Travelog for: Mocha

We went to the Fairchild Tropical Garden today for the Ramble Festival.

Look, we found some coconuts that are sprouting!



I bet SaruMaru will go bananas over this!



And look, here's a booth called Going Bananas! 



I wonder how Sarumaru is doing. 

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. 

A traditional dish is turkey.  Mommy instead has a tradition of donating money to Save A Turkey Project, so we got a tofurkey (vegetarian turkey) instead.



We found that it was frozen solid. 



We put some sweet potato, onion and gravy in the casserole and baked it.  Mmm, it smelled good!



Pumpkin pie is another traditional dish for Thanksgiving.



And here's some cherve with walnut and cranberry.  Our host made this at where she works.



We also had some pumpkin beer to go with it.



Ahh, what a grand meal!!

Today we did something very exciting!! We went to Shark Valley.  Which is a funny name for a place, because it's neither a valley and doesn't have shark.  In fact, it's in the Everglades National Park, which is a swampy area that is a very slow moving river, and it is full of alligators.



Look, here's an alligator!!



Spotting another one...



Wow, a mommy gator with three babies!!



In total we counted 18 alligators.  Mommy told us that one time, when it was colder and the gators came out to sunbathe, she counted 47 of them.  To me, 18 sounds like plenty already.

So I thought alligators are exciting... well, it doesn't quite compare to being in an airplane!!  The fun part is we are a group of TVers: MaraJoy, Romeo and Mister Right who arrived the day before we depart!!



This is the plane we are taking.



Yum... Ice cream and pizza for in flight snack!


Yay, we finally arrived!  Welcome to Hong Kong!





Hmmm, let's see where we want to go...



Don't forget our lugguages!

I am very happy to go to another BookCrossing meetup tonight.  We went to an Indonesian restaurant called Dirty Duck, and met three other BCers.  This is my second BC city.



After dinner we took the subway home. 



Since it was a bit early, we went shopping a bit in Mong Kok.  Mong Kok holds the Guiness record as the crowdest place on Earth!  It sure felt like it!



We saw this and thought of Marina, Robito's mom.  We bought something for her.  I am really sad Robito couldn't make it to Hong Kong with us, but mommy said Trapito is on his way.  I hope he arrives soon!



Mommy showed me her favorite dessert shop in Hong Kong.  They specialize in mango desserts.



Here is a street stall with all kinds of snack, from tofu to squid to corn-on-the-cob.



Mommy also found this Tarepanda eyeglasses.  She really really wanted to buy it, but it's too small for her and too big for me.  Alas.  But she did end up buying a big Tarepanda stuffed toy.

Today I took my first bus ride!!! I was at first very scared of the big monsters but MaraJoy told me not to be afraid.



She told me to hold on tight to the rail so I won't fall.



Phew, what a ride!! But it wasn't too bad so when we got to the dim sum restaurant, I was ready for a good meal.

First, you have to check the items you want.  Hmmm, they all look good.



Food has arrived!!

Today we went to the annual fair.  It's one of mommy's favorite things to do, because they have a lot of food booths offering samples, and other fun things for sale.  Everybody goes home with a full stomach and bags of purchases.

Mara-Joy and I at the entrance.



Here is a booth promoting a new brand of instant noodles.



Here's a booth with lots of traditional snacks.  The type that mommy (and even her mom!) eat when they were kids.



Mommy was very happy when she found this.  Do you think it looks like a cocoon?



Turns out it's a candy with finely spun flour wrapping some coconut, sesame and sugar.  It tastes really good.  It's called Dragon Beard Candy.

Today we went to the Central (downtown) district of Hong Kong.

Here I am, in front of the Bank of China building (left), and the Headquarters of HSBC (right).



This is the lion in front of the HSBC Headquarters. Mommy said it's one of the biggest banks in the world!!



Hong Kong has a lot of buildings with funny shapes.



We took the bus again.  This time I felt braver and we actually sat at the front seat on the upper deck.



I went with mommy to a very large Buddhist ceremony.  I can see the monks praying.  There were over 6,000 people attending.



After the ceremony, the monks lined up so that they could receive offerings ang give people their blessings.



This is the colesium where the ceremony was held.

We happened upon a Gundam exhibition.  Interesting...





Mommy was really happy to find her favorite childhood candy.



The sweet looks like a harmonica, with hollow flutes. It is wrapped inside a rice paper and sprinkled with coconut and sesame.



Here we are looking at some Yixing teapots which mommy likes to collect.



It's a bit hazy but you can see the Central district across the Victoria Harbour.



We visited the Avenue of Stars, a promenade dedicated to Hong Kong's movie industry.



Here is a statue of Bruce Lee.



The handprints of Jet Li, a famous movie kung fu star.



And these are of Andy Lau, mommy's favorite movie star whom she thinks is very handsome.





Isn't the night scenery of Hong Kong so beautiful?

Today we went to Macau.  It is about an hour's ride on jetfoil from Hong Kong.  Here we are, on the jetfoil.



This is the most famous landmark of Macau, ruins of the St Paul Cathedral (Ruínas de São Paulo).  It was built in the 16th century but destroyed in a fire in 1835 but was burnt down.  Only the front entrance and the foundation remained.  It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.



