5th October

We really didn’t do too much the first day. Between jetlag and all of the transportation being shut down, there wasn’t much we could do.

We went to lunch in the mall next to our flat. We did try to go to the grocery store, but that was closed for some reason. We walked to another store, and that was closed as well. So for dinner, we ate whatever was in my freezer. It was a very “daddy does dinner” type dinner (when my father made us dinner, it was always odds and ends of all our favorite things we liked to eat. Never a couple meal. LOL).

6th October

The MTR was still shut down. The buses were starting to run, but we were a little worried about going too far since was still the weekend. Instead, we walked to Ma On Shan down the Promenade.

Monkey was the only one to come with us. Monster had a bit of a cold. Bub wasn’t interested in walking.

We had lunch at the mall there. The MTR was still shut down as were some of the shops. We had lunch at the Japanese place we had taken H to before she went home for the summer.

We walked around for a while in the mall. There was a bit of vandalism. The protesters have been targeting shops that have ties with the CCP. We were surprised to see the Starbucks completely vandalized.

It turns out that the Starbucks in Hong Kong are managed by the Maxim company. From what I remember, it was the daughter of the owner that came out against the protesters.

It was avery low key day we spent close to home.

7th October

We were still stuck close to home due to limited MTR and uncertainty of what was going to happen elsewhere. My siblings spent the day hanging out with the kids.

We went to the Heng On Wet Market for lunch. It’s really kind of nice because there are a bunch of food stalls where you can choose what you want to eat. We ended up getting some buns that needed to be steamed. We came home and steamed them .

As the weather started to ease off, Fruitbat, Sis, and I decided to go for a walk. We walked from my place in Ma On Shan up to the Wu Kai Sha MTR. To get there, we passed a pier and two beaches.

We walked up to Wu Kai Sha. This is where B and I lived when we first came to Hong Kong. It was a nice place to start out. As I have said before, there were many restaurants in the mall attached, but at the time, we didn’t have the money. Today, I told my sister and brother to the Japanese coffee place. We all got some sort of tea.

8th October

The day before Monkey’s 18th birthday. *sigh*

We took Fruitbat and Sis into Sai Kung. Bub loves CaliMex there, so we went there for lunch.

Then we took the boat to Sharp Island. Both have been there before, but they like it there. So it was really nice to get to go there again. Unfortunately, our favorite boat, the Kitty Boat, wasn’t running. We had to take the Rainbow Boat.

Sharp Island is an island not far from Sai Kung. It is only accessible by boat. There is a strip of rocks in between the two parts of the island that are only exposed during low tide.

If you stick around until high tide on the side without the boat, you are stuck.

This was the day before Monkey turned 18. I can’t believe that she has grown up so much. When we came to Hong Kong, she was only 15. It seems so long ago, and it also feels like it was yesterday.

9th October (Monkey’s 18th Birthday)

For Monkey’s birthday, she wanted to go to Disneyland for the Halloween displays and haunted houses. In the beginning, Sis was going to take her, but it ended up that Fruitbat and Sis took all three kids, and I stayed home.

It was nice. Since the separation, I have been with the kids day in and day out. I do go out once a week sometimes, but mostly I am with the kids. So a day when someone else takes them was very welcomed.

Granted, my kids are older. It’s not like they require a lot of supervision, but there is a lot of emotional support and labor that exists because of so many changes so quickly. For all three of them. When Bub decides he doesn’t want to go to school, I have to deal with it. When Monkey is not doing her homework, I have to deal with it. When Monster is saying she doesn’t feel well, I have to deal with it. B isn’t there. He comes and goes as he pleases.

So when Sis offered to take all three kids, I was very grateful. I was able to go to the gym and work out without any worries. I worked on Monkey’s birthday cake.

They had to be home by 8 PM due to the MTR. It was open, but it would stop running at 8 PM. When they got home, we all had dinner together. B showed up shortly before they returned.

11th October

We were getting sort of sick staying around Ma On Shan, so we ventured out into Kowloon for the first time since their arrival. The MTR was running even though there had been protests the night before. They were still closing at 8 PM as they had the last few nights. We decided to take the day and go into Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). There is a space museum by the cultural centre Bub hadn’t been to.

We had lunch first in iSquare attached to the TST MTR. We looked at the different places but settled on the Panache Cafe.

Afterwards, we walked over the museum. There were quite a few of the MTR exits that were closed. We ended up not able to leave by the exit we wanted to.

Last time, Fruitbat was here, I took him and Monster to this museum. Monkey went when she was still as student at my school. Bub is the only of my kids who hadn’t been there before. Sis hadn’t been there either. It was crazy. When we did go, it was super crowded. We could hardly get to any of the exhibits. There were just people EVERYWHERE.

This time? I think we were one of about 3 families in the museum. Monster and Bub got to look at everything like 3 times if they wanted to.

12th October

Sis and I went to the Ladies Market to shop around. She wanted to check it all out. I wanted to buy something for my nephew. We didn’t get out until after 11 AM, so we grabbed lunch at this little coffee place in the Ladies Market.

After we walked the Ladies Market, we walked over to Prince Edward to see the scars of the protests. Sis had shown an interest in seeing what was going on. We had been watching live streams of the protests at night at home. One of the biggest areas hit has been Prince Edward because the Mong Kok Police Station is right there and because of the events that took place on the 31st August in Prince Edward MTR.

Sis and I got home from our little walk about, and we all headed into Sai Kung.

We were going to get pizza at the kids’ favorite pizza place, Paisanos.

After that, we were going to take Monkey for her first drink. I figured we could just take her to the square in town to one of the places A and I go to quite a bit.

We sat down and looked at the drinks menu. Monkey had no idea what to do or what to get. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to drink it. She wanted to taste something though. She told me just to order what I wanted and she would taste that. So I got a wine. Monkey had her ID out. She was worried they would card her if they saw her drinking. We all had to reassure her that no one was going to say anything.

I tried to get video of her drinking it because I’m weird like that. She was unamused by my documentary nature. I had to put it down and let her try it. She was unimpressed by wine.

In the end, I think I should have let her order whatever she wanted. I am happy that alcohol is not an interest to her. Sort of hypocritical coming from me, I know, considering after we finished, I took Sis out to my favorite bars.

13th and 14th October

Because it was the weekend, we were unable to get very far. There was a protest in Ma On Shan because a mall security guard was arrested for escorting the riot police for the mall. Sis wanted to get Dim Sum, and I know how picky my kids are. I thought going to Crystal Jade would be a good choice. Turns out, the whole mall was shut down in fear of another protest.

The mall on the other side of the MTR was open, so we got lunch there.

The next morning, the kids and I returned to work. Fruitbat and Sis had to leave really early in the morning to board their plane. We all had a hard time saying good bye to each other. Fruitbat reminded the kids that it was exactly 2 months until we would be heading to the US for Christmas.

I am so grateful to my brother and sister for coming all this way to spend the week with us. These last 6ish months have been near hell for me and, I am sure, by extension for the kids as well. I needed my family. My kids needed their family. I miss them terribly now they are gone, but at least I know with each day, we are getting closer and closer to the day that we will fly back to see everyone.