Hong Kong

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Hong Kong, cant help but be awed looking at that skyline; we took the bus from Yangshao, 11 hours and a very nice travel gift provided by the bus company. A jar of spicy bean curd, I'm saving mine for a very special occasion.

Kowloon, the peninsular section of Hong Kong is where a group I travelled with from Yangshao set me up. A huge designer store on every corner, copy Rolex touts filling the streets, and never ending phone, camera, video game stores. Chaos but with manners. Its the seedier part of Hong Kong, would be a bugger in the hot season as its almost all concrete but the subway station is so huge you can nearly walk to the other side of the peninsula underground, nice but easy to get lost.

The area behind the row of skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island is what I enjoyed the most, the way the city grew over time and the sudden elevation gain gives this area a lot of levels. So much fills the eye, a park with a tram climbing behind it, a coffee shop just off a sky walk and an old government building with no sunshine from all the tall buildings. Getting around is easy, the very cheap Star Ferry and electric doubledecker trams make up the original infrastructure while the subway and train whips you around everywhere else.

Hong Kongs night life is not too shabby, each bar or restaurant has its own idea stamped out, a colorful look and lots of expats. We ended up in a nightclub with a huge horse with Canadian maple leafs on its back side. An inebriated observation I'm afraid. The view from the top is dazzling, even better though are the countless running and biking trails all around. The south side is very breezy and sunny, several good beaches and bay side cafes all laid back. I got terrorized for a bit by 9 year old school children with English surveys. I had to run after I filled out seven.
Four days is plenty of time to see everything, you could even throw in a trip to Disneyland, which has its own train line.

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Photos

Hold it!
Takes a few second of exposure to get the back ground, hard to hold still.

Schools crammed in
The hills behind the large buildings have so much packed in. Hong Kong is a city with many levels, sky walks, subways, back alleys, elevated highways.

Pull Tram to the top
The tram has been in use well over a century. A 45 degree pull, I tried to get the angle in the photo.

Garden trail on the way down
I loved walking down, the path wasn't lit and felt quite remote, except the glow of coarse.

Wait for it.....
Always on the look out.

Urban Shot
At 8 pm several buildings, including this one, would put on a gaudy light show.

Coiled incense
This is inside Hong Kongs most famous temple, the name of which slips me. Any help?

Downtown Fish Market
Modern but fruit, fish, meat markets are still in heavy use.

Soho
This area is a triangle of three streets offering colorful, themed restaurants

Bar district Kung
Had to come back in the daylight with the camera.

Blocking the view
New friends from the hostel along with a couple of locals showed us some very nice spots hidden in the city.

There it is

Hairy Crab?
Looks good not sure why its called Hairy.

Hong Kong South Side
A bit of Greece