Squeaky: World Traveler

Daddy had a business trip to Hong Kong this month, and Mom accompanied him. So they managed to talk Elsa into taking me along. I was all for it; I love to travel. I just pull back into my shell and ride along in the luggage. 

First we drove to Pennsylvania where Elsa's grandparents live. They live out in the country, and Elsa and the other kids got to stay there for ten whole days while Dad, Mom, and I flew to the other side of the world. 

First stop: Perry County

I had gone with Dad to NYC and Dallas previously, so flying was not a big deal for me. Of course, being cooped up in the suitcase for 16 hours was a bit longer than I'd experienced before, but I managed all right. 

Waiting for our first flight in Harrisburg

We took a short flight from Harrisburg to Chicago and then took off for Hong Kong from there. It was a long flight, but we flew over Canada and the Arctic Ocean, then Russia, Mongolia, and China. Wheee! That was exciting!

It was a pretty long flight from Chicago to Hong Kong, so Mom let me
get out and stretch my legs a bit. I got a drink of water, too.

The view was pretty amazing! Elsa wanted me to spot a polar bear for her,
but my eyesight wasn't good enough to see them from 36,000 feet up.

It seemed like our flight was going to land a bit early, but then there was a bad storm in the area, and we circled the airport for a while longer waiting to land. So I guess we were on time after all.

Arrived in Hong Kong! We landed during a heavy rain storm, but at least
 we weren't diverted to Taiwan like some other flights were.

 Getting to the hotel was a little hairy, but we made it, safe and sound. Mom and Dad were very tired, but I guess they didn't sleep on the plane as well as I did.

Whew! We made it to the hotel where I took a quiet nap on the window seat.

Saturday morning we got up early...

Good mooooooorning, Hong Kong!

...and took an hour-long ferry ride across the water to tour Macao.

We took a ferry like this one.

It was my first ferry ride! People laughed when they saw Mom taking my picture on the windowsill, but I didn't care. I wanted to make sure I had a picture to show Elsa!

On our way to Macao!

I rode a bus in Macao, too.

In Macao, we visited the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral which was built a long, long time ago by some Portuguese Jesuits.

Here I am with Dad in front of the ruins.

 We ate lunch in the restaurant at the top of Macao Tower where the floor rotated 360 degrees around, but the view wasn't very good due to the rain clouds all around.

That's the Macao Tower in the distance behind me.

Almost back to Hong Kong now. I'm tired. Jet lag can
be pretty rough.

On Sunday after church (you'll have to wait for another post to hear about church because everything I heard was in Cantonese; Mom got the earphones for translation), we took a tour of Hong Kong island. The first stop was a tram ride up Victoria Peak. It was rainy and cloudy, so Mom was pretty bummed that the view wasn't spectacular (like this one or even this one), but she took my picture anyway.

Me at the Peak

After the tram ride to the Peak, we saw a few more places around the island. We even took a ride in a sampan around one of the typhoon shelters. It was a slightly rocky ride, and Mom was kind of freaking out (although there wasn't even a typhoon!), so she forgot to take my picture. I forgave her.

The sampan in front of ours

That was it for the sight-seeing in Hong Kong. Dad had a lot of meetings the next few days, and Mom joined him at some fancy-pants dinners leaving me to fend for myself in the hotel room each evening. And I couldn't even drink the water - sheesh!

I did some people watching on Monday when Mom took me to lunch. (Ok, she's didn't really feed me, but don't tell Elsa. I survived, and that's all she needs to know or she might not let me go on anymore adventures!)

There was always plenty of action on the streets!

There are people everywhere, night and day. This city really
never sleeps!

On Wednesday morning, we hopped out of bed bright and early to catch a flight to mainland China. "Yeah, baby! I'm going home!" I thought. Mom and Dad didn't realize that instead of taking me to a new place they were actually bringing me home. You see, I was Made in China! It was pretty exciting to get back to my roots. 

After a bit of a delay, we arrived in Beijing, China, and cleared immigration and security. Mom and Dad had to show passports and visas, but my Made in China tag was all the security guys needed to let me in. It's the small things...

I'm ready to board the Airport Express that will take us to the subway...and
eventually to our hotel.

Made it to the hotel!

 We hired a driver for the day on Thursday and went to see the Great Wall of China. It was a harrowing two hour drive to get there as, it seems, all of the drivers and cyclists in China are certifiably CRAZY. But we made it. (Mom prayed a lot. There was a lot of mumbling under her breath, too, but I'm not sure what that was about.)

And then we had to take a ski-lift-type ride to the top of the mountain to get to the Wall. No selfies for me since Mom was (once again) freaking out. Maybe next time we should leave her at home if she's not going to enjoy the adventurous parts!

See, we were only about 100 feet up in the air. No biggie.

 Then the real fun began. I got to hang out in Mom's purse, so my legs didn't get tired, but Mom and Dad kept saying that the climb was much steeper than they expected. I'm pretty sure I could have kept up with them, though, since they only have two legs and I have four.

Ah. And then there was the Wall.

 On our return to Beijing, we stopped at a very old temple where I met up with some long-lost turtle friends.

They were in the middle of their sunning time when we arrived.

We elected to stick with the subway for our travels after the crazy driving to and from the Great Wall, and the next day we headed to northwest Beijing to see the Summer Palace...

Ready to go see the Summer Palace

...and then to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing. There was a ton of security to get into Tiananmen Square, and Mom had to put her bag through the X-Ray machine, but nobody seemed to care that I was hiding there. However, Dad got some funny looks. I think maybe they suspected his staunch libertarian beliefs...or maybe it was just the beard. 

Me at the Forbidden City in Beijing

When Saturday came, it was time to head back to the States. I thought about trying to sneak off and stay in my home country, but I knew Elsa would miss me terribly. And to be honest, I'd miss her something awful, too. Ten days away was long enough. I needed a good hug!

That's my ride!

Bye-bye, Beijing! (No, that's not a tear under my eye;
there was just a glare from the lights! Really!)