Well, we did our best to see Hong Kong. We really tried. We weren’t able to do it its full justice because unfortunately Mark and I got sick, me with a sinus infection and him with food poisoning. But what we did see was awesome. I mean “awe-some”, like it’s incredible that this place exists. We turned to each other many times and said, “What a spectacle.”
The buildings are the tallest I’ve ever seen in my life, and there aren’t just a few of them. No, every high rise has to be over fifty stories tall, and there must be thousands of high rises. Then, throw in peaks and valleys that make up the landscape and it looks absurdly vertical. The islands that make up Hong Kong look like they belong on the ocean floor, like they’re a gang of volcanoes. There is no such thing as flat ground in Hong Kong unless it was man-made, I’m fairly certain.
Man-made land, you say? Apparently it’s common in Hong Kong to “create” space, as something like 500 meters of land have been added onto the main island in the past fifty years. Run out of room? No worries, build more!…? Crazy.
The first evening, we hopped on the famous Star Ferry to see the lights and take it all in.
The next day day, we headed straight to Victoria’s Peak to cross that number-one tourist destination off our list. It was really cool – I’ll let the photos do the talking.
The only thing we didn’t enjoy about the Peak were the pushy tourists! Holy cow, you would’ve thought there was limited space up there by how much running and pushing there was just to get onto the funicular. We are decidedly in a different mindset coming out of Bali. Hong Kong is a do-it-this-instant kind of culture, which is opposite from the “take it easy, we’re all just here to be happy” culture of Bali. Next time, I’d start with the big city and then de-stress later, haha.
Our favorite reprieve from the hustle and bustle was at Stanley, a gorgeous turquoise water beach just a 29-minute drive from the city. Complete with views of Hong Kong Disney in the backdrop. Mark became the personal photographer for a cute young couple and inspired us to do the same.
Although we didn’t get to partake in the famous bar scene/ nightlife of Hong Kong (which is okay, that’s not really our scene anyway), the food was fun to explore. I loved a meal at a restaurant that specialized in veggie dim sum, which is like Chinese tapas. I ordered five dishes, hoping that would be an acceptable quantity, and devoured everything. I also decided that what Minneapolis really needs is a veggie dim sum place.
Pineapple buns, “French toast”, “egg waffles” and bubble tea are also high on my list. The pineapple buns taste somewhere between a dinner roll and a doughy steamed bun and topped with something sweet, though there is actually no pineapple in it.
I need to google “Hong Kong French toast” now that it’s safe to check the calorie count. I think it must be bread dipped in fluffy egg whites and condensed milk and deep-fried. SO GOOD.
I’m a big fan of the waffle craze that is coming from somewhere in China and did my part to support with a chocolate-banana infused waffle, shaped by a waffle iron into this bubble pattern that made it so fun to eat. And of course, bubble tea. Couldn’t leave without bubble tea. Apparently Hong Kong “invented” what they call “milk tea”, which is super strong black tea with evaporated milk. Add tapoica boba balls and I’m thrilled.
We stayed in the Wan Chai district which felt like it had more locals than the touristy areas of Kowloon and Central. I stumbled across a pickup soccer game, food stalls, temples, and lots of shopping.
Again, shouldn’t have gone to Bali first – but the level of materialism and shopping and vanity was off the charts. People walking around on a Saturday looked more put together than I do when I go to work. On a good day. Us Americans throw on our best athleisure on a Saturday and think we look cute. People in Hong Kong operate at an entirely different level. The shopping districts in Hong Kong add fuel to the fire – it was unbelieveable how many high-end shopping areas there were, and how close together. We counted 6 or 7 Rolex stores on one street. One street! I’m probably not the right audience since I didn’t travel halfway around the world to shop, but the options were never ending.
It seems like the same goes for food in that the options are endless. We paid $106 HKD for two big plates of delicious noodles on the first night, which translates to $8 USD. It’s just easy to stumble into restaurants with several Michelin stars and a steep price tag to match. I enjoyed playing on both ends, wrapping up our visit with a view of the nightly light show from the Intercontinental.
That’s all for now, folks! Maybe next time you’ll find us in Europe? Australia? South America? Will keep you posted. Thank you for reading!
Love,
Melissa & Mark
Your writing and photos are top-notch! Loved the stories and pics., and learned a lot. Keep traveling and I’ll keep reading! Love you guys 🙂