Claude Monet Field Trip.

Our homeschooling group organized a guided walking tour of the Claude Monet exhibit in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Shatin. The group leader sent out a few links before we all went on the tour informing the kids of the life on Monet and his techniques. It was great for the kids to familiarize themselves with what we were going to be seeing the next day.

Our tour guide did a fantastic job of educating the kids and answering all of their questions. The museum did such a wonderful job of putting together a beautiful exhibit. Not only were 17 of Monet's painting available for public viewing, but there was also an interactive area that was perfect for the kids who were on the field trip.

Star Seafood Floating Restaurant.

Recently, one of our good friends, Shawna {actually the very first friend we made here in Hong Kong} moved to Sha Tin from Hong Kong Island. My previous experience with Sha Tin was isolated to the Ikea beside the MTR. Now we're exploring Sha Tin with our friend and seeing more of Hong Kong in the process.

We've seen the floating restaurant from the train and bus when we passed through Sha Tin on our way to Tai Po when we lived there, but we never really thought about checking it out until our friend moved right next to it.

I thought it would be a fun experience, and was sadly disappointed. I thought we'd get a great view of the Shing Mun River once we were situated inside the restaurant. Instead, we were seated in a giant banquet hall with everyone else. We had a large table for our party of six, and could barely hear each other from across the table.

There is a very local feel to the restaurant. We were aware that the food would be Chinese and not Western. But the quality of the food was poor and tasteless. I felt like I was eating dish water. We did not have reservations when we arrived {I did try to call and because of the language barrier was not able to make any}, and they graciously seated our party right away. It was definitely an unique experience, but I don't think we'll be returning any time soon.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

Our family loves taking advantage of free museum admission on Wednesdays. The most recent museum we visited was Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin. We rode the escalators up the top after deciding to work our way down. 

The first exhibit we walked through featured Bruce Lee. Unbeknownst to me, we weren't allowed to take photographs. I really should pay better attention to the graphic signs that are posted. After we were told no picture taking, the guards shadowed us pretty closely making sure we didn't make the same mistake twice. 

The other exhibits allowed for picture taking without the use of a flash, so I was able to take a few pictures. My kids have decided that the only pictures worth taking are pictures of them making goofy faces.

Our two children enjoyed the hands-on Discovery Gallery that was geared towards their age. There were several school trips walking through the area as well, which we would avoid the groups and steer our kids into areas less populated.

As you can ascertain from the photo's our daughter had a great time donning the little apron in the section that was replicated to be a village house. She enjoyed cooking for the rest of her family while we sat at what looked like a miniature picnic table and waited on our plastic food to be delivered to us.

Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery.

A friend and I decided to explore Hong Kong while the rest of our families were at work and in school. The night before, we were researching tourist attractions on the internet. I found this monastery with ten thousand golden Buddhas in Sha Tin and thought it would be a great place to visit.

We were not disappointed the next day as we made our way up the steep path. I had read online that the entrance to the monastery was very unpretentious and one could walk right past it if you didn't know it was there. Fortunately we ran into another tourist on her way to the monastery, and with the use of the internet on her phone, we were all able to walk right to the path leading up to the monastery. Sandwiched between the Ikea parking garage where we purchased all of the furniture for our flat, and another sky-rise building, at the end of the dead end, we found the path. 

I was glad that I hadn't brought my kids with me for the climb up to the monastery. I could just see my five year old daughter finding the walk up difficult and wanting my husband to carry her the rest of the way on his shoulders. But I also wished they were with me, because they would have loved experiencing the walk as well. 

It amazed me how each Buddha looked completely different from all the other Buddha's. There was so much detail that varied from one to the next. Facial mannerisms, body shape, what each Buddha was clothed in, as well as what each Buddha was carrying or surrounded by really changed from one to the next.

The monastery was founded in 1951 by Venerable Yuet Kai. His body is preserved and resides in a glass case at the monastery, which can be viewed today. After the trek up the mountain, you can really appreciate the manual labor that went into creating this beautiful monastery. One can envision the men carrying the building supplies from the base of the mountain up the steep climb to make it what it is today. 

Just when we thought we had reached the top of the mountain, my friend and I realized the path went on and there was more climbing to be discovered. With Buddha's residing on the side of the mountain instead of just the path, we climbed our way up more steps to find turtles living in a pond that was being fed by a waterfall. Making our way up more stairs to the top of the waterfall, we came to this beautiful milky white statue.