August 15
Today started very very early…..like 2:30am early. I can’t decide how much of this is actually jetlag with Stephanie and how much of it is just naughtiness. She wants to watch movies on her ipad, and I suspect she’s getting up to do that.

We had our usual breakfast: hotdog buns and Ribena for her, and black coffee and Special K cereal for me. All that was done, and we were showered and dressed, long before 5:30am. For real. On a Monday morning in Hong Kong. So really, what is there to do? Nothing opens this early. Emily and Danny are still in their room sound asleep—life is just not fair.

Oh well, after a few hours, Emily showed up at my door, showered and dressed and ready for the day too. We decided we’d hop a bus and head over to Causeway Bay, mostly just to get the kids out in the fresh air. Ok, so “fresh” might be a stretch, since it’s about 36 degrees with 85% humidity again, or still.

We walked around lots, and Emily bought herself a pair of cute deck shoes at the Crocs store. Even though I think they’re great for kids, I don’t care how young you think you look, if you’re over 20, Crocs don’t belong on your feet!!!!!

We did have one little “blip” on the health and safety radar this morning, but it worked out fine. Emily was covered in hives, for reasons not clear, so we went into a pharmacy and I got her an antihistamine. First time we’ve ever given her medicine in pill format, on the side of the road in Hong Kong, but it worked out just fine. Other than feeling a bit sleepy, she was much better within about half an hour, so we kept walking.

We let the kids choose lunch, and Emily wanted “noodle soup, a cold drink, and air conditioning”. That we can do. We went back to a favourite restaurant, a Shanghai style one called Ding Tai Fung, which has great noodles and fresh hand made dumplings. The food was top notch, and very tasty. It’s rare to find a place so clean that they invite the public to watch their food prep!!

After lunch, the kids wanted to swim, but I’d already told Stephy she wasn’t swimming until after she’d had a nap. First glitch, the room wasn’t cleaned when we got back to the hotel, so we had to wait a bit. After that, I got her to lie down, but she was determined not to sleep. Little brat! Finally, her tiredness got the better of her and she fell asleep. I set my blackberry alarm for an hour and 15 minutes and got some shut-eye myself.

After the nap, which felt all kinds of awesome, the kids got some swim time. It was actually a great time to be at the pool, ‘cause the strongest part of the sun was done, so while the water was lovely and warm, the air was reasonable.

So, guess what dinner was? Lovely Chinese food in Hong Kong you’d guess? Well, NOT. Pizza Express yet again. In Hong Kong. Seriously. If I never have pizza again, I’ll be good with that! I like their pizza as pizza goes, but I’m not really a fan, and I really wanted to have something nice for dinner. Maybe tomorrow.

After walking back up the escalator, while it’s still about 30 degrees, we called it a night. Emily and Danny headed to their room, and I was left to deal with tired grumpy Stephanie. She laid on the couch with her ipad and was asleep by 7:50pm. I got her into bed and she was about 2 minutes and done! Hopefully, she’ll sleep through tonight, so that we have a more energetic day tomorrow!!