Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy Lunar New Year! This is one of the main holidays celebrated in Asia. Lunar New Year was rather early this year, since we only had two weeks of school since Christmas break. This week off just gave us another reason to explore Asia, so we took off for Hong Kong, China to take in the festivities of the Chinese New Year in China. Last year we were in Beijing for Chinese New Year, but we found Hong Kong to be much more "festive" as they celebrated the "Year of the Dragon". We spent five days exploring Hong Kong. The weather was not great as it was cloudy/foggy, cool, and rainy, but we still enjoyed our time. The highlights of the trip included attending the International Chinese New Year Night Parade through the streets of Hong Kong (similar to the Macy's Day Thanksgiving parade in NYC), fireworks over Victoria Harbor, Disneyland Hong Kong, shopping in the many markets around the city, and visiting the "Peak" overlooking the skyline and harbor (although it was very foggy). We became experts at riding the MTR (subway) around Hong Kong. It is such a densely populated city (over 7 million) that over 91% of the people who live in Hong Kong use public transportation, so it was very easy and efficient to explore. Liisa seemed to find many "deals" as she wandered the street markets. I never realized how many shoes someone really "NEEDS"! The kids were exhausted each day as we trekked around, but they never seemed to get "tired" at Disneyland. Check out our blog pictures to "see" the sights of Hong Kong. Well, back to reality tomorrow as we return to school. Liisa has a busy stretch coming up as she is the Assistant Cheerleading coach and the team has their conference cheerleading competition in Seoul this upcoming weekend for two days. Also, she is chaperoning a group of kids to The Philippines for five days (Feb 15-19) to attend a GINA conference in Manila. She is the one the advisors of this club on campus. My schedule also begins to pick up as the middle school activities season gets back into full swing after the break. The kids are all doing well and involved in many activities. Take care and we miss everyone at home! The Gilberts

Hong Kong

Anja and Ailsa enjoying the stunning view of the Hong Kong skyline across Victoria Harbor.

Lukas and Ailsa exploring the night market area of Hong Kong. Lukas is happy because he just found a "cool" pair of Nike tennis shoes.

One of the many dragons that we saw as Hong Kong celebrated the "Year of the Dragon".

Lonne enjoying his ride across Victoria Harbor on the famous "Star Ferry".

We "lost" Lukas for a few minutes in the crowd. He decided to tie his shoes while we were walking and looking around. I told him that he better know which subway line to take in order to get back to our hotel! Thank goodness we found him after 10 minutes - he didn't look quite as happy as he does in the photo!!

Disneyland Hong Kong

Liisa and Lonne enjoying their time on the "Dumbo" ride at Disney.

One of Anja's main goals was to get autographs from all of the Disney characters in her trip journal!

Family picture around Minnie Mouse!

Ailsa and Mickey!

The kids at the end of the 12 hour day at Disneyland Hong Kong - at least they could muster one more smile at the end of the day!

Pics from Hong Kong

One the many "shopping" districts in Hong Kong. Busy place, but Liisa seemed to find good deals as we weaved through the crowds

This was our view from the famous "Peak"

over the city of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbor.. The weather was not great and we caught a glimpse of the skyline through the fog. 5 minutes after this picture you could not see anything!!!

Lonne waiting patiently in line (2 1/2 hours) so that we could ride the tram to "The Peak". All the people were behind us in this picture!

Enjoying the fireworks display over the castle at Disneyland.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year from the Gilbert's! We are wrapping up our three week Christmas vacation and now preparing ourselves for second semester. We had a wonderful break. Both of my brothers (Christian and John) and their wives (Abby and Leah) were able to make the trek over the Pacific and spent two weeks with us. They began their "tour" by exploring Seoul for a couple of days and then we brought them back to Daejeon, so they could experience our "hometown" in Korea. After five days in Korea, we took off for warmer weather in Vietnam. What a trip - we spent time in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the Mekong Delta, and Mui Ne (beach resort on the South China Sea) with Christian/Abby and John/Leah. Very interesting spending Christmas Day walking around Ho Chi Minh in flip flops and shorts - I even saw Santa wearing red shorts outside one store! We enjoyed the Vietnamese cuisine (especially Pho'), the sites/culture of Vietnam, and spending time/relaxing as a family. We had to part ways on Dec. 30 (they had to go back to work!!) and Liisa, the kids and I took a bus up the coast of Vietnam to the city of Nha Trang to celebrate the new year. I have posted some pictures below to give you an idea of some of the things that we experienced. We hope that everyone at home had a wonderful Christmas and great start to 2012. We think about and talk often as a family about everyone back home - we miss you! The Gilberts

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Lonne draws some attention at the Ben Thanh Markets. Since it was Christmas Eve Day, he was "flying" Santa around all day!

Andrew enjoying a bicycle taxi ride (Tin Tin) around Ho Chi Minh.

The streets of Ho Chi Minh - Crazy traffic!!! Home of 10 million people and 7 million motor bikes. Try crossing the street with four kids!!!!

Christmas Day in Ho Chi Minh - Upper 80's and humid! A little different than Minnesota.

Liisa and Lonne sporting their new "authentic" Ray Ban sunglasses that they bought off the street for 5 bucks (100,000 Dong in Vietnamese currency).

Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Ailsa enjoying a fresh coconut drink as she takes a ride on the Mekong River.

Andrew, Lukas, and Lonne get ready to explore the canals along the Mekong River.

Lonne relaxing in a hammock and enjoying some mango fruit at one of our plantation stops along the river.

We also ventured off to explore the Cu Chi Tunnels, uses by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam and other wars. Anja comes out of the "ground" from one of the tunnels.

Lonne and Lukas enjoying the boat ride on the Mekong!

Mui Ne, Vietnam

We spent a day on motor bikes exploring the coast and country side of Mui Ne, Vietnam. Lonne really wanted to drive his own "bike". Only problem is that they don't come with training wheels!

The Gilbert Gang enjoying lunch at our resort in Mui Ne.

Ailsa walking the beaches of the East China Sea in the morning with her conical hat on.

Lukas finding a jelly fish that washed up on shore. Earlier in the day he was stung by one in the arm when he was swimming! Ouch!!!

Taking a break from the motor bikes for a quick picture at a fishing village.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

New Year's Eve in Vietnam! The girls are wearing their new Vietnamese dresses that we had made in Ho Chi Minh City.

Anja riding an ostrich on Hon Loa Island.

The family enjoying a warm mud bath at the Thap Ba Hot Springs on New Year's Day morning!

Lukas washing off the mud under a "warm" waterfall.

Ailsa trying to get close to monkeys at Monkey Island, an island off the coast of Nha Trang. There are thousands of monkeys on this island!