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Published: July 14th 2012
Delayed Flight
Joshua and Tito (Uncle) DanMy parents had a little trouble with the immigration; since they are government employees, they were supposed to secure some kind of clearance from their heads which we didn’t know about! The good thing was, we had it all sorted out thanks to being Waray-Waray.
Everyone is here for Tatay’s (Dad’s) Birthday Trip! Every single one is home for our little get-away -- my two brothers, my sister, my Nanay(Mum), of course Tatay(Dad), and even the extended family/family-in-law is here! brother-in-law, sister-in-law, my sister’s mother-in-law, and my three year old nephew who has been telling his playmates that he is headed to Hong Kong. HK was an easy choice since my sister & I have already been and we found it easy finding our way around. Also, my nephew wanted to meet Mickey and my Mum was very much looking forward to the night markets. Aside from Disneyland and the Night Market, there’s not much of an itinerary.
Though not as humid as the tropical Philippines, it was pretty warm when we arrived. Nanay and Tatay were expecting a cold weather, but I’m sure they’d be complaining more if it was the cold season. We took the bus from
the Airport to the Guesthouse in Mongkok, checked-in, shopped around the nearby night market, and had take-away dinner.
We were off to our first destination the next day. With a little help from the hostel staff, we were able to get to the
Big Buddha located at Ngong Ping in Lantau Island. We decided to take the bus instead of the cable car since my sister can’t handle heights very well. The first time I took the cable car with her at the
Ocean Park, it was as though she was either going to have a heart attack, jump off it, or kill me for slightly rocking it.
The bus started its way up offering a totally different scene from the busy city streets, finally there was a little peace as the crowd and the tall skyscrapers started to disappear from the view. The scene was gradually replaced with lush green surroundings, the mountains, and the Lantau Peak...before arriving once again to the crowd of tourists.
I excused myself from climbing the 268 steps up the Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha) and opted to sit with Elizabeth (sister’s mum-in-law) and watch people pass by...people who’d at times look our
way and smile...people in haste...tourists with their backpacks and varying cameras...Caucasian kids with their cute Mickey Mouse umbrellas -
‘if my nephew wasn’t climbing those stairs he might have bug me for those’...Indians talking English...Indians talking Indian...understanding what those Filipinos were saying, I laughed to myself...local tourists - Fokien, Cantonese, Mandarin, I was trying to identify one from the other with no success...hmmn...for a while there was something missing...and then finally from a distance, “Kamsamnida!”....the Koreans!...the day is complete.
Sunday, my dad’s birthday was celebrated in a very grown up setting, the Disneyland. Thanks to my little nephew it was a better experience this time around. My parents have been complaining about sore feet every single night after our daily walkathon around town, and yet they’d still show their enthusiasm about their first time out of the country. I’m sure the sore feet don’t matter that much and I can’t be happier to be finally travelling with them and the rest of the family. This day Tatay enjoyed his little present, had ice cream, cotton candy, got amused with the Lion King musical, and ended the day with the beautiful fireworks.
For the next day's adventure, we decided
to split in two; half of the family went with my sister and the other half with me. My sister’s group took the cab while the rest of us took the metro on a friendly race to find the Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee located at Central Hong Kong. Both my sister and I are supposed to know where it’s at but we still managed to get both groups lost. Exciting! Our group went off Wan Chai Station, walked around to try and find the store until I finally accepted the fact that the place didn’t look familiar at all. We consequently bump onto a Filipina who directed us to take the tram which eventually took us to Central HK, then there was Jollibee! Without any means of communications, my sister and the rest of the pack finally arrived about half an hour later for our very late lunch/early dinner. A stroll at the Avenue of the Stars and the Symphony of Lights later in the night was the next agenda. The light show wasn’t that sensational but sitting by the Victoria Harbour was a good break for our feet from another day of walking. The day was quite fun and
tiring too!
Amidst personal stresses, I was definitely not on my best travelling self, but nonetheless this has been a very memorable one. It was a happy time being able to get hold of everyone and to travel with the whole family. I don’t know when it’s going to happen again but I’m certainly looking forward to the next!
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Anastasia78
Anastasia78
Your little nephew is adorable!
The family trip was a success! Taking your parents on their first trip outside of their country is brave of you. They've certainly got an adventurous daughter...