Hong Kong harbor by night and by day....
After two short days in Tokyo, it was up early in the morning to be escorted by Olivier through the maze of Shibuya, onto the train to Narita and then the flight to Hong Kong. Once I finally connected with Rachael (when are flights ever early?) it was a quick drop-off of the bags before we were out to dinner, across the harbor on the Star Ferry and then to the ballet. What can I say, I was ready to take Hong Kong by storm!
The next morning, a public holiday in honor of Buddha's birthday, we struck a much more relaxed pace and headed out for a hike through Victoria Peak and Pok Fu Lam Country parks. We were climbing up to the Peak to visit Rachael's school and bake some cakes for two of her students who were leaving. (Buddha's birthday is celebrated by the bun cake festival, after all - I hope he approves of angel food and carrot cakes too).
The vertical city as viewed through the trees on our way up the peak...
Hong Kong business district and harbor - the shot of the cargo ships is in honor of Nathan!
View from the peak - I can't believe I made it all the way up - and that my sweaty shirt looks so neat...
Rachael's classroom.
The view from Rachael's flat. Bonus: the building in the center background 'dances' at night as part of the Harbor light show!
In addition to touring the city with Rachael, I also had two days to explore on my own while she was at work. Here are some quick shots of the sights I discovered along the way....
In addition to touring the city with Rachael, I also had two days to explore on my own while she was at work. Here are some quick shots of the sights I discovered along the way....
Trees growing upwards anyway they can (here from a rock wall on Peel Street) across from Hong Kong street art.
The vertical heights of the double-decker trams (!) cruising through Wan Chai and Causeway bay; the internationalism of Stanley (including Australian Beer, a British Pub, and the Main Street USA restaruant) on Hong Kong island's southern peninsula.
Temple doors and burning incense coils of prayer at Man Mo Temple, down the hill from Rachael on Hollywood Road.
Over what was Memorial Day weekend in the US and Victoria Day in Canada, Rachael and I took two trips off of Hong Kong island. On Sunday this meant an excursion to Lantau where we hiked a section of the island trail leading to the Lantau Buddha (the largest seated bronze Buddha in the world - they had to make sure they had all the qualifiers there!). Although the day was warm we had the pleasure of hiking through the clouds, which broke here and there to give us a glimpse of the path ahead (although it was so vertical for the first half, I'm glad these views were rare!) and the Buddha in the distance.
And yes, that's me in my WWMDK t-shirt, courtesy of CraftLit!
Finally we made it to the Buddha, whose serenity and calm in the midst of the tourist throngs seemed both to enhance and wipe away my feeling of sticky sweatiness as we climbed the long staircase to the base of the statue.
After relaxing in the Buddha's glow, we headed back down the mountain (and barely escaped the cloudburst of rain) to enjoy a wonderful Namibian/South African meal (really!) on the beach with a jug of white sangria. The perfect end to a great day of what was a wonderful trip!
After relaxing in the Buddha's glow, we headed back down the mountain (and barely escaped the cloudburst of rain) to enjoy a wonderful Namibian/South African meal (really!) on the beach with a jug of white sangria. The perfect end to a great day of what was a wonderful trip!
Before I left, though, I couldn't resist a photo of a Rotary sculpture that we passed by on Nathan Road in TST. This one is for you & Tina!
1 comment:
Beautiful sceneries..... I too love sights at San francisco and have planned a trip with my friends through Cheap Tickets.
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