From Discovery Bay to Wan Chai to Sheung Shui

October 12 (Monday)

P-day. Our normal grocery shopping day. Then we stopped by a new Japanese restaurant that just opened in our neighborhood, Don Don Tei. It was awesome. We'll be eating there again I'm sure.

Dinner for one: assorted tempura, miso soup, appetizer, crispy chicken rice, pickled vegetables, and dessert.

Each item was in it's own dish...glad I'm not the dishwasher.

Later we took a trip to Discovery Bay. It is on the north-eastern coast of Lantau Island in the New Territories. It is very different from Hong Kong. In HK, there are people everywhere no matter where you go. In Discovery Bay, there are very few people. It is like a resort area with beautiful sandy beaches. (Again, I'd stay away from the polluted water.) I have yet to see any clear water along any beach.

There are beautiful upscale western/european style restaurants all along the water front with outdoor umbrella-ed cafes. Very serine and relaxing atmosphere. Here you can find many American products in the grocery store that you can't find anywhere else.

This is the first time I've scene a roast in HK. It's only $148.00/lb! ($25.00CAD/lb.)

John was excited to find a turkey...only $430.00 HKD. ($72.00CAD).
Too bad no one has an oven to cook it in.

There were many children out playing in the plaza while their nanny's sat and watched. It so sad that so many children are left to be raised by nannies rather than their parents. On the upside, it gives a lot of people employment which they would otherwise not have.

We had to take the ferry to get to Discovery Bay. If you are 65 or older, you only pay $2.00. However if you are under 65, it costs $40.00 each way. So out of our group of 7 people, everyone paid only $4.00 except for me who had to pay $80.00! Now where's the fairness in that?!?!

Left to right: me, June Lee, Charles Ngai, Shirley Ngai, Richard Lee, Nora Chan (photographer - John Chan)

October 13 (Tuesday)

Ponderize for this week is: "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 3 Nephi 14:7  Our Heavenly Father is always there for us.


October 14 (Wednesday)

We have an interesting week at the Temple. There is a group from Mongolia here. A bit of excitement happened when one of the Mongolian patrons slumped over during a session. Everything stopped as the emergency alarm was sounded. They worked on him until he gained consciousness. Then, instead of leaving the session, he just continued on as if nothing happened. We think he had a mild seizure.

October 15 (Thursday) - 

Today marks our 4th month on our mission. The first 3 months were kind of slow to me, but this past month seemed to go a bit faster. I miss everyone back home.

OAD - John had follow-up appointments with his doctors. All is well. Our exploration today took us to the Wan Chai Market. It was bigger than I expected and lots of fun. I think the kids will enjoy the toy stores and knick knack shops. We found a great little street side dim sum shop...yummy...anxious to go back to get more.

BBQ Duck, BBQ Pork, Soy Sauce Chickenfrom 

Talented street artist.

Street side Dim Sum Shop

Even a line up at Subway!

October 16 (Friday)

Brother Choi, the Temple Recorder, and his wife invited us and Nora and the Ngai's out to dinner. We went to Sheung Shui (translated "upper water"). It's an older district of Kowloon. They have a wonderful wet market. We dined at a traditional mess hall style restaurant and had typical Chinese cuisine.

All kinds of Fruit

All kinds of Veggies

All kinds of Weird Stuff

All kinds of Baked Goods

SHRIMP! not so "shrimpy" ... actually quite large.

Oyster Egg Omelette with Cilantro

Traditional BBQ Duck

Something with Something and Something???

Lotus Root with Pork and Mushrooms

Nora, the Choi's, me, the Ngai's

Mess-style restaurant. I wonder if that means "messy"?

October 17 (Saturday)

John and I both went for massages today. Sister Hung, one of the local temple workers is a massage therapist. She was excellent. It's been a long time since we've had a massage. She used a technique known as "gatsa". It's an ancient Chinese therapy used to draw out toxins. She used a flat scraper like paddle to scrape over the back thus drawing the toxins to the surface and turning your back into a not so pretty patch of red blotches. Ahhh, it feels so good.

October 18 (Sunday)

End of another week. I've been thinking about how this mission just seems like one long holiday. We've been so blessed to be here in Hong Kong. There are so many things to go and do and great people to go and do things with.

Working at the Temple helps to bring focus and balance into my life. I'm amazed each week at the dedication of some of the members who travel so far to come and spend a week at the Temple. Trying to read their names can be a real challenge. Some of the names are so long with very few vowels. Some you have to contort your mouth/tongue/throat to make strange sounds we're just not used to. I know I often mispronounce them. The Chinese names, though just one syllable are also difficult. I would pronounce it as spelled in pinyin; someone else might say it in Cantonese; then we'd both be corrected if the person spoke Mandarin. Just can't win.

Today was our Branch Conference. We have amazing leaders. Branch Pres. Smart and District Pres. Tai both gave excellent talks. We also had a wonderful Relief Society meeting - Q&A with Pres. Tai. He answered some very interesting questions some of the sisters had including divorce and abusive relationships. Our 3 hour block was then followed by a Visiting Teaching Conference. I think this was one of the best VT conferences I have ever attended. And of course, because these are Filipino sisters, the day wouldn't be complete without a meal!

Over the past few weeks, I felt like something was missing spiritually, but attending church today with all those wonderful sisters just replenished my spirit and my heart is full.