Well, this birth story was much easier medically, but a little trying on my nerves! For the past week, the hospital was giving my doctor a hard time about the hospital being really full. So, Wednesday, I woke up feeling some contractions around 10 a.m. I thought, these are probably just Braxton Hicks, don't get your hopes up. I went out for a walk for about 45 minutes and they were getting worse, so I called Joe and the hospital. The hospital said call them back when they're closer together and longer. Then, my doctor called and said that the hospital said they wouldn't take me; they were too full.
Okay. My doctor said, tell them you'll have a home birth then. I'm sitting there thinking, good God. Choices: the government hospital (my doctor said it was a pit) and no Joe, a hotel birth, a birth in my doctor's clinic. Of course, I would have gone to the government hospital because they would have drugs. At that point, my doctor wanted to scare the hospital into thinking she would actually go and do a home birth.
I was trying not to stress as my contractions got more intense. I called the hospital, and they said come in. Simple as that! They never once mentioned to me that there was no room. For the past week, they've been telling my doctor that.
Joe got to the hotel, about an hour or so before we went to the hospital. I was so glad to see him, as I had been worried that he might not make it in time. Thank you baby for coming when the close border is open! We got in a taxi and drove up the very winding path to the top of the peak where the hospital is.
I was having pretty strong contractions at this point and the taxi driver was worried! We got here, though, and I was so relieved! The hospital has been awesome for this birth experience. We went right to the delivery spa as they call it. I had my own midwife during the entire birth. My contractions were getting unbearable to me, so I got an epidural. Thank god for epidurals. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea how anyone gets through a natural birth. No thank you!
As my doctor had promised me, this epidural was way better than the one I got in Egypt. The pain of the contractions subsided but I could still feel enough to push. They gave me cytocin(?) to speed up the contractions and before I knew it, it was time to push.
My doctor was very careful and helped me to push her out with only a small episiotomy. It didn't take long. This birth was cool because they actually handed her right to me when she was born. Sophia they took away and messed with her for a bit before we even heard her cry. Joe got to cut the cord and went with her to be weighed and measured. 3.77 kilos, about 8 1/2 pounds. Small, compared to Sophia!
I was up right after the delivery and had a warm shower. The only bad part was there was no twin room available, so I shared a room of four. That was a lot of crying babies the first night. Now, I've moved into a twin and the other lady's baby hardly makes a peep.
Little girl is very good, not too fussy. She's golden haired and we haven't seen too much of her eyes. The only problem? What to name her? We thought Eden; then we thought Josephine; then we even thought Juliette. Nothing is perfect. We have until Monday when we have to do the birth registry! We must commit. Funny, we aren't the only ones. There are two other people who can't decide either.
All is well. I have one more day in the hospital. Sophia was really missing her mommy and I was missing her, but we're doing a little better now that we're in the same city. Sophia has been good with her sister, but of course, she wants to get up in her face a bit too much. It should be lots of fun with two!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Baby Girl #2 - No Name as of Yet!!
It's so hard to get a good picture. She's got golden hair.
Sophia was enraptured. She's been petting her and singing to her. When she cries, she says, "Don't cry. Don't cry," and gives her kisses.
Monday, June 15, 2009
We'll See
When did having a baby become like this? Here's my situation. I have been going to one of the best doctors in Hong Kong because with my overseas insurance, I can. I also have been planning on going to the Matilda Hospital, the ideal private hospital in Hong Kong. I've been sitting over here in Hong Kong just in case I go into labor so that I will not miss my chance to go there. At my last appointment, the doctor said that I probably wouldn't be able to book an induction there until next week. Okay, I could deal with that. I wasn't sure that I wanted to be induced anyway. Then, I went in today and the midwife explained that if I went into labor naturally, there was a chance I would be turned away from Matilda if they were full. She said it's only happened 2-3 times. I asked her, "What then?" She said, they send you to a government hospital.
Now, I don't know what that means exactly, but it certainly doesn't sound like what I've been coming over here all these times for. I'm pretty sure the government hospitals won't allow husbands in the delivery room, especially now with swine flu making everyone crazy.
