Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong on the afternoon of the 23rd. After grabbing some new money at the airport ATM, we hopped on the train which took us into the city. From there we hired a taxi to take us all the way to the Mongan's apartment. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! What a fantastic change to go from washing my clothes on the floor of hostel showers, to my very own bedroom, a washing machine and a computer with Skype. Hooray! And what a spectacular view! After coming to terms with a new level of comfort, Matt and I set out to explore the town of Stanley. We found it to be a cute market village unfortunately infested with tour groups. We ate the cheapest food we could find and headed back to the apartment for an early bed time.


Christmas eve morning we took the apartment shuttle to Stanley, hopped the bus to Central, then caught the Star Ferry across the harbour to Kowloon. Discovering that it's common knowledge that Hong Kong's transportation system is easy and efficient did not diminish our pride at navigating a new city so easily. We wandered up Nathan road (which has gained the nickname, "the golden mile," for it's ability to extract money out of consumers' pockets) and admired its resemblance to New York City with its brightly lit shops, multitude of pedestrians and ubiquitous advertisements. For lunch we stopped in to a corner restaurant to try cold pigeon in wine sauce which was surprisingly delicious.

After quite a bit of walking including a failed foray into the museum district (Closed early today!) we headed up Temple Street to see the famed night market. There's something I love about markets in the mixture of the people-watching, the abundance of local culture, and the general madness. We had a lovely time haggling and buying souvenirs. I even bought a watch for $4 (it loses five minutes every 12 hours... but at least it's consistent).

Then we headed to the Avenue of the Stars (complete with Hong Kong movie star handprints) to look out over the harbour with the heaving masses of holiday revellers. And we immediately discovered why the area drew in such crowds; the view was INCREDIBLE and the atmosphere infectious. After taking just short of a million pictures, we headed back home.


Christmas morning was very lazy. In fact, it extended far into Christmas afternoon. We opened up a package from home, drank plenty of coffee and talked on Skype with family for hours. It was fantastic to have a computer at our fingertips instead of having to wait ages for one that might not work at a hostel. To be able to see our family (over a video chat) was a great way to feel like we were home for the holidays. When we finally got moving around mid afternoon, we headed to downtown Hong Kong where we had a stroll around the old part of "Central." Surprisingly, one of the most fascinating sights we saw were dried food stores. Whose idea was it to think of drying needlefish, lizards or octopus?! And who is going to eat them?!

In the beginning of our walk, we were following a path described in Lonely Planet, but eventually we got lost and that's always when the exciting stuff happens. We walked own a very tight little alley packed with fruit vendors, discovered the longest escalator in the world (800 meters!), and found a delicious Malaysian restaurant. Then - it being a holiday and all - we headed to the biggest party street in Hong Kong; Lan Kwai Fong. We had a great time watching drunk westerners singing 80's rock songs while Chinese tourists eagerly snapped pictures. It was hilarious. People seemed to think Matt was some kind of celebrity because at least a dozen people pulled him in to their pictures in the 2 hours we were there.

The following morning, we were awake early to take the tram up to Victoria Peak. Despite the grade of the hill reaching as high as 24%, people used to be carried up to the peak in sedan chairs until the tram was opened in 1888. It was lovely to be able to see all of Hong Kong from the top of the hill (video here) and look around 360 degrees.

Next, we tried to buy tickets for a ferry to Macau but were turned back since we didn't have our passports. So we dined on dim sum at Maxim's City Hall which was recommended as a great spot to try the famous style of food. The staff wheeled around carts stacked with the little rattan steamer trays full of all different types of dumplings, buns, spring rolls and desserts and we picked several trays that looked good. After eating (painfully) more than our fill, we headed across the harbour to Kowloon.

In Kowloon, we finally had a chance to visit the History Museum which I was dying to see. It was very comprehensive and covered how the land mass was formed, its prehistoric inhabitants, how it became a strategic and influential trading center, the evolution of the monetary system, as well as the political history (including HK's importance as a trading center, the British occupation, the Opium Wars, the Japanese occupation during WWII, etc.) and then we had to leave because the museum was closing.

After two more ferries, we arrived on Lamma Island just in time for dinner. We had heard wonderful things about the fresh seafood restaurants there and were not disappointed. Our first surprise came with the sight of MASSIVE tanks full of both familiar and unfamiliar creatures "all for your dining pleasure." (Check out my video here) The strangest had to be the geoduck (wiki) which was new to me, and the prettiest was the aquamarine lobster with orange spots and black and white striped claws. After wandering awhile and admiring the town, we had a great dinner before heading all the way back to Stanley, exhausted.

The 27th we were up early to head to Macau. But by the time we got to Stanley, took the bus to Central (30min), walked to the ferry office, waited to buy our tickets, waited for the ferry to leave (45min), travelled (1hr), arrived and waited through customs (1.25hr) it was already late in the day. And we were determined to make tea at the Peninsula Hotel (Dad's Christmas gift to us and a MUST for anyone visiting HK) at 3pm, which left us with under two hours in Macau. So we made sure to hit all of the high points: a walk through the old town, an exploration of the remains of St. Paul's Cathedral, and a 5 minute peak into famous Casino Lisboa before rushing back to the ferry terminal. It was a mad dash and not nearly enough time to soak up the culture, but we got an idea of the place and that had to be enough for us.

So we headed back to Central then to Kowloon only to wait in line another hour and a half before sitting down to a well-deserved tea. The extravagant setting and the sumptuous spread were a fantastic treat to two weary souls who hadn't eaten breakfast that day. We stayed for ages relishing the festive atmosphere (still only days after Christmas) and savouring every morsel of the feast.

Afterwards, I had a long overdue haircut before heading back home to pack my bags because Matt and I were headed to Vietnam in the morning.

The pictures on this post are: the incredible view from the Mongan's apartment, a delecious cold pigeon (please note the head), Temple Street night market, the view of HK from Kowloon at night, Matt threatening to eat a dried octopus, bundles of dried needlefish, the view of HK from the Peak, your choice of seafood at a restaurant on Lamma Island, the remains of St. Paul's Cathedral in Macau, and tea at the Peninsula Hotel (if i look groggy, it's because I was blinking).

To see my arrival at the Hanoi Airport, click here.
p.s. I've always wanted to do that!!