Returning to Asia for another year still left us with many unanswered questions, primarily, where to live. We hoped to return to Macau, find a new apartment, start homeschooling, and settle into a normal routine; but life doesn't always go as planned. Due to visa issues stemming from Kyle changing jobs, we were required to leave Macau for a minimum of 30 days and reapply for a new work visa, starting the application process over again that took 3+ months last year, including mandatory leaves after 30, 20, then 10 days in the country. Fortunately, Kyle's new company also has an office in Hong Kong so we packed our bags to camp out (not literally ;) - we're in a serviced apartment not a tent) in Hong Kong for a month.
Our serviced apartment is located at the Gold Coast in the Tuen Mun area. The Gold Coast facilities include 20 residential buildings, a hotel, a shopping plaza, a yacht club (some people actually live on the boats permanently - we met a family at church that's been living on one for the last 2 years), and a beach.
Our apartment (in one of the high-rise buildings just over my left shoulder in the picture above) is about 930 sf. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and living room area. The kids' rooms are just big enough to fit a twin size bed and one storage unit for clothing. The master bedroom has a queen size bed, a small desk, and 2 storage units for clothing. One of the bathrooms is so cramped that it's difficult to close the door which must be done for access to the bath/shower and toilet. We primarily use the other, somewhat larger bathroom, but it's not always convenient with 6 people in the house. The living area is a decent size but the dining table is only made for 4 people. The kitchen is also only stocked with dishes for 4 people; even the 2 pots and pans are pretty small for cooking for our size family.
Despite a smaller apartment, we've enjoyed some of the other amenities here at the Gold Coast, especially the swimming pool. We've gone swimming almost every day and the kids have improved their swimming skills immensely.
Cade and Abby love to dive for toys and do tricks, like summersaults and handstands. Ian was a nose-plugging-one-armed-splashing-fit swimmer but now he can swim with both arms calmly as far as he can hold his breathe, about 8 meters (Kyle and Ian measured, of course). Ian can also float on his back for a very long time. Leah's never been afraid of the water and loves to put her face under. Although she moves pretty well with an inner tube, she now prefers to plug her nose and just glide.
The kids love to jump the incoming waves and play in the sand.
I loved watching the old women clean the beach. They swept all the debris and seaweed that the tide brought in. They use dust pans with small holes drilled in the bottom. The sand leaked out of the holes leaving the unwanted debris which was then dumped into their bamboo garbage baskets.
It celebrates and educates visitors about the endangered pink dolphin found in the waters around Hong Kong.
We were fascinated to learn that their pink color comes not from a pigment but overdeveloped blood vessels causing them to gradually turn pink with age.
Although we have fun things to do here at the Gold Coast, living temporarily has many challenges. We're doing our best to deal with these challenges but we're really anxious to find a place to call home. Unfortunately returning to Macau will mean a few more months of uncertainty and temporary living conditions. Longing for stability and a sense of permanency, we've opted to live in Hong Kong. We're sad to leave Macau, especially so many good friends and a wonderful church community (Macau 2nd Branch will always have a special place in our hearts) but we plan to keep in touch and even visit a few times this year. Our temporary time in Hong Kong has given us the opportunity to familiarize ourself with the different areas of Hong Kong and determine where and what will be the best place for our family. We're moving next week to a new permanent home, so I'll post pictures and more details soon.
Our serviced apartment is located at the Gold Coast in the Tuen Mun area. The Gold Coast facilities include 20 residential buildings, a hotel, a shopping plaza, a yacht club (some people actually live on the boats permanently - we met a family at church that's been living on one for the last 2 years), and a beach.
Our apartment (in one of the high-rise buildings just over my left shoulder in the picture above) is about 930 sf. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and living room area. The kids' rooms are just big enough to fit a twin size bed and one storage unit for clothing. The master bedroom has a queen size bed, a small desk, and 2 storage units for clothing. One of the bathrooms is so cramped that it's difficult to close the door which must be done for access to the bath/shower and toilet. We primarily use the other, somewhat larger bathroom, but it's not always convenient with 6 people in the house. The living area is a decent size but the dining table is only made for 4 people. The kitchen is also only stocked with dishes for 4 people; even the 2 pots and pans are pretty small for cooking for our size family.
Despite a smaller apartment, we've enjoyed some of the other amenities here at the Gold Coast, especially the swimming pool. We've gone swimming almost every day and the kids have improved their swimming skills immensely.
We also frequent the shopping plaza almost daily for groceries. We weren't impressed with the market the first time we went but found out that there's a second floor. It was exciting to discover they stock tortillas (something very difficult to find in Macau) but disappointing that they don't carry refried beans. Even after a few weeks here, we still think it's weird to ride an elevator with a shopping cart.
The Golden Beach is a long beach with a boardwalk lined with tropical trees and flowers. I've had a few enjoyable morning runs along the boardwalk. We also had a fun, homeschool outing at the beach.
They also collected seashells.
Dolphin Square, another of our favorite places at the Gold Coast, is found at the end of the boardwalk.
It celebrates and educates visitors about the endangered pink dolphin found in the waters around Hong Kong.
We were fascinated to learn that their pink color comes not from a pigment but overdeveloped blood vessels causing them to gradually turn pink with age.
Although we have fun things to do here at the Gold Coast, living temporarily has many challenges. We're doing our best to deal with these challenges but we're really anxious to find a place to call home. Unfortunately returning to Macau will mean a few more months of uncertainty and temporary living conditions. Longing for stability and a sense of permanency, we've opted to live in Hong Kong. We're sad to leave Macau, especially so many good friends and a wonderful church community (Macau 2nd Branch will always have a special place in our hearts) but we plan to keep in touch and even visit a few times this year. Our temporary time in Hong Kong has given us the opportunity to familiarize ourself with the different areas of Hong Kong and determine where and what will be the best place for our family. We're moving next week to a new permanent home, so I'll post pictures and more details soon.
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