Hong Kong 2012 (part 1)

What a great experience we had! We survived the plane rides, bustling city and each other! lol  Here's how it all went down......

My dad paid for all of us kiddos to go visit family and his hometown in Hong Kong.  So my sisters, parents, nephew and son loading up (with I think 17 bags in all) and headed to the Houston airport on 9/22 at 5 am.  24 hours and 3 airplane rides later (we stopped in Calgary and Vancouver) we made it to Hong Kong and our 3 bedroom rental.  The beds were hard and the one bathroom was daunting at first -- but it all worked out.  Trevor did great on the plane -- enjoying the inflight movies and sleeping!  Since we were all whacky on time we just headed to bed!

Day 2 - our first meal was ........ McDonald's breakfast - lol!!! It was conveniently right across the street and seemed easy enough. My uncle David came over to help us around town (get our "octopus card" - public transit card which coincidentally acted like a debit card at most stores too!), show us where bus stops were located and how to get over to his place.  We then journeyed over to St Gabriel's Catholic cemetery to pay respects to my grandfather who had passed 15 years ago.  The pics you'll see of his headstone are what was there for the past 15 years -- while we were in HK it was most likely demolished and his remains were placed in the wall behind it (just like the other family members from the pictures.) Because so many people are in HK the cemeteries get overcrowded so you are only allowed to be buried for 15 years, then you are exhumed and placed in a wall.  The are a handful of plots that are "grandfathered" and can stay buried (hence why a great grandparent is still buried with her headstone.)  I hope that all made sense... so we walked up (and I say UP with great emphasis) to section 62, said a few words to YahYah, bowed 3 times and placed flowers on his grave site.  If you look close at the pic of me you'll see how hard I worked to make it there.... yes I am out of shape, but I was glad I accomplished the hike and was able to share that moment with my dad! Then we visited 3 other family members, paying our respects to them as well.  After that we ran a lot of errands around town and ended the day at Uncle David's house eating a home cooked Chinese meal and visiting with Mah-Mah (Trevor calls her Taipa) - my dad's mom.

 

Day 3 - We did a lot of walking and public transit this day! We were heading to Downtown HK to eat (via the subway) and go to the Peak but didn't quite have a good "game plan" so after roaming a bit we finally settled in to have a traditional HK breakfast (fried egg, ham (lunchmeat), and noodles!)  Let's just say Ramen is a normal thing here!!! Def not something we "Americanized!" We headed over to Victoria Peak - one of the highest points in HK.  The original lookout place was there but we rode a tram up the mountain to the "newer" look out which looked like a bowl!  The view was great but smoggy!  It was neat to see and learn about the history of the tram.  We stopped into The Pearl restaurant to enjoy some seafood appetizers (crab, lobster, escargot, abalone, shrimp, oysters......) yum yum! After that we headed to the ferry to cross back over the bay and walked the "avenue of stars" (their version of Hollywood walk of fame!)  Dinner was at a place in the mall (more ramen!) and then we went to the boardwalk to enjoy the light show of the HK cityscape.  We were all very tired from the walking but unfortunately we had not quite mastered the subway and did a lot of walking to find the right subway station!  Needless to say our "dogs" were pooped and so was poor Trevor!!!

Day 4 -- Being exhausted from all the walking we got a late start, so we ate some Dim Sum brunch.  Trevor wasn't in the best mood so he and my mom went back  to the apartment while the rest of us hit the Ladies Market for some bargain shopping.  Tons of jewelry, knock off purses and more were available for buying! My sisters got a Marc Jacobs purse and Alexander McQueen (knock offs of course! but very cute!) , some Beats by Dr. Dre (again knock offs) and I got a pair of shoes! We were sure to return.... We headed home to rest before going to Mah-Mah's birthday celebration banquet.  At the banquet we met a ton of family - many who came over from China.  Lots of cousins and more! 3 hours later we finally settled in to eat but Trevor passed out! So that's why he is missing in some of the pictures!!! We enjoyed a 10 course meal.  If you ask why are the heads of things still there - it has a few meanings (to prove it is fresh and Chinese leave nothing behind - everything is possibly edible...not that anyone chewed on the pig or chicken head!) We looked goofy taking a picture of each dish but our table companions quickly understood our silliness and would pose the dishes for us!  It was a great night!

Day 5 - Ocean Park Adventures..... This is the local theme park.  Think zoo + Seaworld+ Six flags!  Complete with cable car over a mountain!  Trevor loved this place! We got to see aquatic animals, polar animals and panda bears!!!!! Plus ride a few rides! It was a busy day !

Read part 2 to hear about the rest of our adventures!!! Check out my Picasa album via your email link to see more pictures!!! If you didn't get the link comment me (email me) and I'll send it to you!