Discovering Hong Kong (Part 1)

It is always wonderful to have family visit but we seem to end up with the same problem each time, spending too much time catching up in the comfort of our living room which means that by the end of their holiday, I sit there and say "oh we should have gone here, we should have gone there". So this time around, while Mum, Dad and the Khoos were here, we made more of an effort to be "tourists".

We started this holiday off with a visit to Ryan's favourite destination, where else but Disneyland! Despite the sweltering heat and the hordes of pushy Chinese tourists, all three kids had a wonderful time meeting the Disney characters, watching the shows and going on the rides. Somehow it's just impossible not to feel happy when you're in the happiest and most magical place in the world!

Goofy welcomes the kids to HK

Jostling for position in front of the water fountain

Three monkey drummers

Best buddies

Kids doing their Japanese tourist impersonation at an ice-cream break

Next stop, the Tropical Pool at AMC which is another one of our favourite summer destinations.

Teagan enjoying her first experience with floaties

Mamas and the kids (Ryan's more focused on staying above water)

A very relaxed little 3yo

The two "sau pai lat kuats" (skinny pork ribs) drying off before lunch

Dad arrived a week later armed with 12 packets of the famous Seremban "ngau lam farn" (beef noodles). Even though it was 1am by the time Dad walked into the apartment, I couldn't resist demolishing a big bowl to satisfy my craving! (too busy eating, forgot to take a photo of the delicious meal).

Stanley... a walk along the promenade, through the market followed by a Spanish lunch overlooking the sea.

Teagan checking out her new purple Crocs

Lunch at Stanley, complete with sangria and paella

Cheung Chau... We took advantage of a beautiful sunny day (we'd been stuck at home for a few days because of the recent Typhoon Hagupit) to trek out to Cheung Chau for half a day. The kids were very excited about the ferry ride while we adults were looking forward to exploring this little fishing village as well as a super fresh seafood lunch.

Fishing sampans at the Cheung Chau Pier waiting to go out to sea

Spiky blowfish?

One for you and one for me

In front of our soon-to-be lunch

Seafood galore

Shek O... We bundled the kids into the car bright and early one day and headed out to the beach. We'd expected it to be extremely crowded given that it was a public holiday but surprisingly there weren't too many people. The kids kicked off their shoes and ran straight for the water as soon as we got there. The best thing about Hong Kong beaches is the service you get there, as soon as you step onto the sand local vendors come up to ask if you want to hire beach umbrellas, mats or sun chairs and set everything up for you so you don't even have to lift a finger to get comfortable :) Hong Kong really is all about food so even at the beach we managed to eat some of the most delicious soup noodles complete with roast duck, wantons, beef brisket and stewed intestines (yucky to some, yummy to others). Karen wanted to make another trip out there just to eat the noodles again!

Catching a wave at Shek O Beach

Wipe out
.

Ryan honing his super-soaker technique

Hanging with Daddy

Hong Kong style beach snacks

My favourite noodle shop down a little lane

Ping Shan Heritage Trail... I was hoping to take the kids to the lychee farm in Yuen Loong but we were a little too late, lychee season was in June/July. So we changed our plans and went on the Heritage Trail instead. Relying solely on my memory (I'd been there once before about a year ago) and the Hong Kong road signs, we drove to Yuen Long (much to Shad's disgust who believes that there's a reason we have maps). Well, we made it there safely, admittedly having had to stop once to get directions from some policemen.

"Ping Shan is one of the few districts in Hong Kong with a long history. A lineage of the Tang clan, one of the "Five Great Clans" in the New Territories, has been living in the area since the twelfth century. Many of the structures built in those days remain today, bearing testimony to historical and social development over the past centuries."

Fresh meat for sale

Tang Ancestral Hall

A large "pun choy" pot

Kong-kong explaining the mechanics of an ancient grinder to the boys

Inside the Kun Ting Study Hall

On one of those many days that we stayed indoors, Mum tried to teach the boys a couple of card games to keep them occupied. This was no easy feat given their short attention spans, and also Teagan's determination to join in the fun!

Belcher's gambling den

After dinner at AMC one night, we went on a sampan ride out from the Jumbo Pier to the Aberdeen Pier near the Aberdeen Fish Market, courtesy of the free Jumbo sampan service. It was a lovely night so Shad managed to get some great shots. Unfortunately, as always, our photos were missing one person.

On the jetty with Jumbo Restaurant in the background

A night time family portrait