Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, where do I even begin?! Anokhi and I were so excited to have a break from work and travel around for awhile! We left the day after school got out and hopped on a plane for Hong Kong! I had heard such great things about HK and we both had friends and family who gave us a long list of things to do while we were there! I was really eager to get started!
Kung Fu Panda playing on the plane ride to HK! Seemed appropriate!
We were so excited not to be wearing huge coats, scarves, boots, gloves and three layers each! Notice my sandals!
Special "quiet car" on the subway....man HK is really different than the mainland!
HK!
Loving the sun and blue skies!
We took the Star Ferry on a one hour tour around HK. It was really beautiful and fun to learn a little about HK. A lady on the ferry told us that National Geographic said that this ferry is one of the things you have to do before you die! Pretty cool.
After the ferry, we walked along the Avenue of the Stars. This is the Chinese version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame...kinda. Obviously we had no idea who most of the stars were but the Chinese people were really excited by them and were taking pics of every little plaque.
We did find someone we knew though! Jackie Chan! His hands were pretty small!
And of course the Bruce Lee monument! I couldn't hold back my awesome Kung Fu moves, to the delight of the Chinese people. Hiiii-yaa!
Then we headed over to the flower market to see the hustle and bustle of everyone getting ready for Chinese New Year!
Tons of mandarin oranges
weird octopus, orange looking things.
We haggled for some flowers!
Our flowers!
The next day we went to Hong Kong Disneyland! This is the last of the Disneys that I had yet to visit so I was really excited to experience China's version! It was a great blend of China and original Disney magic. They, of course, had their own Metro line and stop, called Sunny Bay :-) I was also happy to share it with Anokhi because she has only been to Disneyworld a couple of times, so she was experiencing things for the first time! Really fun!
Year of the Horse! Chinese New Year was being celebrated throughout the park! Some of the characters even had their little New Years outfits on, it was super cute.
Smaller castle but still magical!
Chongqing does Disney!
They had their own land called Toy Story Land! We spent most of our time there and it was so fun! It was decorated like Andy's Toy box and had some great rides.
SO happy!
Toy Soldier parachute drop!
We were so excited to eat some yummy food! We ate salads, burgers, ice cream, it was heaven.
The next day we went to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery! We had to climb up a mountain surrounded by Buddhas and on top was a really nice view of the city! Some of the Buddhas had some great poses...
Halfway there!
Temple with obligatory elephant pic!
LOL 555+
Beautiful day!
Vogue.
Heeeeey Gurrrllll!
Then we went to the Chi Linh Nunnery! It was super peaceful and serene in the midst of this huge city. I loved seeing all of the different Buddhas and praying in this monastery! Whatever brings me closer to Thailand!
Love this. Bruce at night.
The next day we went to Victoria Peak, the tallest mountain in HK! It has scenic sites, hiking trails and a cable car that takes you up and down the mountain. Look at that beautiful sky!
Love a good pano.
Roomies on top of the Peak!
It was a little windy on top!
I saw these vines and had to swing from them like Tarzan. Duh.
Anokhi was a little more graceful...
The sunset at the top, over Victoria Harbor!
Cable car dowwwn. The buildings all lit up were really pretty!
The next day we decided to take a day trip to Macau! I have friends who live and teach there and they gave me tons of advice for the week! Too bad they were in Bali :-( (Thanks Heather and Adam!) I was really excited to see where they have been living for the past two years though! It was super easy to take the one hour ferry from HK to Macau. We did have to go through immigration, however...
The first thing we did was go straight to the Macau Tower. We had both heard of the bungee jumping off of it and looked it up the night before. I was super excited but Anokhi was still unsure and hesitant to do it. We hadn't made any reservations or anything but before we knew it we had changed, put on harnesses, and Anokhi was sitting in the chair getting ready to jump! It was all happening so fast! I think they do that on purpose so you don't have second thoughts. It's pretty smart actually. Anokhi did jump and I was so proud of her! She is afraid of heights and was pretty nervous but over she went! Then it was my turn! I sat in the chair and got the leg things put on me, then I had to jump down and hobble over to the edge of the platform. I looked down at this point and thought HOLY SH**!! What am I doing??! Then the two guys on either side of me told me to say goodbye to the camera, toes over the edge, arms out, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO! Then they pushed and I kinda jumped off!
I love that you can see the tower's shadow in these, it's really cool. Also, do you see those little things on the road down there? Those are CARS. Crazy.
This is the highest jump IN THE WORLD. You drop for 8 seconds, which is the longest. It was the weirdest, greatest feeling. You drop for so long that you actually have time to look around while falling...so weird.
61 stories. 233 meters. 764 feet. I think I might have said this, but CRAZY!
Anokhi was waiting for me when I got down to the bottom and we both could not stop smiling and talking about it as we made our way back to the top to watch our videos and look at our pictures. I was shaking and on a serious adrenaline high. I called my mom and I don't think I made any sense at all. It was such an incredible, amazing feeling. There really aren't words for it. I was super exhausted and sore at the end of the night, coming down from the high and from shaking and smiling so much! It was such an amazing experience and I am so thankful that I had the chance to do it.
Right after...
looking up!
Afterwards, we headed to the Venetian! Macau is the Vegas of the East, after all.
I gambled 10 HK dollars! (around $1.30) Big spendaaaa
I won $1! Then I quit. I was too afraid to lose money or to get addicted to gambling...lol
Anokhi won $2! We really cleaned house.
I jumped off of that.
Goodbye Macau!
A dragon roaming the markets looking for red envelopes on Chinese New Year!
We got a red envelope! yay! Happy New Year!
Next stop was Sanya! Sanya is on the southern most tip of China, and also the warmest part of China. Most Chinese people go here during the winter to try to get away from the cold. I haven't seen a couple of my students in a few months because they have been at their houses in Sanya. Sounds swanky and sing me up!
Sunset on the first night with many more to come!
Although most Chinese people don't swim and if they do, they swim in their clothes, I had a great time at the beach! The water was slightly warmer than California but it still reminded me of home and it was really nice. I swam, read, sunbathed, drank and slept. Ahhhh
We got fun beach hats to protect us from the sun! I still got sunburned but at least I did it in style.
One of my favorite things about Asian beaches. Coconuts.
One day, Mickey showed up just hanging out and chillin with fellow beach goers! pretty cute
Can this be my job???
Our flight home was delayed because of weather in Chongqing so we ended up having to spend 8 hours in a little, nothing airport with no internet, super crowded, and Anokhi's sister and brother in law were coming to Chongqing that night so she was pretty anxious...Ahh the excitement of traveling.
These two weeks have been great and exactly what I needed as we approach our halfway mark! I only wish we could have a couple more weeks...lol It is hard to come back to the Chongqing cold after being in nice 80 degree weather! I loved Hong Kong and could see living there. It had such a great blend of Chinese and Western influences. There were many foreigners, many food choices, a great metro system, and so many things to do! It makes me excited to explore more! Sanya was a really great vacation and perfect R&R before heading back to work!
"You have already faced death. This is your second life. Don't be afraid -if you are afraid you can't move forward." -I am Malala
