We just got back from our week in Hong Kong.  We went a group of 17 Mongolian members who were going to the temple, four of which were children.  Nine of the adults were going for the first time and they were all doing family names.  It was very exciting!

 This is our group gathered at the Chinggis Khan airport in Mongolia ready to depart for Hong Kong.  There are 19 of us all together.

And this is our group with President Aki, the temple president, and Elder and Sister Chan of the temple presidency.

 This is the patron housing where we stayed.  It is right across the street from the temple.  The part of the building with the round window is the chapel where we attended church on Sunday.  The mission home and the distribution center is also in this building.  We stayed on the top floor and it is a very nice facility.

 This is the temple viewed from across the street.  We were on our way there to do the 4:00 and 7:00pm sessions.

This is the front of the temple outside the temple grounds.  The water fall is on both sides of the wall.

 This is the front gate into the temple grounds.  And this is the landscaping along one side of the temple.  The temple is surrounded by buildings and this is the only walkway beside the temple on temple grounds.

 We are outside the entry doors to the temple.  You can see the umbrella rack behind us.  There is another one on the other side of the steps.  This is the rainy seasons and we saw umbrella racks everywhere.  In fact the night we arrived it was raining hard with thunder and lightning.  We got off the bus at the wrong stop and had to walk several blocks in it before we found the housing.  We were soaked but then the rest of the week was hot and humid and we wanted some rain!!

 This is the temple at night, lit up and shining so beautifully.

So that their parents could attend to temple, we helped with the children.  This park is right next to the housing.  We also stayed with them when the little girl cut her foot and it started to get infected, and the boy got a sore throat.  Elder Shrope and Ganbold took the train across town to get them some antibiotics from a member who has a pharmacy.  They were feeling better by the next day!!

But some times it was a little tiring keeping the children entertained!!  Plus helping with the two babies.

 This is two of the three families that came to be sealed.  Since it was their temple 'wedding' they wore their wedding dresses.  The other family did not have a wedding dress but later borrowed one of these and took their picture.

 On Saturday we rode a couple of trains and a bus to go sightseeing for the afternoon after spending the morning in the temple.  The buses are doubledeckers and we rode on the top deck.  The trains go very quickly and are color coated  as to where you want to go.  We went from the red train to the blue one.

 We went to the water front and walked down the "Aisle of the Stars".  They call it their Chinese Hollywood.

We only recognized a couple of the names.  First was Bruce Lee.  He has a star but also a statue. 

 The other one we knew was Jackie Chan.  My hand is as big as his!!

 This is what the buildings look like on both sides of the water.  Very tall and very crowded! Some of these buildings are 80 to 100 stories high!!  And this little fishing boat was just heading back toward the dock.

 This display had horses, chariot type carriages and lots of people in colorful costumes and it looked like the were of paper like you see lanterns made of but then I sure it was of some other material so that it can withstand the rain.  At night it lit up and was quite beautiful.

This is one way to cross the water.  We did not ride in this but took the ferry across.

 On the other side we took a bus ride up to the top of a hill.  This is some of the scenery from the top.  This is actually an island and it is amazing how they build up along the sides and get so many buildings in such a small area!

 We walked through a couple of malls but did not have time to do any shopping.  We were on a tight schedule and they were always stopping to take pictures.

We did have time to stop for lunch.  Yes, McDonalds!  We had to come to Hong Kong to have American food, and the chicken sandwich was great!

Then we took the ferry back to where we had begun so that we could watch the light show.

 Every night at 8:00 pm the buildings around the waterfront put on a laser light show.  Besides the lasers from the top of the buildings, some have lights that move or blink on the front of the buildings all to music.  It was very nice, and it was finally comfortable with the evening breeze off the water!!

 Everyone had their picture taken by a photographer along the waterfront.  And then we had a group on made which was given to Elder Shrope and I as a gift from the group.  The man in the white jacket is Chen, out tour guide.  This is a great memento of our tour and this wonderful group of people we are with.

 On Sunday afternoon, Elder Shrope and I took a little walk around the neighborhood.  This brightly colored building is "Tuto Time", a kindergarten I think.  There are very many schools in this area.

 This is a little tree growing not on the roof but along the edge of it.  I do not know how it is growing there but it is.

And they use bamboo for their scaffolding.  We saw this at several construction sites plus this where they were working on the words on the building.

And there is a lot of greenery everywhere here.  I thought this was an interesting looking tree.  It looks like several younger trees growing up and joining the older one.  A beautiful tree.

And we also happened to find this scout headquarters!   After all our years working with the scouts, this was exciting to find.

 On the last day we took a stroll around Festival Walk which is a mall.  This is a stage display on the ground floor.

 There was a display of photos that some university students had taken on a trip to Germany.  A few had ribbons on them.

And we watched the ice skaters on the rink that is also in the mall.  It is a nice place to be when it is so humid outside!

On Monday afternoon everyone gathered for their last meal in the patron housing.  We needed to use up our foods and clean up the kitchen before we left.  Everyone  shares to kitchen area in the housing and is responsible for cleaning after each use.

And then it was back on the plane and heading for UB, Mongolia.  We arrived in UB at 1:20 am and by the time we got to our apartment it was 2:50.  But it was a wonderful trip and a wonderful experience.  One we will always remember.