On Father's Day 2014, Justin and I hopped on a plane with Taylor after giving some morning hugs to the older boys and them telling Justin Happy Father's Day and how much they love and appreciate him as their dad. One of the places that Justin really wanted to see before we left Japan was Hong Kong. So we found a day that would work and squeezed it in. Not a bad Father's Day gift! If there is anyone that deserves it, it's Justin. He really is the best dad to our boys and I am forever grateful that they have him to look to as their example.
Once we got to the airport, we were a little nervous because the security line was crazy long! Luckily we made it though and to our gate on time.
Taylor was happy as a clam. :)
We grabbed a couple snacks for the plane once we made it though security. The saying on these cookies made us laugh. We love their translations!
In Hong Kong, we stayed at the Lagham Place Hotel, which was awesome. It was such a nice hotel and it was connected to a big mall with shopping and a food court. It was super convenient and it was so nice to see real clothing stores! Something that we do not have in Okinawa.
One of our very first stops was the Hong Kong LDS temple. We both love that temple and it was really fun to see it in person. The architecture is very different. My Dad's cousin used to live either on the top floor of the temple, or right next to it (I can't remember) while serving as an area authority for the church. I was wishing they still lived there so we could visit them.
If you look closely at Taylor's face, his cheeks are bright red. It was blazing hot and the humidity was crazy. We were grateful that the walk from the temple to the subway wasn't too far. I'm not sure why I chose to wear my hair down. It was a hot mess in the first five minutes of being outside!
This is the view from our hotel room. This was one of our favorite parts of our visit. We loved just sitting and admiring the vastness of the city. We both said we could have sat and looked out all day.
One thing that was hard though was seeing some of the people and their living conditions. It was the same way when we went to Thailand. Here we were, staying in a beautiful hotel, and right next to us was an awful apartment building with a mom hanging up laundry and little kids playing on the dirty roof. It's a humbling experience. We were definitely feeling blessed and grateful to have a good job and a clean place to live. It's good for us to see these things and be reminded of the blessings that we do have and to be content with that, instead of always wanting more. A lesson I am still learning.
On our way out of the hotel, we stopped and grabbed some macaroons. They were really yummy and I loved the pretty colors they come in.
We did some exploring through the busy streets. The streets weren't terribly clean and we often smelled something gross. But it's fun to see and experience a different part of the world.
Of course we had to walk through the night market!
The next day for breakfast, we went to the Australian Dairy Co. It was recommended to us by a friend and although I can't say that I loved the food, it was definitely worth it for the experience. Before they even open, people are lined up down the street waiting to get in. As soon as they open, they have people in and out in a matter of minutes, so they wait isn't too bad.
We were laughing so hard when they showed us our "table". We were literally squished in-between two walls with a teeny little table top. We ordered our food, ate and were out of there in ten minutes. I ordered scrambled eggs and toast. I'm pretty sure there was a whole cube of butter used in the making of my meal. Justin ordered this macaroni and ham....thing. I thought it looked nasty, but he ate it! He's much more tolerant and adventurous than I am when it comes to foreign foods.
After our scrumptious breakfast, we headed to the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, which would take us up the mountain to see the Big Biddha, or the Tian Tan Buddha.
The weather wasn't looking too great as we started up the mountain. It was windy and raining and the clouds were so thick, it looked like we were heading into the abyss. At times you couldn't see anything but white clouds. I was a little nervous, because I am a total wuss. Justin likes to make fun of me because I get anxiety about a lot of things. I just can't help myself! One of the people riding in our cable car said that we probably wouldn't get to see the buddha because the clouds we too thick. We were feeling pretty sad since this would probably be the only opportunity we would ever have to see it.
We got off (safely!) and started walking through some cute shops and cafes.
They even had a starbucks!
Once we got through the shops, we started being able to see a faint outline of the Buddha. Then, by pure miracle, the clouds slowly started clearing away. We were so glad!! We came all this way and didn't want to leave without getting a good view.
Ta-da!
Clouds have parted.
We walked the million stares up to the top and were rewarded with an amazing view. The statue and the mountains around us were beautiful.
The statue is also near the Po Lin Monestary.
We walked back down to the cable car and said our goodbyes to the Tian Tan Buddha.
We ate at the food court that's by our hotel and ate a chicken and rice dish that was also recommended to us by friends. While we were there, the cleaning ladies would not leave Taylor alone. It was fun and cute for the first few minutes, but they just kept coming back and wiggling his feet and touching him for what seemed like our entire meal. I couldn't quite tell if Taylor was scared or enjoying it.
Our Hotel.
Again, the view from our hotel!
We took advantage of the awesome pool that was on top of the hotel. We were really wishing that it wasn't so cloudy because again, you can't beat the view. It was a great way to see Hong Kong.
Taylor turned 7 months while we were on this trip. He had still never been to the US at this point and was seeing the world without even knowing it. He makes a good traveling buddy.
