(These messages in our China Trip journal are from the Yahoo group message board set up for our trip)
* * * HONG KONG, PART II * * *
8:10 pm Sun in Hong Kong
6:10 am Sun Central Time
Well, we finally did get to sleep on our first night at about 1am and slept until 7am, so I thought that was pretty good considering the long travel day we had. Got up and had a nice breakfast at the hotel and started to feel human again.
Hong Kong is INCREDIBLE. We had the best day with the Kinnamon's seeing the sights. We took a hotel shuttle to their sister property in Kowloon and walked around there for a bit, then took the Star Ferry across the harbor to the central district. Apparently no one told the people of Hong Kong that it isn't Christmas anymore ... there are decorated trees and Santa's and reindeer and Christmas carols everywhere we go! Where else could you still have Christmas on January 4th? :-)
After we got to the central district we rode the Peak Tram up a mountain to Victoria Peak. Breathtaking, just beautiful. At the steepest point of the climb we were just pressed against the back of the seats, it was so steep. At the top there were thousands of people enjoying a sunny day in the low 70's. Lots of beautiful lookout points. The real thrill was taking a double decker bus DOWN the peak ... I had been given the advice to ride on the top deck in the very front seats, with nothing but glass in front of you ... and we felt like we were on a rollercoaster, it was so much fun! Then we rode the double decker bus through town and went back to the Star Ferry to cross back over to Kowloon. We couldn't have asked for a better day weather-wise, and we had a great time seeing the City.
The countdown to Abby is on! Seeing all these beautiful little Asian faces is making us so excited to finally meet her.
Had dinner tonight at the hotel and ... word to the wise ... when they tell you the Kung Po Chicken is "spicy" that means you will need a fire extinguisher after about 5 bites. WOW! And I'm sure that it's mild compared to the food we'll find in Hunan, ha!
We are calling it an early night and hoping for our first full night's sleep in awhile, then tomorrow will be an enjoyable day ... and our last day as parents of TWO children! We miss the boys so much but I have to say after the pace of the last two days I think we made the right choice to not have them make the trip (sorry, Drew). It is
very tiring and once we get Abby, I know the pace is going to pick up even more.
And speaking of my boys ... hugs to you both, Drew and TJ ... we love you both ... have a wonderful Sunday, your last day of Christmas break! You will be seeing your little sister before you know it!
Thanks to all for the notes, it's so nice to feel "connected" even when you are half a world away!
Lisa
7:33 am Mon Jan 5 in Hong Kong
9:33 pm Sun Jan 4 Central Time
... well, we're not *really* sleep-LESS but we are only sleeping about 6 hrs a night, still adjusting I guess. I woke at 3:30 am and Mitch was awake at 4. By 4:30 am he was scanning the tv channels in hopes of catching some Sun night US time NFL games, but none could be found! We finally left the room at 5:45 am and headed to breakfast. We're supposed to meet up with more of our travel group at 8:30 am.
We're so very anxious to get on our way to Changsha, and we will be in just 24 hrs. Will probably post again tonight about today's adventures, then you won't hear from us until Tues morning (your time) when we have Abby. We still feel as if we are just watching a movie of someone else's adoption trip to Hong Kong and China, this is so surreal! Guess it will get more real when they put that little sweetheart in our arms and we go back to the world of bottles and diapers! :-)
Hug to my boys, Drew and TJ, of course! Hi to Grandma and Grandpa, hope all is well at home!
Lisa