Hong Kong: Disneyland

Living abroad you know that your children are going to be missing experiences that you had as a child.  This is hard, but the trade-off is they are having adventures that you never dreamed of when you were young. Lucky for us, Disneyland is not one of those trades.  Being the main reason of us to go to Hong Kong, it was the perfect American experience I had a child. 

For gifts we are finding that giving an experience means more then a physical item.  It is also a lot easier to give to someone who is not living in the same timezone.   That is how our adventure began.  Wade's parents knew HK Disneyland was on my must see list, so they made it happen.  The kids knew we were going to Hong Kong, but they had no idea what was there.

The Main Street Parade

Once we got off the subway stop at Disneyland it started to click with Amelia.  We thought for sure would figure it out before, but the surprise never revealed its self.    We started walking towards the entrance and she stopped and says "Are we at Disneyland?"  With our yes, the smile didn't stop for the two days we were there.

Poor Liam was not allowed on some of the ride because he was too small.  Here he is waiting for Amelia and me to get off Space Mountain.

HK Disneyland is the smallest of all the Disney's, but the most perfect for young kids.  It was not too busy, we made it on all the major attractions and the kid's little legs were able to navigate through the different lands.  Liam's highlight was riding Dumbo and the Winnie the Pooh ride, while Amelia's was seeing the Princess and riding the roller coasters.

Toy Story was also a hit for Liam.

Cinderella and Belle

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty

Dumbo

Liam on Dumbo

The main man, Mickey Mouse

Breakfast with Mickey

The happiest place on Earth

Hong Kong: The City

Since moving to Asia one of the places on my list to see has been Hong Kong.   It is the New York of Asia, the closest I will most likely get to China (it costs a lot for Americans to go to China) and it is very kid friendly with many attractions, including a Disneyland, aimed for kids. 

Hong Kong viewed from atop a peak.  We took a tram up it. 

The kids did awesome on the trip and were great troupers as they had to hang with me while I figured out the city.  This was an adventure in its self because Hong Kong is not that big, but has millions of people.  Thank goodness for the parks where we could get away from the masses and relieve the anxiety from people being our bubbles.  Wade was not a fan.  However, the food, sights and the reason we went (next post) was worth it all. 

The food here was great.  Wade discovered and loved Dim Sum. 

Hong Kong was cold, but sunny. My favorite kind of weather.  

One of the many public parks.  They also offer free wifi.

One of my favorite dishes was Schezwan noodles.  They are made right before they are cooked.   Liam got to play with some uncooked ones before one of our dinners. 

Another park.  This one had a free zone it. 

On top of Hong Kong

With millions of people on a small island, there are lines EVERYWHERE.  Just to go to the bathroom we would wait an average of 45 min. 

Signs of Christmas

Christmas Shows:

Parties:

Baking:

And the waiting game:

RIS Gala

I am not sure what a Gala is exactly and I had to Google image it to see what to wear, but it was a fun event to celebrate 60 years of International education at RIS. A parent bought Amy and me tickets (they were very $$$) as a Christmas present.   We had a great night and danced until the lights came on.

My date and me.   Due to political issues downtown, we decided to stay in the moobahn to find our "fancy" clothes.  I think we did well.  Didn't spend a lot and came out with a nice pantsuit.  Not sure I was trendy or I have been in Thailand too long.  

Some of the ES staff.  They are all so much fun.  

Gretchen, Toni, Darcy, Amy and me.  

The salad:  You know it is a fancy dinner when you leave still hungry.  We all left still hungry. 

Good beef is rare in Thailand.  This was imported and man was it tasty.  Too bad it was gone in 3 bites.  

Kitty Cat Cafe

Maybe it is an Asian thing, or maybe I have been gone from the US too long, but there is a new craze here....cafes full of cats.   I am not a cat lover per say, but I do like cats, however, the thought of eating with them isn't really my cup of tea.  But, I knew the kids would like it, so a friend and I took advantages of one of the many cat cafe popping up around Bangkok.  It also helped that I had a Groupon. 

Amelia wore her Hello Kitty shirt just for the occasion.

Amelia and Liam loved it.  I liked it.  I only found a couple cat hairs in my tea, and the cats were VERY well behaved.  They had about 10 cats that were very well taken care of clean and fat.  There was a big difference between there looks and the soi cats we see running around outside.  

Amelia's favorite.

My favorite...I like kittens more then cats.

Our tea.

Eating with cats.

Playing with cats

Loving the cats

Rayong

Bangkok may be a big, smelly city, but it is within driving distance to some nice, relaxing beaches.   Wade had a friend visiting Thailand who was staying near one (Rayong), so we decided to pack up the kids and go for a visit.  The drive to Rayong was just under three hours.   We stayed in a nice condo that had pools and was across from the beach.  Rayong is a quiet city with no night life so it was great for families with kids. We ate, swam, got sun and swam some more.   Both the kids cried when we had to leave.
 

This looks out to the ocean.  We camped out here all day having food and beer delivered.  

Liam is so funny.  The first day he said he hated the beach and wanted to swim only in the pool.  The second day, he said he loved the beach and didn't want to leave. 

Just relaxing. 

Waiting for the sunset. 

Sun kissed cheeks

Amelia took this picture

The sun setting...pink sky at night, sailors delight.

Wade bought the kids floats.  They loved them.

Amelia said she wished the waves were bigger. 

These "muscle" make it so much better with Liam in/near the pool.  He doesn't have to depend on me as much and is learning to get around.  He now thinks he can swim.