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Day 6 - December 29, 2012 - Hong Kong, China

Today is a bit cloudy and cooler than it was yesterday. The day started with a walk down to the harbor and a quick picture of the Bruce Lee statue along the Walk of Stars. We then ate a quick breakfast at the hotel before heading off to the Chi Lin Nunnery and gardens. The gardens were very manicured and lent the place a certain formal serenity. The nunnery itself sits right next to some very tall buildings which made for an interesting interplay between the calmness of the nunnery itself and the energy of the city that exists right outside its doors.

After our visit to the nunnery, we headed into central Hong Kong to explore some areas we had not yet made it to. We went to the Times Square building which has a mini version of Times Square incorporated into its design. We then headed to a Southern Indian vegitarian resturant I had read about for lunch. (I didn't come all the way to China to miss out on authentic Indian food!) We had tried to eat dinner at this resturant the night before but there was a line out the door and it was packed with customers of Indian descent - a good sign. We were not disappointed. Very, very good. Interesting dishes with very unique flavors.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to clean up before checking out Tea Time at the Peninsula hotel. This is one of those must see (if not must do) events here in Hong Kong. The hotel itself is quite regal. A quartet was serenading the lobby full of tea drinkers and crompet eaters. We considered joining in but the line for a table was too long. We nonetheless enjoyed the atmosphere for a while while wandering throughout the building.

Later that night, we walked around some different areas of Kowloon and Steven had some roasted Peking duck at a resturant near the hotel. Tomorrow we will spend our last morning in Hong Kong before heading off to Nepal. Overall, We've really enjoyed our time in Hong Kong. The city is very easy to navigate for tourists. Very English friendly. Signs to tourist spots everywhere. Great transit system. Helpful people. Interesting mix of Far East and Great Britain. Chinese people speaking english with a decidedly British accent. Although it is non-stop energy and throngs of people everywhere, it is a controlled chaos that exists within a very well designed infrastructure. We are definitely glad we got a chance to experieince it if only for a few days.

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