Golden Week in Hong Kong

Asia » Hong Kong » Hong Kong Island
May 7th 2005

Published: May 7th 2005

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Bond Family

Hong Kong Fireworks

Maybe you’ve seen the Hong Kong television advertisement
“LIVE IT, LOVE IT- HONG KONG” that says it all!

After living in HK from 1996 -1998 we’re very excited to be back for a visit. When we arrived at the JW Marriott on HK island we couldn’t believe our good fortune to be upgraded to a room with a harbor view. As soon as we got into the room we spent several minutes just enjoying the skyline. Then something surprising happened. Fireworks began to explode from the tops of the skyscrapers all around us. What a welcome back! Although we would like to think it was all just for us it was in celebration of Golden Week. Golden Week is part of the Asian labor day and May day holidays.

It’s hard to believe it has been over 7 years since we moved back to America. Coming back to HK feels like old times and is so familiar yet this city is ever changing. Some of our favorite restaurants have moved and many of the shops are different but we have enjoyed the treasure hunt of finding the old favorites again. We were able to locate the Hard Rock Café

Dim Sum with HK Friends

so we could celebrate "a"’s 16th Birthday! (She had fond memories of eating there)

We took the ferry to Lantau Island. There’s amazing expansion going on in Discovery Bay (our old neighborhood) including the new Disneyland that is set to open this September. Disney has built 2 hotels and the park is right within view of the D.B ferry pier. We walked past the house we lived in and took the girls to their old school, Discovery Bay International School. We plan to return for another visit to Lantua Island before leaving HK.

Walking through Hong Kong Park to the Peak Tram, we discovered that we had forgotten about Hong Kong’s extreme humidity. We made it (although slowly and sticky) to the peak tram. The tram is at the bottom of the St. John’s Building where Dad’s office was while working in Hong Kong. We rode the tram up to the peak and had lunch at the Peak Galleria. The view from the peak was beautiful but as usual it was a little hazy.

One of the highlights of our time here so far was the chance to visit the New Office. The New Building is in

DBIS

This was the school the girls attended while we lived in Hong Kong

Wan chi overlooking the beautiful Convention Center and Victoria Harbor. Eva (friend from work) arranged for us to have dim sum lunch with some of Dad's work colleagues. We had a great time reminiscing about the good old days in HK. We greatly appreciate the generous hospitality of our Hong Kong friends.

The last few days have been busy with shopping trips to the Temple Street, Night market and the Ladies market. We really didn’t buy much but thoroughly enjoyed the classic Hong Kong shopping experience; including the crowds, heat, noise, pushing, shoving and even a little haggling. The girls got to remember how challenging it is to catch the MTR (Hong Kong’s crowded subway system) and feel like a sardine in a can!

We spent an afternoon at the Hong Kong History Museum. It’s full of interesting information about Hong Kong’s past, starting from the prehistoric period right up to today. It’s one of the most excellent museums we have been to. In the evening we took a walk along the Avenue of the Stars and saw Jackie Chan’s star. It was another gorgeous night on the waterfront. The fireworks have been set off each night this