Happy in Hong Kong

Oh, my New Zealand

how could I not post this heart-wrenching peek into my NZ?  hope the whole world doesn't figure it out.
Enjoy.

volunteer trip to Beijing & Urumqi

to say the least, we had a very profitable time.  profitable for our souls, minds, and hearts.  There was great need in the village outside Beijing called Qing Yun Dian.  but the government had just recently sprung the funds for new roads leading up to the Olympics.  every day I would teach English to classrooms of about 12 students, aged 16 to adult.  it was a summer programme, and in the meantime Sonia helped out in the children's home right there on the same campus.  We now hope to go back sometime over the next year with our home (PLUS) group from our church and hopefully financially sponsor one or more children from the home there.  most of them are saved from not getting the surgeries they so badly need from the state-run system.  New Day arranges adoptions or foster families from the community step up to give their help too.
then I had the most amazing side trip -- to the fascinating Turkish (by ethnicity) city of Urumqi.  it's still located within China's western border, but it sure seems like a Muslim place somewhere in the Middle East.  I was warmly welcomed by the director of the largest English language school in that region, Atlan.  The people were so so warm, and they were very interested to sit and hear we four Americans teach and interact with them for seven days.  the student numbers in our classes approached 100 at times.  they were very studious and hard-working, and they were not afraid to converse as well as they could manage.  they took us out 2 or 3 times a day, and students even welcomed us into their own homes.  the people are very expressive, they absolutely adore dancing, acting, and singing, and they love parties.  I sure hope God allows us to visit these people again soon and possibly set up something longer term there.  see two pictures from each city below, and see more pictures in my new Beijing & Urumqi photo album.

take a break from all the hurry

this will be my second post on good hotel booking sites that I've found.  the latest one I saw gives a $100 rebate if you find a better price somewhere else.  their hotel discounts seem to be quite competitive.  they have very clean and modern information on possible destinations around the world, and they cover a wide variety of lodging:  resorts, motels, hotels, and even vacation rentals.  they have offices and phone numbers in Europe and North America, but they offer discount lodging rates for accommodation all over the world.  their design is very easy to navigate and to find prices on lodging, car rentals, and flights too.
there are travel sites popping up all over cyber space which try to compete with the big travel agents, and I think some actually do a better job of giving better deals for less hassle.  this is definitely one of them.  take that much needed break from work and hustle and get more info by clicking below.

Beijing Olympics and pollution

just read in South China Morning Post of HK today that the Chinese government will ensure the horrid air quality of Beijing improves right before the 2008 Games begin.  only just, though.  for 17 days in August 2008 every factory and car within a 1600 km radius of the capital will be shut down to bring out the blue skies. 
wish we could do something similar to this every 6 months here in HK itself.  it was reported and photographed for the recent Standard Chartered HK Marathon that chief executive Donald Tsang could hardly see the runners as they passed by his podium during this race.  now that's a serious air quality problem, and everyone seems impotent to change it.

missing New Zealand and loving HK!

--picture of Lake Tarawera, N Island, NZ.

recently, we've encountered other aspects of Hong Kong that make us think back to the simple life in NZ.
...when I forget my keys or my wallet, it takes me going thru two security gates, waiting for the lift, standing in a crowded Asian-size lift, then doing the reverse.
...always second-guessing the way I think in this context, and the assumptions that are second nature in NZ don't exactly play out well here in Asia's World City.
...having to negotiate prices and contracts or else get ripped off
...seeing a beautiful sunny afternoon, but knowing that you can't just open the door and sit down in your lawn chair outside
...not having the freedom to go out driving when you get stir crazy with toddlers gnawing on your leg
...dealing with crowds no matter how much effort you exert to get the opposite

We love Asia and all its complexities.  Of this we are sure.  There are sacrifices, but the daily surprises, the bright and lively people, the local amenities, the modern way of life, and the endless opportunity to put your dreams to work are undeniably wonderful!

China Visa from Hong Kong

have just gone thru this whole ordeal for the 3rd or 4th time, and it can be complicated at times, depending on what type of visa you request (and your nationality), so I thought I'd put the relevant information here all in one spot for easy understanding.

Chinese Foreign Ministry (HK) website:  click here

PDF file of general visa application form:  Download ChinaVisaApp.pdf

Basic info for China Resources Building (HK) -- Chinese consular office:

26 Harbor Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island  (across from Immigration Building -- red brick one)
Monday to Friday (except public holidays in Hong Kong)
Morning:  9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Afternoon:  2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Tel: 3413 2424 and 3412 2300

Enter the China Resources Building on the side of the exhibition center at street level for the elevator. From Kowloon the easiest way is to take the Star Ferry to Wan Chai ferry pier.

CAUTION:  by exception, US passport holders must already have their visas before reaching Lo Wu or they'll be fined (others can get a one-journey visa at the border crossing). In Hong Kong, they should apply for it at the China Travel Service (there are a few branches in the city) or at the Chinese Visa Office in Wan Chai North and wait 1 1/2 to 2 days for it to be processed. One-journey, two-journey or multiple-journey visas can be obtained here.

more to come on shopping and travelling to China places...

Travel accommodation

Accommodation News and Updates

another really good travel site that I've come across in my quest to get plane tickets in Beijing this July. we were looking into hotels there in comparison to what accommodation a children's home has offered us for the time we'll be there.  the cool thing about this blog site is that it has info on lodging all over the world.  I'm always on the look-out for good travel sites to book plane or hotel tickets thru.  we used wotif.com when we traveled from NZ, and that paid off bigtime.  we also use lastminute.com and aerohkg.com now that we're here in Hong Kong.  while using this accommodation site it was very cool to be able to see videos about different destinations around the world, too!  They included touristy recommendations along with these videos on each travel spot.