Hong Kong Pix Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Thursday was a gross and rainy day.  But we still went to the Temple.  It meant not very many pictures, because I didn't want to get wet.

But I was there and it was wonderful.

This is my feeling-very-pleased-with-myself face.  We figured out how to take the city bus out to Stanley Market and here I am, riding an actual city bus, all by myself!  Okay not entirely by myself.  intent and April were there too. 

No photos of the Conference at all, but here is the crowded MTR train on the way home! 

Friday morning we walked to the MTR behind this guy in this awesome coat. 

After Conference we ran off to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery.  We felt pleased with ourselves again that we were able to successfully negotiate our way there without anyone really knowing how to get there. We were greeted with this sign. 

Oh my!  Fake Monks?!!  We were quite disappointed to not see any fake monks.  Or real ones, for that matter.  

I don't know if there were 10,000 statues, but there were a LOT!

 And it was at least a half lime walk to get to the halfway point.  And the entire hill was lined with these guys.

What made it so fun and awesome was that each statue was different.  Different bodies, faces, poses.

Some were very interesting and some were what you would expect a monk to look like.  And some you thought might be passing out scriptures.

April and I thought life should imitate art! 

Did I mention how impressive it was?  And how these things went on and on and on forever?!

And did I mention how fun some of the poses were?!  I really wish there were plaques that told the story of whatever monk it was. I really want to know about them!

Oops.  April and I are pointing to the rules we broke before we knew they were rules. 

We only made it halfway up.  It closed at 5pm and we got this far at 4:45. We had just 15 minutes to check out this area before trekking back down. It was gorgeous. This was the temple. No photos allowed inside though. 

So pretty! 

I have no idea what any of this was, but it was lovely and interesting. And closing.  They kept announcing that it was closing time.

So I got my selfie in and then we ran a2way just before they kicked us out.

Check it out. I finally made it to Ikea and I only had to go to Hong Kong to do it!  We did spend some time meandering through the Ikea just because we could.  And we had lunch there. 

And I made a friend there! I was sad I didn't have enough room to bring back some of the delightful things I found there. 

And Saturday morning I went to Conference and then had to run away at 11 to catch my 2pm flight.  This is a picture of the second suitcase I bought.  I needed room to bring home more loot!  And I wanted to make sure I would recognize it when I got off the plane. 

Chillin' at the Hong Kong Airport waiting for my flight to leave.

Layover in Taipai.  I was not thrilled that I had to walk a long way to go through security again and then make a U turn to walk back the way I just came to get to my gate.  And then my flight was delayed 30 minutes.  But all went well and I got home safely and It was a wonderful trip!

Hong Kong Pix Tuesday and Wednesday

On Tuesday we took the Star Ferry back across the water.  We were heading back to the Stanley Market.  there were some items that had become more desirable after sleeping on the idea of them.

I did go back and look at this.  But at $750HKD I still couldn't buy it for my mom.  Maybe if it slid easily out into a rapier, I would have sprung for it.  But a walking stick that needs to be unscrewed with two hands and then only becomes a pointy spear wasn't quite worth it.  But I did debate! 

 We had an authentic Chinese lunch while at Stanley Market and it was fabulous.  This is after we finished.  So delicious!

How much fun was the ride home?!  This much fun!  It was such a blast!  Riding in the top of the big bus with no roof and zooming down these scary streets was awesome.  I need this picture to remind me just how much fun I had.

Hong Kong is so pretty.  The vistas and landscapes are really impressive.  And the dichotomy of giant new age buildings and beaches and greenery is pretty cool. 

We stopped at the water for a Sampan ride.  It was a little boat and we cruised around the water for half an hour.  It was worth doing. 

 It's me!  On a little boat in Hong Kong!

 The floating restoring.  On a cool note.... Dan and I went to see the new Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie and I was so excited that I had been right where she was when she was running through the boats in Hong Kong.  This is the restaurant why go barreling through. 

The boat driver handed us all hats and offered to take a photo.  So we did!

At the Ladies Market for the second night in a row.  More purchases were made and much fun was had.  I bought a little carry on size suitcase and stuffed my loot inside it. 

 This is where our Guest House is located.  Straight across the street and right into that building. So if you ever want to stay at a scary guest house... this is the place!

