Hong Kong, part 2

The next morning, we were all refreshed, but starving!  We bought some local pastries and tried to eat them at Starbucks, but got told to put them away.  We ended up taking our food outside to look for a bench, but there are hardly any in this city!  It is also not stroller-friendly; sidewalks are very uneven, and stairs are everywhere.  Good thing I left it in the room!

We started the day by taking the famous Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong island. The trip was very scenic but short.  After walking a long way to the MTR (subway) station, we bought Octopus cards for all of us, which allowed us to easily take any form of public transportation without needing exact change.  A good idea if you have lots of kids like me!

We took a double-decker bus to the Peak Tram station.  The girls sat inside enjoying the a/c, while the boys checked out the views from the top.  Like good American tourists, we paid way too much for a photo keychain, but the picture was surprisingly decent, despite the heat and humidity, which had everyone on edge.  Perhaps I'll lose weight on this side of the world; I'll just sweat my extra pounds away!

We rode the funicular tram to the top of Victoria Peak and enjoyed some beautiful cityscape views from the Sky Terrace.  While up there, we ate lunch at Cafe Deco, oddly decorated in Manhattan style decor.  I had carrot and ginger soup (yummy!), and the kids got American food (sadly).  After making the trip down again, we hiked our way up to the free zoo and botanical gardens, where we watched an energetic monkey performance.  We then found our way to the SoHo district and rode 17 of the more than 20 escalators connecting Central with the Mid-levels.  Next, we wandered down the famous Graham Street, where vendors sold colorful produce and bargain seafood.  Rachel repeatedly kept getting stopped by people wanting to take her picture!

Dinner was a refreshing respite, complete with drinks and a/c at SoHo Base Camp, a Nepalese restaurant where we ate naan, tandoori chicken, and fish curry.  We took the subway back to our hotel, where it was so crowded that I couldn't get out and had to take an extra stop, then turn around and switch trains. 

The next day, we took a different ferry to Park Island, where we spent the day enjoying a life-size model of Noah's Ark.  Inside were displays and descriptions of the boat and of Noah's task in building it, as well as a very educational and fun children's museum.  Adam's favorite part was the 4-D theatre, complete with very cold wind blowing on us as they "re-created" the storm!  We got back pretty late, so we ordered room service for dinner.

Our last full day we spent at Hong Kong Disneyland, which was alot like the same parks back home, but with Chinese flair.  Our kids had never been to a Disney park, so it was a first for them.  They had fun, despite the crowds and the heat.  We all enjoyed the Buzz Lightyear Astro-blazers and the cars in Tommorrowland and the fire on the Jungle River Cruise in Adventureland.  We also liked Winnie the Pooh and the Mad Hatter's Teacups in Fantasyland, but I think everyone's favorite ride was "It's a Small World", which was much better here than in America, because the words didn't get stuck in our heads; we can't speak Chinese!

On our last morning, we walked along the Avenue of the Stars, where Mark found Jackie Chan's handprints and then we all got caught in a downpour.  All in all, we enjoyed this amazing city.  Next time, we might come when it's cooler, but for now . . . on to a new country!

And we're off!

Our official fly day was 6/7/11 (on this side of the world, the day of the month is listed before the month).  We spent the morning sorting through baggage, going to the detail car wash, playing glow golf at Main Event, and a final visit to Kerbey Lane (gonna miss those pancakes!).  We crashed at our friend James's place, enjoying the a/c while we sold our car, then it was off to the airport via Super Shuttle.  Let the plane adventures begin!

After getting the full pat-down at the Austin airport (a mom with three kids in tow apparently looks pretty dangerous!), I wrangled all my kids onto the plane.  Mark got to say hello to the pilot and help him with his flight check by flipping two switches.  He was his normal chatty self and decided to tell them our whole life story . . .

The trip to LA was pretty uneventful; my kids were entertained by movies and the novelty of their first flight ever!  Mark started melting down with exhaustion right before we boarded our long flight to Hong Kong, but that was pretty understandable, since body time for him was close to 3:00 in the morning.  Thankfully, the long flight went much better than expected, all of us slept for a sizable chunk of time, and we watched lots of movies.   We had arranged to get three seats on the center aisle in the back of the plane, and two of the ones in the row just in front.  That way we had three aisle seats to take kids to the bathroom and stretch our legs a bit.  It was my longest flight, but shortest day, ever!

We arrived in Hong Kong early in the morning on Friday, 8/7/11, and got to watch the sun rise on a very scenic personal shuttle to our hotel in downtown Kowloon (the large island opposite Hong Kong island).  We were able to leave all our baggage there, but quickly grabbed some fresher clothes, as it wasn't time to check-in to our room yet.  We took off from there and headed to Starbucks for some much needed caffeine!  Then it was off to explore.

