummy street lunch of grilled seafood (mochi fish cake, scallops, garlic oysters). I then walked across the long pier and behind another village for a quiet hike to the Man Cheung Po waterfall and "infinity pool" which is really water reservoir. 
Supposedly no swimming, although the two government official guys had a life saver buoy, which I presume they would only need if someone was swimming? I thought about trying to sneak a soak in as it looked so inviting, but thought better of it as I am still trying to preserve my run of not ending up on the TV show "Locked Up Abroad." I had the place to myself for a few minutes and only passed a few people on the hike.
Hard to believe in a place this populated, you can get away from it all. There also appears to be a hiking trail all the way around the island with some nice camp sites. Maybe some day I can come back with my hiking gear and camp out. By the time I got back to Tai O, the hordes of tourists had arrived and the line for the bus back to the subway was super long. I took a chance and opted for another bus, sans line, to the halfway point Ngong Ping. 
Another tourist attraction, there is a big Buddha statue and monastery there, but the tram is shut down for repairs. I was going to skip the trip to the top, but there weren't as many tourists as I was expecting (close to closing time and I think everyone started here and then headed to the fishing village). It was fun to walk up all the stairs for a lookout and see the big statue. Grabbed a bus back to the subway and then the subway to the Jordan station to check out the Temple Night Market and grab dinner. Stopping at the first place I found for food (partially because I was afraid to turn down the yell-ey lady when she shoved a menu in my face and ordered me to sit), I enjoyed a yummy dinner at The Spicy Crab. Met a nice Australian guy in town for business, who sat at a table next to mine and he showed me around the market after dinner. He showed me the little fruit and veggie food stalls, and I looked for mangosteens with no luck, as most were closing up. While we all know I am generally a bit of a loner when I travel, we agreed to meet up the next day, as he is super nice, easy going and up for adventure and he seems to like food and ice cream as much as I do!Day three was spent exploring the city on the other side of the harbor. Met up with my new friend on Jordan Street close to where we parted the night before and then headed to Tsim Sha Tsui. We walked through a city park that had flamingos (and I saw a cute turtle) and just enjoyed the randomness of the city. We visited the Avenue of Stars (well, Garden of Stars as the Avenue was under construction and had been moved) and took silly pictures with the Bruce Lee sculpture. We grabbed dim sum at the Hello Kitty restaurant, where all food is shaped like Hello Kitty and I could check "Eating Hello Kitty's face off" on my to-do list (don't even ask... I have no idea how that even got on the list).
We then headed to Mong Kok to check out the variety of markets. Hit up the flower market full of orchids and some bonsai and such, a bird market full of old men selling caged birds, the ladies market full of clothes and purses and stuff and the goldfish market.
Between my last work week and all the exploring, I was all tuckered out and nap time was in order. Then later that evening, we headed back to the Central district to catch the slow ferry to Cheung Chau Island. It was drizzling a little, but we sat at the upstairs at the back of the ferry and I enjoyed the view from the ferry as the city lights got further away. 
We arrived in a cute little town and found the small restaurant I had heard about. But we ended up getting denied. They don't speak much English and not sure if it was too close to closing time or they only had reserved big family tables on a Sunday? No worries, we found a little spot on the water to enjoy a yummy seafood dinner. Garlic scallops, spicy chili black bean crab, curry prawns, and seafood fried rice left me full, yet again. But oh boy, it was all dee-licious! Explored the little town a bit before it was time to catch the fast ferry back to the city.
The next day, I was invited by the Australian on a huge yacht, as the yacht was being moved to a different harbor for the cleaning and clearance for customs and transport case to be made. We took the subway to Kwun Tong and then a taxi to the harbor where the yacht was moored. 
We met up with the Hong Kong yacht brokers and driver of the boat and we all headed out. It was a cloudy morning, but I always enjoy being on the water. It was neat to see a different view of Hong Kong from the water as we passed a couple of fishing boats near the rocky shoreline, a golf course, and an amusement park. We arrived at our destination, Aberdeen Harbor, around lunch time. 
A small boat with a "take-away food" came over and sold our driver some soup noodles, made on the little boat kitchen. It reminded me of the women who sold pho along the Mekong River Floating Markets, as they row up to your boat and hand you a steaming bowl of soup. 
The huge yacht was completely pulled out of the water into a warehouse and there was a quick business meeting. The yacht brokers then treated us to lunch at this nearby fabulous restaurant called Jumbo on the water. Dim sum lunch was delicious, especially the roast duck. 
