All good things must come to an end.

Since this is the night (Sunday 23 March) before my departure and probably my last post in Hong Kong, I am having difficulty putting into words my concluding thoughts. Hong Kong is an absolutely fascinating, juxtaposing metropolis: rich in traditions, but proficient in modern technology, including their awesome transit system. With over six million people, the city remains calm, safe and its people so polite. I have thoroughly enjoyed posting on this blog and describing my daily adventures in text and in pics. (What amazing technology!) Hopefully you have relished in it as well. Thank you so much for your comments! Thank you to Jason, for what an absolute amazing vacation this has been for me. I look forward to bookmarking this website and reminiscing about our journey.

A day with no agenda...

Today (Easter) Jason and I awoke to an amazing crystal clear skyline view of the Hong Kong harbor. After Jason finished some computer work activites and I packed my suitcase, we set off mid morning for a stroll on the harbor promenade. What I thought might be a quiet day on the street of Hong Kong, since it was a sunday holiday, was not true. Hong Kongers like usual were ready to shop and outside enjoying the life. Jason and I took the ferry one last time across the harbor and with our Octopus card and rode the double decker tram, an experience all tourists in Hong Kong must have. We toured some market stalls where I purchased a Louis Vuitton coin purse for a $1 (US). Riding the bus back we passed the impressive seven story Hong Kong Central Library, which appeared open on Sundays. We stumbled upon a street fair and from what we could decipher a religious graduation ceremony in the Statue Square and returned to the hotel via the metro to enjoy our usual dim sum dumplings and Tsing Tsao beer. At 8 PM, we hope to venture out to see the harbor laser light show.

Happy Easter!

Today (Easter) is my last day in Hong Kong before my 9 AM flight tomorrow to JFK. Jason will be in Hong Kong until Saturday. (Make sure you comment on the blog and email him. He might be lonely.) Today there is no set agenda, but it will include mental preparation/yoga for a long flight ahead, packing and I am sure some sort of little jaunt. (Picture of our Easter friends who made the trip with us.)

Up up and away...

Today (Saturday 22 March) Jason, his colleague Tim and I ventured out to the Tiam Tan Buddha "Big Buddha" on Lantau Peak via the metro. At the end of the line metro stop Tung Chung we followed signs for the Ngong Ping 360 cable car. We purchased our tickets and off we went into the clouds for our 25 minute ride. According to the guidebook, the views from the glassed-in gondola are suppose to be tremendous, however today was a cloudy day. At the exit of the cable car ride, we hoped to see the Big Buddha in the distance, not so. We followed the crowds and proceeded to walk up the endless stairs. At last at the top we saw the Buddha during brief intermittent gaps in the clouds. We toured the beautiful Po Lin monastery and temple. During the downpour that suspended the cable car rides, we took cover in a tea house in Ngong Village (a tourist shopping area near the Buddha) and treated ourselves to a pot of refreshing white tea served to us in the traditional custom. After our tea, our prayers to the Buddha were answered. The rain stopped and the cloud cover disappeared, at least temporarily. We could see the Buddha! We took our pictures and retuned to Tung Chung via the cable car. We decided for an adventure to take the local M3 bus to the village of Mui Wo on the harbor to catch a ferry back to Hong Kong Island. Being part of Hong Kong's national park system, the bus route was scenic. It was unpopulated, forested and mountainous. At Mui Wo, we checked out the picturesque beach and small shops while we waited a half hour for our ferry. (Mui Wo was the first area I have seen in Hong Kong that was not built up with towering apartment complexes.) For dinner in Hong Kong / Central we found a delicious, inexpensive restaurant recommended by Fodor's suitability named Heaven on Earth and ordered sautéed jelly fish as one of our dinner selections.

Vegas Baby...

Yesterday Jason and I (Friday 21 March) returned from probably the most courageous excursion of our travels. A day trip to Macau, Asia’s answer to gambling Las Vegas! Like Hong Kong, Macau is a Special Administrative Region of China, however unlike Hong Kong, Macau was a colony of Portugal. Passports are required. After a bit of confusion at the ticket counter, Jason and I purchased a round trip assigned seat ferry ticket to Macau. Being the start of the Easter holiday, the ferry terminal was a busy place. We arrived in Macau and were promptly greeted by the chaos that comes with looking like a tourist. We had hopes of touring the Ruinas de Paulo, however with the increased humidity, unfriendly pedestrian streets and limited time, we ruled this trek out. Instead we hit the mega casinos! Well, the casinos were cool and surprisingly calm compared with the outside confusing hustle and bustle and we were feeling lucky. After losing our shirts, we meandered back to the ferry. By total surprise, we stumbled upon the Macau Museum of Art and today admission was free. (Jason equated this detour to being in Vegas and going to the library.) Finally we were back on the ferry to Hong Kong and ended the day with a stroll through Kowloon park, a little exercise in a Tai Chi park (an exercise playground for adults) and a little shopping. Standing in two immigration and two departures lines in one day, can be exhausting, but we got our passports stamped four times in one day! Smithsonian article on Macau: (Sept 08) http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/macau-jackpot.html

Recently posted on boston.com

Posted on 19 March on Boston.com/Cheap Eats section.
"At Gitlo's, it's always time for dim sum" Gilto's Dim Sum Bakery in Allston. The chef is from Hong Kong.
http://www.boston.com/ae/food/restaurants/articles/2008/03/19/at_gitlos_its_always_time_for_dim_sum/
Who is game? I am going to need a pick-me-up from my dim sum withdrawl, which I will most likely experience upon my return.

