Hong Kong

We had a brilliant time in Hong Kong! It was full of great memories - those celebrated from days gone by and new ones created for the days ahead! We are so grateful to have been given this trip by my parents - and have been looking forward to it for a long time now. Here's a few things I'm incredibly grateful for:

1.  Time with my Dad in his homeland
Getting to see my Dad's childhood home and relive some of his stories and experiences. This is Ching Lin Terrace - just up those steps is where my Dad grew up in what is now one of the largest cities in the world. I grew up in small towns and in the country, so thinking about my dad surrounded by concrete buildings without having grass to roll is a crazy thought!

Just down from his house is a temple - something that was there when he was a kid. My dad said his mom told him scary stories about that temple to keep him out of there - it worked. I'm so glad to have had a dad that loves Jesus, and that his Mom shone Jesus in the home, too! I loved getting to ride ferries my dad rode, buses my dad rode, walk by restaurants my dad ate in, taste foods that my dad grew up on (but I don't regret not having to eat frequently ;) ), and down the streets my dad ran through. There's something about the smells, the tastes, just all of it - I love the rich cultural heritage from both my parents, and it's fun to celebrate this one, my dad's.

We visited the Hong Kong Museum of History and it was full of things that my dad experienced 50+ years ago. Besides flying kites, which my dad was a master of, there was also this section of comic books. First, the kites - in Hong Kong they used to do cut-throat flying. They would put glue and glass powder on the kite string and the best kite-flyers could swoop over to cut the other kites out of the air and be king of the skies! Today, kite-flying is illegal in Hong Kong - probably due to the sheer number of people they could crash down on and injur! Too bad though...would have loved to see my dad rule the air again! :) Dad also said he used to pay a bit of money to check-out comic books. You could check out a few at a time and then returned them for new ones. Sort of like a video-rental service today! Here's a picture of us at the History museum - it was great to see things from Hong Kong's, and my dad's, history.


2. Time with my younger siblings:

I left home when my younger sister was 16 and my younger brother was 9, but they hold a really special place in my heart as my little siblings - people I helped teach how to read, how to ride a bike, and took care of as an older sister. What was so amazing about this trip was to get to know them over 2 weeks (instead of just a couple days) as adults - as friends - people I'd choose to hang out with. They were so fun and I miss them now that we're away. We had a great time with my dad, but also really special time together hiking, day-trips, and going to Macau, just the 4 of us.

Both Sho and Nye exhibit wisdom and joy and compassion...and in many ways I wish to be like them, because they shine God's life. Those memories are ones I've really stored up as irreplaceable and I can't wait to hang out with them both again! Here we are on the ding-ding (the cable-tram) going through Hong Kong Island and at the start of the Ng Tung Chai waterfall trail in the New Territories.

As child #6, I've gotten to be a little sister, a middle sister, and an older sister. Now it's fun to have 8 siblings that are my friends. What a gift.

3. Time with my oldest sister's family

My oldest sister somewhat instigated this trip by deciding to celebrate her 40th birthday in Hong Kong. I absolutely adore my oldest sister as she is a great blend of being a successful professional (a doctor, in both ways, with an MD in Psychiatry and a PhD in Religion), a wife with a great marriage and fun husband, a mom with two adorable kids, a sister with lots of free advice - most of which is quite good ;), and a strong woman who loves God and explores how to worship and know God in ways that both challenges and celebrates systems that have been in place through the centuries.

We had a great time together, and because I don't often get to see her, it was a special treat - full of laughs, sweet talks, and theological conversations (which we both love).


4. Visiting my A-ma's Grave and visiting family not seen in years

There's something about visiting a memorial space that is really important. Even though I never got to meet her as she died soon after my Dad came to the States, my Dad's mother (my A-ma) had a lasting legacy on me, on our family, as she raised my dad and trusted that he would grow to love the Lord and be in lasting relationship with God. My Dad's dad (my A-yea) wasn't a Christian until later in life - in no doubt a final result of the persistent prayers of his wife - but they both, in their time, exhibited God's love. How do you measure the impact of that heritage on your own life? My A-yea was a good man and remarried later to the A-ma I knew - who, with all her quirkiness, also shone Jesus and I knew her love from a distance, but nevertheless knew it. All 3 of them I look forward to sharing meals with in heaven - communicating in language that is full (we were limited by my only knowing English and their primary language being Chinese) - and celebrating Jesus' faithfulness to the Fong family.

