hong kong round two.

Hong Kong. Round 2.

Which mostly consists of 5 happy girls running around Disneyland. But more on that later.

We left Friday afternoon, taking a bus to catch the ferry. The ferry ride was 2 hours and uneventful. Arriving in Hong Kong, we took the metro to our apartment. In the underground, especially in China, I am reminded of just how many people there are on this planet. Riding the metro, pressed up against strangers, and then walking the long passageways in between stops, I watched hundreds of faces go by. 

Our apartment was in downtown Hong Kong, near the Yau Ma Tei metro stop. We rented it through airbnb, and it turned out to be a big success. Granted there were 8 girls living in a very small space, but it kinda just became a big, 2-night sleep over and that was pretty great. 

Friday night we wandered the streets. Bright, colorful signs are everywhere, and cars and double decker buses zip by constantly. The city seems to always be under construction somewhere, and bamboo scaffolding line the buildings. Walking along the sidewalk, you occasionally get dripped on--a big splat of liquid on your head. I try not to think where it comes from. 

We ended up at McDonalds. 

How often I eat at McDonalds in America: Never.

How often I eat at McDonalds outside of America: Surprisingly often. 

Maybe it's the familiarity of the place, the fact that I love oreo McFlurries, how cheap it is, or just because the food is the closest you get to the food back home. 

The next day, we headed to Disneyland. Even the ride there was magical. Check out the Mickey Mouse windows! --------->

Walking up main street, I was reminded of so many happy memories I have of going with my family to Disneyland. It is one of my happy places.

Disneyland Hong Kong is smaller than the Disneyland in California. Which was actually pretty great because we got to go on rides multiple times and even go to the shows. Also, there was a Toy Story Land. I was pretty stoked about it.

The first ride we went on was Grizzly Gulch. It was really similar to Thunder Mountain, only we had no idea that half-way through the ride we would be going backwards! We were all screaming for the rest of the ride. Then we went again, because the line was only 5 minutes long. 

My favorite ride in Disneyland is Space Mountain. We got to ride it 3 times that day. Each time we got progressively more silly/crazy when it came time to take the picture. Below, you can see the progression. 

A somewhat normal picture--some of us are smiling, some look scared. The normal stuff. 

Now we're basically all doing the whole Asian peace thing. We were ready for the camera. 

The last time we went on Space Mountain was right before the park closed. We were all a little slap happy by then. I don't know what Bekstrand was doing during the ride, but the picture makes me wonder. :) When we walked out after the ride and saw it we couldn't stop laughing.

So there you have it. Disneyland. The happiest place on earth. 

Our last day in Hong Kong was Sunday. We spent the morning at church.

























Then we took a bus ride over to Stanley's Market, a fun little market place along the beach. Below are some pictures from the ride and the market.

The weekend was wonderful. There is so much to see and do in Hong Kong! I hope I'll make it back there someday.