Sonda's Come to Town

 

We were excited to welcome Daddy Paul and Di-Di (also known as L. Paul Sonda III and the Lovely Diane) to Hong Kong at the end of September for three weeks.  The kids stayed up past their bedtime to be airport greeters....

And they were rewarded with an on time arrival of their incredibly un-rumpled, fresh-looking-after-24-hours-of-traveling grandparents.

 

 

 

 

After a night of sleep, we got their visit off to a good start with the breakfast of champions at one of our favorite breakfast places (big, buttery egg sandwiches, stuffed French toast and waffles) and then out for some mild sight-seeing along the harbor front.  We took the Star Ferry across the harbor and then walked down the "Avenue of the Stars" where the kids liked this golden pig.  The pig was popular, but so was Esme.  Not shown are pictures taken of Esme by Chinese tourists.

A couple days later we explored one of the outlying islands called Cheung Chau, known for its bun tower climbing festival, wind surfing, pirate cave and seafood restaurants.  There are no cars on the island, just bikes so it's supposed to be quiet and relaxing, but since it was a public holiday, it was a wee bit crowded.  It was a hot day so we abandoned our plan to walk to the pirate cave and instead found a playground and several good eats.  First stop reminded us of the Minnesota State Fair with spiral cut fried potatoes on a stick.  

 

 

There is plenty of dried seafood to be had, but we did not have any for a snack.  We chose Hello Kitty waffles instead (why didn't I take a picture?).

 

 



A brief stop at a Tin Hau temple for the kids to find their inner peace and Paul to check out the latest news on Slate.



We sat sea-side for lunch.  The foggy pic looks like the beginning of a dream sequence.

 

The next tourist stop on the trip was more for me.  I've been wanting to check out the view from the top of the ICC building, which is the 5th tallest in the world, so I got everyone to clean up and head out for a drink at the Ritz-Carleton.  It's a pricey drink to be sure, but cheaper (and higher up) than paying for a trip to the official viewing deck. 

 

Next up was Hong Kong Disneyland, which was all decked out for Halloween.  Here's a pumpkin Mickey for you....

And a creepy Toy Story spider doll.  There was also a limited time only haunted academy to walk through, that we assumed incorrectly would be Disney scary, not actually scary.  Sorry PE.

 

The kids had a fun day wearing out the adults, we were too pooped for fireworks.

 

Other HK sightseeing took place (you'll have to ask Diane to see her photos though) and some light gambling in Macau, and then Paul, Paul and Diane went to the Philippines for the week to see family, golf and do some shopping.  The kids and I joined them at the end of the week for a long weekend at a resort about three hours north of Manila called Anvaya Cove.  It's a really beautiful place with a big beach and nice pools.  The first and third days were great, but the one in the middle was taken over by a passing typhoon that brought heavy rain and rough seas. 

 

 

Cousin Kai, the daughter of Paul's first cousin Sunshine, came along with Tita Leni to spend the weekend with us.  The kids loved her, and they loved feeding the koi in the pond.



Paul, Leni and Paul enjoyed golfing on the brand new course (the day they went was the quiet opening of the course) together and they say the course had the best views of any other they have played.

When you look up, all you see is a bad shot....  :)

I know where my ball would end up on this shot.

Our last afternoon there, we went over to the resort's zipline and kiddie zipline for some fun.  Here are the kids patiently waiting for their turn.

 Brave Diane went first and the rest of us followed.

 

dork with a crooked helmet

We then returned to Hong Kong (but not until after PE threw up a couple times on the drive back to Manila, wouldn't be a complete trip without some escapade) where we had a couple more days together for some last sightseeing, shopping and an early celebration of Esme's third birthday.

 

Tita Lizzie, Tito Gary, and their two boys Manuel and Joaquin joined us for a family dinner and Hello Kitty birthday cake.

Mom, you'll be happy to know that Paul's Shut the Front Door shirt has been all over the world now.

The Sonda's took off the next day and made it home in one piece.  Come back anytime, Paul and Diane!  And the folks at the Elements Mall Starbucks send their regards. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saigon Street Eats

We are always interested in maximizing our food experiences on our trips through Asia.   While doing some internet research to prep for our HCMC trip,  I found an interesting street food tour called Saigon Street Eats.   Their morning tour started with pho and coffee and was advertised as being suitable for families so we decided to go for it.

Vu and Barbara are the husband-wife partnership that run Saigon Street Eats.  He was born and raised in Saigon, while she is a native Australian.   Vu picked us up at our hotel and took us to a neighborhood restaurant at a non-touristy (Binh Tranh) district in HCMC.   There we met Barbara and their daughter,  Poppy for some pho and some Vietnamese coffee.   The pho was actually pretty similar to our favorite restaurants in Minneapolis - maybe more cinnamon/anise/sugar in the broth than what we are used to?

Another wonderful rich, mocha-y Vietnamese coffee!

After breakfast we hit the street to get some neighborhood charm.   

 These kinds of street food trucks were everywhere.   Co'm Ta'm is a broken rice plate - basically a plate of rice and you get to point to whatever meats and vegetables you want to accompany it.   

Here's where we got our banh mi for our picnic lunch.  Banh mi is vietnamese ingredients on a french baguette.  The meat can be pork, chicken,  or pate. 

 15000 dong for a sandwich sounds like a lot,  but it's less than an a dollar.

 Picking up some bananas for our picnic lunch.

Our next stop was a brief stop at a private estate/compound just off the main street.   It was meant to give us a look into a traditional, affluent residence within the city.   This is an open-air kitchen,  near the front gate.

The compound is like a small gated community - generally owned by a single family,  with most, if not all of the residents being members of the family.   The compound also serves as a memorial to the (decorated/rich/famous) ancestors.

 This is a small Buddhist shrine within the compound.

 This is a picture of the entrance to the compound,  on our way out.  

Next stop was the local market.   The facade looks a bit like the French train station/main post office I showed in my previous post.

Here's a video of traffic near the market.

Time to start shopping.   Vu is buying me some betel for later.    

The Vietnamese also have adopted the Chinese practice of burning decorated paper as an offering to the deceased.   The set that Barbara is showing here is a bit more utilitarian,  providing cheap paper representations of a flashlight,  cigarettes,  a lighter, sandals, and other goodies to the afterlife.

More food for the picnic - mildly flavored dumpling-type snacks made of rice flour.

Now we're in the bowels of the market.

The fresh seafood section of the market - with a drive-thru!

We're supposed to be walking through this?

Vu is loaded up for the picnic!

 Our final stop of the tour was a picnic lunch in a nearby park.   Here's a cute picture of Poppy and Esme riding a cannon.

This is only a small part of the spread.   We ate like kings.  

 This is me right after I put the betel in my mouth.   It was disgustingly bitter,  but even though I could only keep it in for about 30 seconds, it did have the desired effect - I had a mild buzz and numbing sensation on my lips. 

 I can't end the post with that picture of me,  so I'll end with one more cute picture of the kids...