Sept 8 - Hong Kong

Today was our first full day in Hong Kong. We caught a glipse of it last night as we rode from the airport to the hotel on the shuttle. Today we saw the city in the daylight and it is almost as impressive as it is at night. First we went to Victoria Peak. It was a very hazy day so we did not have a great view though. We could see the harbor but not the mountains beyond.

Next, we went to the fisherman's village and took a ride on the Sampan (water cab). We really loved this ride although it really shows the dicotomy between the rich and poor here. We rode past a floating restaurant that is really beautiful from the front but when you go around the back you are very glad that you're not having lunch there!

Then we visited Aberdeen Jewelry Factory for a tour and shopping. It was a very interesting tour and we got to see them making the fine jewelry by hand. We did get a little Topaz pendant for Lila for when she's older. She was born in November so Topaz is her birthstone.

After the factory we started to get a little tired from the jet lag but we still had many things to do before returning to the hotel. We went to Stanley market, a huge outdoor market where you can literally get anything! We weren't very interested in shopping because it was so hot and humid and we were tired.

Finally we had a traditional Chinese dim sum lunch at a very nice restaurant. It was very good and there was tons of food! After that we really needed a nap so we headed back to the hotel on the shuttle and slept for a couple of hours.

Tonight we went with another family to see the laser show over the harbor. It sounded really cool but it was just ok. What we really loved was looking at the skyscrapers everywhere with their neon lights. They were beautiful especially reflected in the water. Then we had dinner and came back to the hotel.

Oh yeah! One thing we saw today as we were driving around was a sign that said The Christian and Missionary Alliance! It was the Kowloon C&MA Church and Alliance Kindergarten. We were very excited to see it. We did snap a quick picture but we were off and moving so we didn't get a good view.

We have a very large group at the moment, about 80 people. Tomorrow we will split up into smaller groups and head off to our daughter's provinces. Our group to Nanning is 9 families.

BTW, today Lila is 10 months old!