Thursday, November 4, 2010

Hong Kong Day 1



This year has been one awesome year of adventures for me so far. I took a three week trip to Japan in April, came back to Ottawa and started meeting new people who have quickly become such great friends, started a new job and quit my old one, went on a couple of exciting road trips, and now I'm back across the sea for another adventure. In the summer of 1999, my family hosted a student from Hong Kong named Grace. She became such a good friend that we welcomed her and her parents back to Canada the following year. After that second visit to Canada, Grace became like family to us. Her and her parents welcomed my brother and I to Hong Kong in the summer of 2000 and it was an experience I'll never forget. After 10 long years, I'm back in Hong Kong and the city is just as gorgeous as ever.

Several months ago, my family received an invite from Grace to attend her wedding in Hong Kong. Of course we all agreed, and yesterday we found ourselves together, bags packed, boarding a plane. After 15 excruciating hours in the air, we arrived safely in Hong Kong and we were greeted happily by Grace and her family. Though so much time has passed, we all look the same, but maybe a little more mature.
We boarded a double-decker bus at the air port, and took off toward the city. I felt a little nostalgic as the bus cruised towards the city and I began recognizing certain buildings and locations. I was a bit amazed at how many giant new apartments had sprouted up everywhere. I thought a city so big could never grow any bigger, but I suppose that you can't stop progress.

 After getting checked into our hotel rooms, we all got cleaned up from the flight, and took a quick nap before meeting with Grace, her family, and her many friends for a lovely dinner. The dinner was lovely and I was able to meet so many of Grace's wonderful friends from all over the world. During dinner, Grace told us of the plan for the next day. After eating, we all quickly rushed to the supermarket for some snacks and supplies for the day ahead of us. What tomorrow holds will be kept a surprise for now.

3 comments:

  1. You used the word wonderful a lot. I am intrigued now.

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  3. That's a really cool experience to have. Not only have you traveled to Hong Kong but you have a friend whose wedding you're returning to attend. Will you be taking photos? The one you posted with this post is pretty nice.

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