Hong Kong is the Bomb Komb

We have gone some amazing places here, but I have been the most excited for this trip to Hong Kong.  We were lucky to be able to schedule the trip around Kiki's birthday.  We started out by talking about her birthday at Disneyland, then we expanded that to her birth-week celebration, then we admitted to ourselves that this kid has a pretty amazing existence in general so we started saying,  "Kiki, Happy Birth-Life!"   

You can soften the blow of an early morning wake-up call by reminding Kiki that she has a new dinosaur backpack to take to the airport.

The girls did great on the flights- they are becoming seasoned travelers. 

We hit the streets of Hong Kong immediately.

Enjoying our first Chinese meal in China.
Kiki said later, "You know when I said that I was full and feel my belly and it was hard?  I was still hungry but the food was gross so I just pushed out my belly with air."
It was actually just OK. There were a lot of things I just couldn't identify which was kind of unnerving.

We stayed in Kowloon which is a peninsula north of Hong Kong island.  It was a fun place to be- busy street life but also great parks.

We went to Kowloon Park which is very large and diverse.  It had turtles, flamingos, an aviary, a playground, and lots of cool architecture.

We were so intrigued by the roots of this tree.

Kiki and Kate were thrilled that this pond was full of turtles.

Then it was back to our hotel for a little rest before our night out.  Hotel rooms in China are TIGHT.  This is where we stayed, and mind you this is considered a family suite.  We didn't even have space to keep our suitcases open.  It made our apartment here seem nice and spacious.

After our rest we walked down the road for dinner and more sights.

This was at the entrance of the Kowloon Park.

It's hard to tell what the white boxes are, so take my word for it, but this store was selling Beretta handguns AND IPads.  One stop shopping at its finest!

Street Scene.
To say we stuck out would be a huge understatement.
You know how when you are a tourist somewhere and you try to blend in so you aren't a target for crime?  In Hong Kong we just wandered around with our map out because no matter what we did, it was obvious we were outsiders.

We went to the Hong Kong Museum of Art- no pictures allowed, of course, but it was incredible.  I'm one of those people who cries over art and this was no exception.  There was a wing of calligraphy, one of mythical creatures, one of pottery, one of ancient paintings, and one of modern paintings (Sidenote to Brooke Lambert: Google Wu Guanzhong- my favorites were "Two Swallows" and "Cascade.")

The skyline is another sight to see.  It was foggy almost the whole time we were there, and even then, we were rendered almost speechless.  Every night there is a laser show, and the neon on the various buildings that make up the skyline light up in time to music that is played throughout the city.

Our hotel had some association with the Boy Scouts.  There was paraphernalia everywhere.

Day two started with a city tour.  Full disclosure: it was pretty crappy.  They took us to a few places but really they just wanted you to buy stuff.  We started at the Avenue of Stars, where famous Chinese movie stars put their hand prints in cement. 

Bruce Lee was there. 
Darn the fog!  There is an amazing view of the city behind us.

Almost the size of a full grown Chinese woman.

Michelle Yeoh's star.

Jet Li has woman hands.

Jackie Chan

We also went out to Hong Kong Island and drove up Victoria Peak for some more views of the city.

We took a boat ride around Aberdeen, which is considered the birthplace of Hong Kong- we learned there that fisherman used to burn incense at the temples before fishing, which is why Hong Kong is translated to "Good Smelling Harbor."

That night we went in search of the Hong Kong Temple.  The Mormon one. 

We rode the subway- a first for the girls.

Kiki said, "I ride no hands and it is like surfing."

Chinese New Year was just wrapping up, but everywhere was still decorated.  It's the year of the Dragon, which was endless joy for our Kiki. 

Not the temple- but the Church Offices, the residences for the area presidency, and THREE chapels were housed here.  We were kind of on a wild goose chase.

