Growing Snowflowers

Greetings from Hong Kong!

good morning everyone! It's early here...and our third day in this wonderful city. Our flights went really well, the NWA from MSP-SFO was a nightmare, leaving two and a half hours late and getting us to SFO with just an hour to spare before our big flight! What a difference an airline makes...if you are ever doing this trip...TRY to fly Singapore Air, they are just amazing! The attendants knew Piper's name, and treated her like a rockstar the entire flight, they were so wonderful to everyone, and made the 14 hours very pleasant despite the fact that it was FOURTEEN HOURS!

We arrived in HK early, stopped for a coffee at the airport and took the hotel shuttle to our hotel in Kowloon (Tsim Tsa Tsui)...we just love this area, we spent two days here on our last trip. Day one we just hung out, walked around and visited the Mega Shopping plaza that could quite honestly put Beverly Hills and Fifth Avenue to shame! Piper was a bundle of energy and seems to attract attention wherever she goes.

Day two, Tuesday...Mike headed off early for a day in Shenzen for work...Piper & I took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong proper and caught a bus to 'Ocean Park'...let me tell you...it was quite an adventure, a cross between Seaworld and a crazy carnival! We took the 'cable car' gondola up to the top tier of the park...it was quite 'deceptive' on the map...it looked like a cakewalk...but once we reached the top we realized that the 'route' was far more treacherous and elevated than even I thought! Not being a lover of heights and hanging 800 feet above a ragged cliff and the South China Sea isn't exactly what I'd plan for a fun day out...but I braved it and Piper loved every minute! We managed to visit the Pandas at the park, and Piper got up close and personal(well as close as 5" of glass will let you get!) with one of the Pandas as he munched on bamboo sprouts! She was stoked!

After the park, and the purchase of a $10US Nemo balloon we headed back to the ferry...(or as Piper has dubbed it, the Ferry godmother boat)...but as fate had it, our bus dropped us in a completely different location than where we got the bus earlier in the day...awesome! so we took our first taxi ride back to the Ferry! for a massive $4US Piper & I got a great Ferry ride across the water and back to the hotel!

Mike rolled in around 8pm and we headed to one of the waterfront restaurants for dinner, Guinness & a generous helping of some of the best fish & chips we've had since New Zealand and followed up by Starbucks...honestly you couldn't ask for a better day!

Today we pack up and move to the Disney Hotel..woohoo!