Play in nature

Nothing fanciful. It’s not even colourful. No flying fox. No slides and swings. It’s simple creative play nestled in a beautiful garden that stimulates the imagination and calm the senses. Birds chirping. Bees buzzing. The ants are quietly working hard. It’s play therapy at its best.

We love the nature playground at Hort Park! The boys can’t get enough of it. Yes, my 2 lovely boisterous boys enjoyed themselves so much I had a hard time getting them to leave. I think the play had a soothing effect on them and they got along wonderfully well for the rest of the evening.

We had to walk some distance before reaching the nature playground, passing by the swing, a small bamboo forest and the kids' playground.

This is the entrance to the playground. It doesn’t seem like much but there is more to be explored if you venture deeper into the garden.

Tell me why sand is so much fun for my boys.

They had a good time while I relaxed nearby with a can drink. Had to re remind them to check out other parts of the playground.

The rustic feel of the huts seems so inviting. Almost like beckoning one to come and play.

As we go deeper into the forest, we were in for more surprises. A little musical garden that allows the kids to explore sounds and a mini maze that leads to more play.

This reminds me of the nature trail in Tasmania. Except that now the boys can no longer walk through the tunnel without bending their body. :0

Here’s my boys’favoirite spot! The stream where you can turn on the tap and water flows down from the top to the bottom. How cool is that? My boys immediately climbed up and put their dirty feet into the water. They have been running around barefooted. Haha!

There’s more to come. Next to the stream was the kitchen. My boys spent a great deal of time playing there. They prepared all kinds of food, drinks and dessert for me. There were even some tools for them to use from the tool board.

These were not the usual sand pits. My boys love the feel of the sawdust.

While they were playing, I discovered the magnifying glass. I thought this was pretty awesome. The kids could pick up things they found and place them under the magnifying glass for a closer look.

Washing up after play. Zech has always been a responsible boy.

There was also a fruit tree trail and a secret den for the kids to rest away from the sun.

In a garden, we can't miss having a tea party. If the sun wasn't setting fast, we could use some leaves and twigs for a mini afternoon tea.

We headed for dinner after sunset. That was slightly after 7pm. I realised evening play is the best as it was much cooler. We will be back again soon.

School stories

I love hearing his stories about school. How he helped his Chinese teacher to carry a stack of books all by himself to the staff room. How his hand was hurt as a result of that. 

The day his class performed in the library was something he looked forward to. He played the xylophone while some of his friends played the keyboard, drum and other percussion instruments. 

The first time he stayed back during recess to complete corrections was a sad recount of how he had to gobble up the sandwich Mummy made for him early in the morning. There was a long queue of pupils all waiting for the teacher to mark their corrections. He lamented he almost couldn’t finish his food and was left with only 15 min recess time! I could only smile, consoling him that at least he could eat his sandwich.

I love hearing who he played with during recess. His adventures with a cheeky but kind boy amused me sometimes. Their imaginative game of catching Pokémon seemed rather creative to me. And then there was this constant conversations with a girl that made me wonder what could transpire so much between them.

Once, another friend threw a whiteboard marker out of the window and it landed on a car with a thud. He seemed relieved that it wasn’t his grandma’s car. 

He has never been great at Art but has always been fond of his Art lessons. He came home telling me all about his plan for his playground. Over the weekend, we collected a few recycled materials for him to use in his art work. The day he had his Art lesson, he came home bursting through my bedroom door, telling me excitedly he had made a card for me. It was a Mother’s Day card. I couldn’t hide my surprise when I learned that it was his Art teacher who asked the 
class to make cards for their mothers.  I thought he would have started on his playground project that day. What amazed me most was the maze activity on the last page of the card. After asking me to complete the activity, he even marked it with a tick! 

He enjoyed buying food for his Chinese teacher and he looked forward to helping him every week. He shared with me how he and his friend queued up to buy food for their teacher and even used their money once to pay for the 
food first. I gently reminded him to ask for the money from his teacher the next day. 

And then there was a classmate who fell and hurt himself so badly there was blood all over his hand. He told me his friend had fainted when in actual fact (he found out the next day) his friend was in so much pain he closed his eyes. He then detailed how the friend was taken to the Care Room and how he hovered around like a fly outside the room just to see his friend. 

In a semester, he had gone for 3 excursions. His bits and pieces of his day out of school always filled me with a sense of joy and I thank God for these exposure outside school. 

I wonder when he’s 12, 18 and 25 years old,  if he will still find the time to tell stories to his not-so-young mummy. At that time, I hope I’ll still remember to ask him, “How was your day? Tell me about it.”

A short getaway in a city that offers more than dim sum and shopping!

Our 2nd time as a family to HK now, we decided to explore a little beyond the touristy places. 

Day 1 - HK Science Museum (within walking distance from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR)

Arriving on Wed morning, we took the kids to the HK Science museum after check in at 1.30pm. It’s been our overseas holiday tradition now to fit in a visit to the museum. On Wednesdays, entry to the science museum is free for all! So hippee! 

The electricity and magnetism gallery was our first stop. What I like here isn't just the open concept that invites the kids to explore and experiment but also the size of the exhibits. Everything was larger and so kids-friendly!

The transportation gallery was quite cool. A real plane as the centerpiece is really eye-catching!

The kids could view in detail a motor engine and even a black box. The information panels displayed interesting facts. 

Intrigued!

The Life Science gallery displays a huge skeleton of a plant-eating dinosaur. 70% is real!

The many specimens in the gallery reminds me of our LKC Natural History Museum. What I like is the information on the panels that were easy for kids to read.

