Some highlights of the past week

It's so hard to believe we've been here for 10 days already!!  Its been a blur of putting on makeup (ugh) shows, taking off makeup (ugh again)... and then show again!  We have been able to do some pretty awesome things in our free time however... there are a few highlights!

We took a tram up to the Peak on the first real sunny, clear day we had.  Even if there aren't clouds, there's usually a lot of haze in the sky from polution (lovely), so it was really exciting to see the sun for real!  The tram was a short, but very steep ride up to a viewing station, where you can get a gorgeous view of Hong Kong... as well as Starbucks (that would be a cool starbucks to work at...) , Bubba Gump shrimp (!!), super fancy restaurants, etc.  Its incredible how large Hong Kong is!  The huge buildings just keep going and going...

Day off on Monday!!!!  The day seriously couldn't have been more amazing.  We took a ferry from Central to Macau, and then met Flee (a friend from Victor's studio) to take a taxi to Taipa, where House of Dancing Water is.  Flee is working for the show, so we got an awesome back stage tour of the show (the building technical elements behind this show are absolutely unbelievable) and got to sit in on a straps and then moto cross practice (we thought they were going to die during every trick...insane).  We got to briefly experience the City of Dreams casino (part of the whole complex where the show is) when we went to grab lunch at the food court... we've never been to Vegas, but Macau is definitely exactly what we picture Vegas being like.  Just plus some chinese and portuguese.  Flee was absolutely incredible and managed to get us into the afternoon show (even though tickets are sold out until March)... never seen anything like it.  The stage switches between solid ground, 10M of water, or a combination of the two... there is an entire boat that rises out of the stage, foutans of water coming out of the stage, and people diving from the top of the theatre into the water.  We both left completely mind blown.  Ferry back home to Hong Kong (more stamps in the passport!!!) and had a delicious sushi dinner with Kia's parents (who came here for a vacation and to see us!) at their hotel.  Seriously.  The day couldn't have been better.

Yesterday a bunch of cast members took us out across the water to Kowloon in between shows.  We went to a traditional Chinese restaurant where our friends just sat us down and asked if there was anything we didn't eat (we said not as far as we knew...).  Everything was in cantonese, so they ordered for us, and also showed us how to wash all our cups and utensils in the tea before hand, and to tap on the table with our finger to say thank you when being served tea! For the most part we had no idea what we were eating, but it was delicious!  Tons of dumplings and yummy balls of who-knows-what that came in cute little baskets.  However, we do know that we tried pigeon and chicken feet!!!!!  Not really a fan of either, but we tried!!!  We refused to try the pigeon head that came with the rest of the pigeon.  Its considered good luck here to keep the head with the rest of the animal's body (chicken, pigeon, duck, fish... etc).  Didn't really appeal to us.  But we did ask--if you go to KFC in Hong Kong, the chicken bucket does NOT include the chicken head.  (incase you were wondering!).  We then got the grand tour of Kowloon that included seeing the Hong Kong Museum of Art (according to our friends... "The biggest museum in China!  Don't go in.  There's nothing inside) and the theatre for the Hong Kong Ballet (apparently "the worst ballet in the world").  Walked along the Avenue of the Stars... saw Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee's stars.  Pretty awesome.

We'd like to give a shout out to the lady who cleans the bathroom next to our changing room in the mall. Every bathroom in the IFC seems to have its own maid who literally lives in the bathroom all day.  Its kind of uncomfortable when you have someone waiting for you to finish using the toilet or the sink so she can run in and clean it right afterwards.  I don't think this bathroom maid will ever get over the fact that we come into the bathroom in jester makeup, or that we clean our tea mugs in the sink... and for some reason she doesn't seem to get that we don't understand any cantonese, and that we can't understand a word she says when she rants at us.  She scares us a little.

Even though we're surrounded by christmas decorations and music and costumes... its really hard to believe its almost Christmas!  We hope everyone is having a wonderful holidays, and if we knew how to type in cantonese, we'd wish you all a merry christmas in cantonese (which we know how to say)!!!
Anyway, happy holidays and merry Christmas from Hong Kong!!