Wow, I don't know that words can do justice for today. We had an amazing day! We hopped in a couple of taxis to pier #6 to catch the ferry to Mui Wo (moo-ey woe) to visit some new friends.
I guess I should back up just a bit. While we were at SFCV, we met a couple and their son--Debbie, Bob, and Robert. They live in Mui Wo, Lantau Island, Hong Kong and have visited SFCV several times in the last few months. We told them we were headed to Hong Kong after our adoption trip and they gave us advice and invited us to visit. I'm not sure if they actually expected us to take them up on it, but we did and we had the BEST time! We are truly blessed to have met them and spent precious time with them.
We made a last minute decision to visit with them and made plans to meet. We postponed breakfast and took the ferry to the island. We grabbed some McD's while we waited for Bob to meet up with us and give us a tour of Mui Wo. What an adorable and wonderful village! We can see why they live there!
Bob gave us a tour of the village and shared their story of how they came to live in this slice of heaven and their dream for the future. After the tour, Debbie and Robert and Patrick joined us as we took the roller coaster ride, oops, I mean the bus to
Tai O. Tai O is known as the Venice of Hong Kong, a village on stilts. Patrick is a friend of Bob and Debbie and just happened to be staying with them this week. Patrick is trilingual and just happens to have done a research project on Tai O so he made a FABULOUS guide for us, such a delight. The scenery getting to Tai O was amazing! Winding mountain road, gorgeous views, water, small villages...amazing!
After we got off the bus, we took a quick boat tour of the city and went then to see if we could spot the
rare pink dolphins which are known to live in the sea at Tai O, but no luck today. We headed back to shore to explore the village on foot. We stopped for a quick snack of dau fu fa (aka tofu fa) a Chinese dessert made with very soft tofu and served with sugar and a clear syrup. Troy loved it, but then again he's eaten ostrich kidney, chilled jellyfish, pufferfish, chicken feet, and roasted pigeon on this trip. We walked the streets of the village, bought the girls each a freshwater pearl bracelet, and headed back to the bus for a funfilled ride back to Mui Wo.
Back in Mui Wo; Troy, Bob, and Connor headed into town to pick up pizza for dinner while Debbie and I and the rest of the children stopped at the open air market for some fruit to make smoothies and then took a wonderful walk to their home (no vehicles allowed!). They are blessed to live in a beautiful home ON the beach. The kids played for a bit while we visited and made smoothies. The guys came back with the pizzas and we ate on the front porch overlooking the beach. After dinner, we took the children to the beach to put their feet in the water. It was then time to say bye to our new friends. I truly pray that we will see each other again some day. It was really a day to remember. (Thanks, Bob, Debbie, Robert, and Patrick!)
We took the slow ferry back to Hong Kong to finish packing as our flight leaves at 8:20 am. I can't believe the time has come to leave China. We're just not ready. It holds such an important place in our hearts. We LOVE being there.
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| If you look closely, you can see the water buffalo in the background. They wander the island, sleep on the beach, and make themselves at home. |
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| Ummm, this is a prison! It looked so much like a resort I wondered what I could do to get in! |
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| Our first view of Tai O |
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| Can you spot the "man's face" in the rocks? |
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| Dried everything! |
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| Dau fu fa |
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| mooncake molds |
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| We saw them wandering right alongside the road! |
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| View of ferry from beach |
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| Our precious little girl...she has done SO well! |
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| Our last view... we weren't ready to leave. I could see us having a place here! |
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| Pizza! |
The ride back was quiet, children were tired and we were lost in thoughts.
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