THURSDAY (Nov. 12, 2009) - Plane ride – Leaving Thursday morning around 5 a.m. at home. - I went from Salt Lake to San Francisco – the flight SF was delayed 30 minutes so I have about a 4 hour layover. I walked around to see all of the shops and ate lunch – chicken pot pie soup with sourdough roll (delicious!). I finally got on the flight – I was seated right next to the kitchen on the end of the aisle. I could see the food they were preparing and it smelled great – I sat next to an elderly couple going to Asia – they were also Asian. They pretty much slept the whole time! I had purchased a pillow to put over my neck in the SF airport – glad I did. This was a great thing to put around my neck, sit on to help my sore bottom, and then to have my back against. I didn't know what to expect from a 14 hour plane ride – what an awful experience!!! I never knew how long that would feel. I started out by reading a book for about 1 hour, took a nap for as long as I could before I felt like my bottom was going to fall off, walked around and headed to the bathroom, watched a movie “Time Travelers’ Wife” and then looked at the time left in flight - 9 hours – how was I going to last that long???? I truly didn’t know. I was able to fall asleep a little off and on the whole ride – they had 2 great meals they passed out along with a noodles like Ramon for a snack – this helped pass the time also – I pretty much read all of a 300 page Anita Stansfield book on the ride. When 1 hour was announced before landing I was so ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to see Byron again. His flight was supposed to land 1 hour after mine did, but since I was about 40 minutes late to land I wasn’t sure if he would beat me or not. He was coming from Tokyo, Japan – according to the flight maps we had travelled directly over there on our way to Hong Kong. How I wished that I was able to only fly to Tokyo at that moment maybe 11 hours into our flight. After landing we had to go through the international processes – I had to fill out a health card indicating if I had any of the symptoms of the swine flu or if I was around anybody who had it – luckily no there. We also went through customs where there was about a 15 minute wait. We were all herded through like cattle! I finally got to the front where the guy looked at my passport, scanned it and then stamped it. I then was free to go through the doors to find my luggage. The luggage area was completely huge – probably the size of a football field. I was tempted to head to the bathroom first since I wasn’t sure how I would do that with my entire luggage, when I thought I would at least go to the luggage and see if it was there yet. As I started walking that direction I could see Byron from the corner of my eye looking right at me – how glad I was to see him at that moment – I almost wanted to cry and couldn’t quit smiling! I love him so much and after such a long flight and going to an unknown area he was such a pleasant surprise. He had beaten me into the airport – landing about 20 minutes early. He had thought he probably missed me when he asked somebody next to the baggage claim finding out our flight was late and just landed. After getting my luggage – the small piece was totally busted down one side – luckily all of the contents were safe inside – that would be awful to have his clothes strewn all over either the plane or the conveyor belt – everything inside of this bag extra clothes for Byron to last him the last 4 days after I left of his trip. We ended up taking a taxi to our hotel in Hong Kong – about a 30 minute drive. It cost just under $50 to go in the taxi. It was about 8:00 pm by the time we got in the taxi and dark outside. We came across many massive buildings that had lights all over them for the holiday seasons – very pretty. One of Camille’s friends described it as New York, but cleaner – I could definitely see that – it was a huge city that looked a lot like the New York I remember, but no trash at all around – instead I have seen people constantly cleaning in the public bathrooms, getting garbage, etc. We stayed at the Park Lane Hotel. It is a very nice hotel – our room isn’t the largest, but a nice size. We have a queen bed to share. That night we headed out to find something to eat before retiring for the night. We went to eat at KFC – eating something pretty light since I wasn’t extremely hungry.
Somehow I skipped Friday all together - not sure how that happens - such a strange feeling! I can now empathize with Byron a little on what he has to deal with every time he travels to Asia.
My plane from San Francisco to Hong Kong.
Byron getting our money changed over to HK money.
Byron with our KFC dinner after arriving into Hong Kong. All of the food portions were a lot smaller than the ones we were used to.
There were double decker buses all over the place. Byron was amazed with these since he had never seen them anywhere in Asia before. Hong Kong used to be ruled by Britain until around 10 years ago so many of the things they say and what you see comes from Europe.
