Thursday, December 10, 2015
Christmas Festivities Begin!
Santa was visiting on Saturday so we decided to give him another chance, hoping Fletcher would like him just a little bit more than last year. Success! Well, kind of...he at least didn't cry. This kid spends all day laughing and playing, and then the second he sees a camera, acts like he's being grossly inconvenienced. It's okay, he's still cute :) He sat on Santa's lap for as long as we wanted, and then went right for the candy canes at Santa's feet. Smart kid. Once he was good and sticky, we took him to pick out a Christmas tree. He wanted all of them, but decided on one we thought was pretty great...until we got home and realized it was too big for the tree stand. Hence, the leaning tree. It's okay though, it kind of makes Christmas more perfect. I love imperfections and being able to say things like, "remember the year we got the too big tree that fell over on Christmas morning?" and "remember that time we took Fletcher to pick out a tree but he was covered in sugar and left with pine needles stuck to his face?" Fletcher enjoyed putting one ornament on the tree, which worked for me. I had envisioned him removing every ornament that I added. And he hasn't found the ridiculous pile of Santa presents. Granted, they're all still in Amazon boxes, so he probably doesn't realize that they're full of goodies, but I have no idea what we'll do next year when we actually have to hide everything. We don't exactly have storage space. Anyway, the tree up and decorated makes us very happy. Jesse expects Christmas music to be playing when he arrives home every night, so the house has been pretty festive all week. I can't believe we're only two weeks away from the big day!
Thanksgiving in Hong Kong
Oh Hong Kong, how we miss you! It was such an amazing vacation, and much needed! We had been discussing the possibility of going for Thanksgiving, but kind of put it on hold thinking it would too expensive of a trip to tackle in just 4 days. However, by the time November rolled around we were both in pretty desperate need of a getaway. Did you know that Jesse has to apply for special clearances if he wants to visit a country other than the US? Me neither. We learned that one about a week before we were trying to leave. I went into panic mode and spent most of my work days trying to fill out paperwork that I had no business completing (because Jesse had zero time at work to do it). It's quite the process! After filling out a ton of online forms, completing trainings, and faxing in paperwork, we crossed our fingers and prayed to the turkey gods that someone would take pity on us and approve everything in a week's time (instead of the 60 days they request). And what do you know, the approval went through a couple of days before we wanted to leave.
In true Simmermon fashion, Fletcher decided to get sick as we arrived at the airport to leave. One minute he was running around the terminal and climbing on furniture, and the next I was covered in vomit. We asked him to put on his big boy diaper and get better quickly, which he kindly did (I only got thrown up on one other time during the trip, while in a crowded subway). It really wasn't so bad :)
The hotel we stayed at was really great. It was Western and really nice and was connected to a fantastic mall. We didn't do much shopping there but the convenience of having restaurants right next to us made traveling with a toddler much easier. Asia is a little bit unusual to us in that they don't love food the way we do; eating is mostly a necessity and not seen so much as an experience. We definitely miss nice dining experiences and it makes traveling with a toddler a little bit more challenging. You don't realize how much your day revolves around snacks and meals until quick food options aren't available to you. And then of course it's a little bit more challenging when you're traveling and don't have refrigerator access. Also, Fletcher is like me in that he needs real food and substantial meals. Jesse could snack all day and be fine. Fletcher, not so much. He gets cranky and ill looking if he doesn't get veggies and wholesome meals. We really like to eat.
For our first full day there, we booked a tour. We aren't typically into organized activities, but it was definitely the right choice. A bus picked us up and took us to four different places in Hong Kong. First we went to Victoria Peak and rode a very cool tram to the top, then we went to a floating restaurant and got to ride an old boat around the harbor, then we went to a jewelry making factory (it was weird and some kind of plug to buy jewelry), and then we went to Stanley Market. The market was really neat and on the water. We didn't have enough time to shop and eat so we wish we had more time there, but it was still a fun experience. We stopped at a large park on the way back to the hotel so Fletcher could run around and play. It was probably his favorite part of the trip.
English is an official language, so most people speak it fluently. Also, the public transportation system is incredibly easy to operate and navigate. We took the subway almost everywhere. Also, the exchange rate is a little goofy; it's about 7.5 Hong Kong dollars to $1, so it's more difficult to calculate things quickly in your head. In Japan it's 100 yen to $1, so much easier! The second day we went to a seafood market, where we accidentally spent $250 on lunch. Oops. We just wanted to eat. Again, we really like food. We sat outside at a restaurant on the water (which ended up being $70 just to sit at the table). It was confusing because the restaurant wasn't pretty, nor was the outside area. Our waiter told us to come out to the market and pick the (live) animals that we wanted to have them prepare. I hesitated for about a second trying to decide what we wanted, and he went ahead and grabbed a lobster, an entire grouper, and some kind of king prawn (I think that's what he was saying...it was delicious). I thought about asking him how much it was going to be, but then decided that since the place didn't seem that fancy and it was technically China, it couldn't be that bad. Lesson learned, although I'm sure they saw us coming and new we would eat whatever they gave us. The food was incredible and definitely worth the price.
After lunch we went to the Ladies Market. It was a lot of fun. It's your standard Asian market with either fake, stolen, or factory second goods. It's fun trying to decide what's fake and what's stolen, and whether or not you feel bad about buying things stolen from a Chinese factory. We kind of learned about this process when Jesse was last in the Philippines. Yeti coolers are made there so the locals used to sell the factory seconds to visiting military. Then I guess they figured out that Americans really want these coolers and will pay for them, so the factory workers started taking perfectly good coolers from the factories (saying they were defective) and selling them for a bargain to Americans. Now we have. 2. So we bought a few gifts from the Ladies Market and treated ourselves to a few things as well.
