February 22 Monday Our overnight train from Zhangjiajie came in on time at Guangzhou. We had what we thought would be adequate time to make it across town by metro to the other train station that would take us into Hong Kong. We did make our way across the city to the place we could buy our tickets about as fast as I think was possible for two heavy laden people in a new city. It was not that there was only one train and if we missed it we would lose a whole day. The trains run nearly every hour, but if we caught that first option available to us it would give us enough time to try and go to the Thailand embassy today and that would really gain us a day. And we were so close. The ticket windows said they stop selling tickets 20 minutes before the train leaves, we got there with about half an hour to go. Of course, we then ran into a snag. The tickets were more than we had expected and I only had enough Yuan left for my own ticket. Gabe had used all his Chinese money up and was going to borrow some from me. I had some Hong Kong dollars, but could not find them at this critical time. So Gabe went to look for an ATM and I searched for the Hong Kong money. Time was ticking away. With a few minutes to spare I found the Hong Kong money, but it was not quite enough for a ticket and they would not let me combine currencies to pay for a ticket. So when Gabe got back there were four other people in front of us in line and they closed ticket sales for the first train. Frustrating. We bought our tickets for the next one, waited almost an hour and then had a smooth three hour trip into Hom Hong station.

I had contacted Adrian, who I stayed with previously in Hong Kong, to see if we could stay again. That had been okay. Gabe and I thought we would leave our luggage somewhere and explore the city some before heading to Lamma Island, so we would not have to take the ferry twice just to drop off our bags. The train station has a left luggage department that wanted 55HK$ per bag to watch our stuff for four hours. At that point, knowing we were not going to the embassy today and with those ridiculous prices, we just headed for Lamma Island anyway. The extra ferry costs would be far less. The transition to Lamma Island was smooth and it was fun to show Gabe things and know where we were heading with certainty. Again, a snag arose. Adrian had said he would leave a key in a place he had left one for me before, but when we arrived that area had been recently cleaned and everything moved, so the key was no where to be found. My cell phone was nearly dead and not getting enough signal to send a text to Adrian and I was able to send an email, even though he is unable to read personal email at work, so that would not get us inside any faster. Then I remembered that his fiancée, Diana, had recently arrived in Hong Kong. A couple windows on the apartment were open and actually on the very first call of 'Diana', she heard us and let us in. They had expected us later in the evening, but she understood after we explained. So to be as unobtrusive as possible we just dropped off our bags and went to see Lamma Island. We walked through the village, out to a gazebo on the rocks on the northwest side of town and then walked towards the other side of the island, until we could look down on the other fishing village with the Japanese suicide boat tunnels. About three and a half hours later we made our way back as the sun slowly dropped down in the sky. We talked to Diana for a while before going down to the village once more to take care of dinner. We bought some pasta and sauce, cooked it all in two batches and ate it ravenously. When Adrian arrived from work, he told us we might only be able to stay the one night, since we had contacted he fairly short notice and he had other couch surfers coming. I appreciated that we could stay the one night and Gabe was happy to have experienced Lamma Island.

February 23 Tuesday After confirming that we needed a different place to stay the next few nights, Gabe picked a place in Causeway Bay for us to go to. First and most important stop though was the Thai embassy. We made it there quickly and after making a few new photocopies, we had our instructions to return in the morning to get our 60 day visas. Then we tracked down the hostel. The reception was in one building, but our rooms were in another. The room was decent, but just the way things were handled made it seem shady. We made sure they gave us a key to a separate area with internet access. So now we had an afternoon to do what ever we wanted. Gabe wanted to check out Mong Kok and see about camera lenses. The weather was nice so I did not want to be indoors. We split up with plans to meet on the Kowloon side of the harbor at 7:30pm for the light show extravaganza. I headed out to a dumpling shop I had visited a few times in my previous stay. After getting a decent sized bag of dumplings I wandered along the piers until I got to the Star Ferry pier and crossed over to the Kowloon side. I walked out to a headland area near the docks and discovered a large scale art exhibition based on recycled materials and found objects. There were models for repurposed public spaces, furniture from all sorts of unusual materials, solar flowers, and much more. It was not what I expected and I was happy to have taken the time to get out there. We did meet at the clock tower as the light show was preparing to start, but Gabe found it underwhelming. I had the same experience the first time I saw it. We crossed back over the harbor and tracked down some food before finally returning to the hostel for sleep.