SATURDAY (Nov. 14, 2009) – we woke up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready to go to the temple. We were ready by 7:30 a.m. and headed out to get in a taxi. The ride lasted about 20 minutes in a taxi. The temple was beautiful. It is right next to a pretty big road and has very little outdoor landscaping – it is surrounded by a large granite or marble wall. Inside of the wall there is a beautiful waterfall and other pretty plants. The first session of the day was at 9 a.m. – We were about 45 minutes early as we entered the temple after taking pictures all the way around it – a nice Asian worker greeted us and let us in. We had to go to the 2nd floor to purchase clothing. Byron was able to enter the men’s dressing room from that floor and I had to go up to the 3rd floor to find the lady’s dressing room. I found a stall among maybe 10 different ones and started dressing. After coming out I asked the lady worker where the bathroom was located at – she didn’t understand me and said “Baptismal Font downstairs.” At this point I said bathroom again and the poor lady still didn’t understand me. Then a nice white lady came out of the dressing room and said I need it to and said “Toilet that is what they call it where I am from.” The lady quickly understood and started laughing that she didn’t understand me – the door right next to us was the bathroom. I came to talk to this lady a lot as we were put into a room with about 15 chairs to sit and wait – She lived in Shanghai, China with her husband and 3 children – they moved from New Mexico about 5 months previous to start a dental practice. She absolutely loved living in China and their closest temple was this one (a 2 hour plane ride.) She was here with a group from her branch. My thoughts were how lucky we are to live with a temple so close – we definitely need to take advantage of it more!!! She absolutely loves it in China and glad they made the move to uproot their family. The thought of moving my family doesn’t sound very appealing, but I’m sure it would be an awesome experience for a family to experience together.
The temple experience was awesome. There were just over 30 people in the session which they only had for those that spoke English – and then they had another session in the other room for those that spoke Chinese.
We came back to change at our hotel and then went to eat at “Jade Garden.” We ate some dim sum. It was a lot like Tucanos to me – people walking around with carts of food that you can get from them. There were a few things I tried that I definitely didn’t like at all. I was glad Byron had me try them, though. My favorite by far was some BBQ honey pork dim sum – it has a bread outside – delicious! We also had some pot stickers and steamed Swiss chard that was great also. Byron was more daring and had some shrimp food and others that I definitely wouldn’t want to eat. We came away feeling full, but not overly sick – I am glad I went out of my comfort zone and tried some very authentic food. It cost us around $50 to eat here.We then headed to the “Star Ferry” to pay to get across from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon peninsula. The fare costs $2.00 HK which is around .30 cents. It was a really fun ride that lasted for about 5 minutes that had such an amazing view of the skyline. We headed over to the shops over in Kowloon. There were some fun Christmas decorations already out. We took a taxi and headed to the Ladies Market, Jade Market and Temple Street Market. It was fun to see Byron in his glory trying to bargain for amazing prices at these markets. We got some pretty amazing things – Byron usually got them down more than half from where they started. It was funny to see some of the people try to pull us back as we were heading to another area. Some of them were pretty desperate for our sale after spending so much time going down in price for us. The Jade Market had some beautiful jewelry – I enjoyed getting some pretty pearl necklaces and earrings. The Temple Street Market was the last place we went that was such a great place to bargain shop also.
After shopping in Kowloon - we headed back over by the Star Ferry. Upon arrival, we noticed many people gathering around the water area. We ended up waiting around 10 minutes and were able to see an awesome light show called "Symphony of Lights." It is put on by the Hong Kong Tourism Department. There were lights on almost every building in the skyline that went along with the music. There was also laser lights shining into the sky from some of the buildings. It was pretty impressive. I was glad we were coming back when we did so we were able to watch it.
We came back to our hotel room with a backpack full of goods. We ate McDonald's that night for dinner – not the best food for us, but such a needed comfort food for me. We came back to the room and I fell asleep almost immediately.
SATURDAY (Nov. 14, 2009) – we woke up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready to go to the temple. We were ready by 7:30 a.m. and headed out to get in a taxi. The ride lasted about 20 minutes in a taxi. The temple was beautiful. It is right next to a pretty big road and has very little outdoor landscaping – it is surrounded by a large granite or marble wall. Inside of the wall there is a beautiful waterfall and other pretty plants. The first session of the day was at 9 a.m. – We were about 45 minutes early as we entered the temple after taking pictures all the way around it – a nice Asian worker greeted us and let us in. We had to go to the 2nd floor to purchase clothing. Byron was able to enter the men’s dressing room from that floor and I had to go up to the 3rd floor to find the lady’s dressing room. I found a stall among maybe 10 different ones and started dressing. After coming out I asked the lady worker where the bathroom was located at – she didn’t understand me and said “Baptismal Font downstairs.” At this point I said bathroom again and the poor lady still didn’t understand me. Then a nice white lady came out of the dressing room and said I need it to and said “Toilet that is what they call it where I am from.” The lady quickly understood and started laughing that she didn’t understand me – the door right next to us was the bathroom. I came to talk to this lady a lot as we were put into a room with about 15 chairs to sit and wait – She lived in Shanghai, China with her husband and 3 children – they moved from New Mexico about 5 months previous to start a dental practice. She absolutely loved living in China and their closest temple was this one (a 2 hour plane ride.) She was here with a group from her branch. My thoughts were how lucky we are to live with a temple so close – we definitely need to take advantage of it more!!! She absolutely loves it in China and glad they made the move to uproot their family. The thought of moving my family doesn’t sound very appealing, but I’m sure it would be an awesome experience for a family to experience together.
