你好中国: The Parents cross the Ocean to see me = )

My Parents came to visit for a weekend. To start we were supposed to meet at their hotel around 7:30, Friday night (their flight got into HK around 5:30, so I figured 2 hours would be enough time to get through customs and make it to the hotel), little did I know I would be waiting for over 4 hours for them to get to the hotel. By the 3rd hour I decided to check into the hotel room for them, and by the 4th hour I thought they had gone missing. They finally showed up around 11:00 (apparently their flight had been changed, but they couldn't reach me because they didn't know my HK cell phone number). Friday night my Mom and Dad seemed pretty stressed from their day of travel so we stayed in the hotel and chatted.

Saturday, I had an action packed day planned for them. To start we hopped on the MTR and went to Sha Tin to see the Monastery of 10,000 Buddhas. The hike was tiring, but the views are worth it. We then headed to my University where I showed my parents around (they think I made my dorm room look bigger in the pictures, I wasn't kidding when I said it was small). We then went to lunch to a local restaurant near campus. After lunch I took them to Lan Kwai Fang, which is the bar district in HK, just so they could get a visual of how crazy the area is. We then took a ride on the mid-level escalators in Soho. We decided to try to ride the escalators to the top, little did we know they just keep going and going and going. Because of this, we then had a 30 min walk back down to the MTR. We took the MTR back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit. I then took my parents to the Avenue of the Stars where you can see HK island lit up at night from across the bay. We also stayed to watch the light show which is held every night. We then headed to Temple Street Market. There we ate a delicious family-run resturaunt, bargained for a few gifts, and got our fortunes read by Master Joseph (just my mom and I, my Dad didn't want to)! After a long day we headed back to the hotel for the night (and I enjoyed a night's rest in a REAL bed! haha)

Sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast in the hotel (my one chance to have a western breakfast!) We then took the bus to Stanley Market/Beach. The bus ride to Stanley was about an hour long ride, but the views are gorgeous. My parents were able to see the relaxing side of Hong Kong. After walking around Stanley Market and Beach we headed back to the hotel. We changed into our best clothes, and headed to the Peak. The Peak is the highest point on HK island. From the peak one is able to see the entire HK skyline. We took the trolley up to the top and walked around for awhile. I had booked us reservations (1 month prior to their visit) at Cafe Deco Restaurant, which is said to have the best views of HK. We ate a delicious dinner and enjoyed the best view in the house thanks to my connections!

Monday morning we woke up bright and early. We enjoyed one last breakfast together and my parents headed to the airport while I went back to school. I had an amazing time and I am grateful I was able to share part of my experience with my Mom and Dad. If you ask them I was a pretty good tour guide, and I will be offering tours until December (if anyone would like to come visit me over Thanksgiving break!! hahaha)