After thoughts - Hong Kong 2011

It's been a crazy whirlwind of a trip. From packing, flying 14 hours, jet lag with a 10 month and 2.5 y/o, meeting tons of family (and new faces for the kids) - not to mention tons of spoiling for them and people fighting to hold or play with them - let's just say it's been busy, without even trying to be.

But, all in all, the main purpose for this special trip was for Colin and Cara to spend time with their extended family in Hong Kong. Joe's side of the family lives over here, and we want to enrich their lives with as many people that love them, so it was such a great opportunity to just spend time with them, letting the kids wake up in MaMa's house, and doing their daily things we do in Vancouver with a HK twist (ie. going out for macaroni/ham soup breakfasts, and eating sausage buns fresh from bakeries).

Our stroller was a hit too - we walked around like celebrities with people pointing at us, gawking, and staring in pure amazement. We were kings... with our Hummer of a stroller in Hong Kong. We have a Phil and Teds Explorer with the double attachement (so it's a tandem) but apparently it's absurdity here. Mind you, everyone here as a dinky umbrella because you have to be able to get on and off a mini bus at a moment's notice, and also weave the crowded streets. But we're used to our stroller, and can do just the same - but with the addition of huge air-filled wheels that can roll over people when they're in my way (especially when it comes to those budging mainlanders at theme parks).

But I'd like to collect some of my likes and dislikes from my endeavor over seas with 2 young children.

- I thoroughly appreciate their governing system - where in a matter of 4 years (last time we came), 3 NEW MTR lines popped up. That's 3 new railway systems, that just simply appeared when there were none 4 years ago. And why is that great? because it takes about 20 or never years for ANYTHING to get done or even break ground in BC (Evergreen Line much?)

- not so huge on the cockroaches - I was told one was stuck under a pane of glass and survived for 3 months and could probably also survive a nuclear blast. But I learned that plain detergent kills them instantly...?

- no ovens, no dryers, no dish washers, and no microwaves.(boooooo)

- but everyone who has a kid also has a nanny following them (i could live with that)

- 20 degrees Celsius is the tipping point for everyone here to start wearing toques and down jackets

- The public transport system: there will always be a bus that will take you from where you are, to where you need to go. always. you just have to figure the chinese out, or know someone that knows the bus routes.

- it's the land of where you can see where you want to go - but you can't get there (all the streets are somehow fenced off to keep pedestrians from walking out)

- vehicles have the right of way - not pedestrians. If you think you taking one step out on the the street expecting a car to stop for you - you're wrong, and you will have one less leg.

- stroller-wise, it's friendly in the sense that there is A way to get somewhere, but it just may take you forever to find the accessible route - in which case it'll just be faster taking the escalator or picking up the Hummer.

- I thought the fashion sense in Hong Kong was whack, but the fashion sense of Mainlanders IN Hong Kong is even whackier. (sorry Hongers, you're not off the hook. Some of those hairstyles only belong on poodles, and even they don't deserve that treatment)

- people here are very good at storing things. With a 800 sq/ft home, you don't know what treasures each cabinet holds - but they're all stuffed to the brim. Hoarders could learn something from them.

- it takes a 10 month old about 5-6 days to adjust, and a 2.5 y/o 2-3 days. So, if you plan to have a decent trip, don't make your trip less than 6 days, or else you'll just have a really bad trip of waking up at night and then flying back just to adjust back to the time again.

- Car seats are only 'suggested' here.  (there are likable things about this loosely enforced 'suggestion')

- the presence of the mainlanders in Hong Kong was not as prominent last time we were here (Dec-Jan 2007/08) - but now there are huge LINE UPS outside Cartier, Gucci, Chanel? WTF

- Oh, and there is a strip of just high end baby stores: Gucci, Chanel, DKNY, Fendi - a Polo shirt is about $150CDN for the record.

- but I was able to run over all of them with my Hummer.

- expect to realistically gain 3 pounds (1 pound can be attributed to po-tats or any fresh baked goodies)

- I love my Ergo - if it wasn't for it I wouldn't have a sleeping child while hopping in and out of taxis

- HK is a lot like NYC, but with malls. a lot of malls.

- and the elevators in the malls are annoying. none of them ever go to the level you need to get to, because only certain elevators go to certain levels. oh, and some of them have express escalators, that will skip levels - so... this is efficiency not at its best. it is 10 times more difficult to navigate.

- if you have a stroller, don't go to MegaBox - it's like a 18 storey 'mall' with only like 4 or 5 stores on each level. not. stroller. friendly. this compounded with the previous issue (re: elevators), makes for a very problematic experience.

- some malls, however, are very friendly. They even have a mother's room, for changing diapers, breastfeeding, etc. However, it's located in a very discrete area, and you have to go through 3 sets of doors to find it, and then when you do get to the room, there's another set of doors to a private locked room - you know, just so you don't flash a nipple.

- Hui Lau Shan. google it.

There is a lot more to write down, but these are just a couple of the things right off the top of my head. We've still got a couple more days here, but will soon be back home, suffering through Mama's house withdrawal and adjusting back to our west coast time. On the bright side, it'll be Christmas shortly, so we won't feel too lonely and will be surrounded by family soon enough!