Can you guess what are in these photos?

As I was organizing my photos I came across some of these photos that I hadn't shared with you yet. All of these photos made me think of that game or puzzel that they often had in childrens magazines where you had to guess what was in the image. So here are 5 photos take a guess at what is in the image. Some are easy and some may be more difficult.
Photo #1
Photo #2
Photo #3
Photo #4
Photo #5

Cultural Kaleidoscope

Honk Kong has such a diverse mix of the old in the new. One day you could be enjoying the shopping and theme park and the next day you could be be touring around in a ancient fishing village. And that is just what we did. After 2 hours of traveling on the metro, train, and bus we finally reached our destination. Tai O, literal translation means Big Bay, is a 200 year old fishing village with wooden stilt houses the line the waterfront. There are also tiny shops, ancient temples and numerous fishing boats, or junks as they are more commonly known. The village is also home to a unique saltwater mangrove. We participated in a 2 hour tour of the village and saw a whole other side of Hong Kong.
Yum, dried fish snacks
Anyone hungry for lunch?
The hard wood holding up the houses is extremely strong and becomes stronger with age. It also does not rot.
The air bladder of the fish is apparently good for stomach aches.

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring...

The rain must have followed us from Hong Kong. I am going to need a raft to get to work pretty soon if all this rain continues. The mornings are cloudy but by lunch time the sky is a dark grey and the streets are full of puddles. We had a huge thunder storm today with continues thunder for at least two hours. There wasn’t even time to count in-between the lightening and thunder to see how far away it is. It would be a good day to curl up by the fireplace with a good book, a cozy quilt, and a mug of hot chocolate. Too bad they do not have fireplaces here.

Back to Hong Kong. The best view of the city is from Victoria Peak. The 20 min tram ride that climbs the hill feels like the old wooden roller coaster at Playland. On the other hand, the bus ride down from the Peak was like the Wild Mouse ride at Playland. There were so many twists and turn on a very narrow street and we were riding in a double decker bus.
The observation deck would be a great place to sit back relax, enjoy a lunch and the view if it wasn’t raining. I braved the rain in 5 minute increments so I could have a few token pictures. Notice the dark rain cloud hanging about the buildings and the large raindrops on my shirt.
Hong Kong is divided into several parts, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories, Lantau Island, Lamma Island, and Cheung Chau. We spent most of our time between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island the busiest part of Hong Kong.
I also found this road at the top of the Peak. Our family has a street named after them and it is located at one of the busiest and touristy places in Hong Kong.

Mesmerized by the Jellyfish

One cannot visit Hong Kong without visiting Ocean Park, a theme park and aquarium in one. My favorite was the jellyfish exhibit it was so peaceful to just watch them sway in the current. The lighting in each of the tanks also gave the jellyfish and really neat glow.
Ocean Park is divided into two parts and you have to take a 20 minute cable car across the side of the hill to travel between to two areas. The park has several different theaters or stages with many performances throughout the day. I watched the Amazing Birds and the Dolphin and Sea Lion shows.I also went on a couple of the rides but it is not the same when you are riding them by yourself.
The one ride that is my all-time favorite at any theme park was under construction. I will just have to ride the flying swings twice next time I visit a theme park, which I don’t think will happen anytime in the near future. The Panda Habitat was also under Construction, another exhibit I really wanted to see, oh well.


Lots more stories and of course pictures to come later.

The votes have been tallied and...

...Hong Kong is the winner. Deanna and I are catching the 6:00 bus tonight to Hong Kong. Hopefully the hostel experience is better this time. We have four full days and we plan to fill every moment sightseeing and shopping. We have plans to ride the Peak Tram, see the light show at night, take part in Chinese Cake baking, practice our Tai Chi moves with a free class, and I want to also see Ocean Park, the largest aquarium in the world. So I will be taking a break from blogging and enjoying the big city. I will have lots to report once I return and probably hundreds of pictures.

Recipe for sucess in eating a leeche

First of all is a leeche a nut or a fruit because I am highly confused. It looks like a fruit but I remember it being called a nut. If someone could clear this up it would greatly be appreciated. Leeche nuts/fruits are officially in season. Vendors are selling them from their bikes on every street corner and ally way. They cost anywhere from 2-4 RMB for 1 kilogram. Everywhere you turn there are leeches. A box of leeche nuts/fruit even arrived at the office today as a gift from a former teacher. They taste best once they have spent a sufficient amount of time in the fridge. They are really refreshing on a hot day.
Here's a recipe for success in eating a leeche:
1. hold the nut/fruit up to your nose and take a big whiff, it should smell sweet and like a leeche fruit, (sorry that is quite vague but I am not going to even attempt to describe the smell as I am sure it would not even come across accurately)
2. place the leeche in the palm of your hand
3. with your dominant hand, it allows for more strength this way, dig your thumb nail into the nut.fruit adjacent to the stem and pluck out the stem.
4. peel the skin off, careful they can be slippery suckers
5. plop the white fleshy portion into your mouth and enjoy.

Note: there is a pit hiding inside so don’t break a tooth or start choking and don’t say I didn’t warn you.


mmmm ... this is making my mouth water... I am heading to the fridge right now to ...

This Weekend

This past weekend flew by. Actually, time in general has gone by incredible fast and before I know it I will be finished teaching and traveling to the northern part of China. On Saturday we boarded a bus to Zhaoqing. We headed straight for the back of the bus where there are five seats in a row perfect for lounging on during the ride. We arrived 2 hours later. After brunch in a very nice but cheap restaurant, we headed towards Star Lake to see the main attraction, the Seven Star Crags Park. In the center of the lake is an island with seven crags, limestone mountains with caves and grottos The seven crags are said to look like the Big Dipper from an aerial vantage point. Street vendors here are really persistent. One lady followed us for 10 minutes as we walked along the pedestrian path next to the edge of the lake. She was trying to sell tickets for a boat ride across the lake to the Island. Not wanting to give into this very pushy and obnoxious lady we found a water taxi company, with an attendant that spoke English and bought a return ticket for 15 RMB to the Seven Star Crags Park. Once on the Island there is of course the park entrance fee, plus additional fees to enter the caves and cross the metal suspension bridge. We decided to fork out the extra money since this is what we came to see. Some highlights from the park include climbing one of the crags to the lookout point, watching the greedy fish with their huge fish lips, seeing the Chinese poetry carved onto the walls of the caves, and walking over the many bridges.

Christine and I went to the plant and animal market. The market had mainly birds and fish and not the kind you eat but the ones you keep as pets. They also had some beautiful fish tanks on display. they also had a wider assortment of plants from silk flowers to potted cacti, water plants and bamboo toporary/pyramids (the same type we have back home). Unfortunately I was too busy enjoying walking through the market and talking with Christine that I didn’t take any pictures. Not sure how the vendors would have reacted anyways since they didn’t care for me taking pictures at the produce and meat market.