We wandered through beautiful but humid Kowloon Park and saw many people practicing tai chi.  The park was wonderfully designed, complete with two children's playgrounds, a flamingo pond, an aviary, meandering walkways, and tons of flowers everywhere.  Eventually, we retreated to what was a very extensive underground system of tunnels, where we suddenly found ourselves very under-dressed in a huge mall of ritzy, expensive stores that went on and on and on . . . Our kids didn't care much for shopping, but we finally found a place to get some juice.  After more wandering, we ate seafood laksa and lo mein noodles at a cute and eclectic little deli.  Our kids complained about the spiciness, and I was appalled when Mark spit out what was in his mouth.  So embarrassing!!

After lunch, we walked along the promenade, looking out over Victoria Harbour and watching all the ships go by.  We were finally able to check in to our hotel by then, so we went up and took a quick dip in the rooftop pool before our kids crashed on the bed for the night at 6:30.  Not even Mark's new DSi could keep him awake any longer!  We ate an apple for dinner and were in bed by 8:30.

Moving out and Canyon of the Eagles

Pardon me while I do some backtracking.  I know you're all anxious to see and hear about our adventures here in Malaysia, but I want to start from the beginning so I don't miss anything! 

Over the course of several months, my husband and I took care of all the details of moving overseas, cancelling newspapers, forwarding mail, selling two cars, renting our house, and sorting through all our possessions.  It was an exhausting list of tasks, overwhelming at times, and was made even more challenging towards the end by the additional stresses of a lice incident and a viral rash that my younger two kids picked up somewhere.  My sanity was hanging by a thread! 

During the last week before our move, we finally sold our two cars, hired a mover to haul our stuff to long-term storage, and then thoroughly cleaned our house from top to bottom.  Now officially "homeless", we had planned a family reunion outside Burnet, Texas to enjoy time with family before leaving the country.  Boy, did we need it!

Canyon of the Eagles turned out to be the perfect retreat for our group of 22.  Both sets of parents, and all aunts, uncles, and cousins were there, except for Rebekah and Keith (we love ya'll, too!) We took over six guestrooms, with views overlooking Lake Buccanan, and enjoyed time together hiking, swimming, stargazing at the Eagle Eye Observatory (saw Saturn's rings and a supernova!), and eating at the Overlook restaurant on the premises.  Service was much too slow for the number of small children we had with us, but the food was good, and the atmosphere was very nice.  We also enjoyed a trip on the Vanishing Texas River Cruise, which took us out onto the lake.  Normally, the cruise goes down the river but was unable to, due to extreme drought conditions.  Some of us also went on a day trip to nearby Longhorn Caverns and took an informative and cool hike through the underground cave system.  In the evenings, adults enjoyed Texas BBQ on the patio and danced to live music, while the older kids played checkers or explored.  One night, the younger set watched Lilo and Stitch under the stars.  On July 4th, Aunt Susan distributed red, white, and blue glowsticks for the kids, and they took turns throwing them up in the air to resemble fireworks.  The hardest thing was saying our goodbyes . . .

We'll miss all of our friends and family and hope to see some of you here in Malaysia!

Lif Bomba

We're finally here in our new home!  It is so beautiful and green here in Malaysia, a tropical paradise that contrasts starkly to dry central Texas.  We are all adjusting well to our new home, which right now feels more like a fancy, modern hotel suite with ocean-views than our place to live long-term.  We are just so happy to be in one place for awhile, after staying in five different hotel rooms over the past two weeks.  Rachel enjoys going places as long as mommy is right next to her, preferably carrying her, though she doesn't much like the humidity.  She has frequently gotten stopped by locals wanting to take her picture due to her pretty blond hair!  Abigail loves having her own space, and has already meticulously put away the few belongings she has.  (Most of our things will arrive via cargo ship in another month; won't that be like Christmas!) 

Just one quick story to share for now.  We have had to go shopping daily for basic essentials, and navigating malls is sometimes unfamiliar.  We learned the hard way that we should never take an elevator labeled "lif bomba".  As it turns out, that means service elevator, which was next to terrifying for my poor son Mark, who already has a fear of elevators and dark, confined spaces.  It was right out of a horror movie, where the big, black, metal doors clang shut, followed by a lurching motion, and a very slow descent.  It opened to some restricted place, and we were forced to get back in again.  The poor child was shaking so badly!  Mark, of all of us, is having the hardest time adjusting to his new world.  He is missing his toys, his friends, playing outside for large chunks of the day, and familiar American foods.  It will be much better when school starts, and he can make some friends . . .