Coming into Hong Kong was a neat site. You could see all the boats in the water as we approached land. Apparently the incline that pilots have to fly coming to and from the airport is one of the steepest because of the water surrounding Hong Kong island and the mountains all around it. It was neat seeing all of the boats in the water as we flew in. It looked like Battleship!! We arrived at the Hong Kong airport yesterday at 2:30pm and took the airport express train to our hotel, The Butterfly on Pratt, in Kowloon. When we got here, we met up with my mom, sister, and brother in law who we'll be with for the rest of our trip. We ventured out to explore parts of the city.
First we went to Mongkok and went shopping around the Ladies Market and "sneaker street". Will was thrilled when he saw these shoes he had been eyeing for a while but had not been able to get because they were only released in Europe and Asia so far, and are awaiting release in the US. And they were on sale!!! We hung around this area for a bit of shopping.
Next, we went to the Temple Street Night Market to check out their night market and have dinner. We walked by this restaurant that was a total hole in the wall but was packed with people. It was busy and had fresh seafood swimming in bins near the door so we decided to eat there. To say that this place was a dive is an understatement but the food was delicious! We had fresh clams, crab, shrimp, and delicious ribs. It was probably some of the best Chinese food I have ever had which was really exciting especially because DC has terrible Chinese food. Also, while the food in Moscow and Beijing was fine, it was exciting to eat a really delicious meal!! Then, we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.
Will trying on a wig at the night market. It makes me so glad that he shaves his head.
Our awesome dinner at the hole in the wall restaurant.
Today, we woke up early and went to a noodle shop for breakfast. Will and I weren't too hungry for noodles for breakfast but ate some small dim sum things while the rest of my family ate. We then headed to Central Hong Kong island to check out some different neighborhoods and shopping areas.
We went to NoHo where we had lunch at a noodle shop called Kau Kee that supposedly has the best beef brisket noodle soup in town. Sure enough there was a line over a block long when we got there and they weren't even open yet. The food lived up to it's hype and it was delicious. Also, for those who don't know about Chinese culture, a random note is that tables are often shared here when places are busy. For example, our table had 6 seats, and since there are 5 in our group, a random guy joined us at our table.
Next, we went to Causeway Bay-Fashion Walk area and went shopping and ate some fun food snacks. We had delicious bubble tea, these yummy snacks called egg cupcakes, some AWESOME fresh beef jerky type thing and later tried a sweet potato pie at McDonalds. We also found some fun edible souvenirs for our friends back home *hint hint. Afterwards, we went back to the Temple Street Night Market area where we got some fun knick knacks and I got a quipao for International Night at school.
Later this evening, my brother and dad got into town and we headed out for dinner. My dad is the one from Hong Kong so he was excited to take us out for his cuisine in his city. We went to the restaurant Chuen Cheung Kui that his mom took him to on special occasions since he was a kid and it was delicious!
My dad's lifelong friend Simon and his sister Mei (who are practically like siblings to my dad) met us for dinner. They are both really cool and fun to be around. Afterwards, we went to a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui that had amazing views of Hong Kong's amazing skyline overlooking Victoria Bay. Now we are back at the hotel resting for our big sight-seeing tour tomorrow! It is 2am and we a planning on getting up at 7am. Eck!
So far Will and I are loving Hong Kong. I have been here before although that was when almost 10 years ago. However, I knew Will would love it. He describes it as a mix of Tokyo and New York. It's like New York but amplified. There are restaurants and stores everywhere!!!! The city is well organized, the MTR (subway) is easy to use and most everything is written in Cantonese and English. While the dominant language is of course Cantonese, most people we have encountered speak English. If I was going to recommend an Asian city for someone to visit for the first time, I'd definitely recommend Hong Kong. It's lively, busy until the wee hours of the morning and is very cosmopolitan. You can tell that they have had the luxury of rights and freedoms unlike the mainland Chinese. Overall, food is really affordable and so so good. The shopping is excellent but since these folks love high end fashion and name brands, shopping can be pretty expensive. There are also all types of cuisine, not just Chinese, and not just cheesey American stuff. It's making for a great time.
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