Update from Hong Kong
This blog update is from Abbey...
We have certainly been busy. We visited Liuhua Park in Dongguan, China with Curt's driver "Ben" while Curt was hard at work. As we climbed up a hill towards a temple, we were surprised to see a camel up ahead. Anything goes here... "Ben" guided us to a small local animal shelter in Liuhua Park (they called it a "zoo", but it was simply some sad animals in dingy cages). Sam and Aly enjoyed feeding the malnourished animals. Sam held out some seeds for a very aggressive and clearly very hungry monkey who quickly grabbed Sam's hand and peeled the seeds out of his hand. Fortunately, the monkey's long fingernails didn't draw any blood. I reminded Sam that he didn't want to have to suffer thru a series of rabies shots during our travels. After that incident, Sam and Aly were both careful to keep a safe distance from the the cages of angry alligators and porcupines. The husband and wife that lived in the zoo (in quarters similar to the animals' sad and dingy cages) prodded each of the animals with a long stick to arouse them as we walked from cage to cage. Very dismal existence for the animals and the "zookeepers".
The next day Curt joined us on our adventure to Xinxian Mountain Villa in Changpin, China. We saw many amazing and truly beautiful buddhist temples. Sam and Aly were able to participate in praying to Buddha with some of the local monks and with our driver "Ben". In a somewhat surreal experience, "Ben" negotiated for us to receive a guided tour on a 6-seated golf cart thru the mountain's park. As we approached, barricades were removed and we were taken to parts of the parks that were obviously closed to all of the other visitors. In addition to the girl driving the golf cart, there was a man who followed us from location to location turning on rides for Sam and Aly. While several of the coasters were quite rusty and dilapidated, that did not dampen Sam and Aly's enthusiasum for riding them. I couldn't watch. At that point, I was praying to Buddha for safely for Curt and the kids as they enjoyed the rickety rides. We also saw a circus where full sized Bengal tigers were kept in cages beside caged poodles. Oddly enought, a baby lion was caged in with several poodle dogs. Sam was very concerned about a bear that was caged in such a small compartment that he couldn't even turn around. The bear's forehead was flat from banging it continuously up against the cage.
Don't get me wrong, the animal conditions were bleak, but the park's scenery and temples were truly amazing with the intricate details. Hand carved and painted ceilings in temples and landscapes were meticulously manicured. We were also taken to another closed section atop the mountain where we were able to have our own personal photo shoot with a giant Buddha. The Buddha was multiple stories tall and was hand carved from white stone and marble.
Since we have had many other daily adventures, I have been derelict in my blog updating duties. We left Dongguan, China several days ago and have visited Guanzhou, Shenzhen and are now in Hong Kong. Just an overwhelming number of gorgeous parks in all cities. Most parks are free or admission is minimal (i.e. $1.20 entrance for the entire Redden family). The Hong Kong Island park we visited yesterday was free and included a huge kids play area as well as an enormous bird aviary that housed nearly 1,000 bird species. We also took the peak tram to the peak of Hong Kong as well as a walking tour of business and shopping districts in Hong Kong. More shopping opportunities than we can even appreciate (since I am not much of a shopper). Sam and Aly did enjoy haggling with street venders at the Temple Street Market last night. Incredible experiences.
Today we are headed to Hong Kong's outer islands. Will update you later. This year due to our travels, we will be emailing our Redden holiday update letter and posting it to this blog. Curt asked that I add this comment because he knows that at least some of you wait with breathless anticipation for the holiday neswletter each year, and he did not want to be the cause of depression during the holdiay season. Best wishes to you all.
We have certainly been busy. We visited Liuhua Park in Dongguan, China with Curt's driver "Ben" while Curt was hard at work. As we climbed up a hill towards a temple, we were surprised to see a camel up ahead. Anything goes here... "Ben" guided us to a small local animal shelter in Liuhua Park (they called it a "zoo", but it was simply some sad animals in dingy cages). Sam and Aly enjoyed feeding the malnourished animals. Sam held out some seeds for a very aggressive and clearly very hungry monkey who quickly grabbed Sam's hand and peeled the seeds out of his hand. Fortunately, the monkey's long fingernails didn't draw any blood. I reminded Sam that he didn't want to have to suffer thru a series of rabies shots during our travels. After that incident, Sam and Aly were both careful to keep a safe distance from the the cages of angry alligators and porcupines. The husband and wife that lived in the zoo (in quarters similar to the animals' sad and dingy cages) prodded each of the animals with a long stick to arouse them as we walked from cage to cage. Very dismal existence for the animals and the "zookeepers".
The next day Curt joined us on our adventure to Xinxian Mountain Villa in Changpin, China. We saw many amazing and truly beautiful buddhist temples. Sam and Aly were able to participate in praying to Buddha with some of the local monks and with our driver "Ben". In a somewhat surreal experience, "Ben" negotiated for us to receive a guided tour on a 6-seated golf cart thru the mountain's park. As we approached, barricades were removed and we were taken to parts of the parks that were obviously closed to all of the other visitors. In addition to the girl driving the golf cart, there was a man who followed us from location to location turning on rides for Sam and Aly. While several of the coasters were quite rusty and dilapidated, that did not dampen Sam and Aly's enthusiasum for riding them. I couldn't watch. At that point, I was praying to Buddha for safely for Curt and the kids as they enjoyed the rickety rides. We also saw a circus where full sized Bengal tigers were kept in cages beside caged poodles. Oddly enought, a baby lion was caged in with several poodle dogs. Sam was very concerned about a bear that was caged in such a small compartment that he couldn't even turn around. The bear's forehead was flat from banging it continuously up against the cage.
Don't get me wrong, the animal conditions were bleak, but the park's scenery and temples were truly amazing with the intricate details. Hand carved and painted ceilings in temples and landscapes were meticulously manicured. We were also taken to another closed section atop the mountain where we were able to have our own personal photo shoot with a giant Buddha. The Buddha was multiple stories tall and was hand carved from white stone and marble.
Since we have had many other daily adventures, I have been derelict in my blog updating duties. We left Dongguan, China several days ago and have visited Guanzhou, Shenzhen and are now in Hong Kong. Just an overwhelming number of gorgeous parks in all cities. Most parks are free or admission is minimal (i.e. $1.20 entrance for the entire Redden family). The Hong Kong Island park we visited yesterday was free and included a huge kids play area as well as an enormous bird aviary that housed nearly 1,000 bird species. We also took the peak tram to the peak of Hong Kong as well as a walking tour of business and shopping districts in Hong Kong. More shopping opportunities than we can even appreciate (since I am not much of a shopper). Sam and Aly did enjoy haggling with street venders at the Temple Street Market last night. Incredible experiences.
Today we are headed to Hong Kong's outer islands. Will update you later. This year due to our travels, we will be emailing our Redden holiday update letter and posting it to this blog. Curt asked that I add this comment because he knows that at least some of you wait with breathless anticipation for the holiday neswletter each year, and he did not want to be the cause of depression during the holdiay season. Best wishes to you all.
posted by Curt at 7:47 PM
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