Hong Kong Xpat Style

The interesting thing about Discovery Bay is just how western everything is. You might think you were still in Australia. The only real difference I found were all the 'helpers' (who are all Philippino) running after blond haired children, in their jeans and t-shirt 'uniforms'.

We did manage to get out and about to see a bit more of the real Hong Kong however I have discovered just how much harder it is to do anything with two small children. Veronica I'm not sure I gave you enough credit for the job you do looking after your two angels. William and Ella were great, we made them put up with so much travelling around in the heat and delaying meals and nap times so we could fit a bit more in.

Although it was such a short stay I did get to experience some of what Hong Kong has to offer. We went to Central to have dim sum with Breck at a place called Maxims Palace. It was fantastic food and somewhat difficult to find. I'm so proud of us for finding it and of William for walking the whole way and not complaining once even though he was 'Berry Berry Hungry'. Hong Kong has coped with the lack of reasonably priced real-estate by moving a lot of restaurants to the upper floors of buildings, as ground floor is the most expensive. This is an ingenious idea however it does make it difficult to find anything, especially when most people just point rather then talk to you when you ask for directions.

We also went up to the peak for dinner. It has a great view of the city and at night when all the lights are on you don't notice the haze of pollution that hangs in the sky during the day. Having said that the pollution levels aren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be and they do vary somewhat each day.

On the last day we went in search of the big Buddha. We caught the scenic cable care ride to the top which Will thought was great. You feel like a bit of a celebrity travelling around Hong Kong with a little white baby. The Honkys all crowd around you oohing and ahing over Ella. Its quite amusing since they try to talk to you in Cantonese and we assume they are saying how lovely Ella is but really have no idea what they are saying so we smile politely and walk on.
After a little Gelato stop it was back home for us so we could get out of the heat and we could all get our naps.

I'm not really looking forward to the next part of the trip. It involves a 12hr flight to Munich and then a 7hr wait for my 2hr flight to Malta. Hopefully I wont be too tired and grumpy by the time I see my family in Gozo which by the way is another hour of travelling from the airport. Oh well I'm sure I will have plenty of time to rest up on the beach.

Thanks for taking care of me Veronica, Breck, Will and Ella. Sorry I looked so tired all the time, I had a great time and can't wait to see you all again.

Bye Hong Kong...Malta here I come