Magical Birthday Wishes in Hong Kong!!!!

At the Magic Kingdom.  What is the main difference between this photo and if we took it back home in Anaheim?

 This week I am going to start by saying that I am not a real big fan of the stretch between the middle of February and the end of March.  I don't know what it is, but the months seem to stretch on forever.  Maybe that is why St.Valentine and St. Patrick have holidays during this time of year.  Things need to be livened up a bit.  It could also be as simple as the kids have been driving us crazy at school for seven weeks in a row.  I mean come on, they even do Lent during this time of year.  What do you think that means?
  Anyway to get out of the duldrums of March we decided we would celebrate Taylor's birthday early.  We were not sure in June that we would be able to do what she wanted so this week was it.  Enjoy, because we definitely did.

SCHOOL:  Well after my rant last week about the drama that went on at school regarding Taylor, things quieted down a bit.  The school actually listened and did something to help take care of her classes.  Before you faint where you stand, someone did actually listen to me.  I know it is hard to believe, but I can make a clear, concise and relevant argument sometimes.  The school hired our friend Jenny from Wisconson to teach the class at lunch everyday.  On top of that, Taylor will visit my partner Pippa's class to do projects with the 9th graders three days a week.  She is much happier and will be challenged in her English.  The class started right out of the gate with a report on a Holiday.  She spent the rest of the week doing research and creating a PowerPoint presentation for her class.  For the rest of  us, things were quite normal.

ADVENTURES:  After another week at school we were ready to get out of Dodge.  While Cecelia tutored a couple of twin boys on Saturday, Claire, Taylor and I were invited to morning tea with my friend David.  Morning tea is a great family affair that we have really come to enjoy.  The food is great, the conversation, both Chinese and English is interesting and we always meet new people.  Tay really enjoyed tea this time because she met a little girl that she became fast friends with.  Her new friend's name is Ni Ni and she is the daughter of one of my other golfing friends, Mr. Zhou.  Mr. Zhou is a corporate attorney in Shunde.  I know, I couldn't believe it either when I first heard that he was an attorney.  You mean they actually have laws here and it isn't a totalitarian government.  That last part was for my friends that keep asking me the stereotypical question, "So how is it living in a Communist Country, better Red than Dead right?"  Yes, I still have friends that ask me those kinds of questions, despite the blogging I have done.  Mr. Zhou and I have played golf a number of times and have really enjoyed the time together.  He is very funny and a great companion on the golf course.  Even though I don't understand him when he tells jokes out on the golf course, he always makes me feel included in the conversation despite our language differences.
  After morning tea we went home and the girls took over for Cecelia.  Part of the job is that the girls play with the boys for an hour.  They usually play soccer in the street or watch a movie in English together.  Tutoring is good for the girls.  It makes them have to think about being descriptive in their own language.

The Four Points Sheraton, Excellent!!!!

  After tutoring we took off for the Guangzhou South Railway Station to catch the fast train to Shenzhen.  The adventure we were doing this weekend was in Hong Kong and we wanted to spend the night in Shenzhen and then leave for Hong Kong the next day.  We caught the train and rode it to the metro in Shenzhen.  I am still amazed at how fast it goes, I never tire of traveling close to 200 miles an hour on the ground.  It is kind of a rush just thinking about it.  After arriving in Shenzhen, we took the metro to a place called Fumin.  We had scoped out a hostel in the area that advertised a two bedroom apartment for about $50 a night.  I had a map, but didn't have the exact address.  We made it to the area that we were looking for, but could not find the hostel.  I remembered what the entrance to the place looked like, but could not find a sign or anything designating the place.  In the end, after searching for about 45 minutes we gave up and headed for the border.  As I have mentioned before we enjoy walking to explore cities.  So we meandered about half way to where we thought we needed to go.  We then stopped into an espresso shop that had wi fi and got our bearings.  After a short break and cup of coffee we headed out and found a cab to the Sheraton Four Points hotel that overlooks the crossing to Hong Kong.  It was a lot more expensive, but absolutely worth it.  It had so many great amenities that we talked about just going to the hotel to stay in it for a few days.  On top of all the amenities and the nice beds, the hotel had three really nice restaurants that varied in price depending on what you wanted to spend.  We made a reservation to have dinner at 8:30 and then went to use the pool and spa services.
  Now you may be wondering why we went to dinner so late.  Well the hotel was participating in the Earth Day 60+ Challenge.  The Earth Day 60+ Challenge was a challenge for people to turn all of their power off for one hour starting at 8:30 pm in China.  So, the restaurants were giving an additional 25% off of your dinner if you participated by turning off your power to your room and having dinner at that time.  Of course we were more than happy to participate.  So how many of you participated? 

Claire and Taylor got confused and thought we said Symphony instead of Disney.

