We start in Southern California with a photo of the "New Zealand" Hybrid Tea Rose. We saw this at the Huntington Gardens in San Marino (near Pasadena...somewhere else I never visited while I lived there). I wanted to take my family here since my grandparents are fans of botanical gardens and also since not many other places in LA are as easy on the eyes.
Here we are, Me, Gung Gung, Po Po & Mum in the Chinese Gardens. We are standing on the Jade Ribbon Bridge with the Love for the Lotus Pavilion in the background. Unfortunately, the weather didn't want to cooperate and despite the lovely scenery all around, we had cloudy skies throughout our visit.
The Huntington Library inside which you can find a printing of Audubon's Birds of America and a Gutenberg Bible among other things. Impressive.
This brings us to the reason for us all to be in LA in the first place: Deryck's Graduation. Again, the weather appeared to not want to cooperate. As you can see by all the umbrellas (and my waterproof jacket), that it even rained a fair bit as we waited for the ceremony to start.
But a magical thing happened and as the graduates filed into the Hillside Theater, they did so under clearing skies.
Deryck walks across the stage to receive his diploma from the President of the school. Prior to this, I think I should note that Occidental College put together a great group of guest speakers capped off splendidly by Samantha Power's commencement address. [If you would like, click here and fast forward to 1:15 to hear a snippet.]
Mum, Po Po, Deryck, Gung Gung, Dad & Me. Congratulations on your hard earned degree. Time to go out there and face the world. And, uh, I think I still owe you a grad present...
So we packed up Deryck's room (and everyone else's luggage) into a Dodge Minivan immediately after the ceremony and I drove us up to the Bay Area. We managed to sleep six people in my one bedroom apartment for one night and left for Narita (Tokyo) the next morning. The starboard wing of the 747-400 can be seen flying gracefully over the city of San Francisco. You can also see several landmarks clearly in the photo (hey no fog!) including Angel Island, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Golden Gate Park.
We made it to Narita and split up to continue the journey onward: Deryck to Hong Kong, Dad to Hawaii and the rest of us to Hong Kong via Singapore. Little did I realize, the flight to Singapore from Narita would take almost seven hours. Thankfully I spent that time comfortably in a lie flat bed (first generation). I also got some great food: garlic shrimp, baked maple glazed ham and vegetable sushi accompanied by a slice of garlic bread.
And the main course, a "Trader Vic's designed" tikka chicken breast with warm mango chutney, raisin rice pilaf and edamame bean stir-fry. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the ice cream sundae (Baskin Robbins) I got for dessert too.
We arrived in Singapore at midnight and, with much of the airport beginning to close, we decided it might be nice to sleep for a bit. We therefore got two rooms at the Transit Hotel (on the security side of the airport, just above the gates). Just like a normal hotel room except you get rooms in six hour blocks.
A nice view of one area of the Singapore Changi airport to give you a glimpse into 2010's Best Airport of the Year (and 2011's Second best).
The open shopping area of Changi airport just before all the shops closed for the night.
Finally, bright and early the next morning, we got onto the flight from Singapore to Hong Kong (a near four hour affair). Having my first opportunity to fly in the new (next generation) lie flat bed made the ordeal much more palatable. Observe the look of genuine happiness (at 6:00am no less...a rare sight for me).
On the topic of being palatable, this breakfast was that and more. Scrambled eggs, spinach, corned beef hash and a chicken sausage accompanied by a wonderfully spicy roasted pepper salsa. Mmmmmmm. If only I could afford to fly this way full fare...
Who greeted me in Hong Kong at my Aunty's house? Bess and Barney of course!
I had arrived at Aunty's house for all of maybe fifteen minutes before the van came and we had to load up!
On our way to Guangzhou!
Dinner in Guangzhou at the restaurant next door to our hotel. The grandkids: Josh, Taran, Deryck & Me.
Happy siblings: Aunty Karen, Uncle Lindsay and Mum.
Roast squab (or, as our family calls them, "mini chickens"). Yum...
We turned in early after dinner since we had a long journey sitting in the cramped van. The next morning, we awoke bright and early and hit another restaurant for breakfast. Who knew you could get dim sum at 8:15 am? Wrapped, sticky rice.
One of my favorite dishes in dim sum, I'm never truly happy until I get my turnip cake. This restaurant diced the turnip cake into cubes and pan fried them with green onions and a bit of chili flakes. I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for this dish!
Taran and the elephant statue in the streets of Guangzhou.
After a filling breakfast, we headed from the big city out to the rural areas to visit the village where my Gung Gung hails from. We stopped first at the shop pictured above, which my great-grandfather built and which our family owns. We now rent it out and we had some business to take care of before we could continue our leisurely journey.
Out in the countryside, they've had to build vertically in some areas to accommodate more living space, but you just don't see the same kind of height like you do in the big cities.
And here, we finally made it to the village proper. It looks much more modern than you might expect. Quite a contrast to an urban center like Guangzhou as it appears quite spartan and much less dense than the city we had just left.
We visited my great-grandfather's house, now abandoned, which my Gung Gung, Po Po and Mum lived in for a short period of time when they came back to China from NZ. The view down the well...
