Hong Kong – Day 8

I felt little numb for this whole last day. It was hard to hold back tears most of the day, and eventually I just gave in. We all went to church in the morning and came home and had lunch and got me all packed up and ready to go. Mason’s sweet parents loaded me up with provisions for the long journey home. I had LemSip, which I may have become addicted to... Kleenex, chocolate, dried mangos, and so much more. It was so kind of them, and it made my long flight so much more enjoyable.

Mason and I left for the airport, and the minute I stepped out of the apartment I just lost it. I think I cried/laughed at myself for being so ridiculous for about four hours straight. I know. Such a baby.

Mason waited with me in the airport until the very last moment, when I had to finally make myself go through security. I had to run all the way to the gate, and I came really close to missing the flight… I may have kind of wanted to just miss it and stay in Hong Kong...

The flight was long, and I got no sleep. I got back to Salt Lake feeling so sick and tired and totally worn out. My sisters informed me that they wanted to have a girl getaway the next weekend, which I initially said ‘no way’ to. Eventually I changed my mind, decided I could miss two more days of school, and I just went. You can read about it here on my sister’s blog.

Just a week and a half later I would be on my way to Cairo… details to follow... and pictures.

Hong Kong – day 7

My last full day in Hong Kong was just as amazing as the rest. We had lunch with Mason’s parents in celebration of Mason’s dad’s birthday. We went to a quaint little Middle Eastern restaurant, which got me all excited for Egypt. It was so tasty...

Mason and I just hung out around town and we got me a new wallet (since mine had been lost and/or stolen earlier in the week). We had a laid-back afternoon cause I had packing to do, and then we went with Mason’s parents to a dessert bar… It was incredible! I had a goal to try everything, but after my first round of treats I had to change my mind. It as funny, cause I was eating all of these amazing things and drinking bitter LemSip medicine on the side. It was pretty gross. My favorite thing here was the Mango ice cream, and also the white chocolate truffles... mmm, so tasty.

After a week of amazing eating I’m afraid Mason and I both felt that we’d gained a little weight… most of our pictures from this last day kind of show it too, it’s kind of pathetic.

It was a good last day, but it was also hard, cause the reality that I was leaving so soon was beginning to sink in. It was frustrating to see time disappearing so fast, but at the same time it was hard to complain because the week had been so amazing.

(pictures will come!)

Hong Kong – Day 6

We headed back up to China on this day, but not before stopping off to see the beautiful Hong Kong Temple!

We didn’t go in, merely passed by, but it was so cool. The temple was actually closed, so we just went and saw the mission office and sat outside in the rain for a bit. The rain was awesome. It was warm and more like a mist that like rain. We spent about twenty minutes in the metro station looking for hot water at every shop (for my blessed LemSip) but had no luck. Although, we did pass a vending machine which was selling umbrellas! Of course, we bought one. It was right next to another vending machine selling ink cartridges… pretty random. Upon arrival in China, we ate at McDonald’s yet again, and then headed to an art village. For some reason it took us about an hour to find a taxi, and then about another hour to get to the art village.

I should’ve taken more pictures here, but alas. (Once again... these will be posted later). There were countless little art shops, some really amazing and some, well, not so much. We got to witness a little mass-production, as these guys would go by about thirty canvases, painting the same detail on each and then moving on to another detail. Pretty funny. There were also tons of kids playing badminton in the streets, which struck me as funny, mainly because my childhood friend, Tammy, whose parents are from China, was obsessed with badminton. I think she was even the national champion for her age group for a while in Canada.

As we were leaving (for another super long taxi ride) we stumbled upon an old man with a one-armed monkey on a leash. That’s all. Oh no wait, there’s more.

After China, we met Mason’s friends for a very late Japanese dinner, which was amazing. So much good food on this trip… just incredible. Not to mention, Mason's friends were super cool. I was super sleepy at dinner, which made me sad, cause I wanted to get to know them better.

We eventually made our way back home on the bus. And I slept.

Hong Kong – Day 5

My Aunt and Uncle, Gale and Chris, just so happened to be in Hong Kong when I was there. They were picking up their recently adopted baby, Eve. Sadly, as I had been feeling under the weather, I didn’t even risk getting close to her, let alone holding her. She’s so precious and looked so cuddly! I wish I could’ve played with her, but alas.

