All Good things....Thanks for the Memories

With every beginning, there must be an end.  As the last shipment arrived from Hong Kong to our home in Charlotte this past Friday, it seemed the right time to end this blog.

They say that coming back is easier than leaving.    Back to your old friends, familiar places and the home you left.  “Aren’t you happy to be back?” is the question many people ask.  And we are.  But we have spent so much time and energy developing a life and a place for us in Hong Kong, it was hard to say good bye: goodbye to Maggie and Nicholas’ schools, our expatriate friends and neighbors, our adopted neighborhood of Wan Chai and our Bamboo Grove. It is hard to say goodbye to such a vibrant city.

You also realize that after almost 2 years, you have changed inside.  Your friends have too, they have had ups and downs that you only heard about on Facebook.  Their lives as well as yours have moved on in 2 years. We sometimes feel in that no man’s land between not quite connected friend and stranger.

Our choices now are based on the experiences we had over those past 2 years.  Katy and I say if we had never gone to Hong Kong, our life, our choices and our outlook would be different than it is today. 

My sister in law Julie sent Katy a picture with the phrase “you are not the same having seen the sunrise on the other side of the world.”

But we are back and as committed to our friends in Charlotte, Dilworth and McDonald Ave as ever. Time to enjoy the clear air, the changing autumn leaves.  Time to reconnect. 

But as Bob Hope sang, "Thanks for he memories" Hong Kong.

Our Family Trip to Beijing in August

Sunday August 26

Today was our first day in Beijing. Everyone was excited.  On our list was Maos's tomb, the forbidden city and the temple of heaven. The day was supposed to be sunny, in the 80s and low humidity.

It was thankfully low humidity and in the eighties.  But with the pollution that doesn't exist is what made the air smoggy.  Yes the pollution that no one discusses.  The official government and party line is that the pollution in beijing is low and that is the truth everyone must say.  No matter that the air is smoggy and has a yellowish hazy.  No matter that the cars have a dusty film on them is they are parked outside under a covered space.   No matter as Katy pointed out sometimes you can taste it in the air.  So there is no point in taking about is with a local.  At best they get uncomfortable at worst upset. I believe it is because they can't talk freely.  If you want to see what happens when there is no EPA and environmental regs, visit Beijing. Enough of that.

Our  hotel was close to  Tiananmen square so we left at 9am.  Our hotel was called the Marriott Beijing City Wall.  This is the only surviving part of the outer city wall still surviving right next door to it.  This section ran for a couple of blocks.

Our first stop was Mao’s tomb.  The fact that Katy and I wanted to see Mao’s Tomb I think made our guide curious. It is not that we are communist, but curious about this very unique historical monument.  Even at 9 am there was a long line. All Chinese nationals, many hard core communists, some with tour groups. The line wound from the front entrance around the side and as far down the street as we could see.  I really though no Mao was us.  It looked like at least a 2 hour wait.

Then our guide Nancy said “wait here” and ran back to the front of the mausoleum,  she disappeared for a about 10 minutes then reappears and waved us back to the front. She told us to cross the police tape and walk to the first entry point in the line way way up front.

Along this line there are entry points with a guard.  Every time we got to another entry point, I thought we would enter the line, but the guard waved us onto the next entry point, until  in fact we jumped the entire line and were standing at the front entrance to the tomb.

Without whatever connection Nancy had, we would have never seen the tomb.  If you ever thought too I need a guide, this was a great example why. 

I thought it was funny that in China, at the holiest site of the communist party, where people are worried to freely discuss pollution, we cut the entire line in front of all these serious guards who kept waving us forward.

From this moment on Katy and I both thought our guide Nancy was a member of the secret police. LOL. Or as our friend Katherine told us, they make a big effort to make sure westerns see Mao.

You enter the tomb up a long flight of steps.  The main entry has a area to place flowers and behind it is a giant white marble statue of a seated Mao. Some locals place their flowers as they perform the same ritual I have seen in Chinese Buddhist temples.  For a leader who hated religion, Mao certainly set himself to be misinterpreted as a god. You walk to the right and around it and through another corridor to the tomb. The tomb area is a room behind the Mao statue. Mao is lying in his coffin.  A Chinese flag covers him up to his upper chest.  The strangest thing is that they not only embalmed him but illuminated his skull from the inside which makes his head glow a yellowish light.

One exits on the square, the square is huge, it was expanded several times during the 1970s.  I think you you'll fit a half dozen red squares into it.

From the square you walk across, actually under the street to the famous southern gate of the Forbidden City with Mao’s picture on it. This is the iconic setting of Tiananmen.

Tiananmen is huge

The Forbidden City is also huge.  It is a city within a city. It runs basically south to  north along the dragon line, the named center axis of Beijing.  Maggie and Nicholas were great.  The city is a series of walled areas each closer to the emperors living and working area.  But the scale is massive.  We did not pack enough water or snacks for the kids.  While Maggie did well, Nicholas was ok, but almost just too young to really put up with the crowds and heat.  The other challenges were the steps. Each building was raised so there was always steps to traverse.

