First day back at school

Ok I know I haven't finished blogging our trip yet but I just bawled my eyes out driving home (all of 2 mins) from dropping DS off at school. Its his 5th grade year. The last year he has at that elementary school where he has been going since Kindergarten!! Not only do I feel old but it also means he is getting older and no longer my baby but the young man he is growing into.

Day 4 - Arrival at HKG

Well as expected we arrived in Hong Kong on time, luggage was there waiting for us. We caught a Taxi back to Tai Po where my parents have a condo. It was a beautiful drive and DS got to catch a lot of the Hong Kong scenery.

Space is at a premium here in Hong Kong even in the New Territories. My parent's condo was a 2 bed but converted to a one bedroom with a sleeper sofa in the living room. Its ideal for somewhere to store luggage and and crash on a night but that's about it.

Nonetheless we didn't sleep there for the first 2 nights because we headed to the coast to my Aunt's condo which was twice the size and much newer but also much higher up! Check out some of these views.


I can truthfully say my knees went a little wobbly up there!!

Our first meal was Sushi!! Sushi is so cheap in HK it's unreal and oh so good! We met with my sister, her fiance and my aunt from HK.

Two very much jet lagged boys.

Mom and her sister.

My sister and her fiance.

Day 3 - LHR to HKG

So after I lovingly repacked the night before I wake the next morning to find my mother has not only repacked my cases but she has pressed and folded every item too! You know I am beginning to think my mom is getting very OCD in her old age.

The flight was at midday so the taxi service dropped us off at 9am at LHR. Check in and the wait was rather uneventful other than that mom had already sank a large amount of cash on 'gifts' of handbags etc... at duty-free. This woman likes to shop and I KNOW I inherited that ability now.

Qantas was wonderful, we had wings for head support so you weren't bent over like a pretzel for the entire 12 hrs flight time. The kids had games and I watched a few movies which I thoroughly enjoyed. The Australians are a very health conscious nation. The food they serve reflects that and even their duty-free cart reflects it with the absence of cigarettes.

I think DS's highlight of the flight must have been their generous cup of hot cocoa served with a big dollop of marshmallow. I opted for the organic chamomile tea.

Day 2 - England

So after a night at my parents in my sister's room I wake the next morning hacking my lungs out. It seems I either have a cold or serious allergy issues. 2 antihistamines and a sudafed later I can finally breathe again.

I spent the day with parents and at the lawyers. My parents are wonderful people who believe in death. They are making preparations for their not so imminent deaths. And so they are insisting I write my will too *eye roll* I know, I know, I should have had that done years ago.

Dad left me with the keys to the little Micra (in case I felt like driving somewhere) but I declined and hitched a ride with my cousin instead to visit with my aunts, uncles and cousins who also live near my grandparents.

After MANY phone calls I finally hear from Delta, my travel insurance company AND the courier service that is delivering 80 pieces of luggage that day 2 of which were mine!!! I am wondering at this point clothing, underwear and toothbrush sales in England must of skyrocketed the previous day.

8pm GMT, 36hours late my luggage finally arrives at my parent's house. Just in time for me to repack *raised eyebrow* for the trip to Hong Kong the next morning.

Day 1 - England

This was no doubt the most hilarious (not!) of my trip. First of all DH dropped DS and I off at CVG on time, we checked in and went to the gate. Waited 30 mins only to hear the announcement that they have changed the gate to the one behind us. Fair enough we move to said gate, we're there maybe 10 mins then comes the announcement. The flight is delayed. The are going to wait for JFK to let them know the status, soonish~

So I wait patiently and after a lot of waiting they finally board us. No soon as we are at our seats and buckled in they announce we're being delayed again for 3 hours so we need to get OFF the plane.

Back at the gate we wait another hour before they decide lets board everyone and make a dash for it! We arrived at JFK 2.5hrs late with a 2.5hr connection time it means DS and I are literally RUNNING to the next gate. fyi, JFK sucks, NEVER ever go there.

SO we made it onto the plane oblivious of course that our luggage didn't actually make it. We arrived at MAN on time, waited patiently at the carousel and realized our luggage never got loaded.

Off to the lost baggage counter, file a claim and we're told it will be at least 24hrs before we get our bags because of the fact that only one flight from JFK lands per day. *smile sweetly*

My dad and brother picked us up REALLY surprised I have NO luggage at all (HA!) I explain the saga, it also meant I had to go shop for undies, clothes and the obligatory toothbrushes.

Laptop woes

This really ought to be in my Hong Kong - England trip posts but I thought it deserved a post of its own. My trusty HP pavilion dv1000 has finally bitten the dust. I am currently running the hd wired into DH's PC. Here's how it all began.

Day 5 in Hong Kong my LCD went out, or the back light. Anyhow, mom had a HD LCD monitor for a TV so I used it as a monitor so I could still be online while we were away. Back in England I used my brother's old PC monitor. When I got back, that's where it got tricky. DH insisted on taking apart the thing to make sure if it was the inverter or whatever it was and see if it was fixable. It turns out the ribbon connecting the LCD to the motherboard was severed. (At this point the laptop still worked albeit plugged into a monitor) DH then proceeded to 'fix' the ribbon by stripping and reconnecting said severed wires. Unfortunately that was the point where the laptop stopped working. It was dead as a doe-doe. No juice flowed Nada.

So he ordered me a new one, which won't be here for another month. He of course won't take the blame for it, it was my fault for the wires severing or the laptops fault for be crap. I meanwhile am fuming inside. Instead of having a working laptop and maybe having to buy a $200 monitor I know have to shell out $1400 for a new laptop I didn't even really wanted. DH of course can't see why I am mad because...you guessed it. It wasn't his fault!@!

Someone please give me strength NOT to kill my husband anytime soon.

Ups and Downs

Well 3rd day in HK. Lots of yummy foods and the usual family dramas!