Hiking the "Dragon's Back"

Last weekend (on the Saturday following Thanksgiving), we went with some friends from school to Hong Kong Island to do the "Dragon's Back" hike. Apparently, it's one of the most famous hikes in Hong Kong (and has been named one of the "world's best urban hikes").
This particular hike gets its name from the landscape that it covers. It runs along a ridge for much of its course, and at times when you look behind you, the sandy-brown trail over the sharp green hilltops actually looks a bit like a giant dragon's back (although, as it's a mythical creature, I suppose it's anyone's guess what a dragon's back actually looks like):
Hiking across a ridge makes for a very breezy walk, and as it was a warm day, we enjoyed the cool wind that swept across much of the path. The height of this hike also makes for some stunning scenery (below is the town of "Shek O," on the Southeast corner of Hong Kong Island):
The hike took about 2 hours or so (I think it's about 7 km or so), and it gave us a chance to chat with some of our co-workers. Most of them we already knew (in fact, Rus & Mel - also pictured in our last Shenzhen post - will be traveling to India with us next month). But, one teacher (Mary) is new to ICS, and we got a chance to get to know her during our hike.

(from the left: Emily, Maria, Mary, & Mel)

We enjoyed both the company and the scenery. It is constantly surprising to us how varied the Hong Kong landscape is. Our hike took us through sub-tropical forest, wind-swept hilltops, and ultimately ended at a beautiful beach. All of these landscapes exist within 15 miles of Hong Kong's downtown area (which we all know is one of the most densely populated places on the planet).
We finished our hike at the appropriately named town of "Big Wave Bay," where we spent the next couple of hours lounging at a beach-side cafe. We watched the surfers until the sun went down, played cards for awhile, then had a great meal. Surprisingly enough, that evening was the first time in our 4+ months in Hong Kong that we've felt like we needed to wear jackets (and of course, we had forgotten to bring them).
This week's question (post a comment so Emily knows that you're still out there!):
We travel a fair bit, and even when we visit cities, we seek out green space. Can you recommend to us (and the rest of our readers) a good "urban hike?" (or really any hike within a half-hour's drive of an urban area?)

Our Christmas Tree!

We had 4 days off work for Thanksgiving (I love being a teacher!), so on Friday we took off for China to do some Christmas shopping. We were in search of a fake tree, our rationale being that those sorts of things all seem to be made in China (and therefore must be cheap there too, right?). Well, thanks to some handwritten Chinese directions (courtesy of our kind Chinese co-workers at school), we were able to find a "wholesale" mall in Shenzhen, China. The mall was all decked out for Christmas, with fake reindeer on the sidewalk, blinking lights in the doorways, and forests of fake Christmas trees set up in the parking lot. Emily commented that the process of tree selection felt a lot like a visit to a tree lot in the US (except these trees smelled a bit like Benzene). After much serious conversation (and comments like "this one looks a bit thin," and "that one's too short," and "the fumes from this one are making me dizzy), we finally decided on a 7 foot beauty. We bought it a little too early in the day and I (Brad) wound up carrying it around Shenzhen for another 2 hours. However, we were also able to find Christmas ornaments and several strings of lights (that we are praying won't burn our house down).

So, as you can see from the picture, our home looks very festive now! Thanks to Ruthie for helping us decorate the tree!

My question (feel free to leave a comment): How much do you think we paid for our fake Chinese Christmas tree?

Happy Thanksgiving

Sneak peak of hike on Dragon's back

Rudy and Asia

We have had a really fun Thanksgiving here in Hong Kong. We have been house-sitting/dog sitting for friends that went to Korea. It has been fun to have Rudy at their house and enjoy their beautiful view of the harbour.

