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Well the last three days have been fairly lively and quite exhilerating with the adrenaline rush of our trip actually getting under way and jet lag meaning we have been keeping quite unusual hours. The flight was smooth enough with the novelty of it all keeping the children going. Meg was delighted to have her own set of switches to play with on her arm rest including the one which calls for the flight attendant and the one which puts on the over head light....on and off and on and off!! The inflight entertainment was faulty but fortunately we all slept for a few hours and arrived in Hong Kong with enough energy to get out and about for Christmas day evening. We had the same idea as several hundred thousand other people and the streets of Kowloon were absolutely mobbed. Connie proclaimed an instant dislike to Hong Kong due to the crowds and the smell but readjusted her view the next day when we went on the star ferry to Hong Kong island and up to the Peak at the top of the hill via the peak tram which was very exciting. One thing we had to get used to quickly was the fascination the locals had with Meg. We are not sure whether it was because we have four children or because Meg is cute and blue eyed but all the time she was being cooed at, touched on the face and on several occasions had her picture taken. This afternoon we climbed 270 steps to see the world's largest bronze Buddha on a nearby island called Lantau and on the way up a man asked to take a photo of all the children on their own!
The Buddha was part of a temple and we enjoyed the experience of lighting large incense sticks and placing them in large stone pots at the entrance to the temple. I'm not sure Meg saw the significance as she asked if we were going to have a BBQ?
I'm so glad we decided to stop off and have a few days here as it is so very different to what we will experience elsewhere on the trip. Isla loved the markets and was very brave to go right up to some of the less attractive stalls selling small intestines and live fish for consumption! After her initial hesitance Connie enjoyed the chaos and noise and loved the pet shops which still have kittens and puppys jumping around the place. Rosie took her shopping choices very seriously as usual and has completed this stretch of the trip a few possessions richer! Meg seems to take it all in her stride from not batting an eyelid as we thundered down the runway at Heathrow to being unphased by the constant attention from the locals. As for Michele and I we are just pleased to be off on the adventure. Work, emails and the phone ringing are starting to be a distant memory. It is exhausting and we've needed eyes in the back of our head to make sure we haven't mislaid Isla in the throng as she is prone to doing a runner occasionally! Off to NZ tomorrow afternoon so catch up there at some point.
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