Preparation for the Year of the Rabbit

I've never spent Chinese New Year in any Chinese country, so I didn't truly appreciate the extent of the preparation that goes into the holiday. It is the year of the rabbit, so there are rabbits displayed everywhere, in malls, on top of buildings, in store windows, and they are being sold in stores in all shapes and sizes. A couple samples below:



Kumquats symbolize prosperity, so almost every business has two or more kumquat trees in the lobby or entrance of the store. Kumquat trees are sold on the streets in Hong Kong like Christmas trees are sold during Christmas in New York:



And of course, red and gold symbolize good luck, so there are many stands selling red and gold decorations and red envelopes (this picture was actually taken in Guangzhou, which we visited this past weekend):


YEAR OF THE RABBIT, here we come!

The All-Purpose Vending Machine

Vending machines usually contain your usual assortment of chips, pretzels, cookies, gum, drinks or water, but not this vending machine we spotted in Hong Kong:


You just never know when you might need a pen, highlighter, eraser, adapter, calculator, super glue, packing tape or Windex.

The Secret Whiskey Bar

Two weekends ago, one of our friends in Hong Kong was kind enough to take us to a member's only whiskey bar: b.a.r. EXECUTIVE:


The bar has several dozen whisky varieties from Scotland, Ireland, America and Japan, and the proprietor lays claim to having invented the spherical ice ‘cubes’ in whiskies on the rocks, which he says keeps the taste from the bottle and the temperature cold without watering it down, sample below (pretty cool I think):


Four of us polished off one bottle of Japanese whiskey that evening, and everyone went home quite happy.

First Post of 2011: Ocean Park

I spent the first week of 2011 battling an awful flu that I caught during my trip from New York back to Hong Kong. I took a number of days and half-days off work but still managed to infect the entire office. While laying in bed at home with a box of tissues and hot tea, I realized that our time in Hong Kong would most likely be drawing to a close some time this year and we still had not visited many of the places we had intended to. I resolved to make a concerted effort to do the things outstanding on our list: Shenzhen, Lamma Island, Happy Valley horse racing and Ocean Park, among others. Although I was still not feeling 100% the following weekend, with some encouragement from JT, I mustered up enough energy to go to Ocean Park, Hong Kong's premiere theme park.






Ocean Park is a strange mix of zoo, aquarium and amusement park. Even though Hong Kong has its own Disneyland, Ocean Park still attracts more visitors every year. The amusement rides weren't that impressive compared to the rides at Great Adventure or Disneyworld, but they were pretty good. And for many of the Chinese mainlanders, who seemed to comprise the majority of the visitors to the park, it was probably the first time they had seen or been on a roller coaster. I'm not sure if it was because it was the winter, but there weren't any long lines, and it wasn't terribly crowded. Part of the park is situated on a cliff overlooking the coastline of Hong Kong with a spectacular view of the water. A cable car connects the two parts of the park.

We went on a number of the rides, but the main attraction of Ocean Park is its pandas. One panda was taking a nap near a log when we showed up. Another was eating some lunch:



We were also lucky enough to see some red pandas (though JT mistook them for foxes):


Ocean Park, crossed off the list. Next stop, Shenzhen possibly? We'll keep you posted.

November 2010: Taiwan/China (Part II)

Part II of our end of 2010 recap in pictures, featuring Beijing and Xi'an:

The Great Wall

The Entrance to the Forbidden City

Pit #1 of the Terra Cotta Warriors

Warriors Up Close

Scenes from the Xi'an Night Market:

November 2010: Taiwan/China (Part I)

We've been a bit remiss in our blogging duties, so to recap the end of 2010: We spent my birthday and my grandmother's 90th birthday in Taipei. We then headed off to Beijing, where we visited the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Great Wall of China. We took a two-day trip to Xi'an, where we saw the Terra Cotta warriors, walked on the city wall and enjoyed a lively night market. And now to recap in pictures, first Taipei:

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial

Yummy soup dumplings before being steamed and eaten by us!

Taipei 101 (the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010)