ChimeLong Hotel

Bob had a conference in Guangzhou last weekend and E and I tagged along for the ride. Literally. To get there we took the bus to the MTR to the train to another bus to the hotel. It was practically a 5 hour process from where we live in Hong Kong. Ethan loved it of course since he likes riding buses and trains. As soon as we got to our room in the hotel he was asking for another bus ride. =P As a perk for being there on business (well Bob was anyways) we got to stay at the Chimelong hotel - a 5 star resort central to several nearby attractions.

Ethan always tests out our bed first thing. He gives it two thumbs up!

There were white tigers lounging around outside our breakfast area.

And also flamingos and these orange birds.

The Chimelong Hotel was really nice. There were a lot of restaurant choices, a kids club, outdoor swimming pool and just a lot of space to run around in. They also provide a free shuttle ride (5-10 minutes away) to the Paradise Amusement Park, Xiangjiang Safari Park, Chimelong Circus and Water Park. The standard rate should come with free breakfast buffet, and there is quite a bit of variety from traditional Chinese breakfast (congee, noodles, dim sum) to Western breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, cereal, yogurt, pastries). The food was quite delicious!

Quick Facts:
Address: Yingbin Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou.
Telephone: (86 20) 8478 6838
Hours: Check in at 2 PM, Check out at 12 PM.
How to get there: The hotel is located 70 km from the New Baiyun Airport and about 50 minutes from the Guangzhou East Railway Station (the hotel provides free shuttle to the railway station).

Xiangjiang Safari Park

While we were in Guangzhou we took the afternoon to see the Safari Park. This zoo contains over 460 species of animals including giant pandas, koalas, polar bears and white tigers. We were able to see all the exhibits of the zoo in 3 hours (we did not really linger at any exhibit), but there is also a section of the zoo where you can ride a train through the open plains.

Goofing off with the park's white tiger mascot!

Some animals we saw:

Mommy and baby elephant. We didn't, but you could buy some bananas to toss to the elephants to eat.

These gorilla statues were actually trash cans.

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Highlight of the park! Bob and I went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park a few years ago and I was hesitant to pay to feed the giraffes there (a whooping $3). Lame I know, but we were fresh out of college with debt to pay! So I was excited when we went back to San Diego. Only it turns out when we went last month they had stopped letting the public feed the giraffes the year before. Oops. Well we finally got our chance at this zoo! The diet was a bit different from what I remembered. In San Diego they at giant singular leaves versus these small tree branches here (bark and all).

Completely out of focus, but the giraffes curl their tongues around the branches to lift them to their mouths.

Other highlights from the Safari Park:

Quick Facts:
Address: Dashi Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou.
How to get there: The park is located 30 minutes driving from the heart of Guangzhou.
Hours: Open from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
Cost: 110 RMB per person, half price tickets for children between 1.1-1.4 m tall and people older than 65 years old. Children under 1.1 m tall are free.

Berry Fun in British Columbia

One of the highlights of our trip to Canada is blueberry-picking at one of the farms.  We did it last year and we all had such fun that we knew that we would be doing it again this year.  As with last year, we headed to Krause Berry Farms in Langley, BC.

 
You could choose to bring your own containers.  You just have to have them weighed in before you start picking, so they could subtract the weight of the container from the total weight when you’re done picking.  Or you could purchase carton boxes at the farm, too.  We brought beach buckets for the kids.

 
Here is the yellow school bus that took us to the blueberry fields about three minutes away from the main farm.

 
Once we got to the field, we were assigned a row to pick and we picked away!  Despite reminders to the kids to just pick and not eat, both Zoë and Baby K couldn’t help themselves.

 
Between five children and five adults, we picked 22 pounds of blueberries.  The farm charges CAD1.50 per pound of blueberries picked.  Sure, we could’ve bought the blueberries from the supermarket for about the same price and we wouldn’t have had to do all we did to get the trip organized, do the almost one hour drive to the farm… But if we had just bought the blueberries from the supermarket, we would’ve missed out on the fun of communing with nature, getting the kids to experience picking blueberries themselves, seeing the joy on their faces as their buckets start to fill out, and this…

 

and this…

 
There’s a small petting zoo at the farm with goats, sheep, rabbits, and a big black pig.  Zoë wanted to go in so badly, but once inside, she clung to me like a koala, holding fast, with legs wrapped as high as they possibly could reach around my torso!  She wanted to pet the animals, but did not like them sniffing her up.
 