Look at the big microscope for kids! At LKC, Nath always had difficulty peering into the tiny microscope as he's still under 120cm.

On the top level of the museum is the children's gallery. Zech has grown too big for that. He couldn’t even enter the construction play area as it catered to children below 120cm. Nath enjoyed himself even though it was just him. Our local kidsStop should do an upgrade soon. Lots of play-pretend here with wagons and soft bricks. 

Working hard here by rolling the wheel to transport the bricks up.

There was a big house at the centre for the kids to construct using the soft bricks. A mini crane, which Nath had no chance of using because it was so popular, was somewhere. I should have taken a picture of it.

In the biodiversity gallery, the boys love driving their favourite vehicle on screen. It’s similar to those found in arcade games. Obviously this was the hot favourite for boys. 

There were many other exhibits but we had no time to cover all. In total, we spent about 3 hours at the Science museum. It could probably take a whole day.

Day 2 - Disneyland (MTR to Sunnybay and transfer to Disney train)

The only touristy attraction we planned was Disneyland. 

It was very different this time. Other than spending more than 2 hours in the queue waiting to take pictures with Mickey and Minnie (I’ll never do that again!), our boys are now big enough to take almost all the thrill rides. 

Surprise surprise. Our best photos are not with Mickey and Minnie but with Pluto.  He took them into his arms, cuddled and tickled them. Look at how happy he made the boys!

The boys' thrill ride favourites listed below with number 1 being the best:

1. Winnie the Pooh ride (I think that’s because it’s my fav ride so that kind of influenced them)
2. Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Car - the ultimate roller coaster ride (I was petrified just looking at it. The loops and the turns and twists!)

3. Orbitron  (space shuttle ride similar to Dumbo the Elephant) 

4. Mad hatter tea cups

5. Hyperspace mountain

6. Ironman experience in a futuristic car (virtual encounter)

7. Cinderella Carousel 

8. It’s a small world boat ride

9. Toy Soldier Parachute Drop

Disneyland HK has upgraded and revamped quite a bit since the last we were there. The toy story land and the mountain mine car were new. We caught the day parade and the evening parade as well. This was something we didn’t manage to do the last time. With the kids being so young on our first trip there, everything took double the time. Walking was slow. Meals were slow and not to mention the numerous times I needed to make to the baby care room to feed Nath. 

The boys enjoyed themselves tremendously. The average waiting time for the rides was about 10 to 15 min. It didn't take long at all! The only disappointment I had was the finale. No fireworks as the castle was under construction so it was replaced with a projection show with Mickey as special appearance towards the end.

Day 3 - Lamma Island (MTR to Central and walk to Central Pier 4 via IFC Mall)

We decided to go slow the next day and make a trip to Lamma Island. This was my first time too. There are two villages at Lamma Island. We took a 20 min ferry to Yung Shue Wan, a more developed village with the influx of expat who choose to stay there out of the bustle and hustle of city life. 

It was like stepping into a different world altogether. The laid back vibe and quiet tranquility is a cross between Pulau Ubin and Taiwan 九份. The electic mix of shops with traditional ones in between artsy shops add to the unique culture that now makes up Lamma Island that used to be a fishing village. 

The boys' love for dogs. :) They wanted to go down and pat him but no from mummy.

We took a stroll down the lane and found quite a few surprises. 

Impressive seafood on display!

We love the different shops and the murals on the walls. 

I was horrified to see dried starfish! 

The village is well-known for its many banyan trees.

The best must be our lovely lunch in a simple restaurant. That’s what made the trip so unforgettable. I can never forget the delectable taste. The yummiest fried squid I’ve ever tasted and the super fresh fish worked up our appetite. Even the rice and a simple dish of broccoli tasted wonderful. 

Day 4 - Dragon's Back Trail (MTR to Shau Kei Wan, transfer to bus number 9 and alight after 11 stops)

On our last day, we went hiking at Dragon's Back trail. This was the highlight of our trip.

It was such a visual treat. The hike upward was relatively easy. 

The view was simply breathtaking and added to that, beautiful blue sky with white clouds that dotted across at random. The wind that blew in our faces seemed intoxicating, awakening our senses and calming the soul. Eating a simple char siew bun while soaking in the beauty of nature can be extra delicious. 

 Can you spot the dragon's back trail?

This is the HK I love. Not just a city with tall skyscrapers but a country surrounded by mountains and the South China Sea. 

Making our way down the dragon’s back from the peak was more tedious. The entire trail took us more than 3 hours to complete. But of course, we spent a great deal of time taking photos and relaxing at the peak. Towards the end, we were dead tired but it's all worth it. This is a trail I'd like to do again. Just to hike to the top to see the panoramic view with my boys, probably in another stage when the boys are much older than now.

After our workout at the trail, we took the ding ding tram to Central, the CBD in HK. 

Then the famous star ferry across the harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui.  Standing instead of sitting down on the ferry was an amazing experience for them. The smiles on their faces tell it all. I’ve never seen anyone looking so happy just taking a ferry. Talk about simple pleasures. 

A great short getaway at the last minute when we were wondering where to travel next, every stage with the boys is enjoyable. We get different issues as they grow but the fun factor overrides all others. The Lord is good. He has given us a very smooth flight and wonderful weather. No rain at all!  He has brought us to beautiful places beyond the city, allowing the boys to experience the local culture and see different perspectives in life. That's what travelling is all about - to explore, understand and see beyond one's horizon. Till our next adventure (we've booked our tics :0)...