Hong Kong - Like Expats Without the View

From 1997-2003, my parents lived as expats in Hong Kong for my dad's job. My parents had the choice of either Singapore or Hong Kong to base themselves, and since my dad traveled all the time anyways, it was really more of my mom's decision - and she unequivocally picked Hong Kong.  I remember thinking that Singapore sounded like an easier place to live (i.e. it wasn't about to become China), but my parents knew that there was something special about Hong Kong. We were fortunate enough to visit them when they lived there and we both fell in love with it - I would probably consider it my favorite city in the world (ok, besides San Francisco).

Fast forward 10 years, and Hong Kong was 100% on my list of must-sees on our big trip. I couldn't wait to show the kids my parents' old stomping grounds. Then we looked at the prices - ouch! For a few days, we actually considered NOT going to Hong Kong because we thought we couldn't afford it, but we are SO glad we extensively researched and found a great place to stay to give us the true flavor of Hong Kong living.  Of course, our tiny 2-bedroom apartment over the Flower Market in Mongkok didn't have quite the same views as my parents' gorgeous apartment in Mid-Levels, but gave us a great feel to how *real* Hong Kong families live.

Bus ride on the way to the Peak - fun to sit in the double decker bus!

My parents' old street

View from the top of the Peak

For those who have never been to HK, or know little about it, I think the general assumption is that it is just another big Asian metropolis.  The truth is that while Central Hong Kong Island and parts of Kowloon are certainly bustling and filled with skyscrapers, over 70% of Hong Kong itself is more like the countryside. Some of our favorite Hong Kong experiences were hiking, playing at the beach, and biking along the river.

Beach of Lamma Island

 One thing that continues to impress us as we make our way around Asia is how safe it is for kids. We have let the kids have freedoms we wouldn't have really considered in safe, suburban San Mateo. Hong Kong felt incredibly safe.  As I mentioned in my last post (2 Months In), we left the boys on Lamma Island and let them take a ferry, subway, and then walk back to our apartment.  We hope that we are able to translate that into more freedom for the kids when we get home - we know they are capable.

Other things we loved about Hong Kong:

• the combination of British/Chinese culture - the city was cleaner and "kinder" than Beijing or Shanghai, but still retained a great Chinese feel.
• the egg tarts
  
• the elevators that take commuters down to Central from Mid-Levels in the mornings, then turn around and take them back up the hill in the afternoons and evenings.  Not a bad commute.
  
• the Star Ferry - the best $1 boat ride in the world

• the MTR - great subway system that was efficient, not too crowded (usually), and cheap!
• Kowloon - we stayed on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong (as opposed to HK Island) and found great food, great stores, nice people
• No staring! This was the first time in a month the kids weren't stared at constantly. While I don't doubt that they like the attention at times, having a break from it was a bit of a relief.
• tailors-for-life. We visited Singh, my dad's "tailor-for-life" to have custom suits made for the boys' bar mitzvah (10 days after we return). One less thing to worry about - and they built in MANY inches for my growing boys. Brian even got one, too!
  

• Dim Sum. We didn't eat enough dim sum, but when we did - wow. 
  
• The Asia Society. We spent a day with a friend of my parents who still lives there. She is a docent at the Asia Society, and we got a fabulous personalized tour of their new exhibit, much of which highlighted places we have been/are going on our trip. 
• taking the gondola up to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island and then deciding to hike back at 4:30 at night. Great trail under the gondola primarily made up of stairs. Great views - too bad we got back in the dark, and had to wander another few miles around Lantau (with another lost American!) until we found the MTR stop! :)

All in all, a terrific 9 days in Hong Kong.  For anyone who is considering going to Hong Kong - I can't recommend it enough. I can even give you pointers on finding a relatively cheap place to stay!

2 Month Check-In

We landed in Tokyo 2 months ago today, so it seems like an appropriate time to reflect on how we are doing so far. Hard to believe we are 25% done with our trip (at least the pre-bar-mitzvah part), but also hard to believe that we get 6 more months of this!!!

The Good:

Food - we are doing much better on the food front than expected. Kids have become (most days) good eaters who rarely balk at a menu. I'm pretty sure they have each dropped a couple pounds (um, not me), but for the most part, they will eat most of what is put in front of them. We try to be reasonable about what they get, and they are rewarded with "American" food often, but this is one area where we are doing well.

Accommodations - we have been really fortunate here. So far, we have stayed in at least one of the following overnight: apartments, hotels, villas, trains, airplanes, youth hostels, guest houses, and a lodge. Our smallest place (Tokyo) was one room, and at most 225 square feet, while our largest (Lovina, Bali) was a 3bedroom/2bath villa with private infinity pool and 2 chefs. Just as an FYI - the one in Tokyo was only $15 cheaper/night.

