Touring Hong Kong

Hello all, Dane here. It is my turn to blog for a while, as Jeannene and Clio are taking naps following a busy morning touring Hong Kong. Last trip, Jeannene and I missed the tour in Hong Kong because she was ill, so it was good to get a chance to see some of the sights. We went with several other CCAI families who had just arrived in Hong Kong, and it was great for Jeannene to put faces to the names she has been corresponding with for so long. Hong Kong is a beautiful island, and we had great weather today. We drove most of the way around the island. The contrast is amazing. One side of the island is the city of Hong Kong, extremely urban, with high-rise buildings everywhere. The other side is lush and tropical, with public beaches for swimming and beautiful views of lush green mountainsides, very reminiscent of Hawaii.

We got to take a tour of Aberdeen harbor on a sampan, including views of a floating restaurant that is a Hong Kong landmark, and some of the traditional family fishing boats. There are fewer and fewer of these families who live on their boats in the harbor, and some of whom never set foot on land.

The last stop on the tour was at the top of Victoria Peak, one of the highest points on Hong Kong island. The view of Hong Kong and across Victoria Harbor to Kowloon (where our hotel is) was magnificent. In the background, you can barely make out the mountains that separate the Hong Kong district from the rest of mainland China. Tomorrow we'll be flying across those mountains and up to Nanjing and then, in one more day, meeting Tian.

It is hard to balance our love for travel and our desire to experience all we can with our impatience to get Tian. I'd love to come to Hong Kong for an extended trip and spend a lot more time experiencing this great, cosmopolitan city of 7 million people, but right now I want to head out as soon as we can. We're coming Tian.