long overdue update!

Gosh, so much to update, I'm not sure I can get it all in!

On April 7th, me & Gaby - along with Alison & Joelle, left New Zealand for Hong Kong! We had a crazy/amazing/wonderful/exciting/tiring 5 nights in Hong Kong, and the best part of 32 hours travelling & in airports.

When we arrived in Hong Kong it was 6.45am Tuesday 8th April - it felt more like midday (because that's what the time would have been in NZ). Gaby coped with the travel pretty well, she had a few grizzly moments on the 11 hour flight from Auckland to Hong Kong, but was in surprisingly good spirits when we arrived in Hong Kong! Our first day in HK was spent getting acquainted with the hotel, and we went for a swim in the hotel pool. What a beautiful pool it was! Gaby loved the pool, I think she (like the rest of us) enjoyed the relief it gave from the 85-95% humidity!

Wednesday & Thursday were spent at Disneyland!!!! It felt bizarre to actually BE at Disneyland - it was a place I imagined I'd NEVER get to visit - let alone be a place I'd be able to take Gaby. I think Gaby was a little young to properly understand how cool it was to be at Disneyland, but she did have a good time. Her favourite rides were the Flying Dumbo's, the Carousel, the Pooh ride & the Flying UFO's. She fell asleep within 10 mintues of getting into Disneyland, which made me laugh! Gaby wasn't too fond of the mascots wearing full body costumes - such as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy & co. - funnily enough me & Dad aren't too fond of mascots like that either! She did like the princesses though, and we got a photo taken with them. She did grizzle a bit while we were there, but I am guessing it is because of all the people, the heat, and being in a strange place in general.

Gaby could almost be the newest attraction at Disneyland! Hundreds of people stopped me so that they could take Gaby's photo, or have their photo taken with her - because of the blond hair & blue eyes. It was a little scary, but if Gaby was in a good mood, she didn't seem to mind. It did bother me a bit when people touched her - I felt it was overstepping some kind of boundary... I should have charged $5 for each photo, if I had, I'd have come home fairly rich!

The photo taking carried on into the hotel as well! It would take us about 20 minutes to get from the front desk to the elevators, because people would stop us to take her photo, and to talk to her - by the end of the trip Gaby knew how to work the crowd, even if she was crying, as soon as someone started talking to her, she'd be all smiles and waves, and when walking away she knew the perfect time to wave & say "bye bye". It was pretty adorable really.

On the Friday we took our first trip away from the general vicinity of the hotel & resort area - we took a train into Tsing Yi so I could buy (of all things) nappies! They only had newborn size nappies at the hotel, and I ran out of my supply. Gaby loved going on the train, and I found the train's to be wonderful! They were very regular, and once you knew what you were doing, they were very easy to use!

In Tsing Yi we went into a big mall, it had about 3 or 4 levels (I can't remember). I think it was all a bit of a shock to Gaby, and she had a few grizzly moments, but was pretty good in general. We stopped at McDonalds, where Gaby gained a couple of friends! There was a family sitting next to us, and by the time we were getting ready to leave, they were sharing their chips with Gaby, and talking to her - and of course she was making them laugh. I couldn't help but laugh myself, it was so cute. I didn't realise how friendly she was until we went over there! I managed to find nappies eventually - COW PRINT nappies! After that we got the train back to Disneyland, and then the free bus back to our hotel.

On the Saturday we went up in a cable car to Ngong Ping village, where we were able to very clearly see 'the Big Buddha' (Tian Tan Buddha), it was really amazing up there - I'm not exactly religious, but it was a very spiritual place! Gaby wasn't terribly fussed by the cable car, she just sat in her stroller & talked to/waved at the people on the car with us! She ran around a bit & got in the way of peoples photos - oopsy! She seemed to be quite happy that afternoon, we didn't have much crying while we were on that specific expedition, and enjoyed drinking a juice with us at Starbucks. On the way back the cable car was temporarily suspended, due to thunder and lightning! It opened again, we got on, and about 1/4 of the way down, the lightning started again - the others on the car were a bit freaked by it all, but I found it wonderful!!!! We had a really good view of the airport - I didn't realise how massive it was!!!