We made it to The Peak.

Yesterday (20 March) afternoon Jason and I made it to Victoria Peak, "The Peak". We took the metro to Hong Kong Island / Central, walked a bit following the signs to the tram, purchased our tickets and rode up the awesome steep incline. At the apex, we took pictures, enjoyed the view and tried not to get blown away. We left just in time to miss the rain storm. We took the local #1 bus back to the ferry terminal. This ride was more frightening then the tram. Picture a top heavy double decker bus careening around a small steep mountain road. Today the activities include a 1 hour+ ferry ride to Macau (SAR), perhaps we will gamble.

Need any Tiger Balm?

Yesterday (20 March) on my morning outing, featuring an extended walk down Nathan Road, the main shopping, thoroughfare, I found the Hong Kong equivalent to Target. You know you have found something good when you are the only tourist. I also checked out at the Peninsula hotel, a grand stately historical hotel from the 1920's. The hotel has its own helipad and recently opened Louis Vuitton store. When the store opened a few days ago there was a line around the block.

Jason is back.

With dirty steel toed boots, safety vest and hard hat, Jason arrived back safe and sound at the hotel at 6 AM today (20 March) having been up all night in the under construction new metro tunnel. Being an occupational health & safety specialist, I was a bit worried, but everything was fine. The engineering testing went well and will not have to be repeated. Undoubtedly, he is exhausted and is asleep while I conduct a little online research about the ferries to Macau (We hope to go to Macau this weekend.) in the dark before I head out for a morning adventure. This afternoon, Jason and I hope to visit Victoria Peak. (I took this picture yesterday and hope to use in my safety training/courses.)

Should I be worried?

Yesterday I got a mosquito bite on my arm. Today I saw this sign.

Today I felt like a rockstar.

Today (19 March) I took the metro one stop to the Hong Kong Museum of History. The museum was packed with Asian teenagers dressed in school uniforms more interested in texting then touring. A few of them approached me practicing their English said "Good morning." They giggled when I answered back. As I was leaving, a group of young Asian teenage girls, approached me and asked me if they could take their picture with me. I thought I misunderstood, but no. The girls surrounded me and one took the picture. They thanked me. I wish I had gotten a picture of this as proof. This is very reminiscent of Andrew's experience in Japan. I hopped on a double decker air-con bus only realizing when I arrived 20 minutes later at the Whampoa bus terminal that I had gone in the wrong direction. No worries, the buses are so convenient, I got on another bus going where I wanted to be in no time. I arrived at the Hong Kong Musuem of Art. I was disappointed, no one asked for my picture there. Next up the ferry to Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island. I had to get on 3 ferries via the island of Lamma, for which my guidebook was no help. Walked around Aberdeen, known for the "junks", fishing boats and toured the small Tin Hau temple. Took the #70 bus back to Central, Hong Kong Island and the ferry back to the hotel in Kowloon. Back at the hotel Jason was sleeping getting his energy up for his "all-nighter" engineering testing work. I went to the cocktail hour for some well deserved snacks. Any ideas, what is that fruit from the pic above? I have no idea.

Early this morning...

At 5:00 AM I called Cathay Pacific. Did I mention that Jason got an internet phone service for the trip? Skype - phone calls to the US are 2 cents a minute and 1-800 are free through the laptop. Luckily, thanks to Jason, and his special airline status I was able to change my seat assignment to an aisle in the middle 3 seat section for my Boeing 777 flight home. Usually I insist on sitting in window seat however flying 14+ hours by yourself is not a usual occurrence. (Jason and I are wide awake at 5 AM from jet lag.)

Work is actually involved

Jason's Hong Kong Experience (so far) It was our second day in the tunnel... The giant piece of equipment you see in the middle picture is the tunnel boring machine that they used to drill the train tunnel. It is about 25 feet in diameter and now they need to get it out of the tunnel. Needless to say, it was a busy day at the site. Access to the bottom of the tunnel involves some rather crude scaffolding and spaces where you almost need to crawl. The top photo shows all the concrete trucks that were driving in and out making it difficult for us to move our equipment to the site. The Studio Theatre is what we are all concerned about for this project. They have performances there and if the train causes noise and vibration (since the tunnel is about 100 feet away) the audience would be disturbed during the performances. It needs to be VERY quiet... Our big day testing is actually in the middle of the night tonight which puts me back onto USA time... not sure how that will go, but I am expecting to be tired. Can't wait for the work to be over so I can start enjoying HK more with Laura. Lots of plans for the rest of the trip once I am done with the testing!