February 24 Wednesday Yeah, we picked up our visa's this morning. Then we wandered the city, going through the Botanical Gardens and another large park near the Supreme Court building. In the late afternoon we had taken a street car to Happy Valley and after walking around we happened upon one of the entrance gates into the Happy Valley race course, where a crowd was gathering. Asking some questions let us know they were having races in a few hours and they were letting foreigners in for free if we showed our passports. So we made our way inside and looked over the facility. Quite impressive. We checked the views from the ground level, the third floor, and the seventh floor. The other levels were reserved for restaurants, clubs, kitchen facilities, and box seats. The food inside was VERY expensive and since we could return and get in free, we left and got some cheaper eats in the neighborhood and then returned a half an hour before the first race. We still got in easily. There were going to be five or six races, including a championship race to finish off the evening, but based on the time it was taking to complete each race we ended up leaving after the third one was complete. (We got back to the hostel in time to watch the results of the other races on TV) Watching three races gave us a chance to see one from level seven, one from level three, and the final one from the track side. It was an interesting experience and I'm glad we did it.

February 25 Thursday Gabe and I got up at 7am for what promised to be a rather long day and which turned out to be much tougher than we could have imagined. After finishing the last two slices of bread with the last container scrapings of Nutella, I went over to the other tower to drop off the key and collect my room deposit. Gabe met me down on the street corner and we walked a block and a half to the stop for our A22 bus to the airport. That was a clean trip, but our driver told us some misinformation and dropped us off at the wrong terminal. In some airports that could be disastrous but the Hong Kong has two terminals and they are actually connected by a short tunnel. At the correct terminal we checked our bags and then things started to get hairy. We had to walk back to the other terminal to actually go through customs. That was only a minor inconvenience, but while walking back I discovered I still had my Swiss Army knife in my pocket. That is a no no for all airlines I know of in the world today. Then Gabe also realized he had a spring baton he had purchased in Chengdu in his carry on. That would also qualify as a weapon. He put his into his camera bag hoping they would think it was photographic equipment. I just tossed my knife into my bad and was hoping for the best. We were split up at the passport screeners and I made it through despite the knife and a half full Nalgene of water. Gabe on the other hand set off alarm bells. I went over to where he was and they had pulled the baton from his bag. They told us that the police had been notified and they were on their way to talk to Gabe. Apparently, the baton is completely illegal in Hong Kong. The police arrived as well as a representative from the airline. The police did a second search of Gabe's bag, found nothing else and then told him they were placing him under arrest. Now we are in a serious pinch. They said he was going to spend the night in jail and have a court date tomorrow early afternoon. He would most likely be released at that point. They could not tell us anything about possible bail or other fees. We got a couple minutes to talk it over and decided that I would go on. I told Gabe I would email him detailed instructions on where I was staying and wait for him there. When I left the airline attendant was talking with him and a cluster of about 8 police and security people were also around him. One other thing I took a picture of the first officer that was talking to Gabe and they took my camera and made me delete the picture.

So, this could be very bad or only a minor wrinkle. If they simply confiscate the baton and let him go that would be great. But if they make a big deal out of this and it becomes part of Gabe's permanent record, it could prevent him from doing volunteer work on many of the projects we are looking at. The cost could be a problem. There was no way of knowing what they will want from him.