  We returned  to the restaurant at our scheduled time.  Now when we went to the restaurant we didn't want to be too extravagant but there was a buffet that looked really incredible.  It also included wine so we decided to go ahead and splurge.  The dinner was great.  It had quite a bit of seafood and beef, which made Taylor happy.  She had wanted a steak for dinner anyway.  As we were eating dinner, I finished my first plate and went back to peruse the buffet for something new to eat.  While perusing I was checking out the desserts and lifted the lid on the bread putting container and scalded my wrist from the steamer.  It wasn't a big deal but I did need some ice to cool.  The management was very concerned and I told them that I was fine.  They brought me some Chinese medicated cream to put on the burn and were hovering so much that it was almost annoying.  I think I met every person in charge except for the owner of Sheraton.  When dinner was finished and they brought us the bill, the manager came and told us that the girls meals were free.  They also gave us an additional 15% off of the meals for Cecelia and I.  Even though I insisted that they didn't have to give us the break on dinner they still wouldn't let us leave without doing it.  So, I guess taking one for the team this time was worth it, but I wouldn't recommend it, the burn hurt like hell.  Thank goodness for the Chinese cream.  The next day there was a spot where I was burned, but it didn't hurt anymore.

Entrance to Hong Kong walking port

  By this time in the story you may still be wondering where we were going, but we got up the next morning and headed for Hong Kong Disneyland.  Of course we still had to make our way through the border and maneuver the metro system.  When we finally arrived at the Disneyland subway line you could definitely feel the presence of the Magic Kingdom.  One thing that you need to understand is that Hong Kong Disneyland is built out in the middle of nowhere.  They have to have their own spur on the subway line to get the people to the park.  The subway train is definitely Disney.  When it arrived the metro train had pixie dust on the outside and the windows were in the shape of Mickey's head.  On the inside the seats are plush blue valour and the handholds are in the shape of Mickey's head.  To top it off there are bronze statues of the Disney characters in alcoves of the train.  When we arrived at the station, it reminded me of an old English style train station, much like the one in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  As you reach the top of the stairs, there is a huge open walkway that leads to a giant fountain that has Mickey surfing atop a whale spout.
  As you enter the park, other than the sign that says Hong Kong Disneyland it feels like being home in California.  The weather was great and everything is the same as being at home.  I have a friend named Larry who is a Disneyland officianado.  I would have loved to have him there with me to tell me if Main Street is the same.  It looked the same to me with the period shops on each side of the street leading to the plaza and Cindarella's castle.  Oh, wait Taylor just corrected me, it isn't Cinderella's castle, it is Sleeping Beauty's place.  I must be a real idiot to not be able to tell the difference between two princesses' castles.  Whatever, the plaza ends with someone's castle just like the one in Anaheim.  The park then branches off into the different sections, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and Andventureland.  We started our day in Tomorrowland at Space Mountain.  The ride is basically the same, but has some modern twists to it.  The differences I noticed were that the roller coaster cars had speakers in the headrests to make the sound bigger and the pictures and video inside the mountain have actual pictures of planets and stars.  I missed the giant chocolate chip cookie floating in the air from the Space Mountain in Anaheim.

You can understand why we felt like we were so close to home, see what it says on the last line.

 We then made our way to Adventureland and Grizzly Gulch.  We wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain before it got too crowded.  This was my favorite roller coaster.  It was very exciting and had a great element of surprise.  At one point the roller coaster is being pulled up to the top of a hill as many of them do.  You could hear the clacking sound as you were pulled skyward, but just before you get to the top they have a pulley break lose and you begin flying backwards.  It really gave you the impression that the roller coaster had broken and you were plummeting  backward into the car coming from behind.  Fortunately the coaster is diverted to another track and eventually ends up in a cave where a  momma and baby bear are trying to get some food while standing on a keg of Dynamite.  The resulting comedy of errors by the two bears ends up igniting the Dynamite and shooting the roller coaster out of the cave at a couple of G's.  The girls loved it so much that they rode it four times.  Of course I only rode once because I had to take photos.  Aw the sacrifices I make for the sake of my blog.  Actually to tell the truth, I am just not the roller coaster rider that I used to be, I get dizzy and too nauseas.  I don't understand why I have a hard time riding them now.  I used to love to ride them over and over again.  I hate to admit it, but it probably has something to do with age.
  After riding roller coasters we hit the Lion King show, which was spectacular by the way.  We also enjoyed our ride on the Jungle Cruise.  While in Adventure Land the one ride we missed that they didn't have was the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Come on, don't I look like I could be a King?

  The rest of the day we meandered around Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land again.  While in Fantasy Land we did do our traditional rides on the Carousel and It's a Small World.  If I asked 10 of you could you sing all the words to It's A Small World?  Think about it, I will bet most of you can't remember word for word.
  Of course I had to make another attempt at getting that damn sword out of the stone.  I was denied being king once again.  I don't understand what the deal is, my wife says I am the king of our castle.  Anyway, the girls wanted to ride Space Mountain one last time before we headed for Main Street to do some shopping.  We finished our shopping and headed home.
  The main difference for us coming from the US and growing up with Disneyland is that this park is definitely dedicated to the Disney experience.  What I mean by that is that there were a lot of great things for little kids and there is an entire section of the park dedicated to meeting the characters.  The reason that it didn't seem as crowded to us was because we spent a lot of time on the big kid rides and most of the people that were there, stood in line to see characters or ride on Dumbo.  This park did feel fresher and new, but it was still a little slice of home for us.  It was a great weekend overall.
  Have a great week and just remember April and Easter are only a few days away.  I look forward next week to sharing the celebration of our risen Lord with you from China.
 Finally enjoy this Disney slide show and Happy Spring Everyone!!!!!