11 Westminster Drive

Some more pictures of Colonel Sullivan

Here is a Picture of Pat Sullivan serving our country in Afghanistan

Jaspa's Junk

On Sunday we finally took one of the famous Hong Kong Junk rides. Friends of ours rented out a Junk from a company called Jaspas. We boarded from the Marina at Causeway Bay (about a 10 minute walk from our apartment) first thing in the morning, and from there it was about a 1 hour cruise to a beautiful cove/beach called Clearwater Bay.

The Junk is fully staffed, and Lunch and Dinner and Snacks are served throughout the day, along with ample beers and soft drinks.

Although the cruise to Clearwater Bay was fun, the main point of a Junk trip

seems to be to spend as much time in the water as possible. The entire 3 Story Junk becomes a floating swim platform and we couldn't decide what was more fun, jumping from the top yourself, or watching others try to get up enough courage to do it.

Also, there was a water-ski boat that we had use of for 4 hours - all the kids got to ride on a banana boat and adults could ski or wake-board.

When we pulled back into the marina, the sun was setting, "Empire State of Mind" was blaring on the radio, we were all comfortably tired, and I think the entire family was more relaxed than any other time since we arrived in Hong Kong.

Getting Acclimated

Over the past week we have been traveling all around Hong Kong Island getting a feel for where things are and the best way to get there. The weather has been very nice, and even though Hong Kong has some of the highest population densities in the world, there are places where it just feels like you are on a small tropical island in the South China Sea.

These pictures were taken in a place called Stanley, a small town/village on the south coast of Hong Kong Island. The water is clear and blue, the breeze keeps things cool, and as you can see, there are lots of other little islands off the coast adding to the tropical island feel. The best thing is it is about 20 minutes by bus (25 minutes with traffic) from our hotel in the heart of the city.

Ryan and Galen spent the day enjoying the weather while playing with newly purchased toy army men. Holly, Katrina, and Mitos spent the day walking through the tight little alleyways in search of local handicrafts while practicing their bartering skills. We walked away with a beautiful tea set for Katrina and the fattest stuffed panda bear you have ever seen for Holly.

The other great thing about Hong Kong (if you like the water, tropical islands, palm trees, etc) is the Ferry System. There are many "outlying islands" and the only way to get to them is by ferry. They run very frequently, so there isn't a lot of sitting around, waiting - even to the smaller islands they run every 30 minutes or so. Getting to the beach while riding on a boat makes the experience a lot more enjoyable than sitting in traffic, trying to find parking, etc

Last week the kids and I went to Lamma Island, which is the next island to the south of Hong Kong. 25 minute ferry ride, no problem! Lamma is known for its seafood, so we had to try it of course. How fresh is the fish? Well, you choose which fish you want to eat by pointing it out as it swims around the tank in the front of the restaurant.

Again, on Lamma you can definitely tell you are on a tropical island. It really doesn't feel like Hong Kong (at least what we have seen of Hong Kong) at all. But, when you get tired of the sun, ocean and waves you can be back in Central in less than half an hour.

First Weeks in Hong Kong

It's finally starting to sink in that we have moved and Hong Kong is our new home. We have been here almost two weeks now, and I think everyone is getting used to being here in this crazy, busy city.

Right now we are living in a section of the city called Admiralty. This section is sandwiched between the two major areas of Central and Wan Chai. Admiralty is basically known for having a subway (here it is called the MTR) stop and a very good mall. Nothing special.

However, what is great is it is an easy walk to both Central (the highest of the high rent district, think Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue combined) and Wan Chai (kind of seedy, crowded, packed with shops and bars). Fodor's Guide to Hong Kong calls Central and Wan Chai "the king and queen of Hong Kong nightlife" and this is where most of the people we know here go out for dinner, drinks, music, etc. The other nice thing about where we are living right now is the view. This is going to be a little hard to give up:

Mitos' walk to work each day takes about 12 minutes. Very different from her NYC commute! What's even nicer is that the whole walk takes place through Hong Kong Park, a beautiful hilly park in the middle of Central with a Koi pond, waterfall, fountains, etc.

A big part of our time over the past week has been spent looking at apartments and trying to decide where to live.

A lot of Expats live in a section called Midlevels which is up the side of the mountain from Central. If you work in Central (like Mitos is doing now) it is an easy cab ride in to work. However, Mitos is going to be switching offices in November to a building across the Harbor in Kowloon, so we felt like we had some flexibility (she will have to ride the MTR no matter where we live, so we can look somewhere a few stops away).

We haven't yet signed a lease, but we are leaning towards a nice 4 bedroom flat in an area called Happy Valley, which is still within walking distance to Wan Chai, but is more family oriented (or so we have been told). We should find out this week if that is where we will be living for the next two years or if we need to keep looking.

Mitos and I going out right now to listen to a band in Wan Chai. I'll post more next week when we have more news about our apartment search.