Today, we went to one of the outyling islands - Lantau. This island is where Disneyland is located, and also near the airport. We took a ferry to the island - deluxe class cost us $2 US and we could sit outside and watch as we motored past the Hong Kong skyline. Arriving on Lantau, we took a bus to Po Lin, where the Tian tan Buddha, largest erected Buddha statues sits - 110 feet tall. We walked up the 268 steps and looked at the Buddha and the view from the hill. Then we walked around the Po Lin Monestary, where a ceremony was going on. It was interesting - and the setting looked very similar to the temple used at the beginning of Survivor: China.
Next, we walked through the natural wooded area to the wisdom path - a figure 8/infinity path marked by tall wooden structures that show the CHinese symbols for the "Heart Sutra," and important spiritual document for Buddhists and Taoists. In essence, it was like a living poem - a way to experience the document in nature. It was a beautiful setting.
After our day there, we waited in line and took the bus back to Tung Chung, where we could catch a subway back to Honk Kong (as an alternative to the ferry). Tung Chung is the last stop on the line that connects to Hong Kong Disneyland, so we took the subway becak so we could go to Disneyland for a few hours. We arrived at 6 - and the park closed at 8. We went to see the Golden Mickey's again. We ate dinner at the Festival of Foods, and then rode Space Mountain twice. Finally, we jumped in line for Autopia just before the park closed. Autopia, of course, has the longest line becasue if its slow loading. The Autopis here is really cool becasue it is electric = which means a smoother ride and no smelly gas fumes.
We left Disneyland and went back to Hong Kong. The night was pretty clear, so we took the Peak Tram up the hill to the Sky View ( the same place we went on the first day) but this time to get pictures of the city at night. We were pretty tired by the time we finally got back to our hotel around midnight. In fact, the boys are still sleeping now! (Its Thursday morning -nearly 11:00 AM!!!) That is the latest anyone's slept - but we've really been pushing it the last few days!
Friday, April 04, 2008
Wednesday
Today, we went to visit Macau. Originally, we were just going to go for the evening - but upon reading all that there was to do there, we decided to go right away. Good thing we did - becasue there is ALOT to do there, and the place is just getting started!
We took a turbo jet ferry which brought us to Macau in about one hour. The ferrys are like planes on water - assignned seating, not outdoor areas, but fast and efficient. I think it was only like 15 American round trip. Macau is on Mainland China, so you have to go through customs leaving Hong Kong and entering Macau (and then vice versa), but it is really a simple procedure - more of a formality, really - and hey - we got more stamps in our passports! Oh - and no visa is required for Macau.
SO what is MAcau - well, it is part Chinese town, part Portuguese settlement, and part Las Vegas. We spent the morning walking around the middle of the peninsula - through the ruins of an old fort, the facade of a cathedral which is the only part of a church still standing after a fire destroyed it, seeing the mixture of Chinese and Mediterranean architecture, and wondering the garden/zoo area nearby.
Next, we went to Macau tower, which is the tenth tallest observation tower int he world. It is similar in structure to the Stratosphere. It only cost like 10$ (American) to go to the top. The view is spectacular, as it is out on the tip of the peninsula so you are right over water. Also, there are glass panels in the floor that allow you to look straight down - or walk over the m and stand on glass and look past your feet. This tower is where Amazing race All Stars was filmed. The "Sky Walk" was part of a Roadblock - you can actually walk around the outside of the tower - strapped in of course. You can also bungee jump off of the tower.
Finally, we headed to the Venetian, the first Vegas style hotel in a new section that is being created shat will be similar to the LAs Vegas strip. There are many casinos already on the Macau - as casinos have always been a popular draw - but is the Venetian is any clue as to what is to come, this area of Macau will be spectacular. The casino was HUGE - way more table games then we have. We walked around the shops - much like our Venetian at home, with canals and gondolas. We watched the "living statues" and the American actors dressed in Venetian finery interact with the guests. We had dinner int he food court - which contained mostly Asian food - but one notable American choice - Fatburger! Go figure! And a pizza place coming soon.
Finally, we spent some money in the casino. We found slots that you could bet 5 HK cents for, which is less then a penny. I think I lost all of 10 American Dollars and played for like an hour and a half. A really cool feature about their slots is that - on their video slots - each time you win some sort of pay, you have the option to "take winnings" or "gamble." If you gamble, you go to a screen where a card will be drawn. You can guess the color - red or black - and double your winnings, or you can guess the suit and quadruple your winnings. If you guess wrong, you lose all of your winnings. If you guess correctly, you can continue to gamble with your new total by guessing again in the same manner. I took to playing the gamble each time I got a low winning - like 20 - 50 credits. Once I gambled 3 times correctly and turned a 50 winning into 400 credits. Way fun.