Then, the midwife worried me further, saying that I shouldn't waste any time contacting the hospital because sometimes second babies come really fast. She had hers in 1 1/2 hours! Just last night, Joe and I were discussing how it could take him 3-4 hours to get here if it's in the middle of the night.
All of a sudden, induction is sounding better. Better to know that I'm in the hospital. Better to know that Joe will be here. The only problem is that there is a good chance I'll go into labor before the date they got me - the 22nd. (Incidentally, one day after Sophia's birthday.)
After I left, the midwife called back, saying that the doctor wanted to see me tomorrow, and there's a slight chance that they might be able to do an induction tomorrow. Despite the fact that I don't want to be induced, I'm beginning to think it's the best scenario in all of this. Having Joe here, having a place - both would make me feel lots better.
Not to mention that solitude is beginning to wear on me. With all these people around me, I still have no one to talk to. I often wish I could have a little me-time. Funny how you can have too much of a good thing.
I'm just going to try to remain hopeful that things will work out smoothly. I guess even a public hospital in Hong Kong is supposed to be better than the hospitals in China. In fact, if there are serious complications with the baby at the private hospital, they take you to the public. You never know.
Now, I don't know what that means exactly, but it certainly doesn't sound like what I've been coming over here all these times for. I'm pretty sure the government hospitals won't allow husbands in the delivery room, especially now with swine flu making everyone crazy.
Then, the midwife worried me further, saying that I shouldn't waste any time contacting the hospital because sometimes second babies come really fast. She had hers in 1 1/2 hours! Just last night, Joe and I were discussing how it could take him 3-4 hours to get here if it's in the middle of the night.
All of a sudden, induction is sounding better. Better to know that I'm in the hospital. Better to know that Joe will be here. The only problem is that there is a good chance I'll go into labor before the date they got me - the 22nd. (Incidentally, one day after Sophia's birthday.)
After I left, the midwife called back, saying that the doctor wanted to see me tomorrow, and there's a slight chance that they might be able to do an induction tomorrow. Despite the fact that I don't want to be induced, I'm beginning to think it's the best scenario in all of this. Having Joe here, having a place - both would make me feel lots better.
Not to mention that solitude is beginning to wear on me. With all these people around me, I still have no one to talk to. I often wish I could have a little me-time. Funny how you can have too much of a good thing.
I'm just going to try to remain hopeful that things will work out smoothly. I guess even a public hospital in Hong Kong is supposed to be better than the hospitals in China. In fact, if there are serious complications with the baby at the private hospital, they take you to the public. You never know.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Street Scenes
Probably the most interesting things about China are the things you see on the street. I've been waiting until I have Joe here to relate a couple of things he saw on the street. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, there was a guy sitting on the sidewalk with two bags - one full of frogs and one full of snakes. Joe happened to be walking by when someone was ordering a snake. The man had a thick stake with a nail sticking out upward from the end. When the person ordered the snake, the man reached in his bag, pulled out a snake, and proceeded to jam the snake's head onto the nail in one hard stroke. Then, he grabbed the snake by its tail to stretch it out. He got out what looked like a box cutter and sliced him open using tugging motions (imagine a ripping sound here because that's what it really sounded like). He followed this by ripping out the snake's skeleton (Imagine the fatality move on Mortal Kombat). He tossed it aside and finished the transaction with his customer. Joe couldn't help himself; he stood by and watched this process. Mind you, this snake seller sells his wares just below our building. Fresh snake for dinner, anyone?
A different day, Joe was getting on the elevator and he heard a lot of commotion. The door was open so he peeked in. There were about six guys holding a piece of wood about half the size of a door. There was an old woman laying on it. She looked like she was going to be okay, but she obviously needed medical help. They were headed up on the elevator. Joe just gave them a look like, "Um, I'll catch the next one." His thoughts were, "Where are you going? If she really needs help, why not go to a hospital?" My thoughts upon hearing this were, "Why the board?"