Once I was on the plane I had an uneventful flight. I took a short nap and read about 40 pages in my current book. Then we descended into the humidity of Bangkok. Hong Kong was much warmer than Chengdu or any of the other Chinese cities we had visited, but Bangkok takes it up another notch. I was sweating immediately. In the terminal I waited a full hour with everyone else to clear customs, then quickly got my bag. My next priority was finding internet access and booking a hostel, or at least getting good directions to one. On the fourth floor I found an ATM and withdrew 10,000 baht, then found the internet cafe next to the post office. The internet cafe would not let me use my own laptop, so I walked back into the terminal and signed up for an hour on one of the wifi networks broadcasting there. That was cheaper and I got the needed information. I found a free map and used it to find the free shuttle to the Transport Center, where I could catch a local bus to a stop near my hostel choice. At the TC I asked to confirm that the 552 was the right bus and got on. Fortunately for me there was another Caucasian man on board. When he heard me tell the ticket lady the stop I wanted, he stepped in and told me that the route had changed. This was still the best bus, but I would have to do a transfer. He was getting off at the same station I would need to transfer so that was helpful. He pointed out which buses I could take for the last leg and then went on his way. Traffic was at a complete stand still, but it was still almost three kilometers to my hostel, so I stayed on board and rested until we reached the Queens Park, which marked a half kilometer to the hostel. I got out there and walked the remainder, so I could get a brief look at the city from the sidewalk. The hostel was easy to find and I got checked in quickly. I have one roommate in a four bed dorm. He is Polish. He said when I was ready we could walk around the neighborhood a bit and get dinner. That was a good idea to me. When we went out, there was a street a couple blocks over that was wall to wall massage parlors, bars and prostitutes. It was sad to walk through there, hear all the calls from the girls, and see all the older Caucasian men hanging around. We ate in a simple place that was really cheap i.e. under $2. Then I checked for any message from Gabe and went to bed.

February 26 Friday This morning after the free breakfast of a single croissant and a cup of hot chocolate, I walked to the Indian embassy to begin the visa application process. After getting a number and explaining my question to the special case manager, I was sent to another building even closer to my hostel to do the actual paperwork. They did not care what passport I used for my visa and so I will be using the Swiss one for a while now. The second building is directly across the street from the hostel and on the 15th floor I got everything taken care of. It cost me $86 and would have been an additional $30 for the US passport. I'll be able to pick it up next Thursday afternoon. I did very little else the rest of the day as I was still waiting to hear from Gabe. In the evening the Polish guy and our new roommate went to the same cheap restaurant again and then I went to the Queen's Park, where I had started walked to the hostel the day before. It is a nice sized park and it was being heavily utilized by joggers, tennis players, badminton players, people relaxing, and so many more. There are quite a few sculptures in the park, but only a few really interesting ones. Back at the hostel I did get a message from Gabe saying he was on his way and that he would be in very late. I made sure the front desk knew he was coming and that they should hold the last bed in our dorm room for him. About 2 am he got in and he had a story to tell, but that is for him to explain.

February 27 Sabbath Once again Google maps led me astray. I had found the address for the Bangkok International SDA Church, which also happens to be the Ekkamai SDA K-12 school. The directions Googlemaps came up with seemed to point me further west than they should, but I don't read Thai and so what would I know. Gabe needed sleep and was just barely gaining consciousness when I set out for my walk to church. I walked a couple kilometers and was most of the way up between Sukhumvit and Petchiburi, two of the major roads that run mostly parallel through the city. I was stopped on the side of the road trying to make sense between the map and the directions, when a couple walked by then stopped. She was wearing an I Love Jesus t-shirt, which is kind of unusual in a country with 90+% buddhists. He asked if I needed any help. I told him I was looking for the SDA church. He said that the instructions I had did go to a school in the area but it was not a church school, it just had a similar name. He did not know exactly where I should be going, but invited me to come into the lobby of their apartment building where I could access the internet on my laptop (which I fortunately I had brought with me). With his help we found the correct location and he even wrote down instructions in Thai if I wanted to take a taxi. It was a ways and I would be late, but I preferred walking to taking a taxi. And after quite a bit more walking I found the church on a street that seems to be owned by the SDA's. There are three schools on this road, all associated with the church, a couple churches, ADRA, an ABC, several other agencies, and lots of mission housing. The church meets in a large auditorium on one of the school grounds and there was a large turnout for the service. It was really good to be back in church and it was an unexpected feeling to me to see how strong that sentiment was. Several parts of the service were just what I needed. A real surprise was that Mr. Karl Keller, who had been the music teacher part of the time I was in high school was there. He is now the principal of the school the church is located at. After church he introduced me to Nick, an SM doing graphic design work for the mission and teaching some English classes as well. There was a potluck with lots of good food and then I went and hung out with Nick for a while in the afternoon. Eventually, I walked back to the hostel.