The other thing is that there were not as many westerns as you would expect.  Our guide told us it was early and most of the people were from other parts of china.  This she said was the last “crazy time.”  A time for locals’ vacations before school starts in china.  Great.  However she told us the crowds were normal.  This is Chinese for really really crowded.  Because there were so few westerns and many people were from parts of China that never saw a western, every so often someone wanted their picture with Maggie and Nicholas.

The things that struck me about the Forbidden City was how large it is and how easily an emperor could wall himself off from the world of the real in here. Nancy told us about a tourist who got lost in there for 8 hours before she found her way out. The are so many alleys and buildings. You could really spend days exploring just this site.

After about 75 percent through the Forbidden City, Nicholas had had it. It was hot as well high eighties and the crowds wear you out.

You exit on the north side and we headed for a Chinese lunch of noodles and rice.

Next was Temple of Heaven.  We knew Nicholas had to go back to the hotel with Eva but asked Maggie what she wanted to do.  She opted to head back since we were seeing an acrobat show later.

I thought Temple of Heaven: one building temple right?  No. The temple of heaven is not a temple but a very large temple complex and park, the famous building is the largest but there is a lot of walking, two times a year the emperor came to make sacrifices and pray for the harvest and to his ancestors.  Think of it almost as an imperial Vatican city of the Chinese imperial state religion.

The guide took Katy and I around.  It was Great.   From the Tempe for the harvest to where he prayed to his ancestors, to the stone he stood on to talk to god, to the complex grounds are massive.

But clearly that would have been too much for Maggie.

We headed back and Maggie, Katy and I saw a fabulous acrobat show. Well worth it.  Then dinner back at the hotel lounge with the 3 of us.  When we got back up to the rooms Nicholas was asleep.

Tomorrow our first look at the great wall.

Monday August 27: our first trip to the Great Wall

We planned 2 trips to 2 different sections of the wall.  Today we went to the Mutianyu section of the wall.  It is about 2 hours north of the center city.

We woke up to rain in the city.  OK.  Packed our umbrellas and headed off.  The first thing you think about is how far the wall is from the actual city about 2 hours by car.

The second thing is how high up it is.  On the Mutianyu section it rides the cilffs. So you drive north and to the boundary where the Beijing plateau meets the mountains.

When we arrived it wasn't raining but foggy.  You park near the foot of the mountain and walk up to the cable car.  There are 2 easy ways to get to the wall: cable car and chair lift.  We chose the cable car.  But in order to get to and from the cable car you have to run a gauntlet of what appears to be an endless succession of stall after stall of souvenirs, Tee shirts, and people pushing them on you.

The thankful thing was the ever present massive crowds of tourists were not there.  Our guide told us that local visitors usually go to sections of the wall closer to the city.

We got the top and took the cable car. I think our guide thought "they will probably look around, not walk very far and head back." we'll everyone was interested. Nicholas was the most.  He wanted to run from guard tower to guard tower and walked a great deal of the way. We probably stayed up there about 2 hours and ate a picnic lunch on the wall. We also walked a considerable way.  They thing is that the cable car is only at one point, so as far as you walk, you have to walk back.

What strikes you is how they followed the natural contours of the mountains.  So some parts are steep with steep steps and others very flat. But we al made it.

On a side note, on our way up, our cable car had a sign on it: "President William J. Clinton took this car up the great wall on June 28th 1998." Katy and I thought “right” LOL, sure he did, we bet every car says something like this.  Then when we exited at the top, our guide Nancy who was in the car behind us with Eva said,  "Did you see you got a VIP car." so apparently the Clinton's did ride in the car!

We got back to the city around 3pm, and Maggie wanted to go to the toy mart which is across from the pearl market.  So Maggie, Katy and I took a taxi over there.  They had one full stall of just Barbie stuff. Maggie was in heaven. I think she spent 20 minutes deciding what to buy.  They thing about barbies in China is that I think they feel the "official" Barbie clothes are not appropriate or modest.  (I agree) So thankfully they have an industry of very nice clothes for Barbies. I picked up a souvenir shirt and we got 2 puzzles of china and one to practice language.

We headed back and decided to eat dinner at the same restaurant that we eat our daily breakfast buffet.  We decided to eat from the menu and not the buffet.  This was the fatal flaw.  You see from the eyes of a 3 year old this is the buffet place. So when we ordered from the menu and ignored the buffet, he got angry.  Took a while and 2 gin and tonics, for Katy not him, to calm Nicky down.  But finally we ate our dinner at the hotel.

Lesson in Traffic

Beijing has a lot of traffic.  Our guide explained that to try and cut back n pollution, each day has restrictions on which cars can drive.  The system is based in the number of your license plate. Each day has a number.  If your car ends in that number you can't drive that day.  You have to take public transportation.  She said during the Olympics, they went with a strait even and odd number restriction every other day. But you know, it is good to be the king.  Each plate starts with the Chinese symbol where it was issued.  Beijing is the character for "capital" followed by a letter then the numbers.  If your letter is "A" (government car) or the character and letter are Red(military car) the restrictions do not apply to you at all!

