"GOO-BUR" Tour - China 2015 (GOOdman/BURton)

November 23 (Monday)

Officially we are on our 2 week break for the regular temple maintenance.

The Goodman's are trying to adjust to the time change. However, it will be a challenge. The kids went to sleep around 10:00 but were awake by 3:00 am. Mike took the boys out for a walk at 5:00 am and found a McDonald's so they had breakfast. When John and I woke up, at our usual time of around 7:30, we didn't realize they had been up for 4 hours already. They were so quiet, we thought they were still sleeping.

We started our outing with a trip to Li Yuen Street. We arrived there around 10:00, but unfortunately, a lot of the shops don't open till 11 or 12. Good thing the knick knack store was open. The kids enjoyed shopping there.

By 11:00, they were hungry and tired, so we found a restaurant for lunch. Food was OK but service was horrible. After having a break from shopping, the kids decided they had energy to do more, so we hopped on the Ding Ding (double decker street car) and rode through the old streets of Hong Kong. Fun way to do a little sight seeing. Time for nap, so returned to our apartment.

Boarding the Ding Ding

Viewing Hong Kong from the top deck of the Ding Ding

 Bamboo scaffolding on The Peninsula Hotel. It boggles my mind how they do this. No metal...just bamboo!

After a 3 hour nap and supper, we decided to head out again to check out Ladies' Market. Fun. Crowded. Hot. Some good deals. Some cranky sales persons. Returned home. Kept the kids up till 2:00 watching a movie "I Was Once a Beehive".  Hope they will sleep in and have their hours on track.

Can we go now?

I'm bored.

So done!

A little snack? John got yelled at for taking this picture.

November 24 (Tuesday)

Being in Hong Kong, it's all about 2 things - eating and shopping. This morning Jade, Ellie, and I decided to get an early start on the shopping. We went to Kwai Fong, one of my favorite shopping areas. Got there shortly after 10:00 only to find all the shops still closed. We figured they'd be open by 11:00, so we went and explored out on the streets. We walked to our Church building, but it was locked so I couldn't show her inside. After literally wasting an hour, we returned to the mall, only to find all the stores still closed! Are you kidding me? Found out that they don't open till noon. Ahhhh! 2 hours of precious shopping time wasted. So we explored a bit in the adjacent up scale mall (too pricey for our taste), then decided to go do lunch (McDonald's) before actually shopping.

Oh...the lovely smells of the Chinese market...

There was a nice friendly lady sitting next to us. She kept staring at Ellie, then commented how cute he was. Yes, she mistook Ellie for a boy! Obviously she hadn't noticed her braids. I had a brief simple conversation with her in my broken Cantonese, but she seemed to understand me for the most part.
As we left, I thought perhaps I should give her an invitation to Wayne's concert. I handed her the invitation and pointed to Wayne, saying that he was my son-in-law and he was putting on a concert. She gently took my arm and proceeded to guide me in a certain direction in the mall and pointed in that direction. No. No. No. I don't want to buy a man's shirt! When I pointed to Wayne's picture, she thought I wanted to purchase a shirt! I guess my Cantonese skills are rather lacking. We both had a good laugh. Eventually I did get the message across for her to come enjoy the concert. Hope she does.

Shopping was rather uneventful. Jade didn't buy any clothes, just hair stuff for Ellie and a fun lazer type spin top for the kids to share. Went home for nap time. Made a big pot of stew for supper.

The guys didn't want to go shopping for the same stuff the girls did, so they went on their own way. Mike was hoping to meet with a chiropractor so he could write off part of this trip as a business expense.

Mike met Dr. ___.  That made him happy.

The boys met Lego. That kept them happy.

Anything "Bruce" and that kept John happy.

Victor Tang (my brother-in-law) arrived around 7:00 and the Burton family arrived around 10:00 pm. Its so great to have family here. I'm excited to spend some time with them all. Hope it won't take too long to adjust to the time change. So much to do, so many places to go. So little time.

Victor arriving in Hong Kong

The Burton Bunch arrive after a very long 19 hours of travelling.

November 25 (Wednesday)

Starting off the day with a ride on the North Point Ferry. Hopped on the ding ding to Hong Kong Garden where we saw the turtle ponds. So cute, they were crawling up on each other to sun on the rocks. Took the 127 year old tram up the mountain to Victoria Peak where we got a bird's eye view of Hong Kong.

Ready and rearing to go...

On the North Point Ferry 

Transfer to the Ding Ding

Turtle watching at Hong Kong Park

The "GooBur" Kids (GOOdman's and BURton's)

The Ultimate Hong Kong Experience 

On the tram up to Victoria Peak

View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak 

Circle of Love - Love each other, Love Hong Kong. Love our mission.

And LOVE our GRANDKIDS! 

On the way back, we stopped at St. John's cathedral where I was told I could find a Chinese style nativity. I'd been looking for one and haven't been able to find one till now to add to my miniature nativity collection. Oh happy day.

St. John's Cathedral

Wood carved Chinese style Nativity 

Moving on, next stop - Wan Chai Market...

