Hong Kong

We survived the most grueling 15 ½ hour plane trip ever imaginable (except perhaps the one that we will be making with a toddler perched on our laps for 15 hours). We flew over the North Pole, over China (don‘t worry sweet Tabitha, we‘re flying back), and down to Hong Kong. At about 6 hours into the trip, I thought, “This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” I napped, ate when they served food, became annoyed trying to watch the in-flight movies through people who stood up every 15 minutes just to open the overhead storage and touch their carry-on luggage, and napped some more. G-Daddy entertained himself looking out the plane window and creating a National Geographic special in his head. Occasionally, he woke me to make an announcement like, “We’re flying over the Russian Steppes now,” at which point I would peer bleary-eyed at the whiteness below and say something intelligent like, “Cool.” By the end of the trip we were sleep-deprived, irritable, and sure our bodies could not take any more abuse. We were asleep in the hotel bed by 8:30 pm Hong Kong time.

Today we toured the city through a haze of jet-lag and the smell of Chinese food. There were 114 CCAI adoptive families joining us in 3 bus loads. It was enjoyable even with our tired selves. First we had a dim sum lunch at a restaurant. I was feeling a little ill through the beginning of the meal but was able to eat some. Afterward, we visited the boat-people village, which has a name that has totally escaped me, and rode on a boat through the house boats. These people live their entire lives on the water in their boats. There was one interesting floating restaurant in the middle of the boat people. Our guide, Matthew, said the food was only so-so. It was very fancy in the front but looked extremely unappetizing from the back view.

Next we toured a jewelry factory and were given the opportunity to spend hundreds of dollars on jade and jewelry. We declined the offer, though there were many, many beautiful things to be had. They showed us the workshop and explained the jewelry making process. I missed most of this part of the tour since I was visiting the “Happy House,” our guide’s name for the facilities.

We shopped in an outdoor market, which had cheap prices, then went to the top of a mountain on a smaller island to view the city below. The ride up the mountain was quite interesting since our bus is larger than the narrow street lanes and passed other buses with what looked like, at least from my vantage point, inches to spare. Occasionally, on one of the sharper curves up the mountain, the bus would stop so that another bus could pass. Conveniently located at the top of the mountain was a ritzy shopping area where once again we were offered the chance to spend hundreds of dollars and once again declined.

Back at the hotel, I had a cup of noodles and typed this while G-Daddy slept soundly, but not quietly, still fully dressed where he fell across the bed. Time to join him. (I'll add pictures later, connection is too slow for my jet-lagged mind.)

Stay tuned for Changsha…