So I asked Nanacy who enforces this.  I never saw a local policeman or patrol car.  She pointed out all the nondescript cameras.  When they are pointed out, you realize they are everywhere. The cameras monitor it.

Tuesday August 28

This day stated with a rookie mistake made the night before.  As our tour day ended the guide asked us when we wanted to start our day on Tuesday. She mentioned we could start later.  So Katy and I thought great let’s start at 10:30.  We can sleep in and get to breakfast then head out for the day.

Well that plan would have worked if we didn't have children. Children who get up at 6:30am which is exactly the time more or less they came in and woke us up. We gave them iPads and went back to sleep. Well by the time we got up and out it was 9am and we all did not have breakfast yet. Maggie was fine,  it was Nicholas who was on the brink of a breakdown...then he did.

I am not sure what the Mandarin is for "screaming boy" but that is what he was at breakfast brunch. Way too hungry and also tired.  You see even though they are waking up at their normal time, they are having less than normal days.  While Maggie can now tell us how she is feeling, Nicky still expresses himself by crying.

I had to escort Nicky screaming out of the hotel restaurant and up to the room.  When I got him up there, he admitted he was hungry. I gave him 2 squeeze packs and he calmed down enough to head back to the restaurant.

We started off to the Summer Palace which was about an hour drive from the hotel.

It was a hot but clear day.  The palace again stretches for a long way around a manmade lake.   Everything about what the Chinese emperors did was huge and grand.  It really puts the Russian tsars and European kings to shame. But also puts into stark contrast the absolute inequality of these emperors who lived in such grand opulence while the majority of the Chinese people lived day to day in the mud.

I would though highly recommend the Summer Palace. There is the residence of the emperor and the famous emperor dowager Cixi.  There is a big temple in the top of the hill and a nice boat ride.  The biggest issue was the heat. 

We got in the van and headed for the hutong.  This is apparently a part of every Beijing tour.  This was the commoners section of old Beijing. The hutong is that courtyard house architecture.  We took a rickshaw ride with a guide.  The thing is that maybe for the most interested architecturally minded it would be interesting. But it is not renovated and seems that that original privately owned hutongs were long ago seized by the communists and are not some sort of communal living.  The best part is we got to visit with a Mr. Lee who has lived the for 50 years. He was very welcoming.  I must note Maggie found it interesting. Nicholas after getting his bearings made fast friends with Mr. Lee.

Right in the hutong is the drum and bell towers of Beijing.  We toured the drum tower next and climbed the 69 steps at what appeared to be a 60 degree angle up to the top.  Did I mention I had to carry Nicky up those 69 steps.

Once up there and having got my breath back, the view as great and we got to see the drum show.

After the drum show we visited the Tibetan Lamma Temple. This is also in the hutong area so a close drive.  By this time Nicky was done.  So Eva rode him around the stroller in the front temple courtyard while Maggie, Katy and I toured the temple.  This is must see. It has the largest wooded Buddha.  This Buddha was made from one piece of a tree trunk.  They erected the tree, carved the Buddha, then built the temple around it. Stunning.

Today was the Peiking duck dinner.  Now our kids had never had it.  I asked the guide, not knowing, " is that all they serve." thankfully it was a full service Chinese restaurant. We had a great Peiking duck dinner and also ordered other food.  Maggie tried the duck but stuck to the beef. Nicky had pretty much everything. So a dinner I thought would be tricky turned out great.  The restaurant we went to was also the one Katy had been taken to by the chine Construction Bank when she visited. So going in we knew it would be good.

But by the time we sat down for dinner we were all tired from the day.  I mistook the glass and accidentally spilled Orange juice on Eva's pants.

That is the thing about this vacation tour.  It is at the same time a must do and something you endure. 

Wednesday August 29, 2012

Well we learned our lesson and got everyone up and fed to meet the driver and guide at 9am.  It was one of the most beautiful days in Beijing that I have seen: clear blue skies, low humidity and low pollution. It makes no sense to sleep in when your kids get up at 6:30am.  But today Nicky slept till 7:30.

Our first stop was a one hour drive north and west to another part of the Great Wall: Juyongguan Pass.  It is actually a fortress and the wall at this section makes a giant loop around the pass. It was constructed first in the 5th century then rebuilt in the Ming dynasty.

We got there to the moutains and it was even clearer than in the city.  But the steps were much steeper than the Mutianyu section.  The kids made it up to one tower. Katy agreed to let me go further up and across while they waited at the first tower. The steps up we so steep they needed me to carry Nicky up and down.  But the views were great. I was at times all alone in this section of the wall.  It was a great Christmas gift. As I looked around and took pictures, I thought how blessed are we to have this experience. But the kids were waiting so I headed back to where I left them.  And yes to find them taking pictures with a Chinese family's kids. 

One of the things that was tough for Maggie especially is that many Chinese who tour Beijing have never seen American kids and want to take their picture with them.  So if you stop for a few minutes someone will come up and ask.

Not that the Chinese people we met were rude.  Far from it.  Actually my impression is the opposite: these are people who want to be our friends.

