Meeting Maggie - Part 2 - Second day in Hong Kong
Sat., May 22, 1999 - We had breakfast in the hotel lounge and then waited for the rest of our travel group to appear. We were sitting at a table with a view of the lobby... I figured they would get there between 7:30 and 8:00 AM. I was anxious to meet them. Finally we saw a group come in with lots of luggage. I went up to the front desk and asked one of the people in the group if they were with CCAI group 132. That person turned out to be the sister of one of the other single moms in our group. I said hello to a couple people and met our guide, Tommy. He told us to meet in the lobby at 12:30. The group headed up to their rooms to freshen up and get some rest.
 |
 |
Cecilia and I then headed out for another walk. She had a friend who knew an honest jeweler in Hong Kong, so we went there to do some shopping. I think that we both spent more money than we had planned, but I later surmised that we got a reasonably good deal. I bought a couple items for Maggie for when she is older and gift for my Mom's birthday. We then walked around the harbor some more and took some pictures.
At 12:30 we met the group in the lobby and introduced ourselves. Everyone was there except one couple who would arrive that evening. There were eight families total, five couples and three single moms (including myself). One of the other single moms traveled with her aunt and the other traveled with her sister. Two families were adopting for the second time. One family brought along the god-parent of their daughter. It was a nice size group and we all got along well.
Our first group activity was to have Dim Sum at a nearby restaurant. Tommy ordered for us and then left us while we ate. We got to know the others at our table (the group took up two tables) and ate lots of food, much of which we could not identify. It was served family style on a large lazy Susan in the middle of the table. I managed to eat everything with chopsticks. One of the other moms explained that we should serve ourselves using the wide end of the chopsticks and then eat with the other end.
Next we went on a tour. The bus ride was an experience in and of itself! Cecilia and I sat in the front seat of the bus, so we got the best view of the windy narrow hilly roads and the oncoming traffic. It was like a roller coaster ride!
 |
 |
The first stop was Stanley Market. I am not much of a shopper, but did buy a tea set for Maggie and some ornaments to give people as gifts. We were told that this was a the best place to get a good price on a tea set. Cecilia had one $20 bill (Hong Kong dollars) that was damaged and nobody would take it. I worried so much about my U.S. dollars being in mint condition, but did not think to examine the condition of the money we received in Hong Kong. I think the bad $20 bill was given to us as change when we purchased some snacks and water at a convenience store.
At the next stop, we took a Sampan boat ride on the harbor. This was very interesting. The boat took us past a large floating restaurant and then through a community of house boats.
Then we went to a jewelry factory, where we received a short demonstration on how to tell if pearls were real. The factory was closed, since it was Saturday, so we did not get to see anyone making jewelry. We then went to the gift shop, where sales people followed us around like sharks. Since Cecilia and I had already purchased our jewelry, we didn't buy anything else. But, we could tell that we had gotten better prices that morning.
 |
 |
The last stop was an overlook on Victoria Peak. The views of the city were beautiful and it was a relaxing spot. I think we were all pretty tired by this time, but Cecilia and I were not nearly as tired as the others, since we had arrived a day early.
That night we ate in the fancy restaurant on the 21st floor of the hotel. The food was decent and the view of the city lights was very pretty. After that we went back to the room to pack, as our bags were supposed to be picked up at 9:00 AM the next morning.
That night I had a dream that we were getting the babies but I couldn't find mine. I kept walking around looking for her. In the dream, one of the group members was African-American and she got an extremely tiny African-American baby. Another baby in the dream had a fever of 105 degrees. We woke up again about 3:00 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. I waited until the health club opened at 6:00 AM and then went for a swim.
So far, we were all just a bunch tourists, the next day we would become parents! I had that "gang plank" feeling again... this was truly the end of an "era" of my life.