Home Again

Well we have made it home - it really has been an amazing trip.  We have some time to visit with family and friends before returning to work and school.  A week ago at dinner we all spoke about what we had learnt on his trip - here are some of our answers.

 

We have learnt....

 

how to use chopsticks...how to shuffle cards and play rummy... how to say thank-you in many languages...how to convert 9 currencies...who Ho Chi Minh is...what the Vietnam war is...what poverty looks like..how to do nothing for hours at a time..how to stand on my head...how to drive on the left...how each country is unique...how to talk to people from around the world...how to look past the dirt and chaos to see the beauty in the scenery...how to ride an elephant and a camel, parasail, rockclimb, kayak, snorkel...how to barter...so many things that aren't taught in school...how to live together (rather) harmoniously for 6 months!

 

A few facts....

• We travelled for 176 days
• We slept in 51 different hotels/guest houses
• We visited 9 different countries
• We took thousands of photos
• We created millions of memories

 

Thanks for coming along on our journey with us...I hope this blog inspires you to try something new!  Colleen

Christmas-time in Hong Kong

 After a couple of days in Singapore we headed to Hong Kong for 5 days.  We stayed at the YMCA hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, the main tourist area of Hong Kong which is full of malls, restaurants, designer stores and museums.  The city was decorated for Christmas - everywhere we looked there were Christmas trees and lights and every night there was a light show in the harbour.  The town was very busy - every day thousands of tourist from Mainland China come into Hong Kong to shop - there are always line ups outside of Gucci, Apple and Louis Vuitton stores.  Everywhere we went there were Chinese tourists snapping pictures so we decided to do some posing as well.

Myself, Kenna, Cole and Chuck with the Christmas Bear outside 1881 Hotel that is a Victorian style hotel and outside mall in Tsim Sha Tsui.



Kenna in front of a huge Christmas tree - one of many throughout the city.

The Peninsula Hotel decorated for Christmas.




We walked down the avenue of stars along the harbour - here is Cole comparing his hand size to Jackie Chan.  Most of the stars we didn't recognize as they were from Chinese movies.

We also visited the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Art Museum.  It was amazing to see all of his iconic work in person.  Interestingly when the exhibit goes to Beijing in the spring the paintings of Mao will not be included due to Government censure.

At night the harbour is full of Christmas lights and at 8:00 there is a 15 minute laser show set to music.  The large building on the right is 188 storeys!!

 

We spent the day at Ocean Park - a zoo, aquarium and amusement park.  The panda bears were amazing - they were huge and Kenna thought they looked like humans in Panda suits as they used their paws to eat with the same dexterity as we do with our hands.   

The Red Pandas were adorable and loved to pose for the camera!

This is a winter fox in the "Arctic Display" - it looks like a statue but it is real.   

There was a Christmas Display with 3 Santas - one from Holland, one from Finland and one from the United States.  Here we are with Sinterclaus from Holland. The Chinese Tourists love to pose for photos so we are all doing our "Asian Pose". 

There were also lots of Elves running about the park so we got a photo with one as well.  By the time we left Ocean Park we were all in the Christmas spirit!

 

Cole's Question of the day LEADERBOARD

Anna------------------------------55 pts
Erin--------------------------------56 pts  
Lin---------------------------------5 pts  
Christa.----------------------------13 pts
Michelle D-------------------------9 pt
Sherry-----------------------------8 pts
Linda------------------------------44pts

Michelle M.------------------------33 pts

Liam-------------------------------2 pts
Kyla-------------------------------17pt
Peter-------------------------------20pts
Sandra-----------------------------3pts
Bob--------------------------------2pts

Winner::   

Erin

The Actual Final Question (unless they both get it wrong)

So here we have it. The end of the competition.
As I write the final question, I look back at the fun I had doing this. Thank you for participating, and have a Merry Christmas!

The question is.....    What delicious snack is this vendor holding?(1pt)

The correct answer is... Shredded Squid \ Cuttlefish

Both of our finalists had the correct answer, however Erin responded 17 minutes earlier.

Congradulations to Erin, from now on she is the Cole's Question of the day champion! Also, put your hands together for our 2nd and 3rd place contestants: Anna and Linda!

Singapore

We spent a few days in Singapore - checking out the sights.   Chuck's friend Jackson met us at the airport and showed us around the town.  The weather was a bit cool and rainy - it felt like Vancouver!  There were Christmas trees and Christmas lights everywhere. We spent some time shopping, seeing the movie "The Hobbit" and walking along the boardwalk where we saw the famous Merlion and the harbour where Chuck and Jackson had raced Dragonboats against each other many times in the 1980's and 1990's.

At dusk we went on the Singapore Flyer - a HUGE ferris wheel.  It is the largest in the world at 165m tall.  It took about 35 minutes to do a full trip around and the views were amazing. 

This is the harbor where Chuck and Jackson used to Dragonboat race. 

This is the new Gardens that we visited in Singapore when we first went there in July. 



Lin, Linda and Jackson, our hosts in Singapore.

Chuck, Kenna, Cole and myself in the Singapore Flyer.  We really are that tanned!

Cole's Question of The Day #21 - Final Question

Today's question is.... Who is this a sculpture of? (13pts for 1st, 3pts for 2nd and 1 pt for 3rd)

The correct answer is Bruce Lee.

Amazingly, we have a tie! Anna and Erin both have 55pts EVEN THOUGH Michelle was the winner of the final question. It is written in stone that Linda will place third, Congratulations to our 3rd place "Most Valuable Guesser".

Make sure to check out our final final question!

THE FINAL QUESTION

21 questions, 13 contestants, 249 points and 6 months. Thank you for participating, it has been wonderful to  run this contest. I am pleased to tell you that first, second and third place will be receiving a special trophy!   With that out of the way... I give you The Final Question!