Sunday, June 20

Beach Getaway, Chinese Style

Ok so we took off for the beaches of Shenzhen. Made it all the way to Damiesha Beach, when we saw the Damiesha Resort. We went in to check it out and see what was up. Then we had 3 bombs dropped on us.
1. Brunch begins in 15 minutes, its buy-1-get-1 free
2. If you do it, they give you passes to their World Class Pool
3. They also let you chill out on their private beach.

Umm, you know what we did.



Thats SB in that last photo, she basically did that all day.
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Sunday Brunch

Sunday Bruch at the Sheraton Shenzhen Dameisha Resort. Simply amazing


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Lo Wu Shopping

After a tough day at the pool, he set off for Lo Wu Shopping Center. There just isnt any where else on earth like this place..



Decisions, Decisions
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Friday, June 18

W Resorts Giveaway!

http://www.lifestyleasia.com/w-hotels

My friend Isa sent me some unbelievable photos of the W resort in the Maldives earlier this year. I was googly-eyed obsessed for the over-water bungalows, clear waters, and chic decor for days months and finally pushed it to the back of my mind, as a kindergarten teacher budget doesn't *quite* allow that kind of holiday.
 
 
 
 
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So imagine my joy when I got word from LifestyleAsia that W hotels is giving away free summer escapes, both to their hotel in Hong Kong and in the Maldives! Don't worry, I spend my planning periods perfecting my 140 words of "Why I want a W getaway". Try your luck and invite me as your guest if you win!

Monday, June 14

What an awesome day at school. Well, its Dragon Boat time, and today in the Nursery Class we practiced for the big race... Can't believe they pay me for this. HA it was great

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Sunday, June 13

Welcome Matt, Megan, and Ryan. We had the pleasure of their company for the weekend. enjoy the photos
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A few from this weekend with Matt and Megan. We took them to meet our playgroup
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On Saturday, we took Megan and Matt to meet some of our best friends here in HK. This is SB and I's playgroup. left to right: yau yau, yiu yiu, kogi, sugi. him him, and evan.

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On Friday night we had a big group dinner. Afterwards, SB and Megan decided to have their fortunes read. Basically, the bird in the photo selects different cards from a stack. The 'wise-man' there interprets them, and fills the girls in on what they can be expecting for the next few days!
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The best part of traveling is the people you meet. These sum it up for Matt, Megan, and Ryan






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Touring LKF

During our adventures in Lan Kawi Fong, we found a reprieve from the hot muggy weather. I mean... why else would we need to go into a Russian Vodka Bar We look pretty good in those coats too

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Thursday, June 10

Central Park Jogger's Syndrome

On a packed escalator right outside the underground station Tripp and I witnessed three or four guys absolutely pummel another guy! Tripp says, "Is that guy getting jumped?!" I didn't see what was happening until the guys ran down the escalator, pushing onlookers out of the way, and darting across the road. The bolted into a waiting taxi, and ducked their heads down so they wouldn't be recognized.

It was CRAZY because there were TONS of people around, right there in the midst of the action! Everyone carried on with their lives, no yelling or police calling or anything. The bigger the crowd, the more negligent the individual, I guess. There was blood splattered all around when we got to the escalator. Just wanted to share with you, dear readers.

On a more positive note, it's Thursday afternoon and I am heading straight to the airport after work to pick up Ryan, Matt, and Megan!!

Tuesday, June 8

I've been too busy reading the latest SC political gossip from fitsnews.com to update you on my lunch breaks so I am tearing myself away from that unfolding drama to give a quick rundown of the past few weeks!

Amelia and I had a blast together! My sister and I were constantly on the go: getting up early for tai chi class on the harbour, hiking Dragon's Back, going for Thai curry with local friends, attending the horse races at Happy Valley, taking in the views at the Peak, taking solo shots of each other around the city, riding the tram through Hong Kong Island, swimming at the pool, teaching kindergarteners about Clemson Tigers, sampling Chinese delicacies, haggling in the markets, riding the Ngong Ping Cable Car to see Big Buddha... really just cramming all there is to see into one FULL week! Along with Tripp and our friends Benjamin and Camay, we headed into the mainland of communist China for an overnight spa stay and major shopping.

Around four thirty or so that Tuesday morning, I got a phone call from Katie Keenan telling me Chris propsed at her grandmother's house in Pawley's! Most of you know she is the person I have known the longest in my whole life-- my first friend (and Sassy Mel's customer)! December wedding... I can't wait! Congratulations, Katie!

The day before Amelia left, we came back from Times Square and Emily Pease had arrived to visit Liza! Emily stayed with us for the week, so she and Liza experienced the same whirlwind tour of the city. The next day, as I mentioned in a previous post, Mel went on to the airport and I chaperoned a field trip.

I met up with my Chinese helper from school Krista Tuesday night after tutoring and tried a new Japanese place in Mong Kok. She ordered a dish where a burner is brought to your table and you crack an egg over the fried pork chops to cook it right there! It was so tasty and right up Tripp's alley that I took him there the next night! Ha! Then we got together with most of the English teachers for our friend Ryan's 24th birthday Saturday night, celebrating in the most Asian way possible-- karaoke!

This past Friday Liza and I had a day off school. (So the night before we tried a Nepalese curry house in Jordan and it was DELICIOUS!) (Curry, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... Thai, Indian, Nepalese, Japanese...) The next day McCauley Bennett called from Hong Kong! She's from Columbia, the sweetest and prettiest girl you've ever met, and was TriDelt with me at Clemson. She accepted a really cool job in Shanghai and was in transit in Hong Kong. I had e-mailed her my number in hopes we could meet up, so I was pumped to be off work that day and show her around Kowloon! Tripp met us for lunch and McCauley and I got to hang out that afternoon, wandering the markets and fixing her up with a new cell phone. That evening watched the laser light show at the harbour and had a Vietnamese meal. Liza's mom Sissy was landing at that same time!

Mrs. Todd and Liza are staying in a hotel in the bustling TST district, so I met up with them last night. It has been awesome seeing so many visitors from home. They were so sweet and treated me to a really fantastic meal in SoHo, an electic, cool mix of trendy restaurants, bars, and boutiques. We went to La Palma,an Argentine steak house and it was fantastic! Great food,great conversation... I loved hanging out with them!

Well, besides all that, it's business as usual over here in Honkers. I'm tutoring today after school and waiting on the technician to come fix the leaky aircon. Tripp is still playing well and blowing the competition away in his basketball league. He had another late game last night. All his stats are posted online. I am proud of him. Then we are headed with a big group to the horse races on Wednesday night and then Matt Smith, Megan Fleiner, and Ryan Woods (all friends from Clemson) are arriving the day after tomorrow! I'm meeting them Thursday straight from work and I can't WAIT!

Until next time!

Sunday, June 6

Well it was a great day in Hong Kong. Sara Beth and I headed for the Gold Coast. We took the train to Tung Chung, then quickly found a cab, and within minutes we were at the beach. We kicked it off with falafel, kebabs, curry and chips. After our Turkish feast we headed not to the beach, but to the pool. What a great call. The slightly overcast weather meant that for most of the day, we had the place to ourselves . The Resort's pool makes for the perfect hang out, and offers a stunning view of the Marina and its beautiful yachts. I read a Grisham novel, and Sara Beth caught up with the LA gossip. All in all today was awesome. Enjoy the photos!
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The Gold Coast


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