Shannon goes home

After a busy week, Shannon left for Vancouver this afternoon.
It was great having her here and we did a lot. I was able to do a bunch of things I hadn't before, so really I was playing tourist in my own city!

After she left I started packing, cleaning and throwing things out to make room for our live-in cat sitter.

We leave for Cape Town Wednesday at midnight. We can hardly wait!



Here Shannon and I are when we picked her up last Tuesday.








Later that same night drinking Chili Chocolate Vodka shots in the Russian cooler bar







Taking a pedi-cab tour in Macau with the new Wynn casino behind us and the Lisboa casino to the left. (the newer version still being built)

Shannon's Visit

At the Happy Valley races on Wednesday night.
On Tuesday night, the night Shannon arrived, we had some Champagne at the apartment and a glass or two of wine. We then decided to head out to Lan Kwai Fong for one more drink. Famous last words! When we finally said enough is enough! we stepped out of the bar into daylight! Yes it was 8am Wednesday morning! We were stumbling home as more normal people were walking their kids to school. It is a miracle we made it to the races that night.

We didn't win on ONE BET!!!! Good thing we saved money on drinks...we were not in the mood for more than one!






Thursday Shannon and I headed to the big Buddah on Lantau Island (near the airport)
It took about 25 minutes by cable car.





The cable car just opened in the summer along with a little souvenir shop village.

We had a moment of panic when the cars stopped for no reason and we were suspended high above the sea. But a few minutes later we started back up and successfully made the trip.







At the nightly Light Spectacular.
Every night at 8PM there is a light and


laser show you can watch from Kowloon side. Can you believe it has been a year and this was the first time I have ever seen it? Its about 15 minutes long and set to music.



Last night it was dinner at Sahara, a Moroccan restaurant we found. When we discovered it, it was newly opened and a hidden jem. No it seems word has spread and it was packed!








Sahara jam packed with diners.

This one is for Alyshia!!

While in Vancouver for Thanksgiving, Suds promised his niece Alyshia and nephew Nicholas that he would put them on the blog. But then he forgot! So here they are, better late than never!!

Alyshia loves to draw and cartoon and read.

Nicholas likes hockey and soccer and to jump on the trampoline!

The Next Few Weeks

The next few weeks are going to be crazy!

Shannon called me on Saturday and said she had just purchased a plane ticket and would be arriving in Hong Kong on Tuesday for a week of adventure! I will be playing tour guide while Suds studies for his upcoming simulators. I am so excited to show Shannon where I live and to introduce her to my friends here.

The same week she is here, I will be packing up the apartment in preparation for our move to Cape Town, South Africa. Suds applied for a temporary base in Johannesburg for December and January. We have rented what sounds like an ultra deluxe mansion in Cape Town for the month of December. It has a pool and hot tub and BBQ!! And more than one room; I won't even know what to do with so much space!! We will be living with two other pilots. We have not decided what to do for January yet. We might try the other side of the country and live north of Durban, or we might just stay in Cape Town. Cape Town is popular for holidays because it's on the sea. December and January is the middle of summer there, so we expect to spend lots of time getting some sun and Suds wants to try kite surfing. We also plan on going on safari! I can't wait to see a lion and a hippo!

We have a couple that will be taking care of Lexi, so I don't have to worry about her. I know she will be well taken care of, even though she will miss us terribly.

I will try to post pics from Shannon's visit before she leaves, but I am not sure how I am even going to fit in sleep in the next week, never mind blog updates!

Diane von Furstenburg

This was just in US magazine.

I have this dress. well actually I have the sleeveless dress and they are wearing the tunic style...but still...





Here I am in the dress at the hungover wine tasting on the Mexico cruise.

Isn't that so cool that I am wearing what celebrities wear? I mean it's not cool like ending all wars, but it's cool enough to share.
(its been a slow week here in Hong Kong)

More Vancouver pictures

I am back in Hong Kong now. I made a snap decision and left on the next flight. I had been away from home long enough. Here are some more pics of my visit.


Fall has certainly arrived in Vancouver.
It was gorgeous and lovely to see such a change in the seasons. When I first arrived the sky was clear and blue. A few days after this photo the rain and wind began and most of the pretty leaves were being tramped on the sidewalk.



Halloween was on Tuesday and a bunch of us were at Shannons' to hand out candy to the trick or treaters. Shannon always carves a mean pumpkin and this year was no exception.

Gene Simmons from Kiss





and Stewie from The Family Guy






We weren't too motivated to get into costume, so ears and horns was as good as it got that night.




These kids were one of our favorites of the night. What awesome costumes!!!




The night after Halloween I went on the Ghost Train in Stanley Park with Barbara and family.

Jacob was really scared! He prefers the Santa train at Christmas. Otto was really brave and was not scared at all :




Shannon hosted a costumed clothing swap. It was a huge success. Even better than the costumes was the appy table!!!








Shannon was Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's. What a great costume!

Parents visit

My parents visited Hong Kong one last time for this year. It was busy for my Mom, she only had a week, my Dad was here for two weeks, nice to be retired!
First day, we went shopping at the cheap markets and malls to ease into the jet lag and appease my Moms habit!


The next day, we took a four hour flight down to Bali and stayed at a nice hotel for cheap. Too bad the tide was out for most of the day (like White Rock), so no surf. We took a taxi to the other side (Kuta beach), and rented surf and boogie boards while my Mom shopped. Went on a half day tour of temples, rice fields, monkey forest, and the country side.





Spent most of the time relaxing, eating and walking around. We spent three days there, just enough time to see some Southeast Asian beaches and relax.


We arrive in Hong Kong at night and took an hour long ferry ride to Macau, (the Vegas of Asia). Saw a few sites, like the Church of St. Paul and the European feel
of the city (former Portugeuse colony).






The Wynn Casino just opened a few weeks ago, so we had to take a look. Too bad the only few Blackjack tables had $30 Cdn minimum and the rest of the tables were Bakarat!
Headed back to Hong Kong and mostly shopped, toured around, and went out for dinner (cause I don't cook much, of course I can, but it is more fun going out!).
My Mom arrived on Sat and left the next Sat.

Dads xtra week

After my Mom left, my Dad and I took a cable car up to the Big Buddha, and hiked up to see him up close. Not too exciting, considering we went on a holiday weekend and spent an hour and a half in line to get on the cable car, and a half hour to get a ride down!




Nice scenery, though, mountainous, rivers, waterfalls, forest, rocky, barren and a hiking trail through it all!



One day went to Big Wave Bay, the only beach on Hong Kong Island with waves. Some of the waves were about 4-6 feet high! There was a typhoon 600km south of HKG, which caused some good wave action. There were a lot of surfers, boogie boarders and skim boarders. 26 degrees, not bad for Nov!



I joined a softball league here just recently, so my Dad got to see my first few baseball games. We are sponsored by the Outback Steakhouse, so that is our name.



We are yet to win a game, but looks like a good bunch of guys and fairly competitive ball. Mostly Canadian guys on the team, good for a bunch of beer after the games (bucket of Heinekeins 5 for 15 Cdn). There is a website for the stats and info on the teams and players (indepth, so I can't lie!) www.hongkongsoftball.com