Hikes and Bikes

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Friday was another beautiful day in Hong Kong... Which, by the way, is not a common occurrence.
Dropped Dad off at work and then went to the supermarket with my mom. The parking garage under the supermarket gives compact cars a whole new meaning. The spots are so tiny and the ceilings so low I was sure we were going to scrape the top of the car or run into a column. However, with the expert driving skills provided by my mom, we made it out unscathed.
The supermarket is actually pretty normal, no dead chickens hanging in the window or frog legs, etc. There is one area that I think they got right, and that's the fact that they don't provide shopping bags. They require you to bring your own reusable bags or reuse a packing box to put your groceries in. After shopping we returned home and went for a walk up in the hills. Believe it or not, there are mountains and hiking trails all over Hong Kong. We walked up a trail that took us up about 10 sets of stairs and when we got to the top we encountered a family preparing for lunch. Older Chinese people can be found up here doing Tai Chi in the early mornings or just sitting quietly and reflecting. Its a very quiet and peaceful place. People have set up little areas with chairs and there was even one area with a carpet and a mirror. After our hike we ate some lunch and then got ready to meet my dad in the city to go car shopping.
Car shopping in Hong Kong is also quite an experience since all the cars are inside show rooms. There are no car lots to go to and there are only a couple of models available for purchase. And surprise surprise, there were no trucks to be found! :-)
After car shopping it was already pretty late, so we decided to come home and hang out for a little bit. I wish I could say that I beat my mom in a game of cribbage, but then I'd be lying, and since she might be reading this, I'd better not do that! (Hi Mom!)
Headed down to Sai Kung for dinner which is a fishing village at the bottom of the hill out by where my parents live. There are multiple seafood restaurants lining the water with tanks filled with squids, crabs, lobsters, and the biggest fish you've ever seen. We sat outside and were immediately brought two tea pots, one filled with jasmine tea and the other filled with hot water. You are meant to mix the two together, that way you can determine the intensity of the tea. Instead of tea cups to drink from you get small glasses, which prove to be pretty hard to use since there isn't any insulation so you end up burning your fingers if you get too thirsty too quick. One common occurrence at Chinese restaurants is that they provide set menus for 2,3,4,5 etc people. We decided on the 3 person set menu with 5 main dishes and one choice of vegetable. Everything is brought out and served family style and there was enough to feed a family of five. We ate, and ate, and ate, and ate... and there was STILL MORE LEFT!!! The seafood was so fresh and delicious it was hard to stop.
After we were filled to the brim and couldn't possibly eat another bite we had to tell the waitresses to take the food away (because in China its impolite not to finish all of your food). After a quick minibus ride home I fell asleep, full and happy!
Ready for another day and another adventure!

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