It’s liberating to know that from now on, all we need to worry about are the kids and two bags. And between the loud personalities and bright colors, I am hopeful that we don’t lose a kid or a bag.
Before departure, what we dreaded most about our adventure was the 16 hour flight from JFK to Hong Kong. How on earth were we to entertain two toddlers in a confined space for that amount of time? Our strategy of a 1:20 AM flight paid off. The kids slept for 13 of the 16 hours, allowing us to watch 3 movies and do some napping of our own. The MacGyver in me made Kayan a little crib on the floor of our seats and he passed out immediately. Laying down an airplane blanked between him and layers of passenger dirt was probably not hygienic, but the kid’s got to build his immunity for this trip anyway.
Here are two things I learnt on day 1 in Hong Kong.
It’s much cleaner than Manhattan. Not a high bar but, given that the cities rival each other in population density and general energy, I figured it would be a closer call. For once I didn’t cringe when Ava wanted to use the bathroom at the playground. It had a personal attendant whose bleaching skills I had already admired while watching from the swing set.
Hong Kong a culinary wonderland. We arrived at Sandeep’s brother’s apartment at 7 AM, ready for dinner. Lin Heung Tea House is around the corner from the apartment and the dim sum was already flowing. I confess that I couldn’t tell that much of a difference in taste from it and my favorite New York joint Chatham Square, but the crowd of elderly sipping their morning tea and workers fueling up for the day was entertaining to watch. I’m not sure that they were equally entertained by our to kids who broke every rule of chopstick etiquette.
– Do not drop chopsticks. Dropped. Three times.
– Do not stab food with chopsticks. Stabbed to pulpy heaps.
– Do not make noise with chopsticks. In all fairness, Wednesday is music class at home.
Dinner at La’Taste was the freshest Vietnamese I’ve had and their grilled chicken was the only thing other than candy that Ava ate since leaving New York.
First day on the trip – total success. Happy kids, happy parents. Let’s hope this holds for the next 304.
So happy to read that you arrived in Hong Kong safely and the kids slept the whole time (amazing). I love that we can read about each stop along the way on the blog. The dim sum looks delicious and now you’ve inspired me to check out Chatham Square. P.S. Also, happy to see Tania made it safely to Hong Kong 😉
Ava claims Taniya the doll has jet lag, so she’s been forced to stay home the past couple of days.
Good Job!!! Very good way to stay in touch and follow you around. Jacob family shares the travel joy of LITTLE LUKES. Love to all and appappa.
Honey auntie
Little Lukes are enjoying their time with uncle. They’ve turned his bachelor pad into a playroom.
So happy you guys arrived safely!! I’m not surprised to kids passed out on the plane-we didn’t let them sleep all day!!
Am missing you guys already-found a half eaten lollipop in my jacket pocket today!
They slept so well on the way over here that they refuse to take naps now. We left little tokens everywhere – beware!
Much credit to the 4 of u as you all look so fresh and relaxed after the long flight! Good sleep does pay off!! I did love HK for the culinary delights…dimsum, Vietnamese, all I can say is YUMMY! So here is the question, are you ready to try some non ‘traditional’ dishes?
Tell us what to try and we’ll do it. We attacked the fruit market yesterday. Kayan flirted it up with the fruit lady.
Wow! And you´re off! I can´t believe it!!! I am so impressed by your packing. I think I have a good job idea for when you´re back – packing consultant. 😉 Best wishes for the start of your amazing journey. Send my love to HK … what a great city.
The bags are so stuffed that we can’t find anything! HK has been wonderful. I need to start working out, though.
so cool!
I love your city!
Loved the account of the first day and cannot wait for more. You guys are going to end up like that Jim Carey movie where the whole country was watching him live! Give the kids a huge hug from us and a couple to you and Sandeep. Well begun is half done. You do realise that Kayan will age 50% on this trip, so look forward to his development. Ava ill age 25% or so too. Suspect you and Sandeep will match Kayan!
Love you all
Mum & Dad
I already feel like it is going by too fast! Kayan has grown since leaving NYC and is already sharing Ava’s clothes…must be the good food.
Hey, you guys look great!!! Still in HK? Have you met up with Mithila yet? Ask her to take you guys to this chilli crab place in Wan Chai…Looking forward to reading more posts from you guys. Hugs!!!!
We missed the chili crabs but ate plenty of amazing food!
Hi! Great post. I’m amazed that you got away with letting your son sleep in the floor if the plane–you must have hid him well 😉
Did you do any of the touristy stuff in HK?? We go there in early Dec for 5 days and was debating between Ocean Park & Disneyland (the latter being the closest we’ll get to one in ages).
Safe travels!
We mostly just hung out with my brother in law. The locals recommended Ocean Park over Disneyland. We opted instead for South Bay Beach to spend the day, but you would have just come from the beaches of Thailand, so not sure if that’s of interest. The other thing we did was roam around the Soho (as in South of Hollywood) neighbourhood and visited the many little playgrounds in the area.