More Hong Kong...

After quite a full day, Kevin and I decided to take it easy on Day 3. We woke up late and skipped breakfast, so we could enjoy some "Dim Sum." We found a restaurant called the Jade Garden located near the Central Ferry pier.

The Jade Garden had an English menu which made things so much easier for us. You know, it's funny. Although Hong Kong was ruled by England for 99 years, there are quite a few people who don't speak English. Aside from the upscale restaurants and hotels, it can be hard at times to find people who speak English....

Anyway, here are a few photos from our "Dim Sum" brunch.





After our brunch, we headed to the train station to go to the Hong Kong countryside (if there is such a place)--to an area in the New Territories called Sha Tin.

For those who follow the Olympics, you may be aware that Sha Tin is where the equestrian events for the 2008 Para-Olympics are being held.

Once we arrived in Sha Tin, Kev and I took a nice walk through the Sha Tin Garden Park.



Here's a photo of the two of us "goofing" around....



While in Sha Tin, we visited the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.



The museum had some great exhibits on Chinese ceramics including glazed vases from the Ming dynasty. I was an East Asian Studies major in college-- so most of the exhibits were quite interesting to me, I'm not so sure it was Kevin's cup of tea.



Following the museum, we visited one last stop in Sha Tin. A restaurant that had been recommended to us by Kev's best friend, Ray Kung.

Ray's family is from Hong Kong so they told us that we absolutely could not go to Sha Tin WITHOUT eating the roast pigeon. Yes, that's right. You read that correctly. Roast Pigeon.

One restaurant in particular is quite famous for the roast pigeon. A restaurant called Lung Wah. Lung Wah may have been a hotel at some point, since the signage still reads hotel. The place wasn't too easy to find, but after walking a bit and making a few circles, we finally found it.

This place reminded me of Chinese movies...it was like a throwback to 1930's China. The walkway leading up to the restaurant was lined with these bright Chinese paper lanterns...



Once seated, we ordered and then waited for our pigeon. Finally, ta da!



Looks pretty tasty, doesn't it?






We tried to eat with chopsticks, but Kev and I had to (of course) follow local customs and eat the pigeon with our fingers. The restaurant provided a "finger bowl" with tea for you to rinse your fingers when finished. All in all, the pigeon was delicious. It was juicy and full of flavor.

So the next time you visit Hong Kong, be sure you head to Sha Tin for the roast pigeon....

The next day, we headed to Hong Kong island to go to Stanley Market and Victoria's Peak. On our way to the Market, we rode one of Hong Kong's famous double decker trolley cars. These are a bit different from the ones in San Francisco.





To get to Stanley Market, we also rode a double decker bus, similar to the ones you see in London. Here are some photos Kev took on the bus.






Here we are at Stanley Market. Stanley Market doesn't have too much to offer but shopping, but the bus ride there is quite interesting as you can see all the beautiful houses built on the hill overlooking the water. This area of Hong Kong is where the mega wealthy live.






At Stanley Market, Kev and I grabbed a quick bite to eat. We had sliders....look how small they are....



After our snack, Kev left to go to the Maritime museum and I went shopping. Walking around by myself, I found this small little shrine.



I got bored with shopping after a bit, so I went into this McDonald's Cafe called "McCafe" and waited for Kevin. Kev took this photo because he got such a kick out of it...



After Stanley Market, we went to the Peak. Our visit to the Peak was fun, but I'm not sure if the Peak was really worth the money. The ride on the tram car was quite expensive and once you get up at the top, the Peak itself is highly commercialized. They even had a "Bubba Gump Shrimp" restaurant up at the top.

But if you want to get a great skyline view of Hong Kong and be able to say you went to Victoria's Peak and rode the old fashioned tram car--I guess that makes it slightly worth it.

The ride on the old fashioned tram car was pretty fun. Before the days of power engines, the tram ran on coal and steam....





Once at the top, the view was incredible....






After the peak, we headed back to our hotel in Kowloon but not before stopping at the Promenade to watch the "Hong Kong Symphony Of Lights." This is a nightly light and sound show held at 8pm. Believe it or not, this event is actually part of the Guiness Book of World Records for the world's largest permanent light and sound show. We were able to snap a few photos before it started to pour!

Hong Kong Continued...

I told you we walked a lot on our first day. The first post was only half of Day 1 on Hong Kong. This is the 2nd half. Needless to say, you can understand why after this day, our feet were aching....

After spending the morning in Kowloon, we decided to go to one of the outer lying islands of Hong Kong for a small break from all the chaos of the city. We decided to take a ferry to the island of Cheung Chau to spend the afternoon there.

On our way to the ferry pier, we took a stroll through some more open air markets.....



We came across a small temple....This temple is called Tin Hau temple.





Buddhist temples and shrines can be found all over Hong Kong. This is a view from inside the temple. These incense coils are made to burn for 10 days....



Once on the ferry, Kevin took a few photos as we approached the island of Cheung Chau. The island is about 10 kilometres away from Hong Kong island and does not have any vehicles.

This island is a small fishing island community known for its seafood, pretty evident by the number of junk boats and sampans visible in the harbor.





Once we arrived on Cheung Chau, we walked to the beach.





And stopped at a small cafe. I had a refreshing iced milk tea while Kev enjoyed a beer. For some reason, the beer San Miguel is very popular on Hong Kong, despite the fact it is imported from the Philippines.



We found another temple and had our fortune read....I am expected to have a fruitful and prosperous year end....

This is Pak Tai temple, considered to be one of the oldest in Hong Kong.



Does this look familiar? I'll give you a hint....rhymes with "Lisa."



