While the girls went on the Dumbo ride, I spent a few minutes making notes about some of the things that we were most enjoying and some of the things that were, well, noteworthy. The first one being that the wait for the Dumbo ride is no more than 5 minutes. This really is a different world from the one we come from...Dumbo is always at least a 45 minute wait...which I totally don't get -- it's Dumbo! The whole ride only lasts 3 minutes! That's really how it was all day...it would take longer to GET a fast pass than to get on a ride. The only ride that had any wait at all was Autopia (where you get to drive the cars) and that was still half the wait we are used to!
Shower -- heavenly!!! It's been a long time since I had a really hot shower (that I could actually regulate) with great water pressure. I guess my last relaxing shower was in the hotel in Zhengzhou back in January. But I wasn't the only one, we practically had to draw straws to see who got the first bath/shower.
Starbucks! When we got off the bus that took us from the airport in ShenZhen (China side) across the border checkpoint and into Hong Kong we were in the parking garage of a very large mall (I know now that Hong Kong is the definitive place for VERY large malls). We took the escalator upstairs to look for the entrance to the Metro and what was the first thing we saw? The entrance to Starbucks. (And yes, I should have gotten photos.) The fact that none of us drink coffee was no deterrent...one frappa something or other and an apple fritter coming right up!
Staring - yes, still plenty of that, but now WE are the ones doing the staring. Did you see that foreigner on our plane? The three on the bus? Marissa actually laughed out loud when we passed three American guys calling to each other on the escalator. The rest of us just giggled.:) Not only were they Caucasian, they were speaking ...English!
Food - well, you knew I'd get to that, didn't you? Oh, my, oh, my, was it wonderful! We went to the dinner buffet at Disney's Hollywood Hotel. More giggling as we saw all the wonderful choices and knew we could eat as much as we wanted. We all hit the pasta bar...angel hair sauteed in garlic, onion and olive oil and tossed with tomato sauce please (Marissa added mushrooms to hers). I noted that most of the Asians chose the squid ink pasta with mushroom sauce. I wasn't swayed. Other favorites were the MASHED POTATOES, crab legs, rolls and butter and Mickey pizzas.
Observation #1: Only Lindsay chose any of the Asian food...dumplings, of course. Unless you count the duck. Kristen and I love the duck.
Observation #2: When I had filled my plate and sat down I had to pause for a moment...there were no chopsticks on the table. For a moment I wasn't sure how to start eating. Ok, that was a really odd feeling. I quickly reacquainted myself with the flatware, but both Marissa and Lindsay ended up with chopsticks before the meal was over.
Money -- I also realized how China-ized I have become about what things cost. I wouldn't say that anything in Hong Kong, whether an ice cream bar at Disney or a burger at McDonald's or a Metro ticket, was any more expensive than I would have expected to pay in the US. But that assessment came second to my initial reaction of WOW!!!!! My whole perspective on what is a lot of money has changed radically. I cringe when my grocery bill goes over 150 yuan, just like I did at home if I spent $150 at Publix. The difference is that 150 yuan is about $22. Even the girls were shocked to find that the 15 yuan that they brought to buy souvenirs bought, well, nothing. 15 yuan is a lot of money for a kid to spend in Jiaozuo. Prudently, they brought their money back home with them to spend more effectively here.
There were many similar experiences over the course of our 4 days away from Henan. We laughed a lot and had a great time. A lot of things reminded us of home, including the palm trees, the water (both the kind that has boats on it and the kind that comes out of the tap which you CAN use to brush your teeth and drink) and the fact that although there are fewer rides at Hong Kong Disney, the ones that are there are identical to home. There were many times when it was easy to forget where we were. And at least for a day, that was probably a good thing.
One note, however, Hong Kong Disney has Sleeping Beauty's castle, but DisneyWorld has Cinderella's. Thought you'd like to know.
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