After exploring Finland and parts of Scandinavia, Stanley packed his bag and joined me on a trip east. Way east.
As promised, I even took pictures! Stanley in Asia pics
Our first stop was Chongqing, in the heart of China. Depending on who you are speaking to, Chongqing is a city of 4 million. Or 9 million. Or 32.5 million. Regardless of what the official number is, let's just say there are LOTS of people. Because of where it is situated, Chongqing is known is the "city of fog", meaning there is always a haze in the air. Some might say it's pollution, but it'stoo foggy to tell! Stan and I snapped a couple of pictures above the mighty Yangtze River. .
I even snapped a picture of Stanley with my colleague Åsa! (I told you Stanley was popular with the ladies.)
From Chongqing, Stanley and I caught a China Airlines flight to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we met up with Paola, who had arrived a day before. We also met with Stevie and Phoebe, who hosted us to another great visit. 
As you can see from this picture, Stanley makes friends wherever he goes... even in a tea-house in Hong Kong! In Hong Kong, Stanley saw many of the sights, including the Peak, the harbour, a tram ride through Sheung Wan and of course, as much shopping as Paola and Phoebe could drag him too. Stanley also joined us for yum-cha in Tsim Sha Tsui with my old colleagues from Lee Wolter. Florence, Dannio, Bowie and Peter all came out. It was like a 10-year reunion (hard to believe it has been 10 years since I moved away!!) sharing old stories, favourite memories. Seems like yesterday! The night before we had dinner Lisa and Mimi. Stanley didn't join us. He didn't bring his suit onthis trip!
Unfortunately, our stay in Hong Kong was short... I had meetings in Thailand I needed to attend. So on another plane we went (Stanley is already quite an accomplished flyer. He knew to ask for an exit row or bulkhead seat!!), this time from Hong Kong to Bangkok, the captial of Thailand. And after going to the wrong immigration line, we boarded our flight to Chiang Mai.
If Hong Kong was hot (about +26C), then Chiang Mai was scorching. We arrived in the early evening, and the temperature was +35C!! Poor Stanley, who needs to wear a raincoat for protection, must have been sweltering. But our "suffering" was short-lived. We checked into our, um, "hotel" which was probably as close to paradise as Paola and I will ever see. If you are ever in Chiang Mai, you will not be disappointed if your itinerary includes a stop at the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. 
While I was in meetings, Stanley and Paola were sitting by pool, trying to stay cool. One afternoon, while Paola took a cooking lesson, Stanley came with me and my colleagues on an afternoon adventure in Chiang Mai. Stanley joined Loretta (my colleague from Singapore) and I on an "elephant safari"!! What fun!!
Although our stay in Chiang Mai was short, only 3 days, we managed to visit the famous "Night Market", where we put our "haggling" skills to work.
From Chiang Mai, we headed south to Phuket -- the start of our vacation! Phuket is located in south of Thailand, along the Andaman Sea. Phuket was in the news last year as it was hit pretty hard by the Tsunami. But evidence of the big wave was not overtly evident.The incredible powder white beaches, which I loved so much during my visit 8 years ago, were just as beautiful as I remembered them. Tourism is back in Phuket, which is probably what the island needs most.
Stanley joined Paola and I as we chilled out. For three days, Stanley didn't leave his pool-side deck chair, soaking up the sun.
While he was at the pool, Paola and I did some exploring. In addition to a bit of shopping (I bought myself a suit and a pair of hand-made shoes!), we went on a day trip to Phi Phi Island and Khai Island. More than its world-famous beaches (Leonardo DiCaprio's The Beach was shot here), Phi Phi offers some of the best snorkeling in the world.
It was absolutely amazing to swim amidst a school of fish. But did you know tropical fish LOVE bananas?? I didn't... but here's a picture Paola took of me feeding a banana to a school of fish. There were thousands!! 
It was unforgettable.
When we arrived at Khai Island, where most people, including Paola, were content to enjoy the INCREDIBLE beaches, our guide Jay asked me if I wanted to "see some sharks". Not knowing if he was serious, I said "Sure!" and grabbed my snorkel. Together, we swam out over the coral reef, which in itself was stunning. More tropical fish than you can imagine. We didn't go to far from the beach, maybe 50 metres, when we saw our first shark, a Blacktip shark, only 10 metres away. Blacktip sharks are not known to be dangerous, which I knew before putting on my mask, but seeing a REAL shark up close like that takes your breath away. They are calm and beautiful, and swim so gracefully, that you can forget they are a SHARK! We saw 6 or 7 blacktips in total, as well as a few barracudas. We avoided the barracudas... they are known to be mean. One fish that Jay pointed out was a clown fish, probably best know as "Nemo". 
Like all clown fish, he was hiding in an anemone, which you don't want to touch because their "fingers" are poisonous. But when Jay "waved" at the anemone, causing the fingers to ripple, out popped Nemo!! To me, it was amazing. To Jay, it was just another swim in the coral reefs. Tho this time, he had someone to bring with him.
After a week in Phuket, we boarded our plan back to Bangkok. Then to Helsinki. But Stanley and I weren't home very long. After the weekend at home, I was back at work... and my first day back at work was a meeting in Copenhagen (Stanley's third trip there!). From Copenhagen, Stanley cam with me as I flew BACK to Asia, this time for a meeting in Singapore! But more on that in my next post!!