See, this is the back!! It looks really grand in the front but there's nothing behind.  It's almost like a movie set.



Macau was a Portuguese colony for over 400 years so it has an interesting mix of Chinese and Portuguese culture.  Like the decoration in this little teashop here.



These are the canons at the fort, Fortaleza do Monte, that overlooks the Cathedral  (or what's left of it).  It was built also in the 16th century and another UNESCO World Heritage Site.



After the tour, it's time for for some Macaness snacks.  This is the Pastel de nata, a sweet egg tart with a very flaky crust.  Yummy!!!  I ate two in one seating.



We went to a pastry shop called Kue Kee, where we watched them make egg rolls.  In Asia, the egg rolls are really made with egg and flour and is a light, flute-like pastry that is eaten for dessert or snack.  My favorite is the chocolate one.



Hmm, I am going to buy some to take home...

Today we visited a tourist attraction called Fisherman's Wharf.  Its various sections are modeled after different cities, so it felt like we were on a mini tour of the world.

Behind us is the jetfoil we took to come to Macau.



Standing in front of this model of walled city, I really feel like I am in China!



And now we are in Potala Palace in Tibet!



We have crossed the continent!



This is Amsterdam Street.  It looks like a pretty place to visit for real.



And this is supposed to be Italian.



And here we are in New Orleans!



I almost thought that we are back in Miami!



I must say seeing all these places makes me want to go visit in person!

Today we had a great time at the Museum of Macau.

First, we see this terra cotta warrior at the entrance.  The real warriors are in Xian guarding the tomb of the First Emperor, but I want a photo with him anyway!!



This tablet shows how letters like moon, field and water evolved from pictographs into characters. 



These are some tools for making silk.



These are how typical Portuguese style buildings look in Macau.



And a little mailbox!



This is the set up of a traditional tea house in the olden days. 



And this is a shop where they make little god statues so people can put in their homes.



A traditional medicine shop.  There is a big chopper for chopping up herbal roots and a grinder for grounding the herbs.



And this is a traditional wedding chamber.  Red is the lucky color. How pretty it is!

Wow, I am in Venice, Italy now!! See the gondola?



Ha ha, truth be told, I am still in Macau.  This is actually a place called The Venetian.  It's the largest casino and resort in the world and just opened a few months ago.  The decorations looks really grand and extravagant, if a bit gaudy.  They have these canals inside the building, and the ceilings are painted to look like the sky.  It's a really funny feeling to be inside a building but looks like it's outdoors.





You can get a ride in the gondola, though I thinks it's a silly idea.  The steerman sings as the gondola floats down the canal.

While we were taking photos, a cute lady saw me and said I am really really handsome.  She wants to take a picture with me.  We told her about ToyVoyagers.  Hopefully we will see her as it would be fun if other TVs get to see Hong Kong and Macau like we did!



And this is the entrance to the hotel.





They even have an escalator that is curved. I have never seen such a thing before!



And a huge Christmas tree!



I found a Chocolate Shop inside the casino.



A HUGE kitkat!!





This is at what they called San Marco Square.  Modeled after the real one in Venice, I was told. 





Isn't it beautiful?  Now I want to visit the real Venice!

And here we are, having lunch at the food court.  They have almost 30 restaurants in the food court alone (did I say it's the world's biggest casino?)  We didn't eat Italian though.  This is a Japanese okonomiyaki. A Japanese pancake.



And look at these takoyaki! They are bigger than I am!!



Hmmm, I think I like Japanese food.  And then Mara Joy told us that she would be visiting Japan after this.  I think I would like to go along.  Maybe I can eat more okonomiyaki and takoyaki.  And taikayi.  Traveling to Hong Kong and Macau is fun, and while I am still a bit afraid of leaving Mommy and Grandpa Capuccino, I want to see the world a bit.  And I don't like Mister-Right calling me a mommy's baby because I am the only one who been out on my own.

Wow it was a fun trip in Macau but now we are back in Hong Kong.  We are very excited when we find a box waiting for us.  I think I can recognize the voices.

"Hello who's there?" I ask.

"Hurry up and open the box!" screams someone and when we finally get it opened, a really wild cat jumps out at us, all claws and snarls.  Turns out it's Budd.  I remember she was staying with Marina. 

"Don't mind him," says SaruMaru.  "She is just castrophobic."  I am so happy to see him. I miss this silly monkey so much!

"And very hungry!" I turned towards the voice.  "Mommet?" I asked.  But no he is not Mommet, but rather his twin, Trapito.



We are really happy that all of us gather together.  We tell them of all the fun we had so far.  The latecomers are a bit jealous, but we promise to take them sightseeing.  They are also very hungry too and finish all the cookies we bought in Macau.  SaruMaru wants to find some alcohol but I think Mommy got them all hidden.

I am glad to see SaruMaru again, and when I heard about his trip to Oregon, I tell him that I would be traveling too! I will be going to Japan!

Today I show the newcomers around town and take them to the Avenue of Stars. 





Here is a perfect spot for our group picture!



Afterwards, I go with mommy to a chocolate buffet.  As you can imagine, it is heavenly!!



This is chocolate pasta.



I also meet this uncle moose in a store.  He is really cool.  I wonder how Grandpa is doing?