We went back to check out the boat progress and then bussed back to the Central district. Later, we returned to the Temple Street Night Market for dinner and walked around enjoying the lights and night city scene. I took in all the neon lighting, as I had read an article a few years ago that the iconic neon lighting was slowly creeping out of the Hong Kong streets and being replaced by LED lighting. The city streets are a strange, constant mix of old and new. We looked for ice cream, but were sadly unsuccessful.My last day was spent wandering the Central district and near my hotel, grabbing last minute things and packing. The Australian and I met back up in the evening for my last eggette waffle ice cream. Headed up the Central mid-level escalators, which are supposedly the world's largest escalator system. We ended up in the SoHo, which stands for South of Hollywood Road. The area is full of little bars and international food (and it seems lots of ex-pats). We stopped at a little corner bar for a beer and then choose a Greek restaurant, where I had amazing lamb chops... mmmm, lamb! Lovely last night in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is like an enormous playground with lots to look at/see/and do, and was a perfect week-off adventure.
And now, back to work. Hong Kong trip photos are online or you can view them as a slideshow.
Love,
Betsy
The hotel staff was super apologetic when they found out what happened. Apparently, the employee I was emailing with was recently fired. They gave me the best room, brought me tea and a fruit plate, and I relaxed into beach mode. Spent the rest of the evening enjoying the view of the ocean dotted with the bobbing lights of squid and fishing boats and a lovely ocean breeze from the porch of my beachfront bungalow.
During the hot part of the afternoon, I got in some good hammock time and read this amazing book I picked up at the Women's Museum in Hanoi about the personal stories and study of life as a migrant Hanoi Street Woman. Interesting to read about the hardships of rural life and what changes politics and laws have done over several years. I went to the restaurant to get dinner and was surprised when looking over the menu and a huge salad and bowl of rice was brought over. A woman began BBQing these huge oysters. Apparently, the manager still felt bad about the taxi snafu and sent the staff out in the morning to get these special oysters about 500 meters offshore, as a treat on the house. He wanted me to have a dozen, but I could only eat 6 before I was full.
Snorkeling was okay, but the reefs weren't great and the visibility was just okay (which helped me decide not to waste my time scuba diving the next day). Had lunch on the boat and had these amazing sea urchins that are lightly BBQed with peanuts and green onions, and then a sweet sauce is put in before eating. Amazing and only like 80 cents each. Also tried seahorse rice wine, which is terrible (our caving guide had good advice that when you start liking the taste of rice wine, you've had too much). 
The rest of the afternoon was spent jumping off the boat and playing in the water. Back at the hotel, they continue to give me little treats "on the house" (all kinds of fruit since they know I like all the strange tropical fruits here like sapodilla that I don't think I have ever tried, teas, and a drink like a banana milkshake that one of the staff's mom used to make him when he was a kid).
The staff finally allows me to rent a kayak. They seem rather nervous with the half inch waves. They get my phone number and call me several times on my four hour kayak. "I can't see you, Madam okay?" "Too windy, Madam come back now!" When I return, he says "Vietnamese women not so strong." I laugh. I also beg to differ as I often see the Vietnamese women lifting boulders on construction sites while the men sit in hammocks and drink. Same same, but different. I fix up another hotel guests jellyfish sting and gash on a foot from rocks, so the hotel only charges me for an hour with the kayak. First aid kit for the win! If you ever find yourself on Phu Quoc, I can't recommend 
The next day, I set off to Dong Hoi. The caving company, Oxalis, picked me up to transfer me to Phong Nha just in time for our safety meeting. I was pleased to find out that the group was half men and half women, as when I asked several months ago, I was the only female that answered. Our group also lucked out to have one guide, Howard, who was on the original survey team when the cave was discovered, as well as another experienced caver from Tasmania, John, who was also an ICU/ER nurse. I felt comfortable and the group all got along really well. Slept at Oxalis, the caving company's hotel in Phong Nha.
Cave Day 1, we had a group breakfast and took off around 9am. Nice to sleep in after weeks of early clinic starts. Bussed to the trail cave head with our group of 10 and our 3 guides/cave experts and met up with our porter and chef team of about 25. 
Set off down the mountain through the jungle full of bird and cicada noises, splashed through rivers over and over, went through a small village, crossed more rivers, entered the mouth of Hang En (the third largest cave in the world). We put on our provided cave helmets, gloves, and head lamps and climbed a rocky incline. 
