Stanley and the Peak's the Limit!

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Hello everyone,
It has been a busy couple of days so here's my story about my trip to Stanley and views from the Peak.

On Tuesday, I took the bus to Stanley. Or should I say I survived the winding roads to Stanley. After having a bit of trouble finding the bus station I was finally on my way at the front of the double decker bus to Stanley, about a 50 minute journey from Central in Hong Kong. The ride is bumpy, through winding roads, but the scenery en route is beautiful. There are high mountains that cascade down to the aqua green/blue of the sea. I met two women from the US who were going to Stanley for the first time and they shared some stories with me about places to check out. Amazing how conversations get started! Nice to connect with people who speak English. There is definitely a lot of signage in English here in HK, but the majority of ppl speak Cantonese.

When I got to Stanley I walked down to the old Stanley Market. They are selling everything there from purses, to linens to Chinese folk art and suitcases. As I was walking through the main market stree I heard this woman yelling-she was directing her anger at the other shopkeeper across the way from her. She added some excitement to the already crowded and busy place. I had lunch at the Stanley Restaurant--red curry with beef and steamed rice. Yummy! You share a large table with about 12 ppl, even if you don't know them here in HK.

I decided, after Rachel's recommendation that I get a stamp made of my name at Stanley, because that is traditional to do here. I paid about $9 CDN for it and it is very nice, complete with ink too. I later walked down on the promenade and looked out at the beauty of the sea. Stanley is a lovely little place-currently with a lot of construction. It is the town where my cousin's girlfriend, Candy's family lives.

Before I headed back into town, I went for a walk in the supermarket-I think I have said this before, but you can learn a lot about a culture by the food they sell in their grocery store! Lots of ethnic foods here-as there are some ex=pats who also live nearby.

Back in Hong Kong after another long and winding road journey, I headed to take the Peak Tram up Victoria Peak. The tram car is over 100 years old and it takes you to the highest mount in HK to be able to see all the dense buildings down below. It was a little bit foggy, however the view is still quite spectacular. I stayed up at the Peak until nightfall and watched as the buildings one by one were lit up.

Rachel, my friend who I am staying with and I met up at Causeway Bay and had Korean BBQ for dinner. Causeway Bay is alive with ppl at night. I am convince that Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps.

It is amazing how so many people live and move about in such a small place, but all under the glow of the neon lights of all the businesses all over Hong Kong.

Hope this finds you all well. Thanks for the messages.

love Katy

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