Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Bali & Singapore 2016
When our #2 son announced he was leaving San Francisco for C̶h̶i̶c̶a̶g̶o̶ Jakarta to oversee a $60-million, tech-focused VC fund, we thought it would be fun to rendezvous with him in that part of the world. Asia sat near the top of our list of regions to visit before we left this earthly planet. But two weeks before our departure date, and nearly a year into his Southeast Asian tour of duty, #2 declared that the time was ripe for him to move to New York City. Huh? We chose to stick with the plan with or without #2, but we are delighted that he’s finally reunited with his family.
We booked Cathay Pacific, one of the world’s more highly regarded carriers, converting our American Express Membership Awards points to Asia Miles, though on one leg we flew with and were pleasantly surprised by Garuda Airlines, Indonesia’s national airline. For the long hauls, we paid an additional $130/ticket to upgrade for extra legroom, after Cathay assured us the seats were exactly the same as the airline’s “Premium Economy” class.
Here are a few impressions and images after two nights apiece visiting four locales: Hong Kong, Bali (Ubud & Nusa Dua) and Singapore:
Hong Kong
We had a hard time deciding on whether to stay on Hong Kong island (“Central”) or across the harbor in Kowloon. We chose the latter and specifically The Langham Hotel, which sat amidst an upscale shopping area and a short walk to the Star Ferry, itself a ten-minute excursion into Hong Kong. One could argue that Hong Kong itself is one big shopping mall, but that’s another story.
We only had one day and two nights in Hong Kong, so my resourceful wife had a full itinerary in store. It started shortly after we arrived on a warm Friday evening with a visit to the night market at Temple Street where the food shops were in full swing, and the flea market, with its hundreds of stalls, extended as far as my camera lens could focus.
The next morning we visited what we were told was Hong Kong’s biggest tourist attraction: the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak. By the time we left at 11am, the two-hour queue stretched around the block. We were ready to walk — past the HSBC building toward a most-civilized dim sum lunch at Duddell’s. We then walked through the galleries and shops in the Soho area along Hollywood Road.
Hong Kong was as frenetic a city as I have ever visited. Literally everyone was in a hurry, and I’m a New Yorker! But it also had one of the cleanest and most efficient subways I’ve ever ridden, and dramatic cityscapes from multiple vantage points.
Having represented the Hong Kong Tourist Association in the nascent days of the venerable Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, and again more recently, the Hong Kong Tourist Board during the SARS crisis from 2002–2004, I felt like I knew the energy and vitality of the city in spite of never having visited.
What I didn’t anticipate was the extreme shopping culture that pervaded this former British colony, now governed by China. You couldn’t walk very far without stumbling upon a Hermes, Ferragamo, Prada, Chanel, Gucci or Louis Vuitton store. We were told that the mainland Chinese would queue up each morning to “bargain hunt” at these designer shops, if you’d call it that.
We both really enjoyed walking the streets of Soho, and specifically, the historic PMQ area (a physical manifestation of the Etsy marketplace) where we met Adam selling his distinctive, self-designed Mazu brand nautical swimwear (with their brass monkey knot ties).
On our last night in HK, Barbara and I met up with my old colleague and friend David Ketchum and his wife Anne, parents of three and residents of bucolic Lamma Island, a 35-minute commute downtown.
David reserved a table for four at Hutong restaurant, on the 28th floor of a commercial office building that apparently housed many other eating establishments. Weird, I suppose, until you see the views.
Before the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and conversation flowed, I asked the restaurant’s host for a table by the window to view the nightly light show projected on the city’s skyscrapers. They brushed me off saying the two empty tables were taken. When another four-top opened up, I asked again only to be rebuffed again. Must be my New York accent. We remained relegated to the second row.
The food at Hutong was acceptable, but then again, it’s not the food that was the draw. The prices were on the high end. With two bottles of wine and three entrees split among us, our half of the bill totaled $1561 HKD (or $201).
We were now off to spend four days in Bali, the antithesis of Hong Kong.
We chose to stay at two brand new Ritz Carlton properties: the eight-month-old Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve tucked away in a lush enclave in Ubud, and the 14-month old Ritz-Carlton Bali, in Nusa Dua, which sits atop a cliff overlooking an expansive Indian Ocean beach with a perfect line of waves breaking offshore.