I also got to introduce Jason to my Dad's younger sister and her husband, my Aunt Amelia and Uncle Fred. I hadn't seen them since the last time I was in Hong Kong at age 14! It was fun for me for Jason to meet more of my family, and also to reconnect with them myself over meals and coffee and a Chinese New Year's Eve banquet!



5. Hong Kong - urban view 1!

When the sun came out, Hong Kong really was a beautiful city. The skyline, both in the day and at night, was phenomenal. The sheer number of people, staggering. At one point on the famous and busy Nathan Road in Mong Kok (a neighborhood with the highest population density in the world), we were literally shoulder-to-shoulder and front-to-back with a mass of people - good thing we wanted to go the same direction because that's the only direction we could have moved! Jason and I especially enjoyed a walk along the Avenue of Stars one morning because of the fresh breeze, sunny skies, great views, and (ahem) Starbucks! I found an awesome drink specialized there for the Chinese New Year celebration: Honey Orange Macchiato. I am very, very sad that I can't order it in the States!

Another special treat was multiple dim-sum meals! If you haven't ever had dim-sum - think of a meal of appetizers for brunch. On this table it looks like there are beef meatballs and turnip cake. But inside those baskets are all other sorts of steamed delicacies. It's a special treat as dim-sum can't be had just anywhere and is a Cantonese favorite! This restaurant was in Kennedy Town, near where my Dad grew up.

6. Macau - urban view 2!
We also got to experience Macau (and get an extra stamp in our passports for the trouble) by taking an hour long high-speed ferry ride from Hong Kong. It was a bumpy ride and people going both directions lost their breakfast/dinners...but we arrived with no major problems ourselves (although my sister looked a bit green ;) ). Both Hong Kong and Macau are technically China's, but they are "SARs" - Special Administrative Regions - which means they have their own governments, don't require the $200 visa to get into China proper, and have different customs and immigrations. Here we are outside the ruins of St. Pauls, a place where several Japanese martyrs of the faith are memorialized, and where a fire destroyed all but the front of the church. Macau was Portuguese colonized instead of British colonized like Hong Kong - it meant that the buildings had more Mediterranean and/or Latin flair! The cobblestone streets and colorful buildings were very fun for a day trip!

7. Lantau Island and New Territories - rugged views!

Those who think Hong Kong is only a big city (which I did until this trip!) are missing out! We got to take a couple gorgeous hikes - one quite difficult one (we decided anyone who could do it could climb a 14er in Colorado!)  and a second jungle-waterfall adventure.

The Lantau Trail is one of the 3 most major multi-day trail systems in Hong Kong and we got to do several sections of it, leading around the coast of Lantau Island, up through the center to the 2 highest peaks of the island (Sunset and Lantau), and over to Ngong Ping and the Big Buddha. The weather was perfect that day - the most perfect day we had the whole time we were there and we were so thankful to have it to hike! 

As we came down off Lantau Peak, we got to hike down to the biggest sitting Buddha in the world at sunset. Gorgeous and a once-in-a-lifetime experience that may have been the biggest highlight of my trip! We were tired, it was a slug of a hike, but we made it and it was quite the treat at the end to come down on a place so iconic to Hong Kong. I had been looking forward to this hike for months so it was so fun to see it happen with some people I love best of all - we really came together that day.

In the New Territories, we went to Ng Tung Chai waterfalls - a series of 3 waterfalls that you could hike to after climbing through a small village. Beautiful in a completely different way from Lantau. Where Lantau had sweeping views, island villages, views of Hong Kong Island, and long grass with minimal trees, the waterfall hike was wet and wild, green times 10, a bit of the jungle! Another side of Hong Kong.

Which is only fitting...as Hong Kong is east meets west, cosmopolitan meets fishing village, international food meets traditional Cantonese cuisine, old cable trams next to high speed taxis, British English, Anglican churches, and marks of colonialization meets Chinese traditions, Buddhist temples, and a stubborn quality of a people who were colonized and are constantly reaching for a better life. It's an assault on the senses and can leave you quite unsure of which culture to make sense of. It's a place where, in order to be qualified to work at a Subway sandwich restaurant, you need to be trilingual in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English! Hong Kong is a place that, when taken in good humor and open exploration, leaves much to bask in and think about. Especially since, for me, it holds a mystery of my Dad's roots, and my own.


Today we are all packed up for our next adventure: a month backpacking in Europe! It's going to be a month of rest, exploration, and seeking God in new cultural expressions and experiences. First off: all roads lead to Rome. More to come from the other side!