Wan Chai Market

How about these ones? 

Let me check my conversion card... 

Check this out... 

We're so-o-o DONE.

Pooped! Time to go home for a nap. After naps, we headed out to a local Italian Restaurant. It was actually pretty good. Vic and John volunteered to watch the younger kids while the rest of us returned to Ladies Market. It was crowded, but I think that's part of the atmosphere. You can bargain with the vendors...they expect it. If you're tough, you can drive a mean deal. If you're timid, you end up paying more.

Great Uncle Vic and Ellie on a walk along the promenade.

The boyz...Cardiff, Parker, Rhome, Sawyer, Rhett

Christmas lights covering the building 

How Hong Kong does Christmas lights.

November 26 (Thursday)

Another full day scheduled. We started off with a trip on the MTR to Lantau Island to visit the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. 536 steps up and back to the Buddha. The kids run up and down in about 10 minutes. That was it...let's get to Disneyland! Time was flying and we were an hour behind schedule. We decided to take the gondola sky tram back to the MTR. What a fun ride high over the island. We saw the airport below and watched planes taking off and landing. We had a breathtaking view of North Lantau and the South China Sea. And we saved time by taking the direct route back to the MTR.

Disneyland Hong Kong...Whether you're at Disney California, Disney Florida, or Disney Hong Kong, it is the "happiest place on earth". Though the HK Disneyland is smaller, there was still plenty to see and do. One never gets tired of the thrill and creativity of the rides. This was especially exciting for Ellie since the last time she was there she was just a baby. Meeting the princess made it all worth while.

Tight schedule, after 5 hours at Disney it was off to Tai Koo to meet Auntie May Soo and others for dinner at Maxim's. The kids were beat tired. Some of them didn't make it through dinner. I felt so bad for them. Not only was it a full day of activity, but they also had the time change to compensate for. They were so good to do as well as they did. Real troopers!

People in photo excluding my family (left to right) - Agatha, Cynthia, Anne, Wendy, May Soo, Victor, Steven

Cynthia Wong & Anne Cheung lived with my Mom while
going to school in Lethbridge 40 years ago. 

Steven and Agatha, Aunt May Soo's son and daughter.

Wendy Lee my sister-in-law and Auntie May Soo

With so little time to do so many things, it was hard to squeeze everything in. I so appreciate my children and grandchildren for making the effort to visit with my Mom's family and friends, even through they could not communicate with their great auntie, it was good for them to meet her.

A little play time in the ball pit in the Club House at Harborfront

Throughout the day, I found myself thinking little prayers in my heart. Thank you Heavenly Father for... Please Heavenly Father grant us... and each time prayers are answered and things turned out. I'm becoming more aware of all the little tender mercies we've been granted.

As our days draws to a close, "Please Heavenly Father let us make it back to catch the last shuttle to our apartment, and let there be room for 14 of us." As we got off the MTR and turned the corner to the last hotel shuttle of the night, there it was, waiting for us. Room for 14 very very tired and worn out travelers. Thank you, another tender mercy.


November 27 (Friday)

Less than a week in Hong Kong, and now it's off to mainland China. Pack and repack...remember to leave room to bring back all your shopping treasures. Shenzhen is the most popular shopping area for many cross border shoppers. Prices there are a lot less than in Hong Kong. Unfortunately John and I were unable to accompany the family into China, as we do not and could not obtain a Visa due to our missionary status. With China's ban on religious proselyting, even though we would not be proselyting, it is against Church policy while serving a mission.

My girls were a bit nervous about going into China without someone who could speak the language. Not to worry, there's usually someone around who does speak English and could help you out. Besides, Rhome, Jade's 9 year old son, can help them out a bit. He's in his 4th year of Mandarin immersion school.

We had a tearful goodbye at the border. Jade was full of anxiety. Azia was afraid of being abducted, and Jasmine was up all night worrying about kids getting running off and getting lost. But again, departing with a prayer in my heart, I know they will be well and safe. By the time we got home after dinner and checked my email, the message read, "Made it. We're here. Safe and Sound. No worries...we have definitely been putting Rhome's translating skills to work. He sounds amazing!"


November 28 (Saturday)

I finally had a really good deep sleep for the first time since being here. We slept in till about 9:00. We have a cleaning service come in every Saturday morning to clean the apartment, so we had to get moving. Vic said there was a good congee restaurant in Yau Ma Tei, so we headed over there for brunch. Passed some wonderful markets. There are wonderful markets all over HK. After lunch we happened to walk by a dishes place and of course I had to check it out. I found some that I really liked, so made a purchase of 24 rice/soup bowls, 4 serving plates, 2 large soup turines, and 4 large serving spoons, all for $48.00 CAD. My bargain of the week. I'm happy.

A typical day in the MTR station...just a few people

November 29 (Sunday)

John had an early meeting today. Vic went out for his coffee. I'm trying to catch up on blogging. I have a meeting at Wan Chai to finalize preparations for the concerts.

End of another week. By this time next year "I'll be home for Christmas."