It was so fun to meet up with them and spend most of the day with them and little Eve! We all had lunch (yummy Thai food) and then had some amazing gelato… oh my, I love that stuff! We strolled a little bit through the market, watching shrimp try to jump out of their little selling-bins, and seeing all sorts of fresh fish ready to be sold… my personal favorite was the fish that had been chopped in half, whose tail was nowhere to be seen, and yet somehow, he was still breathing. Very weird. A little disturbing. We all took a ferry – the famous Star Ferry – across the water and beheld the magnificent view of Hong Kong’s finest buildings.

Little Eve was ready for a nap, as were Gale and Chris, and they were kind enough to let us use their hotel pool… Mason and I swam a little, hot tubbed a little more (it wasn’t the warmest day ever…) and then reclined all, covered up in towels (trying to stay warm and dry off) by the side of the pool. It was so much fun! Especially because we were given these awesome white plastic slippers, which I wore proudly. I think it may have embarrassed Mason… (Thanks Gale and Chris for the use of the Marriot’s really nice pool!)

We met up with Gale, Chris and Eve and Mason’s parents at the Peak and ate dinner at Café Deco, which was awesome. Delicious food, incredible view, good company. Mason and I shared our meals – a pizza, and this lamb dish… both were amazing, as was dessert. We all took the cable car down the hillside and went home. So much fun!

(Pictures to follow within the week... I promise)

Hong Kong – Day 4

This day was also amazing. Mason and I went to see his mom’s quilting class (which was at this incredible mansion… it happens to be the largest home in Hong Kong… very big, and very fancy) and then headed over to Mason’s old high school. It was so fun to see, but I started feeling so sick. Luckily Mason took good care of me – bought me a Panini and made me some LemSip... this hot medicine drink akin to Neo Citron, for those of Canadian origin...

Seriously, LemSip saved me in Hong Kong. I was so sick with a horrible cold, but about every six hours I would drink a hot glass of this stuff and I would feel so much better. (Thank you Mason for being so on top of finding hot water for me every six hours!)

After the school, we went to Disneyland! That’s right, Disneyland. Hong Kong Disneyland isn’t as elaborate or as big as the one in California, but it does have Space Mountain. One of Mason’s friends got us in for free (thank you friend!) So it made it extra fun. There’s a train you take up there that’s all Disney-ed out. I love the fairytale-ish feel of Disney land. It’s just so charming. I love it. When we were done with rides and fireworks, we headed out and decided to get dinner at one of the hotels there. I don’t know why I thought this was so magical (probably because it was magical) but the walk up to the hotel was so awesome. It was still warm outside and it had just gotten dark. There was this really long, tree-lined road that was completely empty except for us, and they were playing all the romantic Disney songs they could muster. It all led to a heart-shaped archway and some fancy stairs up to the hotel. Dinner was good, and I enjoyed some more LemSip, naturally. After dinner, we went and saw out the window none other than a maze made entirely out of shrubbery! We raced around it (Mason won) and took some pictures, which I may add when I have a stable internet connection... not one from this sketchy Egyptian hotel...

All in all, another AMAZING day.

Day two in Hong Kong

My second day in Hong Kong was amazing. I was completely spoiled. It started with sleeping in (which was almost a miracle considering jet-lag) followed by a delicious breakfast in bed made by Mason. Since I'm taking a whole week off of school, it was inevitable that I would have to spend at least some time doing homework on this trip, so I worked on a paper for a couple hours, and then we headed out for lunch (me, Mason and Mason's mom).

This lunch was so awesome! Such a fun experience. It was a cooking school, and it was seriously awesome. First thing when we got there, they checked all of our temperatures to make sure we wouldn't contaminate everyone I guess. They led us into the dining room and it was awesome. All the students were wearing these bright green aprons and their teachers were wearing suits. Everyone was wearing little masks covering their mouths - little clear plastic ones held on by strings that went back around their ears. I wish I had taken pictures at this place, but alas. The food was really good, and I actually surprised myself by eating just about everything (there was lots of seafood!) We had chrysanthemum tea, and then tons of little tiny courses, almost like little samples of food. They just brought out one after another. I wanted to just laugh so many times though at the attentiveness of the students. The would like rush over after every sip of water or tea and ask you if they could fill up your cup or little teapot. It seemed like there was always a group of five or six students standing about ten feet away watching our every move. Some of them were so nervous too. So funny.