Well we are still two steep flights of steps up the hill and time to take Nicky down.  Maggie did great on her own.

We had a lunch there and bought souvenirs, then got back in the van at 1pm to head to the Sacred Road. This is the road that was taken by the funeral procession of a dead Ming emperor to his tomb.  The Ming tombs are farther on into the mountains.  We did not see them.  But Nicky and Maggie enjoyed walking down this road. On either side were statues in 4s of animals and generals and civil officials who stood watching the funeral procession. Nicky got a kick out of running to each animal statue and guessing which animal it was.  He had trouble at the griffin and unicorn.

I would recommend the Ming tombs.  They sounded very interesting but we did not have the time.

After finishing our walk down the sacred road, we drove on to our final stop of our tour, the Olympic village area.  I have been told it is not worth it because it is run down and not kept up since 2008. While this may be true of the areas we did not see, the tour of the Birds Net and the Water Cube were great. I would recommend both but especially the Water Cube.

The Water Cube had places to snack and several nice souvenir booths.

We headed back to the hotel and had a nice buffet dinner there.  I would highly recommend the Marriott Beijing City Wall.  Very nice mix of American and Asian food choices.

Thus we end our tour of Beijing. 

Some final notes. Maggie was a superstar.  She put up with the grueling schedules, the heat and her brother.  But I was most impressed with her maturing sensibilities.  When she was tired or frustrated or angry, she told us about it and didn't act out.  It was a real joy to travel with her. I told her to teach her brother.

Taking our nanny Eva we us was great. And her agreeing to go! It helped us mange Nicky. In truth the schedule was probably too grueling for a 3 year old, or at least it pushed him to his limits.

Oh, and when you buy great wall mini snow globes, pack them in your checked baggage because they will be confiscated by the Beijing security since they have liquid. You of course return to pick them in the next 30 days.

The only casualty of the trip.

Pandas and Spicy Food: Our Adventure Vacation to Chengdu

Now it may seem that we already live in China, but as Greg Yin pointed out, Hong Kong is “Asia lite.” Chengdu, well THAT IS China. So we decided to plan an adventure vacation.  Please understand that “adventure vacation” with a 3 year old (who is potty training) and a 5 year old is not as adventurous as your imagination might think. I don’t want to over promise and under deliver here.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province. Sichuan is home to 80% of the world’s panda and as you know very spicy food.

We took off from Hong Kong on Saturday April 28^th.  Chengdu is about 2 hours north and west. It is a city of 13 million people. We booked our trip through a travel agent and made sure to book a guide and driver for the trip. Our guide met us at the airport and did not have an plans for that evening.

We stayed at a Chinese 4 star hotel. Now what does that mean?  Well a lot more than you might think. The room was nice and the staff very helpful, especially with the kids.  Where things get noticeably different in the hotel is that probably 70% of the food was Asian and the room smelled vaguely of cigarette smoke. The kids though did find things they liked to eat. But it is funny, our non smoking room smelled a little like my dad’s den.

The other funny thing about the hotel is that TV programming was all Chinese, so where the kids could veg with Nick Jr elsewehere, no such luck.  The only thing was a Chengdu version of it.  Maggie even got so desperate she watched a Chinese opera for about an hour. But all this was secondary since our goal was not to stay inside but get out.

The city itself is somewhat polluted. You can tell in the not so natural haze during the day.  It reminded me of Pittsburgh in the early 1970s.  Not horrible. But there. People say Hong Kong is polluted, but the first thing Katy and I noticed when we returned was how clear the air was here!

The wild thing is that it appears that 50% of the city is under construction and renovation.

On Sunday April 29, we met the guide and driver for our 2 hour drive to Leshan. Leshan is 2 hours south by car. It is home to the largest carved stone Buddha in the world. The Buddha is carved on a cliff face overlooking the rivers. A Chinese Buddhist monastery sits at the top.  It was one of its monks who started the carving.

So Katy and I both thought how will this drive go? Well several years back, the authorities built a modern interstate highway looking highway connecting Chengdu and Leshan. Other than all the signs in Chinese, it looks like any interstate in the US. About half way down, someone had also built a modern rest stop. It is as if someone went to the US, took a picture of an interstate rest stop, brought it back to Changdu and told a contractor, “I want this built.”   I am not complaining. So we had a bathroom break.  Instead of McDonalds and Arby’s, there were Chinese food and beverage stalls. This and movies on the ipads kept everyone happy.

After about 2 hours we made it to Leshan which is a small city(our guide’s description) of several million people. Winding through the city you cross a bridge and head to the foot of the monastery complex.

Did I mention why we chose to go at this time?  Well you see it is the holiday of Buddha’s birthday. And yes going to see the Giant Buddha of Leshan on Buddha’s birthday holiday weekend is like going to Bethlehem or Macy’s for Christmas.

A lot of pilgrims.

Well you have to climb up to the top of the hill where the monastery sits. From up there you can take a winding single set of stairs down from the Buddha’s head to the foot of the carving at the river’s edge, then you guessed it climb back up.  Only way. The line though was about a 2 hour wait to start the walk down.

