Hong Kong - Part 1 continued

The buildings in Hong Kong are crazy! Sky scrapers galore~ They are literally inches apart from each other where you can lend a frying pan to the person living in the building right next to you.

 

You can't tell from the pictures, but it was ridiculously hot and sticky!! But the view was pretty spectacular at this beach in Victoria. Here's a quick family pic:

Ocean Park

We were then taken to the only other amusement park other than Disneyland. Supposedly, this was the ONLY amusement park before Disneyland came to town! Our guide told us that Disneyland is actually not as good to visit for adults especially since it's mostly for children and the lines get super duper long...so it's not worth it. At least at Ocean Park, they have the cable car lift that gives you one of the most amazing views of the city:

Later that night, we went on an optional tour to go night shopping in the city. There was a place where you can get the most amazing view of the city light. Gorgeous!

 Another family shot :) It's kinda cool that the background looks a bit eerie:

I got a bunch of iPhone cases for $20 HK dollars, which equal less than $2 US dollars!
Next post will probably be more pictures of food and maybe our trip to Macau -- the Vegas of Asia.

Hong Kong - Part 1

We took KAL to Hong Kong while my brother took Asiana. My poor dad...he traveled from LAX to Seoul, waited at the transfer gate area for my mom and me...and headed off again to Hong Kong. 13 hours from LAX to Seoul, plus another 3 and a half hours to Hong Kong from Seoul. He was pretty tired to say the least!

Here's the view of Hong Kong as we were landing. Such a beautiful city on the beach!

We were hungry after landing and we saw this advertisement. So of course we got it, and it was DELICIOUS!!!

We were part of a Korean bus tour, so after the entire group landed, we headed off to the city. We went to a famous spot where the billionaires of HK setup a little beach area for people to enjoy. I believe it's in Victoria...

Something's wrong with my photo uploading thingy (or maybe it's the connection right now). I will try again later. For now, here's a cute lego I heart HK sign I saw:

LASEK

I took 3 weeks of PTO from work and bought a roundtrip plane ticket to Seoul, Korea. Actually, it was a package deal through a travel agency in Los Angeles where we buy tickets to Seoul, and then to Hong Kong, back to Seoul, and back home to LA.

I love the lights at LAX:

My mom and I landed at Incheon International Airport on a rainy Sunday morning after a 13 hour flight. You can imagine how tired we were but we needed to stay awake the entire day so that we could actually get sleep at night. We went to a church service with our family in Kang Nam: http://www.choonghyun.org/web/chmc.php
They had the most amazing choir and orchestra! I tried listening to the translation of the sermon but ended up just listening to the pastor himself because I couldn't understand the person translating. :P

I had already decided to get LASIK surgery in Korea and so we made an appointment for the first Monday we got there, which was the second day we were there. It was at a very well-known place in Kang Nam, where my family lives: http://www.oklasik.com/

Turns out, the doctor recommended LASEK surgery instead of LASIK, which is a lot more invasive and (key word) PAINFUL Here are some details I found online:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/lasek.htm

That website does not describe the pain very well. "Your eye may feel irritated during the first day or two afterward." Seriously???? "...may feel irritated.."???? The way I've been describing it to people is that it feels like a million tiny little laser guns shooting fire bomb lasers into my cornea over and over again while miniature gremlins inside my eyeballs unceasingly pound away at my eyes with spiked bats. For 48 hours. Straight. Non-stop. Not only that, ANY kind of light would make me want to dig my head deep into a dark dark hole, shutting out all light forever (hm...that sounds like a coffin. I guess the vampire in me came out). Yup, I wanted to die. All I kept thinking was how much I regretted having the surgery and that I could wear contacts for the rest of my life instead. But...what can you do. I've already gotten the surgery.

Anyway, so on top of the never-ending excruciating pain in both eyeballs (not to mention my poor brain and the pounding headaches), there are a lot of restrictions and other rules. I have to put in these steroid eye drops into my eyes 4 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before I go to bed. I can't drink any alcohol for at least 10 days after the surgery. I can't wear eyeliner or mascara type of makeup for 4 weeks (I already started wearing a little or else I look like a junior high kid). I have to wear sunglasses if I go out. I can't look at a computer screen or look at tiny fonts (even though I'm doing that right now keke). I forgot a lot of other stuff, but basically...it's very debilitating!

It'll take about a month to have normal vision and 3-4 months for full recovery. Final recommendation: LASEK surgery isn't worth the pain or recovery time. Try to get LASIK or just stick with contacts for the rest of your life. But I'm going to look on the bright side (no pun intended) and try to enjoy the perfect vision that is to come and appreciate the fact that I can see clearly when I wake up in the morning.

More posts about my trip to Corea 2012 to come!