Sorry it has taken me so long to post this, but if you remembered to keep checking back you have gained true fan status! Enjoy the final installment!
After leaving behind our beloved Thailand, it was off to Hong Kong! Luckily, we were able to extend the layover that we already had in Hong Kong en route to America, from a couple hours to 3 days, to make this trip happen. We were excited to see the city because we knew Hong Kong would be a lot different than any other place that we had been in Asia. Unfortunately, we had bad timing because Paul, my friend who visited us who lives in Hong Kong, wasn’t going to be in town because he was on a business trip in London. He was nice enough to let us let us stay at his apartment even without him there though, which was great on our bank accounts, which were running low. Paul has two roommates, Julian from Germany and Guillaume from France, who were both around our age. We liked to call them our “babysitters,” because Paul had clearly asked them to keep an eye on us/entertain us/make sure we didn’t get into any trouble…even if they won’t admit it. For example, each night at least one of them was conveniently available to go out with us, even though they had to be up for work the next day. Thanks guys!!
Previous to this trip, Emily and I had had the task of trying to research before we got to a new place, trying to devise a plan of what we wanted to do while there. This was not the case in Hong Kong, however. Paul came through for us by emailing us an EXTREMELY DETAILED itinerary for our 3 days in the city. It was literally step by step...which way to turn when we exited his front door, the exact order to do certain things to lead us to the perfect place for lunch, etc. He let us know that it was easier for him to make it detailed and that we could follow it as closely or loosely as we wanted. We opted to follow it to the letter. We were so obsessed with the itinerary that we were hesitant to do anything that wasn’t on it. People would ask us, “Well, have you seen this yet?” and we would say, “Well, it’s not on the itinerary, so we probably won’t have time.” Or, “Where do you want to go out?” to which we would respond, “Well, the itinerary had a few options, so I think one of those would be best.” The itinerary was almost as good as having Paul there to lead us around…almost!
We didn’t arrive at Paul’s apartment until almost midnight on Tuesday (March 23rd). We met our new roomies/babysitters and chatted with them for a bit before bed. Wednesday we were up fairly early for Day 1 on the itinerary: exploring Hong Kong Island. For those of you who don’t know (we were quite confused ourselves), Hong Kong is located on the south coast of China and is made up of Hong Kong Island, which is separated from mainland China by Victoria Harbor; Kowloon and the New Territories, which are connected to mainland China; and over 200 islands. Hong Kong has been part of China since 1997 when it officially became independent of Britain, but is considered an S.A.R., or special administrative region, which gives it some sovereignty. For example, Hong Kong governs itself and has its own currency. It is also home to about 7 million people, which because of its small land mass makes it one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Back to the itinerary…Paul lives on Hong Kong Island, and that is where the most “must-see” tourist sites are. We had our first misstep when we got on a “bus” instead of a “tram,” even though Paul made everything very clear. A taxi ride fixed that mistake and we were back on track…we found ourselves in the downtown business district with the looming sky scrapers of international companies that Hong Kong is known for. After checking out the sites from a free observation deck we headed to the famous Central-Mid-Levels escalator, the longest escalator link in the world. Hong Kong Island is steep and hilly so the escalators were built to make commuting quicker and easier. It consists of over 20 escalators and 3 walking side walks. After the excitement of riding escalators, we wandered some old streets, checked out a Chinese temple, and perused Chinese chotch (ehhh, I like Thai chotch better). Then, we had quite the experience at lunch.
The itinerary told us we should try a place that was one of the last remaining authentic dim sum halls in Hong Kong. Although Paul did warn us that it would be no easy feat to eat there, we were still a little culture-shocked upon arrival. First, you enter a room packed with people and no hostess, so you have to seek out some empty chairs and invite yourself to a table with strangers. Then, in order to actually eat you must track down the “waitresses,” who are little old Chinese women pushing carts holding bamboo containers full of food. You must pick up the lids and point to what you want. When we first entered we had a mini panic attack when we realized we were the only non-Chinese people in the whole place and every table seemed to be full. I saw a couple of empty chairs, but when I tried to ask if they were free the people just shook their heads at me without making eye contact…awkward. As we pondered what to do, an English-speaking Chinese man saved the day and told one of the waiters to tell us we could sit with him and his friends. He was very sweet, spoke fluent English, and shared some food with us, including tea that he had brought from his home garden. I was too flustered to make informed choices from the bamboo containers, but everything ended up being delicious. I’m glad Paul led us there because it was a truly cultural experience...one neither Emily nor I will soon forget.