So…… we decided once we got up to the top to admire the Buddha from the top and walk around the monastery grounds.  They are very impressive.

Nicholas started getting hot and hungry which I know is a very bad combination.  But I spot an ice cream stall. I figure I will buy them an ice cream.  I see what looks like ice cream cones. But the vanilla ice cream and cone are flash frozen together hard.  Just as we get to what appears to be some area of tranquil meditation around a gold fish pond, Nicholas bites the cone wrong, drops the ice cream part and starts crying….loud.  I race back buy another and you guessed it, it happens all over again.  Bite, drop, cry.   Katy calms him down with the 3^rd cone. I figure at this point we are putting on some show for the locals.

Now we already are the only very few westerns we see, so we and especially Maggie and Nicholas are already a curiosity. From my math during the trip 50% of the people actually ask us if they can take a picture with Nicholas and Maggie and 50% will do this:  Maggie is sitting waiting on a street curb.  A young couple comes over to her sits down next to her and smile at her while their friend takes a picture of them with Maggie.  Maggie for her part looks over at the camera and smiles and then tries to politely ignore them.

After about 2 hours of walking the grounds and the temples, we walk down the hill from the monastery and head to the car. The guide finds a local restaurant. It is about 2:30, but she convinces them to serve us lunch. It took us longer at the Buddha than I think she figured. Our guide was great with all the bathroom stops, snacks and stroller.

One note.  Maggie is a super traveler.  She remained unfazed by whatever she found. Squatty potty: no problem. At one point back on the road, she had to go.  The guide said what about on the side.  No problem. Food. No problem.  “I’ll have rice.” What I was so proud of is that she never complained in front of our guide and driver. Never made a scene.

2 hours later we are back in the room.

The next day Monday April 30, we head to the Panda Research Center in Chengdu so the ride is just across town about 30 minutes. The place was amazing and a big hit with Maggie and Nicholas. Not much more to add, we walked around the place and got our pictures taken with the Pandas for a fee. That in itself was remarkable.

Our guide asked us about lunch. Katy and I wanted to try a Sichuan style restaurant. So the guide took us to a nice one. There was a line so we waited. The guide and hostess pointed to a table that was being cleared.  Great I think. But just as I am watching it cleared, a man walks in and sits right down at the empty table. Another person walks in and sits down at another cleared table. I think “what the hell?”  The hostess does not seem willing to start a fight. Our guide finds an older hostess or manager, could not tell who she was, but boy was she upset. She yells, actually yells, at the people who just sat down and clears them out.  Then calms herself.  Tells our guide someone politely in Chinese and walks away.  Our guide turns to us and says, “You can sit down now.”

So Sichuan food.   #1 there is no mild.  #2 they kinda make fun of Hong Kong food: too mild.  Great for Katy and I, not so much for Maggie and Nicholas. Luckily sides such as rice and buns work out. We try and get Maggie and Nicholas to try some of the food. They do. But then we make a Sichuan rookie mistake.  Nicholas tries some food with his hands, then rubs his eyes and starts screaming. Yes he got spicy food in his eye. Katy takes him to the bathroom and luckily washes it out.

But the food in this average Chengdu place was great. Then I realize that I don’t have enough cash for the food.  You see I used most of it for the panda pictures.  I budgeted cash based on one picture. But the charge was for every person in the photo, not the number of photos. Well They say it goes to the foundation that helps the pandas so great.  We also figure where else in the world will they ever let us hold a panda?

No problem our guide says, there is a Bank down the street.  We head down and find the ATM machine. Then the guide does something anyone would do.  She directs me to the ATM then steps far away to give me privacy for the transaction. One problem.  We are in Chengdu, and there is no English option on this ATM. I call her back and she helps me get the cash.

After lunch we head over to an old quarter of Chengdu called Jinli street.  You get a real feel for what old Chengdu must have looked like.  Now it is all shops and a tourist site.  A mass of people and we were the 5 other westerns there. So more photos with the kids. I need to start charging 20 yuan.

After a long day, we head back to the hotel. The next day we head to the airport and back to Hong Kong.  All in all well.  Beijing here we come.

PS. You may be wondering about how it is in The People’s Republic of China in terms of it still being a communist country. The interesting thing I have found is that you never notice it, everything seems normal, until you wander into a political topic of conversation.  What I found is everyone is very careful to speak their minds on anything political.  It even seems to make people uncomfortable; to such an extent I have decided to stay away from those topics.  That is when you realize it. It is so different from Hong Kong.

Our room had all these mirrors on the walls even in the shower. Very odd right.  Well the rumor is that is how the secret police still monitor foreign guests. Maybe yes maybe no. It is that uncertainty that keeps locals very cautious.

Our Visit from the Ericksons

One of the real blessings of our assignment is being able to share the experience with our family and friends.  So we were all looking forward to Katy's sister Julie, her brother in law Darin and their 3 children Elizabeth (7), Jack (12) and Owen (11) coming to spend the week of Lunar New Year with us. Maggie was very very very very very, you get the idea, very excited her cousins were coming.

