Hong Kong

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I arrived in Hong Kong and was immediately swept off my feet with Sonia and her family's kindness and generosity. 10 days flew by!

Sonia and I did a lot so I'm going to list it here in no particular order:

~Lantau Island - includes a lovely cable car ride, visit to a modern temple with the largest bronze sitting Buddha in the world, a monastery, and a new inspiring outdoor sculpture. It was great to get out and be in a bit of nature. 😊

~Wax Museum - wicked good fun! I had never been to a wax museum before and had heaps of fun posing with the celebrities, political and historical figures.

~Tram - In addition to trams on the street (which run alongside buses, mini-buses, and above the MTR = subway) One can take a tram to/from the peak. The tram design dates back to the turn of the 20th century and must be one of the steepest passenger trams in the world! (well, I haven't been to San Francisco yet...)

~Dessert Buffet: I thought I died and went to heaven. Every type of dessert you could imagine: chocolate fountains, home-made ice cream and sorbet, cakes, truffles, fruits, cheese and crackers, mousse flavors ranging from beer to pistachio to blueberry - it was decadent, indulgent, hedonistic, and amazing. It was beautiful. simply beautiful. :D

~Hike to the Peak - a feat Sonia and I achieved twice! A lovely 2.5 kilometer or so uphill walk from mid-levels to the peak. Many people were out with their dogs and Sonia and I loved watching all the sweaters, shoes, or costumes people dressed their puppies in.

~Ocean Park - Hong Kong Island's theme park is transformed into a scream park for the month of October where Halloween has been adopted, Chinese style. You won't find Frankenstein or Dracula, but you will see demons and ghouls from Chinese mythology. VERY cool. We donned pink, fluffy, light-up tiaras and beared the torrential rains to see the Pandas and get scared silly in haunted houses!

The pandas were without doubt, the cutest, cuddliest animals I had ever seen. Usually they are quite placant but of the four they have at Ocean Park, one is very active and proceeded to climb up, over, and around every tree limb as well as do little dances along the walls. They are clumsy, agile, dangerous, gentle, and hilarious.

The haunted house themes were based in Chinese culture and included a trip through the backstage of a Chinese Opera, with Cantonese Opera music playing overhead, a doll factory, which was more disturbing than Chucky, and a tomb explorer which made us feel like Lara Croft 😉 It was nothing short of aMaZiNg 😊

~Nights out in Lan Kwai Fong - a slightly up-scale area where Hong Kong's lack of laws prohibiting alcohol on public property is enjoyed by many. 😊

~Goldfish, Bird, and Flower Markets where the three listed above are found in colorful, and sometime loud, abundance. 😊 The Bird Market was especially interesting because traditionally, older Chinese men are very attached to their birds. They may have upward of 20 and take one or two along with them when they go to teahouses, or to play chess with their friends. The birds are a prized part of Chinese culture and the ornate wood cages are considered an art, very rightfully so.

~Horse Racing! I spent one fabulous evening with Sonia's friend Kaili who showed me the works of the local racetrack. Kaili was hilarious and full of spunk; a great tour guide. 😊 I won on my first three races I bet on and was simply giddy after winning my all of $5 😊 (I'm a very innocent better) It also was the start of Oktoberfest so there were plenty of Oktoberfest themed contests, pretzels, and brats to go around. It was a casual, social atmosphere with people mingling and chatting - it was like a more social baseball or football game in the States. I LOVED it. 😊

~Karoake: I have fallen in love with total Asian-style karaoke! Kaili, Sonia, and I went not once, but twice! It's fantastic: you get your own room, microphones, snacks, and a huge play list to belt out all those songs you may or may not have heard since 1998. So much fun we all went again!

~Hong Kong skyline light show: a delightful show where Hong Kong's buildings along it's famous harbor are lit up and colored lasers are shot off their roofs in time to a classical ballad playing in the background. En route to view the show you take the famous Star Ferry, a HK institution.

~Avenue of the Stars: HK's version of Hollywood Blvd. in LA ... I have the same size hands as Jackie Chan! who knew?

