Local Hong Kong time Saturday 10:15am
I am at the airport waiting for my flight back to the United States and using the free Wi-Fi provided by PCCW. This marks the end of my 2008 trip to Hong Kong.
I am updating the last couple of posts with pictures and videos. Please re-check them if you have not done so recently.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Good Morning Vietnam
Local Ho Chin Minh City time Tuesday 8:01am
I can’t believe it took me so many days in Vietnam for me to come up with the most obvious title to this blog posting. It’s similar to this morning when I went to the hotel gym for the third morning in a row and finally found the remote control so I can turn up the volume and hear what they are saying on MTV Asia. I found it just in time for me to check out this afternoon and return to Hong Kong.
Visitors to Vietnam are quite fascinated by the traffic in Vietnam. There are armies after armies of motorcycles. The city is laid out very similarly to Washington DC with many traffic circles. Interestingly, both cities' road networks are designed by the French.
One USD is equal to 16,000 VND and the Vietnamese currency is quite volatiles. Often times souvenir sellers and shops prefer to be paid in either HKD or USD. I suspect this is partly because Vietnamese people prefer to put their money at home rather than in banks.
I will blog at you later this week from Hong Kong
I can’t believe it took me so many days in Vietnam for me to come up with the most obvious title to this blog posting. It’s similar to this morning when I went to the hotel gym for the third morning in a row and finally found the remote control so I can turn up the volume and hear what they are saying on MTV Asia. I found it just in time for me to check out this afternoon and return to Hong Kong.
Visitors to Vietnam are quite fascinated by the traffic in Vietnam. There are armies after armies of motorcycles. The city is laid out very similarly to Washington DC with many traffic circles. Interestingly, both cities' road networks are designed by the French.
One USD is equal to 16,000 VND and the Vietnamese currency is quite volatiles. Often times souvenir sellers and shops prefer to be paid in either HKD or USD. I suspect this is partly because Vietnamese people prefer to put their money at home rather than in banks.
I will blog at you later this week from Hong Kong
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Jane Fonda was here
Local Ho Chi Minh City time Sunday 7:54pm
Greetings from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. We landed here Friday morning and have been spending the past two days around the Ho Chin Minh City area. I took some high quality photos and videos that I hopefully will be able to share with you once we return.
First thing I learned about Vietnam is its currency. One American dollar is equal to early 16,000 dong. You often see people on the side of the street selling fruits with a sign saying “(Vietnamese word) 18,000.”
I was touring around the Mekong Delta area earlier today and our tour stopped by a fishing village. Among the people walking by I spotted a caucasian woman with a Vietnamese man, whom I quickly identified as her tour guide. There was nothing unusual about the couple except that the man was wearing a UNC hat. I later had the chance to talk to them. She is an American from Texas by way of New York City and the tour guide has never been to UNC, bought his hat at a flea market. When I told him I asked because that was the grad school that I went to he immediately offered to sell it to me. I declined since I can get better and more appropriate souvenir elsewhere.
Greetings from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. We landed here Friday morning and have been spending the past two days around the Ho Chin Minh City area. I took some high quality photos and videos that I hopefully will be able to share with you once we return.
First thing I learned about Vietnam is its currency. One American dollar is equal to early 16,000 dong. You often see people on the side of the street selling fruits with a sign saying “(Vietnamese word) 18,000.”
I was touring around the Mekong Delta area earlier today and our tour stopped by a fishing village. Among the people walking by I spotted a caucasian woman with a Vietnamese man, whom I quickly identified as her tour guide. There was nothing unusual about the couple except that the man was wearing a UNC hat. I later had the chance to talk to them. She is an American from Texas by way of New York City and the tour guide has never been to UNC, bought his hat at a flea market. When I told him I asked because that was the grad school that I went to he immediately offered to sell it to me. I declined since I can get better and more appropriate souvenir elsewhere.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wheels up for Vietnam
Local Hong Kong time Thursday 3:27pm
I read two weeks ago that Cathay Pacific was rated by Zagat as having one of the best coach-class products among "large international" airlines. I will get to experience that myself tomorrow when we leave Hong Kong for Vietnam.
Unfortunately I will not be taking my laptop with me and therefore will not be able to blog until we return to Hong Kong mid next week. Hopefully I will be able to make up for it by taking some high quality shots/videos and posting them here then.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Venus and Jupiter over Hong Kong
Local Hong Kong time Monday 9:17pm
For all my readers in North America, this is a preview of something that hopefully you will get to witness ten hours from now. Two weeks ago I was in Chapel Hill looking into the early evening sky hoping to witness the flyby of the International Space Station when I noticed off in the lower Southwestern horizon two lights that uniquely stood out. I later learned that they were Venus and Jupiter.
I saw them outside my hotel window tonight, this time accompanied by a crescent moon. I later read that this is the closest the three celestial bodies will appear until 2052. Looking at the video, trio looks almost like someone had painted a smiling face into the sky.
For all my readers in North America, this is a preview of something that hopefully you will get to witness ten hours from now. Two weeks ago I was in Chapel Hill looking into the early evening sky hoping to witness the flyby of the International Space Station when I noticed off in the lower Southwestern horizon two lights that uniquely stood out. I later learned that they were Venus and Jupiter.
I saw them outside my hotel window tonight, this time accompanied by a crescent moon. I later read that this is the closest the three celestial bodies will appear until 2052. Looking at the video, trio looks almost like someone had painted a smiling face into the sky.
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