Wednesday we headed to Disneyland!  This is Kristal, me and April.  We are riding the Disney Train to get there. 

Whoo-hoo!  I'm at Disney Land and I don't have any kids so I can ride whatever I want to! 

And I did.  Here I am, waiting for Space Mountain which had almost no line at all.  It was fabulous and I rode it twice! 

Cruising through "It's a Small World".   And then singing that song the rest of the day because it was stuck in my head. 

Riding the Slinky Dog with Kristal in Toy Story Land. 

 I wasn't sure I wanted to go on the parachute ride, but it didn't seem too bad, so I got talked into it. Nope.  I hate heights.  As long as my eyes were closed, it wasn't too bad.  So I kept them closed and hung on for dear life and they laughed at me.

 We roe the river cruise ride and enjoyed it.  The guide took our picture when the ride ended.  Lynnette, April, me, and Kristal.

Hong Kong does have some different food options than USA Disney's!  I had a Mickey Waffle, not the fish balls. 

 We stayed for the Parade, which I don't think I have ever watched all the way through before. 

 Then it was Goodbye DisneyLand!

Hong Kong Pix, Monday

I took a photo of the super-sweet attendant who was trying so hard to help us.  We did go back twice to ask more questions.  And she was gracious and lovely both times.  She was also at the gate when we finally boarded the flight.  I told her she was amazing and we appreciated all her help and she said, "No one ever told me that before."  And I was sad.  She was so wonderful, how could she never have been told it before?

This is the Guest House we booked.  You can look it up, it had good customer reviews!!  Apparently they were all liars, plants or third world country residents.  But you can see how we thought it was a good idea!

This is the room.  I am standing directly in front of the door.  This is a "double" bed.  Theoretically two people can sleep on it. But that is really only if they are children. And not my children.  My children don't want to be that close.

A better view of the bed.  Granted, the room was fairly clean and it did look decent.  It wasn't awful, just small.  Which was described in the description and not a surprise.  Just a surprise how small it actually felt!

Here is the bathroom. It is a standard tiny bathroom with a tiny sink.  I'm a fan of having room to spread out, but there was nowhere to put your stuff except in the basket behind the toilet.  Except if you look in the upper middle of the picture, you can see the shower head.  Yep, the shower sprays directly down onto the toilet.  So you want everything (including the toilet paper!) out of there when you shower. And that boxy thins in the top left corner... that's the 2 gallon hot water tank.  You had to turn the hot water tank on 15 minutes before you wanted to shower.  Then you ONLY had that much hot water and once it was gone, it was gone.  

Standing on the bed.  That's the bathroom door and the exit door.  So it is a no-frills, tiny room.  But it was sufficient and private.  And you had a private bathroom (as long as no one was standing in the hallway listening to you pee).

This was  famous, posh hotel that dated back to the British occupation.  

We bought tickets to take the Big Bus around Hong Kong and it picked us up near here.  It was a good decision.  I liked all the historical info they threw out. 

We sat on the top of the double decker bus and it was so fun!  This bus had no top so we were open to the air and could see really well. 

So much fun to ride down the street!  We sat in the very front to maximize the experience.

We were searching for a clean bathroom and a place to find food and encountered this place near the Star Ferry.  We had to explore!

Selfies for the kids with the silly plastic animals. 

And the giant lollypops?  I have no idea what it was or what it was for but it was cute and fun.

Riding the ferry to the Hong Kong Island part was also very cool.  I do like the ferry though.

See, I'm having a great time!

We made it to the Stanley Market where we bought lots of fun stuff. It was good shopping, but not much haggling.  Most were firm on their prices.  More clothe than the Ladies Market.

We found a beach on the way to find the bus stop.  So we had to stop and rest our feet and enjoy the gorgeousness there.  

And since I was at a beach, I just HAD to walk into the water and dip my tootsies.  It was chilly, but nice.

We rode in the very front of the double decker bus back from the Stanley Market and the ride was rather hair raising! 

But it was a beautiful ride back into town and I enjoyed it very much.

The amazing and delicious dinner at the vegetarian Indian restaurant.This giant thing is called a "Dossa" and it was yummy!  We were the only non-Indians in there.  Everything was excellent.

My first professional foot massage. It was quite uncomfortable.