December 2017 - Sri Lanka

It has taken me a few weeks to get back to blogging.  I saw I had over 1,800 photos from our Sri Lanka trip - but it was worth it.

I am splitting the trip into 2 blogs - here goes #1

We loved Sri Lanka and would highly recommend it.  This will be long - You read it all, or you can skim and look a the pretty pictures.  I would not be offended.

We started the trip meeting our friends in Negombo - We took one night to collect ourselves before heading out (and getting some of the jet lag out of the way for those who traveled farther).

For dinner the 1st night we jumped right in with local cuisine.  Below are string hoppers - we all got excited for them and did not realize how much we would be eating these over the next 2 weeks.  They are rice, flour, and coconut milk - which can be cooked to get different forms - strings below or a pancake.

A beautiful garnish with dinner.

The next morning (Christmas Eve) we headed south to Mirissa, where we would spend the next 3 nights.  We took our time and stopped to check out Galle and a turtle sanctuary along the way.

A street sign along the way - not sure what we would run into.

Our first stop was Galle - It's known for a fort, and it was founded by the Portuguese in the 16th century.  It transitioned through the rules of the Dutch and British.The fort is surrounded by a beautiful stone wall overlooking the ocean.  We walked along the wall and took some beautiful photos.

Lunch was another local treat at Coconut Sambol.  They had 6 clay pots with a different Kotta in each.  We equated the kotta here to be similar to curry.  It was a buffet, and we filled our banana leaves.  Looking back it was one of the best meals we had, and that's saying something... 

Leaving Galle on our way to Mirissa we stopped at a Sea Turtle hatchery.  We toured the location and learned about all the different types of local turtles.  We then saw, petted and held some who were injured and living their lives here.

Christmas Eve was at Lantern Ubunta Villa.  We took part in Christmas festivities including local carols, Santa arriving, sparklers (which would have have been able to be sold in the US - safety concerns), crackers, winning the Christmas hamper and setting off Chinese lanterns.

Christmas day was a day of relaxing and eating.

Toes in different locations.

The Christmas Hamper winnings the night before was a bottle of Coconut Arrack (local liquor fermented from the sap of coconut flowers).  It made for some good drinks.

And Christmas dinner was some amazing seafood.

Next day was Whale Watching - and we saw some whales.

Here is a pod of pilot whales - from above the water they actually looked like dolphins.

And we saw about 15 Blue Whales - here are a few highlights.  I did miss getting a photo of the one who nudged the boat as it was coming up.

After the whale we stopped at a local roadside stand for curry:

We spent the rest of the day resting and packing for an early start to Yala the next day, because we had a safari leaving at 2:30.

Last breakfast in Mirissa was a Sri Lankan version of Eggs Benedict - they tasted as good as they photographed.

In Yala we stayed at Wild Cost Tented Lodge which opened ~2 months prior to our arrival.

It was an authentic wild experience.  Unfortunately we did not see any of the animals they warned us about in camp (rumor was there was an elephant one more morning, but we missed him).  But we did see a big long snake, wild boar, and cows.

We checked out our "tent" before heading out for our 1st safari:

On our way to the safari we saw our 1st elephant grazing.  It crossed the road in front of our jeep.

On this safari we saw:

Monkeys:

Deer:

And peacocks:

Next morning we had a very early safari - departure at 4:30am.

On the way into the park:

And in case we did not see an actual big cat I took a photo of the welcome sign:

One inside we saw:

Water Buffalo

Large boulders

A ton of beautiful birds (and more peacocks)

Then word got out to the guides a leopard was spotted.  And off we went with every other jeep - in queue we sat

But the queue was worth it - we saw the leopard lounging in a tree about 50 yards from us (safe distance).  She was difficult to see - but her spots stood out.

Back home to relax for the rest of the day.  Here are some photos of the walk up to our "tent"

One of a few Christmas decorations - no Douglas fir trees.

Next morning was again relaxing before the drive to Nuwara Eiya.  We had a few animal sightings in camp.

Cows grazing by the oceanfront

 Boar at breakfast

 Cows not wanting us to leave by blocking the walk.

And a few more ocean photos

Along the 7 hour drive to Nuwara Eliya, we made a few stops.  First was a stop at Ravana Waterfalls.  It gave us a chance to get out, stretch our legs, take some beautiful photos and explore a little.

After lunch we stopped to view the Nine Arch Bridge - we missed seeing a train crossing it.

