Auntie Bri lives in Hong Kong! (How cool is she?! Yeah, super cool!) And that means one thing - Ho Ho Ho-ng Kong Christmas! With 6 bags and 3 knapsacks in tow, we navigated from the airport to the city center on the train where Bri met us and then had to endure the painstaking indecision and inertia of 5 exhausted humans! She treated us to a delicious Thai dinner (during which Isabelle slept)
The jet lag awakening happened at 1am, and now, 15 hours later, we're just beginning to feel a bit weary. Isabelle spent the wee hours hugging Horton the kitty (the non-shy kitty, she calls him), drawing, eating oatmeal, and waiting for Nana and Grampy to awaken in order to deliver the newspaper. "Grampy loves the news paper! He's retired! So he can read all the words on all the pages!"
We're staying in two 3-bedroom apartments on Robinson Road - high up on The Peak, an incredibly posh address in town, we quickly learned. "This is a great place. I think we should live here," Isabelle announced moments after arriving and discovering the playroom (filled with bean bag chairs, art supplies, a trampoline, scooter and panda bear iPod speaker) and 5-year-old Katie's bedroom (complete with a 3-story dollhouse and special note from Katie herself directing Isabelle to a secret cubby stuffed with stuffed animals). Before leaving for Christmas in Vermont, Katie and her parents (amazing mom Jen went to college with Dennis), thought up - and wrapped up - more goodies for us than we can believe.
Our out-and-about part of the day started at 8am with a walk down The Peak, past the Foreign Correspondents' Club, through Central's elevated walkway to Victoria Harbor where we boarded the Star Ferry for Kowloon.
On our first full day in Hong Kong, over a dim sum breakfast in Kowloon, Isabelle tells us, "I'm getting my world confused. I thought we were in Abu Dhabi. Or Africa." We were surrounded by locals eating congee (rice porridge) and sipping tea, and indulged in Sui Mai (pork dumplings), Har Cheung Fun (shrimp rolls), and - as a special treat inspired by the table next to us - Ma Lai Go (steamed sponge cake).
Always on the to-do-list in a new country is finding a globe in the local language for Isabelle's globe collection. Success comes quickly on this trip thanks to the Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium (MTR Jordan stop).
Back to HK Island for lunch with Aunti Bri! Her Wyndham Street work address is described as HK's hottest new social strip. Taped on her office walls are two fantastic quotes: "Ships in the harbor are safe. But that's not what ships are for." And my favorite: "If things don't feel out of control, you're not moving fast enough." Thank you Mario Andretti.
Lunch next to "our" gym - PURE - on the Central-Mid-levels escalators in the SoHo district. The escalator system is AWESOME! It is the longest (outdoor, covered - always love the qualifiers) escalator system in the world. It has 20 escalators and 3 moving sidewalks. It is without a doubt one of the most creative transportation solutions I've ever seen.
Grocery store adventures ensue - chickens with the head and feet attached are a big hit with me, but not with Grampy who is unable to down the dinner after catching a glimpse of the whole, dead bird. More adventures post-dinner as Auntie Bri and I hit The Fong - the city's big party area. Details withheld. Isabelle was up at 3am, and ready to leave for Hong Kong Disneyland!
