Thursday, December 27, 2012
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
More Hong Kong...
After the Buddha adventure, we wanted to get in some of the local Hong Kong markets. We headed to a busy shopping area called the Ladies Market (Tung Choi) in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon.
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| busy streets on a sunny day |
The ladies market was basically everything from jerseys to pursues, iphone covers and traditional chinese dresses. They weren't pushy at all, so it was pleasant to walk through these streets lined with tall stalls.
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| jerseys galore |
We were just a little bit hungry since we had the big buffet breakfast. Amazingly, we stubbled upon a sushi boat place - our fave thing from Japan! It was perfect because we just needed a little pick me up.
After our snack, we headed back to the streets weaving in and out of stores and neighborhoods. We came across an area that was selling all different types of food. It puts a whole new spin on going grocery shopping...
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| a customer getting dinner! |
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| sorry, I had to! |
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| this was around the corner |
Also, close by was a fresh vegetable and fruit market.
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| fresh, homemade noodles |
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| Chinese greens |
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| good looking cherries |
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| mmm, pumpkins - and the owner shirtless behind the fan |
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| lots of unique fruits here, I don't even know what this is! |
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| eggs, rarely refrigerated in these parts |
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| Fresh fish... this woman took a live fish and started skinning it... what a bad ass! |
Next, we stumbled upon some interesting shops... the two below were across from each other in the same area.
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| Guns |
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| shoe laces |
After a while, I looked up and finally realized what I was reading. Hourly hotels... I kept my husband close. haha.
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| streets of Kowloon |
As the sun began to set, we headed toward Victoria Harbor to get a seat along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront for the Symphony of Lights. The nightly show has been named "The Worlds Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show" by Guinness World Records and includes more than 40 buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbor. The show creates an all-around vision of colored lights, laser beams and search lights performing a stunning spectacle synchronized to music and narration that celebrates the energy, spirit, and diversity of Hong Kong.... So I heard... we accidentally went the night that the narration was in Chinese! Oh well, the lights were cool and being along the water for sunset was fun.
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| Victoria Peak in the middle, where we were the first night |
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| Central skyline with mountains in the background |
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| IFC tower with the sunset over the harbor |
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| beautiful shot with the big lens |
Adam got some great pictures of the light show!
After a long day of being touristy, we were ready for a good night sleep!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Big Buddha!
We were up early Saturday morning for our only full day in HK. We indulged in the fabulous buffet spread at the Langham and were ready to explore. First, we headed to Lantau Island via MTR, the rapid transit system. Lantau Island, the largest island in Hong Kong, is home to the HK International Airport, Disney Land HK, and the Tian Tan Buddha.
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| MTR - when can I call myself a photog? |
Our agenda for the day was to visit the "Big Buddha" atop Ngong Ping. We decided to take the the 25 minute ride in the Ngong Ping 360 cable car to the top of the mountain. We opted against the glass bottom cable car, as Adam as some height issues. It was a great ride, with beautiful views.
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| Ngong Ping 360 cable car |
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| Cable cars over the water |
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| At the foot of the Tian Tan Buddha |
I'm not sure this site is really comparable to the Great Wall of China or the Statue of Liberty, as it was only built in 1993, but it was BIG!
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| Buddha with distances to some of the world's other landmarks |
The Tian Tan Buddha is located near the Po Lin Monastery and symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion. At its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven, as we saw at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
The Buddha is 112 feet tall and was the world's tallest outdoor seated Buddha prior to 2007. A lot of qualifiers, but it was a pretty amazing site. We climbed the 268 steps to the top and enjoyed the view. The air was clear and the sun shining down on us!
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| base of Tian Tan Budha |
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| Beautiful views of the countryside |
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| Me with the Big Buddha |
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| We are funny with our INDIANA and USA t-shirts! |
Awesome views of the airport on the way down! What a beautiful view!
Hong Kong Weekend
We returned from Tokyo on Monday and left for Hong Kong at 7:30 Friday morning. A whirlwind of traveling and no weekends in Shanghai for Adam, but well worth it. We arrived in Hong Kong at about 10am local time and it took my breath away. I hadn't done much research and I did not realize that it was would so green and mountainous. What a pleasant surprise!