After lunch, we were off to the Peak Tram, which brings tourists up, up, up the hilly terrain of the city before stopping at Victoria Peak, where a mall was built with a viewing platform on its roof. The view of the city was spectacular, or as the itinerary put it “unmatched,” as Victoria Peak is the tallest mountain on Hong Kong Island. After taking advantage of the great photo op the itinerary allowed for us to go home, and thank goodness because we were beat. We had a little time to rest before going to the horse track that night. Every Wednesday night at the Happy Valley Race Track there is horse racing, and apparently betting on horse racing is extremely popular in Hong Kong, making it a popular weekly event. Unfortunately for us, there was also an event called Rugby 7s in town. Rugby 7s is a popular rugby tournament that travels around the world and comes to Hong Kong every year that same weekend, with most people arriving earlier in the week to make a trip out of it. Therefore, Hong Kong was overrun by beer-bellied rugby lovers, mainly from Australia, it seemed. We aren’t sure if it was the actual reason that there was no racing at the tracks on the one Wednesday we were there, but we are blaming Rugby 7s anyway. We still had a good time though, with babysitter #1, Julian, and a couple more of Paul’s friends that he had let know we were in town. Live racing from another track in the city was shown on big screens and people were still betting, but it just wasn’t as crowded as it normally is. After we had had enough we headed back down by Paul’s apartment to go out for “Ladies Night”. Boston really needs to get one of these, or I need to find out about it if it already exists…but every Wednesday night in Paul’s neighborhood, girls drink for free until 3 AM. Pretty good deal!
Thursday took us to Kowloon upon the Star Ferry. It’s only a short ride from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon across Victoria Bay, but the itinerary called it “among Hong Kong’s most iconic features… the best sightseeing bargain in the world.” Paul really knows how to sell his city, doesn’t he? We arrived with maps, books, and itinerary in hand. Paul had us following a walking tour from a Frommer’s guide. First, we walked along the Avenue of Stars, which is Hong Star’s version of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, which was right along the water, giving a great view of Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon side. The Hong Kong natives were particularly obsessed with the Bruce Lee statue, which you could hardly see because of the crowds posing around it. I, on the other hand, was more interested in Cheung Ying (as you can see above,) you’ve heard of him, right?
Next, we hit up the History Museum, which Paul noted he had spent over 4 hours exploring. Emily and I had a feeling we wouldn’t need QUITE that much time. The museum was very interesting though, and had been newly renovated to add impressive 3D displays. There were also several elementary school field trips there that I kept getting caught in the middle of and therefore getting descriptions of the displays shouted at me in Cantonese through a loud speaker. The kids were so darn cute, though! After the museum, Paul’s friend Hayley, who we had met the night before, took her day shift as our babysitter. Our walking tour took us through a park; some shopping streets; the Goldfish Market, where Hong Kong residents buy fish as pets because they are good luck; and through the Flower Market, which was full of fresh, cheap flowers for sale.
After a lovely but tiring day we had a babysitter switch-off, with Hailie dropping us at restaurant where Julian met us for his night shift. Our itinerary told us to make sure to get back down to the Avenue of Stars to see the “Symphony of Lights” laser show, which is set to music and projects off of over 40 buildings on both sides of the harbor at 8 PM each night. We were “ready to be wowed” as the itinerary prepared us to be, but Julian ate too slowly and we missed it. Ugh, aren’t babysitters supposed to wait for you, and not the other way around? Just kidding, Julian! The view at night was beautiful with or without the laser show, as you can see above! After dinner we head to an itinerary-approved bar for some live music, drinks, and chatting with our new friends.
For Friday activities the itinerary gave us many options, as it was our last day but much was left to see. We could go see the Big
That night was our last in HK, but we also had a 9 AM flight the next day…rough. We obviously had to go out though, because our itinerary wasn’t aware of our early flight and had set the night up to be our biggest night out. Don’t worry, we made sure to pack our bags before going out. Guillaume, babysitter #2, was in charge of us for the night. First, we met up with a friend of Emily’s, Nate, who happened to be on business in Hong Kong…small world! After a lovely dinner in SoHo, the four of us headed to Lan Kwai Fong aka LKF aka the most well-known party area in Hong Kong for expatriates. It truly was crazy. There was one big road with a few small side streets full of bars and restaurants, with people overflowing out of them into the streets (see above). Rugby 7s took over once again making it even more packed than usual. This also meant that the old beer bellies thought that the streets were a rugby field and therefore we found ourselves dodging stuffed miniature rugby balls that were being thrown around all night. Oh, Rugby 7s! We had a fun night hopping to a few different places, including an ice bar and a bar with a roof deck that gave a beautiful view of the city at night.
All in all, it was a great and extremely packed trip. We missed Paul, but he set it up so that we had a great time even without him (hard to do though, I must admit,) so we are very thankful to him! Sadly, Hong Kong was the last stop on our awesome month-long trip and wrapped up our 5 months in Asia. It certainly was the perfect way to end it, though! If you were wondering, we did make our flight home, but just BARELY…blame a phone alarm that was accidently set to silent!
Stay tuned for Emily’s final goodbye post, it will most likely be posted in a much more timely fashion than I posted this…because Emily is much more organized than I am!
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