15 Minutes of Fame!

Oh there are so many things to write about the last week. I am constantly thinking, 'oh I need to write about that, or oh I most definitely need to put that one in the blog' and then I sit down to write and without fail I forget! So I'll do my best to remember.By far the biggest event of this past week was ENGLISH CAMP! Myself and 3 other volunteers, Claire, Colette, and Tim, taught English for 2 days. We prepared 2 lessons each, which doesn't sound like much, but it took us a few days to work it all out. My two lessons were 'Greetings' and 'The Environment'. Both quite fun to teach! In true Sanna style, I prepared some lessons, but was not 100% sure how I would go about teaching them. I wasn't worried I would just wing it. What I find the most important when teaching is to have fun, then the kids will have fun... well that is only if they don't think you are nuts! Luckily these kids thought I was hilarious! Well that is what I am telling myself. I don't speak Thai, so who knows that they were saying, all I know is they were smiling and laughing. I had a great time teaching them words like; Happy, Sad, Hungry, Thirsty, Great, Good, Angry and the my personal favorite, HOT. I would just point to my dripping self and say HOT! They all got a good kick out of that!

The second day we drove the 1.5 hours to the school, where the 4 different schools meet and we began day 2. I really didn't have too much planned other then to teach them some environmental words and most importantly that littering is gross! What ended up happening was I simply taught them about 20 different words, then laid the pictures down on this stage and had them match the words to the pictures. I felt like I was facilitating again back at Hemlock. I was having more fun acting like a goon, dancing and jumping around and profusely sweating, and they were learning! How great is that! I realized that words like Arctic, and Mountains, and Prairie are really hard for Thai people to say. My trick was repetition. I also realized that these kids like most kids, love to yell. So we would start low and in the end we would all be screaming ARC-TIC, mimicking a sneeze! They loved it!The teachers also loved my animation as well! I received several compliments, great ego boost!

The teachers really wanted us to do some singing with the kids so we all racked our brains to remember some songs to sing with them. We ofcourse wanted to do the Hookie Pookie. But I was quickly corrected by my 3 co-volunteers, that in the British Isles it is called the Hookie cokie! What the... um ok! Well it was 3 against 1 so the hookie cokie it was! Slightly different so I had them lead it! We also did some head shoulders knees and toes, and old McDonalds farm.

This is a photo of all 50 students participating in the Hookie 'Cokie'

When the 2 days were over, the kids officially loved us! I truly felt like a celebrity, we were swarmed by the students for autographs and pictures!
The camp commenced with an awards ceremony where we were presented with a lobster! We all almost died laughing when they unveiled it. But we were respectful and held the laughter in!

When we returned on Friday after 2 LONG days of teaching we all decided we needed to have a good night out! So... we did! Going out in Khoa Lak is pretty easy, as everything is quite close, and all the bars are cheap! It was a great night! Colette and I at Songs Bar

Other big news to report, I am officially a Motor bike driver! At first I was quite slow, well 2 days of driving and I am good to go! Yesterday I drove up to White Sand beach! Super beautiful! I also drove up to the next town for dinner in a house! I haven't been in a house in.... well since I left D.C. So that was really nice! My friend Claire lives there with a manager of one of the nice resorts. We ate a delicious dinner and just chilled out... just what I needed after our crazy night, the night before!

This is one of the dogs at Claire house... her name is boom boom! So cute!

Today we all piled on our motorbikes and drove to a waterfall, Lampi Waterfall. It was beautiful, and nice to take a dip in fresh water! No salt in your eyes!

There is much more I want to write so I will try and get on here again tomorrow to add some more, but now I must run..dinner is calling!

It can get cloudy in Paradise

Paradise... what more can you ask for, a pineapple shake and a beautiful view!

Well its been about a week has it? Well I have to report that Thailand is just as beautiful as last week, just as hot, if not hotter, and it does rain in the dry season, contrary to what I thought!

