Hong Kong Delights

It is amazing how quickly humans adapt to new situations. As I've already mentioned, when we landed in China, we were inundated by a barrage of vehicles honking at each other. Part way through the trip, I stopped noticing the noise. But when we landed in Hong Kong, I noticed something different-- the silence. Really... I shouldn't call it "silence," it's not like it was quiet. But the people of Hong Kong are used to a British road system, and traffic is orderly like any other Western country. Honking was unusual, and suddenly it became jarring to hear a horn honk again.

Our three days in Hong Kong did not include a guided tour, so Tom and I decided to go uber-tourist, and bought Big Bus passes. The Big Bus routes went to all the places we wanted to see, and we could hop on and off when we liked.

Big Bus Tours of Hong Kong.

Tom and I on the Big Bus.

For our first day in the big city, we decided we'd like a change of pace, and headed to Repulse Bay for a beach day. Over 150 year ago, the bay had major problems with pirates raiding foreign merchant trips on their way to China. Eventually the British fleet repulsed the pirated from the area, thus earning the name, Repulse Bay. On the way to the Bay, we stopped in the town of Stanley for lunch and visited the bustling Stanley Market.

Repulse Bay beach.

Although the photo of the beach looks empty, it was crawling with tourists in the opposite direction. That is, crawling with fully dressed tourists. I had packed my bikini with me, but I would have been the only female in beach attire, so I stayed in my shorts and tank top while Tom went for a swim.

Tom swimming in Repulse Bay.

Me hanging out on the beach.

As we rode the Big Bus back into the city, we listened to commentary on the surrounding countryside and buildings through an audio system. We learned that the Lippo building is sometimes referred to as the "Koala Tree" because the building resembles a bunch of koalas hugging a tree.

Lippo Building, aka Koala Tree. 

Tom  informed me that in the movie, The Dark Knight, Batman jumped off the International Financial Center (IFC) building in Hong Kong-- we passed the IFC several times during our stay.

International Finance Centre.

We started our second day by enjoying the roof top pool in our hotel. The pool offered amazing views, but it was also freezing cold. The "hot tub" was also very cold, probably only a couple degrees warmer than the pool. We took a quick dip (less than 15 minutes) before heading back to our room to get ready.

Roof top pool at the Harbour Grand Kowloon.

Tom swimming in the hotel pool.

Next, Tom and I went to the Mid-Levels Escalators. Literally, an outdoor set of escalators that take you up a steep hill through trendy restaurants and shops. We wandered down Antique Road, and through the Central Market where locals can buy produce, seafood and meat. We saw some pigs heads in a butcher stall, but unfortunately, our photos came out blurry.

Seafood stall in Central Market.

In the later afternoon we joined the line for the Victoria Peak tram where we had to use a more aggressive tact.  The tram "line" was a bit of a free-for-all. Instead of an orderly line that you would see in Canada, people were pushing through the crowd and cutting off others in order to get on the tram. Once we finally got through and up to the top (about a 30 minute wait), we were treated to unobstructed views of the Hong Kong skyline.

Hong Kong skyline from Victoria Peak.

Tom and I timed our trip so that we arrived just before the sun started to set. We wanted to be able to go on the observation deck in the dark so we could take in the city lights.

In the morning we packed our bags and checked them at the hotel. We wandered through a garden full of photographers and turtles, before we settled on a restaurant to have a dim sum lunch.

Turtles in a park.

In the late afternoon we were relaxing in the airport lounge, ready for our flight home. Because Tom has travelled so much in the last year, he has reached "Elite" status with Air Canada, which gives us access to airport lounges in major airports. The lounges have comfortable chairs and a spread of food and beverages. I had an individual sized portion of chocolate ice cream, a can of mango juice with coconut jelly, and a Chinese pastry that is essentially a sesame ball filled with red bean paste. It was awesome.

I think I can speak for both of us when I saw, we were happy with our trip, but even happier to be heading home.

Our flights were uneventful, and we spent the next week battling jet lag. Now we're back to normal, and unfortunately... Back to reality.