To start off our trip, we headed to the central of the city--the heart of Hong Kong. It was New Year's Day and it was unusually deserted when we arrived, but as the day went along people woke up and started trickling into the streets. We eventually experienced the full force of the population and I have never seen so many people in my life. Hong Kong is made up of Hong Kong island (where the city center is) separated from Kowloon and the New Territories (which is part of mainland China) by the Victoria Harbor. We stayed on the Kowloon side and so the first sight of Hong Kong central was crossing the harbor on the star ferry. It is quite a skyline which is unfortunately obscured somewhat with haze and smog. At night, however, it is most striking with the lights reflecting off the water. We explored downtown, riding the mid-levels escalators through the city, riding a tram to the top of Victoria Peak for a great view, and sitting atop an open double decker bus. We stopped by the oldest Buddhist temple in Hong Kong--the Man Mo Temple. We even ate a popular dim sum place frequented by the locals. The dim sum (or dumplings) are on trolleys and they stop and your table so you can pick out what you want right there. We've grown quite fond of dim sum living over here in Asia and most of us, kids included, are pretty good with chop sticks now. We didn't even have a fork or spoon option here. Pictured below is the Hong Kong city skyline during the laser show that we stayed to watch one night. You also see Abigail and Maggie by the incense burners in the temple. The kids are pictured on the top of the bus, and another picture is of a typical street in Hong Kong. The final picture in this section is the escalators that run though the city center for blocks with "exits" down to major streets below.
On the second day of our trip we stayed on the Kowloon side and spent most of the day at the History of Hong Kong museum. It was so interesting learning about the Opium Wars and the British acquisition of Hong Kong. We also learned a lot about Chinese culture in Hong Kong. Mostly, I learned how little I knew about Hong Kong in the first place.
We also had the opportunity to go the temple of our church which is located in Kowloon. Of course we couldn't go together because one of us had to stay with the kids at the hotel. I went to the last session in the evening and Joseph went to the first session in the morning. Our hotel was 2k away from the temple, within walking distance, but it was dark and so I took a taxi. What should have taken 5 minutes, stretched to 30 and I was only about half way there. The traffic was unbelievable. I kept telling the driver I was going to get out, but we were in the 3rd lane over from the sidewalk and he was really uptight about that. It wasn't like the cars were moving anyway to hit me. He finally managed to pull onto a side street and I jumped out and had to almost run the rest of the way to the temple. I thought for sure I would miss the session and that would be really disappointing, not to mention I only had a basic google map of where to go and it was dark. I was really counting on the taxi driver to know how to get me there. When I finally turned the corner onto the street and saw the temple all lit up beautifully, I felt like crying. It was such a welcome sight. I made it and had a wonderful experience with the few other people there.
We went to church there as well (the temple is a separate part of the same building housing offices and a chapel) on Sunday with a really sweet Cantonese local ward. Several people offered to translate the testimonies for us. After the meeting we walked around the grounds of the temple with the kids. The gardens were small but immaculately cared for with flowers and trees and even a little water fountain. Going to the temple was actually the impetus to the entire trip. It is amazing how being near the temple and in the temple is the same no matter what corner or the world you are in. The comforting feeling of peace and tranquility and safety transcends language and culture. I think when we go to heaven someday, it will feel the same and we will recognize it because we have experienced it here on earth in the Lord's house.
We took the metro to Lantau Island, one of several outlying islands part of Hong Kong, to see the biggest sitting Buddha in the world. We rode the metro to the island and then it was about 35 minutes drive from the metro station through winding, narrow roads and hills--something I didn't expect to see in Hong Kong. There were about 300 stairs leading up to the Buddha and magnificent views from the top looking out to the mountain peaks and the coast. It was windy and cold, another foreign thing to us lately. I was able to scrounge up some warm clothes but not enough. The kids were shivering in their one fleece sweatshirt I brought for each of them. The winters are mild too in Hong Kong; it's just that we aren't used to anything colder than 75 degrees. We ate at an old monastery at the base of the Buddha--some good local Chinese vegetables, spring rolls, and rice.
After visiting the Buddha we stopped by a little fishing village, Tai O. It was tucked away on the coast at the base of the hills and is apparently what Hong Kong was hundreds of years ago. I really enjoyed it there, walking along the narrow streets where the day's catch were out in buckets for sale. The kids were mesmerized with all the sea creatures in buckets, on tarps, dried and hanging at the street side stalls. When someone would stop to buy a fish, the person selling it would weigh it on an old hand scale right there, then chop of the head and clean it all out right on the tarp. Joseph bought the kids some smoked little fishes from a street vendor and they gobbled them right up. They are much more gastronomically adventuresome than their mom. Pictured below are the shacks on stilts, peoples homes right in the water. Also you see the street with all the fish for sale.
With one final day left in H0ng Kong, I presented several options for the children to choose from: Disneyland (which I kind of discouraged because we are going in CA this summer), Ocean Park (a seaworld type park with sea animals and rides) or a really cool hike called "The Dragon Back Hike" where we climb to the top of a mountain, up and down the ridges like the humps on the back of a dragon. The vote was unanimous: the dragon back hike. I was so proud of the kids. It turned out to be an ambitious undertaking with the children and not a hike for the faint at heart. We headed back to Hong Kong island, to the southernmost tip to begin. We couldn't have felt further from a major metropolis. The hike was amazing and all the kids would tell you it was their favorite part of the whole trip. It was long and steep, arduous at times. We would switchback for awhile and then just go straight up the mountain to the top. Joseph carried Ella on his back but Xander walked the whole way. He kept asking, "are we going back to the hotel yet?" I would answer, "no," and he would say, "I don't want to go back. I want to keep hiking on the dragon." Once we reached the top we hiked along the ridge with sweeping views of the South China Sea and the coastline of Hong Kong below. What a finale to a fabulous trip!
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