At the top was a spectacular view down to a lake, sandy beach and our first campsite. Scurrying down, we each found our labeled tents the porters had set up and grabbed our gear that the porters had carried in. I blew up my thermarest I had brought for extra sleeping comfort and used it as a raft, floating in the lake and admiring the beauty of the cave. The chef made a fabulous meal with tons of food. 
At night, our guide Howard gave us some photo tips (he had taken some of the first ever photos of the cave) and we tried doing some light painting. Our group clicked really well and we all had fun. We stayed up chatting and watching the lightening storm visible out the cave entrance while listening to the sounds of the thousands of dragontail swiftlets and watching a few lightening bugs fly around in the cave.
I had ordered beef and egg pho, as it actually makes a great breakfast to give you energy. We headed up a steep wall of rocks, more river crossings and marveled at the cave landscape. It truly is another world in there. Stalactites, stalagmites, cave pearls, sparkling rock... Truly incredible. 
The group goes at a good pace, giving time for some attempts at photos even though clouds are continually rolling through the caves. Back out in the jungle, we hike up and have a lunch stop before getting our harnesses on for the descent into Hang Son Doong, the world's largest cave. 
I am continually impressed by the professionalism of the cave organization as they deal with a constantly changing landscape as rivers rise, trails wash out, or rocks crash down to change paths. It is an enormous obstacle course. The cave entrance is impressive as clouds roll in and out and the cool air hits my face. More bouldering about, waist deep river crossings and fun and we see our second campsite at the bottom of a steep, slippery climb down. Another excellent meal for dinner (I love that the Vietnamese seem to believe in eating as frequently as I do).
Cave Day 3, we hike to dolines, which are where the cave roof has fallen in and streams of light appear. Jungle vegetation grows under these openings. 
We had all heard a big crashing boulder earlier, and John runs ahead to check the safety of our route. We go in smaller groups, taking time for photos. The lush green in areas where light can break through is a stark difference to the cave landscapes. We eat lunch at an amazing spot, watching the sun illuminate the jungle and cave structures, with reflection in small cave pools. 
The cave is very cloudy, making photography difficult with the strange light reflection, but it is beautiful to watch the cloud formations roll past us. We hike through more rivers before hitting campsite three. We then head for the "Great Wall of Vietnam", a limestone wall at the end of the cave. 
We see a very large cave spider and a "scary hairy mary" which is some kind of evil looking, large, many legged cave creature. Both moved frighteningly fast, making for bad photos in the dark. We also get to see "fields" of amazing cave pearls. There are boats, as sometimes the passage turns into a lake. But the water is not enough for the boats, so we don life vests and start slogging through the narrow muddy river passage, surrounded by walls of mud. The water gets deeper and deeper until we can't touch the bottom any more and we are swimming in the cold water. We finally jump out of the water, slosh through mud that sucks your shoes in place when you try to walk. 
A slippy short walk takes us to the wall (where there is another emergency escape route placed by the cave experts). We take a quick "bath" in a less muddy part of the river on the way back to camp. That night after dinner, we play cards after dinner. There is the local rice wine consumed, as is every night, plus a bonus bottle of wine shared by someone in the group. We play some stacking card game that starts over a coffee cup and quickly moves to the wine bottle. I also try to teach the Vietnamese guide hearts, but not sure I was all that successful.
Cave Day 4, it is nice to wake up to everyone wishing me a happy birthday. We have our breakfast and head all the way back out of the cave in one day back to our first campsite at Hang En. We take a different route and hope for better weather conditions for photos, but no such luck. Still a blissful day being in the cave. 
At times, I feel like I am walking on another planet (actually, in our briefing/safety meeting, Howard said that until recently, more people had been on the moon than in Hang Son Doong). I love all the climbing around on harnesses up ladders and ropes. 
I spent as much time in the cave as possible, stalling until I am the second to last out. My request to just live in the cave and eat chocopies from visiting tour groups is denied. Lame sauce. We reach camp, go for a much needed lake bath and swim and have dinner. After dinner, I am asked to close my eyes. When I opened them, everyone had sparklers lit up and there were bottles of wine and a rose that the porters had been carrying that whole time. There was a happy birthday card made on the back of a chocopie box and the porters wrapped a little present for me and gave me a paper flower. A most memorable birthday and so appreciative for our awesome group for making it special, even on day four in a remote cave.
Cave Day 5, the last day, we get a little earlier start to try to beat the heat. The walk through the valley is still hot in the sun. Luckily, we have the endless river crossings full of colorful butterflies to help cool us off. We see a snake slither out of the river and I also narrowly avoided stepping on one as we hike up out of the valley. 
