A Delayed Blog about Hong Kong

I know I've been back to work for a while, but I still haven't given you all of the scoop on Hong Kong. Hong Kong is actually a group of several islands, one of which is Lantau Island. We stayed here for a few days at the end of our vacation. It was wonderful. The sun, the sand...and quiet. I actually felt sort of rejuvinated on the way back to Suzhou (well atleast on the way out of Lantau).

One of the tourist attractions on Lantau Island is a giant Buddha. So, though we've seen a million already in China, we went to see another.

He is pretty big.

After the Buddha we boarded one of Lantau's newest attractions---a giant cable way. Apparently it's the longest, or most complex, or something else...in the world. I'm not really sure, but it's apparently special.

Since Mat is not so happy with the heights thing, and since this one is high...and goes over the ocean...he didn't look down much, but if he had he would have seen some cool stuff.

When we got to the other side we planned on checking out another part of the city---that was until we saw the 4 hour lineup to return by cable car. We turned around, talked to a security guard and were put towards the front of the line. We aren't sure whether this was a good thing or not, and here's why. On the way back, the already strong wind picked up and the cable car was stopped. Filled with a family of non-height friendly people, our joy at the swaying of our car was only heightened by the screaming of our fellow passengers. After a little shout-out to good old J.C. the wind eventually stopped and we were more than happy to have our feet planted firmly on the ground once again. The cable ride was then stopped for the next little bit, due to the dangerously high winds.

Though the Buddha was cool, the best part of Lantau Island is unquestionably DISNEYLAND. Yep, I'm a 4 year old. From the time we got on the Disney train, until I got tired at 5 (yep, I'm a very old 4-year-old), I was a child enjoying the sight of Mickey, the flying Dumbo ride and the perfectly choreographed shows with my favourite disney songs. Though it is certainly a place for kids, it is still something everyone should see.

If you haven't, here are some of my favourite moments to help you get the taste of Disney magic.

This is the Disney train that connects the main subway line to Disneyland.
Even the handles are disney-friendly.

The station sets the pace for magic.

Welcome!

Mickey has a little fun on the waves just outside the park.

Our fun started at Adventure Land...

Where creatures of all types wander,

Tarzan and Jane learn of domesticity,

and even the garbage cans get in on the fun.

After Mat's performance (which was lovely by the way honey)

We went on a jungle cruise...

where we met some of Africa's most exciting animals.

We watched a great 4-D movie (you could even smell the food on screen).

You can't really tell, but Donald is flying at your head.

The Lion King show was also very cool. Not as cool as Broadway, but still impressive. The most interesting part was the creation of 2 characters, used to translate the show into Chinese. Isn't it bizarre that we're in China, but 2 out of the 3 shows we saw were exclusively in English? To be embarassingly honest, I didn't even think that they might be in Chinese until I heard the translating lions.
Simba was pretty impressive.

And so was Mat.

I think he took it alittle far with this one. (ok...it was my idea).

The castle is the gateway to Fantasyland.

We sipped tea in the tea cups (you get to spin these things yourself...holy nauseating.)

Tomorrowland

We flew in UFOs.

I got to drive.

We even had a little Disney treat (Yeah that's chocolate covered ice cream shaped like the head of Mickey Mouse). Yum.

Interesting fact: Mat is holding a jelly flavoured one...it is also frozen jelly consistency. Very weird. One of the coolest things was the Disney Parade that takes place twice a day.

Everyone lines the main street of Main Street USA and gets ready for singing, dancing and a whole lot of Disney characters.

The highlight of this, of course, is seeing Mickey and Minnie at the end of the parade.

Immediately after this we lined up to greet them. Luckily, since the parade was on it was only a 20 minute line, which is quite small compared to what these two usually bring in.

They are dresses especially for the Chinese New Year.


Isn't she lovely?