My Mickey D's Wasabi Burger

Just add wasabi flavor to the mayo of the fish-o-filet and you get an awesome burger.

My Hello Kitty Explosion

You know you've landed in an Asian city when you roam through the mall and you see this:

My Hong Kong Flight Photos

Ah, the luxury of having a sibling who can get you first class seats on an international flight....

Yes, LEG room!

Not even two hours into the flight, I was offered to booze up. Yes, they're all mine.

The pre-meal snack.

I scoffed down the soup and appetizer so I didn't

get the chance take that picture, but the main course... beef.

To cap it off, a nice little vanilla ice-cream dessert

with a chocolate swirly stick. All the above

was just the FIRST meal.

Dinner and a movie? I was ecstatic that Peterio Award

nominee for Best Picture "The September Issue" was showing.

I've never seen a plane flying under another one

ten hours into a flight. Object was definitely closer

than they appear in this picture.

The beautiful Alaskan landscape,

sans Levi Johnston or Sarah Palin.

I can definitely get use to this "lifestyle".

My 'Frog Cooker'

It's astonishing to me that Hong Kong's chief executive, Donald Tsang, would denounced Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 as "something that happened a long time ago", it's best forget about it and this view "represents most of the Hong Kong people." Not only does the ever-growing negative communist influence my birth city is taking from China make me sick to my stomach, the idea of banning something that happened just 20 years(!) ago in media and education systems while everyone knows it undoubtedly occurred is so mind-boggling I wonder if what Tsang said about the Hong Kong people is true. I mean, I still remembering holding my parents' hands during demonstration marches that followed the incidents. 

Perhaps Martin Lee, the founder of the Hong Kong Democratic Party said it best- "If you throw a frog into boiling water, it will jump out right away. But if you put the frog in warm water and cook it slowly, it doesn't jump. We are being slowly cooked in Hong Kong, but hardly anyone is noticing it." (NYT)

My Po Lin Temple Pictures

Forget what I said about the cable car at Ocean Park being the best I've ever seen, the 5.6 kilometer ride to Po Lin Temple is by far the most breathtaking cable car ever. It even has a glass bottom! Once you're up there, you're treated to a giant Buddha on top of 400 or so stairs and a Buddhist temple where you can only eat vegetarian foods. 

View from the top.

Me and my veggie platter. True story- a child was complaining how he wanted chicken nuggets and his parent's response was "If you have chicken nuggets, the buddhists will kick you down the hill." The child was then content with his honey tofu, which was actually quite good.

My Hong Kong Disney Adventures

One of the two places I wanted to visit during my stay in Hong Kong was the spankin' new Disneyland Theme Park. While there are A LOT of criticism surrounding the lack of entertainment value from locals, I couldn't help but get caught up in the nostalgia of it all. As soon as the 'A Whole New World' played through the speakers, it was as if I was transformed back to my childhood. Blame the magic of Disney.

The very spacious entrance to the park.

The railroad staple to every Disney park.

'The Lion King' done to Broadway-esque perfection AND in under 30 minutes!

Highlight: 'The Golden Mickeys' combine my love of award shows and live theatre from various Disney musicals.

Apparently, it's Sleepy Beauty's castle that lies in Hong Kong, not Cinderella's.

First "ride"- Dumbo.

I'm actually going a lot slower than this picture might indicate.

The park even has its own state of the art subway station...

What a magical day.

My Day At Ocean Park

Photo Blog- Amusement Park #1 This Week: Ocean Park

Beautiful day for an amusement park adventure

Ocean Park boasts my favorite cable car ride because....

it takes you over hills and you get views like this.

Log flumes has always been a must for me.

A coaster next to the misty Hong Kong seas.

It took all my will power not to purchase one of these things.

My Segway Experience

Reason #41 Why I'm Not Badass: In my bravest imitation of Gob Bluth, I still have to wear a helmet.

My Additional Hong Kong/China Pictures

Life without internet is more difficult than I first imagined. Anyway, I present to you my week in Hong Kong and Guongzhou.

Buddhist Monastery in Shatin (above) 

The Buddhists in the Buddhists Monastery. (above)

Don't read to much of my disgust in this picture taken at the site of Hong Kong's return to China.

Busy street with the cable car in Downtown.

It still baffles me that it's deemed 'safe' to use bamboo sticks as scaffling. 

I snuck a picture at the customs check between point Hong Kong and Mainland China. I give them five days before I'm asked to take this down.

The legend is true. I present to you- Neik Flip flops. 

Also, Aragon apparently has his own brand of overrated sandals.

Nightlife in Guongzhou. (above)

The inevitable picture I was going to get of a 'Slumdog' poster in Chinese.

All for now, this week- Hong Kong Disney AND Ocean Park... amusement parks galore!

My Entry Way To Hong Kong

The first of what will definitely be many photoblogs coming on this trip, here are a few pictures I took from the second tier of the double decker bus I took from the airport to my grandma's place.

Behind those hills lies Hong Kong Disney.

My Hong Kong Excursion

It's official. I saw my ticket with my own eyes. I'm going to Hong Kong later this month and the timing couldn't be better. I'm in desperate need to get away from New York for at least a little while. The last time I was in my birth city was in 2002 and had a great time visiting whatever family I have left there and sightseeing at the same time- that extra trip to Australia did not hurt either. So, much like the European Excursion last summer, blogging would be limited and picture-filled. 

Some specific things I'm looking forward on this trip besides seeing the fam includes going to my third Disney Park (HK Disney), the famed Ocean Park, visiting The Peak (somewhat pictured above) and of course, the endless knockoffs shopping. Let the adventure begin on April 19th.