Budget - we are incredibly budget conscious most of the time.  We decided on a budget before we left, and so far, have stuck to it well.  Clearly this is easier in most of Asia than it will be in most of Europe, but I'm proud of how all of us have worked together to make choices about food, activities, and accommodations that allow us to see and do what we want, without breaking the bank.  The one area that is more expensive than we expected is transportation between cities - we now understand why slow travel is cheaper than quick travel!

Learning/Conversations - I'm really proud of all of us in this category.  We talk a lot with the kids about how this is life for a year, not a vacation, which means that we visit more history museums, etc than we might do if we were just visiting for fun. They are starting to make connections and learn that history and the relationships between countries is complex. Through the way different events in history are discussed, they are seeing first-hand how each country views pivotal events in their own context (i.e. the Chinese museums use words such as "semi-colonized" in order not to lose face).  We also try to talk a lot about culture in each place - a little about current events (we aren't as good about that, but are improving) so the kids understand customs, etc in a more cultural context (i.e. they just - yesterday! - announced a change in the 1-child policy here in China). Brian and I have read more books so far on this trip than probably in the past year!

Independence - I'm a fan of the "Free Range Kids" movement and this trip has provided great opportunities to let the kids develop confidence and independence. They are now experts at pretty much every Asian subway system. The three of them wandered around both Tokyo and Beijing alone for about 30 minutes one day. Today, we let Jacob and Luke leave us on an island near Hong Kong and find their way back to our apartment by running the trail to the ferry ahead of us (ok, so we made the same ferry that they did, but we didn't talk to them or sit on the same level), walking to the MTR (subway), taking the subway, and then walking back to our apartment. They made it about 20 minutes before the three of us. I'm confident that I could drop them off in most cities in Asia, and they could find their way to where they are supposed to be. To me, that is huge.

The Medium:

Schoolwork -  this is a tough one. The kids are doing work, although obviously not nearly as much as they would do if they were home. They do a good amount of Math weekly, write in their journals daily, read daily, and have to do a blog post/week.  The boys also have to practice Hebrew for their upcoming bar mitzvah.  While I'd say we are improving (we try to dedicate a couple of hours most mornings to "school"), we have a ways to go.  There is still lots of grumbling about the work they do have to do, but I'm trying to remember it would be no different at home!  After reading some of their writing, however, grammar books are on their way...

Alone Time - We are not a quiet bunch. We are sharing very small spaces for extended periods of time. We are pretty much together 24/7. Brian and I have started leaving them in the apartment/hotel/etc to go out and grab some dinner and have a conversation that isn't interrupted with "what? what did you say?" but we aren't always that fortunate. We have had a couple nice date nights, though.

Travel Planning - this is harder to judge. We often don't know where we are staying in a few nights (believe me, you get used to it), and often don't even know what city we are headed to next, but we have chosen places well, and have adjusted to the joy of spontaneity. I loved that we could extend our stay in Beijing with no worries, and that we found a place in Shanghai about 18 hours before arrival.  But it also keeps me up at night...

The Really-Not-So-Impressive:

Our Patience - Here is what I have learned about my kids: they are both 10x more cool/impressive and 10x more annoying than I realized.  There is a reason kids and parents don't usually spent 24/7 together. We get way angrier than we should much more quickly than we should, but we are working on it. We have threatened to "end this trip" more times than I'd like to admit.  We have all thrown our share of tantrums.  But we make up, and each day starts on a positive note.  And not that he would have wanted to before, but any chance that Brian would want to be a full-time, stay-at-home-dad is gone!

Gorgeous Guilin and a Faux-Celebrity Sighting!

In an effort to see more than just the big cities of China, we headed to Guilin for 3 days to get a little fresh air, and see some of the spectacular limestone karats that make this area of the Guangxi Province famous.  After our 20 hour overnight train journey from Shanghai to Guilin (honestly, it wasn't bad), we happily arrived at the Wada Youth Hostel, ready to soak up the sights.  However, as we walked the short distance from the train station to Wada, it started drizzling - and then proceeded to pour for the next day and a half.  This proved to be both a positive and a negative - there isn't much to do in Guilin in the rain, so we lost a day of sightseeing, but it also forced us to take a day to catch up with life - from our blogs, to homework, to some travel planning.  This was also the first Youth Hostel we have stayed in - and the kids were in heaven. From the pool table (note: my kids might be the WORST pool players known to man - this is not an exaggeration) to the mini climbing wall, to the movie/Wii room, the kids were in heaven.  We ended up not leaving Wada for a day and a half!  We even got to take part in their weekly dumpling making party!  The women who worked there were fantastic, and the food was also amazing - we didn't expect to like the hostel as much as we did! Here is the dumpling party and the kids with the "Wada Girls":

The rain finally cleared on Brian's birthday, so we headed out to explore the parks around Guilin.  The bus system was very easy to follow, and we used it to see the Moon and Sun Pagodas in the park center, and then found some beautiful caves outside of town.   Found the only other English-speaking people in the caves, only to find that they were friends of some of our best friends' parents. The kids were ecstatic about the small world connection!

