We got off the ship for good for the last part of our trip - celebrating Christmas in Hong Kong!
We got to our hotel where we met our guide and went our for our whirlwind tour of the city. Our hotel was right on Victoria Harbour with a great view of Hong Kong Island.
Hong Kong is definitely a vertical city! Huge skyscrapers everywhere!
Bamboo scaffolding! So cool! There was constant construction going on everywhere.
We just started our tour and Frankie was already out!
After getting a glimpse of the city on the bus we stopped off at the Chin Lin Nunnery, a Buddhist temple that was founded as a retreat for nuns. The temple is AH-MAZING! It is such a serene place dropped in the middle of a crazy busy city. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the temple, but the grounds are just as beautiful.
This shows the contrast perfectly. You could easily forget about the hectic city life that exists outside of the temple paradise while walking around its gardens.
After the temple we got an idea of what it feels like to be a local by visiting the different shops and markets. The flowers were incredible!
Next our guide took us to the Yuanpu Bird Park. It was not what we were expecting. Apparently it is an age old hobby for these guys to bring their birds and bird paraphernalia to sell at this park. It was very bizarre! I had this picture in my head that it would be little old men with a few birds and other wares for sale. Not the case! We were a little creeped out!
After the crazy bird experience we were ready for a snack!
Pineapple bun! This is a delicious, sweet bun with a big chunk of butter stuffed inside. Despite its name, it doesn't contain any pineapple.
Hong Kong style French toast is incredibly rich considering it is served with a thick layer of peanut butter between two slices of toast.
Connor approved!
Jameson enjoying his milk tea!
Silly boys with full bellies :)
More strange finds on our walk through the market.
Hong Kong!
We went in search of knock off Legos that someone had told us about and it lead us to this sketchy door. We had to ring a bell to be buzzed in and then we walked up a flight of stairs to get to the shop. Unfortunately they only had the expensive real stuff.
After a full day of walking around the city we were happy to be on the metro heading back to our hotel.
The Whampoa - a shopping mall that looks like a boat!
The kids had a nice treat waiting when we got back to our room.
Fun before bed!
Awesome skyline view from our room!
The next morning we were rested and ready to tackle another day in this crazy city!
The boys were super excited to get their "passports" from the hotel desk. They had to go to different parts of the hotel to earn stickers and then turn them in for different treats. They thought it was so cool.
A few shots around the hotel lobby.
It was so nice to see all the Christmas decorations everywhere.
This was a little play area that the kids enjoyed.
Selfie on the ferry!
A traditional Hong Kong junk boat!
Almost to Hong Kong Island!
I'm not really a fan of big red bus tours, but it was an easy way to get around and see the busy city. It also came with a cut the line pass to The Peak so we hopped on to see the sights on our way to Stanley Market. Connor was disappointed that there weren't any open seats on the top, open air deck.
Finally made it to the top!
Once we got out of the hustle and bustle of the city we were greeted with beautiful views!
We ran into the Doncels again! *No, she isn't giving me "that" gesture!
This was a very strange temple near the market.
It is a really nice area with restaurants and lots of room for the kids to run around and play.
We finally found the market where we had our names written in Chinese and framed.
What a graveyard looks like in a jam packed city like Hong Kong.
When we got back across the harbor we met our friends for dinner and drinks at their hotel. They were right in the middle of all the buildings that were lit up and it was a spectacular spot to watch the nightly light show.
A little fun while waiting for the hop on hop off bus the next morning.
Our plan for the day was to take the bus up to Victoria Peak!
And of course, I saw my girl again. We didn't even plan to meet up so often!
Connor and I having a good time listening to music as we made our way to the tram.
Getting our Peak tickets through the big bus tour guy was really worth it! The line was sooooo long and we got to cut right ahead.
Here comes the tram!
The hill gets VERY steep in a few places!
Once off the tram we took what seemed like 100 escalators to the Sky Terrace to see the awesome views.
It was super windy and really cold so we didn't stay long, but even on a semi cloudy day the views did not disappoint!
Time to go back down!
Crazy Frank!
It's really had to appreciate how much of an incline we were on just by the pictures.
Tim Ho Wan...if you ever get the chance, you MUST go to Tim Ho Wan! It is the most affordable Michelin starred restaurant in the world. Super cheap dim sum and oh so good!
These prices are in HKD, but nothing was over like $4.
Baked pork buns! These are THE BEST! They are really cheap, but I would pay good money to have these again!
My mouth is watering just thinking about how good these were! I think they were everyone's favorite.
We really didn't know what else to order, but everything was so cheap, we just ordered several dishes to try.
Time to go back to the hotel to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner. The Chinese consider the number four to be unlucky so our hotel didn't have a fourth or fourteenth floor!
Everyone got together for a Christmas Eve buffet at our hotel. Given the favors on the table, I honestly thought they had gotten Christmas and New Years Eve confused!
Silly kiddos enjoying their vacation!
Merry New Year or Happy Christmas?
A clown came around and made balloon animals for all the kids.
Hong Kong's version of Santa! LOL!
The girls!
We didn't have our traditional Christmas spread, but it was good enough and we enjoyed the company.
Our group :)
Christmas 2016
Best buddies :)
A local school choir group sang Christmas carols in the hotel lobby.
A little Christmas Eve toast with family and great friends to end the night.
We couldn't think of a better way to spend Christmas Day than in Disneyland! After experiencing Disney World in Orlando, going to Disneyland can be a little disappointing. We went to the one in Paris a few years ago and I wasn't impressed so I didn't have huge expectations for the one in Hong Kong, but I knew the boys would love it so we decided to treat them. I was pleasantly surprised! It was an awesome day and the park was great!
Sleepy taxi ride there!
We scheduled a character breakfast at the restaurant in the Disneyland Hotel.
Connor has always loved the characters :)
Jameson is the complete opposite, so we had to do family pictures for a while!
He was on the lookout for any characters that might stop by!
We were headed out for a magical day indeed!
Jameson completely changed his attitude when he met Cinderella! He didn't hesitate to go up to her and even had a long conversation with her!
I'll never pass up an opportunity to take a photo with a princess ;)
The talking trashcan!
Classic ride and it did not disappoint!
Buzz Lightyear!
These guys were jamming on the buckets!
Always meeting up with the Doncels everywhere we went!
Toy Story Land is just like the one in Paris and it is really cute!
Parade time!
Mmmmmm....churros!
And ice cream :)
The Lion King show is just as amazing as the one in Orlando. Jameson is really into Lion Guard so I knew he would love it!
Mesmerized!
It was an unforgettable Christmas!
A sleepy ride back to the hotel!
Time to go!
One of the biggest reasons I was against the cruise to begin with was the long flight back to Saudi from Hong Kong. It was awesome when they closed the cabin door and the plane was literally over half empty! We all had our own row in a brand new Dreamliner 787! Sooooo nice!
Even though this trip was far from what we expected, we still managed to have a great time and made lots of memories together!