So it was a disappointment for all that their flight had a one day delay. Snow in Chicago grounded them in Minneapolis and by the time their flight took off they had missed their Chicago flight.  So instead of getting in on Saturday January 21, they got in on Sunday night January 22 after a connecting flight in Narita Japan. I know who would have thought snow in January in Chicago!

We all felt robbed of a day together. However much like most Chinese, we are celebrating lunar new year with a part of our family.  What follows is a daily post of our time together in Hong Kong.



Sunday is New Year's Eve.

Katy, Maggie, Nicholas and I headed to Victoria Park on Sunday to spend the day as we waited. You may recall from last year there is a large Lunar New Year festival/flower market/lunar new year bazaar there. It is huge and usually packed with families. New Year's Eve is the last day of the festival in the Park and many families head there before their traditional family feast.

We bought 2 blowup dragons one for Maggie and one for Nicholas exactly the same, then made a rookie mistake.  Last year Maggie got a traditional fan and we bought one again for her........and not for Nicholas. After surviving that Nicky meltdown, we headed home to get ready to go to the airport.

The Ericksons arrived on time about 10 pm through immigration and we all headed home. We bought a single air mattress for Elizabeth and a double air mattress for the boys.  Elizabeth would sleep in Maggie's room and the boys in the family room.  Elizabeth and Maggie decided to switch off who slept in the air mattress and the bed.

What about Julie and Darin you ask?  Well Katy's good friend Kathrine let them sleep in her guest room in her apartment. So they would stop by the morning before we set off. Everyone got to bed as best they could.

The Weather.

Of course it had to be the coldest of the season from Sunday to about Thursday. And cloudy and rainy. and not always rain, but a cold mist. So that made our plans a little challenging. OK, by cold I mean between 45F and 50 degrees F. Yes I clearly am becoming a wimp.



Monday: Happy New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choy!

We started New Year’s Day by going down to the Bamboo Grove lobby for the traditional dragon and lion dances for good fortune and a children's party. It rained off and on all day and a cold rain to boot. After the party, we took them on a small walking tour of our neighborhood then back to the apartment.

Eva made dinner because we got seating tickets in the grandstands for the Hong Kong New Year's Night Parade which started at 8pm in Kowloon.  So we headed off to the Wan Chai ferry at 6:30 minus Nicholas.  Sorry Nicky, maybe next year.

We took the Star Ferry over to the parade site, got our seats and prepared for the show.  I have to admit, if you have the chance, get tickets for this.  You can of course stand on the parade route, but much like the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, each group does a short show in front of the grandstands.  We lucked out because our grandstand B was across from A.  A is where our HK SAR chief executive Donald Tsang and the CEO of Cathay Pacific that sponsored the event, sat. Why was this lucky, because I think each group did especially their best at the A and B sites.

The parade lasted till about 10pm. The Theme was World City/World Party.

Each seat actually also had a goodie bag from Cathay Pacific that included a rain poncho. Luckily it did not rain the entire evening. Afterward, tired out we headed back to Wan Chai on the Star Ferry and to bed.



Tuesday: Ocean Park and The Fireworks of course.

The weather Tuesday was still cold and cloudy but no rain, so we all headed to show the Ericksons Ocean Park, another must see if only for their pandas. We got there in the morning in 2 taxis, our usual mode of getting around with 8 people. We took the gondolas over to the far side of the park. I got a special treat.  Darin and the boys wanted to ride the loop de loop roller coaster called the "Hair Raiser." The really unusual thing about this roller coast is that it is built on the side of the park cliff. So some of the loops go over the bay! The best part is that we got to sit at the front of the coaster for the ride.

Another treat is the 2 Panda sections. You get up close to the pandas.  Unfortunately by the time we made our way over there, it was nap time and Pandas take their naps very seriously.

At some point Maggie got hungry and noticed a pork bun stand.  Like the good Hong Kong girl she is she asked if we could buy a snack.  The bag had 3 buns and she ate one.  Both Elizabeth and Nicholas were hungry and interested, so I gave them the last 2. When Maggie got back, boy did I get a look.  The girl likes her pork buns. So did Elizabeth and Nicholas.

Darin, Jack, Owen, Nicholas and I headed back home first.  After we got back, we headed down to Wan Chai market and the Wan Chai Computer Center to look around.  Then Katy, Julie, Elizabeth and Maggie followed after a stop in the gift shop at Ocean Park.

That evening, Katy had organized a junk boat trip with our neighbors and friends on the bay to watch the fireworks display in the bay. We had about 40 people including kids on the boat.  Katy organized a dinner pot luck that worked out really well.  To form, it rained pretty good and cold around 7pm, but by 8pm the sky and cleared and we all watched a great firework display. Hong Kong does not go on the cheap with its fireworks that is for sure. Elizabeth and Owen both crashed on the boat.

Afterward, the rain started again.  Our neighbor Sean convinced the boat driver to dock at the Wan Chai Pier so our dash in the rain to a car was not all that bad.

Wednesday: Maybe a little more relaxed today?