On a much less interesting day, we were walking to school, and there were three people, giving haircuts on the sidewalk. I don't know about you, but when do you decide to stop for a haircut at 7:50 a.m. as you are walking down the street? Guess those hairdressers needed extra practice. Another service you can receive is a blood pressure check. We see people with little tables and blood pressure cuffs all the time.
So, those are some street stories. Always amusing to me. The snake one is pretty interesting. I think I would have stopped to watch as well.
This week in Hong Kong has been different. The streets of Hong Kong are a bit different from Shekou where we live, but the biggest thing is that you have such a mix of traditional and modern. I feel like such a loser walking around Central. There are designer stores everywhere - Prada, Gucci, Louis Vittuon, etc. I'm a totally small town Iowa girl. Everyone's dressed nicely; there are skyscrapers everywhere. Everyone and everything is moving fast, fast, fast....
Then, a couple blocks from my hotel is the Chinese-style market - cheap underwear, purses, clothes, fruit, fish, Chinese medicine, etc. Walking among the rigged-up stalls, you feel like you could be in the village. Then, you step out of the street, and it's hustle and bustle again.
I've been trying to stay occupied, but I think this next week is going to be difficult. For some reason, coming over here early made me think that I'd have the baby early. The doctor was going to induce me mid-week this week, but the hospital won't let her schedule any more inductions. She actually said to me, how about the 20th for a delivery on the 21st. Guess whose birthday is the 21st? Sophia's. It didn't look like the hospital could fit me in then either, though. I may just have to wait this out the old-fashioned, non-medical intervention way.
My doctor I think has a God-complex. The way she talks about delivering babies is so controlled. As she described inducing labor, she said they'd admit me the night before, administer an epidural the next morning (so I'd feel no pain), break my water and have the baby at half-past three. I just sort of chuckled at this, but wondered if most her patients did actually deliver at half-past three. I'm kind of hoping things go naturally this week. That all sounds very controlled to me. I mean, she's really going to get my hopes up for a pain-free birth, but a little pain makes the experience more real.
Hopefully, they'll be an update and pictures this week, but it could just be more of my China/Hong Kong descriptions. Nobody wants this baby to come more than me!
A different day, Joe was getting on the elevator and he heard a lot of commotion. The door was open so he peeked in. There were about six guys holding a piece of wood about half the size of a door. There was an old woman laying on it. She looked like she was going to be okay, but she obviously needed medical help. They were headed up on the elevator. Joe just gave them a look like, "Um, I'll catch the next one." His thoughts were, "Where are you going? If she really needs help, why not go to a hospital?" My thoughts upon hearing this were, "Why the board?"
On a much less interesting day, we were walking to school, and there were three people, giving haircuts on the sidewalk. I don't know about you, but when do you decide to stop for a haircut at 7:50 a.m. as you are walking down the street? Guess those hairdressers needed extra practice. Another service you can receive is a blood pressure check. We see people with little tables and blood pressure cuffs all the time.
So, those are some street stories. Always amusing to me. The snake one is pretty interesting. I think I would have stopped to watch as well.
This week in Hong Kong has been different. The streets of Hong Kong are a bit different from Shekou where we live, but the biggest thing is that you have such a mix of traditional and modern. I feel like such a loser walking around Central. There are designer stores everywhere - Prada, Gucci, Louis Vittuon, etc. I'm a totally small town Iowa girl. Everyone's dressed nicely; there are skyscrapers everywhere. Everyone and everything is moving fast, fast, fast....
Then, a couple blocks from my hotel is the Chinese-style market - cheap underwear, purses, clothes, fruit, fish, Chinese medicine, etc. Walking among the rigged-up stalls, you feel like you could be in the village. Then, you step out of the street, and it's hustle and bustle again.
I've been trying to stay occupied, but I think this next week is going to be difficult. For some reason, coming over here early made me think that I'd have the baby early. The doctor was going to induce me mid-week this week, but the hospital won't let her schedule any more inductions. She actually said to me, how about the 20th for a delivery on the 21st. Guess whose birthday is the 21st? Sophia's. It didn't look like the hospital could fit me in then either, though. I may just have to wait this out the old-fashioned, non-medical intervention way.
