Hong Kong Therapy

There is nothing like a little sunshine, clean air, and warm weather to help mend a broken heart! We took a direct, 3 hour flight to Hong Kong yesterday! Soon after we arrived in the airport, we were greeted by inflatable Christmas creatures - the kids loved it!! We ate at Burger King (which is not my favorite in the US, but here it tastes so yummy!!)! Jen - Danny ate a Whopper for you!! Then we took a nice, clean taxi to our hotel which is the Disneyland Resort located on Lantau Island. The hotel is a smaller version of the Grand Floridian at Disney World! We somehow got a large room with enough beds for everyone and a beautiful view of the South China Sea! Ahhh...Disney of course thinks of everything so this hotel is pretty fantastic. There is a Christmas tree made out of poinsettas in the back and a very real Santa was hanging out in the lobby last night. He was also a very smart British Santa - he called my kids cheeky - that pretty much sums them up if you ask me!!!

The view from our window!

After wandering through our hotel we took a taxi to The Peak on Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong is made up of several islands and territories. In a taxi, you go over huge bridges to get from island to island or there is a ferry to go across the water or you can take the MTR (public transportation) which goes through underwater tunnels to arrive at your destination. Because Hong Kong was under British rule until 1997, they drive on the opposite side of the road and so far everyone we have encountered speaks at least some English. One of the other wonderful things about Hong Kong is that there is a fine for spitting - I know this sounds odd, but if you live in China you totally understand what a great law this is!!! We drove by the port of Hong Kong, which I believe our driver said is the second largest in the world - it was pretty amazing!!

We arrived at The Peak and took a tram up to the top. At one point we felt like we were completely vertical - it was scary and fun all at the same time! Once we arrived at the top there were plenty of restaurants to choose from - we chose Bubba Gump's to remind us of Chicago! We had a beautiful view of the city while we enjoyed some yummy American food! After dinner we checked out the shopping and enjoyed a Starbucks before the backwards journey back down!!

A view of Hong Kong from the top!

On the way up in the tram!

We wore the littlest one out!
Danny's shining moment - no wonder he loves this city - a wax figure of Bruce Lee!!

We were very adventurous and took the MTR back to the hotel. It took a little over an hour (a taxi would have taken longer!) and it was so convenient and clean and easy. We had to take a special Disney train to get back to the resort. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the handrail - mouse ears...

Danny thinks Hong Kong is a mix between New York City and San Francisco. I think it is a little piece of heaven here on earth!! It is so nice that we don't stick out with our 3 children. The kids have only had their pictures taken a handful of times...it's so nice not being in the spotlight!! We can actually enjoy a family getaway here, which is exactly what we all needed!!