Leaving on an overnight train

October 10th--We spent most of this morning packing up our stuff for our trip to Yangshuo, China. Since we are going to be on an overnight train, we decided to get all our stuff for the next couple of days into one of our small suitcases and then store the other 3 suitcases here at the YMCA. Once we got all our stuff packed up, we checked out of our room and went to eat lunch at the YMCA buffet. After lunch, we walked to the Kowloon park nearby so the kids could play and burn some energy. It was really hot out today. After finishing up at the park, we stopped for ice cream and lots of water to cool off before heading to the subway station. We arrived at the subway around 3:00. It took us about an hour to get to Schenzhen which is the city where we catch the overnight train. It then took us about another hour to go through Immigration. First, we had to get cleared exiting Hong Kong and then we had to get cleared entering mainland China. It's a lot easier process when you are getting on and off planes because you already have the paperwork filled out before getting off the plane. At the train stations, there are people everywhere trying to get this paperwork filled out. It's a little hectic, but we made it just fine. We then walked toward the train station with still about 45 minutes until our train left. So, we found a McDonald's close by. We have come to realize that there is always a McD's to be found. We got a quick bite to eat before boarding the train. The train was nicer than our first overnight train ride. It was a 4 bed compartment, the air conditioner was definitely working and they had soft, relaxing music playing. We all immediately got onto our beds. The kid colored and played their Leapster until it was time for bed. I read a book and Mike listened to music until it was lights out on the train.

Giant Buddha

October 9th--Today our goal was to reach the Giant Buddha. We had 2 choices on how to get there: a ferry then a curvy, 45 minute bus ride or the subway then a 25 minute cable car ride to Ngong Pong. Since Abby and I can get carsick very easily, we opted for the latter. So, off we went on the subway to Tung Chung. It was a little after 11:00 when we arrived and then purchased our tickets for the cable car. We had just started standing in a fairly long line for the cable car when we were informed that the cable car had been suspended and that we could get a refund from the ticket booth. Austin was just a little upset because he was excited about riding the cable car. We were also told that it might start running again in about an hour, but they weren't sure. So, since we knew the bus ride wasn't an option, we decided to hold onto our tickets, go find some lunch and check back a little later. We headed to Pizza Hut for a quick lunch. Luckily, when we finished up lunch, the cable cars were running again. The line was much shorter at this point and we hopped right into a cable car. It actually worked out better for us that it was suspended because it got rid of the crowd and we took advantage of a cheap lunch. So, we were off for our 25 minute cable car ride. Mike and the kids were able to really enjoy the ride. I was a little nervous, but still got to enjoy the sights of the Tung Chung Bay, the airport, and the Giant Buddha when it came into site. The cable car let us off in the small village of Ngong Ping. We walked through it on our way to the Giant Buddha. When you arrive at the bottom of the stairs and look up, it's an amazing site to see the Giant Buddha up on top of the mountain. The Buddha was built in 1993 and is the world's largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha. We climbed the 260 steps all the way up to the viewing platform that surrounds the Giant Buddha. After taking many close up pictures, we climbed back down the stairs and back into the village for a snack. There was an Italian gelato place in the village and the kids were excited for a gelato snack. We then safely made the 25 minute cable car ride back down and then on to the subway. Before heading back to the YMCA, we went to pick up Mike's suit and shirt. It all turned out really nice. Once we got back to the YMCA, the kids went to the pool for a little while. As usual, they were worn out after their swim, so we had a quick dinner in the room before bedtime.