We came home and I spent a little more time working on my paper, which I finished and emailed to my teacher, and then we headed out to meet one of Mason's friends, Theresa. We went to the IFC mall, where we sampled and purchased fancy chocolates and frozen yogurt and sat outside over looking Hong Kong.

IFC's balcony - I just found this picture online, we were there in the daytime.

We were meeting some of Mason's other friends, Sunny and Jonathan, for dinner so we rode over to the Peninsula hotel on the MTR (Hong Kong's subway that we take everywhere). The Peninsula is this amazing old victorian hotel, and according to Mason, it's the nicest one here. It really was beautiful.

I didn't take these pictures... all from random websites

Sunny and Jonathan are here on business from LA, and it was funny cause I actually served in their ward, just a few months before they moved in. I also had even been to Sunny's parents house. She works for her parents business, which happens to be Sunrider (a family favorite).

We had an incredible meal at the Felix Restaurant.

Our view was amazing! We were seated right next to the window overlooking the city. It was such a fancy restaurant too. I went to use the bathroom, and there was a little lady in there who went and found me a stall and got the door for me... a little awkward, but whatever. Then when I went to wash my hands, she was standing there by this fountain thing (it was actually the sink, but it looked like a really fancy fountain/waterfall thing) and she like pumped my soap for me and dried my hands and everything. Kinda funny.

The food was so good. I had this really cool salad. They had cut out a slice of a head of iceberg lettuce about and inch thick, and then put the other ingredients on top of it. So tasty! For the main course I had this amazing duck with pumpkin and fois gras and four very artistically-placed green beans. It looked so fancy, and it was SO good! We were going to et dessert, but all of the 10 or so dessert items had alcohol in them, so we went elsewhere for our sugar fix. I ended up with a plate full of fresh watermelon, mango and other fruit, and Mango ice cream. Such a treat! Mason and I eventually made our way back home on the MTR.

I ate a lot of really good food, and was spoiled immensely. It was seriously such a fun day!

a little unexpected romance...

yesterday my roommate (ginny) and i went to the library to study.

on the way there i started saying, "ok ginny, our goal tonight is to study very diligently for two hours straight." but instead i decided to be so funny and say "ok ginny, our goal tonight is to get asked on a date."

she laughed (i succeeded in being so funny) and we continued up the hill. we went to the infamous "no shhh! zone" which is a section of the library where you can talk, listen to music, and even socialize if you're bold. we found an empty table and sat down.

behind us was the most interesting thing. there were two boys and two girls sitting at the table which was covered in a lovely, lacy tablecloth, with a candle in its center (the battery operated sort). the candle was surrounded by chocolate kisses, and romantic music floated around them all. it made our table look so lame.

before we could get our books our of our over-stuffed bags, shawn (as i later learned he was called) came up to us and asked if one of us would be willing to be his friend's date for the night, as his had left. ginny didn't want to, but since i hate to turn down the opportunity to serve, i said i would. i went and sat with them. shawn felt bad for ginny, so he went and found her a date too.

there we all were. three dates. it was oh so romantic. shawn and his date (maddie) had been friends for a while, but this was their first date. they were studying together. they had sat at a table already occupied by nathan (my date) and had subsequently found him two other dates before me... they apparently didn't enjoy it. ginny's date was a boy named john, who i think was just 19.

it was all very random, and luckily ginny and i got a ton of chocolate out of it. none of us got a ton of homework done, but we all quickly became (facebook) friends (where we made all sorts of connections through the "friends in common" feature) and had a lot of fun trying to make each other feel awkward.

(yes, we are all holding hands. we had to.)

all in all, it was a good date. i'd do it again.

ginny and i are about to head back up to the library... and what shall i set as my goal this time...?

bulls-eye... well, almost.

(me & boy)

"do you want to go shooting?"

"shooting what?"

"GUNS."

"um, where?"

"in the mountians."

"...uh..."

"i'm not joking."

"...yes?"

"like right now?"

"well, okay."

and so we went. it was amazing. i had never even held a gun before (well, one that had bullets in it). i shot three different little pistols. my favorite was the silver one. i didn't hit the middle of the target even one time, but i'm okay with it.

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