Bali (Part One)
Words cannot describe the distinctiveness of this newly built ultra-luxury property. Following a 90-minute single-lane taxi ride through scooter-congested streets from Bali’s chaotic, but thoroughly modern Denpansar Airport, we suddenly turned left down a small, nondescript alley off a roundabout where we came upon a large, manned gate that opened onto a deep green oasis far removed from humanity.
We arrived at dusk and were immediately greeted by several ebullient staffers, dressed in traditional garb and bearing yellow-flowered leis and cups of a sweet, green-colored nectar that provided a glimpse of what was yet to come. With our luggage discreetly whisked away, we were escorted to a balcony overlooking serene pools, lush forested hills that were fronted by rice paddies and Mandapa’s private villas — one of which we’d call home for the next couple of days. [video]
We soon recognized that unlike the harried Chinese we encountered in Hong Kong, the Balinese people were perhaps the most genuinely engaged and user-friendly than any we had encountered in all our years of travel. (The indigenous peoples of French Polynesia’s Society Islands may come close.)
Why are they always smiling? Was it a Ritz-Carlton thing or were they really this accommodating? I suspect a little of both. My #2 son explained that Bali is predominantly Hindu versus the rest of Muslim Indonesia, which may account for the warm and embracing culture we observed. (For what it’s worth, my #2 also felt quite welcomed by the citizens of Jakarta.)
We finished the nectar, and were soon transported by “buggie” (aka golf cart) down the steep hill to villa #25 where we entered a garden-like area with small running fountains leading to a large wooden front door, which opened into a private paradise complete with infinity pool and a comfy, air-conditioned living room/pool house (with TV) both of which perched above a running whitewater river on which rafters periodically floated by.
The living space itself was massive with a bedroom overlooking the pristine infinity pool, a dressing area, a huge bathroom with two sinks opposite one another, rainfall shower, soaking tub, a door leading to a rustic outdoor shower, and the coolest toilet I’ve ever seen — one whose seat opened automatically as you entered the room and included bidets for every orifice in need.
No expense was spared in the design and appointments of this living space, or the entire property for that matter. Barbara took yoga classes in the morning, while I sweated it out in the fitness and weight rooms. Later that morning, a driver took us to the market in Ubud where she sought and found a number of Batik silk scarves and a silk dress.
Since this was the off-season, business was especially slow (compared to June through August), so the shop and stall-keepers were eager to make a deal. They started at $360,000 ID (about $36 US dollars), and by the time you were walking way, they beckoned you back with today’s special: $150,000 ID, i.e., $15 dollars for a Batik silk scarf — not too shabby.
The second afternoon, we took a custom-ordered lunch of finger sandwiches and salad seated on cushions in an open-air covered platform in the middle of the rice paddies. We finished the day a the spa and a private hydro-pool with spouted water jets that easily could heal whatever ailed one’s neck or back.
That evening, the property’s PR manager Wiwin Hakim coerced us to dine in a private cocoon at the property’s signature restaurant Kubu whose chef Maurizio had joined Mandapa from the Bulgari Hotel in Bali. He also happened to be from the same region of Italy as my wife, so they bonded as true paisanos.
Mandapa is the third property under the imprimatur of “Ritz-Carlton Reserve,” and the first to be built from the ground up. Four others are planned.
It is being positioned as ultra luxury, perhaps one rung above the Ritz-Carlton’s already luxury brand. It offers a kids camp, day trips to the Elephant Jungle, rice paddies, the Water Temple and elsewhere.
The property is still relatively unknown, but my sense is that word-of-mouth will drive awareness and bookings. And, face it, not everyone will want to make the trek to Sumba Island.
Bali (Part Two)
The Ritz Carlton Bali at Nusa Dua, also a newly-built luxury resort, has a markedly different vibe than Mandapa, but one that also will satisfy your desire for a relaxing and rejuvenating respite from work and civilization. When we visited at the end of April (the off-season), the beachfront property built into a cliff had just a 30% occupancy, which, to our delight, translated to our choice of any pool or beach side chaise lounge and preferred dining reservation times.
Our room was located on the ground floor of a five-story building with a private patio leading into an infinity pool that ran along the length of the complex, i.e., it was shared by our first floor neighbors.