The family in the upstairs balcony area of the old family home.
One of the upstairs bedrooms. Who knows how many years it has been since someone lived here. The adjoining bedroom had a large hole in the floor and a ladder that led down to the living room below.
Leaving a bit of
Looking downstairs from between the posts of the banister. This house has surely seen better days.
The kitchen, where you can see remnants of the oven and sink.
Another shot of the family outside of our old family home.
The doorway of a house down the road.
Peering down a side alley which branches off from the main pathway.
We poked our heads into another abandoned house where a family friend used to live and I saw this ramshackle table with the faded countenance of a woman printed on top. An old desk perhaps?
The main room within the center of the house.
While the adults had some more business to wrap up in town with the local government officials, Deryck and I took it upon ourselves to entertain the kids. We did so by walking over to the park across the street and decided to give some of the "fitness equipment" a work out, so to speak.
Taran and Deryck having a go on the see-saw. A bit of a mismatch if you ask me.
I've been eating far too much food on these trips and so I decided to give my upper body some exercise by doing pull ups on the staggered bar.
Deryck wants to know, do you have your tickets...to the gun show?
China has plumeria too!
The sun sets on the countryside as we hopped back in the cars and headed back to Guangzhou. Quite an interesting day going out there to see a different side of China than what the majority of people see when they visit.
One of the dishes we had for dinner, this deep fried fish came covered in a sweet and sour sauce.
Another dish from dinner. These fried steamed buns rock the house. If you've never had zha man tou, you should try some at your earliest convenience.
Despite being absolutely full after dinner, we (those of us pictured) had previously agreed to go to McDonalds to get these colored Coke glasses shaped like Coke cans. So after dinner, we walked down to the 24-hour Macca's near the hotel to get these glasses. In order to procure a "free" glass, you had to order a super-size extra value meal. We got five for the five of us who wanted one. Deryck, Uncle Lindsay and I ate our extra value meals like champs, but the kids had a harder time. Regardless, we all walked away with a Coke glass each. In fact, I'm typing this blog entry to you all from my desk with a Coke glass filled with water at my side.
Sightseeing in Guangzhou on our second day in town. First stop of the day: Canton Tower! Former title holder of the tallest freestanding structure in the world (which it held briefly before being surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai). Still it currently resides at an impressive 3rd on the list.
The view from the Canton Tower at about halfway. You can see the IFC/West Building towering above the other buildings, the Opera House (rock like structure near the base of the IFC, slightly to the left), Library & History Museum (square buildings to the right of center) and, prominently in the foreground, Haixinsha Island (where the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Asian Games were held).
The Statue of the Five Goats in Yuexiu Park. This commemorates the story behind the mythical symbol(s) of the city.
Taking a break after doing a lot of walking (and also after having eaten a big lunch at Macca's).
Nice Toilet. Yeah, right.
Elsewhere in Yuexiu Park. Uncle Lindsay & Taran pose with the fence to the stadium while I photobomb their pic!
Taran standing in front of the Sun Yat Sen Monument in Yuexiu Park.
The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall near Yuexiu Park. Pretty spectacular. The interior had a large auditorium with a big stage.
Dinner on our last night in Guangzhou. We ate with my Aunty Linda's (who didn't come on this trip) parents, her sister and her niece, who all live nearby. I set this timer shot up by balancing my camera on top of a hot water bottle.
The next day, we wandered around the streets of Guangzhou a bit and checked out the street market.
I'm not sure how well this has come out in the picture, but this "shop" sold live eel, frogs, turtles and snakes. The entrails of previously sold goods can be seen there too (in case you couldn't make the inference). The eels flopped around desperately trying to escape their inevitable fate. I saw one or two passersby startled by a stray eel leaping into their path unexpectedly...
Dim sum brunch w/an old family friend on our last morning in Guangzhou.
Aunty Karen & I did the ordering and I'll admit our eyes got a bit greedier than our stomachs could handle. Somehow, we didn't waste much and found the will to consume the majority of the food ordered.
Mum posing with the gas mask found in every room in our hotel. I'm a little worried because: a) What possible event would cause the hotel to stock this in every room and b) Each room, which slept three of us, had only one mask.
After that sizeable meal, most of us needed to take a short nap while we waited for the van to come pick us up for the long ride back to Hong Kong.
Back in Hong Kong, we ate dinner at a hot pot restaurant that tasted particularly good. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the tiger shrimp we ordered, which came out freshly skewered (and still wriggling).
A pic out the window of 2011's Best Airport of the Year (HKG). I feel fortunate to have been to the top two airports in the world on this trip. As you can see in the background, the clouds look quite foreboding...
Thunderstorms delayed our flight by about half an hour and we sat on the plane waiting. As you can see out the window of the plane, the rain came down quite ferociously. Good bye Hong Kong!
Great overall trip I'd say. I only wish I could've been there longer to spend more time with family in Hong Kong (especially since my grandparents, Uncle, cousins, Aunty & Deryck stayed for another week after I left. Central America, So Cal and Asia in the span of a couple weeks makes for a busy month but now I have to let my vacation days build back up again. Where to next...? A brilliant May in the books and now, onward to June. Bring on the summer!!!
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