Friday 14th August 09

Today we had to get up at 5 am to catch a flight to Beijing. We flew Dragonair which is Hong Kong based airline. There were hardly any people on the plane but I don't blame them because it was early!!! For breakfast Mum and Dad had Dim Sum - a selection of small Chinese snacks. I chickened out and had an omelette instead. It all looked a bit strange and unbreakfast-like!!

On arrival in Beijing we had a taxi driver meet us at the airport. Dad knew him from his previous visit and he was very friendly. It was funny because he hardly knew any English and we didn't know any Mandarin and so we had lots of fun trying to make ourselves understood. The driving in China was quite something really - they don't seem to have any rules on under or overtaking!

As you can see from the image, we went straight from the airport to the Great Wall. The heat wasn't as oppressive as in Hong Kong but it was still three times hotter than you usually get in the UK. To get up the mountains to the Great Wall you had to get a cable car. Mum was a bit apprehensive because they looked a little old and not too safe! Mum says she would like to see the safety certificate! It was fun though but anyone who is scared of heights would not have liked it.

When you actually get up to the Wall it is absolutely amazing. We had to climb lots of steps and the views are fantastic. It made us wonder how people built the Wall long ago without the machinery we have available to us now.

When we went down we went on toboggans. I wasn't keen on going down on my own because it looked pretty steep. So Dad and I went in one together and left Mum to get down by herself. It was fun because you could break or accelerate your own toboggan. In fact when we got to the bottom I wanted to go up and back down again.

We had a drink at the cafe afterwards and then went to the toilet. I decided not to go when I saw them because they were just a hole in the ground that you had to squat over to go to the loo. They didn't look too clean either and they absolutely stunk! I hope not all public toilets are like that in Beijing. But I'll let you know. If they are I will just use the hotel!!!

Afterwards the driver took us to our hotel in Beijing which was very nice. We stayed at the Kerry Shangri-La. We went for a swim and you had to wear swimming caps and disinfected shoes. Dad looked funny in his!

Later Dad took us to a local Chinese restaurant. The food was fantastic. We sat outside and lots of people were staring at us. So much so that Mum said 'hello' to some and they said 'hello' back and laughed in a shy way. We then went back to the hotel and slept heavily.

Speak soon.

Love from Meganxxx

Thursday 13th August

Today we went to the arcade in Whampoa Garden. Mum let me have 100 HK dollars worth of tokens instead of 50. I was really excited about this. When I got there I went on a pirate machine. You have to get your token in a slot and then you get so many tokens. I won the jackpot!! The machine just kept churning out tickets and we had to wait 5 minutes until they had all come out. My bag was not big enough to fit them all in and so mum had to put some in a rucksack! I also went on lots of other machines but I didn't win as many tickets. When I got home I started counting them all but mum called me for lunch before I could finish counting them. See the picture for the amount I had to count. In the end I got 627 tickets from just today. In all that means that I have got 957. I set a target of getting 1000 before I go so I think that I might be able to achieve this!!

We went to relax up by the pool in the afternoon and I made yet another friend. We played in the pool all afternoon until she had to go. She was called Emily and was from the UK. She was nine so she was in year 4 at school.

In the evening Nev came home from work with Dad and we met Lesley at the Waterfront Cafe for a meal. It was good fun because we played the People, Place, Event game again and Uno. Nev really liked the People, Place, Event game. He and Lesley were both leaving the next. He was going home to Shanghai and Lesley back to the UK. Lesley was looking forward to going because she wanted to see Harry and Mark.

Off to Beijing tomorrow. Will write soon.

Love from Meganxxx

Wednesday 12th August

Today Mum and I went to try and find Victoria Park for the second time! We went onto the Citybus website to find all the numbers of the buses we could get, and noted them down. Just to be safe, we got a taxi there. The tennis courts were really flooded: there was no way we could have had our tennis lesson yesterday. When we felt brave, on the way back, we were adventurous and got the bus back to Wan Chai ferry pier.

Lesley and Ashley came out with us again tonight, and we went to Tsim Sha Tsui, to watch the sound and light show. As one building lit up, you could hear the speakers saying the name of it. When Bank of China Tower lit up we all cheered loudly!

After the show we went to a restaurant called http://www.lavilla.hk/ where you could sit outside. Dad and I both had fish based food, whereas Lesley, Ashley and Mum all had pasta! Over dinner we played the People, Place, Event game. It is where you have to think of a famous person, place or event ex. William Shakespeare, The Eiffel Tower and The Queen's Silver Jubilee. Everyone came up with some really good ones, that really made the rest of us think hard! For pudding we ordered an assiette (a small amount of every dessert on the menu) which is my favourite dish at any restaurant!! With a cup of coffee we played a card game called Uno. It is really fun - I played it a while ago with my best friend.

