Hong Kong the Metropolis Mecca

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Hi Everyone!
I have finally left India behind and am in my last stop on my world tour! Hong Kong! I have actually been to Hong Kong before, about 4 years ago when my best friend studied abroad here for a semester. I saved for three months on ramen noodles to afford a 900 dollar ticket, and because I had just started full time at Wal-mart I didn't have any vacation time so I could only afford to take 6 days, 2 of which were used up on the flights. That left me only 4 days here. My friend picked me up from the airport and took me around shopping and sight seeing. It gives me a strange sense a deja vu now, because I recognize places that I have been but I don't remember how I got there. I should have put more effort into figuring out how to get places. I was so anxious at the time that I would get lost or something. I can even remember everything I was scared about since it seems so silly now. Compared to India Hong Kong is a cake walk.
The first day I was here I took a trip to Ocean Park the Hong Kong theme park. It is like a cross between a zoo and six flags only with an outstanding view of the ocean and mountains. They have Pandas at Ocean Park and I remember the last time I was here I tried to get my friend to take me, but it was raining almost everyday and she refused to go with me. So it was the beginning of the monsoon season: Big Deal. I wanted to see Pandas! So I went by myself and got soaked to the bone and I couldn't find the pandas because I got lost in the park. So I didn't end up seeing the pandas but I remember my Ocean Park visit vividly.
This trip was much better. All the roller coasters and rides were open and I got to see Pandas!
Hong Kong is such a facinating juxtapostion of eastern and western. The city is a shopping mecca. Stores, malls, and markets are everywhere. It is amazing that the population can support all the shops that exist here. The food is great: I have a weakness for chinese and japanese food. Today I had takoyaki for the first time since 2007 when I was in Japan. I guess octopus balls will never be popular in the states, although they are delicious.
And the best part of this is that I haven't seen a cow in the road once!

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Photos

Cable Car
The two parts of Ocean Park are divided by a mountain. The front has the pandas and little kid rides, the back has the aquarium and roller coasters. You can take the cable cars or the express train that goes through the mountain.

Comments

[Denise]

enjoy!
After all you went through in India, enjoy the comforts of Hong Kong! What a wonderful journey you've had. I hope that you turn your blog into a book one day. Denise