Hong Kong

Our spur of the moment trip to Hong Kong to avoid paying the renewal fees for our visas, worked. We came back into the Philippines yesterday and were granted another 59 days! Who would of thought that flying round trip to another country would cost less than renewing our visas? But, God worked it out wonderfully and we got to meet new friends.

Hong Kong is small in land mass but large in population. As a result, it is all tall buildings wherever you look. It's a very clean city with a great, easy to use public transportation system. We were able to navigate the city by ourselves if it was needed. The most confusing part is after you get off of the MTR, the train that goes both underground and above ground. The most congested parts of Hong Kong are underground. When you get off its like an underground city! There are restaurants, shops, and malls. It was really cool! You can walk blocks and cross streets all underground and in air conditioning! There were escalators everywhere. Hong Kong is very mountainous, which makes for a beautiful backdrop to the city skyline. So there where even escalators outside. It's definitely a very modern city. Skip said he felt like a country bumpkin gawking at all the tall buildings

Helen, who was part of our team last year, met us at the airport. She took us to where we were staying and took as to dinner. It was a traditional Chinese meal, served family style. Unlike the US, chopsticks are not optional, they are the only thing available. Its either learn or starve. I don't think I'll be switching to the Chinese menu anytime soon! (skip enjoyed it)We had 11 courses and dessert. The first course was a platter of pig's feet, cow tongue, pork in jello, and jellyfish. It got a little better after that. Maia liked the dumplings and ate half of them. Jackson didn't like any of it so we stopped at McDonald's on the way home. Thank God for MickeyD's! The kids may not have survived without it!

We stayed with Agnes, a friend of TMFI. She has previously been to the Philippines on a missions trip. She has a 3 bedroom flat on the 28th floor. The kids kept calling it a hotel. They seemed to think any tall building you stay in is a hotel, not a home! We took a bus from the airport to Lam Tin, the section of Hong Kong where Agnes lives. Jackson loved the ride on a double decker bus! We sat up on top, of course. We went across a bridge over the ship yards. Again, Jackson was loving it. He's always loved ships. From the window at Agnes', we over looked the water and could see Hong Kong Island. Jackson spent lots of time looking at the cruise ships, ferries, and cargo ships. The city skyline looked beautiful at night.

Sunday was our first full day. Agnes took us to church at St. James, an English speaking church. The pastor sounded like he was from the UK. It definitely had the British influence with its formal service and conservative singing style, very un-Asian. Another friend of TMFI, Courtney, met us at church. We all went to lunch afterward. This was also Chinese but very good. Next we were off to see take a tram up to "The Peak," a great spot above the city. To get there we crossed to Hong Kong Island by ferry, a highlight for Jackson, of course. The Peak is a building shaped like a boat on a short tower. It has a great view of the city. From there we took the MTR under the water to get back to Agnes' flat, another exciting adventure for the kids. Helen, Juliet, and Ada met us there. Helen had cooked for us. I can't remember the name of what I really enjoyed but it was similar to a corn fritter with shrimp inside. Dipped in banana ketchup, it was delicious! Afterward we got to know everyone and Skip shared a mini Bible study. Thankfully, the kids were able to get to bed after dinner. It was a fun night but the party didn't end till 11. Helen had an hour trip home and then work in the morning, yuck!

Monday was the highlight for the kids. It was off to Disneyland Hong Kong! We took the MTR, meeting Courtney along the way, switching lines, and eventually getting onto the Disney MTR. The Disney experience began here. This one was above ground and the windows were shaped like Mickey's head & ears. Inside it had Mickey handles and Disney sculptures. Courtney had taken off work to go with us. She had a Disney employee for a friend who gave us three tickets to get in! After we went through the gates, I was approached by another employee. She wanted to know if we'd be the Grand Marshal for the parade! Of course, we agreed. It was in the afternoon and we all got monogrammed Mickey hats to keep. It was fun! (Jackson & Maia's favorite line of the day was, "Grandma will be so jealous!") When asked what their favorite rides was, the kids can't couldn't come up with just one. Every time we got off a ride, they wanted to ride it again! They liked Buzz Light Year, It's a Small World, and Space Mountain. Maia was just tall enough to ride Space Mountain and we rode it twice. I was surprised she enjoyed it! Skip, Lilet, and Courtney got tired but the kids and I kept going! We ended the day by watching a great fireworks show over the castle.

Tuesday we went to Helen's house for breakfast. She lives in the "country" on the 31st floor of her building. Obviously, countryside means something different in HK than in the US! I defined it as having some space between the buildings! Actually, here it was less crowded and there was a bike rack outside of the MTR station. Some of the buildings were only 4 stories high. This is the edge of HK and we could see across the border into China. On a side note, we had hoped to go "underground" in China but it didn't work out. While at Helen's, we met her 76 year old mother. She just recently had nasal surgery and suffers from depression. Se even came out of her room to see us. Before we left, we prayed for her. I think she enjoyed seeing kids.

Helen took went with us on the MTR to meet with two ladies from the Cedar Fund, an organization that has been supporting TMFI's FLIC projects. They took us to lunch, which lasted most of the afternoon. They have not been to the Philippines yet to see what they have been funding. We took the opportunity to share about our experiences this summer. They had lots of questions. It was enjoyable afternoon.

We had about two hours before we met Ada, so we took the MTR to get to some street markets. We love hitting the outdoor markets! They are like fleas markets but selling new items. I enjoyed the ladies market and the kids liked the goldfish markets. It was two blocks of fish, lizards and turtles. (While there, we found Nemo! He was with Dori! Soooo, glad that's solved.) We went to dinner with Agnes, Courtney, and Ada and then off to more markets. I made a purchase at a little grocery store and then the man, who I think was the owner, came with me to make two additional purchases on the street. He was my negotiator! Between Agnes and I, earlier in the day, and the store owner later, I got some good deals! It was quite fun but tiring! We didn't get back to the flat until midnight. Fortunately, the kids were troopers and didn't even complain! Maia did fall asleep in my arms as we were shopping.

After staying up till 2 AM trying to figure out how we were going to get it all packed and most importantly, distribute the weight in our bags to meet the airline requirements of 30 pounds, we were off to the bus stop at 7 AM. That completed our whirlwind tour of Hong Kong. We had a great time but more importantly, made some great new friends. They were incredible hosts and we're hoping they'll visit us some day so we can return the favor!