We returned home on Saturday from a two week excursion in China. We started in Hong Kong. Hong Kong was great. We stayed at the Hollywood Hotel, a Disney Resort. Disney even had its own train and train depot! Hong Kong Disney was a lot smaller, but it was a blast. The kids rode everything, and we saw the Golden Mickeys show. E even danced with the High School Musical 3 dancers. We saw Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Stitch, and Alice in Wonderland.
We found an Outback Steakhouse the first night there. It tasted delicious. The city was amazing at night, but it was still too busy for my taste. We walked around the city seeing all the shopping malls. It was amazing to see just how many shopping spots they have in one city.
I just want to highlight some of the places that we went. This entry could go on for days otherwise. We went to Victoria's Peak. It is one of the highest points to lookout and see the city. We ventured in the evening, so it was all lit up. Instead of climbing up the side of the Peak, we rode a train. It was pretty cool. Once up, we could go up a few more flights to the lookout area. Just one of those amazing scenes you see on the postcards.
We went on a half day dolphin watch to see pink dolphins. It took quite a while to finally locate the sea creatures, but it was pretty awesome. They did not get too close to our boat, but I did manage to get some decent pictures. We also saw fishing boats and shipping boats. After that exciting adventure, we got brave and took a cable car over land and sea to get to the Giant Buddha. An amazing view as we rode the cable car to our destination. I am not sure how many steps it takes to get to the base of the statue, but it did leave us out of breath. We finished out our week enjoying more of the city by bus along with a ferry ride to the avenue of stars. We saw Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee's star and handprint. We also went to the Ladies Market to do some shopping.
After a week in Hong Kong, we went to Beijing. The weather was a lot cooler, so we needed to purchase some jackets. That was quite the experience for the entire family. You need to really bargain and haggle to get low prices even though it is all knockoffs! We climbed the Great Wall. It was another take your breath away literally moment. I wonder how many steps we climbed this whole vacation. The ride up was by cable car (really just a ski lift). What a spectacular view! Our ride down was by a toboggan.
It was rainy the next day, so we decided to do some indoor activities. I had read about an chocolate theme park. It just opened in January. All the exhibits are made out of chocolate. Needless to say that was a big disappointment, but a great story. I have included some of the pictures that I took that day. Of course it is cold because you do not want chocolate to melt. The place looked like it had been open for years.
We did the usual sites in Beijing that all tourists do - Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, and the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium. So much history in this part of the world.
It was a good trip. We were happy to be heading home. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Just click here.
I see from the pictures you found Outback in Hong Kong AND Beijing. Thanks for the pics!
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