The drive to Nuwara Eliya was a climb of over 6,000 feet over about 100 miles in about 7 hours with rain and lots of switchback turns - glad we had an experienced driver.  This sign was very common.

The next day was a vehicle free day (ours went to the shop with a few broken parts.  It was replaced with a new van the next day - with stronger A/C).  So we checked out the town known for tea.  Before heading to tea we checked out some Kottu Roti - They chop up the Roti and add what you what - veg, chicken.  It is very tasty, and very reasonably price.  Locals essentially use it to get a good base started for a night of drinking... 

Then we found out way to Pedro's tea plantation via tuk-tuks.  We toured, tasted and purchased.

Here are a few photos from the rooftop of our villa showing the beautiful mountains and town.

Next day was New Years Eve and we found out way to Kandy via train through a lot of tea.

Before getting on the train we checked out some more of the tea areas around Nuwara Eliya 

In our exploration, we found a bridge over a waterfall - that we would be riding over on the train in an hour.

This is the station we left from.

And here comes our train.  Our driver made sure we got to our seats and was waiting for us when we got off after 3 1/2 hours.

Here is some of the beautiful scenery we passed through as we descended from the mountains.

And a train snack of roasted nuts in someones homework paper.

We started out Kandy experience with a Kandyan Dance experience at Kandyan Cultural Centre.  Here we saw 11 types of traditional dance and some fire walking (missed getting good photos of the fire walking).

Then off to Temple of the Tooth.  A Buddhist temple which holds the relics of the tooth of Buddha.  It was a very beautiful and ornate temple.  Because of the holiday, it was incredibly busy.

In the museum was a taxidermy of Raja, the elephant.  It carried the tooth in an annual parade around Kandy for 50 years.  We weren't expecting to see this.

That brings 2017 to an end - what a year.

December 2017

I left off mid-trip on my last blog, so let me finish that trip.

Vietnam..  As I was looking at my photos - I struggled to find some that were not boring work / factories.

So here is a fun one:

And another of a good luck symbol - yes dead fish wrapped in yarn.

As I was touring factories, I was trying out our new toy - Hero 6 GoPro.  I needed to test it out before the holidays.  As you can see below I had some issues.

On one of the car rides through Ho Chi Minh on our way back to the hotel I tried out a time-lapse again to show the motorbikes.

And then on Sunday it was off to Shanghai with my stalker still in tow a few rows behind me.

Shanghai team time which means more food.

On Wednesday I put my stalker in a taxi - it was a week before I would see him in person again.

Team time in Shanghai meant some fun time with team from both US and Asia.

The view from the Bund is always beautiful at night.

The Bund is a popular spot for wedding photos.  These brides were brave - it was cold out there (5C / 40F)

As I look though my photos, I keep find intersting ones like this.  At least this one is telling customers in multiple languages what not to do - the ones I find funny are the pictures of this with only instructions in English.  (Are the English speakers the issue???)

On my last day in Shanghai I ventured to Starbuck's newest store - Reserve Roastery.  I was there at 10:30am on a Friday (opened on Tuesday) and only had to wait 20 minutes to enter.  Definitely not like any other Starbucks I have been to - coffee was a step above.

Then on Friday afternoon it was a high speed train to Shaoxing for the next 5+ days.

Saturday's photos of interest were the rest room signs in a factory office

Another interesting part of this area in China is there is are a lot of Korean restaurants, and the people we work with know where the best Korean restaurant is.  Yes - we ate lunch and dinner here, but had very different meals.

Sunday was a day off in Shaoxing.  So what do you do - get a massage and check out the local area.

Here is the towel from the best (and cheapest) foot massage I have had in awhile.  Granted I could not have done it alone.  They spoke no English.  It was so good that we went back on Tuesday after factory visits.

After an amazing foot massage, it was time to find some food.   The place that was  recommended was closed, so we kept walking and found this cute cafe.

On the way home we decided to check out Target's competition.  Part of the store felt American and other parts not at all.  I only photographed the not at all part (dried fish and fowl hanging around)

The only other interesting part of the trip was a high speed train to Ningbo and back to Shaoxing.  We only got up to 294 kph (183 mph).

It was then back to Hong Kong for my only weekend there in December.  

Started off mailing some surprise Christmas cards to family in the US that I picked up in Vietnam.

Last breakfast of 2017 at our favorite coffee shop.

