The Perks of a Less-Than-Ideal Visa
Our visas require us to leave the country every 180 days. Chinese New Year also causes the country, including our orphanage, to shut down for a few weeks. Thailand was our visa/Chinese New Year retreat last year. This year we did cheaper, easier, and less exotic, but a great time was had nonetheless. We went to Hong Kong, and to spice it up we went to Macau for a couple days.
We stayed on Cheung Chau Island. The most underrated aspect of Hong Kong is its outlying islands. It was a 30 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Central, but the flavor and pace could not be further away from the international rat race that is Hong Kong Island. No cars, no streets, boat taxis (see below), local dried seafood fare (see below) and lots of great places to explore. they even had a pirate cave on the island, so of course Keegan had to bring his pirate bandana (birthday party favor from his cousin Carson's birthday party), his knight sword, and his Buzz Lightyear laser gun bought the day before at Hong Kong Disneyland (see pics below).
We went to HK Disneyland and it was wonderful. Short lines, 75 degree weather, and all the magic of Disney with a Cantonese flavor. They were all into the Chinese New Year spirit with a dragon parade and all. Beckett even got to get in on the action of some of the rides.
Macau is an interesting place. It was a portuguese colony for a long time before it was handed back over to the Chinese. The portuguese influence is a stark contrast in southeast Asia. The only problem with Macau is that, being there for Chinese New Year's Eve, they are not as excited about the holiday as Beijingers. As we were flying into Beijing on the day after New Year's Day at sunset we could see the fireworks exploding beneath us like twinkling Christmas Tree lights as far as the eye could see. And for the next 13 days, back at home in Beijing, the fireworks woke us up each morning and serenaded us to sleep each night.
We stayed on Cheung Chau Island. The most underrated aspect of Hong Kong is its outlying islands. It was a 30 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Central, but the flavor and pace could not be further away from the international rat race that is Hong Kong Island. No cars, no streets, boat taxis (see below), local dried seafood fare (see below) and lots of great places to explore. they even had a pirate cave on the island, so of course Keegan had to bring his pirate bandana (birthday party favor from his cousin Carson's birthday party), his knight sword, and his Buzz Lightyear laser gun bought the day before at Hong Kong Disneyland (see pics below).
We went to HK Disneyland and it was wonderful. Short lines, 75 degree weather, and all the magic of Disney with a Cantonese flavor. They were all into the Chinese New Year spirit with a dragon parade and all. Beckett even got to get in on the action of some of the rides.
Macau is an interesting place. It was a portuguese colony for a long time before it was handed back over to the Chinese. The portuguese influence is a stark contrast in southeast Asia. The only problem with Macau is that, being there for Chinese New Year's Eve, they are not as excited about the holiday as Beijingers. As we were flying into Beijing on the day after New Year's Day at sunset we could see the fireworks exploding beneath us like twinkling Christmas Tree lights as far as the eye could see. And for the next 13 days, back at home in Beijing, the fireworks woke us up each morning and serenaded us to sleep each night.
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