Hong Kong is my home town, a place that I'm always very proud of. It's pretty, always busy, always packed, always full of energy and opportunities. I enjoy seeing family and friends, eating lots of great food, making good deals when shopping, and driving on the right, haha. If Mom was still around, she would for sure try fitting her schedule with us so that each member of our "Fantastic Four" (both grandparents of Jake and Jonah) would all be in town. And that would mean our schedule would be super busy, with Gloria's family, my family, her friends, my friends, hahaha. So this year, I was expecting a little less stress but...
The first thing before arriving HK is of course the flight back, hahaha. Some of you may find it hard even going by yourself, sitting there for 15hours straight, haha. Gloria and I never had a problem sleeping on the plane, so it is always quite enjoyable sleeping, watching movies, complaining about the food and service (for fun) flying back, haha. However, travelling with kids makes everything longer and tougher. That's right, bringing kids back is always a challenge, no matter if they have their own seats or not. I'm already so proud of myself last year when I brought Jake back alone, hahaha. He wasn't even three and even with his car seat, stroller, two carry-ons, two backpacks, and two big checked luggage, I actually could manage everything myself not needing any help, hahaha (surprisingly - thanks to the car seat cart!!!).
Jake is such a great travel buddy simply cuz' he LOVES watching TV, hahaha. I didn't know that the free ear piece won't fit his ears last year going back but this time, we even brought him his own head set on to the plane, haha. We don't normally let him watch anything more than 20-30mins each day but on the plane, trust me, all rules are gone, hahaha. You can imagine how excited this guy is, haha. He can pretty much stay in his own seat the whole time, except when he needs to go the the washroom. Since this is already his fourth time going back to HK, flying back is a piece of cake for him. Btw, he turned four on the plane this time!!! Dad made a little note for the flight attendants, and they made him a little special announcement on the plane, hahaha. He was so shocked hearing his own name, kinda in disbelief but he was still super excited and couldn't hide his smile after all, hahaha.
Going back to the flight, flying with Gloria and Jonah wasn't that bad especially when my Dad was with us. Jake, as expected, slept twice, watched two movies (actually just keep repeating this Backyardigens that they both like, haha) and ate twice, peed twice before arriving. Jonah was a bit challenging I have to say. He's not as crazy on TV as his brother. He wanted to come out a few times to walk around. So yea, the whole aisle on the plane pretty much know this guy, hahaha. Good thing that he's a good boy in general, it wasn't that bad. Too bad they both wanted to sit with each other or else, I would have taken one so Gloria wouldn't need to take both, haha. The only thing we could do was to switch seats so she could have some rest. (And that's what we did on the way back from Vancouver in a smaller plane, hahaha.) But yea, Jake and Jonah for sure took pretty much all our energy and attention this whole trip, hahaha. Priority seating was actually very important or else we would have just blocked everyone setting up their car seats, haha. I sweat like crazy every time trying to set up their car seats somehow. Hopefully, the next time we travel, they are old enough to sit on their own (bye bye car seats!!!).
Thank God for my in laws! They are always so welcoming with both arms wide open to us whenever we visit them, hehehe. Actually, if you know HK, it's really not easy for the four of us to stay comfortably unless you are staying in a hotel. Thanks Daddy Mommy (and their big flat) for having us. It's such a treat going back taking up two rooms from them, using their maid and their cars. Freshly made on demand breakfast, milk, soy milk, tea, coffee, soup, Yik Lick Dor, ready to eat fruits, etc. are all on the table once we are up. The most enjoyable time each day for sure is the morning before we head out. Thanks also for putting down your busy work just to accommodate us!!!
Last year, Jake and I stayed at Fian's and we took her room kicking her out to the living room, hahaha. Dad's breakfast was as great but that means he was like our "maid", hahaha - a 36 Hao Daddy and Yeh Yeh. One year made a big difference as I mentioned. Last year, Mom was still feeling well, commanding everything every second as usual. This year, we are just cruising without bruising but deep down in each one of our hearts, I know we all miss her, especially her "noise".
