HONG KONG

Excursion continued: After spending some quality time in Thailand, me and Erin trekked to HONG KONG, located on China's south coast. Hong Kong is not only known for being one of the most densely populated places in the world, but also for exports and imports exchanged within the skyline of VICTORIA HARBOUR. It was interesting to find out that Hong Kong is one of the world's leading international financial centers and the Hong Kong dollar is the 9th most traded currency in the world. 

We flew into the Hong Kong airport and immediately took a free shuttle that drove us almost directly to our hostel (USA hostel) on the infamous NATHAN ROAD, or otherwise known as the "Golden Mile Road." Nathan Road is located on Kowloon Island and runs north-south, starting with Salisbury Road, where you can find the luxurious view of the Victoria Harbour skyline. 

Nathan Road lights and scenes:

Hong Kong Currency

It felt almost like plastic and the lower left section is see though. Quite peculiar.

Me and Erin decided to go on a tour, which promised site seeing of the main attractions on Kowloon Island as well as Hong Kong Island. We went through Grayline Tours. We were delighted that our tour guide, Andy spoke English fluently. In fact, he had a bit of an Australian accent. Since Hong Kong was under British supervisory, it's no wonder that the majority of Chinese Hong Kong natives speak English..and a lot of them have a slight British/Australian accent too. Today's tour include: THE PEAK, THE TRAM, VICTORIA HARBOUR SKYLINE, MAN MO TEMPLE, STANLEY MARKET, STAR FERRY, CLOCK TOWER, AVENUE OF THE STARS, DINNER AT THE MANCHESTER PUB,  & ABERDEEN FISHING VILLAGE.

Starting out the tour...here we GO!!!

The traveling stache...

Asian persuasion on the bus

MAN MO TEMPLE (Literature and Martial Arts God)

Built in 1847, and located on Hollywood Road, the Man Mo temple is dedicated as a monument. It is also the most revered temple in Hong Kong. 

Prayer incense. The cone shaped incense represents the money issued to buy prayers. So, the longer the strand of incense, obviously the more money was spent in order to buy prayers. Whoever bought this strand of incense needs a lot of prayers in their behalf  :)

Outside the Man Mo temple, you can see the building brimming from behind the tour bus.

THE PEAK TRAM

In 1888, the Peak Tram became the first cable car in Asia! The tram rises to a vertical incline of 27 degrees, almost a straight line up and down...which is pretty scary! The peak tram was also featured in the 1950's film "Soldier of Fortune" starring Clark Gable, where the opening and closing scenes were shot.

Steep incline!

The PEAK

VICTORIA HARBOUR SKYLINE

ABERDEEN FLOATING VILLAGE

We took a Sampan ride through this floating fishing village, it was amazing to see ALL the boats dedicated to the import and collection of seafood. However, although populated with numerous boats, we didn't see a single fisherman on duty...

Since the 19th century, Aberdeen has been one of the largest fishing ports in Hong Kong. People referred to as "Tanka" live on fishing boats in Aberdeen, where they fish and collect fresh seafood, which is a main staple in Hong Kong. Today, however, there are more industrialized ways to import seafood, so the Tanka population has dramatically decreased.

Behind me: The floating JUMBO restaurant, amidst Aberdeen Floating Village.

STANLEY  MARKET

Located on the peninsula of southeastern Hong Kong island, Stanley market is known for it's open market filled with silks, brand name items, knock offs, and bargains. However, it closes at 6:30 pm, and due to the intensity of our journey thus far, we barely made it in time to spend about 30 rushed minutes before closing. So, indeed, full of bargains but due to lack of time, we didn't purchase anything that suited our fancy.

STAR FERRY 

Star Ferry is a service carrying passengers from Hong Kong Island across the Victoria Harbour to the Kowloon Island. It has been rated first in the "Top 10 Most Exciting Ferry Rides" by the SATW.

