Junk on the South China Sea

We were invited 

to spend a day at sea 

on a

'Junk'

When Todd first told me,

I was like, "A Junk"???

Hmn???

Junk is just a nickname for a boat, aha!

To say that we were excited to go would be an understatement.

It has been VERY hot/humid and we haven't been out as much as we like.

That and Todd works a LOT,

and an excuse to have him play with us for an entire day was exciting!

The Plan:

We were to meet at a boat club in Aberdeen,

which is further than we have ever gone toward the other side of Hong Kong.

Originally, 

we were going to brave taking the buses/trains to get there.

We had to be there by 10:30am.

Well, with walking the dogs, feeding the birds, 

getting ready for the day

we were cutting it too close.

-and we didn't want to

Miss the Boat!-

It would take about 2 hours to get there via buses/trains.

We ended up grabbing a cab.

We somehow managed to fit all 5 of us in one small cab.

I am so glad my kids have small butts!

They sat in the backseat with me.

 Todd sat in front.

He was going to sit with me and a kid in the back,

and we were going to have two kids in front.

The driver that spoke VERY little English said, No. HA!

 We arrived in less than an hour!

We even had a chance to get a quick breakfast!

We were invited by a friend of Todd's from work, Dod.

His family moved him to Hong Kong when he was 6yo,

I believe from Europe?

Either way, he grew up in Hong Kong and loves it.

Great tour guide, and really awesome guy.

His wife is local too, and super nice!

Getting ready to board the boat.

Todd mentioned to me during the week that rain was predicted for Saturday.

My response, "I sure HOPE so."

The temp seems to drop to a comfortable temp when it rains.

I was like, PLEASE let it rain.

Well, true to form, it was sooo much cooler, 

still warm, but nice.

 Todd was excited!

 The Typhoon wreaked a bit of havoc,

and Hong Kong is still feeling the effects...

 Logan making a new friend.

His new friend is fluent in Cantonese, English and Mandarin.

Pretty cool.

 Good Bye Dock.

 That is the 'Jumbo' Restaurant.

It is famous, I hear.

It is actually floating, weird, right?

 and we are off...

 I would love to be able to go check out all those cool caves!

 Some pics of our view...

 We spotted another Cable Car ride.

Oh yes, we need to do that!

 It is strange to me.

You would think, Oceans would be Oceans, 

but they are so different.

The color, the smell, the temperature.

They each seem to have a 'personality of their own'...

 The Hong Kong flag is beautiful,

like my girls!

 Our first stop.

A little Island, for some fresh seafood. 

 We were greeted by these little guys.

 The majority of the group headed to the restaurant.

Logan had asked Dod if he could go hiking while we ate.

He packed his own lunch, as seafood isn't his fave.

Dod told him there was a nice 'paved' trail to a Monastery.

Dod was really nice and actually took us all on the trail,

while the others organized ordering food and securing tables.

 You can see the remnants of a much larger community.

 Many places were just abandoned.

 It is so beautiful.

 Walk, walk, walk, and it was raining

 Yay!

We made it!

What a perfect place to build a Temple.

The views were so peaceful and serene.

 This is Dod with Todd, ha ha

and a Krystin Photo-bomb.

Do you know how cool Dod is?

He is sooo cool, that when our birds came to Hong Kong

to make sure they could get home safely,

he drove to the airport and picked them up (with Todd)

and personally drove them home.

He doesn't live close either.

How sweet is he?!

Ok, so as we were hiking back,

Dod got a call that the food was coming up.

Food was a bit over the top for us Americans.

Todd and I were being brave,

but poor kids were a bit shocked.

Shrimp (or prawns) not with just tails, but the entire creature.

AND...

Eating legs and stuff is yummy, we were told.

Todd was ever so kind and did the honor 

of pealing every little bit of exoskeleton 

off of ours for both us.  

Such a good man!

SERIOUSLY, Thank You,Todd!

I Love you! 

 Logan and Krystin braved trying some food.

My poor Kay was so traumatized

 she couldn't remember how to hold chopsticks.

She is a pro at chopsticks too!

All part of the experience!

Just out the window of the restaurant

 you could see happy little boats sailing.

 Todd and I were seated at the 'kid table' btw!

Dod was with us too.

Just made me laugh, how did they know?

That is right about our level.

The restaurant didn't have a bathroom, 

but there was one close by.

Looks promising, yes?

 A high end squat toilet, awesome!

 (there was a 'normal' toilet on the boat too, btw)

 Krystin, our cute little lizard lover spotted a tiny lizard,

that looked injured (it was lying upside down twitching).

She was determined to help it.

I don't know if it will make it, 

but has a better chance out of the walkway!

Poor girl takes after me, she was in tears seeing it suffer...

Our group was the three table by the back window.

And we were off again, 

next stop a little cove to swim and play in.

Within a short time,

we were there!

Here's a quick peak.

We got our swimsuits on and the sun came out!

 Can you say, PERFECT!

 We were in the South China Sea.

We don't really know much about that sea.

So, we were a little nervous.

Is it freezing?

Are their Sea Monsters?

Is it toxic?

Dod reassured us that it was safe and warm.

He jumped in first to show us how!

 We weren't far behind!

Don't worry, Krystin just had a quick question.

Then jumped in, and I followed her!

The water temp was so warm!

It was surreal,

so beautiful so perfect.

Once we got in,

it was hard to get out.

Well, other than to climb up to the top 

of the second story of the boat and jump off.

The girls were in the water all day.

The kids loved hanging out on the roof! 

 Todd nuzzled me, love it!

 Kayla, unwittingly photobombed this pic

 She's cute, so we let it go!

 She presented the squidles to the Ocean.

They loved it!

Look at those little squid smiles, they were excited.

(Don't worry, she made sure they didn't find out 

that everyone was eating their distant cousins for lunch)

 Some other kids from the group enjoying the water.

The teen boys were obssessed with trying to climb this rope.

Krystin didn't know about it, until we were about to lift the anchor.

 This kiddo was SO close!

Almost, but not quite.

Krystin had to show them how it is done.

She jumped off the front.... 

 And 

Climbed that rope in a bout 30 seconds flat.

How does she do it?!

 

This little man, Samuel's, birthday was coming up.

He is turning 5!

How stinking cute is that little face?

After Krystin climbed the rope it was time to hoist the anchor.

Samuel showed the big boys how it was done!

LOL!

The natural terrain is so beautiful.

Rocks, caves, waterfalls, everywhere.

The only thing missing is wildlife.

There is some, but not much. 

 The ride back....

 Sunset on the Ocean, lovely....

  

Almost back.... to reality...

 As we docked, this beast pulled up next to us.

SWEET Ride.

 On the way home,

We braved the buses, trains and more buses...

Still so much fun!

 and it started raining again...

beautiful.

What a fun day!

We will definitely have to do that again!