Thursday we went to a great Thanksgiving day potluck with teachers from our school. For the fifth year running I have NOT had to make a turkey :-) Friday we went to Shenzhen to get pampered and buy Christmas decorations. After massages, pedicure, manicure, hair cut, a fake christmas tree and decorations we came back home relaxed and ready to play with Rudy. Saturday we dropped Rudy off at the Wongs' house to play with their family while we went on a hike with friends. The hike was beautiful (Brad will make a whole post for that hike) and we enjoyed sitting on the beach eating dinner. Also the highlight of the evening was the Wong family said "yes" to watching Rudy for the rest of the year (his current family has some major health issues and need to fly back to the US for surgery, so you all can be praying for the Pifers).

After reading my friend's blog I was inspired to write a list of what Brad and I are thankful for this year.

• Great friends in Cairo
• Last year's Thanksgiving in Jordan with the whole family
• Playing with our great nephews this summer
• Getting to hang out with Kalina and play with Isaiah (and that he is finally theirs FOREVER)
• Staying with Julie and Tyler in Oregon
• Family beach vacation at the Shallahamers' house
• The Gibbons and Solazzo Families for watching Rudy in OR
• The Pifer family for taking care of Rudy for the last 2 months here in HK
• The Wong family for taking care of Rudy for the rest of the school year
• Ruthanne moving to Hong Kong
• Our jobs at ICS
• Beautiful jungle hikes along the ocean
• New friends
• Thanksgiving potlucks in a new place
• Organized public transportation
• Skype converstations with family and friends across the world
• Julie, Tyler, Mom and Dad Condie coming for Christmas!!

We have so much to be thankful for in life!

Sorry for the absence

Sorry that we haven't posted anything in a while Two weekends ago Ruthie was in the hospital due to severe vomiting (she is better now). Then last Monday I fell off my bike and really skinned up my hand/chin/shoulder and hurt my jaw. I was trying to brake and ring my bell so as to not run over an old lady....I didn't run over the lady but I flipped over my handle bars. I haven't "got back on the horse" so to speak yet but maybe this Thanksgiving break.

I promise that we will post a few things during our upcoming break. We are dog sitting for friends so we will get to have Rudy stay with us off campus, which will be fun. We are planning a day hike, a day trip to China (Shenzhen) and decorate our apartment for Christmas. Should be fun!

Kitchen goddess

On Tuesday night our part-time roommate comes for two nights. Although her bed is in the middle of our living room floor and when we get up to go to work she has to transfer to our bed, she doesn't seem to mind. She spends her day off doing our dishes, baking us cookies, going to the grocery store and cooking. Obviously we love having her around and like it that she chooses to spend her days off hanging out with us.

Ruthie has been developing her culinary skills and is becoming a kitchen goddess! So far she has made 4 delicious meals with only the help of mom's recipes and a few tips from me. It is fun to come up from my classroom for lunch and find her cooking away. Her kitchen is a little sparse and home to a few creatures (ants and geckos) so she enjoys using our kitchen to cook for the week. When she goes off to college next year she is going to be making all her friends delicious home cooked meals. She already has a hard time keeping the boys away, now with her new found skills she will have to beat them off with a stick!

Rubber chicken

This is Rudy's favorite toy. He had one in Cairo (it was a white elephant gift) and Brad was able to get one here in HK. It makes him into a crazy dog (Michelle Johnson can attest to this fact). What a funny little pup!

happiness is.....

..having your puppy snuggle on your lap.

It has been great to FINALLY have Rudy in Hong Kong! After all the paperwork, endless phone calls to the airlines (thanks Brad), getting permits, all of our family in the US helping with Rudy (thank you Gibbons, Hales and Solazzos), taking him to vets, taking him to the airport (thanks Julie), giving him lots of love (thanks Max and Lola).....he is finally here. We are so thankful that a family at our school opened their home to Rudy so we can see him frequently. We got to hang out with the little pup on Sunday and it finally did feel like all the pieces of our life are here in Hong Kong. We get to see Rudy again on Wednesday, now to find bikes so we can get there a little faster than public transportation!

I think Rudy missed us, he kept following us around so he could sit on our laps.