The exiting group crosses paths with the next entering group on the steep path out of the valley. We had decided the night before to play a prank on them, remembering how we our anticipation mixed with a little anxiousness of the unknown. 
So after the last river crossing, we use supplies from my first aid kit and a few of the Oxalis kit to put fake bandages covered in iodine fake blood and slings. I guess that is what happens when two ER nurses are in a group together. Of course, unknown to us, some bigwig Vietnamese head of park tourism is the first to pass us and he looks very concerned. John tries to explain it was a joke, but he did not look too happy. The next group got a good laugh, though. Back on the bus back to civilization, I realized how wonderful and relaxing it was in the cave, even with the strenuous scrambling. It seemed like reality was suspended in there for five days, and I could almost feel the weight of everything returning as the bus got further from the cave. We slept at a brand new company hotel/farmstay, Chap Loy, about a half hour from Phong Nha. They greeted us with champagne. It was a great place, but only opened a few weeks ago and they are still working out the kinks. But back to electricity, showers, non-rice husk toilets, cell service, and internet. We had a group dinner at the hotel and were given medals for completing the tour and took a group picture (only after donning the colorful rice paddy hats from the wall if the restaurant). After sharing such an adventure, I was sad to say goodbye to everyone.
We had a free half day in Sapa. I woke up at sunrise and headed out to continue breaking in my caving shoes and get my legs ready for the climbing in the cave. I set out on a path through a calla lily field, meandering through dirt paths into the valley below. Crossing through farm fields and little villages, following paths and the Hmongs to get down. One family invited me in for tea, which was nice. Cat Cat village is now the start of many tours, and dirt paths are now paved and super touristy. 
Went the other direction, enjoying all the water buffalo on the way. I still want a water buffalo. They have the sweetest faces and are generally pretty mellow. Do you think I could keep it on my balcony and ride it to work? Maybe as some sort of a service animal?? Anyhoo, saw some village kids head into the valley to a beautiful river. 
They were fishing with plastic bags tied to sticks and swimming, so I joined them. After they ran off, I crossed the river on a bamboo bridge and climbed up part of the mountain. Afraid I wouldn't make it back to the bus on time, I scurried back down into the valley and straight up the mountainside on slippery dirt paths. Huffing and puffing, the little Hmong 80 year old women effortlessly passed me, offering their hands to help me up, or watching me to make sure I got up okay. A man let me even go through his house as a shortcut through the village. 
Made it back to town for a quick shower before boarding the bus for the six hour bus ride to Hanoi. Grabbed my favorite bun at a rest stop that is one of my favorites. It is like the Vietnamese version of a Hot Pocket filled with a boiled quail egg and rice noodles, minced pork and mushroom in a gravy. The Vietnamese mission people were worried it would make me sick, but my iron stomach wins again.
Our free day in Hanoi was pretty rainy. Our hotel was right near Ho Kiam Lake. I walked around the lake and then meandered the narrow streets, stopping for coffee or eating random things along the way. During the heavy rain, I visited the Women's Museum, which was very interesting. I liked the drawings of what young people thought "gender equality" looked like. One of a woman slaying a dragon to rescue a man in a tower and another of a few women sitting enjoying beers together while the man was at home watching the kid and cleaning the kitchen. 
People continue to speak Vietnamese to me when I am not with the group. At one point at the museum, an artist setting up asked her Vietnamese counterpart, "Can you speak with her in your language?" pointing to me. Ha! Continued to eat my way through Hanoi and practiced with my cave lens at night around Ho Kiem Lake. I love this city.
The next day was our free day in Hoi An. I went to wander the town early. Next, I hit up the market. Lots of hustle and bustle, even in the drizzle. 
Maybe I ate some snails picked out of the shell by this sweet little old woman with her dirty fingernails. But she wanted me to try them, and they were really delicious! I then set off for a long walk. I only make it a few miles before a group of people eating, drinking, and playing music invite me to join them under the jackfruit tree. They feed me and offer me beers, not accepting any money. Eventually, I excuse myself, signaling that I need to keep walking. 
They nod in understanding and I continue walking along the river. End up in some fishing/pottery village and find a place for afternoon coffee with a sweet grandma and her little grandson. Other villagers come by and we use Google translate to try to talk to each other. I stay a few hours and one of the guys offers to give me a motorbike ride back to the hotel. We stop for dinner and agree to coffee later that evening.