Hong Kong no Phooey TR (Apr 2012)! The Yee's have it....TR finish #1101, 07/09

[PrincessInOz]

I would steer clear of the spitting also. I think might have gaged. Its quite interesting. The food looks so good. Thanks for sharing,not easy when its hot outside.

Just been a hot week this week.

 

[dgbg100106]

The pictures are lovely and I realized that one of these days I will have to go to DC, into Chinatown and see if they do something similar, I have never seen anything on TV locally to show that they do but I am sure they do right?

I have the Cherry Blossom Festival, but that is Japanese and it is in March.

 

[ehsmum]

Great photos, as usual! I'm not even sure what sort of Chinese New Year celebrations they do here, I should check it out next year. Although with temps over 40 degrees every day, I'm not inclined to go anywhere that isn't air conditioned!

School goes back this coming week in Victoria. I expect its the same in WA?

Have you looked at one of the Chi Residencies? I sent them an email and they seemed rather helpful.

Yes, school is back this week. One started yesterday and the other two go back tomorrow .

Thank you so much for the Chi Residencies recommendation. I hadn't heard of it but emailed them for a quote and we now have our accommodation booked! I'm still worried that something will go wrong because it's so cheap compared to all other quotes. Well, it's still expensive (around $850 for 4 nights) but cheap by HK standards! Everywhere else quoted us 2 rooms at around $1500 - $3000 for the 4 nights We've booked a one bedroom apartment at the 314 which is on Nathan Rd. From trip advisor reviews I am expecting that we will be charged up to $200 for one or two extra beds, but it still works out cheaper then anywhere else.

Then there's Disney . I emailed them for a quote at the DLH and they made a tentative booking for me. 2 nights in two Sea View Rooms with 2 day park passes for $1500!! I nearly fell over and decided to rethink this. I suggested to DH that we book the apartment in Kowloon for the whole 7 nights and take the train to Disneyland for 2 days but he said no, staying at Disneyland will be special and something to look forward too He's a keeper! So I've asked for a quote on the Hollywood Hotel too and we'll make a decision once we have that.

Now I have to think about our night in Macau

 

[ACDSNY]

Thanks for sharing your Chinese New Year with us, the pictures are amazing. They remind me of when my Grandparents use to take us kids to SF Chinatown.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The pictures are lovely and I realized that one of these days I will have to go to DC, into Chinatown and see if they do something similar, I have never seen anything on TV locally to show that they do but I am sure they do right?

I have the Cherry Blossom Festival, but that is Japanese and it is in March.

Most chinese people would do very similar celebrations. You'll have to take some pictures of the Cherry Blossoms (if you're mobile)....I'd love to see it!

Thank you so much for the Chi Residencies recommendation. I hadn't heard of it but emailed them for a quote and we now have our accommodation booked! I'm still worried that something will go wrong because it's so cheap compared to all other quotes. Well, it's still expensive (around $850 for 4 nights) but cheap by HK standards! Everywhere else quoted us 2 rooms at around $1500 - $3000 for the 4 nights We've booked a one bedroom apartment at the 314 which is on Nathan Rd. From trip advisor reviews I am expecting that we will be charged up to $200 for one or two extra beds, but it still works out cheaper then anywhere else.

Then there's Disney . I emailed them for a quote at the DLH and they made a tentative booking for me. 2 nights in two Sea View Rooms with 2 day park passes for $1500!! I nearly fell over and decided to rethink this. I suggested to DH that we book the apartment in Kowloon for the whole 7 nights and take the train to Disneyland for 2 days but he said no, staying at Disneyland will be special and something to look forward too He's a keeper! So I've asked for a quote on the Hollywood Hotel too and we'll make a decision once we have that.

Now I have to think about our night in Macau

I'm so glad (for now) that you managed to get something at the Chi Residence. The 314 is the one closer to Jordan train station, right? I asked my TA friend about them. She hadn't heard of them but she said that would be because HK isn't known for apartment hotels; but there was a group of them becoming very popular. I seriously looked at them and was happy to go with them except that the TA friend offered me the 1-bedroom suite for the price of a standard room.

I only hope that you come back equally as happy as you seem to be now.

I'm keeping an eye out of the HK Disney website. I don't know if there would be any special deals coming out...but you never know.

Just remember - if you were to go to stay at the Grand Floridian, you'd be paying much more.

Thanks for sharing your Chinese New Year with us, the pictures are amazing. They remind me of when my Grandparents use to take us kids to SF Chinatown.

Chinese New Year celebrations take me back to the days that I was a kid too.

 

[queenie82]

Love the photos...
Thanks!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the photos...
Thanks!!

Glad you enjoyed them.

It really was a hot and humid day......HOT and HUMID......you owe me a drink or three!

 

[dgbg100106]

Most chinese people would do very similar celebrations. You'll have to take some pictures of the Cherry Blossoms (if you're mobile)....I'd love to see it!

This year is the Centennial Celebration, I will be there..... Fingers crossed. I go and see them almost every year, they are beautiful and mark the beginning of spring here in DC region.

Here are some pictures...
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43894790#post43894790

 

[PrincessInOz]

This year is the Centennial Celebration, I will be there..... Fingers crossed. I go and see them almost every year, they are beautiful and mark the beginning of spring here in DC region.

Here are some pictures...
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43894790#post43894790

Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing and I hope you make it out this year.

 

[PrincessInOz]

OT - Australia Day in Melbourne


‘Twas a busy old week in Melbourne last week. Sandwiched in between the family Chinese New Year celebrations and the Chinatown celebrations was Australia Day.

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia and commemorates the date that the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove way back in 1788. This year’s Australia Day will probably be remembered for our Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Cinderella moment. She lost her shoe whilst trying to escape a group of indigenous Australian protestors.

