We Are Huge in China: Medical Adventures and our trip to Hong Kong

I should have written this a while ago. Sorry. It's going to be long. REALLY long. With LOTS of pictures. Probably somewhere around 70? Here we go!

So we went into Hong Kong the last Friday in June to try out a doctor that my friend recommended. We were supposed to be there by 11:20, so we gave ourselves nearly 2 1/2 hours to get there (it's maybe ten or twelve metro stops in with one line change) and it was no where near enough.

We had to reschedule for noon, but even then we were late. And walking through the crowded streets from the metro station to the doctor's office was BRUTAL. This is coming from a girl who grew up in high humidity with hot summers, so I sort of knew what to expect.

Hot, sunny Hong Kong streets.

This was a little shrine I noticed on the corner on our way to the doctor's office. I got Mark to take a picture on the way back. The only reason I noticed it is because of the burning incense. It got my nose's attention.

Something strange is afoot at the Circle K.

Anyway, we got to the doctor's office. I have never seen such a small office. The entire thing would fit inside my living room back in Orem. Mark and I went back into the tiny corner office to talk to the doctor. Mark translated. Then I went into a tiny cubicle and put on a dressing gown from the waist up. He put a bunch of acupuncture needles in my spine and neck and then attached them to a little electric pulse machine and left me there for 20 minutes. It really wasn't bad. I've done acupuncture before and had the needles stimulated, so I wasn't surprised and it wasn't particularly uncomfortable. Then he removed the needles and did some spinal adjustments. This was clearly not the chiropractic style adjustment, but he made some of my bones move, and I did feel better when he was done. The receptionist gave Mark medicine for me to take for two days, and they wanted to see me back on Monday (this was a Friday). We scheduled an appointment for Wednesday instead, but then had to cancel it because of other stuff going on and I haven't been back. I may or may not go back to that guy. He was nice enough, but I really want a full head-to-toe adjustment that includes my knees and feet, so I may go ahead to the chiropractor I found online that seems to have fairly good reviews.

By the way, the medicine tasted like this:

Bitter bitter bitter bitter. And it was a full glass, about a cup and a half of hot water with this powder dissolved in it. It even came in little paper packets. Cool! (Not fun to drink, but cool. Not that I want it again ever.)

After that we went and saw beautiful birds and flowers, but let me get the medical stuff out of the way first. So this past week Jack broke out in hives. Bad. I mean head to toe, big, red, itchy hives. By Friday night they were everywhere and spreading fast, and he had a slight fever, so Mark took him to a children's hospital on Saturday. It's hives for sure, the doctor said, and it may take a week to get better. This is when we started being worried, and before they got significantly worse:

So after that they got bigger and spread to more places. He still has them. The doctor said to expect them to take a week to really go away. This morning he had them all over his face and the bottoms of his feet. His lips were swollen on one side. I'm glad he's old enough to understand what's going on and tell me how he's feeling. I told him if he makes any weird noises from just breathing he needs to tell me RIGHT AWAY. So far so good on that front. But poor guy, he's got them EVERYWHERE. In his hair, in his bottom. Getting them on the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands surprised me. And the hair. But he's handling it really well. He's a trooper.

So yay, medical excitement! The part of living in a foreign country with kids that makes you think, "maybe one year will be plenty. Maybe we'll move home next summer."

So, back to our day in Hong Kong. We found a noodle place for lunch that had a Michelin star. It was tasty, but frankly, not that exciting to me. The beef brisket WAS really good, and the shrimp dumplings were very tasty. The broth was pretty bland and the noodles were oddly almost crunchy. I'm used to noodles being softer. We had to order three times to feed us all enough, and we were at this little tiny table. Gotta get used to how tiny the spaces are in HK. Seriously small. I got Mark to take and overhead shot to give you an idea.

Then we found the bird park.

There were lots of pretty birds and lots of pretty cages and lots of BUGS. It was really cool. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. (photo credits from here on to Mark)

The first bird we saw was this poor, bedraggled fellow. Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with him and I don't want to know. But it got better after this. Most of the birds looked pretty well or very well cared for.

Not birds. But very very cute.

Grasshoppers. For feeding your pet bird.

Beautiful wood cages! So pretty!

"Look at those tail feathers!"

This park is famous for old men coming with their pet birds. Here's one, and he let me take a picture of his pretty little bird. And Mark took a picture of me taking a picture. How meta.

Then we went over Flower Market Road. It was a feast for the eyes and the nose. The smell was heavenly, and in China (even in HK) that's saying something. They have all kinds of flowers. I mean all kinds. (Again, photo credits to Mark unless otherwise noted.)

Brain flowers!

Besides the flowers, there were a few stores with kitch.

We're not really sure what these are or why they're hanging decoratively from the ceiling (for sale). Anybody know?


Apparently these catch bugs. Maybe I should get one.

This was a store that sold garden stuff, especially various kinds of fountain. Good feng shui.

'There are tadpoles in here!'

'There are koi in this pond and goldfish in this other pond!'

Jack really likes animals (including fish).

I had thought of staying for dinner and seeing some more stuff (I have a Lonely Planet guide to Hong Kong and I've been looking through it for awesome things to do) but we were all pretty tired. I was REALLY tired. So we headed home.