We are currently camped out behind a stairwell in the Grand Club on the top floor of the Hyatt in Hong Kong while waiting for the Chinese New Year fireworks to start. We are trying to be quiet so no one finds our secret hiding spot (we were tipped off by the helpful man who checked us in). Happy Chinese New Year, y’all!
This morning we woke up, had breakfast and I made my way to the spa for a facial. While I was being pampered, Dave swam some laps. We were going to have another lazy day, but the weather was so nice that we decided to venture out to The Peak. There is a tram that takes you up to the top, but we decided to skip the long wait and take a taxi. The top is 428 meters (1404.2 feet) above sea level.
It was much clearer today than yesterday so the views were really great!
The top of The Peak
It’s crazy how fast the time is flying by. Dave and I decided to spend Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day in Hong Kong this year. Today was our first full day here and we did NOTHING. The most exciting thing we did today was walk to Subway to pick up dinner. It was a great day!
I let Faith do all of the photography for our trip to Japan because she brought her DSLR. When I saw them on Facebook, I noticed she had played with the colors on some before posting them… a lightbulb went off in my head. I took the original photos she had given me and decided to do some editing of my own.
When we were in Osaka, we walked through the shopping district and came across a river. The view was really pretty so we took a few photos. There were a lot of shadows and as novice photographers, it was hard for us to really capture the moment.
After playing around in Lightroom, I transformed the photo above into one I’m really happy with. What do you think?
I had a really difficult time after coming back from Malaysia. The trip was simply amazing and I loved lounging by the pool with Dave everyday. When we got back to Korea, it was cold! I still didn’t really know much about Ulsan so I spent a lot of time alone in the apartment. I got into a major funk that put me in cranky mood most days and I started being a butthead to Dave. Thankfully, I have snapped out of that.
I have started going to coffee each Tuesday morning with a large group of expat wives. I started going to the gym most days. I’ve made a few friends. I still feel a bit lost in Ulsan, but the loneliness has subsided. I know I am blessed and have an amazing life and a wonderful boyfriend, but expat life does have its challenges.
I decided to postpone my photo a day project until the weather gets nicer. I just wasn’t getting out and I didn’t want to take boring photos. The whole purpose of the project is for everyone to be able to see what Korea is really like and that just wasn’t happening when I was spending most of my time in the apartment or at the gym.
My blog may be changing gears a bit in 2013. I have a busy year planned. I will be in a different country each month this year so that should keep things interesting around here. I just got back from Japan with a friend of mine that I made while teaching in Busan and next Friday Dave and I are heading to Hong Kong for Lunar New Year. Afterwards, I’m heading straight to Texas for a brief visit.
It’s our last day in Malaysia! I spent the morning having a facial, followed by lunch and then a short nap (tough life, huh?). After the nap, we quickly packed and then checked out. Our checkout time was 4pm, but we have a late flight so we have 5 hours to kill at the hotel. We have been sitting by the pool, enjoying our last few hours in paradise. I can’t believe after seven amazing days and nights, it’s time to go back to Korea.
Today we skipped breakfast and went for a massage instead. Afterwards we feasted on a variety of Malaysian foods. Then we spent the afternoon by the pool. This is the life!
There is a nature reserve attached to our hotel. The reserve takes in orphan orangutans and helps rehabilitate them. The orangutans are fed every day at 10am and 2pm. We signed up for the 2pm feeding. The reserve is in the jungle so you have to douse yourself in bug spray and wear long pants. It was such a hot day today, too. I’m not sure what the temp was, but I know the heat index was about 100 degrees. The walk wasn’t too long, about 10 minutes, up a few sets of stairs.
We waited and waited, but the orangutans never showed up for the feeding. We kept getting our hopes up when we would hear rustling in the trees, but the ranger told us that that was just monkeys. The ranger told us that if the orangutans didn’t come that he would get the baby orangutans from the nursery. I wasn’t too bothered by the orangutans never showing up because the babies were sooooooo cute!
They ate and played and were so much fun to watch. Eventually, the Macaque monkeys made their way closer and closer to the feeding platform. The ranger stepped away for a minute and the monkeys took advantage and swept in to steal some food. The baby orangutans were terrified and one ran off. When the ranger brought him back, he was clinging to his leg. The ranger couldn’t get him to let go. He would try to get him to hang on the ropes and the orangutan went right back to climbing up the ranger and clinging his arms around his neck.
The whole experience was really great and we are so happy we did it. This vacation has been incredible and I’m sad that the end is quickly approaching.
Photo credits go to Dave. Didn’t he do a good job?
Our view from breakfast.
Santa came to visit us at the resort!
Life Outside of Texas 