But in Melbourne, things were very different.

Daytime celebrations


I decided to take a trip into town to see what festivities were on offer. I was really on the prowl for the photoboard Scavenger Hunt items; but really….that was just an excuse for a little bit of ‘me’ time. Neither of the boys wanted to come out with me.

The city decided to put on a host of free events and entertainment in one of the parks. And that brought the people out in droves.

There was a smallish stage set up.

I was lucky enough to catch James Morrison on stage with his band. He is one of our jazz musicians and plays brass instruments.

A few people took the opportunity to kick up their heels and enjoy the music.

Even the dogs were having a field day.

Aside from the music, there was a fine old display of vintage vehicles.

I really do mean vintage!



The highlight of the morning was the aerial display from the Roulette Squadron.

These guys are flying at 3 meters apart and were as low at 70 meters above ground on this day.

I headed on home after this…it really was a hot week and the temperatures were well into the high 80’s at this stage.


Night time celebrations


Australia Day is usually one of those 4 or 5 events in the year where the city will also set off fireworks. So, the boys and I had decided we were going to head in for more shooting practice.

And given that there was yet another free concert before the fireworks, we decided to go and enjoy the moment. We’re at the Myer Music Bowl, which is in one of the city gardens.

The concert kicked off with various percussion instruments.

There was a loose theme of “What’s In My Bag?” for this concert, celebrating the different cultures and emigrants that make up the fabric of society in Melbourne.
It really was a celebration of cultures!

(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Yet More Fireworks


I set up the camera close to the allocated fireworks time. The papers had said that there would be fireworks set up over the Eureka Tower. So, I aimed towards that target.

Excuse.me.whilst.I.turn.the camera.straight.overhead.!

Yup…..wrong again!



I didn’t do too badly for having been so badly out of position again…

I really didn’t like the pole being right in the middle of the pictures, so I moved.

Yes. I am so looking forward to being able to point the camera in the direction of a castle and check the schedule for the start time.


The good news from tonight is that DH is now also ‘hooked by the fireworks gods as well. He was making noises about going in for the Moomba fireworks, weather dependent. That celebration is in March!


Happy Australia Day!

 

[dgbg100106]

The pictures are beautiful and you got some amazing shots of the fireworks.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The pictures are beautiful and you got some amazing shots of the fireworks.

 

[PrincessInOz]

2 month Countdown Check-in


There is 2 months to go before this trip and I thought I'd do a quick check-in. I've organised the following:

• Flights - all paid
• Disney for my parents - all paid
• Disney for us - booked and one night paid for. I'm going to see how the dollar tracks after this weekend and might pay my balance out in full next week.
• Kowloon accommodation - all paid (both for my parents and for us)
• Travel insurance - all paid and organised
• Currency - in progress, some AUD converted over the HKD already.
• Leave - all approved for DH and myself.
• Passports - checked and there is stacks of valid time left on the passports for all 3 of us. I'm going to have to check that my parents also have equally valid passports.

I've printed out copies of the e-tix as well as the accommodation confirmations. I need to print out the travel insurance..........although.....come to think of it, I think I printed this out at work and forgot to pick it off the printer.


I still have to organise the visas for China; but the forms are nearly filled out. I just need to update the travel insurance question with my policy number and the paperwork will be ready. I'm just waiting on my parents to complete their paperwork before organising a time to hand in the forms at the Visa Centre in Melbourne.


After this, it's just a matter of getting more currency and working out seat allocations.

 

[queenie82]

Nice seeing Jim Morrison.
A school friend is/was a trumpeter and played with him in some church events. He's such a lovely guy giving his time to the community

LOVE the aircraft shots..
Bit near to the heart those due to DBF's link to the Airforce...

 

[queenie82]

2 month Countdown Check-in


There is 2 months to go before this trip and I thought I'd do a quick check-in. I've organised the following:

• Flights - all paid
• Disney for my parents - all paid
• Disney for us - booked and one night paid for. I'm going to see how the dollar tracks after this weekend and might pay my balance out in full next week.
• Kowloon accommodation - all paid (both for my parents and for us)
• Travel insurance - all paid and organised
• Currency - in progress, some AUD converted over the HKD already.
• Leave - all approved for DH and myself.
• Passports - checked and there is stacks of valid time left on the passports for all 3 of us. I'm going to have to check that my parents also have equally valid passports.

I've printed out copies of the e-tix as well as the accommodation confirmations. I need to print out the travel insurance..........although.....come to think of it, I think I printed this out at work and forgot to pick it off the printer.


I still have to organise the visas for China; but the forms are nearly filled out. I just need to update the travel insurance question with my policy number and the paperwork will be ready. I'm just waiting on my parents to complete their paperwork before organising a time to hand in the forms at the Visa Centre in Melbourne.

Congrats.

After this, it's just a matter of getting more currency and working out seat allocations.

I know an airline where you can do that the minute you book and move yourself around as you please online

 

[PrincessInOz]

I know an airline where you can do that the minute you book and move yourself around as you please online

Does it have in-seat entertainment?

 

[queenie82]

Yup....BYO!!!
And extra legroom

 

[PrincessInOz]

Yup....BYO!!!
And extra legroom

That's a PITA and I need the extra space for my (camera) body in my carry-on. We need 24 hour access to entertainment to keep DS occupied. BYO means 2 - 4 hours only.


And as DH and I are vertically challenged, extra legroom is nice; but not needed.

 

[queenie82]

That's a PITA and I need the extra space for my (camera) body in my carry-on. We need 24 hour access to entertainment to keep DS occupied. BYO means 2 - 4 hours only.


And as DH and I are vertically challenged, extra legroom is nice; but not needed.

You don't want to sit in front of me when I'm in a 'regular' seat.

I can be a REAL PITA with my knees in your back...