CNY '08 Show

If you didn't know, Chinese New Year is a much bigger deal to the Chinese than US new year is. But I guess that makes sense, right? It's by far, their biggest holiday. (They don't celebrate Christmas like we do.) Well we are entering the year of the rat. Quick fact, I am also a Rat in the Chinese Zodiac...and there are 12 different signs. So I must be a multiple of 12 years old. I'll give you a clue...I'm not 144.
LaFrance puts on a big show for all of the 3000 workers over here. And some of the workers even participate, dancing, singing, acting, and doing comedy routines. It's like a big variety show.
So without further ado...

Our hosts. I recognize "Echo," one of the QC managers.



This took place in an enclosed stadium and I was impressed by the size of the production.



Traditional Chinese Flute



Lots of dancing



Awesome "Gong Fu" display



More traditional Instruments...but with really dramatic prerecorded drums; kinda like the Chinese Yanni



Beijing style opera



This guy was my favorite. I want to get one of these masks!

HK-Macau Extraviganza

Last weekend. Where to start. I couldn't even say. Maybe I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

1. Ferry to HK
2. Get cleaned up at the hotel and go to Lan Kwai Fong (a strip of bars in HK, famous for shutting down the roads so you can stumble around.)
3. Eat some Ebeneezer's falafel (It's so good, I ate two!)
4. Sleep for a few minutes.
   
5. Wake up and grab some Vietnamese Pho, and Kaffe Suda (so good, I should have had two!)
   
6. Jump the ferry to Macau
7. Find ourselves a little hung over at the top of the highest bungy tower in the world...(uh oh)
8. Jump off!
9. Rejoice we're still alive
10. Grab some Portuguese food (Macau, used to be owned by Portugal) (delicious, by the way)
11. Run to the Casinos
12. Loose $100 each at Black Jack and Roulette (meh.)
    
13. Go back to MP3 club to chill out with some music
14. Find out there is a new club by the same owner called MP4
15. Go to MP4
16. Dance our pants off for 1 hour
17. Go to bed completely exhausted
18. AM Ferry back to Shekou
19. Eat at Casablanca's, (the best Seafood Pasta ever)
20. Drive a few balls at the driving range
21. Go home and sleeeeeeeeep.

21 steps to an amazing weekend. Here is the proof.

Lets jump right into it...haha...get it...Long's going first.



Wow, that's tight, Pat.



Getting hyped up! Long, show us how to do it...



Pat decided to spring for the professional photographs...AWESOME!



Click this for a bigger image.



Lauren gets suited up for the Sky Jump, which is allot more like the Sky Fall...very little jumping involved.



Over the edge



Yeah. This is what we jumped off. 61 floors. Lets put that into perspective. There isn't anything in Philly that's 61 floors high. Yeah. Thats a small bridge in comparison.



Bungy-Jumping in Macau



Night out in Macau



Where can we get some food?



Lauren tells us her grandmother lost all her money at the Casino in Liz boa.



A lunch well deserved



Is that first position?



Yeah, I don't look nearly as good swinging the club.



One hell of a weekend, guys.

Wild Window of the World

I don't know who's idea it was but someone suggested that we take a day and go to Window of the World. In fact, I think it may have come into conception somewhere, half way up the Road to Lion Mountain. Nonetheless, we decided to take the trip. Window of the World is something like Disney World, but it's a little different. They have large dioramas of the great wonders of the world. Some of them you can walk through. Some you can ride. Some you can't but people do it anyway.
So without further ado, I present Ryan, Justin, Tandy, and Pats trip to Window of the World.

For only 120RMB you get the world!


They have AmericaTown


Both the US and Canadian side of Niagara Falls. You can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.


Push!


Lady Liberty, Easter Island, Rio Brazil


Chinese Bridge


Koi by the dozens


Where do I get a Water Ball?!



Jurassic Park


DinoPat


Rynosaurus


The Alps (?) I wonder what's inside?


A Ski Slope!


Tandy is too cool...er...hot for his winter coat...really. He skied without it.


These arn't ski boots


Almost made it! My first time snowboarding was in China.


At the end of the day


Sun glasses from yet another trip to Lohu shopping center

Ok. This one may need some explanation! haha. At the African Diorama we were able to catch a live show. These two dark looking Chinese guys come out and call a bunch of people on stage. Then they do a call and repeat game on the drums. The leader would tap a pattern on the drums and then the contestants would have to repeat the beat.
Then he ask for more volunteers, and I promptly raise my hands because I want to play the drums. So I get up on stage in front of the crowd. But then they roll the drums away...uh oh. The video starts as I begin to realize what I've gotten myself into. By the way. All the instructions are in Chinese. I don't understand a single word except for "Mei guo ren," which is american, and "bu hao," which means no good. haha!
By the way, I call this video, "African Dance by an American in China."
Enjoy. I sure did. Can't you tell?

The Road to Lion Mountain

During the week, Paul, the outdoors man of the group, lets us know he's going on a hike on Saturday in the Mountains surrounding Hong Kong. One Catch though, you got to be up and leave by 6:45 am! Oh boy. I missed Paul's last HK trip due to oversleeping, so I was committed to this one. I wanted to be a part of it. And I'm glad I was.
We took a bus and then a subway over to HK bright and early on Saturday morning and were welcomed by a warm breeze and a blue sky. I couldn't imagine a nicer day to be out and about.
Accompanying myself and Paul on this venture was Pat and Justin. We grabed some food and snacks in HK and then proceeded to the trail head by cab.

The first thing we see.



Winding Paths



Great place to catch up on current events



Paul Making it look easy



Monkeys!



Apparently they don't like to share their Popsicles



Monkey Love


Above it all



View from the dam



Evolution?



Gargoyle



Pull Ups?



On one side of the mountain



On the other side



Pollination



Getting warm



Still a ways to go



Our Destination, Lion Rock



Our illustrious leader



All the way to the top



Look at how far we've come



Scrambling the last little bit



Hua, the Chinese word for flower

It took all day but we managed the 15km journey over some of the great peaks in Hong Kong. There are still bigger ones, but that leaves some for next time. It was an incredible journey, and it was also completely exhausting. Something I won't soon forget.