Adventures with my parents: Part 2

Hello out there!  

Before and after our trip to Beijing, we spent a few days showing my parents around Hong Kong.  My dad had been here in the early 60's when he was in the Navy but a lot has changed since then.  Since our apartment is so small, they had to stay in a hotel.  Lucky for us, the hotel is just around the corner so it was very convenient.  Here is their view at sunset:

Since they are still celebrating Chinese New Year here, we got to see a Lion Dance at our apartment.  The Lion Dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to businesses.  We had a Lion Dance at my office the day before.  The business puts out some greens like lettuce, the lion plucks them out, chews on them and spits them back out.  They also will do the same with oranges and other fruits.  The lions are then rewarded with red envelopes containing money.  It was amazing to watch.  There are two men inside the lion and they were so skilled the lions seemed lifelike.

Getting ready to start

They had set up a series of posts outside that the lions jumped up on and dance about on them.  That was so cool and must take a lot of practice to get right!

After the dance is over, it's picture time!

 
We decided to take one day and spend it wandering around the Central area of Hong Kong Island.  Here are June and Larry relaxing on the Star Ferry as we ride across Victoria Harbor.

 
We came across a place called the Central Oasis.  It was basically a long hallway that had been set up like a community art center and garden.  

 
The next day we took the bus out to Aberdeen.  Aberdeen is a fishing village (now filled with high rise apartments).  My dad came here when he was in the Navy so he wanted to come back and see it again.  Currently, Aberdeen is more famous for it's "floating restaurants" in the harbor.  You take a little ferry boat from the pier over to the restaurant.

Pier Entrance

Free ferry ride to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant

 
 A few minutes later, and you are there.  It is quite the spectacle!!

This is the Top Deck with Sunday Brunch and free flow champagne.  Yes, please :)

On my parent's last day in Hong Kong, we went to see Tian Tian, the Big Buddha, out on Lantau Island.  To get to the Buddha, you have to take a 20 minute cable car ride through the mountains.  We chose to go in the Crystal Cabin cable car that has glass floors.

Here we go!!

Hong Kong International Airport

They also have a series of trails you can take through the mountains.  There are some serious hills here.

This Buddha is one of the largest in  China.  It's 112 feet tall and sits atop a hill - you have to climb 268 steps to reach the top. 

 

After the climb, we had a relaxing lunch at Ebeneezer's Kebab and Pizza (you can't eat Chinese food all the time) and did a little shopping at the Lucky Cat store.

I want one of these for my house

My parents have made it safely back home and are hopefully getting some well deserved rest.  We had such a great time and I'm so happy they came all the way over here to visit us.  

Free hugs to all !!

Adventures with my parents: Part 1

Hello all! 

My parents came to visit us for a week.  We had a great time.  We spent 3 days in Hong Kong and three days in Beijing.  It was a wonderful visit and I'm so happy they made the long trek out here. 

Beijing Day 1
We signed up for a guided tour to see the highlights of Beijing.  It worked out really well.  We had our own tour guide and driver so we just sat back and relaxed as they took us to the "must see" sights of Beijing.   Our first stop was the Beijing Zoo to see the pandas.  This was kind of disappointing as we only saw two and one of them was facing the wall.  

Our next stop was the Summer Palace.  It consists of a series of gardens and pavilions built around a large man-made lake.  Construction first started in the mid 1700's and was a place for the royal family to relax and entertain.  

Dragon boats docked for the winter

We saw this group of school children heading our way with panda hats on and they were so cute!  They spotted us and starting talking to us immediately and all gathered around us to get their picture taken.  It was quite a sight - one girl after another wanted their picture taken with us and it was really fun.  Our tour guide told us that they don't see very many westerners so it's exciting to get your picture taken with them.  I think it was as much fun for them as it was for us!

Love the smiles on these children!

Beijing Day 2
Our first stop was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  It was interesting talking to our tour guide as she was very candid about what people aren't supposed to talk about in China.  She mentioned the three T's - Taiwan, Tibet and Tiananmen Square.  As information is so restricted and censored in China, it is difficult for them to know the truth about what happened at Tiananmen Square.   At one point during a conversation, my dad said something to the effect of "you can look it up on google".  She said they can't because they can't access google.  On that note, let's take a look at some famous Chinese  landmarks!

Monument to the People's Heroes

Mausoleum of Mao - notice the long line of people waiting to go in

  Across the street is the Forbidden City.  This place is enormous!!  

Cool panoramic shot

Lucky Jade

One of the Emperor's Thrones

Rock Garden

A frozen creek where people throw money for luck

We were once again spotted by children wanting to take our picture.  This time we got our own pictures with them.

After a delicious lunch, we went to the Temple of Heaven.  Originally built in the 1400's, it was where the emperors would go to pray for a good harvest.

There is a large public park area in the back of the temple.  This is where many retired people gather every day to play cards or other games.  It was packed with people.

 

We went to a wonderful restaurant, Made in China, located in the Grand Hyatt.  We had probably the best Peking Duck we've had since we got to Asia.  It just melted in your mouth.  Delicious!!

Very tasty potstickers

 

 Beijing Day 3

The Great Wall.  Need I say more?  

My mom and her knitting!

Random people wanting pictures

 

Our last stop was for lunch at the "Auspicious Hotel".  The lunch was pretty good but the entertainment was a bit strange.  There was a guy playing saxophone and it was terrible. 
 

He needs to practice a bit more before playing in public

Time to go back to Hong Kong.  It was a great trip and our tour guide was excellent.