Guilin Trip

We continue to slowly check off destinations off our wish list! This past weekend we joined our friends from back home, Andy and Allison, for a weekend trip to Guilin. Andy and Allison are currently in the middle of a multi-stop trip around Asia and we joined them for a little bit of it here in Hong Kong and then later on this past weekend. The great thing about Ryan working for the same company here in China as back in Milwaukee is that we continue to see friends/co-workers of his that come over for work. Doesn't seem that a month will go by without seeing a familiar face from home, which is always a welcomed event.

I met up with the others in Houjie, the city where Ryan's factory is located, before we flew to Guilin. I'm getting more comfortable with doing the Hong Kong to China trip on my own but I always get pretty nervous crossing the border and feeling in a completely different place. You would be surprised how different everything seems the moment you leave Hong Kong (little English, different toilets and worst...no cell phone coverage!)

Ryan had previously been to Guilin with a few co-workers but wanted to take me sometime when the weather was warmer. Guilin is known for its beautiful landscape of interesting mountains surround river valleys. I had seen pictures from Ryan's previous trip and was very excited to see it myself. It was also an opportunity for Ryan to practice his Mandarin skills as he was the only one able to speak it out of the group. I have to say, I was quite impressed and he managed to plan an amazing weekend for us.

We started off on Saturday morning by taking a small boat down the Li River to see the Elephant Trunk Hill.

Elephant Trunk Hill..see it? 

After our short boat ride, we hopped in the car and headed off for another boat ride. This time we boarded a smaller boat for 4 people that appeared to be a bamboo look-a-like material and headed down the Li Jiang river. The river was surrounded by beautiful mountains and filled with other boats of tourists. At a stop at a riverfront along the way we picked up some beer and headed back up the river.

Mountains along the Li Jiang River

Andy and Allison enjoying the sun and water...until we hit waves and the water was all over

Another selfie by Mr. Jipp! 

After getting swarmed by women selling beer to us...we kind of stuck out as tourists everywhere we went

This felt more natural...being on a boat with a beer in our hand 

After this we headed off to the Yu Long Jiang river for some more rafting. This time the boats were actually made of bamboo with no motors and were only made for 2 people. We had a guide who pushed the boat down the river with a bamboo pole (reminded me of my failed attempt at punting in England...Mom, Steve, Erica & Grandma will remember pushing their way out from under a willow tree) but luckily we just got to sit back and relax. And of course there were the women on their own rafts along the way with cold refreshments for us!

We're on another boat! 

All the boats waiting for tourists 

Andy and Allison on their raft

You may not be able to tell but those are computer stations... in the middle of the river. They would take your picture and you could stop and have it printed out for you like you just went down a roller coaster at Disneyland! 

A very relaxing ride...until we were hit with water guns by a neighboring group

At the end of our rafting trip it began to rain so we stopped by another mountain viewing site quickly and headed home. 

Moon Mountain

For our second day we started off heading to a local tea plantation to see how it is grown, picked, prepared and of course tasting it! This was a last minute stop our tour guide threw in for free and it was really great. I never realized that all tea comes from the same plant, it is just differentiated by which leaves are picked and how it is treated afterwards. Plus I had never seen a traditional tea ceremony...makes throwing a tea bag in a cup of warm water seem pretty lazy! 

Tea plantation 

Wearing our awesome hats...which were incredibly difficult to balance on our heads

Tea processing

Sitting down for a traditional tea ceremony

Our last stop was out into the country to see the Longji Terraces which is an area of terraced rice villages built into the mountains that are hundreds of years old. Our trip seemed to hit a dead end when we came upon an area of the road covered in boulders after a planned explosion, however, our driver was awesome and got us to another area of the terraces. The area was so beautiful to see so I'm very thankful our driver had a backup plan! 

The village we visited in the terraces. These were scattered around the mountains for the people who farm the rice paddies.

A terrace up close that was within the village

Our trip was amazing and one of the more beautiful places I have ever seen. We're not quite sure where our next adventure will take us but I will be sure to keep you updated! 

The In-Laws Visit Hong Kong!!

