Weekend of July 3rd & 4th

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This last weekend was our first "free weekend," meaning there was no sponsored events through my program. We had the weekend to explore Hong Kong on our own. On Saturday, four of my friends and I dressed up in beautiful sundresses and had an amazing lunch at NOBU. NOBU is an international 5-star Japanese restaurant located only in the most exclusive areas around the world. The one in Hong Kong is located in a high class hotel called the InterContinental Hotel and overlooks the harbor and Hong Kong Island. For lunch, we each got the NOBU Signature Bento Box which included Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing, Sushi and Sushi Roll Assortment, Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce, Black Cod Saikyo Yaki, and NOBU Style Seafood “Pan- fried Rice.” The meal was absolutely amazing, best I've ever had. After NOBU, we decided to walk around Nathan Road and do a little shopping. Nathan Road is a very touristy area with lots of cheap shops. I was able to find some shoes for 50 $HK, which is only about 7 $USD! While on Nathan Road, we attempted to "sneak in" to the pool sun terrace of the nicest hotel in Hong Kong, the Peninsula. That lasted for about 5 min, but we were up there long enough to see a great view of the ocean.

Sunday (July 4th) was the best day in Hong Kong so far. We went on a 10K hike/walk through the High Island Reservoir into the Hong Kong National Geopark. Along the entire walk, we enjoyed spectacular views of the water and took lots of pictures. It was so peaceful and exhilarating. Even though it was extremely hot and I sweat a ton, the enjoyment of being away from the city hustle was all so worth it. The walk ended at a little town called Long Ke Village where there was a beautiful and exclusive beach. The beach was so quite and the only people there had either hiked in like us or come by boat. The minute we got to the beach we all ran out into the water and swam for hours. The water was calm and cool. It was truly one of the best feelings ever! We eventually hiked back out of the village and took a cab to a bus station in Sai Kung. The cab ride was rather interesting. We were lucky enough to get a cab driver that enjoyed The Beatles, Madonna and even Lady Gaga. We had a lot of laughs. After the cab, the city bus took us to a subway station which we took back to our residence. We got back around 7:30pm, quickly showered and then all went out to an American restaurant for the 4th of July. The restaurant was called Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill. I had a classic American cheeseburger with fries and of course ranch dressing. It was a good ending to a wonderful weekend and 4th of July.

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Comments

[Mom]

NOBU Girl
I loved your comments. Sounds like a great weekend and sounds like you are making fun, lasting friendships. Keep the great pics coming! Love Mom and Ray

[Dad]

Happy 4th
So glad you have a GREAT July 4th weekend! So pleased that the weeks are just getting better and better. Keep making it happen Peaches. Hoping you'll come home and cook up some of the wonderful meals you are experiencing there in HK. Miss you LOTS! Love ya ...

[sayala]

FUN
Amber, You have having a great experience! Everything seems amazing! How do you know where to go in such a huge city? Does the program offer ideas? Are you restricted from doing anything? I am happy for you!

[AmberPlacke]

Steven
Hey, it good to hear from you. Its amazing how much there is to do here. The program has sponsored and unsponsored events like expeditions of Hong Kong, Lantua Island and Macau and dinners, and other activities. There are also a lot of people in my program that are familiar with this area so they take us around to all the good restaurants and hot spots. I actually just got back from the horse races which is really big here. The MTR railway system and city buses can basically take you wherever you want to go in this city. And they are super clean and easy to use! Hope your summer is going good. Miss ya!