HONG KONG; PLUS SOUTEAST ASIA WINNERS & LOSERS

New post up:  

Three weeks in Southeast Asia wraps up with brief Hong Kong stop.  Winners & Losers?  

Click ----->>>> HERE <<<<---------- 

A GRAND JOURNEY ENDS IN HONG KONG (Part 8 & final in a series on this journey)

Two years in a row, a stop in Hong Kong ended up being for a very short period of time.  Compared to the last year's visit -- just a six-hour plane change en route home from Johannesburg -- this year's 26 hours was a joy!  I wish I could take credit for the stop, but it was Cathay who provided the generous layover en route from Perth to LA. If one could nitpick (for sake of argument), check-through baggage is not allowed with a stop in excess of 24 hours. The path of least resistance was throwing all the luggage into the taxi, with the help of our hotel's airport-based personnel.  After flying from Perth for 8 hours, it was just 9 a.m. when we arrived at our hotel. Where to stay is the other big decision, even for a brief stop.  As one can imagine, every hotel in the world has a presence -- and the high-end ones are abundant.  In the past we've always stayed on the Kowloon side, so I made an executive decision to switch it up and picked The Four Seasons (in the Central District or opposite side). We've enjoyed having many benefits by booking through Amex Platinum Fine Hotels program (upgrade, breakfast, wi-fi, etc) but discovered there is an attendant "risk."  View from the room looking to Kowloon side (above);  Welcome amenity from hotel and a wonderful FS exec I know from home -- love the cookies with the FS logo (below) Technically the program's hotel check-in time is noon (when available). But on so many occasions, we've checked into our room upon arrival -- even quite early in the morning.  It is always such an amazing pleasure, that if the room happens NOT to be available, well ... you get my drift. Arriving after many hours of travel and with no time to spare, we anticipated settling in with a shower and getting on with our one day. That was not to be, at least initially, when we were told the hotel had been full the night before thus no check-outs thus no rooms to be cleaned for the next check-in.  Really?  Every one of the 399 rooms?? Another long story short:  How situations (which always arise) are handled is what makes for a great hotel.  Suffice it to say, after a brief conversation with management, we had a lovely breakfast and were in beautiful accommodations by 10:30.  Thank you to the great people at the Four Seasons for making that happen. The big plan for the day was a trip to Sam's Tailor on Nathan Road. I asked our hotel to recommend some light local fare for lunch as we had a big dinner planned, and left with their recommendation close to Sam's. The hubby wanted to have the folks at Sam's guide us as it is their "hood." Apparently great minds think alike for both sent us to Cuisine Cuisine in the MIra Hotel. With my buddy Roshan Melwani from Sam's -- yes, he's that tall. The restaurant manager could not have been more attentive and the restaurant's cuisine is excellent in a beautiful setting.  We dashed back to Sam's to thank them for the recommendation (not to mention the escort and intro they provided at the restaurant).  From there we took the subway back to our hotel, just two stops as it whisked under Victoria Harbour which separates the Hong Kong and Kowloon sides. Dinner was a repeat of the last night from our 2015 vacation, except that was the London outpost of L'Atelier Joel Robouchon.  And what a spectacular way to end things.  My only regret is getting to the Landmark shopping complex (where the restaurant is located) too late to shop!  It is a shopper's paradise on steroids.  Total eye candy, for sure. Maybe that was the hubby's secret plan .. Back to the dinner, "l'atelier" means "workshop" and is thus called due to the open kitchen visible from the U-shaped bar seating.  We find it totally fascinating.  And then there's the wine list containing 3,400 labels.  The selection is staggering.  All you oenophiles can see what I mean here. It's always amusing to find California Cabs in other parts of the world, and what they sell for!  Looking inside "l'atelier" or workshop from our seats Apples perfectly and precisely arranged.   The main course (veal) is presented prior to the painstaking carving and plating process (at least 10 minutes) ... it was delicious. Desserts presented, shown intact (L) and as they are revealed (R). As the food coma sets in ..  And then it was time to go home.  Three weeks, literally a lot of ground covered, 11 flights, nine hotels, four countries (five if you count the overnight in Sri Lanka), one home stay.  Safari drives, a Wonder of the World, forts and mosques, beaches, shopping, eating and fascinating people met far and wide.  And, still, there's no place like home!