In the evening, Gabe and I ventured out again to see if we could navigate our way Khao San Road. This is the heart of the backpacker district, made even more famous for its place in the film “The Beach”. It took us a while and a combination of transports, but we did make it there. The street is approximately a kilometer long and is wall to wall cheap hostels, travel agencies, massage parlors, restaurants, without mentioning the street vendors that make it nearly impossible for any vehicles to drive through. I did get some pad thai to eat from a street cart and we found out about a party later that evening. There was a meeting point at a stall on one end of the street. Amazingly, I had someone tap me on the shoulder: Marcus, one of the guys from Cairns, Australia, who gone on the atherton table lands trip four of us did with a rental car. That was a real surprise and we talked for a while. He was buying souvenirs and flying back to German the next day. He gave us some tips on what to see in the north. One of the vendors he had seen earlier on Khao San had moved and now he could not find them. After we finished talking, Gabe and I saw the vendor setting up on a side street, but there was no way to find Marcus again. Hopefully, he found the things he was looking for. We also noted where a specific massage parlor was that had some excellent reviews on line. We will probably come back at some point to try that.

So a little after 9pm we came back to the meeting point and a small group was gathering. We talked to a couple British guys, who turned out to be dj's. They told us the party was free, went all night and was not too far away. We shared a cab shortly there after to the location of the event. The music was all variants of psy and it got better as the night went on. Gabe stayed for a while before getting a cab back to the hostel and I stayed until about 5:30am, then with the help of a young Thai man, caught the right bus 'home'. At the party I was invited to play at another party next weekend on a barge in a lake. I will have to think about it, but that might be an interesting way to have my birthday.....

February 28 Sunday The Thai transportation system is for the most part incomprehensible. They have two lines of the Sky Train that really only reach a small portion of the city. There are several metro lines, but for the size of the city they do not reach many areas that people would want to see. So you are left to chance it with buses, tuk tuks, taxis, or motorcycle taxis. There is no route book to show what buses go where. I doubt it would make any difference if there were. They do not stop at the bus stops that are designated. You can flag one down anywhere in the street if you know what number to get on and you just press the stop button in the bus to get off. Luckily, people have been quite friendly and tell us which bus we need to take, although they don't always have the info correct. Then there is the issue of fares. Normal buses are not air conditioned and they have flat rates of 7 or 8 baht. Air conditioned buses have fares based on the distance traveled (and without pointing where we want to go on a map, it is difficult to communicate that – just part of our adventure) starting at 12 baht and going up from there. Then, randomly, some buses are free. I do not yet know how to differentiate the classes of bus until I get on one, when it becomes obvious with the A/C. Tuk tuk and taxi drivers seem nearly incapable of not lying and always start out with outrageous prices. We usually just walk away, but sometimes they negotiate and become reasonable. The taxi bikes we have not yet tried.

All of that is just prelude to say we eventually through a series of various transportation methods, managed to get ourselves to the Chatuchak market, which purports to be the worlds largest open market. I wouldn't doubt it after spending several hours through its mazes. They have literally everything for sale, but we were just looking and drinking fruit juice after fruit juice due to the heat. Lots of animals for sale, an extensive and fascinating selection of artworks, all sorts of food, flea market style merchandise, massage places, you name it, you can probably find it.