We arrived last night in Hong Kong, after a long 17 hour flight. We were delayed in Chicago for 3 hours due to an air conditioning problem with the aircraft.
I was seated in coach, but the center seat was open, which made for more comfortable seating. My co-passenger on the aisle though was something else. She was an elderly women, who had no clue of who she was or where she was going. Mid flight she required oxygen, then slept the rest of the way to China.
We took at 20 min ride to the Four Seasons, checked in and went straight to the Blue Bar in the hotel. Same staff as two years ago. Great place to return.
Jim spent most of the day at the Hong Kong office with his client, and I walked to Causeway Bay, the shopping district. I spent about 4 hours exploring the local stores and watching the people. My only purchase was a SIM card for my phone and bottles of headache pain herbs that work so well on Erin.
We had dinner at the top of Victoria Peak. The view was great, food was just OK.
We took the funicular, back to street level. The ride provided a spectacular view of Hong Kong at night.
We finished off our evening at The Blue Bar, our favorite place at The Four Seasons.
Saturday January 5, 2008
This morning, we took the Star Ferry over to Kowloon. The pier has been moved from where it was when we were here two years ago. The new entrance is very modern and a short walk from the hotel. We spent the day walking the busy shopping streets Kowloon and dodging all the "Rolex" watch sellers. Though the fish and meat that is being sold on the streets looked appealing, we opted for lunch at the Intercontinental Hotel, located close to the ferry. We split a large hamburger and very thin crust pizza.
After a well needed nap, we went to dinner at the Green T House. This is the same as the one located in Beijing that we thoroughly enjoyed. We were surprised that when we arrived at the restaurant, we were the only two customers. We stayed and enjoyed the meal once again. (Evidently they cater more to private functions and are located 20 minutes from Hong Kong Central) It was like having our own private dining room and servers.
Sunday January 6, 2008
Small Asian Feet.
I bought new shoes before we left home and never broke them in before arriving here. I thought it would be easy to find a pair here in Hong Kong. I walked into more stores, and finally gave up. If you ask for a size 47/48, which is a 13 US, they just about fall over laughing. "Size 11 US biggest in Asia". I have given up looking.
Once again the streets or any open space is lined with Filipino domestics. Sunday is their day off for gathering, shopping and snding packages home. It is their day off to socialize with friends.
Walked, roamed and got lost. Finally made it back to The Four Seasons mid afternoon. Jim came back from the office and we went back out to a store he visited the day before and purchased 2 tablecloths for our dining room table.
Monday January 7, 2008
I tooked the Ferry again today to Kowloon and spent most of the afternoon walking Nathan Street and the surrounding neighboring areas. It is surprising how the shops and people change from one block to the next. Vendors selling fish, meat and vegetables, lining the streets that are backing up to some very high end stores.
Chinese women are very pushy. The will knock you out of line or off the street in a minute.Dinner tonight was at Zest, a reecomendation Jim received from the local office. Very good food, reasonable and located near Lan Kwai Fong.
Tuesday January 8, 2008
Walked, got lost, walked, got lost, all over Hong Kong. I think I have seen for vendors selling womens underwear then anyplace we have visited. Every shape, color and style. (This is one item I will not take orders nor will I shop I bring bags back to the states.)
Dinner at M at the Fringe. Excellent. We were here two years ago and also in their other restaurant M on the Bund in Shanghai last year for New Years Eve.
Jim has finished his work at the office this afternoon, so he will be able to enjoy the sights over the next few days.
Wednesday January 9, 2008
Great tourist day in Hong Kong. We took the MTR (which is identetical to the tube in London) to Ngong Ping which is on Lantau Island. Buddha is located here via a 30 minute sky tram ride. The view was spectacular on the tram though you really can see all the smog over the island. The tram travels next to the Hong Kong airport. Luckily it is not crossing on any runway.
Jim
Me
The film below is about 5 minutes in length and covers our subway ride to our lunch at the foot of Buddha.
Dinner tonight was at Felix in the Penninsula Hotel on Kowloon. The dinner was very good, but the highlight is the mens room. Three urinals are placed by the window, for a fantastic view of the city.
Thursday January 10, 2008
Today is our final day in Hong Kong. We took the street trolley to Causeway Bay, where we walked the many streets, stopping at the various street vendors. Below is just a small example of the fish, meat vegetable stands that can be found on the side streets in Hong Kong.
We returned to Gaia, one of our favorite Italian restaurants we had dinner at two years ago. Nice place with a small banquet room, dining room and tables for outdoor dining.
The flight back to Chicago, left on time Friday morning at 11:30A. I was once again fortunate to have the all three seats to myself. This made for a very comfortable 14 hour flight and plenty of room to streach out and sleep. It certainly helped on not having the jet lag last all weekend.
For the remaining digital photos: Click Here