Wondering around on our own, we saw a lot of things that we didn't see on the first day in Hong Kong. The country seems to be torn between alliance to China and the Hong Kong government. Some establishments fly the Chinese flag, some fly the HK flag, some fly both. And apparently they only have freedom of speech, birth, etc. for another 32 years. There are also a LOT of abandoned buildings that used to be factories. Once China lost control of the land, those factories moved, but for some reason the Chinese government still owns them and so they can't be torn down or turned into anything else. So they just sit empty. Also, over 1/3 of the country lives in government funded housing, and there is an incredible wait list to get into it. It was an interesting place!
We didn't have a lot of time on the third day so we just walked around near our hotel and let Fletcher play at the park. Then it was time to head to the airport. It was such a great trip; I wish we had one more day to spend there. We probably won't venture back to Hong Kong because there are too many other places to visit, but it was an amazing experience and we're so glad we went!
In true Simmermon fashion, Fletcher decided to get sick as we arrived at the airport to leave. One minute he was running around the terminal and climbing on furniture, and the next I was covered in vomit. We asked him to put on his big boy diaper and get better quickly, which he kindly did (I only got thrown up on one other time during the trip, while in a crowded subway). It really wasn't so bad :)
The hotel we stayed at was really great. It was Western and really nice and was connected to a fantastic mall. We didn't do much shopping there but the convenience of having restaurants right next to us made traveling with a toddler much easier. Asia is a little bit unusual to us in that they don't love food the way we do; eating is mostly a necessity and not seen so much as an experience. We definitely miss nice dining experiences and it makes traveling with a toddler a little bit more challenging. You don't realize how much your day revolves around snacks and meals until quick food options aren't available to you. And then of course it's a little bit more challenging when you're traveling and don't have refrigerator access. Also, Fletcher is like me in that he needs real food and substantial meals. Jesse could snack all day and be fine. Fletcher, not so much. He gets cranky and ill looking if he doesn't get veggies and wholesome meals. We really like to eat.
For our first full day there, we booked a tour. We aren't typically into organized activities, but it was definitely the right choice. A bus picked us up and took us to four different places in Hong Kong. First we went to Victoria Peak and rode a very cool tram to the top, then we went to a floating restaurant and got to ride an old boat around the harbor, then we went to a jewelry making factory (it was weird and some kind of plug to buy jewelry), and then we went to Stanley Market. The market was really neat and on the water. We didn't have enough time to shop and eat so we wish we had more time there, but it was still a fun experience. We stopped at a large park on the way back to the hotel so Fletcher could run around and play. It was probably his favorite part of the trip.
English is an official language, so most people speak it fluently. Also, the public transportation system is incredibly easy to operate and navigate. We took the subway almost everywhere. Also, the exchange rate is a little goofy; it's about 7.5 Hong Kong dollars to $1, so it's more difficult to calculate things quickly in your head. In Japan it's 100 yen to $1, so much easier! The second day we went to a seafood market, where we accidentally spent $250 on lunch. Oops. We just wanted to eat. Again, we really like food. We sat outside at a restaurant on the water (which ended up being $70 just to sit at the table). It was confusing because the restaurant wasn't pretty, nor was the outside area. Our waiter told us to come out to the market and pick the (live) animals that we wanted to have them prepare. I hesitated for about a second trying to decide what we wanted, and he went ahead and grabbed a lobster, an entire grouper, and some kind of king prawn (I think that's what he was saying...it was delicious). I thought about asking him how much it was going to be, but then decided that since the place didn't seem that fancy and it was technically China, it couldn't be that bad. Lesson learned, although I'm sure they saw us coming and new we would eat whatever they gave us. The food was incredible and definitely worth the price.
After lunch we went to the Ladies Market. It was a lot of fun. It's your standard Asian market with either fake, stolen, or factory second goods. It's fun trying to decide what's fake and what's stolen, and whether or not you feel bad about buying things stolen from a Chinese factory. We kind of learned about this process when Jesse was last in the Philippines. Yeti coolers are made there so the locals used to sell the factory seconds to visiting military. Then I guess they figured out that Americans really want these coolers and will pay for them, so the factory workers started taking perfectly good coolers from the factories (saying they were defective) and selling them for a bargain to Americans. Now we have. 2. So we bought a few gifts from the Ladies Market and treated ourselves to a few things as well.
Wondering around on our own, we saw a lot of things that we didn't see on the first day in Hong Kong. The country seems to be torn between alliance to China and the Hong Kong government. Some establishments fly the Chinese flag, some fly the HK flag, some fly both. And apparently they only have freedom of speech, birth, etc. for another 32 years. There are also a LOT of abandoned buildings that used to be factories. Once China lost control of the land, those factories moved, but for some reason the Chinese government still owns them and so they can't be torn down or turned into anything else. So they just sit empty. Also, over 1/3 of the country lives in government funded housing, and there is an incredible wait list to get into it. It was an interesting place!
We didn't have a lot of time on the third day so we just walked around near our hotel and let Fletcher play at the park. Then it was time to head to the airport. It was such a great trip; I wish we had one more day to spend there. We probably won't venture back to Hong Kong because there are too many other places to visit, but it was an amazing experience and we're so glad we went!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)