My doctor I think has a God-complex. The way she talks about delivering babies is so controlled. As she described inducing labor, she said they'd admit me the night before, administer an epidural the next morning (so I'd feel no pain), break my water and have the baby at half-past three. I just sort of chuckled at this, but wondered if most her patients did actually deliver at half-past three. I'm kind of hoping things go naturally this week. That all sounds very controlled to me. I mean, she's really going to get my hopes up for a pain-free birth, but a little pain makes the experience more real.
Hopefully, they'll be an update and pictures this week, but it could just be more of my China/Hong Kong descriptions. Nobody wants this baby to come more than me!
Monday, June 08, 2009
A Weekend in Hong Kong - Ocean World
It was a fun weekend in Hong Kong. We decided on Sunday to go to Ocean World. We had been contemplating Disneyland, but I think we're going to hold off until Sophia's older. Ocean World wasn't too bad. The attractions that Sophia loved the most? The playground, the miniature ferris wheel, the merry-go-round, and the cable car. The attraction that mom liked the least? The cable car. Heights are not my favorite. I just remained frozen in my seat, gripping the backs of the seats next to me as Sophia tried to stick her arms out the window and "eat" the wind. Oh, to be young and fearless. Needless to say, by the end of the day, both Sophia and I were exhausted. Although, poor Joe had to head all the way back to China with Sophia.
Sophia also had her final concert and "graduation" from the two-year-old class last week. She didn't do any of the actions during the concert, but just swung from side-to-side looking self-satisfied.
Sophia got her face painted and played in the bouncy castle at our new baby celebration party. She pouted and wouldn't play with any of the kids for about two hours during the party, but as you can see, she was quite happy at the end after everyone left.
Sophia also had her final concert and "graduation" from the two-year-old class last week. She didn't do any of the actions during the concert, but just swung from side-to-side looking self-satisfied.
Sophia got her face painted and played in the bouncy castle at our new baby celebration party. She pouted and wouldn't play with any of the kids for about two hours during the party, but as you can see, she was quite happy at the end after everyone left.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Tick Tock
I brought Sophia to Hong Kong with me yesterday, and Joe joined us today. We are just vegging out here in Hong Kong until Baby 2 decides to make her entrance. I'm hoping it will be this week. I can hope. Sophia came a couple of days early, so maybe this baby will try to trump her. I told the doctor to hold off on induction until after my due date. I felt like it would take too much of the unpredictability out of the whole event. Life has to have some mysteries.
I was going to keep Sophia here with me for a couple of days during the week, but I think we'll send her back with Daddy. It will just be too hard trying to send her back over the border if I do go into labor. There's no one to watch her on this side.
Sophia's having a good time in Hong Kong, though. They have many more parks and playgrounds. There are no public playgrounds in China. She likes jumping on the hotel bed, too. It is wickedly hot and humid, though. The parents here actually bring towels to the playgrounds, so they can wipe the sweat off their kids. I thought it was weird at first until I spent the morning at the playground and Sophia and I were dripping buckets. Yuck.
I'll have to post soon when Joe's available. He's seen some really weird stuff on the streets of China these days. I can post freely from Hong Kong!
I was going to keep Sophia here with me for a couple of days during the week, but I think we'll send her back with Daddy. It will just be too hard trying to send her back over the border if I do go into labor. There's no one to watch her on this side.
Sophia's having a good time in Hong Kong, though. They have many more parks and playgrounds. There are no public playgrounds in China. She likes jumping on the hotel bed, too. It is wickedly hot and humid, though. The parents here actually bring towels to the playgrounds, so they can wipe the sweat off their kids. I thought it was weird at first until I spent the morning at the playground and Sophia and I were dripping buckets. Yuck.
I'll have to post soon when Joe's available. He's seen some really weird stuff on the streets of China these days. I can post freely from Hong Kong!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Lock Down
I haven't been posting because our gracious host country has shut down Blogger. The powers-that-be have blocked our access to both Blogspot and YouTube. Thank goodness for our students who show us the websites that will get us around these blocks. I'm using a proxy to post through blogger. I just don't know if it will keep working, and I don't know if I can post pictures! I guess I should be happy if I can type.
