Our Honeymoon Trips

Many friends ask me about my vacation. Instead of repeating my answer, I'd like to send the answer to my mailing list. I did not have a chance to notify all my friends about my marriage. If this is the first time you hear about it, sorry to say it is too late to object, it is already a done deal. :-)

Sandy and I got married on August 26^th. We left for our honeymoon on August 28^th. We spent 7 days in Japan. We followed Henry L. and Mary D.'s advice, and bought a 7 days rail pass to travel in Japan mainly via the Bullet Trains and Subways. We visited Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto & Hiroshima. I wanted to make more stops, and visit more cities, but Sandy preferred more rest. Besides, it rained heavily on the last two days, so we cancelled couple of stops.

Japan is extremely expensive partly due to the Yen exchange rate (US $1 = 99 Japanese Yen) and mainly because Japan is expensive (period). A western style hotel is $250 per night for a rather small room. We spent two nights in a Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo, then we stationed in a Rhyokan (Japanese style travel lodge) in Kyoto for the rest of the trip. It costs $90 per night and we slept on Futon style mattress on Tatami floor. Bathroom is public though you can lock the door for private use. The innkeeper told us that the building was built 120 years ago. The roof tiles are all crooked probably due to earthquakes and old age.

Meals were expensive. The cheapest lunch we had was a bowl of Udon noodle soup on a roadside store, standing room only and it cost $6. A typical lunch cost about $12 and dinner was about $25 per person. The most outrageously expensive thing was probably the cantaloupe melon we saw in a supermarket. The price tag was 7000 yen (US $70) each.

The rail system in Japan is extremely efficient and convenient. The trains are so punctual and frequent that you can set your watch with the schedule. The impressions I got on Japan were Expensive, Clean, Neat and Efficient.

We then went back to Hong Kong for a week. We visited friends & relatives and did some shopping.

We then took a 7 day packaged trip to Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore is clean and tidy. Across the harbor, we arrived at Malaysia. It was a sharp contrast. Malaysia is dirty, stinky and rural. Rubber tree and Palm Oil tree farms are everywhere. The trip was mostly on the tour bus. And the tourist stops were old temples, caves, casino and shopping areas etc. It was quiet boring. I caught flu on the first day and had a high fever for the first three days of the trip. The trip was not very enjoyable to me.

Then we spent 4 more days in Hong Kong for more shopping and old friends' gatherings.

We came back to San Francisco in the evening on the 21^st. The trip was very tiring and it drained my saving account (particularly in Japan.) But since it was my honeymoon, it is still worthwhile. :-)

If you enjoyed reading about this trip, you might enjoy reading about my friend's trip to Europe too.

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