I have not been volunteering much this last week because there have been several holidays and schools have been closed. Last Wednesday as I reported was the King's Birthday and everything was closed. And today is some other holiday, I am sad to say I am not sure what we are celebrating!

I discovered that it is much quicker to get to town by walking along the beach! This picture was taken along the way.

Last Thursday I was supposed to go work with the construction volunteers for the day. So I awoke early and walked the 2 km's to the 7 Eleven where I was told to meet them. Well 30 mins later, I figured out I had been forgotten. I hate to say this is an all to common theme with the volunteer center. It is not the most organized place. A bit frustrating to all the volunteers that came to Thailand and wanted to help, wanted their time to be spent doing good, not waiting at 7 elevens! A few hours later I got a call from another volunteer who also had been left. He was going to rent a motorbike and drive to the orphanage where the construction was happening, would I want a ride. I said sure, so we were on our way. 45 mins on a motorbike... its a long time. My butt was most definitely asleep upon arrival at the orphanage! Once there, we realized there really was no need for us to be there; there was hardly enough work for the 4 volunteers that were already there. So decided to find something that needed my help. What I found was that there was LOTS and LOTS of trash all over the property, so I took a trash bag and started collecting. After about 25 mins I had walked the entirety of the orphanage and collected a full trash bag of anything from chip bags, to oil containers to soup cans. it was pretty gross. The whole time I was wondering why don't they just throw their trash away in bags? Well I guess the children have not been taught this; its really quite sad. You notice that is doesn't get any better outside of the orphanage, the streets here are strewn with garbage! After picking up trash, I filled in a pot-hole with gravel and then helped pour some concrete, with that the day was over!

On Friday I was to begin my PADI open water certification course. I was really excited. The theory portion was cake, I sailed through the videos and was able to set up all of my equipment. Underwater skills, completely different story! I freaked out! I don't freak out often, but the underwater skills, gave me a panic! I was so disappointed. Luckily my instructor Pino, is awesome! He told me this was normal and not to be discouraged. He wanted me to still come out to the Similians to dive over the weekend. After sleeping on that idea, I decided I was not going to give up! I was going to give this another try!

Me and Pino, my dive Instructor

So yesterday I went out on the boat bright and early. The 1 1/2 hr ride was a bit nerving. I really didn't know how I was going to react to the water. Well I am happy to report, that I rocked! I was able to clear my mask, and practice some other skills and never once felt panicked or freaked out. We saw some super cool fish and coral as well. I saw 2 octopus( would that be octupi?) several trumpet fish, some really neat looking bright blue star fish and tons more. It is like swimming in a fish tank! So I am going to try the pool skills once more.

Jeremy, Anna, Pino, Me, Mel and Miriam on the Angel 1

Mel and I on the boat

Me on the boat

I have become quite good friends with the two dive master interns, Mel and Anna. They spend a few days a week on the boat and the others days back here in town, so we are able to hangout a bit. Yesterday on the way back to Tablamu, the port where all dive boats leave, Mel and I decided to sit at the very front of the speed boat. I think its the best seat in the house. You can see everything before anyone else can. We even saw a whale!! not sure what kind, but it was definitely a big one, judging by its backside!

About half way back, the skies started to turn dark, and for the first time in Thailand I felt a raindrop. I thought to myself no problem, its the dry season, I will be fine up here at the front of the boat with no cover! Well I was ok for the next few minutes until the heavens opened. At normal speeds this is ok, but when raindrops are being pelted at you going 60/70 miles an hour, it kinda hurts! Felt a bit like when you are skiing and they have the snow cannons on. Not only was it raining ( and as Jim Harmon says, when it rains you get wet!) it was also getting a bit cold. So Mel threw a somewhat dry towel at me to cover myself with. This helped a bit but really for the first time in Thailand I was cold!

After 2 hours on the speed boat we made it back! Not only was I a bit sunburned but also windburned, a really stunning combo!

Today I took a little walk to the one of the Tsunami 'monuments' the picture below is of a Navy boat, that was in Khao Lak 3 years ago to guard the King's son who was visiting here. The Tsunami pushed the boat 2.5 km inland!

