Journey to Carly - Day 4 April 2, 2005
We had an exciting and action-packed day! After another good night of sleep, we met up with many of our travel mates and headed down the street from the hotel for breakfast at a small local restaurant. They served "breakfast", although it came out of the kitchen looking a little different than we expected (at least mine did). I finally gave up trying to explain in hand gestures what "scrambled eggs" meant, and settled for the fried eggs. I didn't eat them, of course, because the yolks were a little runny and I'm afraid of bird flu. :o) The bacon tasted pretty good and the toast was awesome. Chalk one up to experience - it was so cool to be sitting in that little restaurant in the middle of Hong Kong, with my Lifelink friends by my side! Jill and I tried to guess what the locals were drinking (looked like very creamy coffee in a glass), and we impulsively changed our order from hot tea to coffee, thinking that is what they were drinking. We were wrong. Oh well - that mystery remains unsolved.
After breakfast, we headed to the Mong Kok section of Hong Kong to see the fish market and Ladies' Mart. Again, thanks to Angie Eckert, who graciously acted as our tour guide, we saw so many awesome sights and were able to experience some of what true Chinese culture and daily lifestyle are all about. The sights, the smells, the activity - it is all just amazing. We took the subway, which is something we didn't get to do yesterday. The public transportation system (subway, buses, etc.) is very convenient and easy to use.
We are amazed at how "clean" this city is. Sure, there are the usual signs of heavy wear and tear, the typical stains on the sidewalk, potholes, etc., but in all, there is very little litter ANYWHERE. And, we saw no pollution from any of the vehicles driving around.
Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb - we saw very few caucasions in the areas we visited today, but yet we felt totally safe and comfortable everywhere we went. The fish market was a sight to see, as you will see in the photos. And there were bargains for everyone in the Ladies' Mart.
We came back to the hotel around 2:00 or so, grabbed a quick pick-me-up cup of coffee at Starbucks, and then headed to the mall that is attached to our hotel. We visited the children's floor, including an enormous Toys R Us store, and saw lots of unique clothes and toys. I didn't buy anything, though -- saving my money for Guangzhou!! The fog wasn't quite as heavy this afternoon and it was much warmer than yesterday. We toyed with the idea of heading back to Victoria's Peak to see if we could actually see some of that magnificent view, but ultimately decided not to.
We had dinner with the Schmidts at the California Pizza Kitchen restaurant, which is in the mall. It was very tasty. Afterwards, we headed down the street to the cultural center to watch the laser show across the harbor in the Central District of Hong Kong. It was very cool.
We leave tomorrow at 11:30am for Nanning. Oh my gosh -- Gotcha Day is only one day away!!! As you can imagine, everyone's nerves are on edge. We can't wait to meet our girls!!! We've all been wearing the buttons Jill made for us and they have caused many comments and questions from the locals. Carly has received many compliments on being such a "cute baby"! I can't wait to see her in person.
That's all for now - I probably won't post again until tomorrow night. And since we'll be in Nanning then, I don't know what to expect with the internet connection. We have been very fortunate here in Hong Kong, and I know the connection won't be as good in Nanning. But don't worry - I'll find some way to post updates!!
Thanks for following our journey!
In the heart of the city:
Hong Kong at night - the laser show:
We had an exciting and action-packed day! After another good night of sleep, we met up with many of our travel mates and headed down the street from the hotel for breakfast at a small local restaurant. They served "breakfast", although it came out of the kitchen looking a little different than we expected (at least mine did). I finally gave up trying to explain in hand gestures what "scrambled eggs" meant, and settled for the fried eggs. I didn't eat them, of course, because the yolks were a little runny and I'm afraid of bird flu. :o) The bacon tasted pretty good and the toast was awesome. Chalk one up to experience - it was so cool to be sitting in that little restaurant in the middle of Hong Kong, with my Lifelink friends by my side! Jill and I tried to guess what the locals were drinking (looked like very creamy coffee in a glass), and we impulsively changed our order from hot tea to coffee, thinking that is what they were drinking. We were wrong. Oh well - that mystery remains unsolved.
After breakfast, we headed to the Mong Kok section of Hong Kong to see the fish market and Ladies' Mart. Again, thanks to Angie Eckert, who graciously acted as our tour guide, we saw so many awesome sights and were able to experience some of what true Chinese culture and daily lifestyle are all about. The sights, the smells, the activity - it is all just amazing. We took the subway, which is something we didn't get to do yesterday. The public transportation system (subway, buses, etc.) is very convenient and easy to use.
We are amazed at how "clean" this city is. Sure, there are the usual signs of heavy wear and tear, the typical stains on the sidewalk, potholes, etc., but in all, there is very little litter ANYWHERE. And, we saw no pollution from any of the vehicles driving around.
Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb - we saw very few caucasions in the areas we visited today, but yet we felt totally safe and comfortable everywhere we went. The fish market was a sight to see, as you will see in the photos. And there were bargains for everyone in the Ladies' Mart.
We came back to the hotel around 2:00 or so, grabbed a quick pick-me-up cup of coffee at Starbucks, and then headed to the mall that is attached to our hotel. We visited the children's floor, including an enormous Toys R Us store, and saw lots of unique clothes and toys. I didn't buy anything, though -- saving my money for Guangzhou!! The fog wasn't quite as heavy this afternoon and it was much warmer than yesterday. We toyed with the idea of heading back to Victoria's Peak to see if we could actually see some of that magnificent view, but ultimately decided not to.
We had dinner with the Schmidts at the California Pizza Kitchen restaurant, which is in the mall. It was very tasty. Afterwards, we headed down the street to the cultural center to watch the laser show across the harbor in the Central District of Hong Kong. It was very cool.
We leave tomorrow at 11:30am for Nanning. Oh my gosh -- Gotcha Day is only one day away!!! As you can imagine, everyone's nerves are on edge. We can't wait to meet our girls!!! We've all been wearing the buttons Jill made for us and they have caused many comments and questions from the locals. Carly has received many compliments on being such a "cute baby"! I can't wait to see her in person.
That's all for now - I probably won't post again until tomorrow night. And since we'll be in Nanning then, I don't know what to expect with the internet connection. We have been very fortunate here in Hong Kong, and I know the connection won't be as good in Nanning. But don't worry - I'll find some way to post updates!!
Thanks for following our journey!
Our travel group:
Breakfast at a local restaurant:
A typical Hong Kong street:
In the heart of the city:
The Fish Market:
Hong Kong at night - the laser show:
No comments:
Post a Comment