We followed dinner by a trip to Temple Street Night Market because Lesley and Ashley wanted to go before they went home. As soon as we got there Lesley was straight in there bargaining a lot!!!! Ashley got a set of dolls for his daughters, they were really pretty. I bought a little panda that opened at the middle. It is so cute!!! It was a great night out.

Speak soon!

Love from Meganxxx

Tuesday 11th August 09

Today Mum got me up really early to get the 9:06 ferry to Wanchai to get to tennis. It was supposed to be our first lesson with Ron Doctrove (Billy Doctrove-the cricket umpire's cousin) and I was really looking forward to it. I was really tired when I got up at 8:30am, so I got dressed and had breakfast to wake me up! At about 8:50am Ron texted Mum to say that the tennis courts are flooded so no lesson for today! Hearing this, I got back in bed and went to sleep till 9:45!!!

When we finally decided to get up, we got the bus to Stanley - a seaside town, with a market that sells all sorts of things. The bus ride was funny because it was a double decker, and we sat at upstairs at the front! Branches off trees kept banging against the glass at the front of the bus! The ride was a bit bumpy because the road wasn't in that could condition!

Once we got to Stanley, glad that we still had our lives, we ventured across to Stanley market! There were stalls selling English names written in Cantonese (they had Meagan and Meghan but not Megan.) I bought a Chinese jewellery roll to put all my jewellery in. It was quite interesting seeing what the different stalls sold.

We stayed in and Dad cooked us Bruscettas, sauteed potatoes and salad. It was delicious! After tea we played monopoly. Mum absolutely bankrupted Dad and I. We weren't very pleased because she always wins. It's not fair! It was fun though!

Speak soon!

Love from Meganxxx

Monday 10th August

After the busy weekend, we decided to have a day at the apartment relaxing by the pool. I am reading a book at the moment called Midnight is a Place by Joan Aiken. I have nearly finished it because I do a lot of reading on the loungers at the pool. It is really good and keeps you turning the pages! I swam 25 lengths!! It was refreshing in the pool so I spent ages just doing handstands and forward rolls!

We then got the ferry to Wan Chai to try and find Victoria Park, where we are having tennis lessons. Dad said it would be sign posted, but it wasn't. Accidentally we managed to get to Times Square. It is really big, and it almost hurts your neck to look at the top of it!!

We were supposed to meet Dad at 7pm because we were going out with Lesley, Ashley and maybe Neville and Andy. We tried to get the bus but in the end we gave up and got a taxi! We were ten minutes late but they didn't mind (at least I don't think they did.) Neville and Andy did come but we had already ordered (oops.) It was a really nice evening and it was cool to meet some of the people Dad works with.

Speak soon!

Love from Meganxxx

Sunday 9th August 09

Today we got up early to go for a swim because we were going dolphin watching with Lesley and Ashley later. They had arrived the day before but Lesley didn't have her luggage, so she had to walk around in the sweltering heat with what she had flown in. Luckily, it arrived later that day.

It was a really hot day so we were all glad to have a bit of a sea breeze! The boat was lovely and we all enjoyed seeing the massive cargo ships passing by. We sailed past the airport on Lantau Island, and there were planes coming in at least every 5 minutes! Unfortunately, we didn't see any dolphins (typical that when we went we didn't see any) but there were plenty of fish jumping in and out of the water!

The reason we are out here is because Dad is helping with a big project at work. It went live today, so Lesley, Ashley, Dad and I went into work to make sure everyone had got the right menu and the right software on their pc. It was really good fun, and I said I would work 3 days a week being Dad's PA!!

Speak soon.

Love From Meganxxx

Saturday 8th August 09

Today we went to the Museum of Coastal Defence on Hong Kong Island. We got the First Ferry to North Point, which Mum and I didn't think was as good as Star Ferry, and then the 85 bus to the Museum. On the first try we missed our stop; just driving on past it not thinking anything of it! Second time Mum realised where we had to get off (thanks Mum!). Although Dad thought he knew better and started arguing with Mum saying it was the wrong place to get off!

We walked up the hillside to the Exibition Hall where there were videos telling you all about The First Opium War. It helped me to understand how Britain came to be in charge in Hong Kong for a period. I also learnt about the Japanese occupationand World War II. There were some spectacular views over the other side of the Island, and ships, big and small, going up and down. It was really interesting to walk amongst the battery remains and to see Chinese army uniforms.

After that we spent the night in Whampoa. Mum and Dad got their hair cut - Mum doesn't usually have it cut by anyone in a foreign country! Pizza Hut followed and the pizzas were great, but everything else was really weird! We ordered a salad, and it came with egg, big chunks of tomato and fish sauce. I mean how digusting is that? If we go again we are just having pizza!

Laters!

Love from Meganxxx