Once we arrived, the biggest challenge before anything was the boys' jet lag. If we have no kids, it would take us maybe a day or two max to adjust. But with them, whenever they sleep, we would sleep or else when they are up in the middle of the night, no one will be able to help us, (Gloria's parents door would for sure be locked at night, hahaha). Last year, it took Jake about four days to adjust and this year, it took them about two/three days for both of them (yay, thank God) but there was a little hiccup in the first week a few days after we thought it's over, haha. I have to admit that I'm getting older too. I didn't go out at night this time in my first week, haha. Well, I guess it wasn't just me. It's also my friends who used to come out at night too, haha. Somehow they were either just too busy, or just too tired, haha. I think it's more them, not me, haha.
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| Before lunch at Elements |
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| Waken up before dinner, haha |
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| On the way to Lamma Island |
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| Arrived Lamma Island |
Usually, we have a light lunch with family including Alice (Gloria's sister) as she is off these days, with Daddy David, Mommy Annie, Kevin (Gloria's brother) near their office or with my family and my parents friends and whoever doesn't need to work. If the boys are still up, we would have one activity or else, we would be shopping when they are sleeping in their strollers (thanks Carmen for lending us your stroller - yes, we only brought one), or we would all take a nap at home or leaving the boys behind (to the maid) so we can enjoy some quiet time alone, haha. Dinner time is always packed. We just have too many friends and family back there who want to see us. I really wish to be able to have a relaxing night out with Gloria, just the two of us, with no kids, no rush, no nothing, hahaha. This will come one day, maybe when the boys are all sent to universities, hahaha. For those we missed this time, I really want to say sorry as it's really not the easiest to go in and out with two little ones.
We actually did quite a lot in the first week, including:
- Jake's Birthday Dinner
Jake was so excited about this trip and his birthday - Harbour Fun by Single Decker Bus
Chilling out in harbour front 
Single decker bus - Dim Sum at 101st Floor
View from the washroom - The Peak
- 8am Morning Worship
Our family by Jake 
My mother school - Methodist Kowloon 
- Lamma Island by Ferry (and Double Decker Bus)
Favorite spot in a double decker 
Ferry ride 
Mom was here last year 
- Shopping at TST
Yup, they are sleeping - Hard Field Soccer
Team Yellow - Playing at Club House both at Fian's and In-laws'
Sweating like crazy - Lan Kwai Fong night club visit with B (Yes, no kids!)
- Breakfast Buffet at W Hotel
- Studio Pictures
- Beach
- Meeting a lot of family and friends
- Lots of yummy food and dessert
The highlight of the kids was definitely all public transits in HK including, MTR, bus, taxi, mini-van (greens only, reds are too dangerous, haha), ferry, tram, ding ding, harbour turbo jets, etc. Even though driving is always the best choice with the two of them, Gloria and I managed to bring them onto everything this trip except the tram to the Peak. We had to wait until the second week before we got a chance to ride on the MTR and Ding Ding!!! Good exercise for us!!! (I prefer the Banana and the California, hahaha.)
Hong Kong is a lot of fun for sure. To me, it also has a lot of distractions, mostly through competitions simply cause of the super high density populations. I love this place as long as I don't have to work there, as I kinda dislike this unavoidable "culture" of constant competing - fighting for something everyone else are fighting for before even knowing the reason. (HK ppl don't have a choice cuz' it would be too late after you think it twice. The chance would be long gone. That's right, what do they do? Fight for it first and then, think if it's worth the fight afterwards. If you are lucky, you maybe not need to fight. Or you maybe able to find the thing you really like and meaningful to you after the fight but that doesn't happen all the time but that's part of the culture I see there in HK)
Our Macau trip divided our two weeks HK vacation into two right in the middle. And I'll show you more next time.
It was exactly one year ago when Jake and I came back just to visit Mom. She was going through her chemo treatment and was "stuck" there. We went back just to give her a little boost trying to cheer her up a bit as we know she missed her grand kids a lot. I'm glad we went back when she was still very well and active. Thank God for that trip, even though it was only 12 days, Jake and I had so much fun spending so much quality time with her in HK, including all the heated conversations, hahaha. My phone has this app that let me keep all the pictures I took last year. I cried every time when I look at them. There maybe a lot of changes here but His love never change - His love endures forever!!! And so do our love and faith. Mom we all miss you lots. Your lot is all neat and tidy after the winter. They even put new sod on top. The monument is on the way!
"Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever." (Psalm 136)
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