Hong Kong and Macau: Part 1

---

Finally Blogging Again

It's been more than a week since I returned to Shanghai from my trip to Hong Kong and I'm only now getting around to this blog entry. I just had to take a break from all of the partying to sit down in front of my computer and write. Hopefully it has been worth the wait!

Flying China Eastern

We decided to take a direct flight into Hong Kong on China Eastern airlines. The trip to the airport involved a ride on the maglev train which can reach a top speed of 430 km/hour (about 267 mph!). Our group only had 6 people this time since we were hoping to move quickly to see as much as possible.



As for the flight, I was very surprised by the quality of service, especially since it was only a couple of hours to Hong Kong. Check out the food:



That's right: beer AND ice cream included at no additional charge! Woo Hoo!

First Impressions

As soon as we arrived we had to go through customs. Flying to Hong Kong is considered international travel even though it is officially part of China. This has to do with the "One Country, Two Systems" policy, which allows Hong Kong and other Special Administrative Regions to keep the economic and political systems they had before they were returned to China.

One of the first things I looked for at the airport was an Octopus Card. I had read about these useful RFID-enabled cards that allow you to use stored value to pay for things all over Hong Kong. They can even be used at McDonald's! My first Octopus purchase was a ticket for the Airport Express train to get from the airport on Lantau Island to Central station on Hong Kong Island.

Hong Kong is made up of several islands, with the three most visited being Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Island, and Lantau Island. The downtown area is located on Hong Kong Island, along with Victoria's Peak and its breathtaking view of the city. Kowloon Island has most of the museums, shopping, and night life. Lantau Island is mostly undeveloped with beaches and mountains for swimming, hiking, and relaxing. The airport and Disneyland Hong Kong are also located on Lantau.

The hotel was a quick cab ride away from Central station, and as soon as we got in the taxi we noticed something strange...



The driver was on the wrong side of the car, and the cars were driving on the wrong side of the road! I was actually expecting this, since Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997. It was pretty neat to experience it first hand, though.

It was pretty late when we got to the hotel and everyone was tired from the long day, so we only had enough time for a quick walk after check in. As we explored we noticed 7-Eleven was very popular in Hong Kong, with stores located on nearly every block. After a Double QPC at McDonald's I was ready to call it a night.

Rained Out

Our first full day in Hong Kong was supposed to be spent visiting Lantau Island. We planned to see the Disneyland entrance, take a cable car to the largest outdoor Buddha statue in the world, then take a bus to an area for beaches and hiking. Unfortunately, bad weather thwarted our plans. The cable car was out, and several people warned us that the major roads on Lantau might be closed. Rather than risk wasting time, we decided to switch our plans around with the help of a really nice guy at Central station who helped us pick things to do.

False Advertising

Our first stop was the hostel that Lina had booked for our last couple of nights in Hong Kong. Some of our group members wanted to see it before staying there, and we were already in the area so we stopped by to check it out. The helpful gentleman from earlier had laughed when we told him the name of the place. He told us that his parents are afraid to go in the building and compared it to being in a Star Wars movie. It didn't take long to figure out what he meant...



The hostel was located on the 13th floor of a run-down, 15-story building called the Mirador Mansion (addresses in Hong Kong often include a floor number, since there are very few buildings with only one business inside). It was pretty clear from the moment we walked in that half of our group would not want to stay there. The place looked like a slum, nothing like the pictures we saw online. Lina, Nikhail and I were ready for the adventure of staying in a cramped room in a sketchy building, but the rest of the girls absolutely refused. Katie called her mom and asked her to find a place for us, and we continued our wandering.

In Search of the Museum

On our way to the Hong Kong History Museum we managed to stumble upon the Avenue of the Stars. It is similar to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, with stars for popular Chinese celebrities. It is also a great place to see the Hong Kong skyline. We had not planned on going there until later to see the Symphony of Lights, but we decided to take a look anyway. Eventually we found a place to have lunch and figured out where we needed to go to get to the museum.

We arrived a couple of hours before closing, which unfortunately was not enough time to really see everything. The museum was very well done, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who visits Hong Kong.

Kowloon Park and the Symphony of Lights

It was only 6 PM when the museum closed and the light show was not going to start until 8. This gave us enough time to walk (or run, when the rain started up again) through Kowloon Park which was on the way to the Avenue of the Stars. We got there with plenty of time to spare, so we took the opportunity to take pictures whenever the rain would allow us.



Every night at 8 PM the buildings of the Hong Kong Skyline put on a show with their lights that is choreographed to music that plays on the Avenue of the Stars. It is called the Symphony of Lights, and it is the largest permanent light show in the world. It is definitely worth seeing, even though it doesn't quite look as cool as it sounds. If you think about it, though, the amount of coordination necessary to pull it off is rather impressive.

Wrapping it Up

Dinner was at a place called Sammy's Kitchen, a restaurant recommended by Frommer's. It turned out to be an excellent choice, with great food and really friendly staff. At the suggestion of our server I ordered mixed grill, a Hong Kong favorite which is essentially a skillet full of different kinds of meat. I was going to order dessert afterwards, but the manager sent out a set of free pastries with lotus nut filling for us to try. It was absolutely delicious, but it wasn't on the menu so I couldn't order any more! The manager explained that they had made a large batch for a party they were catering the next day and that's where our order came from. I am definitely going to find more of those somewhere!

Exhausted from an entire day of walking, we walked to our hotel and went straight to bed.

Next stop: Macau!

---