HK 2023 - Day 2 - Ocean Park

Day 2 is Ocean Park day. We did the most touristy thing and bought both photo shoots from the sea aquarium and the cable car ride. We had the old photos from years ago when Meimei and I came here when we just got married. 萱萱 and 阳阳 have always been fascinated with it and we wanted to create the same picture for us. 

It was drizzling with we arrived at the Ocean Park entrance. So we rented a stroller and got rain coats. The kids were excited with the rain while Meimei and I were struggling to make sure everyone stays dry haha.

First stop was the red panda exhibit. I've always thought the red pandas are cuter and better in photos than the giant ones. We happen to be there when its feeding time so the red panda was out and about.

We spend some time in the gift shop after the exhibit but thankfully it was still early in the day and Meimei and I held out buying anything till we see the rest of the place.

We were going slow as its raining and the two were fighting over who gets to sit on the stroller. Haiz we should have gotten two instead. We stop for a snack break but there were not much choices. None of the restaurants were open. I guess Covid has not been kind to the amusement parks too. So we basically fed them junk though they were not going to complain.

Once we were done with snacks we went to take the cable car to the other side of the island. This is the highlight of the trip for me. It's one of the few things I remembered of our trip years ago. This time it was even more impressive as I wasn't cowing in fear in the cabin and could wholly enjoy the scenic ride.

Lunch was just as crappy as the snack. We were trying to find the McDonald's but went to a wrong direction instead. The park seems to be structured the walkways to direct guests to the rides instead of the older area where the Mac was. So unfortunately we went to the amusement rides section but 阳阳 was too short to ride on any of them.

We left quickly and somehow managed to hit the dolphin show just in time for it to start. It was great to see the sea creatures but the whole area of kinda old and unkempt. The park must have fallen on hard times due to Covid and couldn't upkeep the place.

Overall it was an ok experience for the kids and us. I doubt there would be superb fond memories of the place but I guess we achieved what we set out to do ... which was to get pictures of us with the Ocean Park motif. 

HK 2023 - Day 1 - Meeting Relatives

This week is our first real family vacation and the second time the kids are getting on an airplane. Naturally they were super excited about the trip to Hong Kong. 萱萱 like to call it as her birthday present haha.

We spared no expenses to get a good family room at Cordis. The rates were twice what we would normally pay at other hotels but having beds for all 4 in the same room is just so much more convenient.

The room comes with a kitchenette, complete with pots, pans and utensils. It's not like we're going to cook in Hong Kong but it helps that there's this option. The only problem is the single bathroom so we were careful to plan out the mornings so everyone quickly gets their turn.

We were up on the 38th floor and the view of the city is stunning. Interestingly I didn't get any phobia looking out and at the cars on the street.

 

Since it was the first day we didn't have much planned except a quick trip out to dinner with relatives. It's great to meet them in person again.

Happy 8th Birthday 萱萱

Happy Birthday 萱萱! 

Reading To 欣宇

The beauty of staying together is having people around to help each other out. 萱萱 displayed her 大姐 instinct and entertained Xinyu while Nyama and Siti were busy preparing dinner for the rest of the family. 

It's so rewarding to see her being able to read to others and showing that sense of care and compassion.

Kiddo Talk & Pic Feb 2023

Meimei: "Last night Emily came to the master toilet to pee and found no toilet paper. She went to replace a toilet roll in the dark without waking me up. #laobaksai"

Meimei: "One for the memory lane hehe"

Meimei: Use “dad” in a sentence 

阳阳: "I miss dad because he was in US"

阳阳: "I miss the cutie pie. I miss those cheeks. She’s just so cute"

阳阳: "I miss those cheeks ALOT"

Dressing Up As A Character From A Storybook

This week is Library and New Media Literacy Week at school. So kids can dress up as characters they read in books. 

萱萱 chose to go as Colette from the Thea Stilton storybooks. We didn't prepare for it but Meimei managed to pull off a miracle and scrap together a costume for her. Phew! 

Excursion To The Science Centre

阳阳's learning journey to the Science Centre with his preschool classmates. Pictures are shared by teachers.

Lock Screen Throw Backs

Recently discovered that you can configure your lock screen to change regularly with photos from your library album. So now I would look forward to every turn of the hour to see what new throw back photos of 萱萱 and 阳阳 that will pop up on the lock screen. Oh how we miss the cuteness of both when they were just toddlers.

Graduating From Cycling Class

Brought 阳阳 to cycling lesson to drill him on the take off. He did great today, didn't complain when he fell and really put in the effort to get it right. Meimei and I were happy to see the focus. And Edmund gave him a graduation thumbs up. Now we just need to give him the chance to keep practising on his own.

New Wedding Bands

Woohoo! Finally collected our new wedding bands. Cost close to $3K but so worth it. The old ones had turned yellow and were too tight. We went for the platinum ones since they are touted to not discolour. We'll see. More importantly, Meimei is now able to put the band on together with her diamond ring.

Happy 5th Birthday 阳阳!!

Meimei bought ordered cupcakes for 阳阳's birthday celebration at school. Glad we were able to do this since he already missed 2 years of school celebration due to Covid. 

As usual we did another round of it at home but he was cranky by the time we got to it. Everyone else were all smiles except for the birthday boy haha.

Rubber Slap On Face

萱萱 and 阳阳 will tugging at the squeezy rubbery band we bought from marina square. I didn't see it happen but Meimei narrated the aftermath in chat.

"姐弟俩玩巨型橡皮圈，姐姐放手弹到弟弟的脸"

"眼睛没事，可能有一点红也可能是哭红。右边鼻子一点点鼻血"

Yeeyee: "Confiscate all"

Meimei: "Already did"

Yeeyee: "Already told them not to do that"

Meimei: "Really stupid" 

Yeeyee: "Even confiscating doesn't feel like enough punishment"

Meimei: "I know but Didi got punishment enough I think"

Meimei: "He went mirror then cried harder: now I am not as cute anymore…. I like how I look last time…. Waaaaaaaaaaillllll"

Yeeyee: "Haha, gosh, I can feel him"

Nyama: "真是又好笑 又好气又可怜…"

Thankfully the red patches subsided the next morning and he was chirpy as a bird again. Let's hope they learned their lesson and not do this silly tug of war game again ... well kids be kids right? Hahah they are going to do it again no matter what we say.

Gift Of Hilton Diamond

A colleague of mine is a Hilton Diamond and one of the perks is the ability to gift Diamond status to another account. He generously gifted me Diamond for the year so now I can enjoy the perks of being a Hilton Diamond member. That includes breakfast, free room upgrades, free drinks at the lounge etc. Perfect for business travel.

 

Mouldy Bamboo Shelf

I thought bamboo are water resistant and generally least susceptible to mould and fungi. So I didn't put a coat of  lacquer when we bought this shelving from Ikea. Unfortunately it seems the bamboo wasn't treated so mould started growing on it. We have to clear out the stuff on the shelf, give it a good wash before bringing it out for a good coating. If that doesn't work we'll have to discard it.