I had to do some rearranging of plans for the remainder of my trip. Sadly I have to announce I am going to have to give New Zealand a rain check. I have decided that this solo traveling thing is ok, but I would much rather have my pals along for the ride! So I am going to save some money and go anther time. This means I will head straight to Switzerland from Australia. I am really excited about spending some quality time with the fam! With this said I will be home a few weeks early, at the end of Feb.

My Christmas plans are a bit in the air. My friend Emily was not able to get a flight here, so I will most likely stay here, spending some time in Phuket and a few days in Bangkok, before heading off to Australia.

Thanks to everyone who has been emailing and commenting on the blog. As I have said before I love getting mail. Traveling alone, has its pros and cons. I certainly have my lonely moments, where I want to jump into a time machine and be at home with all my friends and family. But I have also realized this is an amazing experience that I am very lucky to be having. I will be home before I know it, sitting at a desk wishing I was back on the beach in Thailand reading a book! So heres to taking one day at a time!

Hope everyone is well and not too cold, I am getting enough sun for the entire DC area, can you feel the warm vibes I am sending?

Have a great week,

Until next time....

Sweating in Thailand!

This is my Bungalow.. cute eh!?!

This is view from the boat on the way back from the Similian Islands

Can't believe I have been here almost one week! Time is really flying and its because I have been so busy. Today is my first day off, were I have no plans other then to lay on the beach and read a book. Today is the King's 80th birthday, so the schools are closed which means no work for me! I am really enjoying my time here, and have made some great friends. It is HOT here, as I sit here writing to you, I am dripping in sweat ( good visual I know!) As many of you know I am a sweater, so here in Thailand it is only magnified! Once the sun goes down, it does cool off quite nicely.

Diving was amazing! It was great to get out and be in and around the water. I saw some amazing creature under the sea. It was like swimming in a giant fish tank. My first dive was in a fairly shallow area. This was good for the first dive.. EVER. It's a strange sensation being able to breath under water. For my second dive we went into real open water and this was a little nerving at first. You plop into the water and it was choppy! I was trying to get all my gear together, meanwhile I am getting tossed around in the water with a huge oxygen tank on my back! Once under the water and I had to remind myself to breath, and then it was all ok! I again saw some cool fish, even an Eel! When it was all over I was hooked! I signed up for my open water dive course yesterday and am very excited!

Off shore of the Similians

On the boat, the Angel 2

The culture here, is like none I have ever experienced. It is very chill, rushing doesn't exist. I went to the post office yesterday, which is about 20 mins away by truck. There was a line about 8 people deep, with one guy behind the counter, and two others, just doing their normal work. No one was upset that those two other guys were not helping... in America, this would not fly, but here in Thailand, it was cool. My friend Collette and I had a blast in the post office, trying to order 42 stamps. First they brought us stamps that were worth 42 cents, then we were, thanks to my Thai phrase book, able to correct the mistake. The post office man loved us for trying to speak Thai. ( He also got a kick out of our horrible pronunciation!) Bottom line we walked out of the post office with our 42 stamps and the post man wanting us to come back to teach him English!

I have been teaching English almost everyday. While sometime frustrating, because there is no common language, it is overall an incredibly rewarding experience. There have been several days where we as volunteers, walk away thinking we got more out of the day then the kids. This week we are teaching 'creatures of the sea'. The Thai have a very hard time with 'TH" "SH", "CH" and "PH" so teaching them about FISH, and BEACH is quite hard. Often times they mispronounce the word beach and you can only guess what is sounds like. We as volunteers have to work hard not to laugh. Something else I have learned here, is that the kids are LOUD! When they repeat after you, they must think they need to scream it back at you, so there have been many moments this week, when I have had a group of 8-10 kids screaming "BARRACUDA" or "PRAWN" or "JELLY FISH" at me! So funny!