Adam had been so distant about the location of the hotel. I am the directional one, so I was asking where it was so I could start familiarizing myself with the location. He had done all the booking and would only send me the flight details, so I had a striking suspicion he went "budget" on the hotel and didn't want to tell me. I need to trust more! My wonderful husband surprised me by booking a room at the Langham Hong Kong after I raved so much about the Langham Xintiandi. The hotel was located in the Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) area on the mainland Kowloon area. It was wonderful!
After settling in, we headed out to indulge in some Cantonese Dim Sum. The hotel directed us to two restaurants - Crystal Jade or The Sweet Dynasty. I been to Crystal Jade many times in Shanghai, so headed to the local chain. We ordered way too much food and didn't like most of it, but we enjoyed the local atmosphere in the busy spot during the Friday lunch hour.
We were staying near Canton Road, a major shopping street in the TST area. In order to keep the stores comfortable for the visitors, they limit the number of people and queue them up outside.
After lunch we headed towards Central, on Hong Kong Island, with goal of reaching Victoria Peak. To cross the Victoria Harbor we took the Star Ferry, a passenger ferry service that has been in operation since 1888.
After not being able to find the right local bus to get us to Victoria Peak, we opted to hop on the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus. We rode through the busy streets of Hong Kong Island, taking in the interesting architecture of the concrete jungle.
The Big Bus Tour became entirely worth the money when we came around the corner at the base of Victoria Peak Tram. The line was so long and curved around the corner... we were discouraged as we had made our goal for the day to be Victoria Peak, but did not want to wait in a line for 2-3 hours. Luckily, the Big Bus Tour included a ticket for the Tram and when we arrived they ushered us past the ticket line and in line for the Tram. We still had to wait about 30 minutes, but it was bearable.
The tram basically takes you 15 minutes straight up the mountain to the top of the peak. We paid the extra fee to access the top floor observation desk - boy, was it worth it! The views were amazing on a beautiful day at sunset.
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| First view outside the airport in HK |
Adam had been so distant about the location of the hotel. I am the directional one, so I was asking where it was so I could start familiarizing myself with the location. He had done all the booking and would only send me the flight details, so I had a striking suspicion he went "budget" on the hotel and didn't want to tell me. I need to trust more! My wonderful husband surprised me by booking a room at the Langham Hong Kong after I raved so much about the Langham Xintiandi. The hotel was located in the Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) area on the mainland Kowloon area. It was wonderful!
After settling in, we headed out to indulge in some Cantonese Dim Sum. The hotel directed us to two restaurants - Crystal Jade or The Sweet Dynasty. I been to Crystal Jade many times in Shanghai, so headed to the local chain. We ordered way too much food and didn't like most of it, but we enjoyed the local atmosphere in the busy spot during the Friday lunch hour.
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| Dim Sum! |
We were staying near Canton Road, a major shopping street in the TST area. In order to keep the stores comfortable for the visitors, they limit the number of people and queue them up outside.
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| Canton Rd shopping |
After lunch we headed towards Central, on Hong Kong Island, with goal of reaching Victoria Peak. To cross the Victoria Harbor we took the Star Ferry, a passenger ferry service that has been in operation since 1888.
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| Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor |
After not being able to find the right local bus to get us to Victoria Peak, we opted to hop on the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus. We rode through the busy streets of Hong Kong Island, taking in the interesting architecture of the concrete jungle.
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| Open air bus on Hong Kong Island |
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| IFC Tower and the beautiful sky |
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| Buildings in Central |
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| My favorite - Lippo Tower said to look like koalas hugging a tree! |
The Big Bus Tour became entirely worth the money when we came around the corner at the base of Victoria Peak Tram. The line was so long and curved around the corner... we were discouraged as we had made our goal for the day to be Victoria Peak, but did not want to wait in a line for 2-3 hours. Luckily, the Big Bus Tour included a ticket for the Tram and when we arrived they ushered us past the ticket line and in line for the Tram. We still had to wait about 30 minutes, but it was bearable.
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| tons of people waiting for Victoria Peak Tram |
The tram basically takes you 15 minutes straight up the mountain to the top of the peak. We paid the extra fee to access the top floor observation desk - boy, was it worth it! The views were amazing on a beautiful day at sunset.
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| Hong Kong from the top of Victoria Peak |
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| Adam and I in HK |
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| HK after dark from Victoria Peak |
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| Bright lights across the city |
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