Monthly Archives: February 2014

Going on the rides

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Among the crowds, one line that seemed relatively short was the U shaped RC Racer (pirate ship ride.)  So we decided Nicholas should go.  I wanted to go too but I didn’t meet the height minimum.

Instead I stood beside the lawn for my opportunity to watch my bear bud in action. Every 30 seconds, I also watched the Disneyland staff shoo people off the lawn that had “do not step” written on sign on a lawn.  It was written in three languages but still people paid no heed.  I wanted to smack those rude people with my paw.  But I digress.  We’re waiting for Nicholas.

Oh there he is!

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And 5 swings later it was done.

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I was pretty relieved to see my best bear bud again so we can move away from the lawn-trespassers who also kept standing in front of me and blocking my view.

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And we moved onwards from Toystoryland.

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It’s a small – Disneyland

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We’re in Disneyland.  What ride is more iconic than the It’s a Small World Ride?  High off my buzz light year ride I decided to check out It’s a Small World.

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Well one look at the wait time of 90 minutes and I decided to agree with Disney that it’s a small world.  Too small of a world.  With too many tourists also at Disney.  Next.

On our way to the next attraction we saw the Disneyland parade.  We didn’t actually intend to see it.  But since it was blocking our progress to the other side of the street we decided that watching a parade it was.  I liked the Winnie the Pooh float the best.  I could see myself in Pooh Bear’s place.  Just change honeypot to chocolate and we’re in business.  Pooh Bear and I, we’re not so different.

Except of course that I’m much more awesome.

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Eventually the parade finished parading down the street and we were able to continue on with our business.

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Lasers + Best bud + Disneyland = Winning combination

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Cousin Shirley and Cousin Anthony have a Disneyland gold pass which comes with the privilege of getting extra fast passes.  Among the rides we deemed worth of trying was the Toy Story Buzz Lightyear ride.  I didn’t know a thing about it, but that added to the charm and excitement of wanting to go.  So we got in our short line (take that, non fast-pass suckers!) and got into the ride.

Three seconds into the ride and I knew this was going to be right up my alley.  Commander Nicholas and I were situated in our spaceship.  Mission?  Take down the aliens.  With lasers.

That’s all I needed to know.  This ride is going to be so great.disneysumi-18

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Hordes of people aside I’m feeling pretty happy about happyland-Disney.

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Lasers.  My day is made.

 

 

To the happiest place in Hong Kong

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Word on the street is that they have a Disneyland in Hong Kong, though it’s been said that it’s the smallest of all the happiest places in the world.

That’s ok, I’m a small bear.  So I understand how awesome things can come in small packages.

So come the 6th of February we got into cousin Shirely’s car and drove there.  The 6th was a strategic decision.  It was the first day the HK school system was back to school after the Chinese New Year break.  We were hoping for no crowds.

At first sight, things were promising.  We got a front row parking space.

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And then we were at Disney!

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We’re in the happiest place on earth!

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And then we realized that it was still a holiday for Mainland China so we had to share the happiness with way too many other people.

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Boo.

Well I’m still determined to enjoy my day.

Rediscovering Discovery Bay

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Discovery Bay is a resort community situated on Lantau Island.  It’s where almost all of the expats of Hong Kong live.  It also happened to be the place Pokin grew up.  So we decided to hop the ferry over to see how things looked these days.

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The ferry terminal is located across from Tsim Sha Tsui so we got a good view of that.

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I was able to get a window seat again.

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And 25 minutes later we were in DB Plaza.

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There are more buildings and bigger trees, but otherwise Pokin thought it looked pretty similar.  I guess I’ll take her word for it.

Pokin decided to visit the house she grew up in, so off we went for a quick walk.  Thank goodness everything is a short walk because cars are not allowed on Discovery Bay.  You either walk, take the local buses, or you have to own a golf cart.  That’s right.  People get around in golf carts.  I thought that was kind of fun.  I could see myself driving a golf cart.  In fact, I could see it so well I decided to try things out by sitting on one of the golf carts parked on the side of the street.

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I prefer the captain ‘s seat.