46 HOURS IN LONDON

Dear Teri 

At the end of a recent three-week European vacation, London was the last stop after winding up nine glorious days spent in Croatia.  The most efficient way (and least number of flights) to get home from Dubrovnik is to go either Frankfurt or London, then get a non-stop to LAX.   But I couldn't find any reason to not stay over in London for at least a couple of nights, so that was the plan.  

After arriving into Gatwick, I was most pleased with the car service Hummingbird, found online.   I always love coming out of baggage claim and seeing someone holding a sign with my name ... plus this method was less than a cab and far more enjoyable than dragging the bags on the train.  I was so impressed I immediately booked the service to take us to Heathrow for our imminent departure.

A last-minute hotel change was employed prior to leaving Dubrovnik.  I'm clearly all for five-star hotels, but it seemed rather a waste given the short amount of time we could enjoy our accommodations in London.  I cancelled the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park (small room, inside view) for a points+cash Executive room at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane -- half the cost plus access to the beautiful lounge for breakfast and snacks all day long.  One cannot beat this location even if the hotel is a bit on the "older" side.  It worked out quite well.   A side note is that I thought very expensive luxury cars were ubiquitous in Beverly Hills until I walked the streets of Mayfair and Belgravia.  Oh, my ... 

The hubby was only kidding!  But we did go to London on the original honeymoon ... BTW, best cheesecake ever.

First stop was exchanging currency.  One must understand that living/traveling with a financial professional means one doesn't accomplish this just anywhere (i.e., must be no commission and a better rate than the previous place(s) checked). Of all places, we were sent to a post office/mini-mart that fit the bill.  Next stop was shopping because this is London and the end of the trip.  Small purchases -- a scarf plus the best walking shoes ever -- which saved my feet after a couple of hours of literally pounding the pavement.  Hard to believe that we have a "go-to" restaurant in London, but we discovered Orsini back in 2007.  We wouldn't miss it for the most delicious and authentic Italian well located across from the Victoria & Albert Museum.  

Westies worldwide are irresistible ..

The evening was a double treat with a performance of the just-opened play, The Audience, starring Kristin Scott Thomas (Helen Mirren starred on Broadway and won the Tony). This is an expansion of the wonderful movie, The Queen, in which Queen Elizabeth has a weekly "audience" (conversation) with her Prime Minister.  The movie featured only Tony Blair, while the play has all 12 PM's that have served during her reign. Timing is EVERYTHING:  This was the day after the U.K. elections so Peter Morgan's script literally had to be rewritten the day of this performance for the act when David Cameron is on stage.  After all, he was not expected to win and his surprise and significant victory was well stated on stage with lots of knowing reaction from the audience.  If you enjoyed the movie, you will love the play -- complete with a couple of the Queen's beloved corgis making an appearance onstage.

For the proverbial "last supper," I booked L'Atelier Joel Robouchon after the show -- a short walk from the theater. In the U.S., one would need to go to Las Vegas or NYC (soon to open at the new Ground Zero building) to experience this amazing food.  It was perfect.  Alas, no pix as I forgot the camera but the atmosphere wasn't conducive for photos.  We had excellent seats at the counter with the kitchen in full view.  For a place with quite serious food, the staff was so friendly and helpful.  And after the hubby paid the chef a compliment, he promptly "organized" our last courses with his compliments -- a variety of cheese followed by three desserts!  As if I hadn't already contemplated walking across the Atlantic after so many incredible meals in the past weeks, this nearly sealed the deal.

Of course no trip is complete without one "ooopsie," and that was waking up on the final day to an email that our flight home was cancelled.  No worries, American had rebooked us on British just two hours later.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that our window seats -- just one per row on each side -- had become two (way) inside seats.  I don't want to seem spoiled, but I had planned on an uninterrupted rest and instead had to climb over the outside seat. These were still Biz Class with all the benefits, but I can only think the layout must have been engineered by a contortionist.

So what are the final thoughts?  It is an extreme privilege to see the world and then come home safely to loved ones with the memories and stories.  As always, my last task is packing up all the hotel toiletries and shipping them to Operation Gratitude for inclusion in care packages to our troops around this glorious world.