 The NBA's greatest mascot, Hugo the Hornet, will be joining the Honeybees in Beijing, China to perform and promote the NBA through June 9. Follow along as Hugo writes about his experiences overseas! CLICK HERE to view more photos from Hugo's trip to China. FINAL DAYS IN CHINA:
I also got on stage and helped give out NBA gear to lucky fans. Rip Hamilton from the Detroit Pistons was there. Even though he is not a Hornet, he was great. He spent time interacting with the fans on stage during the commercials. He even asked me to take a photo with him. Just kidding. I asked him, and as you see, he was excited as I was. After another successful event, we headed back to the hotel. It was raining much of the day, so I rested while the Honeybees went and got massages. Later that evening, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was great. There were hundreds of pictures of the owner with different celebrities from around the world. I was shocked to see no picture of Hugo on the wall. Oh well, maybe next time. The next day we boarded a plane to head home. The trip to China was one of the best trips I have ever taken. I saw so much of the Chinese culture, and learned so much about Chinese history. A big thank you goes out to the NBA for inviting Hugo and the Honeybees to be part of something great. I also want to thank the Hornets for allowing me the opportunity to travel to China. The Hornets now have a new following,…BEIJING, CHINA! DAY 3:
It's another beautiful day in Beijing and it's time to get the day started. I didn't have any appearances or performances today so I went sight seeing with the Honeybees and Charles (our tour guide). There sure is a lot to see here in China. Our first stop was the Great Wall of China. It was magnificent! People say you can see the Great Wall from space. After climbing up the steps for almost an hour (straight up), I think we almost walked to space! For those that saw me run from center court to the top of the 300 level last year during the playoffs, the Great Wall was like that....times 100. It was well worth it though. After we made our way back down the wall, we went to lunch. I sure love to eat. The food is really good. Our next stop was Summer Palace. This is where the Emperor and his family would spend their summers. There were lots of temples, gardens, and a big lake. We rode on a dragon boat. It looked a little like my buddy Stuff, from the Orlando Magic...only cooler! Just kidding Stuff! This would be the end of the day for most people, but not Hugo and the Honeybees. We continued our journey to the Bird's Nest. It was amazing! For those that don't know, the Bird's Nest was one of the most popular venues for the 2008 Olympics. Just feet from the Bird's Nest was the water cube. Once again...amazing! This is where Michael Phelps and Team USA did there magic in the pool. After I took a few photos, I got back on the bus and went to a Chinese acrobatics show. I was hoping they would pull me on stage to perform one of my world famous flips, but no such luck. The show was great. They performed balancing acts, rode bicycles, jumped through hoops, and even some death defying acts. It was pretty scary! Well, you know me. After all this excitement, it was time to eat another great authentic Chinese dinner. We headed back to the hotel to rest up and prepare for another great day of sight seeing and adventure. DAY 2:
I started my day with a big breakfast. You know I love to eat. After breakfast, I headed to Walmart to make my first appearance. It went great! The D.J. played some funky tunes and I showed Beijing some of my famous moves. They really loved the belly shake. After I danced for a while, I grabbed a basketball and did some ball handling tricks. Once again, I was a big hit. I picked someone out of the crowd for a little follow the leader game. The girl that I grabbed was very shy, but she played along. I had her do some of my dance moves like the sprinkler, the monkey, and the belly shake. She wouldn't do the belly shake, but that's okay. I gave her a great big hug and the crowd cheered for her. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Scotty Pippen who retired from the Chicago Bulls is here with us. He is really nice. He was pretty impressed with my dance moves. He even game me a high five! The second appearance of the day was at a retail store. There were lots of people outside waiting for me to arrive. I felt like a rock star. There are so many security escorts. I officially have an entourage. Can you say ROCKSTAR?! This appearance was similiar to the earlier appearance, but now I have my Honeybees with me. I got on stage and performed some more dance moves...the worm, the cabbage patch, and the running man. This time I picked a guy from the audience and challenged him to some ball tricks. He did everything I did. Then he said I needed to try and do what he did with the ball. I think this guy must of played for the Globetrotters. He was great! Now it was time for the Honeybees to perform. I cheered them on from the sideline and as usual, they rocked. Our host from NBA China made reservations for us at a really nice restaurant. The food was great. The menu was 30 pages. So many decisions. We ordered a lot of different food and shared it all with each other. After dinner we walked around the city for a little while to see some of the culture. After we were done walking, we got on our bus and headed back to the hotel. Time to get some sleep. Another big day tomorrow. DAY 1: Hugo's Adventure in China My China trip started with a 3 hour flight to New Jersey and then a 13 hour flight to Beijing, China. My wings sure are tired! Just kidding. I flew with six of the Honeybees, and Ashley, the Honeybees manager. It was a pretty good flight. I watched movies and listened to some of my favorite tunes. When we arrived, we headed straight to our hotel. It's not the Hive, but it is pretty nice. After we checked in, it was time to eat. We walked down the street and went to TGIFridays. The food was good....just like home. After dinner, it was time to try and rest up. Big day tomorrow. |
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