These days are just a waiting game. Two and a half weeks until my due date. No name picked out for sure yet. The doctor threw me for a loop on Friday, suggesting that I have an induced labor during my 39th week. She said she finds it's best for baby's to be born during that week, but I have my suspicions that she does a lot of inducing out of convenience. I'm planning on getting an epidural, so she says I might as well induce. It would be convenient, but it certainly takes the suspense and mystery out of things. We are thinking about it. It's going to be really difficult with me over in Hong Kong, Joe in China teaching, and Sophia to think about. Luckily, our neighbors and friends have agreed to take Sophia in for a night if necessary. The only problem will be if I go into labor and Sophia is over visiting me on the weekend. It also gets complicated for work, with no maternity leave at our school, every day counts. Joe's planning on teaching summer school starting the week after regular school is out. Somewhere in there, he's going to have to miss some school.
I only have four more days of school and then it's off to Hong Kong for the big wait. At least I'll be able to blog from there, so we'll be able to post baby pictures when the time comes. The doctor's been nagging me all along about how huge this baby is going to be, telling me to eat a low-glycemic index diet and work out more. Then, on Friday the doctor seemed to forget all her dire warnings and say maybe this baby will catch up to her sister. I'll probably go in to the doctor next time and hear again about how big she's going to be. You never know until they come out, I guess. My doctor isn't the most personal lady, but supposedly, she's the best. She never seems to remember who I am, and I have had to remind the office to give me a shot and then a test. They seem to forget what I need. Good thing I read up on what I'm supposed to be getting!
We have just been hanging out. Some friends threw a celebration for us last Sunday for the new little one. It was nice to think about the baby's upcoming birth and celebrate with friends. Sophia has been good lately, getting so big. She's a good helper these days, but it's still a lot of work to get her to do things if she just doesn't feel like it. We've installed a potty sticker chart for her sudden string of accidents. She did pretty well last week and even earned herself a toy for all her stickers. We're working on getting her ready to be a "special helper" for Mommy when the baby comes. She's definitely more positive about the pregnancy. She kisses my belly and gets excited about the bumps she feels.
Sophia has a big spring concert this week and a fun water day at school. Hopefully, we'll be able to get out of our classes for an hour to go see her perform. It's always entertaining watching a bunch of two-year-olds sing songs like the Hokey-Pokey and Chicken Dance.
These days are just a waiting game. Two and a half weeks until my due date. No name picked out for sure yet. The doctor threw me for a loop on Friday, suggesting that I have an induced labor during my 39th week. She said she finds it's best for baby's to be born during that week, but I have my suspicions that she does a lot of inducing out of convenience. I'm planning on getting an epidural, so she says I might as well induce. It would be convenient, but it certainly takes the suspense and mystery out of things. We are thinking about it. It's going to be really difficult with me over in Hong Kong, Joe in China teaching, and Sophia to think about. Luckily, our neighbors and friends have agreed to take Sophia in for a night if necessary. The only problem will be if I go into labor and Sophia is over visiting me on the weekend. It also gets complicated for work, with no maternity leave at our school, every day counts. Joe's planning on teaching summer school starting the week after regular school is out. Somewhere in there, he's going to have to miss some school.
I only have four more days of school and then it's off to Hong Kong for the big wait. At least I'll be able to blog from there, so we'll be able to post baby pictures when the time comes. The doctor's been nagging me all along about how huge this baby is going to be, telling me to eat a low-glycemic index diet and work out more. Then, on Friday the doctor seemed to forget all her dire warnings and say maybe this baby will catch up to her sister. I'll probably go in to the doctor next time and hear again about how big she's going to be. You never know until they come out, I guess. My doctor isn't the most personal lady, but supposedly, she's the best. She never seems to remember who I am, and I have had to remind the office to give me a shot and then a test. They seem to forget what I need. Good thing I read up on what I'm supposed to be getting!
