Tuesday Passport Fun!!!

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Had to get up early this morning (7:00am) to take my dad into work and get my passport from his assistant so that I could get extra pages added at the American Consulate. (Since the China Visa takes up a whole page I was down to 1.5 pages left). It took us about an hour to get from Kowloon Bay to Central to the American consulate and we were there right on time for our 9:45am appointment! After relinquishing all liquids and electronic devices (even cell phones) we were ushered upstairs to the American Citizens Services Area. Luckily there was only one person ahead of me so the wait time was really short (well comparatively to normal wait times at a government agency). The lady behind the counter told me that I needed to come back tomorrow morning to get my passport back!!! Well, since I was leaving at 8:30am to go to China tomorrow morning, this just wasn't going to work. After much back and forth with her, she finally said to come back between 3 & 4pm today to get my passport but there was "no guarantee" that it would be ready... I left there feeling much more irritated and frustrated than I did when I first went in.
Mom and I then hopped on the number 66 double decker bus to Stanley Plaza. Luckily it wasn't that crowded and we were able to sit in the front seats on the second level. If you've never ridden on the upper level of a double-decker bus, you're missing out! You feel like your going to run into the back of every car you stop behind and tree limbs that aren't trimmed back will hit the window causing you to jump a little as though they would actually hurt you! :-) We decided to grab some coffee and a lemon soda at a cafe when we arrived to Stanley Market and took a break to check our emails (there's free wifi in Stanley Market!). We were supposed to meet my dad at the American Club just up the road at around 12:30, so we walked around the market and marveled at how much the prices have gone up in the past couple of years.
Gym and lunch at the American Club and then back down to Stanley Market so my dad could get his hair cut. The hairdresser remembered me from my days of purple and blue streaks. (Who knows, maybe I'll go get my hair done before I leave and add a couple fun colors in my hair! :-). All snazzed up with his new hair cut, we headed back to the Consulate to hopefully get my passport. This time we were smart and didn't bring any electronics or liquids in with us so we wouldn't have to give them up. There was no one waiting so I was able to get in and out in under ten minutes!! Wa-hoo and a little of my faith in the system was restored! :-). Headed home for a light dinner and to pack for China!!!

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