Hong Kong Trip - Part 2

We always knew that Hong Kong was a big city, but what we didn't realize was that the city is actually surrounded by mountains. One morning, we took a tram ride up to the top of one of the highest mountains in Hong Kong called Victoria Peak (or just "The Peak" as locals call it). The ride is really steep - straight up the side of the mountain! At the top, there is an interesting shopping center that serves as both a mall as well as a rooftop viewing area with some of the best views of the city.

I forgot to mention earlier that there is actually another reason why we decided to take the trip - my 25th birthday, Matt's 26th birthday, and our 5 year anniversary all fall within the same 4-week period, so we decided to celebrate them all with this trip! We went to Hong Kong April 14 - 18, which happened to fall right over my birthday, so I got my way, and Matt accompanied me to one of Hong Kong's "cat cafes" in an area called Causeway Bay. This one was called Choco Cat Cafe, and was difficult for us to find - not sure how you would have run across it unless you had researched it beforehand as we had. Anyway, the concept is that cats are free to roam in the dining area with the guests. They can walk, sit, sleep anywhere they like as if it were their home! In fact, the whole place had a cat theme going on. I'm well aware that it seems a little unsanitary, but it was a fun concept and is pretty normal in Hong Kong, so I just HAD to see it!






















Another birthday treat I got was getting to see the "Symphony of Lights" take place, which is basically a light and laser show that many of the buildings in the city participate in. The best place to watch it is across from the city in Kowloon, because you can get a great view of the skyline. The lights of the buildings blink on and off and move with lasers to music that is played.









Kowloon is famous for its Temple Street Night Market. The whole street is blocked off, and vendors set up booths all the way down, selling cheap souvenirs. Although most of the bags, wallets, electronics are fake, Matt and I had such a fun time looking through everything and haggling our way to better prices. Matt got a laser pointer that he is now obsessed with, and I found a cute bag, bracelet, and a bunch of pretty scarves.

Matt bargaining for the laser pointer

Just like the Japanese, the Chinese have a way with words...

A dog/bear that we came across on Temple Street

Another one of the major attractions in Hong Kong is The Bronze Buddha - the largest seated, outdoor, bronze Buddha in the world! To get there, you have to take the MTR out to another one of Hong Kong's islands - Lantau Island. From there, you take a 25-minute cable car ride (called the Ngong Ping 360) up the mountains to the Bronze Buddha. The ride is a little scary, because you are so high up, but the views of the ocean, the mountains, and Hong Kong's airport are amazing!

Below us, there was a LOOONNNGGGG trail/staircase that you are able to use to hike to the Buddha instead of taking the cable car ride.... maybe another day!

Our first view of the Buddha


Gelato!

Local Buddhists praying

Really cool view from the top

The monastery that was near the Buddha

The Buddhists use a lot of incense

We finished the day off with a walk through the streets of Hong Kong - specifically the area of "Lan Kwai Fong", which is a hopping nightlife area. We also got to eat at one of the most famous tea houses in Hong Kong - the Luk Yu Teahouse - where we got a taste of a more traditional restaurant. And to end the night - a ride back to Kowloon across Victoria Harbor on the famous Star Ferry. The ride takes less than 10 minutes from beginning to end, and you get an amazing view of the skyline all lit up - and the best part again - it only cost 28 cents a ride!

No trip to Hong Kong would be complete without trying traditional Chinese Dim Sum! Before we took the MTR back to the airport on our last day, Matt and I had breakfast at a Dim Sum restaurant near our hotel, and it was so good! Dim Sum is all different types of dumpling-like food that comes in small portions and are cooked in steamer baskets that look like round, wooden boxes. The baskets/boxes are stacked on top of each other and set on a steamer to cook them all at once.









We had an awesome first trip in Asia - Hong Kong is an amazing city, and I hope we get the chance to go back one day! I hope you enjoyed sharing the experience with us!

'Till next time!

-C

Hong Kong Trip - Part 1

Our time living in Japan would never be fulfilling without taking advantage of our location while we're here. I always said that I would like to see a lot of Europe when we're older, but right now, we've been given the opportunity to see everything that Asia has to offer, and we're not letting it pass us by. I've met many other military wives on Okinawa that have almost completed their 3-year tour here, and most of them are incredibly disappointed that they didn't travel while they could. Well, that's not going to be us if I can help it!

Enter: Hong Kong - our very first trip off the island (not including Matt's deployments of course!). I guess you could say that I am sort of the official "travel agent" of the family, and I decided on Hong Kong for a few reasons: It is on my list of places to see (obviously), It is a mere 2-hour plane ride from home, I had heard that you can see pretty much the whole city in a long weekend, and almost everyone in Hong Kong speaks English fluently, making it a very easy first destination to visit for people not used to traveling out of the United States (ME)!