The temple experience was awesome. There were just over 30 people in the session which they only had for those that spoke English – and then they had another session in the other room for those that spoke Chinese.
We came back to change at our hotel and then went to eat at “Jade Garden.” We ate some dim sum. It was a lot like Tucanos to me – people walking around with carts of food that you can get from them. There were a few things I tried that I definitely didn’t like at all. I was glad Byron had me try them, though. My favorite by far was some BBQ honey pork dim sum – it has a bread outside – delicious! We also had some pot stickers and steamed Swiss chard that was great also. Byron was more daring and had some shrimp food and others that I definitely wouldn’t want to eat. We came away feeling full, but not overly sick – I am glad I went out of my comfort zone and tried some very authentic food. It cost us around $50 to eat here.We then headed to the “Star Ferry” to pay to get across from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon peninsula. The fare costs $2.00 HK which is around .30 cents. It was a really fun ride that lasted for about 5 minutes that had such an amazing view of the skyline. We headed over to the shops over in Kowloon. There were some fun Christmas decorations already out. We took a taxi and headed to the Ladies Market, Jade Market and Temple Street Market. It was fun to see Byron in his glory trying to bargain for amazing prices at these markets. We got some pretty amazing things – Byron usually got them down more than half from where they started. It was funny to see some of the people try to pull us back as we were heading to another area. Some of them were pretty desperate for our sale after spending so much time going down in price for us. The Jade Market had some beautiful jewelry – I enjoyed getting some pretty pearl necklaces and earrings. The Temple Street Market was the last place we went that was such a great place to bargain shop also.
After shopping in Kowloon - we headed back over by the Star Ferry. Upon arrival, we noticed many people gathering around the water area. We ended up waiting around 10 minutes and were able to see an awesome light show called "Symphony of Lights." It is put on by the Hong Kong Tourism Department. There were lights on almost every building in the skyline that went along with the music. There was also laser lights shining into the sky from some of the buildings. It was pretty impressive. I was glad we were coming back when we did so we were able to watch it.
We came back to our hotel room with a backpack full of goods. We ate McDonald's that night for dinner – not the best food for us, but such a needed comfort food for me. We came back to the room and I fell asleep almost immediately.
In front of the beautiful Hong Kong temple.
Taxis, taxis and more taxis - these are what we travelled in all over the place. All of them were red.
Tricia with the English and Chinese sign for the temple behind her.
After coming out of the temple on the beautiful temple grounds. 
We saw this bamboo all over - they use it as scaffolding - pretty creative!
Here is some laundry being hung out to dry.
The place setting for most everywhere we went. There was always a cup for tea and we were asked if we wanted some everywhere we ate.
The yummy dim-sum - my favorite were the pork rolls on the bottom left.
Chop sticks - they only lasted around 2 minutes until I could get a fork, but Byron has mastered this art and is pretty impressive at how well he can eat with them.
The Jade Garden restaurant - we were probably the only whites in the whole restaurant.
Byron & I with our food.
On the pier getting ready to take the Star Ferry across to Kowloon.
I am in front of a cool wall next to the Star Ferry.
On the 5 minute ride across the harbor to Kowloon.
This is what the Star Ferry looks like. Many people coming and going to work use it to commute back and forth from Hong Kong to Kowloon.
The cool skyline - notice all of the big companies that are located there.
When we got into the shopping area over in Kowloon - they were all decorated for Christmas - here are some of the cool decorations all over.
Here is a small tug boat pulling a large barge - this reminded me of the cartoon "Little Toot."
The beautiful city of Hong Kong in the background.
Here is one of the fun children's characters that was next to a huge dragon.
Funny signs all over to show where the "restrooms" were located.
A cool tree that I enjoyed seeing in Hong Kong. There is one pretty similar in Hawaii called the "Walking Tree." This tree is called "The Chinese Banyan."
A guy riding his bike with 4 baskets attached.
A 7-Eleven in Hong Kong - it was nice to see places that I am so familiar with.
We are in front of the Jade Market.
It was fun seeing all these guys huddled around 2 men playing chess.
Anybody ready for lunch???
These were all over in the outdoor shopping areas - these were small birds.
We ate at McDonalds at least twice - my stomach needed regular food once in a while:).
We went to the "Symphony of Lights" and enjoyed seeing the beautiful light show - here was a huge cruise ship that decided to pass through during the light show.
Here is our room - it was a really nice hotel - "Park Lane."