Some of my kids and their beautiful pictures of "At the Sea"

The other night I went to Scuba Bar, which is where on my of my co-workers works a few nights a week. I was feeling a bit lonely at the end of the bar, reading my Thai phrase book. I ordered a beer and was just hanging out when this super cute little Indian girl came and befriended me. It turns out she was the daughter of the shop keeper next door. Soon she had gone to get her books and the next thing I knew she was plopped down ON the bar, reading her English alphabet book to me. I guess I can't escape the teacher role! It was quite fun and gave me a good laugh. Well if I wasn't going to meet some people my age, at least I was making friends!

My friend I met at the bar... Isn't she cute!

Last night was one of the highlights of the trip thus far. Myself and 3 other volunteers, drove about 30 mins south to one of the local orphanages to play with the kids. Words can not describe how eye-opening, amazing and rewarding this experience was. These children are all tsunami orphans. To paint a picture of what the "orphanage" looks like, it is set just off the main road Hwy 4. There are 2 small buildings, one serving as the girls room and the other the boys. There rooms are small, maybe 10X10 if that. The floor is one large mattress, perhaps two small ones. All the children sleep together on these mattress. They each have a small bath house, which was built by TVC, (we are going to paint murals on the bath houses tomorrow). The whole area was very dusty. They had few toys or 'things' to play with, but to these children this is normal, this is life. When we first arrived I had a moment where I had to step away because I was so shocked at how these children lived, but then soon realized that they are happy! They all truly cherish the time we give to them. By the end of the night I had made many friends! I allowed them to use my camera, which was a big hit, and they took some wonderful shots! I also learned some new dance moves from one of the boys, Mess. When it was time to go I had all the children hanging on to me! I assured them all I would be back next week, if not before to spend more time. What an absolutely AMAZING experience!

Mess, Me and Poo ( yes that is a common name here!)

Mess and I dancing!

Me and Poo

When I am not teaching, I am hanging out with the friends I have made here. The other volunteers are great, and we have a great time together. I have also become friends with two of the interns from the dive center where I will get my PADI certification. The town of Khoa Lak is quite nice with lots of places to eat and shop. Where I am staying, Bang Niang, is about 5 minutes north ( its kinda like the outer banks). Bang Niang is nice, a bit more quiet and I really like it. I think I will stay here for the remainder of my time here. I will be heading south to meet up with my friend Emily for Christmas and New Years. I am so excited to have someone I know with me for the holidays!

This weekend I will start my PADI course and will spend 2 days on a live aboard boat. I will be sure to give you a full update when I get back!

Good bye Hong Kong, Hello Thailand

How fast time is flying! I have been in Khao Lak for two days now, and I am quickly learning to love the culture. People here are so nice and friendly and it is very much a chill pace of life. Their driving though it another story! Cars and motor bikes pass on both sides and they drive on the opposite side of the road! I am just glad I am not behind the wheel.

Before I continue with Thailand talk, I want to share my last few days in HK. They were a blast! (other then the food poisoning I got... that sucked!) My last night there, Emily and I met up with Bruce and Greg and some South African pilot friends of theirs. We went to Rat Alley for dinner... Sounds lovely I know, but the food was great.

Dinner at Rat Alley (Me, Emily, Bruce, and Greg)

After dinner we headed to the horses races which was right down my alley! We were able to catch the last three. We placed bets on 2 races and one of our horses placed second... thanks to Emily and mine good choice!

Back in the Saddle again!

Once we finished at the races, I got a second wind and we all decided we needed to go out, after all it was my last night in HK. It was Emily and myself and the 4 guys and ladies night which meant free drinks for the ladies ofcourse... recipe for disaster! I was well behaved all night, honestly! Emily soon needed to head for bed as she had to work early and well the rest of us had nothing important to do the next day, so we rallied on! Needless to say it was a great last night! Big Thanks to all my friends in HK, you guys are awesome and I hope to see you all very soon!!!

