March 13, 2008

Hong Kong Day 1 21

by Wendy • Adoption Shmoption

Hong Kong is absolutely amazing!  We are having such a great time and I just have to say that I am so glad that we took a couple of days to just spend some time together and get used to the time.  So far we have both done well with the time change, though I feel it most in the morning and late tonight. 

So we found out that the hotel we are staying at is located in what used to be the seediest part of Hong Kong, until 2004 when a upscale hotel moved in and started revamping the area.  Compared to Hong Kong Island, Mong Kok is definitely not as fancy and glitzy but it’s full of charm and personality.  It doesn’t seem very seedy to me but of course, this isn’t a very dirty city either.
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We started the day at McDonalds, eating some familiar food…pancakes and I hope sausage.  We had some fun reading the menu though because they did offer some Chinese choices such as sweet bean pies.

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After that we went to this place called the Bird Market/Garden.  It’s this area of Mong Kok that is dedicated to selling birds, mostly finches, and beautiful cages.  We walked through the park and saw many, many cages hanging from trees.  Mostly older men were hanging around showing off their birds.  There were also market places that sold birds, bird food, and other bird items.  It was just phenomenal!  I have never seen anything like it before.


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Here is a squatty potty picture for Heidi and Rebecca.  And……no…..I did not use it@

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Right next to the bird market was the flower market where there was block after block of flowers sold in tiny side street shops.  Women stood outside making elaborate arrangements, while trucks were being offloaded with boxes of flowers from all over the world.  It was so colorful and breathtaking.

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From there we went to a recommended restaurant in Kowloon that is known for their Dim Sum.  While it wasn’t served in traditional carts, it was very good and we can now say that we have had Dim Sum in Hong Kong.

After lunch we came back to our area to explore what is known as the Goldfish Market.  This was the section of town that had block after block of small stores selling fish, turtles, lizards and some stores sold purebred cats and dogs.  Mixed in all of these markets was street markets that sold almost everything you can imagine.  It reminded me of the flea markets that I went to as a child.

We then caught a bus that took us to The Peak which overlooked Hong Kong.  The bus dropped us off at this tram that took us up the side of the mountain.  It was a breathtaking ride because sometimes it felt like the tram was straight up and down because the grade of the hill was so steep.  The view was just out of this world.  Hong Kong is really a beautiful city.

After that we headed back to home.  We are pretty tired out!  We feel like we covered a lot of site seeing today and the great thing about it is most of it was free!  You can’t beat free!  Tomorrow we are going to Ocean World.

I have to say, that if you are a city person and like places like New York or San Francisco, then you will love Hong Kong!  The people watching, the culture, the shops, the neon signs, and the transportation make this place a must see!  I am so glad we were able to come here.  I will get more photos up for this post and for tomorrow’s adventures hopefully tomorrow.

Thank you for all of your prayers, comments, emails and encouraging words.  I wish I had the time to write you back! 

Here are some bite sized bits of things I have noticed:

  • The city is pretty darn clean
  • There are hardly any police because they don’t really need them
  • The people are very service oriented here
  • Our hotel is connected to a great mall and a train station.
  • The mall has guides to tell you were to go or answer any questions
  • The cab drivers drive like maniacs but it’s pretty fun
  • There is so much to see and do and you definitely need at least a week to see just a fraction of Hong Kong
  • Our morning newspaper is delivered in a black tote that is hung on our door
  • I really want to be an adventurous eater but I am too scared of getting sick.  I have eaten some squid, noodle soup, and some other various foreign food last night but I wanted to try some of the foods at the markets
  • We are living off of Pepto Bismal and Acetimetophin and it’s working wonderfully.  So far we haven’t gotten sick!  WooHoo
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