 

I think it was Darin who wisely suggested we go a little more relaxed today.  We all agreed.  We casually got ready and decided to take a city upper decker bus into downtown.  We got off at Pacific Place.  I wanted to get a quick coffee and mentioned it.  But with 5 kids, it ended up being a 30 minute stop with snacks all around.

After finally leaving Starbucks, we took a walking tour of Hong Kong Park.  Again off and on light rain.  Even I had had enough with getting wet with cold rain.  We walked over to the Peak Tram but by 10:30, the line was about 1 hour long. We decided to walk to the skywalk and take a tour of the downtown malls.  We ended up there for lunch.

Katy, Julie, Maggie and Elizabeth wanted to take the Star Ferry over to Kowloon to shop and the rest of us headed home.

In the evening we took everyone to our favorite dim sum restaurant, Din Tai Fiung. Maggie did the hard sell on her cousins about how really really great dumplings, pork buns and peanut noodles are. Afterward we headed to McDonalds for ice cream.

 But Darin and I headed to find a cigar store.  He told me that in Hong Kong you can buy Cuban cigars, a fact I just had no time to figure out.  We bought a couple for later and all headed home.

Thursday: South Side of Hong Kong Island

 Thursday was the first day it actually appeared that it would not rain.  Cloudy, and even glimmers of sun. So we decided to take an city upper decker bus south to Repulse Bay and Stanley. At Repulse Bay, there is a Chinese Budhist temple on the shore, the Tin Hau Temple. We walked on the beach and then toured the temple and its surroundings.  It is mostly an outdoor shrine temple with a couple of unique areas: a bridge that every time you cross it you gain 3 more days of life, and a match maker statue to ensure your marriage lasts.

 Afterward we got on the bus and headed to Stanley Market. We toured the market and had lunch there.

 As everyone shopped, Nicholas and I headed to the boardwalk and sat there.  He played with my iphone and I took pictures. We all met up at 2pm at which point, Darin, Jack, Owen, Nicholas and I took the bus back over the mountain to Wan Chai.

 We ended the day with some take out pizza.

Friday: Disneyland

Friday the weather kept improving and we set out early for Disneyland.  Darin had planned a separate hiking trip to Lamma island and was off on his own.

 We had to get to DisneyLand as soon as it opened since the tourists would hit the park as well.  The place is a big draw for vacationers. We got there about 9:30am.  Jack, Owen and I went our own way at the park while Katy, Julie, Maggie, Elizabeth and Nicholas headed to ToyLand. 

The problem I faced was how to make what is in essence a younger kid park fun for 2 savvy middle school boys. Two words: Space Mountain. Then we went on the Buzz Lightyear ride then a new racer ride at Toyland and then I ran out of ideas. We met up with the girls and convinced the boys to come along to It’s a Small World Ride.  While I doubt I convinced them of the fun of it, they were both good sports since Maggie, Elizabeth and Nicholas were really excited.

After Lunch at the Park, we enjoyed the parade and headed back.  But not until Maggie and Elizabeth wanted to buy some Minnie Mouse Ears. Maggie was not too specific, but Elizabeth had a very specific set of red and black sequence ears which we could not find.  Every time Julie or Katy asked somewhere, they were sold out. The situation went slowly from DEFCON 5 to 4 to 2 to 1. Right before Julie had the look of “great, we are going to have to go back across the whole park in search of this” I saw one last out of the way gift stand on the corner.  In the back, were the ears.  Recall all bombers and return to DEFCON 5.

Julie and Katy decided to head on the MTR to an outlet mall and I took all 5 kids across the MTR to a taxi and home.  Yes BHE.

Back home we met up with Darin met had a nice Vietnamese takeout dinner.

Saturday: The last day: the Peak

Weather on Saturday was finally great.  Warmer and blue skies. So we all decided to finally head out to the Peak Tram. Now the Peak Tram gets crowded.  So getting there early is a must.  We got all the kids out the door and at the Tram at 9:30 or so. There was thankfully no line. At the top we walked around and then headed back down the Tram to lunch at home.

After a small break, I took Jack and Owen back to Wan Chai Computer center, while Julie, Darin and Katy went into the Wan Chai market for shopping.  We all met up in the market.  Jack and Owen headed back by themselves to the apartment and were supposed to text us when they got back…they didn’t, and katy and I introduced  Julie and Darin to Bubble Tea.

We met up with the boys and headed up for a walk on Bowen Road.

In the evening, Julie, Darin, Katy and I headed downtown to a nice setchuan restaurant sans kids, walked around the hip part of downtown and headed back for a late night of packing.

The next morning we all headed to the airport and saw them off.  Sunday was about sadness and rest. WE hope to see them again soon. Maybe we will brave the reverse trip!  Stay tuned.

The Ericksons Lunar New Year Visit Part 1

One the of real blessings of our assignment is being able to share the experience with our family and friends.  So we were all looking forward to Katy's sister Julie, her brother in law Darin and their 3 children Elizabeth (7), Jack(12) and Owen (11) coming to spend the week of Lunar New Year with us. Maggie was very very very excited her cousins were coming.