Anyway, a short walk and about 177 steps later we arrived to her old address: 1A, Middle Lane.

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We waited for our cousins to catch up.

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Pokin walked around to the other side and found the avocado tree she had planted from a seed.  She was all excited that it was still there.  It’s probably because it’s grown into a big-ass tree now and it’d be pretty hard to uproot without wrecking a lot of foundation.  It’s even got a tree house in it.  Pokin tried to peer over the fence and look closer but some jerk dog guarding the backyard starting freaking out like she was an intruder.  Ok maybe she was intruder but give the tourists a break.

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Well that stupid dog wouldn’t stop barking so we moved on to find the waterfall and ponds Pokin used to play in.

Looks like that’s still there too.

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We took some selfies and then decided to head back to the plaza.

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Cousin Shirley found some promotion where if you spent at least $120 HKD per person you’d get a free ferry ticket back to Central Hong Kong.  So we decided to find a restaurant.  Actually though making a decision wasn’t that hard.  There was only one chinese restaurant (completely empty) and then every other restaurant was western food with the same combination of pasta, pizza, fish and chips or steak.  We settled on Zaks, because it was the biggest and busiest, and because we could sit right by the water.  Nicholas got pizza.  I took a nap.

Soon, it was time to head back to the ferry pier, where I took one last photo with some hearts.

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And then it was back to our hotel where I promptly tucked myself into my bed.

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Not a bad day.  Pokin seemed really happy which seemed to make Nicholas happy.  And a happy bear bud makes for better company for me.

Giant souffles in Central

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Central is the financial hub of Hong Kong.  It’s also home of the Tai Ping Koon – the oldest western-style restaurant in Hong Kong.  Founded in 1860, the restaurant serves giant soufflés among its specialties.  Naturally we ordered one.  It was bigger than my head.  It was bigger than my body.  I’m a fan of desserts this big.

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After lunch we walked a bit around Cental before heading onward to the pier.

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Paying our respects at Cape Collinson

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Six days of hanging out in Shenzhen and it was time to head back to Hong Kong.  Pokin’s aunt passed away last year and she wanted to pay her respects to her aunt, uncle and grandparents.  All of them were cremated in Chai Wan so that’s where we went.

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First thing we did was prepare paper packages.  You fill paper bags with all the things you want to provide your ancestors in their afterlife and then you burn it so they receive it.

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It can include clothes and money.

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They sure cover their bases with what they print on the money.

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Once the packages were prepared we put it in the furnace to send off.

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And then we wiped down the face plates.

Good bye, goo mah and goo jung, grandma and grandpa.

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Day three Chinese New Year

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Today’s not a day to go and visit people.  It’s a day to get your fortune told.

Well we went and visited loads of people.

First stop, Uncle Adolf’s house.  Uncle Adolf moved to Pok Fu Lam which is located on the South Side of HK.  The metro line doesn’t run south, so we got a ride from the Admiralty MTR and drove around to the south side.

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Pok Fu Lam used to be a dairy farm but is now a swanky residential area.  It was a fine day and Uncle Adolf lives in the Penthouse suite so we got a good view of the South China Sea and Lamma Island.  Brunch on a rooftop is not a bad thing at all.

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Next stop, cousin Shirley’s place in Tseung Kwan O on the other corner of Hong Kong.

They live beside a mall with the best name in the world.

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That’s right, PopCorn Mall.  They’ve even got a PopCorn mascot.

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Since it was the Year of the Horse, they had some horses too.

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Cousin Shirley lives in a tall high rise tower.  She’s on the 53rd floor.  That’s almost as high as I fly.

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Eventually we went back down to the ground floor to meet with Auntie Connie, do another group photo, and then it was time to make our way back into Shenzhen, China.

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Day Two Chinese New Year

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Day two of Chinese New Year.  開年.

Today’s the day families are supposed to visit.  So we started the day with some family visits and family portraits.

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That got old quick, so in the afternoon we went to see the Monkey King.  In 3D.  With subtitles.

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It is your numeration, not your responsibility.

Through transmigration, you can live after die.

With dialogue like this, you bet I thought it was the most awesomest movie I’d see so far this Chinese New Year.