Monthly Archives: May 2014

Quick Recap of Macau, China

3 Replies

I will be posting tons of details and photos later on.  But for now, a quick recap.

How long was I in Macau?  44 hours

Is it actually “Macau” or “Macao”?  I am glad you asked.  I have seen it spelled as both and you just gave me the perfect way to have both spellings in here for web searches.

Where did I stay?  Hotel Lisboa.  I picked it because I loved the way it looked.  My impression of Macau before I got here was that it looked more like Reno than Las Vegas.  Judging from the area outside my hotel, I nailed it.

How much was my hotel?  $267.84 USD.  I just had to do it.  It was totally worth it.

How much money did I spend in addition to my hotel?  $433 HKD = $55.85 USD

What did I spend that on?  

Continue reading →

First Impressions of Mainland China

4 Replies

I am currently doing my laundry in Guilin so I am going to take advantage of the spare time to do a quick post on my first impressions.  Side note: I will have clean clothes soon!  I didn’t do any laundry at all in Macau since it was so damp there that I was scared nothing would dry.  I have a washing machine in my hostel here woo hoo!

I arrived at my hotel in Guilin at midnight last night and ventured out today.

Older Chinese men LOVE to yell “HELLO” at me.  It’s actually adorable.  A couple of them were able to speak to me and seemed very excited to do so.  One kept telling me how happy he was to talk to me.

Continue reading →

Travel Day From New York to Hong Kong: No Sleep Since Brooklyn

3 Replies

My flight was horrific because all flights are horrific.  Or at least they are for me because I cannot sleep on flights.  Not only can I not sleep, I can’t even keep my eyes closed.  It drives me insane.  Then on trips like this one, where my door to door commute was 27 hours, my brain just gives out.  It is so physically and emotionally draining to be awake for that long.  To not even be able to focus or concentrate on anything because you cannot even keep your eyes shut.   I did a lot of writing about how “NEVER AGAIN” and to consider finally taking that cross country trip on a Greyhound bus, just to be able to say I did, instead of flying to Asia ever again.

Then of course, we land in Tokyo for my layover.  I was so excited walking up the ramp “I AM IN JAPAN!”  I had been off the plane for less than two minutes and I was already mentally planning to come back so I could see JAPAN!  So much for never again torturing myself with another flight of death.

Continue reading →

Hong Kong, China: A Quick Recap

1 Reply

I will be posting tons of details and photos later on.  But for now, a quick recap.

How long was I in Hong Kong?  60 hours.

Where did I stay?  Ibis North Point.  I wanted a hotel with 24 hour check in, near the airport shuttle.  This had both and BONUS it was on the same subway line as the Macau Ferry, which is what I took when I left.

How much was my hotel?  $279.22 USD.  Hong Kong hotels are expensive. I stayed over a weekend and I booked after prices went up considerably.

What did my hotel room look like?  Typical of China, it was small.  But it had everything I needed.

Hotel Ibis North Point Hong Kong bed

Hotel North Point Ibis Hong Kong room

How much money did I spend in addition to my hotel?  $1121 HKD = $144.58 USD

Continue reading →

Las Vegas Trip Report: The Day a Degenerate Gambler is Born!

Leave a reply

Note:  This is an older Las Vegas trip report that I am posting for the entertainment of Las Vegas addicts and anyone else who loves fun.  It was written back in 2005.  Most of this information is now outdated and some places mentioned no longer exist.

Tuesday – June 7, 2005 – Day Three of Ten

So I’m up at 7:00 am at Caesars.   I go down and get coffee and a bagel, it comes to $9.19.   Yep.

I start playing video poker again.   I get up a bit, but don’t want to cash out.   So I play it all down.  And end up a loser.  Oh well.  Time to move hotels anyway…

Check out, store my luggage and hit the strip.  First stop – Bellagio.  Quarter Monopoly slot.  I get the bonus on my first spin and win $50.  Wooooo!   Head over to see the conservatory and the chocolate fountain.   The fountain was not very exciting.  I pictured it being out in the open, and not behind plastic/glass walls.  I don’t know why I thought it would be like this, but whatever.

Bellagio chocolate fountain las vegas

The Bellagio conservatory is Fourth of July themed:

Bellagio conservatory Las Vegas American flag
Continue reading →

Las Vegas Memory Lane Trip Report: My First Time Playing Video Poker!

2 Replies

Note:  This is an older Las Vegas trip report that I am posting for the entertainment of Las Vegas addicts and anyone else who loves fun.  It was written back in 2005.  Most of this information is now outdated and some places mentioned no longer exist.