SYMPHONY OF LIGHTS at VICTORIA HARBOUR

Symphony of Lights is a synchronized building exterior laser and lights display on the Victoria Harbour, featuring 44 buildings on both the Hong Kong and Kowloon islands, accompanied by music. The lights go off every night, and it lasts about 10 minutes. 

CLOCK TOWER

A landmark in Hong Kong (on the Kowloon island). Standing at 44 meters high, plus an additional 7 foot lightning rod, it is the only remaining remnant from the original site of the former Kowloon Railway.

DINNER at MANCHESTER PUB

Named after the Manchester United Football Club (RED DEVILS). Much like a sports grill, the walls of this restaurant are covered with photographs and memorabilia of the team, plasma screens of sports teams playing, and even a mascot "RED FRED" of whom I was privileged to get a photo with.

Alright, I am lame, but being the food junkie I am, I had to include photos of my meal...

Pumpkin Bisque soup

Roast chicken, with mashed potatoes, and an amazing sauce

Signature dessert: Tiramisu Football...YUM!!

Yes..this would be a certificate of completion from the restaurant. 

I did FINISH my entire meal...hence the certificate. The mustache had to make a cameo for this event.

Cute little Australian girls who were on the tour with us. 

The NEXT DAY, me and Erin decided to go venture through Hong Kong. We had no pressing limitations, so we made our way to Salisbury Road where we saw the Art Museum, Space Museum, Skyline, Beijing Olympic Torch and Avenue of the Stars. 

Space Museum

Museum of Art

Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch

Victoria Harbour Skyline

AVENUE OF THE STARS

Resembling Hollywood and stars engraved in pavement.

Bruce Lee

Jackie Chan

NEXT, we caught the Tsim Sha Tsui train up to the JADE MARKET

p.s. the Hong Kong metro system was so easy to figure out and SO clean, I was highly impressed.

This was outside the Jade Market...so welcoming, eh?

They had so many different colors of Jade: yellow, red, white, green. I bought some green Jade earrings and some Asian good fortune bookmarks for my mama and sisters.

NEXT, we went to a vast open market, full of fresh vegetables and fruit, silk, souvenirs, knock offs, basically everything under the sun. Oh, how I miss the Asian markets...I miss their abundance of fresh fruit and bargains! I wish Utah had some open markets like this... moo  

NEXT, we went to Cornwall street and saw a most beloved sight. The Hong Kong Temple!

NEXT, we headed south to the Kowloon Park, where the 2009 East Asian games were hosted.

Pink Flamingos!

Meditating and Martial arts in the park

Giant hands

This is known as the SILENT PROTEST. It's a bunch of turtles with signs demanding that we keep their water and environment clean and we cause them no harm. I have never seen anything so bold.

Colorful mosaic leading to the ladies restroom. How enchanting.

RANDOM is as random does. Some interesting finds.

I seriously love this building.

Uh..this is a pig..being hung to dry...

This is our cute, cozy hostel room. It was such a fun find, but it seriously was tiny. I would estimate it was 8 feet by 15 feet. But we had an excellent view of Nathan Road and iSquare is in view..out the window!

Salisbury Road (east-west)

LASTLY, we went to our favorite place..iSquare mall. This mall was definitely a statement for creativity. Here are my reasons: 

1) they have life size Chupa Chup suckers everywhere (remember those??)

2) they have like 8 floors

 3) they have a SUPER LONG escalator...it felt like a mile

 4) they have Panache bakery...YUM (we went there like every meal)

5) it was right across the street from our hostel..super convenient!

Giant Chupa Chups Suckers!! 

The suckers are even hanging from the ceiling. Magical.

Super long, steep and dangerously fun. 

Airport Time...

The next morning, we took an early train to the airport. It was very confusing, I thought we might not make our flight, BUT, Erin helped me stay calm (I was boiling over with anxiety at that moment). Good thing we had munchies from Panache bakery to ease my troubles :)

This was also a sad departure, because my travel buddy, Erin, was not coming with me on my next adventure. We said our goodbyes..and we both boarded our separate planes.

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