Whenever I travel the best I can hope for in a flight is that it’s uneventful.  For any of you that have traveled you also know that generally if one thing goes awry then all bets are off.  I always find it astounding that the smallest delay can derail the best laid plans, and at times like this things just seem to spiral totally out of control.

Luckily for Sam and I our flight to Hong Kong has been an easy one…  The most difficult part was the fifteen hours of sitting in one place, watching movies, trying to sleep and eating.  Definitely won’t get in my 10,000 steps today.  🙂

Our flight path takes us north from Toronto over the Northwest passage and slightly east of the North Pole, across the upper reaches of Siberia, west of the Korean Peninsula and Beijing, before traversing mainland China and arriving into Hong Kong.

As I observe Sam I’m totally in awe of her ability to watch a movie while at the same time working on her computer, with occasional glances at her movie and be able to digest it all. Such an incredible ability to carry on with two completely different and separate tasks and seemingly be on top of them both.  The queen of multi-tasking is in the house!  I guess that shows my age in that I can hardly listen to music while I write, okay it has to be instrumental and played very softly so I don’t get distracted.  My preference is some New York jazz beats… 🙂

I’m writing this as we jet our way over Siberia, with still slightly less than five hours to go and my bum is totally numb at this stage of our flight. This is where a few yoga stretches come in handy, and I think I’ll slink off to do a little stretching by the emergency exit where there is a little room to move before much longer.

We supposed to arrive into Hong Kong early afternoon, and after we retrieve our bags, then purchase our Octopus passes (incredibly handy card that you load money onto and that you can pay for almost anything in Hong Kong), we’ll then use it for the train to get to Central Station on Hong Kong island and our hotel nearby.

I must admit it will be nice to get out and walk, in fact we’re contemplating heading up to the Peak later, perhaps even tonight to catch a glimpse of the lights of Hong Kong island and Kowloon.  It’s a definite “must see” whenever you decide to come, albeit a little touristy.  However, that being said, almost everything you do or place you visit in Hong Kong are chock full of tourists, sort of part and parcel of the experience I’m afraid.

Some would say that it’s also part and parcel of the charm of this unique and spectacular city.

My willingness to explore and get off the beaten track in a big and cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong is important plus a lot of fun.  There is little to be afraid of in Hong Kong where there is little crime, and in my mind, all I can think of is what treasures await us on our exploration!

If its anything like Sam and my last trip to Washington DC for our annual father-daughter weekend away in September it will be full of wonder, and cool experiences.

I must admit that it’s interesting to travel with my now adult daughter, well she turns 17 in human years in January, but she’s has an old soul at heart and like me, with an adventurous heart and that’s why we travel so well together I think.

Both her and Zach have an uncanny ability to read a map, irrespective what country or city we’re in and know exactly where we are by observing the landmarks and street alignments.  Rather than me as the parent leading them, I often find that they are leading me on our adventures…

Truly gratifying to know that they are neither intimidated or scared of traveling the world, and being able to survive just fine once they get their bearings.  Building their confidence by showing them how to navigate and travel has been one of the most rewarding parts of being a dad.  Just sayin that being a dad is the best thing ever, but you already knew that about me. 🙂

Okay, I will take credit for exposing them to the world with all of our travels and letting them experience a life few others get an opportunity to, whether as an adolescent or adult.

I also believe these skills and confidence will be infinitely important in their adult lives, including their future careers. Not to mention the stories they’ll have for their kids and grandkids about their childhood adventures when the world really was their oyster.

Sam made a comment this morning on our way to the airport about all of the stamps she’s already accumulated in her relatively new passport and the pending ones.  Her next big trip after China is Ecuador for a service trip with her school during March break.  And already angling for a trip to Italy later in the summer after her summer job is done and before she starts back to school for Year 12.

I wish I could say that I had this sort of upbringing and that’s why I’m exposing them to this type of life at an early age, but alas mine was like most kids growing up in rural Australia in the 1960’s and 1970’s – there was no travel, but I dreamed constantly about this type of life where I travel and experienced the world.  And although only a daydream then, I’ve made it a reality both for me and for Zach and Sami.

Yes, I also know how fortunate and blessed I am…I’m lucky guy!