Day 142 & 143: Hong Kong

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Day 142 & 143: Sunday, April 18th and Monday, April 19th, 2010.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong- Kowloon District.

Per Intrepid notes, "It was as a British colony that Hong Kong made itself known to the world and since the 1997 handover back to Chinese rule, the city is still a unique and fascinating place to explore and see where the East really does meet with the West. Hong Kong's cityscape is spectacular, where traditional Chinese stores sit next to 21st century brand names; towering skyscrapers nestle alongside ancient temples and the modern fast paced life of Hong Kong in only minutes from picturesque islands and beaches. The locals are very proud of their Cantonese culture and history, so step out of the shopping malls and off the main streets to discover another side of Hong Kong.

For those who arrive early there are many ways to take in the skyline of Hong Kong: take the Star Ferry across the harbour to see it lit up after dark or venture up to the top of Victoria Peak for a birds eye view. Explore the historical streets of Hong Kong Island from a double-decker tram or hike one of the many walking trails and beaches found on the beautiful outlying Islands. 

For the less adventurous, but just as active, search out a bargain in one of the city's multitude of markets and malls. Don't miss trying one of the culinary highlights of this part of Asia - a long lazy Dim Sum brunch. As there are no included activities here we strongly recommend that you spend a few extra days in Hong Kong to take full advantage of all there is to see and do."

A million apologies for all the "Amanda added a new entry" emails you're about to get. Needless to say, I'm way behind in the blogs and need to get them cranked out. So, since I just spent my last day in Shanghai at the World Expo (it's May 4th right now) and I'm exhausted, I'm going to spend this last night in Shanghai updating this blog thing so that it stops haunting my dreams. Aren't you thrilled? Yes. I thought you would be. Now, back to April 18th... let's see what I can remember, shall we?

On Sunday I joined Ling across the street for Dim Sum breakfast. Thank goodness I went with her because it was very local and no one spoke English. You sit at a big table with 6 or 8 other people and order a bunch of food and chow down (you don't share with the others, only your party). The lady sitting to my right was amused by my attempts to pick up slippery steamed dumplings with chopsticks and applauded me when I finally picked up one. Look at me, I'm growing. My favorite by far was the pan fried garlic and shrimp dumpling- realllllly hope I can find that in the states- awesome.

Afterwards, I said goodbye to Ling as the trip was now officially over and the lucky girl was heading off on a vacation of her own. There were some rocky parts of the tour, due to the very small, rural towns we stayed in, but Ling was a lot of fun and hopefully we'll keep in touch.

As it's about 3 weeks later that I'm finally writing this, I can't really remember what else happened. Either on Sunday or Monday, Rita and I walked around the Kowloon area, went to the Post Office where I shipped off yet another package to John and Sarah and did a harbor cruise in the lovely fog. Rita joined up with a different group that is going to Beijing so she and I said goodbye Monday afternoon and she took off to her new hotel to meet up with the new group. That night, I met up with my new group who would be going with me to Shanghai (then I'll have another group).

The new group consists of: Sue (Canadian) & Paul (Jamaican/Canadian), Bruce (Australian) & Gloria (Canadian), Steve (Australian), Damon (Canadian), and Amavalise (American- Albuquerque, NM). So, 2 couples, 3 guys and myself. Ding ding ding! That means I have a room to myself for the trip- yea!!! Our tour leader is Jerry and he is from Beijing. He takes us to a local restaurant for dinner that night and everyone else is introduced to the "lazy susan" type of dinner that is popular in China. Great concept- you get to sample everyone's dish. We head back to the hotel and prepare to leave for Macau tomorrow.

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Photos

Dim Sum Breakfast!
I'm still longing for more pan fried shrimp and garlic rolls... mmmmm....