Hong Kong

Arriving into Hong Kong was little more tenuous than planned. Our Lhasa flight into Chongqing was delayed nearly two hours causing Dad and I to miss our Air China flight to Hong Kong. Air China to their credit booked us on another carrier for a later flight but we were flying standby and didn't have confirmed seats. Making things worse, the flight was supposedly fully booked. Extremely stressful! The DragonAir flight was literally the last flight out of the international airport and the possibility of having to stay at Chongqing overnight was the worst. Turned out luck was on our side and we got seats onboard.

The landing into HK International was pretty cool. Islands dotted the landscape and cool blue waters reflected the dusk light. After going through customs, a quick express train and taxi combination had us at our hotel, Butterfly on Prat, in Kowloon in no time. Along the way, the skyline of HK was lit in its full glory. I don't find myself getting awed by skylines too often, but this one was pretty admittedly badass. Even better than Tokyo I think.

We met up with the rest of the family at the hotel. Saw Mom since I left Beijing and saw Winnie+Andrew and Kristine+Will for the first time during the vacation. With dinner already pushed back to 9p, the group took two cabs to my dad's favorite childhood restaurant. According to him, this restaurant was reserved for the best occasions. Uncle Simon was graciously holding the table for us. Good to see him. He's just like I remembered.

Restaurant from the outside

Steamed chicken. Note the chicken head to denote freshness.

Bone marrow with mushrooms. Pretty good, but not my favorite.

Beef dish

Pork and cuttlefish

Dinner was excellent. Dishes were similar to those back home but good to see that they originated in HK and not too much was lost in translation. Aunt Mai also dropped by after her singing gig for work, The whole bunch grabbed drinks at the Kowloon waterfront. Great part of town with the backdrop of the HK island skyline and the row of bars busy with patrons and live music. I had a Hoegaarden. My dad, Uncle Simon, and Aunt Mai stayed to catch up while the rest of us walked back to the hotel. I took in the chaos that are HK streets. Much like NY, this place doesn't sleep and always has food around!

One of the many food stands found throughout HK

The next day, we were all going to take part in a day-long tour of Hong Kong. We got breakfast at a small restaurant across the street from the hotel. I got wonton noodles.

There was one slight catch that my dad failed to tell the rest of us about this tour: it was in Chinese! Yes, we would be seeing HK's famed sights, but the tour guide would be explaining everything in Chinese the whole time. Oh well, they're new sites to see anyhow. We joined about 20 others and boarded the coach bus.

City zipping by while on the bus.

In this shot, I eerily get Andrew's reflection

Our first stop was the Golden Bauhinia Square on the HK island side to see a statue given by the People's Republic of China to Hong Kong during the 1997 turnover. The statue depicts a bauhinia flower, also the same flower found on the Hong Kong flag.

Family in front of the sculpture

Kowloon skyline

Andrew, Winnie, Will, and Kristine

Photo of a junk boat as it passes by in the background

The next stop on the tour was the Peak. While on the tour bus you quickly see that Hong Kong is this magical city full of lush, rainforest-like greenery, dotted throughout with buildings. Land is such a scarcity that buildings literally hug the mountainside. The drive up the Peak was breathtaking with priceless views and homes of the rich-and-famous. The road zig-zagged until we got to a shopping mall at the summit. At each tour stop, we generally had 30-60 minutes of free time, depending on the location, to shop, take pictures, etc. I was a little hungry, so I stopped in the McDonald's for some spicy chicken wings (something common in Asia but not in the US) and continued to take in the awesome views from the summit mall. After a few more snapshots, my camera battery died! I'd have to rely on other family members to capture the photos.

Hong Kong from the Peak

Andrew, Winnie, and Dad

View from the other side of the Peak

One wouldn't know it from my pictures, but the tour took us to several other locations throughout the day. To my surprise, there are many beaches in greater Hong Kong where Chinese can get a dip in the water. I particularly liked Repulse Bay. While I nearly burned my feet on the super hot sand, I loved the idea of an oasis amidst the HK metropolis. Lunch was at a forgettable mall in Aberdeen (though the food was good) followed by a visit to Stanley (area named after Lord Stanley). I browsed the open air Stanley Market and got a Stella at one of the many open air patio restaurants on the Stanley waterfront promenade. I loved this place!. So relaxing. If I lived in Hong Kong, I'd definitely frequent this place.

Stanley Market

The tour ended with stops at a local bakery and the Kowloon side waterfront. While the tour was in Chinese, and I didn't get much of the backstory behind these locales, it was nice that the tour took us places that we wouldn't have gone on our own due to the distance away from the city and the need for a car.

Dinner that evening was with family and friends that lived in Hong Kong. My aunt Eva treated us to an amazing buffet at the Intercontinental Hong Kong. It's one of the premier hotels in this worldly city, situated on the waterfront facing the HK island skyline. Dinner was at 830p and beforehand, me, Will, and Kristine decided to watch the skyline light show. With the daily show starting at 800p, our dinner location was perfect. The waterfront was packed! The show lasted about 10 minutes. It was ok at best. With the skyline being so awesome, I expected a little more (e.g. fireworks). But alas, we went inside to meet the others.

HK skyline (HK island side)

The dinner buffet was absolutely, hands down, the best buffet I have ever eaten at in my 30-year adult life. Even better than any Las Vegas buffet in my opinion. Lobster tails, nigiri, sashimi, and peking duck was just some of it. The dessert spread even included milk and white chocolate fountains along with mini molten cakes with ice cream. Celebrating the occasion with the 7 of us were Aunt Eva, Cassie, Aunt Eva's boyfriend, Amy, and the family of Aunt Eva's niece. Good to see them all in Hong Kong!