TEA AT THE PENINSULA

Hey, this is Susie. We are having a grand time. This is my first chance to blog and I am going back in time to tell of some interesting experiences.
We stayed one night in a beautiful hotel in Hong Kong overlooking the harbor. It is next door to the world famous Peninsula Hotel(5 star quality). My good friend Irvina told me to be sure and have afternoon tea there in the beautiful lobby. It is a Hong Kong tradition that happens at 4 pm daily. So in the back of my mind I decided I would try to be there. But when you are sightseeing with Ben and Laban you never know. We started early and went to Victoria Peak overlooking the city, to the observation floor of a large skyscraper, rode the escalators across Hong Kong, and ate wonderful Chinese food. We also had to get visas to get into China that evening. But we finished up all that at around a little after four and headed back to our hotel to get our bags and head to the train station at 6 to go to the border to enter mainland China. We had given up our room and I was extremely tired, so the lobby of the Penisula looked like a good place to rest. Ben thought I was absolutely crazy to want to have tea there. Laban agreed to try it and was going to join me, but Ben begged him to go to a place to buy a new supply of Tibeten tracts. So I was alone. It was very peaceful, although I had to wait in line to get a seat. An instrumental ensemble played wonderful music. I did not mind being by myself. I ordered tea and scones. The only problem was that I didn't know scones were filled with raisins. I have never seen so many raisins. For those who know me I hate raisins with a passion. I started to pick them out. The tea was delicious. I did not want the waiters to see what I was doing. I basically paid 12 dollars for tea and two bisquits. But the butter and jelly were delicious. Laban and Ben came back and Laban ate all my raisins. So the waiters hopefully didn't see. I thoroughly enjoyed the Peninsula experience. I knew that this luxury would end in a few hours when I crossed into mainland China. I had no idea that I would not see a bed or a place to really rest until 4 am the next morning and then we had a plane to catch at 8 am. I will write more in another blog.