Hong Kong / Macau Trip

For the Chinese National Day, or Golden Week, we headed to Hong Kong and Macau for a few days to escape Shanghai and see some new sights!  I went to Hong Kong about a year ago for work but never got any 'play days'.  This time with B, it was all play and no work!

The evening we arrived we had dinner at the Mid-Levels, a steep area of town connected by escalators.  At certain times of the day the escalators move up and at other times run down pending on rush hour.  We found a Mexican place to eat and to much of B's surprise, they had normal limes!  Just look how happy he is!!

 This may simple strange to you reading this but if you have experienced a 'china lime' you'd get it!

They are green on the outside but yellow on the inside - not quite a lime and not quite a lemon.

Needless to say we enjoyed many Coronas with good limes during this trip!

Day 1:  Hong Kong Disneyland!

 

 

Toy Story Land!

Remember this guy from the movie???

So fun to see!

 

Careful now.....we be in BEAR Country!

Grizzle Gulch!

This picture is an interesting 'Asian Culture' story.....

The ride vehicle sitting there with all the women and their umbrellas is supposed to be an photo opportunity - have your picture made inside a vehicle with the lovely building as a backdrop.  But, here in Asia.....people sit and stay where every they please!  These ladies were in no hurry to move so I took several photos of their inconsiderate ways...

 

The newest attraction to Hong Kong Disneyland, Mystic Manor!

Beautiful building!

My favorite land in the park is Adventureland.  The landscaping, overgrown plants (many native to the area) make it seem so authentic! 

Jungle Cruise is also one my favorite attractions here for many reasons :)

(1) for the landscaping and (2) they offer the ride in three different languages:  Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.  The operators may have learned the English script but they failed to learn how to deliver the jokes - it can be horribly bad and fantastic!

Check out the wait for English behind B - none!

 

Then we inadvertently got stuck in a parade route!

The floats were pretty :)

 

And perhaps the strangest part of the park were the image capture monitors, where you have your photo taken on the ride and at the end get to see your photo for purchase....these were watermarked!  B and I are definitely 'those people' who take a picture of the monitor instead of purchasing the photo - can't do that here!  

And by the way....this is an image capture from Winnie the Pooh!  Really?

 

 

 Day 2:  Big Buddha!

 

 

We headed to the famous Temple Street Night Market for shopping and some eats after a quick rest back at the hotel.  The markets in Hong Kong are nothing like the ones in Shanghai, my opinion.  You still have to bargain and work for deals but there is more variety of merchandise, more unique items, and nicer experiences but the BEST part is the street food!  I'm still not really brave enough to eat the street food in Shanghai but in Hong Kong, I'm ALL IN!  There are a few larger restaurants that set up tables and stools for the crowds, and always a crowd!  You sit, sometime at a private table it you're lucky, amongst strangers drinking beer and eating local cuisine.  Not another experience like it!

 

 Day 3:  The Peak!

We took an early start and headed to Victoria Peak - highest peak in Hong Kong for views of the island.  The tram is so steep that even the floor of the car is slopped to help the riders.
We had brunch at the Peak Cafe then took in the views at the observatory.

There was a hiking path around the top of the peak that we walked to get in better views before heading back down into the city.

And as for dinner.....we headed back to the night market!

Spicy crabs and garlic shrimp were calling our names!

So yum!

Day 4:  Macau!

If we learned anything on this trip, the lesson is this: do not go to Macau!
We took a one hour high speed ferry from Hong Kong into the city which was actually neat!
The boat engines were made my Boeing which was pretty crazy.  I fell asleep, of course....

We had been told and read that Macau was the "Vegas of Asia"..... not even close.
The casinos inside the hotels were separated by walls and monitored by security.  They were checking most peoples id cards and passports but we were never asked.  Once inside, there were very few people; no one on slots and mainly around the higher paid tables.  And if you wanted a drink.....only water or milk tea for you!  HUH??!

We thought maybe this was just our hotel and headed across the street to the Venetian.  Yep!
THAT Venetian.  Part of the wanna be Vegas.....and this one is 4 times as big!
But....where were all the people???? 

View of "The Strip"

We later found all the people.....in the food court!

A nice hotel with extremely limited food options and a food court where again, the Asians just sat for hours and hours piling their trash and discarded chicken bones on the table and leaving for others to clean.  Talk about being out of place, it was awful; the worst dining experience to date.

And just when we thought it couldn't be that much worse....the view from our room!

I'm sure it will be another empty hotel soon!

Luckily, the hotel had three nice pools that were not overrun by Chinese, had plenty of sunny areas, and table service!!!  Hooray we were saved!!!

 

Since we were over the casinos and non-Vegas atmosphere, there was one live theatrical show playing that was created by the Cirqu du Soleil creator, "The House of Dancing Water".  We bought last minute tickets to get out of the hotel for something to do.  Thank goodness they allowed adult beverages into the theatre because I have never seen so many people recording the show on iPads and iPhones, talking on cell phones, texting, talking to each other, and pointing lasers at the performers! UH!  With two degrees in theatre and a career in the entertainment industry, I just couldn't stand it!  Probably the last show I will watch while in China!

 

Our trip back to Shanghai was not without annoyances....dude sitting next to me took off his shoes and smelled up the plane, also the loudest snoring ever!  Dude sitting in front of us was clipping his nails and then passed them to the lady to his right when he finished - I don't even know if they were related!

 

Chapstick!  Good for more than chapped lips!

Peace out, Macau!

Oh China......