Mama's Day. When nature calls...

Today (Feb 22nd) after the worst sleep in our Hong Kong life (Ever was awake from 4 - 8:30am! Ugh!) we gathered what remaining energy we could muster and headed off to meet an Uncle and his whanau for brunch. Jane, ever the organiser, was hooking us up with tickets to Ocean Park (friends discount ye-yah!) but due to some serious lack of enthusiasm(not from me...) and time-keeping skills(chur, B-Ma...) we decided to go for a hike up the mountain to the water resevoir cos Mamabear wanted to be eaten by some monkeys. Jokes! - She wanted to get some fresh air - She did try to befriend them even when we all tried to explain to her that they are wild. As in, wild. She didn't get it. (Haha!) That's what I love about her...

We travelled by taxi, winding through tiny one-way streets up the mountain. As per usual there were families of people everywhere you turned. It was a traffic jam of cars and taxis haphazardly parked wherever they could fit. At one point we did an awkward dance with another car who was 10-point turning around to get back down the hill. But it was well worth the wait...

The water resevoir was awesome. Stunning, clear water. Surrounded by beautiful mountainous views, including the infamous 'Lion Rock'

The only downside was that I had chosen to wear red, in honour of New Years and of course, monkeys be loving red... Thank the Lord I had a jacket to tie around me waist. Haha!

One of the coolest parts was the open BBQ areas (they pronounce it, Be. Be. Que...) Those monkeys all hiding in the trees or sneakily going through the garbage... it was pretty trippy. My mama trying to beckon them down from their leafy spy towers. We were clearly warned though that those monkeys won't hesitate to attack...

To be honest, the hike was one of the highlights of the trip. I didn't know it until we did it, that I had craved the peace that only nature could bring.

It's so easy to forget how good we have it in NZ. I am the first to admit that this trip opened my eyes to what could've been. What should've been. What is.
Nature vs Nurture. Would I have still been interested in living simply and organically(as financially viable) as I try to now.  Would my interests still include gardening, hiking and animal welfare if I had grown up in Hong Kong? There are so many variables in this debate, so instead I will just say, it was awesome...

That afternoon we made our way to meet my bio-sis' at the Kowloon Walled City, which was high on my Mama's priority list. Steeped with history and traditional architecture, it was a serious blast from the past; intergrated with these amazing projection screen walls that you could 'touch' to change the slides by swiping across the wall. It was some crazy futuristic shizzle ma nizzle! My Bio-Ma disclosed that she once lived within the walled city. She used to hike down the dirty streets to collect buckets of water, in bare feet. Surreal.

In a city that is populated with over 7 million people, to find a part of the city that wasn't stuffed to the brim was extremely disconcerting. There were people of course, but not many more than a Friday afternoon at a local park. We wandered, while Ever slept in our arms, and just chatted. Mamabear found a little kid with these trippy giant plasticky bubbles! She was literally jumping up and down playing with this giant bubble. We are all just kids inside...

The next thing we know it starts pouring down. Thankfully, my B-Ma is overly prepared and handed us a cute 'Hello Kitty' umbrella. Score! We jetted toward the city, past this awesome bike circuit (which also houses a sweet jogging lane) If I had been prepared I totally would've brought my skateboard... Haha!

Ten minutes later we were refuelling at a pizza joint in a nearby mall. The day had been long and it was great to be off our feet, even for a moment. There was talk about grabbing Thai for dinner, but it seemed like pizza was the easier option since it was already almost 9pm. Next thing I know we are playing in the arcade above. My B-Ma handed each of us a bag of coins, so away we went. I felt super 'Asian'... and I loved it! Haha!
They had an awesome kids play area adjacent to the games arcade. They had a sweet ball-pit, that included airguns! I have to admit, I crawled in there with Ever and started a war with a couple of other kids... yep, doesn't matter how old you are. Straight ballin'...

By 10pm us kiwi's were yawning like nobody's business. We packed up our crew and headed for the exit, only to have a communication breakdown with everyone. They were discussing how to get to the Thai restaurant... yes, you heard right. They wanted to take us for 2nd dinner. At 10pm at night. I lost my shizz...

Half and hour later we were seated at the third Thai restaurant we could find. (The others were either closed or too full for our crew) My poor bebe had fallen asleep in the baby carrier on James back. I had wedged a sweater under one side of her head to keep it from falling...

I have to admit, the food was pretty choice. Lot's of choice... but there was a naggling at the back of my head that wouldn't go away.

I think the benefits of being in Hong Kong, face to face is fairly obvious. The difficult part of this trip has been having (pretty much) no freedom or space to digest. To discuss things or plan anything. To discover Hong Kong for ourselves. Most of the options have been taken out of our hands, and it's hard not be grateful given the generosity in almost every arena. I feel like a dickhead for even mentioning this...

After 8 days, it is of course easier to understand each other, but on the other hand we are still essentially strangers trying to get to know each other. There are awkward times on each side where me and my wee whanau will have quick whispering convos on how we are feeling, and I guess they must too? Well, maybe not whispering... we have learned that Hong Konger's like to yell. There isn't a deep sense of the NZ politeness. When someone bumps into you in the street there is no acknowledgement we have even touched, let alone a, "mmm...goi" (sorry about that)There has been a lot of times where we are just standing there like idiots not knowing what's-what, while they are talking(yelling) to each other and gesturing wildly. We have no blinkin' idea whether we are coming or going sometimes...

In all honesty it can be super frustrating. Especially since I am a planner. I like to be in control or at least take charge. In my mind it makes sense to ask everyone what they want to do then go from there. Instead we are outsiders along for the ride... But I digress.

It's been a crazy ride so far and I knew there were bound to be moments of intense emotions. Good and bad. Happy and Sad... Though right now the only emotion I have left is exhaustion. Nighty night!