Four spots in SE Asia ― Nov. 2018

 With a demon guardian at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok

Feeding a liger, Bangkok

Merlion, Singapore

Hong Kong cityscape from Victoria Peak

Link to more photos
(View the photos individually to see the captions.)

As I wrote previously, the new interview date for Victor's visa is in December. Because of the delay, I scheduled a trip to Mérida in September, and went looking for another trip we could take later. 

I found this whirlwind introduction to Bangkok, Singapore, Bali and Hong Kong, from a company we've used before. I even got them to adjust the itinerary slightly, putting an elephant ride in place of bamboo rafting in Bangkok.

We had a great time, despite my suitcase being destroyed along the way. Happily, it only rained one afternoon in Singapore.

Getting from Mérida to Bangkok was an ordeal: We left Victor's house at 3 pm Tuesday. At 6 pm, we flew to Mexico City. At 10 pm, we left for Tijuana. After two hours there, we left for our 13.5-hour (!) flight to Shanghai. We had about four hours until our next flight. The damn lines and repetitive (!) checks took more than three of those hours! And we were only making a connection! The flight from Shanghai to Bangkok was 5 hours. When we arrived, it was 4 pm Thursday.

In Bangkok, our first afternoon was free, probably to tackle jet lag. But instead of sleeping, we walked to the Husky Cafe. We got there at 3:15, but we didn't know that you need a ticket, and they allot their last tickets at 3 pm, so we couldn't go in.

In addition to elaborate temples and palaces, we had an evening dinner cruise, a visit to the floating market, the elephant ride and feeding a young liger (both at Chang Puak), and a visit to the River Kwai bridge and its museum. Much like Xochimilcho in Mexico City, I didn't care for the floating market; there was no scenery, just endless vendors vying for your attention.

In Singapore, we connected with an acquaintance who lives there now whom I hadn't seen in eighteen years. We had dinner at one of the food court streets and stopped at Dorothys, a gay bar. The next day's city tour included the merlion, a Taoist temple, the National Orchid Garden, and Little India. Later, we saw the Raffles Hotel on our way to Gardens by the Bay. There, we were visiting the two large conservatories when it started raining. Because of the rain, we never walked the rest of the grounds. After the rain, we tried durian; it wasn't as tasty as I'd heard. 

We only had a short time in Bali, and a good chunk of that was taken up by replacing my ruined suitcase.

Our Garuda Indonesia flight from Bali to Hong Kong was more than ⅔ empty! The most empty seats I've ever seen on a commercial flight. Speedy immigration in Hong Kong, but then a one hour wait for the hotel shuttle!

Our Hong Kong tour began with Victoria Peak. Visibility was good, but hazy in the distance. Stanley Market and vicinity was a bit more interesting than most markets. Our hotel was very near Kowloon Park, so we wandered there, too.

Somehow, the trip back to Mérida wasn't as exhausting as the trip going out.

Suitcase destroyed

On our Asia trip, we flew from Singapore to Bali on Tiger Airlines, operated by Scoot Airlines, and my suitcase was destroyed! 

When the bag was checked in Singapore, it was fine — zipped closed, and with a small combination lock. When it was on the conveyor belt in Bali, the bag had knife cuts, the zipper was cut through, the zipper pulls and combination lock were gone, and the bag was open with contents spilling out. It could not be closed at all; the zipper is completely open and there are no zipper pulls.

I did not see any Scoot/Tiger luggage office. The bag could not be wheeled. We had to use a luggage cart, and it required both of us to lift it onto the cart. We proceeded to the exit. Our Bali guide was there and took some photos of the suitcase. 

I have no money or jewelry or electronics in my luggage, so the would-be thief was disappointed. As far as I can tell, nothing was missing or damaged from the contents. If the bag was open during the flight or even during off-loading, surely some stuff would have disappeared. Since nothing was gone, this must have happened at the Bali airport.

I wrote Scoot Airlines about this. They replied that I had to

report the lost baggage to a member of the Scoot ground services team prior to leaving the airport. Baggage claims cannot be dealt with after you have left the airport.

When I responded that I did not see any member of the Scoot ground services team at the Bali airport Baggage Claim area, they said that the case was already closed. 

Of course, we had to spend a chunk of our time in Bali buying a new suitcase. At the large Matahari (!) department store, I bought a "Jack Nicklaus" bag (fake?) for about $66. It's the first bag I've had with four wheels instead of two (so it rolls alongside instead of being pulled) and with a built-in TSA combination lock for the zipper pulls.