Aberdeen

October 8th--Our first stop of the day was back at Sam's Tailors for Mike to try on his pinned together fabric that would eventually become a suit. The fabric he picked out for this suit is absolutely beautiful. He'll look good for his interviews, that's for sure. The fitting didn't take long so afterwards we headed for the Star Ferry pier. We rode the ferry across Victoria Harbour, picked Subway sandwiches up for the kids, and then tried to locate bus #7 to take us to the other side of the island. We had a hard time finding the location, but once we did, we waited a good while for the bus to come. The bus was not coming so we decided to just hop into a taxi that took us to Aberdeen. He dropped us off at the Aberdeen Marina Club, but that was clearly not what we were looking for. After walking around and going the wrong way, we finally got directed in the right direction for the Jumbo Kingdom Restaurant. The Jumbo Kingdom Restaurant is a floating restaurant and was our spot for lunch. In order to get to the restaurant, we rode a shuttle boat. Mike and I enjoyed a lunch of dim sum and noodles. The kids stayed entertained by their activities that they brought along with them. We finished up our meal sipping on some wonderful Jasmine Tea. When we exited the doors of the restaurant and stepped onto the dock, there was a woman operating a sampan waiting there. Throughout lunch we had been trying to figure out how to get on a sampan and tour the harbour and see the boat people. We were lucky enough to "have one waiting for us", so we jumped right in. The woman driving the boat was so nice and friendly. She was great with the kids. She quickly let them both drive the boat. We took a 20 minute sampan ride around the harbor. We passed fishing boats, dingy boats and even house boats. We saw laundry hung out to dry because a lot of people do live on the water. There was a time when a boat person could be born, live, marry, and die onboard, hardly ever stepping foot on land. I can't even imagine. After our wonderful sampan ride, we rode the bus back to the Central station and got on the subway back toward the YMCA. We got back early enough to enjoy the indoor pool for about an hour before dinner. We headed to a restaurant that was recommended to us called New Star Seafood Restaurant. We were wanting to experience a hot pot restaurant, and I would have to say that we definitely did have the experience. First off, we had a language barrier. Everyone was very friendly and they finally found one waiter that spoke English. At least there was an English menu, but some of the items didn't sound any better in English. We did decide on some items to cook in our hot pot though. We ordered shrimp, fish dumplings, chicken slices, corn on the cob and carrots. The staff at the restaurant was very helpful when our food came by helping us to get started on cooking our food. We were laughing because at one point there were about 4 people around us, all speaking Chinese, helping us cook our food. They were really attentive to the kids though, so that was great. They stabbed the corn on the cobs with chopsticks for the kids to eat. I have to say the fish dumplings were not as good as we hoped, but all in all, we did enjoy the experience and the food. After dinner, we quickly walked to the harbor promenade where we enjoyed the 10 minute Symphony of Lights. This is where 40 buildings on both sides of the harbor put on a light and laser show. The show was neat, but I think the kids had a little higher expectations. About half way through the show, Abby asked when it was going to begin! After the show it was back to the YMCA for bed.

Hong Kong Disneyland

October 7th--Disneyland didn't open until 10:00 this morning so we didn't have to leave too early to get there. We left about 9:15 and rode the subway out to Lantau Island where Disneyland is located. Although Hong Kong Disneyland is much smaller than all the others and has a lot of the usual attractions, it does have the world's only Fantasy Gardens (kids can meet Disney characters here). We arrived right at 10:00 inside the park and were determined to get some Fast Passes for the day. But when we arrived at Space Mountain and there was no line, we went ahead and got in line to ride. While standing there waiting, Austin totally melted down and didn't want to ride. So, he and Mike left while Abby and I rode the ride. It was a good thing Austin didn't ride it because he for sure would have been a little scared. Not only was it the original Space Mountain, but they had put some Halloween features inside as well. When Abby and I exited the ride, Mike and Austin were coming out of riding Buzz Lightyear, which also didn't have a line. So, we all went back in and rode Buzz Lightyear then Autopia. We had only been in the park about 45 minutes and had already done everything in Tomorrowland. We were ecstatic about the lack of crowds and how the day was flowing so far. From Tomorrowland, we went into Fantasyland. We didn't leave a single thing in Fantasyland untouched except for the tea cups. I wasn't going there again. We spent a lot of our time in the Fantasy Gardens. The kids got to meet Minnie, Pooh, Mickey, Pluto and Goofy. Abby even got all their autographs too. We watched the High School Musical live show and the Disney on Parade before entering into Adventureland. In Adventureland, there was the Jungle Cruise, Tarzan's Treehouse and the "Festival of the Lion King" show. By the time we finished up in there, it was 6:30 so we made our way to Main Street U.S.A. where we walked through a couple of shops, grabbed some dinner and watched the Glow in the Park Halloween Parade. The Halloween theme all over the park was fun. After the parade, we still had some time before the fireworks so we went back and rode some rides again. Then, at 8:00, we watched the wonderful firework show above Sleeping Beauty's Castle. After the fireworks were over, the park was closed so we exited and took the subway back to the YMCA.

