Hong Kong Evening

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I am pinching myself right now because I am finding it a little hard to believe that I am sitting in The Lobby Restaurant of the The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. (See photo) I just ordered a Tsing Tao beer - it was either that or a gin and tonic - and I will have dinner here in a little bit. The Peninsula is a grand old hotel built during the height of the British rule. There is a live four-piece band up on the mezzanine. There are several shops that open onto this large room and the names I can see are Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpel, and Prada. I just saw an Arab sheik walk past. Oh, my beer has arrived. (See photo) I'm sorry to say that Tsing Tao doesn't taste any better in China than it does the USA. Still, it is an experience to savor. This morning I flew from Singapore to Hong Kong and we passed Vietnam on the way. (See photo) I was treated to a picture perfect flyover of the HK. At least it would have been perfect if there wasn't so much haze in the air. The same is true for Singapore - most days are too hazy for good views. The train from the airport to the city was as modern and steely clean as anything I saw in Singapore (or anywhere else, for that matter). Hong Kong Station, where the train terminated, is in the basement of an immensely tall skyscraper that is all concrete and glass on the outside and escalators and shops on the inside (at least in the part where I was). But two blocks away, where my hotel is, the streets look like the back alleys from a 1950's Hollywood version of Hong Kong. (See photo.) You didn't think I was STAYING at The Peninsula did you? OK, my dinner arrived. It is called Chicken Rice, but it is actually fancier than it sounds. (See photo) It was very tasty and so was the cheesecake dessert. (See photo) All right, it is now later in the evening. After a pleasant dinner at The Peninsula, I walked down to the harbor to see the "Symphony of Light" show. Every night at 8:00 there is a soundtrack that plays while the buildings on both sides of the harbor synchronize their lighting schemes. My camera doesn't do well in low-light conditions, so these photos may not look all that impressive, but it was fun to see - and there were many, many other people watching, too. (See photos of roughly the same area before and after dark) I am pleased to be in Hong Kong and I am looking forward to other things I can see and do in the coming days.

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