 

On our last day in Guilin, we took a tour up the Li River - this is THE tourist attraction in the Guilin/Yanghsou area. I actually visited this area with my family in 1996, and my memory of the beauty of this area is what prompted us to put it on our itinerary.  The scenery didn't disappoint. I would say there are few places in the world that are more naturally stunning than the limestone karsts of the Li River.  It really did take our breath away. Unfortunately, the tourism has become so overwhelming there, it was hard to really appreciate the beauty at times (or get a great picture - all these boats kept getting in our way!).  Due to new Chinese regulations, our "bamboo raft" was actually made of PVC pipes (safer), and our driver wasn't what I would call the friendliest guy (we think he may have been in trouble with the police, as they spent a few minutes pulled up to our boat speaking to him in harsh tones in the middle of the river).  But as we spent about 90 minutes making our way from one pier to the next, I could see a great look of amazement in the kids' eyes, so I hope that they remember the beauty in the same way I did.

This last pic is the spot painted on the 20Yuan bill.

Our last stop that day was in Yangshuo, another town surrounded by karsts that is quite charming, if not a bit touristy.  Easily, the highlight of our afternoon there was our accidental crashing of an English presentation performed by college students from the Wuhan Province studying to be English teachers. We happened upon the performance in the local park, and snuck around to the back, hoping the performance would be fun for the kids. Within seconds, over 25 screaming and giggling 19 and 20-year  olds descended on us, asking (incredibly politely, I might add) to take pictures of us.  And they kept coming - for about 20 minutes. The kids have become used to the attention in other cities, but this was way beyond what any of us expected. They even wanted pictures with Brian and me (not surprisingly, this is rare). They were so excited to touch the kids' hair and faces, practice English, ask questions, etc that we just went along with it. Luke finally decided his mouth hurt from taking so many pictures and ran off, but Jacob and Maggie held out a bit longer.  Honestly, if you didn't know better, you would have thought The Jonas Brothers (wait, I think they broke up) were there. 

Last picture: Jacob is somewhere in there.  He went back to get Maggie so we could leave, and they swarmed him. I can't see his face, but I'm sure he is smiling.

Impressions of Shanghai

5 days in Shanghai wasn't enough for our family - we would definitely extended had time allowed.  While there wasn't necessarily a huge amount of must-see tourist sites in Shanghai proper, we loved the vibe of the city - and were fascinated by how different it felt than Beijing.

The first thing we noticed was how much more metropolitan the city seemed - and how much friendlier the drivers were. While we still had to look left to make sure that the cars turning right weren't about to plow into us, we were able to cross the streets a little less afraid than in crazy Beijing.  Part of Shanghai's different vibe is due to it's history since the 1850s, which saw many parts of the city taken over by other countries during/after the Opium Wars, with a lot of those influences remaining.  The "former" French Concession is a great example of a piece of Shanghai that feels like a mix of China and Europe - easy to see why Shanghai is considered the Paris of Asia.

Before I go further, I must say that most of our week in Shanghai revolved around one crucial element: soup dumplings. Shanghai is famous for them, and we took full advantage.  While we had one fabulous night out with friends at the deservedly well-loved Din Tae Fung, we ate at least once a day at Yang's Dumplings.  For all we know, this is like the McDonalds of Shanghai, but the lines out the door of native Shanghainese led us to believe we weren't alone in our dumpling obsession.   We even found ourselves sprinting (this is not an exaggeration) from our metro stop home to get there before it closed one night.  For those who have never had soup dumplings, they deserve an explanation - they are plump, thick dumplings stuffed with pork and other yummy stuff. When you eat one, you have to first puncture it with your chopstick, then slurp out the hot soup inside before devouring the rest of it.  As if they weren't fabulous enough just based on taste, the price was the kicker - we gorged ourselves (really, it was kind of gross how many we could put away) for about $9 total - for the whole family - including bottled water for everyone.  We already miss them....

Our first morning, we walked to Shanghai's ultimate tourist destination, The Bund. We didn't know much about Shanghai before arriving, so we were thrilled to see the skyline from across the river. Luke was certain that it was the setting for The Capital in the Hunger Games, but we think maybe it was just the inspiration.   Regardless, Shanghai's skyline is definitely one we will remember.

