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Published: November 10th 2007
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Big Buddha
On Lantau Island, the largest seated buddha in the world (he's big) looks on with a serene expression. We spent a week in Hong Kong before our 2 week "Highlights of China" tour. My (Jen's) cousin Mike and his girlfriend Nancy very generously put us up for the week in their very tiny HK apartment (which they share with a roommate, Andrew). Last year, Mike and Nancy lived just across the boarder, in Shenzhen, China, where they taught English. In September, they moved to HK to teach for one more year before going back to Ontario. We had a fantastic time hanging out with them, got very little sleep, and couldn't believe how fast the week flew by! Half way through our stay, my parents arrived in HK - it was great to see them after 8 months!
Hong Kong Highlights and Memories:
Mike and Nancy were such good tour guides, that when left on our own, Andrew and I couldn't even find the grocery store (which I'm embarrassed to say is is in their apartment complex) which we had just been to the night before... we eventually got our bearings, but it was really nice to just follow someone for a change!
Visiting the "Big Buddha" on Langtau Island - the Buddha sits on top
At the Big Buddha
Mike (second from the left) is Jen's cousin, his girlfriend Nancy, their roommate Andrew (far left) and the scruffy Andrew of a mountain with fantastic 360 degree views.
On Saturday night, Mike and Nancy hosted a BBQ party. The boys picked out some very nice steaks (which tasted sooo good, especially since we hadn't had a steak since Australia), and we met some of their friends - it was a really fun night!
Our day trip to Shenzhen was an experience! The purpose of our trip was to do some shopping - Shenzhen is one of the best places in China to pick up your fake Rolex, copy DVD's and purse knock-offs. The Louhu Market is 5 floors of pure fun! We were there on the weekend, which added to the excitement as the police were roaming the halls (copies are not legal in China). What happens is that the stores send out guys with cell phones to follow the police - this way they can call ahead to warn when the cops are approaching. So you'll see this mob moving its way through the mall, with the stores in it's path scrambling to put away anything illegal. Most of the stores now keep their illegal merchandise off site (ie. in their homes). They have catalogs for you
to browse, and keep a bicycle handy to whip out and get what you would like. A few times we had the catalog ripped out of our hands as the cops were approaching - it was hilarious! Nancy and Mike spent lots (and lots) of time in Louhu last year, so they knew exactly which stores to go to, where the shop owners know them and where they have pre-negotiated prices - it was great! Andrew picked up a fake Tag (which only worked for a couple of weeks, but looks really good!), and I bought a very nice ("A" quality!) Jimmy Choo purse and several LeSportSac bags - I've never bought so many purses in my life! We also picked up all 5 seasons of the TV series "24" (48 DVD's in total!), "Scrubs" and a few movies - we're not planning to turn on the cable when we get back to Ottawa, so these should keep up entertained for the winter!
Hair cut day. It was time for both Andrew and I to get our hair cut, and I desperately needed to cover up my "salt and pepper" (I wonder if spending 24/7 with Andrew has anything
Hong Kong Skyline
This picture does not do it justice - I wish I had the lighting budgets of half of these projects to do with the rapid increase in my grey hair???). Nancy kindly found a salon where I could get colour done, and then we went to the salon's training centre to get our hair cut... the cuts only cost us $7, and they weren't too bad (really), but the cuts took 2 hours! The students were VERY meticulous, and would need to get their teacher's approval at various intervals... it was worth it for the price, but I almost feel asleep a few times!
Looking down on HK from the sky deck of Victoria Peak. The first day with my parents, we road the cable car up to the peak, and were fortunate to have relatively clear weather to view HK island and Kowloon across the bay.
Our day trip to Macau with my parents. The island was interesting with it's mix of high end casinos and the "old town" with it's Portuguese heritage.
Watching the light show on the HK skyline from the bar of the Intercontinental Hotel. My parents took the 4 of us out to the prime viewing spot for the light show - Andrew almost filled a memory card with all the videos
View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak
Jen's parents Alan and Eve joined us in Hong Kong before we all headed to China for a two-week organized tour he took of the lighting! Without a doubt, the HK skyline is the most spectacular we've seen on this trip.
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