Life Improvement Tips For The Wise Few

I want to leave you with a quote from Robert Holden’s book: Shift Happens…

Today, be what you want.

If you want love, be loving.

If you want peace, be peaceful.

If you want fun, be funny.

If you want “NEW”, be different.

If you want adventure, be open.

If you want success, be alive.

If you want joy, be kind.

I can’t say enough great things about this book, Shift Happens, it is just inspiring, amazing and fun to read over and over again…

We got an early start in the morning, and began packing and getting the kids ready. Imani my eldest daughter was making mockery of the little bit of Japanese words she learned. It really pleased me to see how much they were enjoying the trip. I honestly believed they wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much, because it was my dream not theirs.

After a nice warm breakfast in that awesome hotel, it was time to call a cab and plan our next trip. The kids said goodbye to their new found friends, it was a very sad moment, because they had grown found of each other and the tears started rolling off their faces, it almost made me feel like crying. I warned the kids and told them to be very careful, because this is a huge country and we would see more people in one day than the whole population of St. Maarten. With that said we headed for the Airport, the kids were really sad, but that didn’t last very long, once we departed they got all excited again, and started talking about how they would hook up with some new Chinese friends this time.

The flying time was really short, just under three hours, and we got a midday flight, so we would be able to see lots of China before night fall. Once we arrived in China it was another moment of stares, the buildings really looked like in those Karate movies. It was just so funny, because I never believed that by just thinking of something so intensely, it could actually come to past. This moment was so real, it was like “dejavu”, everything I had pictured in my mind and in my dreams was really there in front my eyes. I had to pause for a moment for this to sink in, and for me to realize that this was… no dream.

We got a cab and headed to our Hotel, we were heading straight to the city, we chose to stay in the city this time, because I really wanted the family to get a real close up on the busy streets and the tall buildings. We got out of the cab in front of the China World Hotel, it was located close to some of the hot spots and that is why my wife decided for us to stay there, they say that China has some of the best shopping malls in the world, and I can vow for that, it is true.

Must be honest and admit that the ambiance here in this Hotel was a little too business like, and that didn’t sit well with me. I really wanted to get away from all the business people and just enjoy my vacation. While chatting with the front desk clerk, he told me that you knew this Hotel is part of the “China World Trade Center”, and they were having a top conference this weekend.

I knew of the hotel being part of the China World Trade Center, but I had no clue they were having a conference. I told the clerk, that we would only be staying for one night, and if he could find a similar hotel, a five star category type Hotel that would attract many of the conference visitors, that we could enjoy while here for this week. Their English speaking skills was much better than our Japanese friends.

He got us into a great Hotel, the name of it was…

Grand Hotel Beijing, was breath taking. I gave the clerk a $100 dollar tip. When your rich, money is no bother, just learn to give and more will come your way. And, you don’t have to be rich to give. The price was much higher than the first place were we stayed for that one night. He had registered us for the Ambassador Suite. I can’t recall the clerk’s name, but he was really nice, and did help us find a comfortable place to stay. I did tell him, that money nor price won’t be an issue.

When we got to the room, it was like heaven (well, I’ve never been there, but that is the only way to describe this suite) and earth blended together in one colorful atmosphere. From our room we could look down and see the Forbidden City.

No kidding, it was like heaven, we were treated like emperors and served the best of the best. The food we ate was well prepared and the aroma was just… can’t find a word to describe that. You will have to taste and smell that for yourself.

The same day we got a couple of maps, and everyone got to pick their favorite spot they wanted to visit. And that is how we spent the days, visiting all those famous mausoleums and monuments. Too numerous to mention. My wife loves Karate movies, and she decide that no way she would miss seeing the monks in action. We visited a temple with real monks, talk about mannerism. These guys were as real as can be. I did enjoy that.

We took a tour of Hong Kong, and even got to visit Suzhou, the lingering gardens were just unbelievable, and we took many pictures.

Now, for a fun moment. When we were visiting the Great Wall of china, my kids and their mother was pushing and tugging on each other to see who would get on the wall first and take the first picture. I have landmark on that wall. if you ever decide to visit, look to see if you can figure out who left this mark: “I dream of great things, and I made it to China, guess who?”

The most amazing moment was when we saw a grocery store. You have to see this to believe this. A traffic Jam in the store with the amount of people shopping at the same time. No, we did not go in, we just witnessed this and took a couple of pictures. The days went by fast and all I can say is, China was a blast. We really enjoyed ourselves.

While preparing to leave, we got a surprise visitor, it was the clerk we had met in the other Hotel. That was really sweet of him. He wished us a safe trip home and went to work, while we got a cab, and before we knew it, we were flying high on our way home.