After everybody got washed up, we headed over to the porch where we enjoyed yummy berry milkshakes and smoothies!

 

They also serve roasted corn pizza, shortcakes, pies, various cakes… and this!

 
If ever you are in British Columbia in the summer, try to head out to the Krause Berry Farms in Langley for some U-Pick fun and top it off with fresh berry milkshakes and sumptuous pies before heading back.  We’re definitely going again next year!

Hong Kong Park

We took a visit to the Hong Kong Park in Central to visit the bird aviary. It's a pretty nice park to take an afternoon stroll (along route to the aviary there are water fountains, waterfalls, streams with fish, benches to picnic on, and a children's playground) and our little one liked looking at the birds. Okay, he mostly liked racing down the long wooden decks - but who wouldn't? Show him a hill and he has to run up and down it.

Gazing at the fish.

Said fish.

Entering the aviary.

Look of wonderment in E's eyes.

Bird with it's own paparazzi.

I have never seen birds like these before. The feathery heads were kinda scary yet pretty at the same time.

More birds!

It was a fun afternoon. Hong Kong Park is open daily and also free! And if you need some retail therapy, Pacific Place is just behind the park.

Quick Facts:
Address: 19 Cotton Tree Drive, Central, Hong Kong.
How to get there: Take the MTR to Admiralty station exit C1. The park is above the escalators behind the Pacific Place mall.
Hours: The Aviary is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, while the park itself is open from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM.
Cost: Free!



Sanya

We went to Sanya for my brother’s wedding (which was amazingly lovely by the way!) and stayed for the weekend. The wedding was held at the Ritz-Carlton which is located in the southernmost tip of Hainan Island. Since we were only there for two days we just stayed at the hotel the whole time – which was not hard to do since it was so beautiful and relaxing!

The view from our balcony.

I forgot to take a picture of our room but it was very nice and spacious. The Ritz provided all amenities needed (including crib and high chair if needed) along with two water bottles daily. The was plenty of room to place the crib with added room for our toddler to run around in.

One of the many different pools that surround the hotel. There is also a nice beach where you can rent a Segway, go snorkeling or just relax and swim.

Along the pools were hammocks to relax in. These were amazingly comfortable and I could have sat in one and read a book for hours.

The Kid's Club was very nice. There were hourly activities scheduled (which are extra, but access to the Kid's Club is free) or you could just hang out and play in the air conditioned club. Plenty of toys, stuffed animals, books and games are provided.

The pool at the Kid's Club. It had a water slide which was a major highlight for Ethan. There is also a nice playground right next to the pool.

Monkeying around at the kid's club. Ethan did his scored first slam dunk. =P

I actually wasn't aware of this at the time we went on the trip (should have researched the hotel website!) but the hotel has a program called 'Uncle Martin's Secret Garden where kids can learn about fruits and vegetables and even pet baby chicks, rabbits and guinea pigs. That sounds so awesome and I really wish we had a chance to do it.

What else can I say? Oh, the food. The breakfast buffet is amazing! There really was a fantastic spread ranging from Chinese to Western food. We didn't get a chance to try other restaurants since we ate catered food with the wedding party (which I'm sure was provided by one of the hotel restaurants) but all the food was really good. All in all we had a great time and I highly recommend this resort if you are visiting Sanya.

Quick Facts:
Address: Yalong Bay National Resort District, Sanya, Hainan, 572000
Phone: +86 (898) 8898 8888
Check in: 2 PM
Check out: 12 PM

Inspiration Lake

Last weekend we went to Inspiration Lake which is part of Disneyland. It's free, open daily, and only a 15 minute walk from the Disney MTR station (although with the actual theme park being right there I guess most people would bypass this outdoor park). I was actually surprised with how big the park was - there is the lake itself where you can rent paddle boats, a kids playground, and lots and lots of green space with actual real grass! that you can picnic in or you can also rent out bikes to ride along the paths with. Fun fact - this lake is the largest artificial lake in Hong Kong.

The Disney train was super cute, and had Mickey Mouse shaped windows/handles and statues of the Disney characters on display:

The playground at the park:

Clowing around around the lake:

Paddle boats and bikes for rental:

Quick Facts:
Address: Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
How to get there: Take the MTR to Sunny Bay and switch to the Disneyland Resort Line. Signs will point you toward the lake, which is a bout a 15 minute walk. You can also drive or take a taxi and park directly at the lake itself ($25 HKD/hour parking fee).
Hours: 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
Cost: There is no entrance fee to the lake and park area. Paddle boats and bike rentals are extra.