SUNDAY (Nov. 15, 2009) – I woke up around 6 a.m. feeling well rested, but fell back to sleep. At 8 a.m., I decided to get up – there is nothing like waking up on your own then with a child or alarm going off. We started off by going downstairs to the 1st floor of our hotel to eat a buffet breakfast. Byron got his meal for free, so I just needed to pay for mine – around $20 US dollars. I had some delicious pineapple, watermelon, bacon, eggs, hash browns & toast. It amazed me how many of the Asian’s were eating salad, soup and other things I wouldn’t consider breakfast foods. Byron said that Asian’s eat like every other meal for breakfast – that would be weird. Camille would fit right into this culture.We got into a taxi and headed to Ocean Park. It is somewhat like a “Sea World” and Lagoon. There were some really cool animals to see along with fun rides to go on. I am glad we went even though the price was around $30 US. We started out by seeing the panda exhibits. We were able to see some really cool pandas eating their breakfast – bamboo. They were pretty close to the glass going to town as they ate. Pretty awesome! We saw some amazing animals while there. We also saw a dolphin/seal show – something like we would see at “Sea World.” It was pretty fun to watch. The only ride we went on was a train ride that was pretty much like a roller coaster. The setting was absolutely gorgeous on the side of a mountain – the ride was so close to the edge that there were some turns that felt like we were hanging over. Such an incredible feeling! The Asians make me laugh. I’m not sure if they aren’t very fond of roller coasters or not, but there were more people watching us ride it and taking pictures than going on it. The Asians that were riding the ride seemed extra excited and scared to ride – like they had never ridden a roller coaster before.
Ocean Park is separated into two parts with a mountain in between. The only way to get from one side to the other is by either taking a cable cars (like sky ride at Lagoon) or by taking a train under the mountain. We rode the sky ride up the mountain when we went to the other side – talk about an amazing view. Byron & I didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. The ride lasted around 20-25 minutes and got to some amazing heights. We had an amazing view of the water, city, ships, boats, etc. Too bad the smog or fog wasn’t very good and we couldn’t see as well as I’d like to have seen if it was a clear day. The winds started picking up half way into the trip and freaked Byron & I both out. Luckily they subsided and didn’t get too bad. We decided that on the way back we were going to take the train ride and that was tons quicker/safer.
After leaving Ocean Park, we headed to “Stanley Market.” While riding the taxi to this market, we were riding on some beautiful winding roads right next to the ocean. The rain started and didn’t quit the whole time we were shopping. Luckily there were so many of the shops completely covered so we weren’t getting wet. This market isn’t one where you can bargain as much – the prices are already set where they want them. I didn’t enjoy this type of shopping at all – we did find some great deals, though – I just would have preferred to be in the Temple Street Markets instead. We ate at a pizza restaurant for an afternoon snack. We headed back to the hotel for a 1 ½ hour break then headed over to Ruby Tuesday’s to eat dinner. It was a 3 minute walk from our hotel. The food was delicious. I ordered a chicken/avocado salad and Byron got 4 mini burgers/French fries. It felt great to be eating such American Food again. By the time we left it was raining pretty hard as we ran back to our hotel.
Right under our hotel is IKEA. We decided to walk through it and got caught in that terrible maze – we ended up retracing our steps to get out and found the yummy ice–cream cones on our way out. The ice-cream was $2 HK or around $.20US –definitely worth the money. We had a great day with some fun things planned. I am so ready for bed and it is currently 9 p.m.
Such a cute panda - we both loved watching it and were there right when he was eating his bamboo.
Now doesn't this look tasty? Byron tried to get me to eat it, but of course I refused. Come to find out that after I left Hong Kong he ended up eating these at a dinner with those he works with. I couldn't imagine - I have way too daring of a husband!
Tricia near an alligator at Ocean Park.
This fish fascinated me - so pretty yet strange.
Heading up on the sky ride - it ended up being quite a trip in itself that I wish I had recorded. We were literally going up one side of the mountain right next cliffs that went straight down to water. I was glad to not have to deal with children since I would be terrified they would end up falling out:).
One of the beaitiful views from the sky ride.
We watched a dolphin show that was very entertaining.
Another beautiful view from Ocean Park.
Escalators everywhere - we would ride them to go up and down to different rides and different levels at Ocean Park since they are literally located on the side of a mountain. - My kids would have LOVED this part.
Some pretty birds.
Here is the rollercoaster that we went on - it was so fun, but terrifying at the same time to be so close to the cliff. I had to take a picture of the Asians watching instead of riding as if that was enough entertainment for them to last a while:).
Cool starfish.
This is called a "Sea Dragon." So cool!
While at Stanley Market we walked over to the water - it was raining most of the time we were there.
