Our Journey Begins

The journey to Macau begins!

  

We're excited about our new adventure, nervous about the long plane ride, curious about what Macau will be like, and sad to leave our family and friends.

This was Leah's first plane ride and as you can see she loved it.  

She repeatedly asked "Are we in the air yet?"

We realized we were in for some new adventures and experiences as early as Los Angeles, where we boarded a plane to take us to Hong Kong.  We were definitely in the minority in race and family size.  Many people stared while others shared their fascination openly.

The long flight (almost 15 hours) turned out to be the best part of the trip.  Each seat had a personal TV and remote so the kids could play video games, or watch TV shows and movies.  They also had a handful of gifts to open periodically during the flight (a big thanks to the Hanks - they were awesome gifts!).  Plus we all got some good shut eye so the flight seemed to “fly” by.  The Hong Kong airport was pleasant and easy to navigate.  We boarded a bus to take us to the ferry terminal.  It became obvious we were in a new world and we we’re anxious to get to know it.  However, at the terminal our excitement for this adventure dimmed as we experienced some very unpleasant and extremely long lines through immigration (out of Hong Kong and again into Macau).  We were tired, hot, squished, and confused.  Plus, we were again the spectacles of those around us.  A few strangers tried to communicate and express their amazement that we have 4 cute, blonde kids.  We smiled politely and even tried saying some Chinese words by telling them the kids ages in Mandarin.  But it was a bit overwhelming for the kids.  They became very shy and clingy.  Actually it was a bit overwhelming for me too.  Once we found our seats on the ferry I released some stress through tears.  To make matters worse, the ferry was horrendous.  The engine made the loudest, most ear piercing noise the entire 45 minute ride.  Nobody seemed affected by it but us.  I was sure we were going to be deaf by the time we reached Macau.  Kyle’s ridden the ferry a number of times before and never had such a painfully deafening trip.  Then, there was another extremely long wait in line for immigration.  This too was unlike earlier experiences for Kyle.  His previous trips were short and sweet through immigration.  There were some very large traveling groups so I hope this is not a common occurrence because we want to go to Hong Kong a few times while we are living here.  Finally, we took a shuttle to our new apartment.  It was fun driving through town as Kyle and the driver identified the sights and landmarks around us.  Our excitement for this new adventure returned and we’re anxious to explore our new world.

I have to say I have the best kids in the whole world.  They were awesome during the entire trip.  There were times I thought we were asking too much of them (like taking their big backpacks and a suitcase up 3 flights of escalators or waiting in long lines in humid, crowded conditions or enduring the painfully loud boat ride) but they were troopers.  There was no whining or fighting and not many complaints.  They were helpful, patient, positive, and cooperative.  They endured it fantastically (even better than I did at times).