We needed a snack!  Bruce was thrilled to find a store called Marks and Spencer, which were in England when he was on his mission.  They had all kinds of tasty gourmet snacks, and homemade croissants and pretzels, and many other delights.  We quickly filled a grocery sack.  Kiki took one bite of her freshly made cheddar cheese pretzel and pronounced it "Gross."  We were in disbelief, which only multiplied when she excitedly started pointing down the street saying, "...but I WILL eat THAT!"

As in this: homemade sausages from a street vendor.

She ate a chicken sausage so fast I thought I imagined handing it to her.
Some day when the world is overrun with disease and pestilence, you are going to want a sample of whatever is in this kid's gut because it possesses immunity and digestive superpowers.  This is not the first time she's consumed a ground up meat product from a roadside stand, and I doubt it was the last.

We did finally find the temple- it was very impressive. 

Then because we're crazy like that, we went to the Temple Street Night Market.  A street is closed down and a whole bunch of vendors set up booths and sell their wares.  Negotiating is encouraged, and Bruce used his mad skills to get me a bronze vase for a screaming deal.  Negotiating is not my forte, so I just walked away acting like I wasn't interested at all since I knew my face was saying, "I desperately want slash need that vase!"

Yesterday was Kiki's official birthday.  Of course I sneaked in one last present so she would have something to open!

Then we were off to Disneyland!  Remember all the times I've said that Disneyland isn't my bag?

That's still true.

But, the girls had a great time, which is what we were hoping for.

Disneyland was decked out for the Year of the Dragon, too!

One of the few rides we were able to get on.  For some reason, the park was packed that day.  We were there for 8 hours and managed to get on 5 rides and into 2 shows.  The waits for most of the rides were over 90 minutes.  I was seriously peeved.

For some magical Disney reason, my kids have already forgotten the lines we waited in.
All they remember is the stuff we actually did and not how long we had to wait to do it.
Disney Amnesia is what we will call it.

Bruce and I were amused by this.
Because we are Mormon.

It's A Small World.
It's also The Biggest Line.

Fortunately this one slept the whole time we waited.

UNfortunately, she also slept the whole time we rode.

"Kiki," we asked, "where do you want to go for your birthday dinner?"

"The same place as last night!" she insisted.

Which was a spaghetti joint.  Which means that Bruce, who was dying for some good Chinese food whilst in China, ate Outback Steakhouse the first night, and Spaghetti House the next two.  Poor, poor man.

Over dinner, we talked about our Rose and Thorn.  Every night we say our Rose (the good part of our day) and our Thorn (the bad part).  (I must preface this story with the following tidbit- I am sick of pushing Kiki around in her stroller.  She weighs a ton and it's just gotten to be a real pain.  We left the stroller home while we were in Hong Kong and she did great walking all over the city!  So Bruce told her that her stroller days were over.)  When it got to me, I said my rose was that Kiki had grown up into such a sweet girl who had a great birthday, but my thorn was that now that she was five, I had to admit to myself that she wasn't a baby anymore.  "Oh, Mom," she said in a super sympathetic tone of voice, "if you feel that bad...(long pause and maybe a forced sigh)...you can still push me in my stroller."  Like she was making some huge concession to me and my ridiculous emotional needs.

This morning we squeezed in a walk to a Tin Hau temple.  These are temples that fisherman pray at every morning before they go out to fish and are all over Hong Kong.  Oddly, due to land reclamation, many that were originally located next to the sea are now landlocked, like the one we saw.

Doesn't she look cute all bundled up?
It was actually a little chilly there.

At the entrance.

The interior.  The spirals hanging from the sealing are burning incense.  Signs warn you to watch for falling ashes.  It was like I was back in the Sigma Nu house.

Kiki picked up this Chinese newspaper, studied it for a few seconds, then informed us she could read Chinese now.

The plaza in front of the temple.

We went here.  To...well...you know.

I say this: Hong Kong is the one place we have travelled that, given the opportunity, I would return to in a second.  It was amazing and incredible and all good adjectives.  Plus, Bruce is still hungry for some good Chinese.