Our lunch - pepperoni pizza - yum!MONDAY (Nov. 16, 2009) - I woke up quite a bit during the night totally ready to wake up from 5 a.m. on. I was able to stay in bed until 8 a.m. where I had had enough and got up. We went and ate the breakfast in the hotel – I had a yummy omelet, fruit & hash browns. After we ate we called the kids at home. It was 6 p.m. Sunday night there – Melissa was currently with the children and I was able to talk quickly with each of them. The kids were excited because their Uncle Eric was there and Jeff/Emily & children were coming over. It sounds like they are having a great time without their parents there.
We got into a taxi and headed over to Aberdeen to get on a boat ride. On our way over, pretty close to our hotel room, Byron noticed an LDS chapel. It was a very tall and skinny building – I wish I could have taken a picture of it. There was even a steeple on top. It is amazing how the church makes things work in other countries by adjusting to each new country. Aberdeen was once a fishing village. Now it is known for its hundreds of sampans, junks, boat people, and a huge floating restaurant. We went out on a 25 minute boat ride all by ourselves to see the fishing boats and house boats that these people live in. What an experience! Byron videotaped most of our trip and I took quite a few pictures. We could see people on their fishing boats getting ready to head out to see. There were also quite the things hanging off of these boats, dogs, plants, and other things. A very nice lady was our boat rider who also took pictures of Byron & I on the boat. It cost us $180 HK or around $25 US for both of us. We were so glad we took the opportunity to go. It is something that I have seen in a movie before, but now have seen firsthand.
Next we headed up to the Mid-Level Escalators. These are the world’s longest covered escalators. They go up a side of a mountain where many businesses are. It is pretty cool. Most of the time there aren’t even the steps, but a flat surface to step on. At each major street you get off of them and then in a few feet can get back on. We had fun going up them for a few streets. Then we got off to head to the Man Mo Temple. Before we came up on it, we saw a lot of shopping down one of the streets. We headed down to a fun street with tons of street vendors selling uncooked meats, vegetables and other things. I was so excited to find a nice coat for myself that fits great – it cost me $20 US. I usually can't find anything that fits perfectly in the arms and apparently the Asians have a lot the same build as me. The Man Mo Temple was my first experience with anything like this. Upon entering there is tons of incense burning – hanging from the ceilings and also the small wood ones burning on different tables. This is Hong Kong’s oldest and most well-known temple. This temple dates back to the 1840’s. The smell started getting to me, not the best smell in my opinion. We ended up eating lunch in a small sandwich shop by the escalators – not the best food at all. Then we headed to Victoria’s Peak to see the spectacular view. We got onto a tram that pretty much went at a 45 degree angle up the side of the mountain. It reminded me of a trolley car in San Francisco. There are huge cable’s attached to the tram from the bottom that help the tram move up the mountain. There were times when it was pretty crazy going up since we were headed at such a big angle up the side of the mountain. Once we got on top we went to the top of the building to see the spectacular view of all of Hong Kong. The rain from yesterday helped clear out any of the fog we have seen the past 2 days, so the view was awesome. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful view together then enjoyed walking around and shopping on Victoria’s Peak for over one hour. Coming off the mountain in the tram was even crazier than going up since we were sitting backwards on the ride. It felt awfully strange to be going backwards at such a huge decline. We headed to a mall to watch “2012” the movie. It was really good – very intense, but a great show. The seats in the theater were leather and so nice. The theater was pretty small – maybe seating 1/3rd of the norm in the states. When wanting to watch this show, the people that work there didn’t understand the question on what it was rated. We risked the chance it was PG1-3 and were grateful it was a clean show – we looked late and it was indeed PG 13. After the show we headed over the Star Ferry and went across to Kowloon for dinner. We ended up eating at “Peking Garden.” It had Hong Kong food and was pretty good. I was definitely nervous, but pleasantly surprised. Upon arriving after putting our jackets on the back of the seats, the workers came and covered our jackets with a chair cover – pretty weird – not sure if our coats make it ugly there or why they did that. We ordered some pork noodles and chicken cashew. We shared both dishes and had plenty to share. Byron also got some wonton soup and I had a little bite – not my favorite at all – at least I tried it, though.
After dinner we went back to the Star Ferry to cross over again before getting into a taxi to go back to our hotel room. We went downstairs and I had an ice-cream sundae and Byron an ice-cream cone at IKEA.
The "Floating Restaurant" - we didn't eat there since the cost was so high, but we enjoyed seeing it from the fishing boat.
While on our boat ride, some of the life of the people in Aberdeen.
Byron & I while on the boat - the driver was kind enough to take our picture.
Here is our driver - such a nice lady that spoke English very well.
Byron while on the mid-level escalators.