We took the complimentary hotel shuttle back to the ferry terminal and caught the 10:30 shuttle home.
We took a turbo jet ferry which brought us to Macau in about one hour. The ferrys are like planes on water - assignned seating, not outdoor areas, but fast and efficient. I think it was only like 15 American round trip. Macau is on Mainland China, so you have to go through customs leaving Hong Kong and entering Macau (and then vice versa), but it is really a simple procedure - more of a formality, really - and hey - we got more stamps in our passports! Oh - and no visa is required for Macau.
SO what is MAcau - well, it is part Chinese town, part Portuguese settlement, and part Las Vegas. We spent the morning walking around the middle of the peninsula - through the ruins of an old fort, the facade of a cathedral which is the only part of a church still standing after a fire destroyed it, seeing the mixture of Chinese and Mediterranean architecture, and wondering the garden/zoo area nearby.
Next, we went to Macau tower, which is the tenth tallest observation tower int he world. It is similar in structure to the Stratosphere. It only cost like 10$ (American) to go to the top. The view is spectacular, as it is out on the tip of the peninsula so you are right over water. Also, there are glass panels in the floor that allow you to look straight down - or walk over the m and stand on glass and look past your feet. This tower is where Amazing race All Stars was filmed. The "Sky Walk" was part of a Roadblock - you can actually walk around the outside of the tower - strapped in of course. You can also bungee jump off of the tower.
Finally, we headed to the Venetian, the first Vegas style hotel in a new section that is being created shat will be similar to the LAs Vegas strip. There are many casinos already on the Macau - as casinos have always been a popular draw - but is the Venetian is any clue as to what is to come, this area of Macau will be spectacular. The casino was HUGE - way more table games then we have. We walked around the shops - much like our Venetian at home, with canals and gondolas. We watched the "living statues" and the American actors dressed in Venetian finery interact with the guests. We had dinner int he food court - which contained mostly Asian food - but one notable American choice - Fatburger! Go figure! And a pizza place coming soon.
Finally, we spent some money in the casino. We found slots that you could bet 5 HK cents for, which is less then a penny. I think I lost all of 10 American Dollars and played for like an hour and a half. A really cool feature about their slots is that - on their video slots - each time you win some sort of pay, you have the option to "take winnings" or "gamble." If you gamble, you go to a screen where a card will be drawn. You can guess the color - red or black - and double your winnings, or you can guess the suit and quadruple your winnings. If you guess wrong, you lose all of your winnings. If you guess correctly, you can continue to gamble with your new total by guessing again in the same manner. I took to playing the gamble each time I got a low winning - like 20 - 50 credits. Once I gambled 3 times correctly and turned a 50 winning into 400 credits. Way fun.
We took the complimentary hotel shuttle back to the ferry terminal and caught the 10:30 shuttle home.
Tuesday
I am so tired! Ok SO, this morning, we took the mid level escalators to the center of Hong Kong. They are a long set of escalators that travel up the middle of Hong Kong - which is built on a hill. The escalators themselves are not long, it is just that there are many of them. About half way through, we stopped and found a place for lunch - Vietnamese/Thai. We got a combo that had salad and a noodle entree. We all got the lemongrass coconut chicken salad, and for entees: Beef Pho noodles and lemongrass chicken with fried vietnamese noodles.
We took the escalators the rest of the way up, and then walked all the way back down. (The escalators went one way only - and most of the day, they go up.) We took a different route down, through the botanical and zoological gardens - free - and we saw lots of monkeys and lemurs and tamarins.
The city is very easy to walk around in and labeled pretty clearly so it is easy to find things. We walked on past the US consulate and to the Bank of China building, where we went up to the observation plaza and the 42 floor (not even half way up!)
After a rest at back at the hotel, we headed back out again, to Times Square and the Causeway Bay shopping center. We had dinner at the food court there (Stuff is so not expensive here! SO nice after London and Paris!) Grant had Korean noodles, I had tempura shrimp and veggies, and Steve had chicken, pork dumplings, and shrimp soup. My shrimp tempura cost $380 HK, which is about $4.50. Yum!!!
