Welcome to Hong Kong

Hello from Hong Kong. Let's see, where to begin??? So, after a wonderful sixteen hour flight, we arrived and were shuttled to our hotel which is much fancier than we anticipated. We immediately zipped off to the tailor where Jade and Shane had suits made to begin work. It is really amazing to see how seriously our Hong Kong tailor takes his profession. Sarah and Melanie watched while drinking free beer. We have something to learn in the states, free beer always puts us in the mood to spend money. Then, a quick dinner at a local restaurant and some much needed rest to recoup before our day of sight seeing.

The next morning, we met our guide who whisked us off to Victoria's Peak to see the beautiful city below. We ascended the 1,810 feet in a tram, built in 1888 at approximately a 45 degree angle - it felt a little like a roller coaster! From the top we could see all of what has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. On the way up, we saw the homes of the elite and wealthy who have lived atop the peak since the British first made it the home of the established. Prior to the building of the tram, these privileged individuals were carried to their homes in sedan chairs supported by the locals.

After taking in the view, we drove off to the Stanley Market, a more upscale market where the locals like to shop on the weekends. We saw beautiful carved wood pieces, chopsticks and several clothing stores - where Sarah managed to make a purchase. After shopping we went to the Aberdeen fishing village. We toured the floating village by Sampan, the traditional wooden boat used by Hong Kong fishermen. This used to be the primary residense of it's citizens and entire families devoted their lives to fishing and living together on the water. Now that school is compulsory to all children and electric generators are more available for the boats, most of the families have land residences and many of the children are electing to change careers, instead of continuing the family business.

After our tour, our guide dropped us off at the hotel where we grabbed our rain coats and headed for the Shamrock hotel for Dim Sum with Jade and Melanie (allegedly the best in the world!) It was very delicious and we were all quite sated with several mystery dishes. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the Kowloon district (mainland Hong Kong) and quenching our adult thirsts at a nearby pub.

Today - assuming we survive the typhoon warning- we are off to Bangkok. For now, just click on the picture and you should be able to see our Hong Kong collection!