A fun shopping area in Hong Kong - so crowded with people doing their food shopping.
I love this - it is a laundromat - it was such a small building and packed full of laundry to clean.
Hong Kong from Victorias Peak.
It was so windy up that high and a little chilly.
Ecalators galore - After getting up to Victorias Peak there was a huge buidling with maybe 6 floors of shopping. We had to go up all of these escalators to get to the look out point at the top of the building to see the great view of Hong Kong.
Taken while up at Victorias Peak.
The luxurious movie theater - leather seats - very nice and tons of leg room.
Here we are at the Peking Garden restaurant - Here is our chicken cashew and noodles.
Our wonton soup - no thank you :). - acutally tasted like chicken soup, but couldn't get myself to eat all that green stuff - I think it was seaweed.
The LDS church house.
Inside my taxi on the way to airport - notice the driver on the right side - this definitely threw me off many times driving on the wrong side of the road.
Happy to be going home.
A cool bridge on the way to the airport.
Upon entering the airport - it was absolutely massive!
An elevator - called "Lift" in HK - we had to become very creative with the words we used to find things in Hong Kong - luckily Byron was smarter than I and we were able to use the right words where the people understood us. If we said "elevator" they had no idea what we were talking about, but as soon as we said, "lift" they immediately understood and showed us where to go.
My plane for my long flight to Vancouver, Canada.
My seat - pretty awesome to have a tv this leg of the flight.
There were some really pretty pictures I took when I had a window seat from Vancouver into San Francisco.
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Here is a cute video of the panda at Ocean Park - it was funny to see that pandas are also very picky with the way they eat and will eat the best part first :).
We got into a taxi and headed over to Aberdeen to get on a boat ride. On our way over, pretty close to our hotel room, Byron noticed an LDS chapel. It was a very tall and skinny building – I wish I could have taken a picture of it. There was even a steeple on top. It is amazing how the church makes things work in other countries by adjusting to each new country. Aberdeen was once a fishing village. Now it is known for its hundreds of sampans, junks, boat people, and a huge floating restaurant. We went out on a 25 minute boat ride all by ourselves to see the fishing boats and house boats that these people live in. What an experience! Byron videotaped most of our trip and I took quite a few pictures. We could see people on their fishing boats getting ready to head out to see. There were also quite the things hanging off of these boats, dogs, plants, and other things. A very nice lady was our boat rider who also took pictures of Byron & I on the boat. It cost us $180 HK or around $25 US for both of us. We were so glad we took the opportunity to go. It is something that I have seen in a movie before, but now have seen firsthand.
Next we headed up to the Mid-Level Escalators. These are the world’s longest covered escalators. They go up a side of a mountain where many businesses are. It is pretty cool. Most of the time there aren’t even the steps, but a flat surface to step on. At each major street you get off of them and then in a few feet can get back on. We had fun going up them for a few streets. Then we got off to head to the Man Mo Temple. Before we came up on it, we saw a lot of shopping down one of the streets. We headed down to a fun street with tons of street vendors selling uncooked meats, vegetables and other things. I was so excited to find a nice coat for myself that fits great – it cost me $20 US. I usually can't find anything that fits perfectly in the arms and apparently the Asians have a lot the same build as me. The Man Mo Temple was my first experience with anything like this. Upon entering there is tons of incense burning – hanging from the ceilings and also the small wood ones burning on different tables. This is Hong Kong’s oldest and most well-known temple. This temple dates back to the 1840’s. The smell started getting to me, not the best smell in my opinion. We ended up eating lunch in a small sandwich shop by the escalators – not the best food at all. Then we headed to Victoria’s Peak to see the spectacular view. We got onto a tram that pretty much went at a 45 degree angle up the side of the mountain. It reminded me of a trolley car in San Francisco. There are huge cable’s attached to the tram from the bottom that help the tram move up the mountain. There were times when it was pretty crazy going up since we were headed at such a big angle up the side of the mountain. Once we got on top we went to the top of the building to see the spectacular view of all of Hong Kong. The rain from yesterday helped clear out any of the fog we have seen the past 2 days, so the view was awesome. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful view together then enjoyed walking around and shopping on Victoria’s Peak for over one hour. Coming off the mountain in the tram was even crazier than going up since we were sitting backwards on the ride. It felt awfully strange to be going backwards at such a huge decline. We headed to a mall to watch “2012” the movie. It was really good – very intense, but a great show. The seats in the theater were leather and so nice. The theater was pretty small – maybe seating 1/3rd of the norm in the states. When wanting to watch this show, the people that work there didn’t understand the question on what it was rated. We risked the chance it was PG1-3 and were grateful it was a clean show – we looked late and it was indeed PG 13. After the show we headed over the Star Ferry and went across to Kowloon for dinner. We ended up eating at “Peking Garden.” It had Hong Kong food and was pretty good. I was definitely nervous, but pleasantly surprised. Upon arriving after putting our jackets on the back of the seats, the workers came and covered our jackets with a chair cover – pretty weird – not sure if our coats make it ugly there or why they did that. We ordered some pork noodles and chicken cashew. We shared both dishes and had plenty to share. Byron also got some wonton soup and I had a little bite – not my favorite at all – at least I tried it, though.