Out for the night! Brett, Emily, Bruce, Me and Nigel

Greg and I
Since in Thailand I have been working everyday.. well the two days I have been here. I arrived late Thursday night and basically went straight to bed, as I was exhausted from the night before. On Friday, I woke up and was a bit clueless on how to get around, but the hotel owners wife, Mook, took pity on me! She is Thai and her husband Swiss. She speaks Thai and German, so our most common language is German. So it has been fun brushing up on my German skills. Khao Lak is a big resort area for Swiss and Germans, so I feel I am speaking as much Thai as I am German.
Mook drove me to the Tsunami Volunteer Center (TVC) were I started my first day. I had a quick orientation and was introduced to some other education volunteers. There are lots of couples here, so I am the one solo flyer. Simon, a Scot and Laura and American are one set, the other are Tim and Cholete ( who I have not yet met, as she has been sick). The four of us have been the teaching team the last two days. Yesterday Tim and I went to teach one lesson at a near by school. We taught about European countries. Quite fun!

Last night Simon, Laura and I had a quick beer and then headed home as we were all exhausted from a long day and we knew that today would be a long one too! Today we got up early and drove 1.5 hours NE to an orphanage. I was a bit nervous having no idea what to expect and really no lesson planned. I was to teach time and numbers, but I was not sure of there ability level. When we arrived we were greeted by about 20 kids ranging from ages of 6 months to 20 years old. All beautiful and smiling! There were a few that were getting over the Chicken pox, so I was glad that I had already had them, otherwise I might have been in trouble!

Kids hard at work making fortune tellers. We had them make these to practice colors, numbers, shapes and simples sentences that they had learned during the day.

We taught 4 30 min lessons, It reminded me of our EE days back at Hemlock! I was smiling and laughing the whole day. The kids were really bright and knew lots about numbers! I was very impressed! At the end of the day Simon, Laura, Tim and I took them all outside, which was quite hot. We got them all in a circle and did the hookie Pookie! This was hilarious! Then I lead them all in Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. This got some laughs too! All in all is was an amazing day!

This is Tim! He was teaching them about directions.

Tonight I am heading out into Khoa Lak Town to visit one of the girls that works at TVC, who also works at a local bar. This should be a good time. But I cant stay out late, because tomorrow I have a very early morning to go diving!!! I am sooooo excited and I am sure I will have lots to report on my day! I will also add more pictures next time... this computer takes it sweet time to upload!

I miss you all tons and wish I could share this amazing experience with all of you! I hope everyone is well and thanks again for all the emails and comments, they all make me smile!

Adevntures in China

My yummy strawberry chocolate margarita at the feathered boa.

Emily and I have been talking about heading into China for a few months now, and we had both gotten Visa’s (which aren’t cheap) so we decided to use the two days off that Emily had to head to Guangzhou. Guangzhou is located about 2 hours Northwest of Hong Kong. After a night on the town Saturday night, Sunday morning arrived quickly, but we had a train to catch. We quickly packed an over night bag and jetted to bus stop.

Once at the train station, we figured out which track to head to, flashed our tickets and visa’s and passports, and boarded the train. There was some miscommunication as to which car to board. One train attendant pointed us to one end of the train, only to get there and have to walk back the entire length of the train! We were assigned seats so we plopped down and were ready to go! Only a short time into the trip, Emily took a trip to the bathroom (she has a peanut bladder! Luv ya Emily!!), only to come back a few moments later, laughing! Peeing while moving is tough enough, but when it’s just a hole in the ground that’s even more tricky! So I of course had to go see this toilet for myself! It was quite an experience... I will leave it at that!

Soon we arrived in Guangzhou, and realized we had no idea where we were going. We both looked at each other and laughed. We would figure it out… no big deal! Just then some man walked up to me, (we were the only white folks in the entire train station, so we must be tourists right?). He helped us figure out where to go and also tried to convince us to take a cab across town to the hotel where we were staying at. This would have been 180 Chinese, about $30 US. We opted to take the metro, and find it on our own. We were feeling adventurous. As we started on our way we soon realized that people really liked to stare at us, we were clearly different. Without even going the wrong way once we made it to our stop in central Guangzhou.

