Bright and early Saturday morning, December 17th, we were up and ready to go to the airport. This was the one morning our driver, Jiang, chose to be late. 45 minutes late! Wow, were we stressed! And a bit mad. We never have received an explanation, but Jiang drove like the wind, and luckily, we have lots of girls who can help fill out the millions of forms to go through customs. We made it to the Hong Kong Disney Land hotel around 1:00 pm Wow, was it beautiful!!! It was heavenly just walking around the grounds, which had a perfect view of the ocean. The children were so excited because Mickey Mouse was on everything. The carpet, the bedspreads, the artwork, everything. And everyone who worked there would smile, say hello, and tell them to have a magical day. Now, if that isn't worth hundreds of dollars a night, I don't know what is! Oh...Don't let me forget that Goofy was in the lobby every night for photos! They even gave us Mickey Mouse slippers in adult and children's sizes. It was about 55 degrees that day, but the children all insisted on swimming in the outdoor pool. I was a bit chilly, but they didn't seem to notice. Our friends, the Larsens, and the Millers had all arrived by that evening. It was so wonderful to see them. They are two families from our ward in Canton, Michigan, who are also crazy enough to come to live in Asia. Creed and John also work for Ford. The Millers live in Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Larsens, in Chongqing China. We had the best time with them. It couldn't have been more perfect! Our children aren't even all the same ages. I think between the three families, we could have a child just about every age from one to thirteen. Close, anyway. But all of the children were so happy to be with friends, and all got along perfectly! Rachel and Nicole were so happy and willing to watch the children a couple of evenings so that us adults could stay out and visit. We were so grateful!
Sunday, we had our first adventure on the Hong Kong Subway, on our trip to church. I was never sure if it was a branch, or a ward, but they welcomed our huge group with open arms, and even insisted we stay after for their Christmas Lunch. It was delicious, and really sweet of them. We even tasted some Philippine desserts. Very interesting. The church was four stories high. The space is so limited, that the buildings have to be small and high.
On Monday, we went to Disneyland. Everyone had such a good time. It isn't a large Disneyland. Actually, it's quite small. The only big ride is Space Mountain. But nobody complained. It was a great show, and we had fun even on the smaller rides. We went on Monday, and Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon got really busy. In fact, all of the fast passes were sold out by 1:30 pm. We all left around 4:00. We were glad we had gone two days so we didn't have to fight the crowds too much. I'll put in a photo to show how busy it was on Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday was the day for shopping! Luckily, the Larsens had come to Hong Kong earlier in the year, and were great guides. That day we moved from the Disney Hotel, into town at the YMCA. I don't know how they did it, but the YMCA has a great spot of real-estate! We had a perfect view of Hong Kong across the bay. It was amazing. On Wednesday, we rode the ferry, and jumped onto the Double-decker bus. The bus took us through narrow winding streets to Stanley Market. What a great place! It has tons of little stalls selling everything! But the best things for us were the children's' clothing from Gap, Oshkosh, etc. For so cheap! That evening, us ladies hit the Lady's Market. More shopping...But this was more like the stuff we are used to here in China. The girls came with us, and we had a great time.
Thursday was our day at the Temple. Mike and Rachel were able to go early to do baptisms for the dead. It was a great experience for both of them. Because we live far from our ecclesiastical leaders, my dad helped us get permission for her to be interviewed by a member of the temple presidency. It was a wonderful day for her. The rest of us made it there, and we set up all of the children in a primary room. The Hong Kong temple sits on top of a chapel. The older children watched the young ones, so that all of us parents could attend together. It was a wonderful experience. We felt such peace there. Such a contrast from the huge, bustling city of Hong Kong. Afterward we went to a mall and bought shoes and shirts that fit Michael! He has to wear a tie to work everyday now, a change that didn't happen until after we moved here. Unfortunately, we weren't prepared for that. He was in desperate need! That night, we happened to see that the Nutcracker was playing near our hotel. Heidi took two of her boys, Laurel took Emma, and I took my girls. It was so much fun! It really helped things feel like Christmas. We got back at about 10:00pm , and Mike and Creed headed out to the Night Market. He got back at 12:30! The city never sleeps. He had found a place that sold the kind of curling iron and flat iron I use!
Friday was our last day. We went to the trolley car that took us up Victoria Peak, where we saw a beautiful view of the city. The trolley seemed to go straight up, the mountain was so steep. It is amazing the way they have built into the mountain. We then went to a Buddhist temple. My children have seen many Buddhist temples, but the trip there was neat. We got to see the antique market. That evening, we all met together at the TGI Friday restaurant. We felt right at home, because it was the same as every other TGI Fridays I've ever been too. Good food, terrible service! We all had a good laugh. Us ladies had one last rush to shop. We stopped at the Esprit outlet, where we were disappointed to find most everything in size 2 and 4 (and that sizes ran very small). We stopped in the lobby at 11:45pm for a tear-filled good-bye. We had such a wonderful time together.
Friday morning we finished packing, and went to the airport. To top off a great trip...They upgraded us to business class for the flight home! I'd say that was the end of a perfect R&R vacation! We all decided that there wasn't much rest involved, but there was drinkable water, plenty of wonderful food, comfortable good friends, people speaking English, and sizes to fit us! The girls were able to spend some Christmas money on clothes to fit them. They were happy! It was wonderful because it was like a huge Western city, with an oriental flair! A great mix of both worlds!