After dinner we went back to the Star Ferry to cross over again before getting into a taxi to go back to our hotel room. We went downstairs and I had an ice-cream sundae and Byron an ice-cream cone at IKEA.
The "Floating Restaurant" - we didn't eat there since the cost was so high, but we enjoyed seeing it from the fishing boat.
While on our boat ride, some of the life of the people in Aberdeen.
Byron & I while on the boat - the driver was kind enough to take our picture.
Here is our driver - such a nice lady that spoke English very well.
Byron while on the mid-level escalators.
A fun shopping area in Hong Kong - so crowded with people doing their food shopping.
I love this - it is a laundromat - it was such a small building and packed full of laundry to clean.
Hong Kong from Victorias Peak.
It was so windy up that high and a little chilly.
Ecalators galore - After getting up to Victorias Peak there was a huge buidling with maybe 6 floors of shopping. We had to go up all of these escalators to get to the look out point at the top of the building to see the great view of Hong Kong.
Taken while up at Victorias Peak.
The luxurious movie theater - leather seats - very nice and tons of leg room.
Here we are at the Peking Garden restaurant - Here is our chicken cashew and noodles.
Our wonton soup - no thank you :). - acutally tasted like chicken soup, but couldn't get myself to eat all that green stuff - I think it was seaweed.
Here is the funny cover they put over our coats when we entered the restaurant - I guess our coats made their restaurant ugly :)
TUESDAY (Nov. 17, 2009) - Byron had to go into work this morning. We said our goodbyes and I headed down to the front of the hotel to get a taxi to the airport. I left around 9 a.m. for the taxi ride that took 30 minutes to get to the airport. I was a little nervous since I would be dealing with money to pay the taxi driver. Byron had always dealt with that so I didn't have to worry about the conversion problem. I ended up seeing the LDS chapel on my way to the airport and got a picture of it. It is pretty cool looking as it is part of a 8 story or so building. Luckily Byron had had me keep enough HK money to pay the taxi driver and then I had left over to get converted back to US dollars.
Upon arriving at the airport, I had about 1 hour to wait and then headed off to Vancouver, Canada. I was so excited to have my own personal tv to watch whatever I wanted. This was going to be a better flight already - yeah!. I also had a nice lady sit next to the window, but the seat in between us was unoccupied which also was really nice. I was able to take a little nap, watch around 3 movies, eat the food and just enjoy the thought that I was headed home. The flight didn't seem half as long as it had upon arriving in Hong Kong. I only had about an 11 hour flight this direction since the wind must have been helping.
When we arrived into Vancouver, I had about 5 hours until my next flight. We first went through a US area which was the customs so I didn't have to go through it again upon entering the United States. It was such a nice and quick process. I didn't even have to get my luggage as it just got forwarded on by itself.
I ate breakfast, walked around the airport to get exercise, read my book and enjoyed watching some of the news on CNN. The time seemed to go forever. I was just glad I was almost going to be home. It would have been really nice to have travelled with Byron to and from Asia, but I guess this made me not have as much fear of flying by myself.
We boarded the plane and went to San Francisco (had 1 hour till flight) then headed onto Salt Lake City. I was so glad to be home. I came in around 8 p.m. After gathering my luggage, I headed to a shuttle for the parking. I found my truck and headed home.
The kids were still all awake upon pulling into the driveway. There were 6 excited children running out to greet me - it was quite the arrival:). I missed them so much and glad they were in such great hands. I pulled out my suitcase and gave them all one things I got for them while in Hong Kong. The older boys all got watches, Bradley got a cute taxi car that looked just like the ones we drove in all over HK that goes by itself when pulled back and Camille got a really cute black necklace.
I am so grateful for this awesome opportunity. I learned so much about the Asian culture and loved being able to see it firsthand. I also experience the longest "Tuesday" every since I left on a Tuesday morning and got to Salt Lake City Tuesday evening about 25 hours later.
