Day 2-December 1st

Well we started Day 2 off at Chinese consulate office, applying for another visa. We got there, filled out the paper work, and then we were able to get a number to be seen. We had about 100 people ahead of us, so we ended up waiting a couple of hours. After that we headed out to find the Victoria Peak Tram. Along the way we found the Bank of China Tower, where they let you go up in it and see the view of Hong Kong, and the best part is.....it's FREE! We picked the perfect day to do all the things that overlook the city. The sky was so blue and clear. We took a tram up to the top, that overlooks Hong Kong. While we were there we met a couple from Sweden. The tram went strait up and I kept joking that it was just going to go flying back down the mountain backwards.

While up at the top we went into a shop just looking around. I noticed they had the game World Monopoly and just checked to see the price...we had no intention of buying it. The lady in the store said, "Oh you like, I give it to you for 380." We told her we were just looking but she kept dropping the price and throwing in extra stuff. Long story short we kept saying no, but she dropped it to 300 as we were walking out of the store so we thought what the heck we are always looking for new games to play with our friends. She also threw in an alligator massager and something to put on your eyes while in the bath.

Inside the tower at the top of the mountain they had a lot of little shops and a wax museum. SO I got to "dance" with Bruce Lee.
Jake didn't want to get too close in case he pulled out one of his moves on him.
Downstairs was a cute little Christmas display

Jake always does a better job at taking pictures...oh well.
We ate at Bubba Gumps for lunch and loved the Western Food. The girl behind Jake bought a bunch of stuffed animals that did tricks and was playing with them while she was waiting for her food....mind you she is probably 17.
The table we sat at overlooked Hong Kong, it was such a great lunch.

After the tram on our way down to the Harbor. We found this little park with some really beautiful fountains.
After the tram we went and got tickets for the Star Ferry Tour/Symphony of the Lights. We were pretty tired at the end of the day, but it was fun to go around the Harbor and see all the buildings with their lights. Jake and I decided that this wasn't really worth the $$$, especially since you could go across the harbor and see the light show from the dock. The music and lights didn't really synchronize very well either. Oh well you live and learn.

PS. Jake wants to let everyone know that he took the pictures of the Star Ferry tour and that is not a post card.

Hurrying around in Hong Kong...Day 1

Well on Sunday November 30th, Jake and I woke up early and caught a taxi to the airport. We thought we could get breakfast at the airport, but they really didn't have anything. So off we went with a couple of cookies to hold us over. We flew into Shenzhen, which is right next to Hong Kong, but it is a ton cheaper. We then to a taxi to the border and crossed into Hong Kong. Then we jumped on a Subway and were off to find our hotel. We each had 2 pieces of luggage and for some reason one of the places where we switched subways was really crowed. I was trying to make it in and the doors started to close, Jake was on the subway and it was jammed packed. I got on and the doors shut....on my backpack! They opened again and I pushed really hard to make room for me! We got off the subway and found the street our hotel was on. However we didn't realize it was about 15 blocks to our hotel or we would of taken a taxi. we got to our room and got settled in and relaxed a little bit and then set out for some food.

We ended up eating at this really good Mexican/Italian place on a street called Soho, which has a ton of tasty food. Afterwards we took the longest outdoor escalator up and down and up and down and all around. We seriously walked past the same place like 3 times because we were trying to find exactly where it started. It was so pretty with all of the building lights. We found a little park area that had a huge Christmas tree that was all lit up. That made my day because I love Christmas and I haven't got to see a ton of decorations in China.

Nanjing Historical Remains Museum

Well November 15, 2008 was our last field trip outing with the Flagship program. We visited the Nanjing Historical Remains Museum, which was also the Presidential Palace(China's version of the White House) before the communists took over China. This wasn't one of the most intriguing places we have been but it was something new to do.

Waiting to go in

People flock to Clara, wherever we are. Sometimes they grab her and hold her and want a picture with her. I think she is pretty famous in China, but I always joke that when they go back to the US she isn't going to know what to do without all the attention.

The outside of the the museum.

The Flagship group listening intently to the tour, except for Caleb and he is in the back giving us the traditional Chinese pose.

Me with some pretty flowers, sporting the Chinese pose.
Jake getting ready to walk into the museum.
This was some really neat artwork towards the top of the building as we were walking in.

Jake and Clara with a picture of Sun Yat-Sen and the other founders of the Republic of China in the background. (It's neat because the people are in red, and it makes the shape of the ROC flag that still flies in Taiwan)
The Vice-President's office.
The Garden out back with lots of beautiful flowers.

So in this one part there were a bunch of beautiful flowers.

I think if we would have come just a week earlier these flowers would have been perfect, but as you can see they were on the way out.
Clara smelling the flowers, afterward she had pollen on her face.
Jake wanted to take a picture of the round bush, so I got to stand in.
I just thought this looked really neat.
Statue outside one of the museums. This museum was established to commemorate the negotiations between the KMT(Nationalists) and CCP(Chinese Communist Party). This statue is of Zhou En-Lai who led the communist delegation. Because the communists won, the entire museum is skewed to meet their perspective/agenda, but basically there were negotiations that lasted about a year. The two parties were trying to figure out a way to peacefully rule the country together, but they failed, and civil war broke out, and the KMT eventually fled to Taiwan, while the CCP still controls China today.
Jake inside the museum. This is a huge statue with all of the main CCP negotiators.
An old sweet Buick that Zhou En-lai would cruise around in. Buicks are still really popular in China today, in large part because Zhou En-lai and Sun Yat-sen both drove them.