After dinner we walked along the bay (the Wanchai walk) to the ferry terminal, where we took an hour long harbor ferry tour. There we met a guy from North England and he and I chatted for a while. We timed the ferry so that we were on it during the light show, also!!! Very cool!!!
When we got back, we took the subway to the Jordan stop and went to the market on Temple Street. It is like a Swap Meet, and the prices are cheap - and you are supposed to haggle! Steve bought a bunch of stuff. I am not a great shopper, but it was fun looking!
It is 11:00 PM now and we're back at the hotel! Oh - the weather today was pretty nice - overcast - but still hot and humid. This afternoon while in the hotel it started raining. During the evening, it rained every once in a while, but never for very long, and only once pretty hard for like 3 minutes.
Good night!
We took the escalators the rest of the way up, and then walked all the way back down. (The escalators went one way only - and most of the day, they go up.) We took a different route down, through the botanical and zoological gardens - free - and we saw lots of monkeys and lemurs and tamarins.
The city is very easy to walk around in and labeled pretty clearly so it is easy to find things. We walked on past the US consulate and to the Bank of China building, where we went up to the observation plaza and the 42 floor (not even half way up!)
After a rest at back at the hotel, we headed back out again, to Times Square and the Causeway Bay shopping center. We had dinner at the food court there (Stuff is so not expensive here! SO nice after London and Paris!) Grant had Korean noodles, I had tempura shrimp and veggies, and Steve had chicken, pork dumplings, and shrimp soup. My shrimp tempura cost $380 HK, which is about $4.50. Yum!!!
After dinner we walked along the bay (the Wanchai walk) to the ferry terminal, where we took an hour long harbor ferry tour. There we met a guy from North England and he and I chatted for a while. We timed the ferry so that we were on it during the light show, also!!! Very cool!!!
When we got back, we took the subway to the Jordan stop and went to the market on Temple Street. It is like a Swap Meet, and the prices are cheap - and you are supposed to haggle! Steve bought a bunch of stuff. I am not a great shopper, but it was fun looking!
It is 11:00 PM now and we're back at the hotel! Oh - the weather today was pretty nice - overcast - but still hot and humid. This afternoon while in the hotel it started raining. During the evening, it rained every once in a while, but never for very long, and only once pretty hard for like 3 minutes.
Good night!
Disneyland
So, We arrived at Hong Kong Disneyland at about 11:00 AM... (did I mention how cool the subway was to get there?)
We went straight to Space Mountain to get fast passes. The ride is IDENTICAL to ours. Same cars, same track, same reentry. After we rode the ride (we had used the time 30 minutes waiting for our fast pass to walk through Fantasyland and Adventureland to find a place for lunch and take pictures,) we headed back to Adventureland and had lunch at Riverview Cafe. It was authentic Chinese and very tasty. We also had Watermelon juice to drink. After lunch, we went back to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz lightyear's Astroblasters - again, identical to ours. Then we went to Fantasyland and watched the "Golden Mickey's" - A REALLY good live stage show with an especially good Tarzan and Little Mermaid sequence.
After the show, we rode on the Astroblaster (which looks like flying saucers here) and watched the "Disney on Parade" Parade (obviously) before watching "Stitch Encounter," - we had to wait for an English performance of this, otherwise we would have seen it earlier. This uses the Turtle talk with Crush"/"Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor" technology, with Stitch interacting with the audience. Cute.
Then we watched Mickey's Philharmagic (just like WDW!) and the Jungle Cruise (The cool thing about this is that it goes around the island in Adventureland. However that means there are no big boats a la Mark Twain...)
Then we rode the train round trip from Main Street (only stops at Main Street and Fantasyland,) before using our Winnie the Pooh fastpass (identical to Florida's) We watched the last showing of Festival of the Lion King - although it uses the same theater as Florida's Animal Kingdom, the show plot was different - although it used many of the same elements. After the show, we walked to the end of main street to see the "Disneyland story..." an exhibit about the history of Disney parks.
After that, we browsed through the shops and then watched the fireworks on Main Street (a good show - but surprisingly few BIG fireworks... we're in China, right?) Then we did shopping on Main Street. We left the park and walked to the Disneyland Hotel and then took the bus to the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel where we had dinner at the fastfood place and walked around. (My meal was called "glutenous rice with dried meat..." sounds weird but was really good.)
We left the Disney resort around 11:00 PM and took the subway to the hotel... getting back around midnight.
More later!