We have just been hanging out. Some friends threw a celebration for us last Sunday for the new little one. It was nice to think about the baby's upcoming birth and celebrate with friends. Sophia has been good lately, getting so big. She's a good helper these days, but it's still a lot of work to get her to do things if she just doesn't feel like it. We've installed a potty sticker chart for her sudden string of accidents. She did pretty well last week and even earned herself a toy for all her stickers. We're working on getting her ready to be a "special helper" for Mommy when the baby comes. She's definitely more positive about the pregnancy. She kisses my belly and gets excited about the bumps she feels.
Sophia has a big spring concert this week and a fun water day at school. Hopefully, we'll be able to get out of our classes for an hour to go see her perform. It's always entertaining watching a bunch of two-year-olds sing songs like the Hokey-Pokey and Chicken Dance.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Baby Countdown
Only six and a half weeks to go. Time is flying. Sophia now gets a big kick out of feeling her baby sister bump. The baby seems to get hiccups several times a day, so there's lots of bumping going on. At least now, Sophia is talking about her baby sister positively. She even picked out a name, Cinnaboat. Sounds interesting, I must say, but I don't think that's the name we'll be choosing. It will be fun to meet this new little character.
Cheung Chau Vacation
This week is our spring break. It comes so late in the year because it coincides with the Chinese Labor Day. We had our Chinese New Year break at the start of February, and now we have our spring break. It's great knowing we only have six weeks left of school when we go back.
For the break, we decided to go somewhere nearby since I wouldn't be too comfortable traveling too far. We headed to the little island of Cheung Chau, just a 30 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong. The weather was a little rainy and windy, but we got a couple of good days in on the beach. We went with another couple, and Sophia had fun playing with their twin boys.
Cheung Chau is an interesting shape. The middle part, with the harbour on one side and the beach on the other, is very thin. The two ends are hilly and much bigger. The island doesn't have any cars except for ambulances and police. They do use little motorized carts to get things around the island, though. The island has an interesting ambiance, kind of Cancun-ish/Chinese. It was nice to be in a place where you could feel a little bit more of the culture.
While we were there, they were preparing for their annual bun festival. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the bun festival.
Apparently, the buns bring good luck and they chase away the loose spirits. It's all meant to bring good luck to the island. We didn't actually get to see the bun festival, but we saw the preparations leading up to it. Incidentally, the whole island goes vegetarian three days before. The last day we were there even the McDonalds was serving veggie burgers. Excellent for me, not so good for everyone else.
I couldn't get the pictures in order of the trip, but you'll get the jist.
There is a pirate cave on the island. We hiked up to it, and Joe explored. Sophia and I stayed on the outside. Sophia did, however, find this crevice and claim it as her home. Pooh, Piglet, Roo, Kanga, and Eeyore all had homes nearby.
Hiking and hiking.
An old tree growing on top of a roof.
There were several temples on the island. We saw three or four of them.
This is the Pak Tai temple, the temple of the god that got rid of the pirates and plague.
Street workers cleaned the stairs and roads throughout the town. Their hats are interesting to me.
Effigies for the ceremony.
The great bun towers.
The most popular form of travel, bikes. They are everywhere!
The typhoon shelter is full of boats. We enjoyed the sunset one night at dinner along the water. Every night we would walk down to the main strip along the water and have dinner. Mainly Chinese food, but tons of seafood. There was also a Thai restaurant, Indian restaurant and, of course, McDonalds.
We got in a couple of nice days at the beach. The kids didn't want to go in the water anyway. They just loved playing in the sand. Sophia was cracking herself up by pouring water on her hair.
After a gardening unit during Earth Week at school, Sophia is very into tending her "garden" and watering her flowers.
We hiked up to the Mini Great Wall. We didn't even realize we were walking on this mini-Great Wall. We were looking for it, and then we realized they must just mean the path we were on.
There were several boulders that had earned names for their resemblance to other things. This one is Elephant Rock.
The rocky coastline.
Fire beaters along the path. Never seen those before!
Sophia made it up all the stairs. I'm sure it felt like the Great Wall to her.
A view of the island from above.
Not sure about this sign. Does it mean tie your dog here or make your dog go the bathroom here?
Boats in the harbour.
There were fish drying everywhere. You could buy bags of dried seafood. We tried out the dried shrimp. It really stunk, but Sophia loved it. She's a big seafood lover.