A park in Guangzhou

On our way out of the metro, a teenage boy, asked us "how much?" we both just looked at each other, laughed and said to ourselves... not for sale! On our walk to find the hotel, there was this small boy who was following us, like we were this strange creature he had never seen... it was quite interesting. Soon we found our hotel and were so proud of ourselves!

The main reason we went Guangzhou was to go to a spa that was recommended to Emily by a friend. It was apparently really cheap and relaxing. We were both all over the idea. So we asked for information at the front desk, but they had not heard about the spa we were recommended. We were given the name of another place, so we thought lets try it!

Upon arrival at the Spa we were immediately pounced upon. The women that spoke to us, spoke in very broken English, but we soon learned she was the best speaker in the house! We were in for an adventure! We chose a few items from the spa menu that looked good and were cheap! A manicure. pedicure, back rub and head/shoulder/back massage. Sounds good right? We thought so!

We then were given these key bracelets for our lockers and taken to the changing room, where things started to turn into a Seinfeld episode! We were taken to our lockers. The only way for the ladies to communicate with us was to push us around the locker room. We were really talking with our hands and feet! We were then under the impression to put on our bathing suits. We complied. Then were told to "SHOWER" so we did. At this point Emily and I are looking at each other like "what is going on!" Once out of the shower they all huddled around us and were trying to ask us something, but the language barrier was getting in the way. Emily and I finally realized that they were angry we showered with our suits on, because now they were wet. Oh well easy solution.. they shoved us into the sauna. At this point they are all standing outside probably talking about us, which is ok, because Emily and I are equally as confused! We sat in the sauna and both burst into laughter... what is happening?!? The sauna smelled like a a big bowl of Raumen noodles! After only a few moments they call us out and put us into different rooms and pulled a curtain shut! Uh Oh! The women then motions for me to lie down on my stomach... I am thinking ok, this is the back rub. Little did I know this was the Brillo rub! So my first though is maybe they have to clean us before they give us the back rub. Boy was I wrong! this was a full body exfoliation! Painful at times! I don't know I have ever been so exfoliated! All that scrubbing left me with some soft skin though!

Once I was done getting scrubbed I was pushed back into the shower, but I thought where is Emily? I was sure to not get my bathing suit wet again! After the shower I still didn't know where Emily was but I felt I must follow my lady to the next post. So like a good little kid I followed like a puppy. Little did I know that very soon I was going to be put into the most ridiculous outfit I have ever worn. Broke down palace anyone?? You remember those prison outfits, that is what we were given to wear. Meanwhile I am still wondering where is Emily? Moments later after sitting in a recliner, a women walked up to me and handed me Emily's bathing suit. I think to myself.. Where is the girl that goes inside the bathing suit? What happened to Emily?" Moments later Emily appeared and just laughed at my outfit! Soon though she was in the same one!

Yes this is the most unflattering photo, but I wanted you to have a visual on just how ridiculous we looked!

After reuniting we headed upstairs and were placed into these wonderful recliner chairs, were were given Tsing Tao beer. Here we received our manicure and pedicures and head and shoulder massages. None of these were the best we had had, but still we were paying close to nothing!

After getting manicures and pedicures were realized that they did not include nail polish, we were made our way to the painting station. This was hilarious. The girls here were so much fun! One in particular spoke a few words in English and was a hoot!

Once we were all painted we headed to eat some food and then back to the hotel. The cab ride back to the hotel, had to be one of the move frightening rides I have ever been on. In Guangzhou they like to use there horns and drive fast in two lanes! We were both excited to make it to the hotel in one piece! Our hotel was nice but had the hardest bed ever! I was able to jump on the bed with a glass of water on the mattress and not disturb it!
This the view from the hotel window.


The next morning we had a short time to walk around before it was time to make our way back to the train station. There was a beautiful park across the street. So we went to explore. There were couples getting wedding photos taken, old men and women practicing Tai Chi and playing ping pong, as well as the lovely old man who was walking around hawking loogies left and right. This is an awesome Chinese custom! Ping Pong in the park

One of the awesome signs I have seen on my trip!

