With a demon guardian at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok
Feeding a liger, Bangkok
Merlion, Singapore
Hong Kong cityscape from Victoria Peak
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.
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