Lots of vegetation and some typical apartments.
Overall, our trip was great. When we got back, Sophia was crying and crying. She just kept saying, "I want to go back." After a good night's rest, she had recovered. Who knows what her next adventure will be.
For the break, we decided to go somewhere nearby since I wouldn't be too comfortable traveling too far. We headed to the little island of Cheung Chau, just a 30 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong. The weather was a little rainy and windy, but we got a couple of good days in on the beach. We went with another couple, and Sophia had fun playing with their twin boys.
Cheung Chau is an interesting shape. The middle part, with the harbour on one side and the beach on the other, is very thin. The two ends are hilly and much bigger. The island doesn't have any cars except for ambulances and police. They do use little motorized carts to get things around the island, though. The island has an interesting ambiance, kind of Cancun-ish/Chinese. It was nice to be in a place where you could feel a little bit more of the culture.
While we were there, they were preparing for their annual bun festival. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the bun festival.
"Cheung Chau's Bun Festival, which draws tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists every year, is staged to mark the Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, in the Chinese calendar (this is usually in early May). It coincides with the local celebration of Buddha's Birthday.
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival began as a fun and exciting ritual for fishing communities to pray for safety from pirates. Today this religious origin has largely been forgotten, and the festival has mainly become a showcase of traditional Chinese culture.
One story of the origin of the festival is that in the 18th Century the island of Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague and infiltrated by pirates until local fishermen brought an image of the god Pak Tai to the island. Paraded through the village lanes, the deity drove away evil spirits. Villagers also disguised themselves as different deities and walked around the island to drive away the evil spirits."Apparently, the buns bring good luck and they chase away the loose spirits. It's all meant to bring good luck to the island. We didn't actually get to see the bun festival, but we saw the preparations leading up to it. Incidentally, the whole island goes vegetarian three days before. The last day we were there even the McDonalds was serving veggie burgers. Excellent for me, not so good for everyone else.
I couldn't get the pictures in order of the trip, but you'll get the jist.
There is a pirate cave on the island. We hiked up to it, and Joe explored. Sophia and I stayed on the outside. Sophia did, however, find this crevice and claim it as her home. Pooh, Piglet, Roo, Kanga, and Eeyore all had homes nearby.
Hiking and hiking.
An old tree growing on top of a roof.
There were several temples on the island. We saw three or four of them.
This is the Pak Tai temple, the temple of the god that got rid of the pirates and plague.
Street workers cleaned the stairs and roads throughout the town. Their hats are interesting to me.
Effigies for the ceremony.
The great bun towers.
The most popular form of travel, bikes. They are everywhere!
The typhoon shelter is full of boats. We enjoyed the sunset one night at dinner along the water. Every night we would walk down to the main strip along the water and have dinner. Mainly Chinese food, but tons of seafood. There was also a Thai restaurant, Indian restaurant and, of course, McDonalds.
We got in a couple of nice days at the beach. The kids didn't want to go in the water anyway. They just loved playing in the sand. Sophia was cracking herself up by pouring water on her hair.
After a gardening unit during Earth Week at school, Sophia is very into tending her "garden" and watering her flowers.
We hiked up to the Mini Great Wall. We didn't even realize we were walking on this mini-Great Wall. We were looking for it, and then we realized they must just mean the path we were on.
There were several boulders that had earned names for their resemblance to other things. This one is Elephant Rock.
The rocky coastline.
Fire beaters along the path. Never seen those before!
Sophia made it up all the stairs. I'm sure it felt like the Great Wall to her.
A view of the island from above.
Not sure about this sign. Does it mean tie your dog here or make your dog go the bathroom here?
Boats in the harbour.
There were fish drying everywhere. You could buy bags of dried seafood. We tried out the dried shrimp. It really stunk, but Sophia loved it. She's a big seafood lover.
Lots of vegetation and some typical apartments.Overall, our trip was great. When we got back, Sophia was crying and crying. She just kept saying, "I want to go back." After a good night's rest, she had recovered. Who knows what her next adventure will be.
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