Monday – June 6, 2005 – Day Two of Ten

I wake up, exhausted and hey look – I have no voice.  None.  Awesome!   Head to the San Remo buffet.  Raw eggs, gross coffee.  Good bacon though.

Hit the slots again.  Won and put it alllllll back.  Typical.

Check out, grab my stuff and head to Caesars where I am staying tonight.  I get room 5202 in the Centurion tower.  What a nice room.   [2014 called, it wants you to know that I had to double check to make sure these pictures weren’t mislabeled.  This room is so outdated that I feel obligated to remind you that these pictures are nine years old and the rooms no longer look like this.]  The bathroom has a separate shower stall and tub.  It also has fancy schmany bottles of artesian water from Norway.    There is a television in the bathroom.    There is a fake balcony outside my window.

Continue reading →

Las Vegas Trip Report: The One Where I Mentally Murder a Friend Over a Delayed Flight

Leave a reply

Note:  This is an older Las Vegas trip report that I am posting for the entertainment of Las Vegas addicts and anyone else who loves fun.  It was written back in 2005.  Most of this information is now outdated and some places mentioned no longer exist.

Sunday, June 5, 2005 – Day One of Ten

I left New York City on Friday, June 3 and headed to Chicago/Indiana for a fest.

On Sunday, June 5 – I wake up in Chicago and head to the airport.   I am leaving from O’Hare to Vegas; my friend is leaving from Midway to go back to New York City.   We cab it to O’Hare, have lunch, and she takes off to Midway.  I now have a bit over two hours before my flight.

I am hung over and very, very tired.  Finally it’s time to smoke the last cigarette and head to the gate!    Oh no, my flight is delayed 18 minutes.  Uh oh, here comes the Slumlords curse!  See, every time anyone flies to anything that has anything to do with the band Slumlords, they end up having a horrific flight.   Guess who I saw play in Indiana?  Slumlords.   This curse was all started by my friend Carlos, who’s first flight to see Slumlords saw him delayed something like five hours when his plane was hit by lightning.   It continued onto me when I flew to Montreal to see Slumlords.   My friend, who lives in Montreal, called the airport to see if my flight was on time and they told her my flight was cancelled.  So she doesn’t come to pick me up, because she thinks I am not there.   But I am there.  Waiting. And waiting.  I sat at the airport for about an hour before I tracked her down, and boy was I surprised to learn my flight was cancelled, especially since hello – I took it and I’m now in Montreal!    The curse grew stronger when Carlos flew to Baltimore to hang out with Slumlords and then continued onto Vegas.   He hit major turbulence and had a flight with NO air conditioning.   Serves him right since clearly this is all HIS fault for starting this stupid curse.   And now it’s my turn again.
Continue reading →

I am Leaving for China Tomorrow!

9 Replies

I had this great “Last Post Before China!” post mapped out in my head.  But I have only typed one sentence so far and I have gotten interrupted 23984734278974 times with really complicated work stuff.  I am not that sure why, but it seems the entire company I work for knows I am leaving and where I am going.  They all want to get stuff in before I go (YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THIS IS NECESSARY.  HELLO PEOPLE, MY JOB IS BEING FILLED BY SOMEONE WHEN I AM NOT HERE.  GET OFF ME) and they all want to stop and ask me about my trip.  DO YOU WANT ME TO DO THIS WORK YOU JUST GAVE ME OR DO YOU WANT ME TO STOP AND CHIT CHAT WITH YOU?

download

Continue reading →

One Week Until China. I Hate China.

40 Replies

Sigh.

I was reading a blog about China.  It had travel tips.  Like bringing plastic bags so you can fill them up with water and use them as a stopper for the drainage hole in the middle of the bathroom floor in your hotel room.  This will stop the smell.  My first reaction was “Oh wow – that is a BRILLIANT idea!” My second reaction was to start laughing hysterical because I am traveling to a place for which I read helpful advice on how to stop your hotel room from smelling like poop.

Continue reading →

Two Weeks Until China!

2 Replies

GAAAAAAAAH.   I am not ready to go and I no longer want to go.  Do not fear though, I experience this before EVERY trip I take.  I always melt down before I go and wish I had not taken on such a huge project.  Then I get there and I forget I ever felt that way until I go back home and see these weird and foreign whines in my diary.

I could psychoanalyze myself and tell  you why I do this, or you could join me in ignoring me and together, we can move on from this.

I am still not going to post my updated itinerary because OH HEY GUESS WHAT?  Just yesterday I flipped a coin to see about changing it.  The coin said no, but I do not agree with it.  So maybe I will change it again tonight.  Or tomorrow.  Or every day until I leave.

Continue reading →