We went straight to Space Mountain to get fast passes. The ride is IDENTICAL to ours. Same cars, same track, same reentry. After we rode the ride (we had used the time 30 minutes waiting for our fast pass to walk through Fantasyland and Adventureland to find a place for lunch and take pictures,) we headed back to Adventureland and had lunch at Riverview Cafe. It was authentic Chinese and very tasty. We also had Watermelon juice to drink. After lunch, we went back to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz lightyear's Astroblasters - again, identical to ours. Then we went to Fantasyland and watched the "Golden Mickey's" - A REALLY good live stage show with an especially good Tarzan and Little Mermaid sequence.
After the show, we rode on the Astroblaster (which looks like flying saucers here) and watched the "Disney on Parade" Parade (obviously) before watching "Stitch Encounter," - we had to wait for an English performance of this, otherwise we would have seen it earlier. This uses the Turtle talk with Crush"/"Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor" technology, with Stitch interacting with the audience. Cute.
Then we watched Mickey's Philharmagic (just like WDW!) and the Jungle Cruise (The cool thing about this is that it goes around the island in Adventureland. However that means there are no big boats a la Mark Twain...)
Then we rode the train round trip from Main Street (only stops at Main Street and Fantasyland,) before using our Winnie the Pooh fastpass (identical to Florida's) We watched the last showing of Festival of the Lion King - although it uses the same theater as Florida's Animal Kingdom, the show plot was different - although it used many of the same elements. After the show, we walked to the end of main street to see the "Disneyland story..." an exhibit about the history of Disney parks.
After that, we browsed through the shops and then watched the fireworks on Main Street (a good show - but surprisingly few BIG fireworks... we're in China, right?) Then we did shopping on Main Street. We left the park and walked to the Disneyland Hotel and then took the bus to the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel where we had dinner at the fastfood place and walked around. (My meal was called "glutenous rice with dried meat..." sounds weird but was really good.)
We left the Disney resort around 11:00 PM and took the subway to the hotel... getting back around midnight.
More later!
Monday
Good Morning! It is Monday morning - boy did we sleep well last night!
So - yesterday, after we settled in and unpacked, we headed out to explore the city. We started by walking through Hong Kong park, exploring the lakes, the water features, the observation tower, and the enclosed aviary. It is a cool park - not picnic-y, like New York's Central Park, but it has a lot of interesting things to look at. It was clear - no clouds, hot and humid.
Across the street from the park we got in line for the Peak tram, which takes you, steeply and pretty quickly, to Victoria Peak. There is a mall up there (They do like their malls!) with an EA Games Experience - featuring a whole wall of Sims 2 murals and games. Right on. We also went to the top, called Sky View, and got some photos of Hong Kong and Kowloon. We really took advantage of the clear day - just in case we don't have more (its pretty cloudy right now!).
We went back to the hotel to rest - but to try not to sleep - although Steve did sleep for 15 minutes or so. We swam to try to stay awake. At 4, we left and took the subway to Kowloon and had dinner at one of those conveyor belt sushi places. It was yummy.
Next, we checked into the hotel that w got as part of our package - SO glad we're not staying there! The view is incredible, but the two twin beds are rock hard and thin, and the roll away cot was saggy in the middle. Plus there is like 2 feet from the foot of the bed to the wall. Our Marriott is so much more comfortable! Also in a better location.
Then we went to the walk of stars and watched the light show across the water - many of the buildings on the sky line in Hong Kong light up in beat to a musical soundtrack. It was very cool - although I think I slept through half of it. I was SO tired!
We took the ferry back and basically passed out when we got back.
I think today we are going to do Disneyland. We are hitting it early in the week to determine if we want to spend a 2nd whole day there or just part of a day.
So - yesterday, after we settled in and unpacked, we headed out to explore the city. We started by walking through Hong Kong park, exploring the lakes, the water features, the observation tower, and the enclosed aviary. It is a cool park - not picnic-y, like New York's Central Park, but it has a lot of interesting things to look at. It was clear - no clouds, hot and humid.
Across the street from the park we got in line for the Peak tram, which takes you, steeply and pretty quickly, to Victoria Peak. There is a mall up there (They do like their malls!) with an EA Games Experience - featuring a whole wall of Sims 2 murals and games. Right on. We also went to the top, called Sky View, and got some photos of Hong Kong and Kowloon. We really took advantage of the clear day - just in case we don't have more (its pretty cloudy right now!).
We went back to the hotel to rest - but to try not to sleep - although Steve did sleep for 15 minutes or so. We swam to try to stay awake. At 4, we left and took the subway to Kowloon and had dinner at one of those conveyor belt sushi places. It was yummy.