Wake up… it’s over, this is the end of that dream, now comes the big moment. Will this remain a dream or will I someday get to really do the things I wrote in this post?

I can honestly say, that this post really made me feel like I have been to those places and I know you all have been there with me, we traveled together, across the globe and back. Now it’s time for you to go dream your own stuff, leave my dream alone, I have to fulfill this one.

Don’t you have a dream that you would like to fulfill?

You want the honest truth about being wealthy?

No worries about money, don’t have to work and wait to be paid by the end of the month, my bank account always have money. I can travel the world and buy the things I choose, the freedom to get up when I wish and to do pretty much the things I choose. The Internet has given me privileges, I would have never gained if I stayed working for my boss.

Now enough rambling, time for you to see what we did on our visit to Japan.

Our trip to Japan

The flight from Australia to Japan was quite short, roughly ten hours, but the service on the Boeing 747 was just awesome. The food really rocked, and I was really looking forward to the fine cuisine that was to come, seeing that the airline had such great meals.

We arrived in Japan early in the morning, got a cab, I could see that the language barrier was going to be a big problem. But I am a fan of different cultures and the smile was obvious to see. I was excited to really witness the Japanese culture and taste some of their exotic foods that I was always seeing on the food channel.

While driving to the Hotel, I was admiring the buildings, the cabby was also trying his best to speak English, but I was having a real difficult time understanding him, my kids also, because they kept asking what he was saying. You know the funniest thing, this guy just didn’t care, he had this friendly attitude about him that was amazing. We arrived at our hotel and I gave the cab driver a $20 dollar tip, his eyes lit up like the moon, and he kept bowing as if I was his savior.

As we stepped out of the cab and faced the Imperial Hotel, a five star top of the line, best of the best Hotels in Tokyo, you could just sense the class and see the style of this building. The interior was stunning, so beautiful, we all stared. It was just breath taking. We were greeted, and they immediately took our bags. The service you get when your rich is just undeniable the best benefit. You don’t talk, that little piece of plastic do the talking.

Can you imagine having a credit card with a $100,000 dollar limit?

Want service, and more service, then Tokyo is the place to visit…

I just can’t put into words how great it feels to be treated like royalty. Anyway, the price of the room speaks for itself, and that is why they do their best to make sure you will return. Little do they know, I don’t think I will be making this trip again, it was way too tiring, I just did all this to fulfill my dream.

Their impeccable service is unbelievable, many of the people were interested in trying to understand our culture and were still trying to speak English. But my trip would not be complete if I didn’t go and get one of those well talked about massages.

There were many spa treatments to chose from, I honestly can’t recall the choice I made or what my wife had taken. All I felt was the soft hands massaging my back, and they gave me a free facial massage also. We left that massage spa feeling like a little baby. My butt was as soft as a babies bottom, my skin was slick like butter and soft and tender. If you touched me, you would simply put a dent in my skin. t was like they used tenderizer on my skin, I was just a tender piece of beef walking around in Tokyo. As I recap, I can’t even remember what they did with our kids, they told us they would take care of them until we finished with the spa.

We visited many different buildings and even went shopping in Japan, the kids bought some high tech electronics. Guess they will be show boating to their friends when they get home. The widgets and gadgets they have are so small and powerful, we won’t be seeing these in St. Maarten until months after, or maybe never. My wife was giving me an eye, just didn’t want to act like a spoiled kid, so I just left the kids go wild.

We dined at many of the top restaurants in Japan, and the cuisine was off the chart. I have a little experience to share with you, we went into this Japanese restaurant where you was able to prepare your own meal. Guess who they picked to assist the top Chef that evening, my son. Well, I have to be honest, I did have a little influence, because I told them that my son wanted to become a chef and that is why they picked him. He was ecstatic, he grinned from ear to ear, and he got to serve his father Sushi. I ate, and ate some more, just couldn’t get enough.

Anyway, enough is enough, I will post all the pictures, so that you can see for yourself how much fun it was. My kids even made friends with some rich Japanese kids, that promise to come and visit us on St. Maarten. Speaking of rich, their parents owned the Hotel where we stayed. I can tell you that for the week we stayed there, they surely can use that same money to visit us. I told them that they would be able to stay at our home, we have room. My wife bumped me, and asked if I wanted them to see where we live. She still didn’t have a clue as to the massive building that was being constructed while we was away.

We packed up and got ready for the final phase of our trip, I was honestly starting to miss home, but I had one more trip to make, that would complete my life long dream.

China here we come…