Sunday was our final day in Hong Kong, and that day we actually went INTO Hong Kong city, which was another big experience. It was all a bit hustle bustle for me - so many people, and tonnes of massive buildings, I felt very claustrophobic, and I think Gaby felt the same way. She was quite unsettled for most of the day, but she did have a few moments. We met another family, they had two little girls, and one of the girls gave Gaby her balloon - I thought that was incredibly sweet! Toward the end of our time in Hong Kong city, we went out to the Central Pier, and had a look at the view of the city from there, it was less crowded and Gaby seemed to relax a little... as did I! We got the train back to Lantau Island for the final time, it was quite sad really - but at the same time, it was exciting to know we were getting closer to going home!

Sunday night we had around 2 hours in Hong Kong airport, waiting for our flight. Gaby didn't handle this very well, mainly because we didn't have a stroller! Silly to think that airports in NZ will let you borrow a stroller, but a huge airport like Hong Kong don't. Eventually we boarded our plane - and it wasn't very full, unlike the flight over! Gaby seemed pretty happy on the flight - and she slept for most of it (thank goodness), the staff on the plane were great, more than willing to accomodate us - they certainly made the trip a lot easier (as did Ali & Joe!). I managed to get some sleep, but when we woke up for breakfast (which was around 10.30am NZ time), I decided it would be best for me & Gab to stay awake, so we could hopefully fit back into the NZ timezone.

The last hour or so of the flight went really quickly - and as soon as we touched down on Kiwi soil, I let out a huge sigh of relief. It was so lovely to be back in our own country, and to know where we were going, and what to expect! We had about 2 hours at Auckland Airport before we FINALLY left for Christchurch. The flight to Christchurch was fine! We had a family of 4 sitting across the aisle from us, they had a 5mo and a 2 1/4yo, so Gaby was fascinated by the kids, and me & the Mum talked a bit. Gaby managed to sleep the last half of the flight, which made me very happy - because she needed a little sleep! 5pm we touched down in Christchurch, at long last. Didn't take long to get down to where Mum was waiting for us - god it was good to see a familiar face! Gaby realised it was Nan & went up to her for a cuddle, we went and got our bags then made our way back to Mum & Dad's... Gaby saw her Poppa - and then it was all over..... we were officially back home!

That was Monday 14th. Tuesday 14th Gaby slept until 10.15am, Wednesday 9.15, Thursday & Friday 8.30am - making up for all the early mornings in Hong Kong. I failed to mention that Gaby would wake up for the day between 4-5am didn't I!!!!!! That wasn't particularly fun, but luckily Alison wasn't able to sleep over there, so she would usually take Gaby for a walk, and then I would get myself out of bed around 5.30am and we'd go for a walk around the grounds of the hotel. It was awesome - got a decent wee walk, and Gaby got to run around. One day we even found a frog, which was pretty exciting for me - having never seen a frog! Gaby did stand on him though, but somehow he was fine and didn't get squashed!

The hotel (Disneyland Hollywood Hotel) was amazing! It was beautiful inside, all done in black and white marble - I loved it! The staff were all really friendly, particularly with Gaby - and they didn't seem to mind all the messes she left behind in the restaraunts! We had complimentary breakfasts at the 'Chef Mickey' restaraunt - now THAT was a breakfast! It was buffet, and Gaby had a large mix of foods! Bacon, eggs, sushi, teriyaki chicken, pikelets, waffles, yogurt, breads - she had a ball! Us adults had similar breakfasts, it was way too easy to go back for 2nds or 3rds or 4ths (or 5ths!). For dinner we went to the other restaurant in the hotel, the name of it slips my mind right now. They had a delicious drink called a Peppermint Twister - it was non-alcoholic, and delish! Could do with one of those about now!

All in all, it was a great trip, and I am sure that in a few years time, Gaby will look back at the photos and want me to tell her stories about the trip - it was such a great opportunity for the two of us, and I think the break away from 'real life' helped the two of us, though we both missed our family!