We were also lucky enough to have friends in Shanghai, the Chus, who were fantastic hosts! Leo is a friend of mine from high school, and has been living in Shanghai with his wonderful wife, SueAnn, and his boys Keller and Ellis for almost a decade. They treated us to Din Tae Fung our first night - and we ate like kings!  Even better was the chance to hear a little about life in Shanghai as somewhat ex-pats (all speak Mandarin, but Keller goes to the American School).  We also met up with the Chus on our last day in Shanghai, eating a quick (and again, delicious) lunch with them before taking a 20-hour trip to Guilin.  SueAnn provided us with a goody bag of breakfast treats for the next morning when we would still be on our train - and since we made it to the train station with just minutes to spare and thus didn't have time to get food as planned - she was a lifesaver. The kids are still talking about those croissants....

Our other fun adventure while there was to a water town about an hour outside the city called Tongli. While it felt a bit Disney-esque at times (maybe due to its authenticity - we aren't sure), it was a fun example of a small town built on canals where villagers still live and work. The grounds were beautiful, even if the journey there was a bit arduous.  To read about our trip on the "local" train to get there, read Jacob's blog post here.  On our way back to the bus station later that night, we hired a rickshaw to cycle us back - since it was only about a mile, Luke ran alongside us instead. Fun to see him running through the streets of China.

 

Our last morning, Maggie and Luke ran in a 5K hosted by the local running club, in a park far outside of town.  There was a kids' race that they were allowed to enter for kids who go to International Schools, so they were excited to give it a try.  Surprisingly, Luke ended up winning the under-18 race with a pretty good performance considering they are pretty out of shape (no 2-3 time/week soccer practice for 2 months isn't exactly good for the endurance).   Our excitement for him was tempered with the fact that he won a big trophy that he insisted on keeping.  Maggie finished 4th for the girls, but since we think she was the only non-high school girl there, she was pretty happy.

We were sad to leave Shanghai, but I think we'll be back someday.

Living in Beijing

We really loved Beijing, much more than we expected. As I noted before, we were very nervous about getting to China, but once here, it surpassed our expectations.  We actually extended our stay by a few days, as we didn't quite feel ready to leave. 

It was tremendously helpful to have friends in Beijing.  Luke and Maggie's former teacher (and our friend), Tami and her daughter Ella recently moved back to Beijing from San Mateo, and so having "locals" (or Beijing-ren as we learned they are called) to guide us was key to getting us settled and helping us get our bearings in this sprawling metropolis.

The weather did force us to modify our plans a few times (good thing we saw the Wall in January!), but it did mean that we spent some time inside catching up on schoolwork, planning, and blog posts (which haven't all been posted because our blog provider is blocked in China, and we only have a VPN on one computer, so posting takes an incredible amount of time - we hope to have more up soon on our blog and the kids'!)

Some of the fun things we did in Beijing:

 Temple of Heaven Park, walking through the hutongs (old Beijing neighborhoods), and the Lama Temple with Tami and Ella.  Our introduction to Beijing was (luckily) on a blue sky day, and we took advantage of the beautiful weather!

 

Shopping at the Dirt Market, eating a traditional Szechuan lunch, and finding a park for the kids to play soccer (and rollerblade!).

 

Did I mention that Maggie LOVED having Ella to play with:

Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and visiting Chairman Mao, who has been embalmed and laid out to view in a giant mausoleum.  We aren't convinced it is really him. He was pretty orange.

The Summer Palace where the royals used to relax just outside the city.  While we enjoyed the buildings and the views, most of the "locals" spent time staring at Jacob who was wearing shorts that day. We must have had 10+ people approach us to talk about Jacob's shorts - and since none of them spoke English, there really just was a lot of pointing, nodding, and smiling.  I'm pretty sure they thought that we are horrible parents who didn't dress our child appropriately. (Note: I told Jacob that morning to wear pants, but he refused. In case anyone thinks we are horrible parents).

Visiting Tami and Ella their school (International School of Beijing) outside the city, and then going trick-or-treating with Ella that night in their neighborhood (boys stayed in watching TV, Maggie's costume was made 20 minutes prior with the help of a pillowcase, scissors, pen and 2 bobby pins).  The school was amazing - the kids are all ready for Brian to get some sort of international assignment so they can go to an international school.  Lucky kids, those ISB-ers.

Brian, Luke and Jacob watching the Red Sox win the World Series from a tiny bar in a little hutong. Since games here start at 8am, finding places to watch the games wasn't easy, but they scored a perfect location with Red Sox fans to watch the Sox win at Fenway.  I'm pretty sure they won't forget that game for a long time!

Shopping, and bargaining (ugh...not that well!) at Yashow Market down the street from our place. Maggie got a Chinese dress, Jacob got a soccer jacket and jeans, I bought a puffy jacket (to fit in...everyone owns one here...), and Luke got cards. 

Walking around the 798 Art District in Beijing where we took lots of pictures with all the artwork displayed everywhere. We could have spent a lot more time here - so much to explore!

A highlight - being approached by English speakers in a restaurant where we were having dinner on our last night in Beijing because we seemed to know what we were doing and they wanted advice - we actually felt like Beijing-ren!