Next, we checked into the hotel that w got as part of our package - SO glad we're not staying there! The view is incredible, but the two twin beds are rock hard and thin, and the roll away cot was saggy in the middle. Plus there is like 2 feet from the foot of the bed to the wall. Our Marriott is so much more comfortable! Also in a better location.
Then we went to the walk of stars and watched the light show across the water - many of the buildings on the sky line in Hong Kong light up in beat to a musical soundtrack. It was very cool - although I think I slept through half of it. I was SO tired!
We took the ferry back and basically passed out when we got back.
I think today we are going to do Disneyland. We are hitting it early in the week to determine if we want to spend a 2nd whole day there or just part of a day.
Hong Kong - Sunday
So - we got in around 5 30 AM Sunday morning. I just painted my nails, so excuse the typos and lack of caps... i have been biting my nails far too much and I am trying to avoid that. anyways...
We flew Cathay Pacific, a really nice airline. We were in row 65 - like 5th to the last row, so we were last off... and we took our time, stopping at the bathrooms and changing clothes... so there was no line at customs at all, and ours were practically the only bags at the carousel.. so the airport is a breeze. I'd say even easier then Paris - everything is in in English. (Sunday morning was a good day to travel as well...no crowds!!!)
There is a train that goes from the airport to Hong Kong; it is very convenient. We had the train car to ourselves... we took the 6:20 train so there was enough light to be able to see... it is much more green then I had anticipated!! I am not sure why I didn't realize it, but I guess I just pictured a New York City/San Francisco concrete jungle, but even here in down town from out hotel room, I feel like I am at the base of a lush mountain that is covered in trees and sky scrapers - as if the buildings are growing out of the mountains along side the trees - like they are part of the landscape. Its really cool!
So we got to our hotel at around 7:30 and luckily they had a room for us. (Again, checking in was no problem, the associate at the front desk spoke perfect English.) The room is on the 7th floor, so not very high up, but it overlooks the hills and the view is spectacular! Our room is laid out really cool - It is like in its own jutted out part of the building - like a corner - so two walls are windows from ceiling to about 2 feet from the floor. The third wall is behind the bed and has two large mirrors, so it gives the illusion of a third wall of windows. The fourth wall is the bathroom and the hall way from the door. The room is not huge, but nice sized for the city - we have two double beds.
We have internet for the week, and we have skype, so theoretically we can call you for 2 cents a minute. We know it works because we talked to Danny for about 8 minutes, I left a voice mail for dad, and Steve called his parents, but then the earpiece ran out of battery, so we will be charging that and then we'll call tonight when we get back from site seeing - which will be Sunday morning for you.
Love you!
We flew Cathay Pacific, a really nice airline. We were in row 65 - like 5th to the last row, so we were last off... and we took our time, stopping at the bathrooms and changing clothes... so there was no line at customs at all, and ours were practically the only bags at the carousel.. so the airport is a breeze. I'd say even easier then Paris - everything is in in English. (Sunday morning was a good day to travel as well...no crowds!!!)
There is a train that goes from the airport to Hong Kong; it is very convenient. We had the train car to ourselves... we took the 6:20 train so there was enough light to be able to see... it is much more green then I had anticipated!! I am not sure why I didn't realize it, but I guess I just pictured a New York City/San Francisco concrete jungle, but even here in down town from out hotel room, I feel like I am at the base of a lush mountain that is covered in trees and sky scrapers - as if the buildings are growing out of the mountains along side the trees - like they are part of the landscape. Its really cool!
So we got to our hotel at around 7:30 and luckily they had a room for us. (Again, checking in was no problem, the associate at the front desk spoke perfect English.) The room is on the 7th floor, so not very high up, but it overlooks the hills and the view is spectacular! Our room is laid out really cool - It is like in its own jutted out part of the building - like a corner - so two walls are windows from ceiling to about 2 feet from the floor. The third wall is behind the bed and has two large mirrors, so it gives the illusion of a third wall of windows. The fourth wall is the bathroom and the hall way from the door. The room is not huge, but nice sized for the city - we have two double beds.
We have internet for the week, and we have skype, so theoretically we can call you for 2 cents a minute. We know it works because we talked to Danny for about 8 minutes, I left a voice mail for dad, and Steve called his parents, but then the earpiece ran out of battery, so we will be charging that and then we'll call tonight when we get back from site seeing - which will be Sunday morning for you.
Love you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)