Emily and I were both glad we were able to go to China, but were also excited to be back Hong Kong!

My last few days here have been bittersweet. I leave for Thailand tomorrow and am very excited but also sad to leave behind all the wonderful times and people I have met! For my last night here we are heading to the horse races. It think this will be right down my alley!

Tomorrow its off to Khoa Lak, I will try to update you all soon! Thanks again for all the emails and comments... its great to hear from everyone!

Same, same but different

Something I have learned here, is that people want to please you. A quote that I have grown to love is "same, same, but different" this is a common thing they will tell you when you ask a question or are looking for a particular thing. They will tell you or show you something that is not at all what you asked, but to them, they want to please you, so they find some commonality in it and will tell you "same, same but different". This is a quite common thing to say here. Emily and I were out the other day and saw a Chinese man with a shirt on that said "same, same" on the front and the back read "but different". We had a good laugh!


The last few days have been somewhat chill. I have been hanging out with Bruce, Emily's friends while she has been working. He just bought a new flat on the 62nd floor of a beautiful building in Kennedy Town. So the other day I went light fixture shopping! I had a good laugh, thinking of all the times I went with my dad and was so bored, now here I am doing it on my own will! We did find some great light for he apartment, so maybe all those year listening to my dad talk about lights have paid off :)

This is a view down into Kennedy town from the 62nd floor

This is a view off the balcony looking up at the peak.

Also a view from the balcony, but looking the other direction toward the harbour

On Wednesday, we went up to the peak via the tram. It reminded me of being in Switzerland! There, we went to this really nice restaurant and had gin and tonics... my favorite! We then were planning on meeting of with a friend of mine from the navy who was to be in port here for Thanksgiving. But turns out they were not granted diplomatic clearance, so no Hong Kong for them. Big Fat Bummer! It is pretty sad, many of the sailors families had flown in to be with their loved ones, only to find out they weren't coming!

Emily and Bruce at the fancy restaurant.

We found this great statue while searching for my friends Hotel... so in true Sanna fashion I needed a photo with it! Bruce thanks for joining in!

Yesterday I decided to hike the peak again, so I walked from Emily's apartment in Wan Chai. I walked over through Pacific Place, a huge mall with lots of Hotels. You feel like you are back home here! Then I cut through Hong Kong Park. This is popular place for school trips so there were herds of small, cute little Chinese kids running all over the place. I went through the aviary and also by the marriage registry. It is common to see couples all dressed up taking there wedding photos there.

Some turtles in the park

One of the pretty birds in the aviary

Class picture!

The bride and Groom walking through the park.

One of the many wedding cars parked at the registry.

The hike up is quite steep and draining, so once I got to the peak I was hungry! So I treated myself to some ice cream... and it wasn't until I was walking down that I realized I had just paid nearly $6 for 2 little scoops! oh well.. you only live once right, if a girl needs some ice cream, I am gonna get some ice cream;)This is how the whole way up the peak looks! Nice and steep!

After hiking back down the peak, which only took about 15 mins, contrary to the 4o it took me to muscle my way up to the top, I stopped in at the tea museum. Mom you would have absolutely loved this! I wished I could have made you magically appear just for a moment so you could have seen some of these tea sets. There was a competition last year, for the greatest, most creative tea set. I took a few photos of the ones I liked, before getting told that photos were not allowed!

This was the computer virus set

Just one of the many displays!

Tomorrow Emily and I are heading into mainland China to a town called Guangzhou. We will stay the night at a spa which all costs around $50 US. We plan to do some sightseeing as well!

I will be sure to update the blog when we get back!

Buddha Time!

