Photos of Stanley-NO market photos here

Here is the thing you look up Stanley in Hong Kong, you will mostly find photos and information about the Market. Don't get me wrong the Market is great But there is a lot more to Stanley then the Market. I decided to post my own photos to show a bigger picture of Stanley.

Repulse Bay Hotel???

There is "NO" Repulse Bay hotel. In short... back in the day there was one, but it has been torn down and apartment buildings have been built in the hotel's place. 

 The famous building with a hole which is the site of the former Repulse Bay Hotel...

Lan Ken

Here is our baby girl kitten. She was about 4-5 months old when we got her from the SPCA. She is our little cutie. Our daughter can carry her every where. She has tiny little claws, so she sticks like velcor.
if you live in Hong Kong and you want a pet, Go to the SPCA. they are great and Yes, you do pay money for them, but its to help take care of the other animals. Both our cat were litter boxed trained. they both went straight to the their scratching post. We could have asked for better cats. Now I hope , when it is time to leave here it won't be a problem with them coming with us.

Dim Dim

Our Cat- Dim Dim, We got him from the SPCA. He is one year old.

Repulse Bay Beach

"Repulse Bay, located in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, is the most spectacular bay in the region. Its name comes from a 19th century battle in which the British army repulsed attacking pirates. Today, Repulse Bay is a luxurious residential area for dining, relaxation, and aquatic activities." http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/hongkong/island/bay.htm


Repulse Bay Beach is...a beach and it can become a very crowded beach during the summer, well that is what I was told. So far it has been a great place to take my daughter while we waited for her to start school. 

New School

 New uniform, new backpack, new lunch bag, new school, new people, new activities, new bus, new culture, and new home. New, new, and... new, our daughter has been taking all these change like a champion.

Today she official started school. She is a little nervous, I am a little nervous...who wouldn't be nervous.

We get up extra early lunch is packed,camera is ready, backpack is ready, shoes on, down to the bus stop early on a beautiful morning day and my husband/dad will meet us down there before he goes to work. Everything has been checked at least twice, nothing has been forgotten and pictures are taken to remember this moment. Daughter gets on the bus with a giant smile, Husband boards the shuttle to go to work and I run back to the house......I know what I forgot...


... my house keys.





The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens (HKZBG)

"The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens (HKZBG) is located on the northern slope of Victoria Peak with a highest point of 100 metres and a lowest point of 62 metres above sea level. HKZBG, occupies an area of 5.6 hectares was founded in 1871 as a Botanic Garden and renamed in 1975 as Botanical and Zoological Gardens to reflect the increased commitments to zoological exhibits. Construction works of the Garden started in 1860 and the first stage was opened to the public in 1864." http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/hkzbg/en/index.php

This something like a zoo, It has a few animals.  If you love plants, you will fall in love with this place. My husband and daughter are amateure botanist-LOL ...I spent hours taking photos and they talked about bromeliades.

Taking Photos of our daughter.

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. ~Ansel Adams

Here is the thing it happened in Japan and now it is happening in Hong Kong. People love taking photos our daughter, she is cute, but I think it has to do more with her Blonde hair and blue/green eyes. Sometimes I don't mind, but some people are really rude about it...like they just come up and start taking photos of her without asking us or her.

The photo above are woman who were real nice; they asked us then the asked our daughter. They also played with her in the sand for a little bit, because she asked them too. Best of all they said thank you not just to us, but to her too.
Don't think I say "Yes" to everyone who asks- I don't. Sometime I ignore people and step in the way of their camera, so they can't get a photo of her. What is difficult is we are a gust in another person's country, so I don't want to offend anyone; when in their eyes they are being perfectly innocent. But not everyone is a nice person, so how am I supposed to act or behave when someone wants to take photos of our daughter?

Our family is used to it and so is our daughter. We say “no”, sometimes we say “yes”. I have at time said “please don’t take photos of our daughter”. I have picked her up and left the area, but that angers her.
This is a no win situation for me really, maybe I need to start charging to help her college fund!

You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it. ~Author Unknown

Our 1st trip to Kowloon

We decided to take the Star Ferry over to Kowloon, the Star Ferry also being a first for us. I will talk about the ferry another time. Right now I will write about our first experience in Kowloon.

  Kowloon is different... it has its own life separate from Hong Kong.

Former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower, Tsim Sha Tsui

It was a great adventure. We walked off the the ferry into men wanting to sell us watched to suits. It was not anything to alarming, We just walked pass them.  What was our plan? Having a kid helps when it comes to planning... we scope out places to eat, parks and then museums. We ate at the Spaghetti House. Food down, now we need to find the a park. We found Kowloon Park (it really wasn't that difficult to find) and what did we find at the park...Kung Fu fighting and Lion dance performance.

 Preparing for the Lion dance

The Kung Fu and the lion dance lasted for about 2 hours. When it ended we left with the crowd and decided to head home. I started thinking what a cool thing to take our friends and family when they come to visit. I decided to look it up on the Internet to see if this was a one time thing or recurring performance. Guess what....

"The Kung Fu Corner is set up every Sunday from 2:30pm to 4:30 pm at the Sculpture Walk of the Park. Free demonstration of lion/dragon dance and different disciplines of martial arts will be staged and play-in sessions will be organised for visitors."

http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/kp/en/kung_fu_corner.php

Highly recommend taking an afternoon and visit Kung Fu corner!!



Stanely Restaurant

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home."~James Michener

Stanley Restaurant is a hole in the wall kind of place in the Stanley market. Here is the thing you can't find it on Google or the travel books, but they will list a Stanley Restaurant. But I have been to THE Stanley Restaurant and it doesn’t look like any of the place I found on the internet or in the travel books. So I won’t be posting what it looks like either. You want to visit it…then go find it yourself. Finding it will be an experience in itself. You will appreciate it more.

They are not hurting for business; we were the only foreigners there and the place was packed. I want to keep this local place, local. It is hard for me to find local places by myself, so when I find one I want to keep it to myself. Word travels fast when a new place is found and I don’t want this place to get ruin by loud mouth tourist who can’t find a seat or their food is taking to long, or better yet “why do I have to sit with strangers”.

This is going to be my place to meet people and make new friends!

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson