Ten Thousand Buddhas

 On the first Saturday of spring break, Mike needed to go to Ikea to get some picture frames that he needed for a Mother's Day craft he's planning to do with this class. Since moving to Tsing Yi we are no longer close to any of the three Ikea's in Hong Kong, so instead we came up with a "two birds with one stone" idea. One of the Ikeas is next to the Ten Thousand Buddhas and that was one thing we wanted to do before we leave Hong Kong. Leila and I had been before when Rita was visiting, and we really wanted to go with Mom, but the weather was totally uncooperative when she was here, so we opted to use our one sunny Saturday to hit the beach instead. 

 Basically it's just a really big Buddha-lined staircase leading you to some temples at the top of a mountain. We think every hiking path should be lined with Buddhas. It's a great way to keep kids entertained because each one was different, and some of them looked pretty interesting. 

 Funny thing is that Mike was harassed by monks wanting money as we entered. They must have been fake monks, not real monks. 

 Even though you walk past many, many Buddhas, you don't really believe that there are actually ten thousand of them until you enter the temple at the top. Then it really kicks it up a notch!

 Mike says it's the most impressive temple Hong Kong has to offer. Take it from him!

 This is where Rita and I saw monkeys digging orange peels out of a garbage can. This time we weren't so lucky. 

 A sight for sore eyes?  

Then you walk up some more steps to the next level. 

 Which had some more temples, and this really dilapidated building, with one of the scariest sights we've ever seen peeking out of the window. I'm sure the five people who read this blog have already seen this picture on Instagram. So creepy!

 We don't understand why the Big Buddha is so popular (well, probably because it's so big and because of the cable cars, which are admittedly very fun), and this place barely ever gets a mention. On this sunny Saturday, it was pretty much just us and locals who were heading to the top because they are Buddhist, so it's what they do. Here, Mike is trying to see what it is they are doing. Burning paper money along with some clothes and some cake, from what he could tell. 

 A lovely view of Sha Tin from the top. 

 And the last of the ten thousand Buddhas. 

 And a turtle pond. How lovely. I mean, disgusting. It looked dirty and gross. 

 AND... this lovely lady is your reward for reaching the top. aaaaahhhh!

 And then we went home and Joshua came over to help us dye some Easter eggs while Caleb was at the doctor. Only the girls are wearing different clothes, so maybe this wasn't the same day. But the dye we had worked great, and they turned out nice and bright, and a fun time was had by all!

holiday

Well, it looks like we will have the chance to visit one more Asian country before we say good-bye to our Hong Kong home of three years. Our wonderful traveling buddies Phoebe and Joey have invited us to join them on a trip to Okinawa for spring break. Yippeee!!! We're excited! So lucky! Can't wait!  
The only thing is that we will be gone over Easter, so we will miss out on Good Friday/Easter Sunday church services and won't be eating that ham dinner that I would have made had we been here (except not). Last year we were in China over Easter, so it feels like it's been a while since we've been able to celebrate Easter. An important holiday, if you ask me!

Which got me thinking about the holiday celebrations (or lack there-of) we've had this year...

 - We spent Christmas Eve flying to Taiwan and Christmas Day at Taipei zoo. Lego Santa was the only "Christmas-y" thing we came upon that whole day, so it didn't really feel like Christmas. 

- Since Annika has an American teacher, for her first time her class exchanged Valentines. Thanks to their grandmas sending us Valentine's from Canada, she was the only one who had "real" Valentines to pass out. The ones she received were all home-made and there were a few thank-you cards in the mix (she loved it, though, and hasn't let me get rid of her shoebox full of them). Leila also made a class set that she brought to school, but she was the only one in her class who did so. About a week later she came home with a small gift and a card from one of the girls in her class thanking her for the Valentine. 

 -We attended a carnival the Saturday before Halloween put on by the churches in Discovery Bay. We barely noticed a few days later when the actual day of Halloween came and went. 

- Last week on March 17, I put green long-sleeved shirts underneath the girl's uniform shirts. I don't think anyone even noticed- they certainly were in no danger of being pinched. 

- We spent Canadian Thanksgiving weekend in Chiang Mai, so it went unnoticed. But we did attend a rather eclectic American thanksgiving celebration in November. 

But although our holidays have looked different than what we're used to, we also:

 - hung out on the beach during Mid-Autumn festival with our lanterns and glowsticks

 - spent the evening of Annika's birthday at Disneyland

- enjoyed dragon dances, Chinese New Year meals, and participated in lai-see traditions during Chinese New Year.
And maybe this year we'll make it out to the Dragon boat races during the Dragon boat festival in June. 

It might bother me that my kids have missed out on some holidays and traditions if we were planning to be here long term. I think it's hard for some of my friends who live here, and some people do a lot better job than I have of trying to keep their traditions alive. But knowing that we're moving back and they will have many years ahead of them of celebrating holidays in Canada makes me feel like we haven't missed out on all that much. And luckily they're oblivious to the amount of candy they've missed out on during Halloween!

But I'll say it now. Next year I want to celebrate all the holidays. I hope to:
- spend Christmas with family!
- bake birthday cakes in an actual oven! (Here's hoping!)
- go on a Valentine's date with my sweetie! 
- go to Christmas Eve, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday church services!
- color Easter eggs! 
- and have an Easter egg hunt!
- carve pumpkins!
- let the girls dress up in costumes that aren't total home-jobs!
- Visit Santa! If the girls aren't too old! 
- Turkey! Ham! Peppernuts! Mincemeat! Gingerbread! 
My mouth waters just thinking about it.

Feeling Inspired Once Again

 The one thing Annika really wanted to do when Grandma and Grandpa were visiting was return to Inspiration Lake. I guess holds some special memories for her since she's had two school picnics there, but also she really wanted to have the chance to go for a paddle-boat ride. Lucky for her we were all game to make that dream come true!

 I passed the camera to Annika to take a picture of us. But then it turned into some funny business...

All the while we waved to Grandma and Grandpa who opted to have a leisurely walk around the perimeter. 

Grandma and Grandpa visit HK!

We had a fantastic visit with Grandma and Grandpa Janzen. The time flew by, and it is hard to believe that we had such warm temperatures when the weather is so cold and dreary this week. Here are some highlights:

 Waiting at the Airport Express station with "Welcome to Hong Kong" signs. Mike texted me that they were on their way so we walked up to the station and had just 4 minutes till arrival. Too bad I didn't get a picture of the happy reunion. 

 We finally went to Noah's Ark, which is one of the only Hong Kong attractions that we still haven't been to. We were waiting to have some company to go with us. :) It was a beautiful day, and not crowded at all. 

 It's a life-size replica of Noah's Ark with lots of fake animals coming out of it. 

 Next to Noah's Ark is Ma Wan beach. 

 One of three dragon dances that we saw. This one was in our podium (actually a lion dance). 

 A gorgeous day to spend at the beach at the Gold Coast. 

 Mike and two beached whales...

 We also went out to Tai O fishing village ("the Venice of the East", so say the guide books). Home of stilt houses, dried fish and elusive pink dolphins. 

 It was a beautiful day for a boat ride, but no pink dolphin sightings this time (maybe it's the time of year?). 

 Dim sum for everyone! Lunch with school friends. 

 An open-top bus tour. It was a bit breezy and drizzling, but still fun. 

 Beautiful Hong Kong Park

 And finally, a day trip to the Hong Kong Wetland Park. So many great memories!