Can't believe how fast time is flying! I feel like it was just yesterday I arrived, but at the same time feel I have been here forever, and am even starting to know my way around!
Yesterday Emily and I took the ferry over to Lantua Island, this is the same Island where the airport is. The ferry ride took about 20 or so minute and when we arrived it felt like we were in a different country. It was like a small town far away from busy busy Hong Kong Island. We were not entirely sure where we were going once we got to Mui Wo. We knew we wanted to see the Buddha and figured it would not be hard to find... we were right, we followed a group of tourist and sure enough they lead us to the bus we wanted.
We boarded the bus using our Octopus card (this looks like a credit card that you can put money on, and use on pretty much on any form of public transportation, very easy!) This bus ride was an experience, there were several moments where Emily and I thought we might go flying off a cliff! For those of you that have seen the movie Tourista, it was like the bus ride at the beginning of the movie!
Once we arrived in Ngong Ping Village one quick glance to the right and holy moly there was a HUGE BUDDHA

We walked up the a few hundred steps (I wont lie, my legs were burning a little from all the hiking and walking I have been doing!) The buddha was quite impressive, he's a big dude, with some curly hair. The view from the back side of the buddha (yes his butt side ;) was a quite awesome view of the South China Sea.

After taking it all in we walked back down to the village and ate a very cheap( less then $2) plate of not-so great vegetarian noodles and an egg roll. I guess you get what you pay for! We then walked through the monastery, which was beautiful.

Then we decided to take one of the shorter trials and just explore. About 10 mins down the trail was a sign to Tung Chung( 2 1/2 hrs), the town were to meet up with some friends later that evening. Emily and I looked at each other and said what the heck, lets walk, instead of paying to ride on that crazy bus! This was the best decision! A few steps later we ran into a couple, and me wanting find out where we were headed, struck up a conversion. Turns out they were from North Carolina and were visiting there daughter here on Lantua Island. Small World! They assured us the hike to Tung Chung was great, and boy were they right. This might have been my favorite thing thus far. We, for the first time since I have been here, were the only people on this trail! We walked over the hills and through the woods ( or should I say jungle) and saw some of the coolest sites! There were some old abandoned monasteries, little villages, streams and water falls. I joked with Emily that it would be cool to see some wild animal, she didn't think it was too cool, when all of a sudden Emily jerked to a stop. Yikes what is it?? Was this going to be the wild native animal I wanted!?! HA well it was an animal of sorts. It was a bright red bug, that Emily almost squashed! It was our wild animal for the day!

The start of the path to Tung Chung

Emily and I had a blast, just chatting away taking it all in, as this was also the first time we were both seeing something completely new. A ways into the hike two girls caught up to us. Again I stopped to talk and realized they were German (from Frankfort), so of course I had to test out some of my German skills and we chatted for a bit and then went on walking. A little while later we met up with them again, at a split in the trail, we then ended up hiking together into the town of Tung Chung. Vanessa and Sandra, were on holiday in Hong Kong before heading to Taiwan for a wedding. They were the most jolly girls I have met!

A garden area we stumbled upon

Another Monastery along the way...

Once we arrived in the city of Tung Chung, it was like walking through the Truman Show set, only Asian! All the buildings looked alike. All massively tall with lots and lots of clothes hanging out the window to dry! We also for the first time since I had been here, were the ONLY white people, in a sea of people. We all just looked at each other and smiled.

Once we made it to the town center we went our separate ways, the German girls back to Kowloon and Emily and I headed to the airport to meet up with Bruce for dinner. It was just a week before that I landed with my huge bag and big eyes. Now I was an old pro at getting back into the city . Emily and Bruce, headed to see Lincoln Park and I headed back into the city. I walked from the train station to Emily's ( about 20 mins). I only had one moment of panic that I was going the wrong way, but soon realized I was doing good. I arrived home around 9, and was BEAT! Needless to say I slept like a baby!

Today I am going to head to Hong Kong Park and then maybe up to the top of the IFC ( the tallest building here in HK) before meeting up with Emily and heading up the peak for drinks!

Thanks for all the comments and emails. It's so great to hear from you all! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving... I am trying to not think about the AMAZING meal I am missing. ( Mom my mouth is watering thinking of the amazing spread you are cooking up! We might have to do Thanksgiving in March!)