Here we are back in Hong Kong. We are all already having pangs of separation anxiety. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do when I'm not sleeping a mere few feet away from the boys. What if I need to pee in the middle of the night and Sneaky isn't there with his flashlight? How much will I spend FedExing the Fat Kid Belt to Chicago every few days? The answers to many questions are still unclear, but one thing is for sure: it has been an incredible five weeks.
We saw the sun rise over Angkor Wat, climbed the tallest mountain in Vietnam, overnighted in a Laotian village with no electricity or running water, and partied all night on the beach at the Full Moon Party and under a jungle canopy at the Half Moon Party.
I have countless stories to tell, but most of them are much better told in person. So for now, I'll sign off and thank you all for following the crazy adventure this journey has been.
xx, Peaches
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
"And her naaa-aame was Cassandra..."
Hong Kong is awesome! After the amazing pork bao at breakfast (discussed previously) we hopped the Star Ferry and made our way to the island of Hong Kong. Sneaky and I had never been, Fritzy was privileged enough to have spent a summer working there (although nearly a decade ago) so he played something of a tour guide to us, for which we were all very thankful. I was amazed by how hilly the city is--it's basically built into the side of a mountain, and it looks like some kind of bizarre, post-modern hybrid of San Francisco, London and Tokyo.
Despite the heat and humidity, we hiked more than half the way up to Victoria Peak. We kept telling ourselves this was 1) Good for us, as we had just spent 16 hours on a plane; 2) The coolest climate we were going to be in the entire trip, so we'd better acclimate.
Along the way up, we paused at the Hong Kong Zoo and Botanical Gardens, but it's quite tragically nothing special. I was hoping for pandas, but the best they could come up with were buff-cheeked gibbons, which sound more like a Shakespearean insult than any kind of real animal. Also, the Reptile House seemed to lack reptiles. In fact, in seemed to lack animals of any kind.
The view from the top of the Peak is stunning. You can see the entire Hong Kong skyline and harbour (note the British spelling), as well as across the South China Sea to Kowloon Bay (where we stayed, and most notably, where Cassandra was born.) Unfortunately, it was rather muggy so our photos will be a bit cloudy, but I'm sure I'll never forget the Hong Kong skyline, because it's absolutely breathtaking.
On the way down, we hopped the Peak Tram back into the center of the city. It looks and feels a bit like a roller coaster, and most notably, at one point, it stops at a perfect 45 degree angle. We were all too petrified to stand up, much less get out at this stop, so you can imagine how amazed we were when a woman who clearly must have been a local threw her toddler on her hip and jumped off while the tram was parked at such an incline.
All in all, I'm definitely glad we stopped in Hong Kong, and I'm hoping we spend another day there on the back end. The city itself is a metropolis on steroids, which is pretty impressive to this New Yorker.
Despite the heat and humidity, we hiked more than half the way up to Victoria Peak. We kept telling ourselves this was 1) Good for us, as we had just spent 16 hours on a plane; 2) The coolest climate we were going to be in the entire trip, so we'd better acclimate.
Along the way up, we paused at the Hong Kong Zoo and Botanical Gardens, but it's quite tragically nothing special. I was hoping for pandas, but the best they could come up with were buff-cheeked gibbons, which sound more like a Shakespearean insult than any kind of real animal. Also, the Reptile House seemed to lack reptiles. In fact, in seemed to lack animals of any kind.
The view from the top of the Peak is stunning. You can see the entire Hong Kong skyline and harbour (note the British spelling), as well as across the South China Sea to Kowloon Bay (where we stayed, and most notably, where Cassandra was born.) Unfortunately, it was rather muggy so our photos will be a bit cloudy, but I'm sure I'll never forget the Hong Kong skyline, because it's absolutely breathtaking.
On the way down, we hopped the Peak Tram back into the center of the city. It looks and feels a bit like a roller coaster, and most notably, at one point, it stops at a perfect 45 degree angle. We were all too petrified to stand up, much less get out at this stop, so you can imagine how amazed we were when a woman who clearly must have been a local threw her toddler on her hip and jumped off while the tram was parked at such an incline.
All in all, I'm definitely glad we stopped in Hong Kong, and I'm hoping we spend another day there on the back end. The city itself is a metropolis on steroids, which is pretty impressive to this New Yorker.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
"Good morning, Pork Bao. I am going to CRUSH you!"
I had **the most** delightful little pork buns at breakfast today. That is all.
[NB: In the interest of full disclosure, this photo was taken while I enjoyed my second dim sum of the day at the Hong Kong Airport. The second round of shui mai nearly cost us our flight to Phnom Penh, but it was worth every delectable bite. In this photo I am enjoying my third pork bao of the day, for those of you keeping score at home.]
"I was born in Kowloon Bay!"
My first impression of Hong Kong is that it is an extremely cosmopolitan, diverse city. I was expecting the cosmopolitanism to some degree, of course, but I've only been here about seven hours, and I already think I could enjoy living here.
After landing two hours late, we hit up the hotel, checked in, showered, and went on a search for some late-night eats. With the help of our concierge, we wound up at Knotsford Terrace, a very Western area in Kowloon, but at least it had restaurants that were still open and serving dinner.
From there, we taxied it across the Cross Harbour Tunnel to Lan Kwai Fon, where we found a great expat bar amidt a freakily spring-break like atmosphere. For a Tuesday night, it definitely wasn't half bad. We then meandered across the street to a very unassuming bar that ended up having an awesome live band, where we joyfully rocked out to "Sweet Child O'Mine" and "When I Come Around."
It's well past 3:00 a.m. and there is much sight-seeing to be done tomorrow before we ship off on Dragon Air to Phnom Penh, so for now I will go sleep...in...my...bed. [In the event that the punctuation didn't make it completely obvious, that was meant to be half-sung to the tune of "And then I jizzed...in...my...pants.]
Until tomorrow!
After landing two hours late, we hit up the hotel, checked in, showered, and went on a search for some late-night eats. With the help of our concierge, we wound up at Knotsford Terrace, a very Western area in Kowloon, but at least it had restaurants that were still open and serving dinner.
From there, we taxied it across the Cross Harbour Tunnel to Lan Kwai Fon, where we found a great expat bar amidt a freakily spring-break like atmosphere. For a Tuesday night, it definitely wasn't half bad. We then meandered across the street to a very unassuming bar that ended up having an awesome live band, where we joyfully rocked out to "Sweet Child O'Mine" and "When I Come Around."
It's well past 3:00 a.m. and there is much sight-seeing to be done tomorrow before we ship off on Dragon Air to Phnom Penh, so for now I will go sleep...in...my...bed. [In the event that the punctuation didn't make it completely obvious, that was meant to be half-sung to the tune of "And then I jizzed...in...my...pants.]
Until tomorrow!
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