This was one of those mornings when I just wanted to throw my phone (aka my alarm clock) at the wall. I was not ready to wake up! The morning came way too fast. Mister Lu was outside our apartment at 6:20 am. Dad asked him if he could stop by Starbucks before we headed to the airport. (Mister Lu does not speak any English, so just picture my Dad trying to explain...).
When we got to the airport we had to check in, clear customs, go through immigration and get to the gate. That was a lot of work. We made it to the gate with about five minutes to spare before boarding started. This boarding process was a little strange. They scanned/took our boarding passes and then we all had to get on a bus. The bus then took us (to what felt like the other end of the airport) to our airplane. We had to walk up the stairs of the plane and then find our seats. It wasn't even like we were on a small plane. Dad said that he has never had to board a bus before he boards the plane before. On our flight to Hong Kong the flight attendant gave us the option of omelet or spaghetti. I just wanted something to drink and I didn't really care about the food...but who am I to pass up food? I chose omelet thinking who would want spaghetti at 9:30 am. It was definitely not my favorite. I'm not even going to inquire further, we will just leave it at "omelet". A little while later, she came around with the options of drinks.
As soon as we got off the plane I started to sweat. I was still dressed for the 30 degrees Fahrenheit waking up in Shanghai. Hong Kong was now in the mid-70s. Once we got to the airport we cleared immigration and then grabbed our bags at baggage claim. Tiger had made arrangements for a tour guide and driver to pick us up. Ah Yee (the driver) was holding a sign that read "Mr. Steve Nedved / Ms. Jillian Nedved" while standing next to Yuki (the tour guide). They took us to the hotel and helped us check in.
I think it is interesting that the country is very much in a transition phase. People from the mainland need passports to visit Hong Kong. And those people from the mainland are only allowed to visit for seven days at a time. I think this is a way for the Hong Kong culture to slowly transition to the new rule. It will take 50 years before Hong Kong will totally be under Chinese rule.
Food was a necessity at this point. It had been far too long since I had actually ate. The food on the plane was merely just a snack because I didn't like it. So Yuki suggested a place that served noodles for lunch. They served our food at the speed of light. It hit the spot. This restaurant served their Coca Cola in a bottle. Yuki said that this was pretty common in Hong Kong.
American Tourists
Yuki took us to the area known as the Walk of Stars. Basically it is the Hollywood of China. We were going to walk down the walk but since we only really know of Jackie Chan we decided it wasn't worth it.
Outside the Walk of Stars
Instead we took a few pictures of the landscape/cityscape and hopped a ferry across the island.
When we were on the ferry we realized that the ferry was parked practically right next to the MV Explorer. How neat! Now we know where we will need to go tomorrow so I can get on the ship.
A view of the MV Explorer from our ferry.
When we're in port, they turn on the lights at night. It's nothing much, just a string of bulbs from stem to stern. They're prettily ornamental, hundred watt bulbs strung in a single great line that must be seven hundred feet long. They're the first thing you see of the ship, once the sun is set. When the cab driver doesn't know the way, you spot those lights above the warehouses, and suddenly you can find the ship. They shine out into the night, into the strange, sultry darkness of foreign ports, and they call us home.
It was very foggy out. Our itinerary included a trip up to Victoria Peak. Since it was so foggy out, Yuki thought our time would be best spent only going half way up. On our way up, the van that Ah Yee was driving started to have problems. All of sudden the van stopped and we weren't moving. Ah Yee called another driver to come pick us up so that we could continue. We just stood on the side of the road looking like American Tourists!
Within about 15 minutes, the new driver was at the curb and we were on our way to the midpoint of Victoria Peak. We got out walked around a little and attempted to snap a few pictures but again it was just a little too cloudy. Yuki pointed out a building that was shaped like a candlestick. In the culture having a lit candlestick is bad luck. So the fungshew masters suggested that they put a pool of water on top of the building as if they were blowing out or distinguishing the flame so that there was no longer any bad luck.
The view of the city from the midpoint of Victoria Peak.
See on of the taller buildings on the left? That's the candlestick shaped one.
Then Yuki took us to another part of the island. When we got out of the car she walked us through a little park or area designated to the Chinese culture. On the other side was the beach and ocean.
The view from the beach.
There's a building off in the
distance (just to the left of the tall brown building) that has a
"hole" in the middle of it. The fungshew master said that it is bad
luck to have a building
that is that tall without a "hole" in it. The
dragons cannot get to the seas fast enough.
She let us wander around the beach for a while to take pictures and explore. There wasn't much to explore but we enjoyed the sunset.
Sunset on the beach.
Little did we know, while we were walking on the beach a 3rd driver had come (the 2nd one had prior plans). So Yuki and the new driver took us to dinner. Last night at dinner Tiger had suggested that we eat at the Spicy Crab Under the Bridge Restaurant. Tiger was right, Spicy Crab was delicious. At the end of the dinner, I was wishing that crab wasn't so much work because I enjoyed the crab so much. We had Yuki and the driver take us back to the hotel for the rest of the night. We had decided that if we wanted to do anything else we could probably figure it out on our own or just walk there.
Later in the evening I decided that I was craving ice cream. Dad and I went down to the concierge desk to ask for the closest ice cream shop. Luckily it was right around the corner. I had a waffle cone full of coffee ice cream mixed with chocolate syrup and Oreos. Mmmm it was so good! After our delicious ice cream we walked the streets of downtown Hong Kong for a little while.
Hong Kong at night
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