Victoria Peak

October 6th--We got up and moving pretty quickly this morning. We were really excited about exploring Hong Kong. We first stopped at the China Travel Service to book our overnight train to Guilin for October 10th. After successfully getting the tickets, we made the short walk to the Star Ferry pier to hop aboard the Star Ferry. The ferry is a 5 minute trip across Victoria Harbour taking us to Hong Kong Island. From here we caught a bus to the Peak Tram entrance. The crowds were massive around this area. We had to stand in line to get on the tram, but once we did, it was about an 8 minute climb up Victoria Peak. The tram dropped us off in the Peak Tower where we rode the escalator up many floors to eat lunch at Tien Yi. The restaurant is considered Hong Kong's best dim sum meal with a view. We had dim sum and had a view of Victoria Harbour. After lunch, we made our way up to the observation platform where we had a 360 degree panoramic view. We could see Victoria Harbour, the Hong Kong skyline, and the South China Sea. It was magnificent! Hong Kong has the neatest "big city" skyline we have seen anywhere in the world. The tallest building looks like an electric razor. We then made our way back down and found a Disneyland ticket booth where we were able to purchase our tickets for going to Disneyland tomorrow. Then, we exited Peak Tower and walked around outside for a while before entering the Peak Galleria. We didn't spend much time in there because in the end, it's just a mall. So, we sat outside eating some ice cream, but in the shade. It was pretty hot in Hong Kong...almost 90 degrees. We then headed back down the hill on the tram and back across Victoria Harbour. Mike took the kids back to the room while I stopped off at the Chinese Arts & Crafts store. I liked looking around because it had all the souvenir type items without the pushiness of a market. I then met them back at the room a little bit later. We all then went to Sam's Tailor. Mike was interested in getting a custom made suit. We all helped Mike make his decision on a nice fabric for the suit and then a fabric for a custom shirt to be made as well. The prices here are really cheap and lots of famous people have been Sam's client. After picking everything out, we left Sam's and the kids were hungry. So, we stopped off at McDonalds and got them Happy Meals. They were real troopers through the Dim Sum lunch so they deserved a meal they would actually eat. We headed back the YMCA for bath and early bed since tomorrow is a big day at Disneyland.

It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

October 5th—We had an early start to the day. We were up at 6:00 and on a shuttle bus at 7:00 heading to the airport. Our bus arrived a little after 8:00 at the Narita Airport. This gave us plenty of time to eat breakfast and hang out in the Cathay Pacific lounge. Getting a pass into the lounge really helped us kill the time with free food, drinks and internet. We boarded our plane about 10:30 and again had a very nice plane. It was another large plane with 2,4,2 seating and individual televisions in the backs of the seats. We were informed that the flight would probably be a little choppy due to Typhoon Parma, but it wasn’t at all. The flight went really well. The kids are such pros at traveling now. When we arrived in Hong Kong, the sun was shining. We went through all the immigration procedures, got our luggage, exchanged our money, and got on the train to Kowloon station. From here, we took a short bus to the YMCA. That’s right; we are staying at the Y.M.C.A. It is apparently a very popular place to stay here and we are very lucky to have gotten a room. Our room is a family suite. It has a bedroom, living room with fold out couch, and an area with a desk, refrigerator and closet. We have a great view of the busy life of Hong Kong. It’s amazing the lights at nighttime on the streets. It reminds me of Vegas with all its brightness. Anyway, after getting settled in, I quickly found the coin laundry which is conveniently on our floor. We hadn’t done laundry in a week so there was a lot to do. It worked out great though because there were 3 normal size washing machines and dryers. After taking the clothes out of the wash and putting them in the dryer, we went to eat pizza at Pizza Hut right by the YMCA. When we returned back, it was bath and to bed for 2 really tired kids. Getting up early and then the hour time difference, made it easy to get them asleep tonight.

A vacation from our travels

October 4th--Well this week has been a nice slow week for us. We’ve had some late nights, but all in all a relaxing time in Tokyo. After seeing some awesome sights and the more "traditional Japan" in Takayama and Kyoto, we had basically decided to just chill out in Tokyo. The Hilton was a nice place to entertain the kids; especially since it rained a big part of our time here. Today, we took the subway into Tokyo to see the Tokyo Tower and eat at our 3rd Hard Rock Café in Japan. It was a quick trip in to Tokyo before heading back to the Hilton for some indoor swimming. I took the kids swimming while Mike packed all our suitcases. After swimming, Mike took the kids to play in the play area while I got ready for dinner. We ate in Forest Garden, the buffet style restaurant in the hotel that features Asian cuisine. It was awesome! They had dishes from Japan, China, India and Thailand. We all got to have exactly what we wanted and sampled everything from sushi to noodles to caramelized sweet potatoes. The desert bar was fantastic and capped off a great meal. It was a great way to end our last night in Japan.