The Masseys Come to Hong Kong!

The Masseys are in Hong Kong! Matt's parents flew in on Friday night, and sadly, Matt and I were almost an hour late to pick them up! Their flight got in early and there were no lines in customs...we had calculated that it would take them at least a half an hour to get through customs...oops!

Saturday morning we took them to dim sum. Because it is Chinese New Year, there was absolutely no wait. Unbelievable! Usually it is at least an hour wait on the weekends. Central Hong Kong feels sort of eerie right now because it is deserted...everyone (or at least all the expats)has left for Chinese New Year. It works out well for us because Matt has time off work, and I have time off school, so we can stay home and hang out with Marti and Liam.

After dim sum, we headed over to Victoria Park, where we heard there was a New Year's market with lots of flowers and Chinese New Years presents and gifts to buy. The market was extrememly crowded.

I was amazed because the Masseys seem to have no jet lag. I was more tird by the end of the day than they were!



The Masseys arrive in Hong Kong



Marti and Liam with a Chinese New Year statue in Hong Kong Park



Eating Dim Sum at City Hall



The Chinese New Year Market in Victoria Park

I can die happy...

...now that I have seen Kenny G in person. On Saturday night Matt and I met up with a bunch of our friends for Raul's birthday. At the end of the night, we ended up at Kee Club. When Matt and I left, Kenny G was outside! He was doing a concert on Sunday and I guess he wanted to hit the town the night before. The funny thing is, people recognized him and stared at him, but no one wanted his picture or autograph or anything. Two Chinese guys offered to take our picture with Kenny (maybe they assume all white people love Kenny G?) but we said we didn't need one. We offered to take their picture with Kenny, but they just laughed and said no. I guess people that are out late on a Saturday night aren't the type of people that are into Kenny G!

Boat Trip to Koh Phi Phi

Beautiful Scenery in Thailand

The day after the wedding, Steve and Grace treated everyone to a boat trip to Koh Phi Phi. The scenery was stunning, as it always seems to be in Thailand. I loved it. The water was warm and clear, and the snorkeling was good. You really can't go wrong with a day on a boat.



Meagan and Julie on the Boat

After a long day on the water, we went back to our hotel and showered, and then went to dinner in Phuket Town at a very strange restaurant. The owner was this strange looking woman that kept making the guys get up and dance with her, even though it was early and the music wasn't really suitable. Then, she got up and started dancing on our table while our dessert was being served. No one else was going crazy like she was. Then, a transvestite came out and started singing. It seems like you can't go to Thailand without somehow unexpectedly being forced to sit through a show where a transvestite lip syncs very badly to horrible music.

After dinner, we went to the worst place on the Earth: Bangla Street inPatong. This place is where all of the dregs of humanity go. I can't tell you how disgusted I was. And I have seen many disgusting things in my years. I am not naive, I swear...No one living in Asia can be oblivious to prostitution. But this was the worst place I have ever seen. The desperation of the women, mixed with the disgustingness of the men was apalling. The men looked like they had been out at sea for 20 years and they hadn't seen a woman or a shower for twice that amount of time. The women looked like they were desperate, but had been doing this for so long that they had forgotten what they were doing. Then we realized that most of the women were actually men. When we got back to our hotel after far too many hours spent in Patong, Matt and I had a huge discussion about the grossness of it all. He didn't think it was one bit sad. I thought, "How could I possibly be with someone that did not feel at least slightly sick about what we just saw?" (I have not gone into the gory details of the night...) He thought the women chose their life to be like that. As a woman, I just don't think so.



The beginning of a long night in Patong

Phuket

This past weekend Matt and I went to Phuket because our friends Grace and Steve were getting married. A bunch of us from Hong Kong were on the same flight, so it was a lot of fun. Most of us were staying at the Katathani Hotel, so it was even more fun. Grace and Steve went to Berkeley, and all of their friends still live in the Bay Area, and it was great to hang out with some California people for a while! We were talking about Norhtern California and San Francisco, and it made me very nostalgic for the US...Matt and I decided we definitely want to live there if we ever move back.


Meagan Facing a Thai Dancer at the Rehearsal Dinner

The wedding was held at Mama Tri's Villa Royale. It was stunning! It overlooked a rocky section of the coastline and the hotel was built to blend in with the stones of the beach. The pool was amazing. It was nice because it was a small ceremony, with only 50 guests present. I guess you can have a wedding that small when your family is small! Unfortunately I think a lot of their family members couldn't make it to the wedding. All of us Hong Kongers could though, since it is only a 2 or 3 hour flight!



Don't they look happy that they just got married?



The new couple with flowers thrown from the crowd

After the ceremony, everyone went down to the beach to light these giant lanterns and send them up into the sky. It was very scenic. Then we had a nice dinner, and then I was exhausted! Everyone went home pretty early...I think all of us were fried from being out in the hot sun all day. Thailand is HOT. At least it wasn't as humid as it usually is...but still, my hair looked like a puff ball the whole time.



Me and the Ladies

I was slightly worried about going to Thailand again, because this trip to Phuket would be almost exactly one year after my last trip to Phuket. Last time I went to Phuket, I had my first Multiple Sclerosis flare up. Because of this, I was slightly nervous to go back again. Luckily, everything was fine. I was tired alot, but I think it was from the heat and from the amount of time I was spending with large groups of people. That tires me out. Also, I just got back from Vietnam and had just finished dealing with all of my immigration issues in Hong Kong. So, I was tired during the trip, but not catastrophically so. I am not sure if I get tired so easily due to my MS, or because I am getting older, or because my life is so unsettled. Whatever the reason, I have realized that I need to slow down sometimes and not push myself too much. Also, I need to tell Matt when I need to rest. For instance, on this trip I told him that I needed an hour or two alone in the hotel room to read. He was ok with it and I felt alot better afterwards.





The pool was amazing!