As beach resorts go, the Ritz-Carlton Bali delivers on all fronts. It’s just a 20-minute ride from the airport — a big plus after the excursion to Ubud — and includes just about what you’d expect from such a property, e.g., a spa, yoga overlooking an ocean sunrise, a choice of several restaurants including Tapas by the beach, Japanese, traditonal Indonesian, western… We especially liked the Beach
Grill with its open-door views of the water. The property was pretty much self-contained, i.e., no need to leave, with local shops, plenty of lounges abutting the ample pool areas, a children’s programs, and a fabulous array of juices and breakfast buffet selections each morning.
Did I mention the camels?
We also were a little surprised by the level of security that met us outside the gate upon arrival. Our taxi was thoroughly inspected before they agreed to let us through. I suppose this is a sign of the times, but it was reassuring nonetheless.
Ritz-Carlton Bali is a much more expansive property than Mandapa. Visitors are well-served at both again by those perennially smiling Balinese buggie drivers. We preferred to walk the well-manicured grounds.
As for the beach, we found the sand almost quick-sandy and hard to stroll without one’s feet being swallowed up. When the tide was low, the swimming area disappeared and the workers went to work removing the seaweed that had accumulated on the beach.
The ocean was more alluring at high tide, but we still didn’t observe anyone swimming. As for us, we may just be spoiled by the pristine beaches of Long Island’s East End or the Caribbean for that matter.
We were glad to have experienced the Ritz-Carlton Bali, but I’m not sure this property is that much more distinct in its amenities and aesthetics than other — closer to New York — Ritz-Carlton beach resorts. The Aussies we met, and their children, seem to love it — and they too come from a land of fabulous beaches.
More photos below left to further entice.
Singapore
While Hong Kong’s cityscape is much denser than Singapore’s, the architecture in Singapore is breathtaking. Singapore’s urban planners clearly took great pains to incorporate green space into the mix, which was most apparent the moment you left the uber-modern airport and travelled down a spectacular purple flower-lined highway into town.
We stayed at The Fairmont, across the street from Raffles, both of which are adjacent to the City Hall MRT Station. We took a taxi on our first night to the Indian Temple near the hip Ann Siang Road in Chinatown. Cleaner and less cacophonous than Hong Kong’s Chinatown, we grabbed some dim sum from a local cart after checking out Maxwell’s, a highly touted local food court that frankly didn’t do much for us.
On our first full day, we ventured out on the MRT for one stop, then changed for the Singapore Botanic Gardens stop. The heat was oppressive, but we found the walk through the Orchard Gardens and meticulously landscaped grounds invigorating.
We had heard about a restaurant on Dempsey Road, not far from the Botanic Gardens, and proceeded to try to find it. I eventually had to fire up Google Maps using local cellular data to find our way. En route there, we met a fashionably dressed young Mom coming out of the St. James elementary school. She directed us to PS Cafe on Harding Road for lunch.
What a fabulous find between the wide open dining space with garden views, fresh salads and homemade desserts! And it was air conditioned, something we learned not to take for granted in at the end of April.
After lunch, we grabbed a taxi and headed back to the hotel for a short refresh. We then set out by foot to the iconic Marina City Park and Gardens by the Bay.
I suppose this three-pillared hotel with “the boat on the roof” has become a symbol of modern Singapore. My Instagrammed image of Barbara and me with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the backdrop elicited instant recognition. My old pal Julie Scanlon wrote: “You’re in Singapore, you must extend your trip to visit us in Melbourne!”
As for Gardens By The Bay, the images below speak for themselves. One pal in New York commented: “They give (New York’s) High Line a run for its money.”
And then there were those freighters in the harbor waiting their turn to pass through the Strait of Singapore, one of the busiest channels in the world according to #2.
Again, like Hong Kong, we found the shopping culture a bit too much to digest. The glue that binds Singapore’s dramatic land and cityscapes are the underground malls. If one were to list every luxury product brand in existence today, you would only need to visit the Marina Bay Sands shopping complex to understand.
I much prefer indigenous shops versus the big designer names found in Singapore’s (and Hong Kong’s) ubiquitous shopping malls, just as I prefer the boutiques in New York’s Soho versus Fifth Avenue.
Still, one has to wonder who’s spending all that money.
We’re glad to be back in NYC, and thrilled to have been able to experience these four distinct destinations. I want to thank Wiwin Hakim of Mandapa, Prhativi (Tivi) Dyah of Ritz-Carlton Bali, John Soriano of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the team at Blackbird PR for all the help, insights and good karma they provided.
All photos taken by Peter Himler with a Canon SX40 PowerShot camera and an iPhone 6.