TUESDAY (Nov. 17, 2009) - Byron had to go into work this morning. We said our goodbyes and I headed down to the front of the hotel to get a taxi to the airport. I left around 9 a.m. for the taxi ride that took 30 minutes to get to the airport. I was a little nervous since I would be dealing with money to pay the taxi driver. Byron had always dealt with that so I didn't have to worry about the conversion problem. I ended up seeing the LDS chapel on my way to the airport and got a picture of it. It is pretty cool looking as it is part of a 8 story or so building. Luckily Byron had had me keep enough HK money to pay the taxi driver and then I had left over to get converted back to US dollars.
Upon arriving at the airport, I had about 1 hour to wait and then headed off to Vancouver, Canada. I was so excited to have my own personal tv to watch whatever I wanted. This was going to be a better flight already - yeah!. I also had a nice lady sit next to the window, but the seat in between us was unoccupied which also was really nice. I was able to take a little nap, watch around 3 movies, eat the food and just enjoy the thought that I was headed home. The flight didn't seem half as long as it had upon arriving in Hong Kong. I only had about an 11 hour flight this direction since the wind must have been helping.
When we arrived into Vancouver, I had about 5 hours until my next flight. We first went through a US area which was the customs so I didn't have to go through it again upon entering the United States. It was such a nice and quick process. I didn't even have to get my luggage as it just got forwarded on by itself.
I ate breakfast, walked around the airport to get exercise, read my book and enjoyed watching some of the news on CNN. The time seemed to go forever. I was just glad I was almost going to be home. It would have been really nice to have travelled with Byron to and from Asia, but I guess this made me not have as much fear of flying by myself.
We boarded the plane and went to San Francisco (had 1 hour till flight) then headed onto Salt Lake City. I was so glad to be home. I came in around 8 p.m. After gathering my luggage, I headed to a shuttle for the parking. I found my truck and headed home.
The kids were still all awake upon pulling into the driveway. There were 6 excited children running out to greet me - it was quite the arrival:). I missed them so much and glad they were in such great hands. I pulled out my suitcase and gave them all one things I got for them while in Hong Kong. The older boys all got watches, Bradley got a cute taxi car that looked just like the ones we drove in all over HK that goes by itself when pulled back and Camille got a really cute black necklace.
I am so grateful for this awesome opportunity. I learned so much about the Asian culture and loved being able to see it firsthand. I also experience the longest "Tuesday" every since I left on a Tuesday morning and got to Salt Lake City Tuesday evening about 25 hours later.
The LDS church house.
Inside my taxi on the way to airport - notice the driver on the right side - this definitely threw me off many times driving on the wrong side of the road.
Happy to be going home.
A cool bridge on the way to the airport.
Upon entering the airport - it was absolutely massive!
An elevator - called "Lift" in HK - we had to become very creative with the words we used to find things in Hong Kong - luckily Byron was smarter than I and we were able to use the right words where the people understood us. If we said "elevator" they had no idea what we were talking about, but as soon as we said, "lift" they immediately understood and showed us where to go.
My plane for my long flight to Vancouver, Canada.
My seat - pretty awesome to have a tv this leg of the flight.
There were some really pretty pictures I took when I had a window seat from Vancouver into San Francisco.
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Here is a cute video of the panda at Ocean Park - it was funny to see that pandas are also very picky with the way they eat and will eat the best part first :).
9 comments:
I'm so glad you went Tricia! It looks like you had a wonderful experience!
Now I'm homesick! :>
Wow---what a fun adventure! It is great that you were able to have such a fun trip with Byron. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
What a fun trip! It was interesting to see the pictures of every-day life in Hong Kong. It looks a lot like Chinatown in San Francisco. I've heard SF Chinatown is the largest and most like HK outside of china. I can definitely see the similarities.
Glad you were able to go!
Whew! What a trip. I think that your camera is perfect, your pictures at Hong Kong are gorgeous especially the one with the fish and the blue water. So glad that you were able to have some Me time!!!
What an awesome trip. I loved reading about all of your adventures. Maybe another once in a life time.
I loved the panda video at the end.
I loved reading all about your trip to Hong Kong. I laughted when you'd talk about the food. You guys went to some cool places. It's made me think that going to Hong Kong would be fun to see. It looks beautiful! When you saw Byron at the airport when you first got there, I can just imagine the relief you felt. Thanks for sharing your trip journal with you. You're awesome!
Yes, I am behind in reading blogs. I finally went to my reader to catch up and saw your blog on Hong Kong. I loved living it with you. What a neat place to visit huh! We went to alot of the same places. I hope we can discuss your trip with you, next time we see you. Glad that you were able to go Tricia. You did alot in a short time. Love, Aunt K
Yes, I am behind in reading blogs. I finally went to my reader to catch up and saw your blog on Hong Kong. I loved living it with you. What a neat place to visit huh! We went to alot of the same places. I hope we can discuss your trip with you, next time we see you. Glad that you were able to go Tricia. You did alot in a short time. Love, Aunt K
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