A little background information on Hong Kong: It is a special region of China, but operates under its own government. Hong Kong is comprised of over 200 islands and is situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and the South China Sea. It is one of the world's most populated cities and an enormous business city as well.

Us at the airport in Naha, Okinawa

Could they be more vague?

When we arrived at the airport, we quickly exchanged our US Dollars for Hong Kong Dollars. The conversion rate was about 1 USD = 7.7 HKD at the time, which proved to be quite difficult for us to figure out prices around town. 7.7 is such an odd number, and in Japan, we are used to 1 USD = 100 YEN (actually, just a little less than 100 now). It is much easier to divide a random number by 100 than by 7.7... it was a little inconvenient, but we just had our calculators on our Iphones out the whole time we were shopping! Speaking of money - I was loving the pretty Hong Kong Dollars and coins - makes our US Dollars look so boring!

Some of the bills were see-through!

Our hotel was a brand new boutique hotel called Butterfly on Prat ("Prat" being the name of the street). Although Matt thought the name sounded a little feminine, I thought it was a really cute place, albeit a little small (as most Hong Kong hotels are I've been told). It was fun, colorful, clean, very modern, comfortable, and in a great location in Kowloon, which is the peninsula right across the bay from Hong Kong Island, but still very much a part of the action!













After getting settled into our hotel the first night we arrived, we walked to an area with a lot of restaurants. We chose to eat at a restaurant called Lung Chinese Fusion. Afterward, we browsed through some of the shopping centers on the streets of Kowloon.

We soon realized how many steep, hilly streets Hong Kong has (and also how many expensive cars they have lining those streets!)

Chinese Beer - Tsing Tao

The waitress carving our duck for us...

...which was actually pretty good!

The building to the right is the one we ate at - there was a different restaurant on each floor

Goofing around as we shopped

Either the Chinese have big heads, or I have a small head, because none of these cute hats fit me right!

Inside one of the indoor shopping centers in Kowloon

Tube Flops - in case you want tube socks attached to your flip flops!

One of the best things about Hong Kong was undoubtedly their public transportation system (MTR)! This amazing system connects all areas of Hong Kong through one system of subway lines. You can tell right away that the stations and trains are all new, clean and VERY user-friendly. It made getting around so simple and quick - I don't think we got lost once while we were there! The best part about the MTR - the price! When you buy an "Octopus Card" (which is amazing on its own!), you simply scan the card when you get on and off the MTR, and it deducts from your balance. Each ride only cost about 30-50 cents (depending on which station you are going to). The amazing thing about the "Octopus Card" is that it isn't just used for the MTR - it is also accepted on buses, trains, sky trams & even at convenience stores as a form of payment! Matt and I each had our own card, and we each used only about $15 (US) the whole 4-5 days we were in Hong Kong - and we took the MTR EVERYWHERE! It was awesome!

Matt in front of our favorite station that we used all the time (the one closest to our hotel) - and also the one that I had the hardest time pronouncing!

The awesome moving walkways in one of the MTR stations

The CRAZY CROWDED MTR

I've never seen so many people trying to get up an escalator at once!

Hong Kong had some amazing architecture

Crazy Hong Kong traffic - I got the distinct impression that they don't mind running you over if you aren't out of the street by the time the light changes

One thing I have to mention is the Mid-Levels Escalator, which is an awesome system of escalators that runs over 800 meters in length, and rises over 135 meters in height - right through the center of Hong Kong central! It was constructed in order to help people on their daily commute to and from the business district, and runs daily downhill from 6am - 10am and uphill from 10:30am - midnight. The escalator system isn't just for business people though - it is lined with shops, restaurants and bars that are easily accessible, as there are enterances and exits provided on each road it passes. In fact, the Mid-Levels Escalator that runs through Central, Hong Kong is the longest, outdoor, covered escalator system in the world!

Our first glimpse of the incredible Mid-Levels Escalator system that runs through a large (& steep!) section of central Hong Kong

Fruit vendors on the street - we ended up buying a few of the pear-like fruits, which turned out to taste nothing like pears!

Riding the escalator upward - it was always crowded!

Me @ the build-your-own-burger restaurant along the escalator

Matt and I near the top end of the escalator

I loved the round windows on this building

After walking around much of the city, we visited the Man Mo Temple, which I was shocked to find that it was literally right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city traffic and buildings! As you walk down Hollywood Road, you see office buildings, high-rises, more office buildings, and then - BAM! - a traditionally restored Chinese Temple! We weren't allowed to take photos inside, but I was able to snap a few near the entrance. Afterward, we finished up the day with dinner at Soho Spice in the "Soho" area of Hong Kong - a trendy little area with a lot of shops and restaurants.

Incense burners inside the temple

Eating dinner at Soho Spice

Check out second part of our trip in my next blog!
-C