After the temple, we headed back to the harbor to scout out our dinner. Did I mention how much Kevin and I love seafood?!?!?



Can you see what these are? Don't worry, Kev and I didn't eat any of these guys...





Once back at the harbor, we decided to eat at a restaurant recommended by our Lonely Planet guidebook-The New Bacarrat. We are so glad we did, the food was absolutely delicious!



Here I am enjoying the view and trying to find out what to do next according to our guidebook. This dish is steamed whole fish with onions and garlic. I was able to choose the fish I wanted from the aquarium. Of course, I couldn't tell you what the fish is called....I just pointed to it... :)



These are actually called "mantis shrimp." Boy, they were tasty. They are prepared by lightly frying them and tossing them with some chili oil and spiced salt. You peel off the shell and eat....I know they look a bit odd and somewhat "bug like" but really, they were SOOOO good. I think they were my favorite.



We ordered so much food...the steamed vegetables were another favorite.



With our bellies full, we decided to call it a day and head back to Kowloon to go to sleep....

Hong Kong!

Kev and I have just returned from a 5 day trip to the island of Hong Kong. Things have been a bit hectic since we've returned, so apologies for the delay. So here we are...I'm going to give you all some highlights from our trip....

We had booked the trip through HIS travel here on Okinawa, so all of our airfare, hotel accomodations, and some meals were included (actually Kev and I enjoy eating out so the only meals that were included were breakfast). Hong Kong is a mere 2 hour flight away from Okinawa, so we were able to fly direct on Hong Kong Express. The HIS guide was supposed to meet us at the arrival terminal but after waiting about a half hour, we started to wonder whether we had been forgotten. I went over to the airport information desk and was told that guides usually wait at another arrival terminal. Terminal B. We were waiting at Terminal A. So after gathering our belongings, we walked over to Terminal B and that's where he was! Our guide didn't speak any English, but he did speak Japanese, so I was able to act as translator for Kevin. Our guide drove us to our hotel which was in Kowloon (about a 45 minute drive from the airport).

Hong Kong is pretty much like any large metropolitan city, it has several different neighborhoods (all densely populated). Hong Kong island is where most of the luxury hotels are, it's the heart of the city. Kowloon is very much an urban area with tons of people, but since it offers a lot of great sites to see, that's where we opted to stay. Our hotel was a 5 star hotel called the Royal Plaza Hotel. The hotel was located within a shopping mall and had a subway station close by so it was very convenient.

The first day, Kev and I walked around Kowloon, following a "walking tour" we found in our Lonely Planet guidebook. Let me warn you, if you plan to come to Hong Kong, make sure you wear some comfortable shoes....Kevin and I did A LOT of walking, I mean A LOT. We planned to walk, but when following the guidebook, we noticed that some of the routes we were told to take didn't exist or were under construction. Hong Kong is one of those cities that has a lot of construction. They are building new hotels and new buildings for all the foreign investment that is coming in.

Anyway, I digress. The point I wanted to make is that just expect you have to walk. Yes, Hong Kong has an excellent public transportation system, but still you will have to walk. So back to our tour, we decided to visit some of the more popular sites in Kowloon. Our first stop was the Flower Market. This is an area of Kowloon that has flower vendors selling exotic fresh cut flowers and plants. It was amazing to see all the trucks unloading the flowers. The fragrance in the air was amazing!

I couldn't help but take this photo of this kitty who seemed to enjoy hanging out at the flower market!







After the flower market, we headed over to the Fish market. Like the flower market, this is an area of Kowloon where local people go to buy golfish and other various fish. These fish are not meant to be eaten, rather the Hong Kong Chinese enjoy keeping them as pets....





The next stop was the Yuen Po Bird Garden. Again, these birds are not meant to be eaten, they are kept as household pets. It's quite a sight to see older Hong Kong Chinese men walking around with their bird cages airing out their pet birds....



This gentleman was here to pick out a bird. He was listening to all of them sing before he made a decision. How's that for finding a pet?





Kevin and I walked around some other street markets. Hong Kong is just full of open air markets. They sell everything!

I did not know my husband was taking a photo of me shopping...Yes, this is me shopping for underwear from a large bin. How can you not at only $2 a piece?!




We couldn't believe the size of the dragonfruit...I mean look at this, twice the size they are here in Okinawa!




Here are a few photos of the streets in Kowloon. This will give you an idea of how densely populated it is.... There are neon signs everywhere and some of them are quite low so public buses have to constantly watch for clearance...





Here are some other random photos I took on Day 1....

Shark fin for sale....In case you are curious...One U.S dollar is roughly equivalent to about 7.80 Hong Kong dollars. So that means, these each cost about $475 U.S dollars! Yikes.



Barbequed pork, roasted chicken and Peking duck on display at a local shop.




So let's move on to the 2nd half of Day 1!

My very first....well maybe not...

Kev and I have returned from our 5 day trip to Hong Kong. We had a marvelous time. I promise to post all the details of our trip soon....so more on that later.

The big news around here is Typhoon Sinlaku. We were told on Tuesday that the typhoon was out there and could be making its way to Okinawa. As soon as the announcement was made, all of military folk here on the island went into a flurry rushing around getting water and supplies from the Commissary. I came home from work yesterday to find even my own husband preparing the house...all of our camping supplies were out on the floor of my living room. It was kinda cute.

Well, as it turns out...the typhoon is now making its way AWAY from our lovely island. This means, now there is a very good chance we will be safe from the typhoon. Now I know I shouldn't be so bummed about it, but I was really hoping to experience my first very typhoon. Maybe next time....
BOOO!

~Chrissy