From September 12th - 16th the Wendling family left Suwon and GSIS in order to take a well earned vacation in Hong Kong. Well it really wasn't a vacation...Rosanne had to go get some MYP training for Science. So it was decided that we would go as a family because of the fact that it was the holiday of Chusok in Korea so we would have five days and four nights in order to explore this former British Colony.
So what to do first...well of course Hong Kong Disney. Yes, believe it or not the Mouse has a home in Hong Kong and so we - Kevin and the five girls - spent two days at the Magic Kingdom. (Rosanne did spend one day with the family before having to go to training on UbD and Assessment - I think Kevin got the better deal on this one.)
Complete with Mickey Mouse and all his friends, rides like - 'It's a Small World', (our friend Tammy's favorite), and the 'The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh', parades, a western style hotel and food that was almost like back home - almost.
Kevin and the girls then ventured into the city to catch up with Rosanne who was still attending her conference. That night the family went to the Ladies' Market near Admiralty Station. There you could buy anything - even a watch or two or 22 depending on the number of sellers at hand. This was a place to make deals and if you couldn't make the deal - you walked away - sometimes with the vendor following you and trying to grab you in order to bring you back to their stall. Upon looking at all of the humanity who seemed to be pushing against us, one of the girls said, 'Wow there are more people here than in all of Canada'.
The next evening the Wendling family had the opportunity to venture to Victoria park to partake - with our new friend Leah from Thailand as well as our Australian friends Ann - 'there is no way I am going in a circle' - and Kylie from GSIS - in the Hong Kong Fall Festival. This evening was marked by local entertainment and the gathering of lanterns into the park, it was beautiful sight with more people than you could imagine at this celebration.
The next day Kevin and the girls headed to Ocean Park - a Hong Kong version of Sea World. Again, they spent a full day with many rides and a four level aquarium with ocean life that ranged from sharks, to sting rays to something that looked like a cross of both. However, the highlight of the entire park had to be the Pandas - or as Mia calls them - the 'Kung Fu' Pandas. Ocean Park has four Pandas and we were lucky enough to see two of them no more than five feet away from us.
Later that day Rosanne caught up with the crew and they finished the day by going to the Peak - that is the top of Hong Kong - and the taking a ferry around the harbor.
After a quick swim the next morning, the Wendling's packed up and headed back to Suwon to continue their other life as teachers at GSIS. What an opportunity though - Hong Kong will be a memory that we will cherish.
1 comment:
Caitlyne and I are really enjoying reading about your adventures. I am really impressed, Kevin, by your ability to capture so much and such a rich experience in such a concise way.
Caitlyne is going on a bit of an adventure herself. Her and her dad and grandparents are leaving for Berlin, Germany on Saturday. Maybe I'll see if I can enter the 21st century and get her a blog going too :-)
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