Last week we had our first week-long visitors come to Hong Kong. Ryan's mom, Deb, and his brother, Eric, flew in from Chicago to stay in Hong Kong for the week. We were fortunate enough that Ryan had a few days off for Dragon Boat Festival so that we were all able to tour around Hong Kong together. 

We had a great time with them in town for the week. We packed in as much stuff as we could while they were here and I think we are probably all still feeling exhausted from it all. Many great memories were made but some of the ultimate highlights of the trip were: 

1) Seeing the giant rubber duck in Victoria Harbour on its last day in Hong Kong
2) Having Ryan haggle with street vendors on ridiculous t-shirts for Eric (tigers, cats and bears eating fish)
3) Deb being a great sport while both of her sons continued to teach her how to use chopsticks - she was a pro when she left! 
4) Watching Ahri go from being afraid of the strangers in her apartment to jumping up and licking their faces 
5) Seeing pandas not once but twice throughout the week 
6) Spending our overnight trip to Macau with Deb & Eric at the Venetian Hotel
7) Introducing Deb & Eric to our favorite Portuguese restaurant in Macau, Fernando's, and the sangria! 
8) Seeing the Big Buddha (one of the largest sitting buddhas in the world) for the first time myself
9) Dim sum at Maxim's City Hall and fending off all the crazy dim sum cart ladies 
10) Seafood lunch in Sai Kung after our hike was rained out (and Ahri hiding under the table) 

Deb's learner chopsticks 

T-shirt finds at the market

Panda at Ocean Park 

Deb's dream carousel ride

Venetian Hotel, Macau 

The stairs up to the Big Buddha 

Family picture on our last day in Sai Kung 

We had a great time with the family and can't wait for more visitors to come see us! 

It's hot out!!

Hello all!

As the seasons change, everyone back home is getting excited about warmer weather which usually means days at the beach, grilling and spending nights around a fire with friends. I usually always look forward to the summer as it brings back very fond memories of my childhood on the Mississippi River and many of my favorite activities are done during the summer (outdoor bars, Summerfest, rollerblading, team volleyball, boating...I think you get the idea).

A boater even from a young age

Moving to Hong Kong has sent me into not only a cultural shock but a weather shock. We moved here the end of October which I was told was the best time possible. The temperature was comfortable with the humidity low and the winter was fairly mild, only requiring a light jacket most of the time. The lowest the temperature got to was in the low 50's. As the spring rolled around, the rains came. Monsoon season was in April resulting in days upon days of intermittent rain storms that would hit with no warning. I experienced my first black rain storm, which basically is a heavy down pour where no one leaves their home (literally, no one goes to school or work) until the rain lets up. It was very interesting to compare what rain we were getting here to the floods that were happening back home and how different the people react. As May came around, the humidity started and I prepared myself for what everyone warned me as unbearable heat.

Ahri enjoying the black rain storm

 Well, I think that heat has finally hit. This past week we had unusually sunny skies (I guess blue skies are a rarity here). The temperature was in the 90's and the humidity has been almost as high. I have even gotten warnings through my weather app on my phone for 'very hot weather warning'. This weekend Ryan and I spent most of Saturday outside and I can vouch for it being 'very hot weather'. Ryan was pretty comfortable throughout the day but I do recall telling him multiple times 'I'm dying. It's too hot.'

Hong Kong skyline on a beautiful, sunny day

Hong Kong's newest resident, the large rubber duck, enjoying the warm weather

I've come to grips that I have to get used to it and there is only so much time I can spend in the AC. Ahri and I have started to take our walks to the dog park at night when it has usually cooled down into the upper 80's. My wardrobe has changed to wear mostly dresses and anything that won't visibly show that I am soaked in my own sweat. Oil blotting pads have become my face's best friend to fight that shiny forehead syndrome.

While we may not get to enjoy all of the same things we used to do during the summer in Milwaukee, we are finding more things to fill our weekends while in Hong Kong. We look forward to trips to the many beaches around the Hong Kong Island and the surrounding smaller islands, enjoying the pool in our apartment building and more trips around the area.

We hope the summer weather is treating you all well back home so that you too can enjoy all of your favorite summer activities.

Until next time...