My wife, Lita, and I leave Monday on a two week trip. We fly first to San Francisco and after spending the night take a late flight to Hong Kong. After a couple of days there, we fly to Bangkok, Thailand for a night. Then to Phuket to hopefully get some sun on the beach. All of this because I bid for the trip at a charity auction when, after a few drinks, it seemed like a great idea. Neither of us are so sure, now that we are facing a very long flight and the ordeal of traveling that far, but we are committed.

As you know, Hong Kong was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1842 until it transferred it to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. The stipulation for transfer was that there be a policy of "one country, two systems" for fifty years giving Hong Kong autonomy. Hong Kong maintains its own legal system, monetary system, and government during this period.

Hong Kong was first occupied by the UK in 1841 during the Opium War between China and Britain. In WW II, Japan invaded in December of 1941 with the British and Canadian armies surrendering control. During the occupation the people suffered food shortages, hyper inflation and other difficulties. The population declined from 1.6 million to 600,000 when Japan was defeated. After the communist take over in China in 1949 people from the mainland escaped to Hong Kong and the population increased substantially.

Hong Kong consists of Hong Kong Island as well over 260 islands. Ap Lei Chau island is the most densely populated island in the world. The name Hong Kong means "fragrant harbor" because of an area where fragrant incense was once traded. Victoria harbor separates Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon Peninsula. The famous Star Ferry is a popular way of connecting the two. The harbor is beautiful with all the boat traffic and lights at night. It reminds me of Vancouver Canada’s beautiful harbor.

In 1998 Hong Kong opened it’s new international airport 16 miles out to sea. Engineers had to build not only the largest passenger terminal on earth, but a whole new island to hold the airport along with miles of tunnels, bridges and roads to connect it to the mainland. We’ve been to Hong Kong several times, but not to this airport. I am also interested in seeing the changes since our last trip years ago.

Thailand was originally called Siam until 1939 when it was changed by official proclamation.The country is somewhat larger then California in size. In 2006 a military junta overthrew the elected government, abrogated the constitution, dissolved Parliament and declared martial law.

Bangkok is located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. It has a population of six million, but the metropolitan area has ten million people. It is only two meters above sea level which means floods during the monsoon season. An elaborate network of canals gives it the nickname "Venice of the East" but today, almost all of them have been filled in as streets. There are floating markets and a fleet of boats as transportation on the river. The city is regarded as one of the world’s top tourist stops. It’s estimated that 15 million foreigners arrive in this city every year. We’ve been to Bangkok several times, but the last visit was some time ago. We are only there over night on our way to Phuket, Thailand.

Phuket is the biggest island in Thailand, located in the Andaman Sea off Southern Thailand. You’ll remember December 26, 2004, when Phuket and the other nearby areas along Thailand’s western coast were hit by the tsunami, caused by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The enormous waves destroyed the area and killed more then 5,300 people in Thailand as well as tens of thousands in the Asian region. Two hundred and fifty people were reported dead in Phuket and all the major beaches with their resorts were damaged. By February of the following year, most of the resorts were slowly returning to business. Today, it’s reported little evidence of the damage remains in the major resort areas and the tourist industry is almost fully recovered. The beaches are beautiful and the water warm.

We’ve never been to Phuket, which is the reason I decided to bid on this trip, so we are looking forward to seeing it. I’m not looking forward to the long flight and the ordeal of getting there however. I hope to file reports as we travel.