Highlights from CheeseWeb’s Asian Adventure 2013

Just over a month ago, we announced our big plans for CheeseWeb’s Asian Adventure 2013. This Wednesday, we returned from that incredible journey. It’s going to take us some time to process all of our thoughts and experiences (not to mention our photos!), but today we want to share just a little taste of what we saw, did, ate and felt over those two fantastic weeks.

After a loooong flight, we had one short but luxurious night in Hong Kong, where we cashed in our Priority Club points in return for a stay at the world-famous InterContinental Hong Kong Hotel. While our room was incredible, it was the view from the bar that stole the show.

The bar at the InterContinental Hong Kong Hotel has one of the best skyline views in the city.

The next morning we were up early for our flight to Kota Kinabalu, or KK as the locals call it, in the province of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. While we thoroughly enjoyed the laid back atmosphere of KK, (not to mention the great food!) what we really went to experience was the rainforests and jungles of Borneo.

One of our highlights was our trip to Sandakan to visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Just look at one of the fantastic creatures we were honoured to spend time with.

Visiting with the Orangutans in the rainforest of Borneo was a huge thrill!

Orangutans weren’t the only primates we spent time with in Sabah. We took a cruise down the Klias River where some of the residents came out to greet us.

We spotted many Proboscis Monkeys on the Klias River, like this mother and baby.

We also spotted a large group of curious Long Tailed Macaques.

We also took a spontaneous trip into UNESCO designated Kinabalu Park, where we were lucky enough to catch the world’s largest flower, the Rafflesia arnoldii, in bloom. These flowers are so protected when one blooms; it is guarded 24/7 against poachers.

Rafflesia arnoldii is the world’s largest flower (and it smells like rotting meat!)

Our week in Kota Kinabalu flew by and, before we knew it, we were on a very early morning flight back to Hong Kong. Our trip wasn’t all play. Andrew had six days of coursework ahead of him for his MBA, but we still had plenty of time to experience this incredible city, where East truly meets West.

East meets West in Hong Kong

As part of Andrew’s MBA program, there were several field trips, which I was able to tag along on. We took a day-trip to Shenzhen, China, where we visited a five-storey shopping centre, filled with knock-off consumer goods; from bags to watches, to electronics.

“Missy, Missy, you want genuine copy bags?” The Lo Wu Shopping Centre in Shenzen, China

We also visited Macau, the Las Vegas of the East, where we took in a performance of the House of Dancing Water, at one of the giant casinos, called the City of Dreams, created by a former director of Cirque du Soleil.

The House of Dancing Water show at the City of Dreams casino, Macau

For me, one of the fascinating things about Hong Kong was the variety of markets. We visited markets for flowers, birds, clothes, food, jade, even goldfish.

Fresh fruit for sale at a Hong Kong market stall

You can find a market for everything in Hong Kong: clothes, birds, flowers, goldfish and the inevitable fake luxury goods.

During our stay in the city, we managed to accomplish most of the things we had on our to-do list including visiting the Ten Thousand Buddahs Monastery, after being waylaid by a fascinating cemetery.

Only a handful of the unique Buddahs at the Ten Thousand Buddahs Monastery

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a CheeseWeb adventure if we didn’t explore the region’s culinary offerings. We ate, and ate, and ate some more (to be able to report accurately to our dear readers, of course). Don’t miss all of our Asian foodporn in this article.

Yes, we ate all of these and much more (stay tuned for our Asian Foodporn post!)

Have you been to Hong Kong or Borneo? Tell us about your favourite memories in the comments below.

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