12 Days in Hong Kong thanks to a thief...

Happy New Year - 2013

Well the New Year has arrived and I can certainly say that we ended 2012 with much excitement.  We were able to go to Hong Kong for an extended holiday weekend and planned to explore the city and then go to Disneyland for two days, but an unfortunate incident changed our plans.  Our bag containing, most importantly, our passports and many electronic devices (Ipad, Ipod, phone, camera, etc.) was stolen.  We are not naive travelers, but we made a crucial mistake,  at the wrong time and a seasoned thief took advantage of us.  We immediately were working with the Hong Kong police, but finding our bag would prove to be like finding the needle, in the haystack.  Long story short (12 days worth) we spent a lot of time with the Hong Kong Police Department, US Embassy, Hong Kong Immigration Office, ABC Bank of China and the Chinese Embassy.   I am thinking most people don't put these places high on their list to visit while in Hong Kong, but we saw them each numerous times for countless hours. 

Before our plans were altered we had gone to the Peak on Saturday Dec. 22, which is up the side of a hill, in a trolley, to one of the highest public points for an amazing view of Hong Kong.  We also visited the Apple Store, where Hattie bought her own Ipod with all of her tutoring money.  In retrospect this turned out to be a life saver because we had to use her device throughout the next 10 days as a lifeline :)

We were also able to enjoy Hong Kong on a budget...although you can spend a lot of money in Hong Kong, there are also many things you can do more inexpensively.  Our 12 days consisted of more than just government offices, thankfully.  We spent 5 hours in the bank on Christmas Eve Day trying to get a statement to prove we'd purchased Disney tickets. After hitting many roadblocks and a long conversation with Santa Harvey at Disney they replaced our 5 stolen tickets (we bought 2 day and they gave us 1 days, but we were ecstatic) for Disney so we got to go on Christmas Day.  It really brought our spirits up.  You are never too old to enjoy such a fun and happy place. 

 

The Princess Castle, smaller than in the US, but still impressive.

This is a picture of Tyrone and me, the gentleman who was most helpful at the bank for 5 hours the previous day and then we randomly ran into him the next day as we were entering Disney...Karma?

In Toy Story Land

Hattie shopping for hairbands

Purses at the market

We were staying in a hostel near the Temple Street Market, which is a must-do in Hong Kong.  We didn't get to shop as much as we'd like to have, but looking forward to that next time.  Hattie did get some knock-off Chuckies and Toms (shoes) and the boys each got some knock-off Dre Beats (headphones for those who aren't as hip, ha ha) for a fraction of the real prices.  The bargaining with the street vendors proves to be quite a bit of fun also.  We ate at several delicious places on Temple Street also, including a place called, King Hee, that had delicious rice clay hot pots and a fried oyster omelet. 


We celebrated Hattie's 13th Birthday in Hong Kong.  One of her favorite things in life to do is go to movies, so we saw the Life of Pi, which is a fabulous movie if you get a chance.  It was in the IFC mall, which is the fanciest movie theater we had ever been to.  You got an assigned seat, ours were up front and center and it was a 3D movie.   We also went to the rooftop deck of the IFC mall to eat a picnic, it was one of Time Magazines Top 10 things to do in China (for free).  It was an amazing view.

Top of the IFC Garden Rooftop view of Victoria Harbor

One day we ventured to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery.  The bus ride alone was an adventure with some of the most beautiful scenery and a random steer or two in the road.

 

This is the Big Buddha on Lantau Island (Hong Kong), Mason having fun with the Buddha, and the Po Lin Monastery and some random steer in the middle of a very windy drive up the mountain.  We saw several small herds of wild cattle.

                                       


Another day we headed to Stanley, which is located on the southern tip of Hong Kong Island to visit the Stanley Market and sight see.  It is beautiful and quite the contrast to the hustle and bustle of the big city.  

Stanley

This edition of, things we don't usually see...at this Temple in Stanley if you look closely you will see...yes, McDonald's on the alter, yummy!

 

 

We also got to see the fireworks on New Year's Eve, at Victoria Harbor, with about 100,000 other people, it proved to be quite impressive (from what we could see).  We also were fortunate enough to still be around for New Year's Day and they were having a traditional Chinese Dragon/Lion Parade.  It was supposed to be an attempt to break their previous Guinness World Book of Records attempt for largest number of Lions/Dragons in a parade.  The verdict is still out if they broke the record or not.  A few days, during our 12 day stint, it rained and was quite cold so we also went to a Science and Art Museum (which, if in Hong Kong, only costs $4 per person for a week-long pass or is free on Wednesdays).

Happy New Year 2013!

The crowd at Victoria Harbor for the New Year Countdown

A few of the lions we saw at the parade

 This day we splurged for a Mexican lunch at Coyote's (and the kids kept wishing we were abroad in a Hispanic culture), it was so delicious, our first mexican food since August!  The hats were free souevnirs and, of course, the kids took them.  Mason lasted the longest but decided to leave it in our hostel for the maid :)   A few other odds and ends, until next time...hoping it will be a little less uneventful! 

Gabe enjoying some street food, tasted like Krumkake

Live Balloon Art Sculpture in a Subway Mall, we got to go in and add to it