Some photos from the apartment.  Beautiful sunset on the shortest day of the year (not as drastic as MN) and Christmas lights in the harbor.

Saturday morning took me to the grocery store for ingredients for the most expensive Christmas cookies I have ever made.  They were totally worth it - everyone enjoyed them.

That lead to the final work trip of 2017 - to India.  Stayed at the Imperial for a night before heading to Chandigarh.  Again more beautiful Christmas decorations (6th country of Christmas decorations this season - 2 more to come).

The trip to Chandigarh was on my smallest plane - a ATR 72-500 propeller plane.  You enter from the rear, and the luggage was stored between the cockpit and passengers.

Here is the amazing Indian food we ate.

I flew north, but took a train back south to catch flight home to HK.  It was 4+ hours on the train versus 40 minutes on the plane.  Here are some train photos - and the food was not too bad.

Back to HK for less than 48 hours before vacation/holiday time.  I had just enough time to prep the toes.

I will end the December 2017 blog and work on a separate blog for "Christmas 2017 / New Years 2018" in Sri Lanka.  Coming Soon - elephants.

November 2017

November was a month of travel (as I write this on Dec 10th I am still not home from the last trip in this month's blog).

I started with a brief 3 day trip to Shanghai.  See views of the city from my hotel room.

Then a day trip to Shaoxing from Shanghai (which is where I am writing this from).  Lots of fabric and a high speed train.

 And a few Christmas decorations:

Took off the next Sunday for Seoul.  In Seoul you must enjoy the food.  I had Korean BBQ with 3 other HK expats who were also arriving in Seoul on the same day.  The sheep sign was cute, but they were closed so we found another place close by.

Next night dinner was more BBQ with the local team.

On my walk home to the hotel saw my 1st fully lit Christmas tree of the season (Nov 6th).  It is interesting not having the Thanksgiving buffer before Christmas.

Next stop on Tuesday was Shanghai (wait was I not just here on Friday - yes, but I hit 2 countries between).  Highlight of my night in Shanghai - again food - Din Tai Fung and a welcome sweet at the Four Season's for using their Web Check-in.  Totally doing that again.

Wednesday night was off for 1 night and day in Taipei.  Wish it was longer but made the most.  Another Christmas tree, but this one was purple. 

Traditional beef noodle soup at the airport as we were leaving for HK.  Plane to HK was also interesting - I had a mirror....

Friday was work in HK and then spent a relaxing birthday weekend at home.  Top left photo is dessert from my birthday dinner.  Top right photo is 1 of 2 wooden garden stools we got this weekend that are working as great side tables and stools.  Bottom left is my google home page and bottom right is my birthday lattes from breakfast.

Monday I joined my US colleagues as we continued to Shenzhen.  I rode 1st Class on the MTR (not a big deal), but when I checked into the Shangri-La they were out of king size beds and upgraded me to a suite (that's a big deal).  I had a full living area with dining table, 3 sofas & a desk, king bed, huge master bath and a powder room.  

Next stop was to be New Delhi but due to air quality issues we cancelled that so I was back to HK.

And the Christmas decorations were in full swing when I got back.  These 3 photos are from a plaza next to the office.

I spent what was to be my last full week in Hong Kong for 2017 in the HK office.  It happened to also fall on the week of US Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving dinner at the Anderson's consisted of India take out from one of our favorite places - Spice along with some beer a dear friend brought us.  I topped the night off baking a Cranberry Pie (which we ate for breakfast on Black Friday).

Black Friday in the office was Recognition Day.  The office went to a park for a BBQ and some fun and games.  Yes - I did set a marshmallow on fire.

Next week started another long trip.  It was a landmark event.  It's the first time Patrick and I have travelled together for business (that we could remember).   Below is our flight on Thai Airlines from HK to Seoul.  

I always have my phone close by for any photo opportunities.  The one below is a shadow of our plane on the clouds as we ascended out of HK.

Seoul was a fast 1 night stop - then we were off to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for 4 days.  Patrick's expression before we took off tells it all.  It was a 5 1/2 flight with children who used plane as their own playground. 

Last Christmas tree of the month was the one outside our office building in HCMC.

Warning - December 2017 blog will also be delayed.  We are traveling for the Christmas holiday.  With all the traveling and general craziness, holiday cards will not be sent from the Andersons for 2017 - sorry - maybe in 2018.