Dear Cousin Martha, Well, I finally made it to Hong Kong, the last leg of Ted's and my Asian holiday. I must say, things have changed round here since I last came in 1999.
I remember that in 1999 the Tourist Association people had the idea of getting tourists to walk in the hills. They even had a campaign entitled 'Exploring Hong Kong's Countryside'. Me and Ted had a wonderful day walking over their pretty Lantau Island. Imagine my surprise when I got here this morning to look at the map to see they've concreted quite a bit of it, and carved up the remaining green bits with roads! We decided to come on the Disney Package Deal and it sure was convenient. You arrive at the airport and within 30 minutes you're in your hotel in Disneyland.
As you know, Ted is very interested in all things Chinese, so we booked into the Disney Mulan China World Resort. They have a Terracotta Warrior in the lobby, lion dances every morning at breakfast time, and all the staff wear traditional Chinese clothes.
We got a top-floor room and a great view of the bridge that goes to Hong Kong Island, the bridge to Zhuhai, and some massive filling-in of the sea.
Naturally, the first morning we headed off to see Hong Kong Disneyland. When we were here in 1999 the newspapers were full of articles from the Chief Executive saying they needed skilled workers. Well, they got 'em now. The young guy serving the Goofyburgers was telling us he could serve customers in five languages! I must say, it sure is a lot like the other Disney places we've been to. But I somehow don't really think it's aimed at folks like us.
Almost everyone seemed to be from other countries in Asia, looking for a bit of American razzle. They sure got it.