Hong Kong Survives The Newsome Boys

Well, we (the boys and I) made it back from Hong Kong. WOW WHAT A GREAT PLACE!!!!! Before our journey started we walked around with Dawn and Sofia:

The trip to Hong Kong started with a two hour express (bullet train) train ride from Guangzhou to Kowloon, China (which is the last stop before you get to Hong Kong Island but is yet considered "Hong Kong"). Of course Will loved it. Once we arrived in Kowloon, we took a taxi over to Hong Kong Island, where we would be staying.

To get Hong Kong Island, you take a tunnel that travels under the bay (the bay is the body of water inthe later pictures of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Harbor). This place was incredible. By the time we cleared customs, got to the hotel and settled in, it was night time. We walked around Hong Kong for a while (it's very busy and lots of people and traffic everywhere all the time) where it's just one street of lights and shopping after another and tehn we took another taxi up to Victoria's Peak. WOW ... its the highest point in Hong Kong and allows you to look down on the city and the views are incredible....here's a few photos of our first night (by the way, our hotel room was on the 26th floor of our hotel and the boys loved it):

You can see in the night photos of Hong Kong above just how big the skyline is by aligning the bright white light building. It was one of those places you go where it just seems magical and it was.

The next day we were off on a tour of many places in Hong Kong. The first photo is of part of the city on our way to our first stop, at the oldest temple in Hong Kong - The ManMo Temple:

Next, we were off to Victoria's Peak for a day time view of things... (by the way it was still a beautiful view). To get there, we took a tram/train that traveled up the mountain at a 45 degree angle. The train is the oldest public transportaion in Hong Kong - over 100 years old:

Next, we were off to the last "on water" fishing village in Hong Kong ( the fishing village was on the other side of the island from Hong Kong Harbor - the view you see above). Hong Kong was actually a rather poor fishing community before it was turned into what it is today. Therefore, we were going to see the roots of Hong Kong. We took a Sampan Fishing Boat ride around that particular harbor and saw the Fisher Boat Community (a place where the people live, eat, sleep ...they do everything on the boats and seldom if ever go to shore). The accomidations were less than desireable for these people but it seems to work for them.

We went to an open air market and did some shopping and then also took time to go to one of the two beautiful of these in Hong Kong...........can you guess? That's right ...a

We finished our trip to Hong Kong by going back to the heart of the city and doing some walking around seeing the sights before we headed back to the train station. The amount of people in this area is amazing. We were told that there are approximately 2400 people per square foot of land. Here's some final photos of some of the wonderful craziness that is Hong Kong:

Only a couple of things could have made this trip even better. More money, time and Dawn & Sofia being there with us. I will certainly bring the family back for a vacation in Hong Kong.

Tomorrow, we're off to Sofia's health inspection for her exit visa and passport. She's doing very well and seems to be settling in with us. Thanks for all your prayers and support.