So it was a disappointment for all that their flight had a one day delay. Snow in Chicago grounded them in Minneapolis and by the time their flight took off they had missed their Chicago flight.  So instead of getting in on Saturday January 21, they got in on Sunday night January 22 after a connecting flight in Narita Japan.

So we all felt robbed of a day together.

Sunday is New Year's Eve.

Katy, Maggie, Nicholas and I headed to Victoria Park on Sunday to spend the day as we waited. You may recall from last year there is a large lunar new year festival/flower market/lunar new year treas bazaar there. It is huge and usually packed with families. New Year's Eve is the last day of the festival and many families head there before their traditional family feast.

We bought 2 blowup dragons then made a rookie mistake.  Last year Maggie got a traditional fan and we bought one again for her........and not for Nicholas. After surviving that meltdown, we headed home to get ready to go to the airport.

The Ericksons arrived on time about 10 pm through immigration and we all headed home. We bought a single air mattress for Elizabeth and a double sir mattress for the boys.  Elizabeth would sleep in Maggie's room and the boys in the family room.  Elizabeth and Maggie decided to switch off who slept in the air mattress and the bed.

What about Julie and Darin you ask?  Well Katy's good friend Kathrine let them sleep in her gust room in her apartment. So they would stop by the morning before we set off.

The Weather.

Of course it had to be the coldest of the season from Sunday to about Thursday. And cloudy and rainy. and not always rain, but a cold mist. So that made our plans a little challenging. OK, by cold I mean 50 degrees F. Yes I clearly m becoming a wimp.

Monday: Happy New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choy!

We started the day by going down to the Bamboo Grove lobby for the traditional dragon and lion dances for good fortune and a children's party. It rained off and on all day.  That cold rain to boot. After the party, we took them on a small walking tour of our neighborhood then back to the apartment.

Eva made dinner because we got seating tickets in the grandstands for the Hong Kong New Year's Night Parade which started at 8pm in Kowloon.  So we headed off to the Wan Chai ferry at 6:30.  We took the Star Ferry over to the parade site, got our tickets and prepared for the show.  I have to admit, if you have the chance, get tickets for this.  You can of course stand on the parade route, but much like the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, each group does a short show in front of the grandstands.  We lucked out because our grandstand B was across from A.  This is where our HK SAR chief executive Donald  and the CEO of Cathay Pacific that sponsored the event, sat. Why was this lucky, because I think each group did especially good at the A and B sites.

Each seat actually also had a goodie bag from Cathay Pacific that included a rain poncho. Luckily it did not rain the entire evening. Afterward, tired out we headed back to Wan Chai on the Star Ferry and to bed.

Tuesday: The Fireworks of course.

The weather Tuesday was still cold and cloudy but no rain, so we all headed to show the Ericksons Ocean Park, another must see if only for their pandas. We got there in the morning in 2 taxis, our usual mode of getting around with 8 people. We took the gondolas over the to far side of the park. I got a special treat.  Darin and the boys wanted to ride the loop de loop roller coaster called the "Hair Raiser." The really unusual thing about this roller coast is that it is built on the side of the park cliff. So some of the loops go over the bay! The best part is that we got to sit at the front of the coaster for the ride.

Darin, Jack, Owen, Nicholas and I headed back home first.  Then Katy, Julie, Elizabeth and Maggie followed after a stop in the gift shop.

That evening, Katy had organized a junk boat trip with our nieghbors and friends on the bay to watch the

Bamboo Grove

I speak alot about our apartment complex in Wan Chai.  We live on the 17th floor.  Well here are a couple pictures from the running path up the side of the hill it faces.

From Jettas to Maseratis

You may know that in Charlotte, I owned a 10 year old black jetta.  Yes it had many dents and actually flooded when it rained due to a design flaw, thank you VW, but did the job.  So it was interesting to me what a 10 year old in our own apartment complex did when he wanted to go for their own joy ride last week. The South China Morning Post reported: ($1.6MMHKD is about $210,000 USD)

A ten year old American boy just could not resist the temptation….His dad’s white Maserati was parked downstairs and he knew where the keys were.

The boy grabbed them from an unlocked drawer in the family’s Kennedy Road, Wan Chai, apartment (Yes Bamboo Grove.  We are so proud..doubly so as residents and of course Americans) at 5pm on Monday January 9.

He sneaked out of the flat without the family’s helper noticing and headed downstairs to the estate's car park and the Gran Turismo. His 44 year old businessman father bought the car for HK$ 1.6MM in 2009.

The boy jumped in, revved the engine and drove off, but not before hitting a car in the car park.

The lad drove the 2 door coupe downhill Kennedy Road for about 300 metres before stopping in the outside lane at Wan Chai Polyclinic. Passersby alerted police who arrested the boy.  The police said it was likely he would escape prosecution because of his age…….

2 thoughts.  #1 for the Dad: The Chinese army has a military base in central.  Maybe they could teach him some discipline. I regularly remind Maggie that they take women.  #2. Sorry Nicholas, no Maserati’s in any of your future joyrides.  Oh, and by the way Nicholas, if you ever pull a stunt like this, please refer to thought #1. I will fly you back here and enlist you.