We left the hotel and Hong Kong enroute to Beijing. We decided to grab some lunch in the airport, Aunty Helen has purchased some dumplings. The youngster looks over with an interest and then decides she is going to give them a try. This is quite a large step for the perennial fussy eater, but the look of joy upon tasting said dumpling was joy. So I was promptly departed to pick up a tray of dumplings!
After 3 hours flying we were desperate to use a bathroom. Remembering that bathroom facilities will be an issue, I decided to use the airport ones before we left. After lining up for five minutes, we arrived at the head of the queue. Just before we were about to step into the toilets, two elderly Chinese women cut in front of us. Not really knowing what the rules were, we decided that age had right of way. Now the next issue is the squat toilets, thankfully we manage to find one that looks like home. With the youngster needing a bathroom 100 times per day, the squat toilet use is only a matter of time.
We meet our new guides and arrive at the King Parkview Hotel in darkness. Knowing that we had an early start in the morning, we went for a quick walk through what felt like the Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. We needed to pick up some travel snacks for tomorrow, and I passed over some currency to the locals. With no translator present and no English spoken there was a flurry of words being thrown around us. The note was passed along to each of the staff members and then back to me. After pausing for a short while trying to figure out what was wrong, it suddenly dawned on me that I had used Hong Kong money. In my defence, I think they looked similar, ok well they were both red with a 100 on them! What was interesting was that the Chinese people had no idea what currency I was trying to give them.
After a long day travelling, we found a quaint little bar to source some refreshments. We were greeted by 80's music, with was amusing. The food appeared to be the clash of many cultures. Apparently the mint leaves in the mojito can be substituted with glace cherries, and Aunty Helen's request for a spicy meal was met with a whole plate of chillies with a dash of pork! Wow the mango frappe certainly did go down a treat.
We haven't managed to find a laundry facility after the hotel in Hong Kong failed to collect the laundry from our room. Our hotel room now is looking like the inside of a Chinese laundry with our washing hanging everywhere and the hope that it will dry before we leave this hotel.
After 3 hours flying we were desperate to use a bathroom. Remembering that bathroom facilities will be an issue, I decided to use the airport ones before we left. After lining up for five minutes, we arrived at the head of the queue. Just before we were about to step into the toilets, two elderly Chinese women cut in front of us. Not really knowing what the rules were, we decided that age had right of way. Now the next issue is the squat toilets, thankfully we manage to find one that looks like home. With the youngster needing a bathroom 100 times per day, the squat toilet use is only a matter of time.
We meet our new guides and arrive at the King Parkview Hotel in darkness. Knowing that we had an early start in the morning, we went for a quick walk through what felt like the Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. We needed to pick up some travel snacks for tomorrow, and I passed over some currency to the locals. With no translator present and no English spoken there was a flurry of words being thrown around us. The note was passed along to each of the staff members and then back to me. After pausing for a short while trying to figure out what was wrong, it suddenly dawned on me that I had used Hong Kong money. In my defence, I think they looked similar, ok well they were both red with a 100 on them! What was interesting was that the Chinese people had no idea what currency I was trying to give them.
After a long day travelling, we found a quaint little bar to source some refreshments. We were greeted by 80's music, with was amusing. The food appeared to be the clash of many cultures. Apparently the mint leaves in the mojito can be substituted with glace cherries, and Aunty Helen's request for a spicy meal was met with a whole plate of chillies with a dash of pork! Wow the mango frappe certainly did go down a treat.
We haven't managed to find a laundry facility after the hotel in Hong Kong failed to collect the laundry from our room. Our hotel room now is looking like the inside of a Chinese laundry with our washing hanging everywhere and the hope that it will dry before we leave this hotel.
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