With all vacations they finally end and we have to go back to reality of the “real” world and whole job grind thing. So for the final 4 days before summer in Seattle, we headed from humid, hot, and polluted Guilin, although very beautiful. To the modern city of Hong Kong, where the air was way cleaner than anything we had experienced on our trip. And… wait for it….. Blue unadulterated sky, Only problem was, due to the vicinity of a typhoon it was pretty much overcast the entire time, threatening to rain.

We arrived in the late afternoon and by the time we got to the hotel it was night time, what to do? Temple street night market of course. It, like all Chinese markets before it, was, after 4 or 5 stalls more or less the exact same thing. And the realization that maybe we should of gotten more stuff along our trip in China and not worry about carrying it. Leaving a little disappointed, we prepared for the first full day in HK.

In our travel book it says if you go to the Kong and don’t ride the Star Ferries across the bay, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.  

Everyone stop reading, go back to that picture, see the top left ,that blue right there… get at me sky, I love you.

Before we had left we saw there was a dragon boat racing festival going on and so we decided we should make it there at some point today. Little did we know, our leisurely walk on the promenade and avenue of stars(unoriginal representation of HK movie stars) lead us right to it!

Because everyone there had no idea what to do with it, Asian girl please, this is how you do it. 

My boy Jackie and Jet Li

And..... Bruce Lee

Then we reached the dragon boat festival.

Mom wanted to race.

 And small world. We were there and I was thinking, wait a minute, who lives in Hong Kong that I know and also participates in this sport…. oh right!  … Courtney! represent Whidbey.

After the festival we made our way to the Peak Tram and went to the highest point in HK.

It was super steep tram and I have no pictures that do it any justice, but the viewing point was great! Also, there was a Bubba Gump at the top  ????????  So we ate there.

 

View of the other side of the island

We took a very long walk down, and decided we would go to the hotel and then go out again. We never made it back out.

Next day, we went the Hong Kong Museum of History, which was a really well done presentation of the history of Hong Kong from the formation of the Islands to the founding of the city. It was really interesting and we found ourselves walking around for far longer than we had anticipated.  

 It was also field trip to the museum for every kid in HK, they were like locusts running around, and not one sign was looked at. But I was like that, gotta pay the dues right?

A model of how the stores were during the 1800s

We walk along the fish market and shoes market. And trying to find lunch that day. We go to what looks like a bar, but we ended up having to take an elevator up,,,, and then there is a secretary chillin at a desk and the room behind has a bunch of Chinese men in suits playing pool and darts  ????? She looks at us, we look at her. Everyone has confusion on their face. After an eternity Mom speaks first and says, “Lunch?”

Then maybe the lady pressed an unknown button under her desk or somebody else heard, but behind us an unseen door opens and a random Chinese server steps out and ushers us in. After looking at their menu for a couple minutes, we look at eachother, “bail?”, “bail” and we bounced. So new plan, get some snacks at a nearby bakery and go to the Soho for dinner. Mom hasn’t had Chinese western bakery food and she got this sweet bread thing with pork inside. And you know how Father Jolley, when he is eating something he thinks is good he moans about it the whole time? Like mmmmmmmm so good mmmmmmm and you are just trying to enjoy your food without that in your ear. Well MOM was doing that but on steroids.

So we went to Hong Kong island (on our way to Soho) and went up the Bank of China Tower (picture or it didn’t happen)

And went to the 43^rd viewing floor

And mom took a picture in the elevator

Not impressed especially after Mom tried entering this huge building, so first we have to go through security and she goes up and asks the guy looking at the screen in baggage check what to do.  I tell her you have to put your bag through, so  she attempts to put her bag after where it get screened, so the belt is coming towards her…..  and then she didn’t connect you had to swipe the visitor pass to go through the gate, so she just kind of walks into it. And all I could do was

Next we went to a tea museum and then walked through the Hong Kong park on our quest for food.

It also has an aviary in it.

So let me tell you about the best food eva. This place be called Life and its an organic / vegetarian place and after this day I was hungry, tired  and this food, HIT the spot.

Appetizers, Bruschetta and Beet Salad with awesome dressing  and this organic beer that just I mean I was tearing up yo

And finally the spicy Tempeh Burger and  ….. I was so good 

So we have been riding the metro a lot and we see on their map is a icon that says “Cable Car” and we always ask each other, can we go to that? Looked it up, goes to  a huge Buddha and a viewing point and is a another must go destination, so the day before we leave to ‘Murica  we decide to  huck it there. Gotta paint this picture early, so it is 30 minutes to the interchange station to the line that takes us to this lift, from there it is about an hour to get here, then we get to take this awesome Gondola for another 30 or so minutes. Remember the weather forecast from earlier?

This is where we came from 

This is what we look down at

This is what we are going to

Looks super clear. Right?

Word

The village is pretty cool we explore a little and went  through this “Walking with Buddha” show which gives the basic information about how Buddhism was formed and now it’s time to go see the GIANT Buddha we have traveled so far to see.

 

Glad we can see it

Mom “ We just need to get closer”

No, Closer

Just this faint outline, shadow in the Fog. It must be what a little of what achieving nirvana is like.

We then headed off and took a walk along some of the trails, ending up at the “Path of Wisdom” which was really cool, the fog really pulled it together on this one.

 

The fog was not going to clear anytime soon, so after lunch we headed down and, of course went for glory, go to the other side of Hong Kong, Which involved a gondola ride down subway ride back, and a 40 minute on a double decker bus to the other side. They had beaches! And it seemed like a really cool place to hang out at for a couple days, soaking up the sun and checking out their famous market.

Final day in Hong Kong, our flight left at 8pm so we had the day, our book suggested this walk through the city to see different temples, first temple

Second temple

It was really hot and humid and walking up  hills wasn’t doing anything for me, but I’m always up for checking out more of a city, found some pretty cool buildings

And after a final walk on the pier

We head back to Life for Lunch before the trip to the airport.

We didn’t have any luggage to check so we used Air Canada’s  self-check in. Well the problem with that is it didn’t tell us we don’t have seats yet and we needed to go to the counter anyways. 10 minutes before boarding they call us up saying we don’t have seats… and that the only two left are both middle seats 2 rows  and a column away from each other…. In the most simple, beautiful Chinese grammar structure of Topic, comment sentence. Air Canada, Fuck you.

Movies weren’t that great either

So now we are home, in reflection it was an amazing time and got to see so much of China. Many people have these “once in a lifetime” trips with their significant others or friends, I did it with my Mom. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Until next time China