Asia Trip: Come Fly With Me
JFK
Up for 24 hours and not feeling the least bit tired. Amazing what excitement and adrenaline can do.
HKG
Sixteen hour flight on Cathay Airlines went smoother than expected and relatively painless. The flight attendants were all very attractive, if this any indication of what lies ahead I am truly excited.
PEK
Dragon Air, our connecting flight to Beijing served some delicious cookies that reminded me of the treats Sandy would get in Chinatown.
Beijing, China - Capital Hotel
I get the impression our hotel is frequented by foreign dignitaries. The late night hamburger we had tasted like meatloaf. I suspect they use the same seasoning used in their pork dumplings. Further testing / sampling is required. Click here for more details.
Packing for Asia
My trip to Asia is only two days away and I am excited / nervous about the sixteen hour flight to Hong Kong. Every time I close my eyes I see the intro to Euro Trip playing on the back of my eye lids. I know it doesn't make sense but when do I ever make sense?
InterNations
Spent the afternoon with Kris at the InterNations meetup/brunch.
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- Experience the international way of life together with other global minds.
- Connect and exchange with trusted people who live abroad like you.
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My Disney World Vacation
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Tower of Terror was easily the best ride / attraction of the whole trip.
Based on a Twilight Zone episode (my favorite television show of all time) the ride builds tension while you wait to enter the haunted elevator that will transport you to the Twilight Zone. SICK!!!
EPCOT
I'd describe Epcot (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) as the future that never happened. Puzzeled by some of the design decisions I decided to do a little research and discovered some interesting facts on Wikipedia.
Walt Disney's original vision of EPCOT was for a model community, home to twenty thousand residents, which would be a test bed for city planning and organization. The community was to have been built in the shape of a circle, with businesses and commercial areas at its center, community buildings and schools and recreational complexes around it, and residential neighborhoods along the perimeter. Transportation would have been provided by monorails and PeopleMovers (like the one in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland). Automobile traffic would be kept underground, leaving pedestrians safe above-ground. Walt Disney said, "It will be a planned, controlled community, a showcase for American industry and research, schools, cultural and educational opportunities. In EPCOT, there will be no slum areas because we won't let them develop. There will be no landowners and therefore no voting control. People will rent houses instead of buying them, and at modest rentals. There will be no retirees; everyone must be employed." This vision was not realized. Walt Disney was not able to obtain funding and permission to start work on his Florida property until he agreed to build the Magic Kingdom first. Disney died before the Magic Kingdom opened.
After Disney's death, The Walt Disney Company later decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a town. The model community of Celebration, Florida has been mentioned as a realization of Disney's original vision, but Celebration is based on concepts of new urbanism which is radically different from Disney's modernist and futurist visions.
I can't help but laugh at how wrong Walt and his Imagineers were when they designed Epcot.
Thankfully, Epcot isn't all rides and exhibits of earths future. They have The World Showcase, a collection of pavilions representing eleven countries containing shops and restaurants. Basically I ate and drank my way around the world.
The Magic Kingdom
Even the miserable weather conditions (95 degree / 85% humidity) could not stop the the love bomb from detonating in my heart. Warm memories of all my Disney favorites came rushing back, effectively transporting me back to my childhood. Disney World is truly a magical place.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Normally when I head to JFK airport I take a cab. But in an attempt to save money / go green I decided to take public transportation.
Step 1: The New York City subway - E train
Step 2: JFK monorail to JetBlue terminal.
Step 3: Board nonstop flight to Orlando
Step 4: Jumped on a Disney Express Bus to hotel.
Talk about crazy. I kind of regret not working a boat, hovercraft or submarine into the mix.
Next Stop, Wally World?
I'm headed to Disney World tomorrow (my first time) and I'm crazy excited. I guess this is how Clark Griswold felt when going to Wally World.