BigSeefut

Due to the political unrest in Thailand, we decided to cancel that leg of our trip. We ended up spending more time in Hong Kong and took a side trip to China. We all had a great time and really enjoyed spending time with the family. Here are some highlights:

- Katie got sick the day we were leaving. Her nose was running non-stop. Luckily it only lasted a couple of days.
- It was supposed to be a 15 hour flight from LAX to Hong Kong but we sat in the plane for 17 hours due to delays and mechanical issues. We weren’t required to buy a seat for Katie but I’m SO glad we did. It would have been really hard if we didn’t have her carseat with us on the plane. She slept in the beginning of the flight but then was awake for most of the end of the flight. Luckily each seat had it’s own tv and they had two Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes. We kept repeating those for her.
- We met the rest of the family (The Chamkasems, Billy and Ishya) in Hong Kong
- Later we headed to China for some golf in Shenzen which included a personal caddy for each person
- Ask Billy about flirting with the caddies
- We all went to the hotel spa for some cheap massages. An hour foot massage and two hour full body massage cost about $35 US dollars.
- When talking about massages, my dad was joking about Happy Mandies (he meant happy endings). It became the joke of the trip and eventually warped into Happy Mandy.
- Later we took a China tour with the family (foshan city!)
- It included some long bus rides and eating lots of food.
- One stop was to an area with hot springs and even included our own hot springs in each room. Pish tried to turn on the hot spring immediately when we got there but ended up soaking himself. He only had one pair of jeans for that sidetrip to China so we had to dry it in front of the heater (which really wasn’t heating).
- The weird part was the toilet and showers were in the same stall in our hotel room (see pic)
- China was very interesting for everyone. At one point, Ryan came out of a bathroom saying, “There’s just a hole in the floor!)
- One night out included Karoake. I had fun singing a Carpenters song with my mom in law and a duet with Billy/Ishya and Liz. “A Whole New World” will always have a place in my heart. I just have to remember to only sing during the pink lyrics.

- Christmas in Hong Kong included a yummy dinner (Thanks Billy!)
- Trip to Macau. On the hydroplane boat ride over, Katie puked all over my shirt and all over her pants. Luckily I had her leg warmers with us. That held us over until we could buy her some pants.
- I also had to by a new shirt but the smell of puke still lingered. Then I ended up puking on the boat ride home.
- To clean up all the puke clothes we found a laundromat. Later I found out they lost my bra and a pair of Katie’s Babylegs
- While in Hong Kong we attended my cousin Susan’s wedding at the Disneyland hotel (Mickey Mouse everywhere!). Katie loved it until she fell asleep before dinner even started. This was common for her during the trip. Everyday at 7-7:30pm, Katie would fall asleep. I would put in the stroller and we’d all enjoy our dinner.
- We took a day trip to the Hong Kong Disneyland. It’s much smaller but was perfect for our kids.
- My brother almost got into a fight with a Chinese woman who was blocking his view of the Rainy Day Parade. It was pretty hilarious. He was so rude.
- We spent New year’s Eve at the Aberdeen Boat Club. 70’s theme! It was freezing though. Liz and I only wore our shiny outfits for about an hour.
- While in Hong Kong, we took almost every mode of public transportation. Taxi, subway, Ferry, double decker bus, mini bus, peak tram, hydroplane boat
- Katie saying “bye bye Hong Kong” on the way to the airport

After we got back, my brother was getting ready to drive home and Liz noticed Kennan looked really sad. She asked her what was wrong and Kennan started crying. She said, “I miss Katie already.” So cute. Also, my bro asked Ryan what was the best part of the trip and he said, “Spending time with the family.”

I think Katie matured a lot on this trip. She got to meet lots of our Hong Kong relatives, learned a lot of new words and speaks in more sentences now.

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Fun with Auntie Giftay

This is what Katie looked like every night during dinner. Asleep by 7pm!

Golf in China

Our shower toilet

Got to spend some time with Gramps. He is 93 yrs old and still walks faster than us

Enjoying some tasty crab

Merry Christmas from Ryan

Missing pants and a sock after the puking incident

Nice pic up at the Peak

Disneyland

Happy New year!