Hong Kong or Bust !

Hubby and I had decided in early 2015 that we would end our year partying it up in Hong Kong. My parents decided to join as well as a few of our close friends. Our last family trip out that way was Christmas of 2013.  It was a rough trip as hubby and the kids all got sick.  I spent most of the holiday nursing them all back to health. Hubby was very nervous before heading out, but was excited as now our kids were 2 years older and our friends were going to be joining us there.

Mom and My Princess

It's always a surprise when travelling standby, but were were all lucky to get on the first flight we tried. The route to Hong Kong is one that I am familiar with as I work it all year round. I am used to the long flight, but not as a passenger. I'm usually asking if you want the chicken or the beef :)

15 hours to go

My post 2 years ago has a few suggestions for travelling with kids.  My kids have been very fortunate to have started travelling at a very early age. My hubby and I love to travel and always take our kids with us. With that being said, I still suggest bringing lots of bribes and goodies to keep the kids entertained for hours. Bring comfort items as well and always keep in mind all the things you take out during your flight at the beginning because it will be a frantic end of the flight searching for all the stuff you took out at the beginning.

After 20 hours of travelling we made it to our final destination.  Hong Kong is one of my favourite cities.  It should be on everyone's top 10 places to visit. Here are some of the many highlights of our trip.

Posing in Front of Bruce Lee's home

Hubby is a huge Bruce Lee fan and found out that we could actually see it. It was sold after his death and turned into a 'love hotel'. It now stands empty, but was still cool to see.

Disneyland

One of the best things about Hong Kong is their public transit system called the MTR. It can get you to pretty much anywhere in and out of the city. It even brings you to the boarder crossing at Shenzhen.  There is even an app that you can load to help you with schedules of the trains and busses. We took it it everywhere even to Disneyland to surprise the kids for Christmas day.

Mom and Dad with the Kids

Running with Hubs

My parents joined us on this trip which allowed us to squeeze in a few quick runs. Hong Kong is not just big city, but has many gorgeous nature reserves and hiking trails. We stayed at an apartment nestled in the many hills of HK and was schooled by these hills.

Views from The Peak

We also did many touristy things as it had been a few years since our friends had visited HK. The Peak is a must do for any visitor. It has the most spectacular views of the city. There are also hiking trails nearby with the Pok Fu Lam Reservoir right there.

Cable Car ride at Ocean Park

We love HK

Ocean Park is part aquarium, part theme park nestled into one of the many mountains.  It was one of my fondest memories of HK. My parents had taken me there on my first visit to HK in 1983. I am told that much of it has changed, but their signature cable car still remains the same. It spans 1.5 km one way and offers AMAZING views of the surrounding area, the park and the sea. It connects you to the other part of the park where most of the new rides and shows are. 

HK Railway Museum

My son is currently a huge train enthusiast and when I found out that there was a Railway Museum, I knew I had to take him there. Both the kids had a blast seeing old engines and trains from the past.

Frozen Beer

Here's to an amazing finish to 2015 for me. We survived the trip and no one got sick this time. I was able to squeeze in a few runs and saw new places that I had never seen. As, I mentioned earlier Hong Kong is a fantastic city. It is busy and crowded yet peaceful and free. There are many things to do and sites to see. The food is incredible. Many of the restaurant chains in North America can be found there. All signs are in both English and Chinese and their transportation system is top notch.

We are looking forward to visiting again on day.... after we recover from the crazy jet lag.

Thanks for reading.

Where are you top places to visit in the world?

Have you been to Hong Kong? What are your favourite memories?

Happy New Year. Looking Ahead to 2016

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year Holiday. I was very fortunate to have spent the last few weeks of 2015 in Hong Kong with my family and friends. I was also forced to take a break from my training due to our busy schedule and to be honest, it was supposed to be a vacation.

Hong Kong Skyline

I know that I have been very absent from my blog and I can't really  nail down the reason. I guess it was part laziness, but I have a feeling the main reason was that 2015 was a tough year with my running life. I had no PB's (personal bests) and was pretty down on myself.

I still have a bunch of race reports to write up from 2015 and promised myself that I will get to it.  There are many days where I just want to shut down and completely stop writing.  I'm not much of a writer and there are many blogs out there that are way better than mine. I know because I follow many of them.

I started my blog as a way for me to talk about my passion for running and hope to inspire people. It has been therapeutic for me and also emotional for me.   It was an outlet for me as many people around me were sick and tired from listening to me talk about running, training, racing and all things related to the sport. 

Looking back at my New Year's post 2015, I had set out goals which I can sadly say I didn't accomplish. I feel like I completely let myself and any readers out there down. I obsessed over social media following fellow bloggers and runners and saw all their successes which made it even harder for me. Many were inspiring, but at the same time can be a huge downer when I was not where I wanted to be with my journey.  I found myself comparing myself to them. 

As I am still getting over the jet lag from my fabulous holiday and typing away at 4am, I look forward to 2016.  I am not going to set lofty goals for myself. I AM going to stop being so hard on myself and enjoy the training this year. Of course I will be aiming for PB's and always chasing down the unicorn. I will continue to train as hard as I can and run each race with all I have. I want to start the year with a clean slate and a clear mind.  If 2015 taught me anything, it's that running is 95 % mental and the rest is physical.

Happy Hump Day and Thanks for Reading

What did 2015 teach you?

Do you have goals for 2016? What are they?