Overdoing it

It was my school friend Pak Hei's birthday party today. McDonald's did the catering. Papa allowed me to drink a whole cup of Coca Cola, and I also helped myself to some Yakult and Ribena to wash down the party snacks I had wolfed down. Then Mummy noticed I suddenly started looking very pale....

sipping a Ribena during the magician's show

Papa rushed to get me out of the room. Just out of sight of the other guests, all that I had eaten and drunk gushed out of my mouth; some got into my nose. Papa caught some of it using an empty cup he grabbed on the way; I felt very yucky. It shows that one can have too much of a good thing. Papa took me to get cleaned up.

Within a few minutes, I was ready to have some 'Happy-birthday-to-you cake'. Papa refused :-(

The Great Wall at Badaling

In Beijing, we stayed in a flat belonging to Mummy's friend. It was warm, comfortable, and there were lots of toys to play with. It was cold outside, but fortunately there was central heating in the flat. Gonggong and Popo (grandpa and grandma) were also in town to see us.

We also had a day trip to the Great Wall at Badaling today. We took our time getting ready, so had quite a late start. Being a Saturday, the traffic was awful, and it took us ages to get there in our hire-car.

Once there, we climbed a long way to the top. We got back into town just in time to have dinner with some of Mummy's relatives who live in the city. Papa let me drink some shandy :-)

Our stay in Beijing

Today, we went to the Natural History Museum and the Paleontology Museum. In the evening, we ate in a famous Peking Duck restaurant. It was very popular; my Grandparents arrived at 6, but we still had to wait until 7:30 to be seated. Luckily, they had cooked up some dumplings so we had something to nibble on while we were waiting.

Duncan and me outside the Paleontology Museum

The day before yesterday, we went to the Beijing Zoo, where we particularly enjoyed the penguin house, and looking at the stone animals. I took a picture of a huge stone turtle, and a stone croc with Papa's camera.

My picture of the stone turtle

Slow train to China

This afternoon, we got off the train at Beijing West Railway station: Mummy and Papa decided to take Duncan and me to Beijing for Easter. We took the sleeper train all the way from Kowloon, via an inland route.

The trip took 24 hours, and was a new experience. Papa had brought along some snacks, but we still had our meals in the dining compartment. I slept in a bunk bed on the train. I wanted to sleep in the upper bunk, but didn't feel safe. I made Papa promise me to buy me a bunk bed with a fixed ladder for home.

Fifth Birthday

I celebrated my birthday today. It wasn't so easy to organise this year because my actual birthday fell very soon after Chinese New Year, and school had not yet resumed. I invited several friends, and Gugu organised the catering. Papa found Gary the Magician to come and perform for me. He played some excellent magic, and I couldn't understand why his wand wilted several times in my hand.

Gary then twisted balloons for everyone. I got carried away and started snatching the balloons from some of my invitees, making them cry. Grandma whisked me off home.

In the evening, Papa and Mummy took me to my judo exam. Sensei Ho examined my technique and understanding, and passed me to the green belt.