~My favorite times however, were those spent with just hanging out with Sonia and being with her family. Her mother was kind enough to spend an afternoon showing me her amazing stamp collection, calligraphy, and painting, all three a form of art in Chinese culture. The stamps are made from various stones and can be carved, each unique and one-of-a-kind, in relation to the individual markings on each stone. The bottom of each stamp you can have your name, poem, or saying carved. The stamps are used to mark calligraphy or paintings they've done or in the case of the Emperor or other high-ranking official, it's stamped in approval.

The calligraphy is A LOT harder than it looks - I felt like a 5-year old again as Mrs. Li spread out felt and paper all across their dining room table, showing me how to grind the ink tablet to make liquid ink and how to hold the brush. I now know about 17-18 characters, which I don't know if Sonia regretted showing me because after that, anywhere I went I'd burst out exclaiming "4!", "wood!", "people!" when I recognized a one of the few characters I know.

Mrs. Li is a talent painter and calligraphist and I was truly honored to see some of her work. I was impressed with her diligence as I saw her practice often throughout my time there.

I also found Sonia's grandmother endearing and I quite took to her. I loved a Korean show she watched (she also was coincidentally watching it when Beth and Sasha visited) even though I couldn't follow all the plot's details. It was very exciting!

Sonia's grandmother was kind enough to let me join her, Mr. Li, Sonia's Uncle Paul, and on weekends, Sonia's Aunt Pauline, for breakfast at a teahouse one morning. Her family has a tradition that has been followed since Sonia's father was in high school that every morning the family goes out for breakfast to a traditional teahouse. The entire experience was really moving (totally worth getting up so early).

Time and again I was touched at how close Sonia's family is, and how caring they are with one another. Every weekend, for both lunch and dinner, Sonia's relatives get together for a meal. They all chatted with one another about news, politics, the economy, what Sonia and I should/would do, arts, law ... it really touched me because I've never seen a family act like they do, Sonia is lucky to be part of such a family.

Last but not least, a list of the food I tried while in Hong Kong because I felt like much our time was spent eating, and really cool, new foods at that. Here's a list of the more exotic entrees:
-Dim Sum ... many kinds of dim sum
-Custard buns - my favorite!!
-Eel - interesting...
-raw Octopus - surprisingly easily edible 😊 I was proud of myself for this one.
-Pigs Lung (I opted not to try the pig tracheus after trying the lung, I felt that was enough) :p
-Sharks Fin - texture sort of like well-cooked brisket but the color and taste were quite different
-chicken feet - delicious!
-Snake - amazing!
-Suckled (baby) Pig - very tender with crispy skin!
-the ear of some animal ... hmm I can't remember ...
-Mushroom Ear Fungus - very good and very healthy for you
-cow liver - i've never been a big liver fan but this wasn't too bad 😊
-Congee - traditional Chinese breakfast porridge of sorts, again delicious
-Hong Kong Diner food - Hong Kong blended the English tradition of a diner with Chinese food to create a unique dining style to Hong Kong. My favorite food there was a bun, crispy on the oustide, soft on the inside, filled with sweetened condensed milk. delicious. One morning Sonia and I each had two! 😊

I've lost count of all the animal organs I tried but it definitely opened my horizons as to what part of animals we can eat. Apparently many of the chicken feet eaten in Hong Kong are imported from North America because we don't eat them! It's a bit tragic considering how delicious they are.

I had so much fun and loved feeling like I was in Chinatown 24/7! Hong Kong is a well-run city with very friendly people. 😊 I had an unforgettable time and am thankful to Sonia and her family; they were amazing hosts!

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Photos

Sonia's family!
In relation to Sonia:
Back, L to R: Uncle Paul, me, Sonia, Cousin Pearl, Cousin Sherman, Cousin Scarlett, Aunt Daisy
Front, L to R: Ma Ma, Aunt Pauline, Mrs. Li, Mr. Li

Street In Hong Kong
I loved the advertisement spanning the entire street

only in China (ish) arcades....
We went to an arcade and played a video game where we had to bang on massive drums. awesome!

oh America
we wandered into a craft shop and couldn't resist taking a photo with our American pride toys

bird's nest!
In the Niah Caves in Sarawak, Malaysia we visited a cave where bird's nests were harvested. I was excited to see them in a more finalized form here.