My "copywatch" is still ticking.

Today (Tueday 18 March) I took the metro to Wong Tai Sin Temple, according to the guidebook a popular temple with the locals. This was an understatement. I was intrigued to tour the Good Wish Gardens for obvious reasons in its name. It featured relaxing carp ponds and zigzagging stone bridges. The exit from the temple was an arcade filled with Chinesse fortunetellers, some offering English translations. I spent sometime at the very modern Festival Walk Shopping Center at Wong Tai Sin and shopped a bit at H&M. I saw signs to City University of Hong Kong and decided to check out the campus. I hopped on the metro again and took it to Prince Edwards to walk to Yuen Po Street Bird Garden and the flower market. I was distracted by the market stalls and bargained for a new Swiss Army watch for $7 (US), aka "copywatch". (I recently misplaced my silver watch in Boston.) When I finally reached the bird garden, it dawned on me that this probably was not the best place to hang around with the recent bird flu epidemic. So I took a few pics and moved on. I debated about taking the metro to Hong Kong Island, where I was yesterday, and spending some time "ferrying" around on the harbor, but my feet were tired and my camera battery had died, so I returned to the hotel to grab a snack at the executive floor cafe and to wait for Jason. Tomorrow is museum day. The Hong Kong Art Museum & the Hong Kong Museum of History are free on Wednesdays and hopefully I can schedule in a ferryride to Aberdeen.

What Laura did yesterday

Yesterday I started my day by walking to the Star Ferry Terminal. Found signs to Central/Hong Kong Island and used my Octopus card. The 10 minute ferry ride cost about 25 cents (US). Landed at the ferry terminal and started walking from the ferry terminal on the elevated pedestrian foot bridge. By "accident" I found myself in the ultra expensive International Finance Center(IFC) mall which houses stores like Gucci and Channel. Needlessly to say, I did not do much shopping there. Connected to the mall was one of the Airport Express Transit Metro Stations. You can check in to flights and check your luggage up to 24 hours before your flight so you don't have to lug it with you on the metro. How amazing is that! (Maybe this is why the Hong Kong airport was voted the world's best airport in 2007.) From there, I meandered my way around the busy congested streets with outside vendors which was in such contrast from a few blocks away. I visited Man Mo Temple, (one of Hong Kong's oldest temples), the central escalators, (the world's longest elevated covered escalator running above street level), Saint John's Cathedral and Hong Kong Park. At 3 PM I walked to the Central metro. I splurged the 90 cents (US) for the ride back to the hotel. I did a little shopping around the hotel and at 7 PM ventured out to dinner with Jason and his colleagues. (This morning Tuesday 18 March, I awoke early to Jason working hard typing away on his laptop. I asked him if I could take his photo for the blog. He said "no"!, so I am using one he took of me earlier in the trip.)

Jason went to work.

8:40 AM, Monday 17 March. Today I am left to my own devices. Let's see where I end up. (Happy St. Patty's Day!)

Jason finally woke up.

7:00 PM, Sunday 16 March. Jason and I had a relaxing afternoon tootling around near our hotel. Walked on the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong's version of the Hollywood Walk of Stars, with picturesque views of the harbor. We then went to check out the Cultural center/Opera house where Jason will be doing his engineering testing and then strolled to Kowloon Park to relax among the rose garden. Ended the day with a dip in the pool and a visit to the hotel cocktail hour with more dim sum goodies. (The picture is of me and the Beijing Olympic cartoon caricatures.)

Jason is asleep.

9:30 AM, Sunday 16 March, Renaissance Kowloon Hotel. Jason and I have returned from the deluxe continental breakfast included with our room stay. I feasted on superb little dim sum dumplings, apricot yogurt and french croissants. (I will not be losing any weight on this trip.) Jason is presently fast asleep recovering from jet lag. Normally, I would not be taken with this activity because I like to be on the go when I travel, but since Jason will be working hard in Hong Kong for the majority of the trip, I should let him recuperate. So as I wait for him to rest a bit, I blog, read from Lonely Planet and enjoy the harbor, mountain, city skyline view from the hotel. (You can't see him, but Jason is asleep in the bed.)

We have arrived.

10:00 PM, Saturday 15 March. Departing the lost luggage line with only hope in hand...
one last twirl around the carousel...
our three little bags appeared on the belt!
Our adventure begins.

Fed well on our cramped Cathay Pacific flight with exquisitely manicured stewardesses. Took the amazing high tech train from the airport which couldn't have been an easier commute with our newly purchased Octopus cards. Arrived at a gorgeous 4-star hotel with an executive top floor club suite. Picture is the view from our room. (Traveling with Jason has its advantages.)

Less than 24 hours ....

until I am on a 20+ plane ride to Hong Kong with Jason.