Hong Kong

Andrew and I spent an extended Memorial Day weekend in Hong Kong with good friends Mark and Jess. We toured Hong Kong for a day, Kowloon for a day, and Macau for a day with some travel time on each end. Kate was able to play remote travel agent and tour guide for us after living on the mainland of China right near Hong Kong for a year (in Shenzhen).  The flight from Seoul to Hong Kong was a 3.5 hour direct flight- not bad!

 

Highlights:

1. The hands-down favorite mode of transportation was the double-decker trolley.  We boarded across the street from our hotel and rode to our tourist destinations for 25 cents a ride.  It was fun to see the scenery change from very Western to very Chinese in a stop or two.
2. The history of Hong Kong fascinates me but it's not a very old city as far as world cities go (not settled by the British until the 1840s).  Still, it felt much older than Seoul- likely because Koreans tend to like new buildings and tear down anything older than 20 years.  
3. Victoria's Peak at the top of Hong Kong Island provided a good perspective of Hong Kong and the harbor.  We rode the funicular to the top.... way too muggy for a hike.
4. There is a nightly light show of Hong Kong's skyscrapers that's best viewed from across the harbor in Kowloon. 
5. Macau is the Asian gambling mecca and similar to Vegas with huge casinos like the Wynn and the Venetian.  We were disappointed by the gaming atmosphere though because it was less of a party than Vegas.  And the tables were way out of our price range!  Still, Macau with its Portuguese influence was pretty and since it was only an hour's ferry ride away it was worth the visit.  Note to future Macau visitors: bring your passport!  We had to scramble back to our hotel to retrieve ours before we could board the ferry.

  

Photo highlights:  (sorry but technical difficulties mixed with laziness mean some pictures are rotated the wrong way....use your imagination!)

  



The Hong Kong double-decker trolley. I was surprised by how skinny it was.



Enjoying some Dim Sum and Tsingtao for a mid-afternoon snack.



The breakfast menu.  Meat and noodle soup for breakfast was a surprisingly good way to start the day. 



The structure on top of Hong Kong, Victoria's Peak. What restaurant was at the top? Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.



The travel buddies stopped for another happy hour.... yes that was a trend of the trip!



Hong Kong light show.



"Pirates" boat and the Hong Kong lights in the background.



The big casinos of Macau.



Macau's Portuguese charm.