Hong Kong in 4 days

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Spring festival 2011 started on the 16th and our first trip of the season, Hong Kong. Helen and I left last Wednesday and landed in the afternoon on the airport island just north of Lantau Island. From there we checked in to Panda hotel in the mainland peninsula of Kowloon. The hotel was fantastic! cheap and a caring and helpful staff. Hong Kong was somewhat what I had expected, a clean and orderly environment with common citizen courtesies missed by expats living in Wuahan. We unpacked and then we went right into the shopping! Kowloon had a range of haute couture stores to some more affordable shopping. After a couple hours we headed back to the hotel for a much needed sleep.

Thursday morning we boarded the free Panda hotel bus to downtown Kowloon. From there we decided to take the ferrie to Hong Kong island to the central district. Our day began with more window shopping. After the shopping our destination was the peak of hong kong island. En route to the peak (the tallest point of the island) we went to Madame Tussaud's Gallery. We then concluded the night with the sightseeing of the entire Hong Kong,and Kowloon form the peak.

Friday morning we caught the later bus into the downtown. The plan for this day was the po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. We took a great gondola lift from mainland to Lantau. There we traveled up to the great Buddha and gave prayers. The Monastery was quite a tourist destination, equipped with it's own Starbucks and Subway. It was a memorable experience and Helen and I had a great time.

We concluded the weekend with more wandering the city on Saturday. Our plan ride home was at 4pm and we made it there right on time. To our surprise our plane was overbooked and so lucky for us we were upgraded to first class! A great conclusion to one of our better trips.

Yesterday and today have been fairly slow paced for me but not for Helen. She got back to work today and has already booked our next trip. On the 11th of next month we will go to Thailand for a great ending of the spring holiday. The time between I will prepare for the next semester and try leaning more Chinese.

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