 |
| Day Three: Southwest view from The Peak. |
Joe's dad, Grandpa Spiro, came to Hong Kong for a two-week visit during Chinese New Year. Upon landing, he was ready for an immediate beer, which he got at the Liberty Bar in Central. Grandpa Spiro's first full day in Hong Kong, we had lunch in a seaside town on the south side of Hong Kong Island called Stanley and then went to the night parade in Tsim Sha Tsui. As the dragons came down the road towards the end of the parade, Spiro could be heard for blocks: "Its Dragon Time!"
 |
| Day 1: It's dragon time at the Chinese New Year night parade in Tsim Sha Tsui. |
 |
| Day 2: The two Spiros playing golf. |
On Spiro's second day, we took the ferry to Discovery Bay and played a round of golf and then returned to Central for the fireworks, which were a bit of a disappointment due to foggy weather. On day three, we did the bus tour of Hong Kong, which was informative, but a little rainy. On days four and five, Spiro and Joe took a ferry to Macau, gambled, saw the sights and had a Portuguese lunch and a Chinese dinner. On day six, Spiro and his namesake grandson went down to the horse racing track in Happy Valley for beer, french fries with cheese and bacon, and more gambling. Day seven was another round of golf and Korean barbeque for dinner with our Russian friends.
Then Spiro and Joe took a four day golf trip to Bangkok. In Bangkok, there were outstanding traditional Thai meals ("as good as any meals I have had anywhere," Spiro said), a river cruise, a tuk tuk ride, golf (of course) and even a $6 one-hour foot massage. Spiro also got to enjoy the company of the lovely Thai caddies on the golf course. "Those caddies were something special," he said.
When he returned to Hong Kong for his last night, Spiro had reached his limit of Asian food. So, Spiro, Stella and Joe went down the mountain to the Jockey Pub for a burger and a few beers. It was quiz night. It turned out that the Athanas family is not skilled at British trivia. We came in dead last, which should be no surprise given that the only song from the 1990s we could remember was the Macarena. However, we were all able to flip four coasters up in the air and catch them before they hit the table.
After a trip to the maritime museum the next morning, Spiro caught his flight back to the other side of the world.
 |
| Day 1: Stella and Joe in their lobby on Chinese New Year. |
 |
| Day 1: Peter, Grandpa Spiro and Spiro at Stanley Plaza. |
 |
| Day 1: Lunch in Stanley. |
 |
Day 2: Joe and Spiro at Discovery Bay Golf course.
|
 |
| Day 2: Discovery Bay Club house. |
 |
| Day 3: Night bus tour in Kowloon. |
 |
| Day 3: Night bus tour looking at Hong Kong Island from Kowloon. |
|
 |
| Day 3: Boat ride on the Victoria Harbour. |
 |
| Day 3: Sampan boat ride in Aberdeen. |
 |
| Day 3: View of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon from The Peak. |
 |
| Day 4 & 5: Macau at Senado Sq. |
 |
| Day 4 & 5: Macau at St. Pauls. |
 |
| Day 4 & 5: Macau celebrating the Year of Rooster. |
 |
| Day 6: Hong Kong Jockey Club. |
 |
| Day 7: Grandpa Spiro at Discovery Bay. |
 |
| Days 8, 9, 10 & 11: Bangkok Chao Phraya River. |
 |
| Days 8, 9, 10 & 11: Spiro in Bangkok at the Grand Palace. |
 |
| Days 8, 9, 10 & 11: Spiro with Caddie in Bangkok. |
 |
| Days 8, 9, 10 & 11: Tuk Tuk Ride in Bangkok. |
 |
| Last day: Park in Central, Hong Kong. |
