Hello Friends and Family,
We're back and still alive from our weekend in Hong Kong! We had a great time. It was a wonderful weekend and we enjoyed Hong Kong very much. It was so nice to be just another foreigner and blend in with people from all over the world; chinese, american, european, indian, middle eastern, african, all could be seen on the same street corner in Hong Kong, a truly international city! We highly recommend Hong Kong as a place to see on the globe!
Of course, our 'structured, but flexible' schedule turned out to be more flexible than structured at first. Our flight out of Nanning was delayed for two and a half hours, causing us to arrive at the border of Mainland China and Hong Kong after the border had already closed for the night. Fortunately, there were a handful of cheap hotels near the border, so we found one with no bugs or rats and hopped in bed for a quick snooze.
The next morning we got up early, crossed over the Chinese border, went through the Hong Kong border, then caught a train to Kowloong (the island north of Hong Kong island) then a taxi over to the university where our friend was staying. We were able to meet her and talk for a little while, but it is close to finals for her, so she hopped on the bus with us, took us downtown and dropped us off. There we were in one of the world's largest cities and we had no map or plan, but we did have no fear! We were looking forward to exploring a large city and of course, the people on the street spoke English and the signs were in English too. We wandered the city, enjoying the gigantic skyscrapers, some 70 to 80 stories high! We strolled around the city, enjoying the fantastic weather and the cool breeze. After lunch, we walked up the hill a ways and caught the Victoria Peak Tram. Hong Kong Island is on a mountain and a tram or trolley was built in the 1800s that will take you up to the top of the mountain and you can look down on one of the world's most recognizable skylines. We got up to the top and were blessed with little fog and no clouds. The view was fantastic and we enjoyed the quietness and romantic scenery. The area was quite touristy, which was fun because there were a lot of different people there, as well as Haagen Daas icecream and a wax museum that we explored and could take pictures with the world's celebrities!
Kealy atop Victoria Peak
HMMMMMMM...Haagen Daas
Sunset in Hong Kong
We watched the sunset, then enjoyed the skyline in the dark, then caught the trolley down, had a nice chat with a couple from Holland who were traveling through China, but wish they were traveling in America the second time because they absolutely loved America. They couldn't believe how nice everyone was in America!
We met Cathy and her boyfriend for dinner in a hustle and bustle restaurant in the middle of downtown Hong Kong. The food was okay, but we had a great time with them talking and enjoying the crowd, then afterward we walked the city and went to an area which was almost exclusively a place where foreigners hung out, so we enjoyed slipping into the crowd there. We also had our second icecream of the day at Ben and Jerry's! We then went back to our room and massaged our sore feet!
Hong Kong's tallest building in the back; the international finance center and a world war one and two memorial in the foreground.
one of the many forms of transportation in Hong Kong; double decker skinny trams!
On Saturday we slept in and got a slow start. We then went back downtown for a few hours and did some more serious shopping for souvenirs and gifts. There were lots of side alleys with shops and markets in between stores like Giorgio Armani and Gucci. In the afternoon, we took a harbour ferry to the island of Kowloon. On the tip of Kowloon is an area called Tsim Sha Tsui. It is the home of Hong Kong Hollywood and we walked the harbour and put our hands in Jackie Chan's handprints on the avenue of stars. The Hong Kong island skyline was also a sight to see both during the day and at night from the other side of the harbour. We also caught a subway to the 'Ladies Market'. Even larger shops and markets with a ton of people. It was almost suffocating at times, but we still enjoyed the shopping and the bright neon lights which are Hong Kong. We snuck into a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant for dinner and the table and seats were barely big enough for us to fit into but we enjoyed the authenticity of it. We bought some I LOVE HONG KONG t-shirts and headed back to the harbour area for the symphony of lights, when the Hong Kong skyline puts on a laser light show using the buildings and also, all of the malls had gigantic and extensive Christmas decorations already up, so that was fun to see. We went back early and grabbed snacks at one of the many 7/11s and enjoyed English TV and watched a documentary on Crocodiles.
Our last day in Hong Kong we slept in a little again, then hunted down Subway for our final meal. We have been craving sandwiches with Turkey and Ham, two things impossible to find on the mainland, and at last we found the one Subway in Hong Kong. We each enjoyed our sandwiches and people-watched for an hour or so. We finished our souvenir and gift shopping and, having just a little money left, found Starbuck's! We sat in comfy chairs, sipped our coffe and listened to Christmas music. A lot of the restaurants and cafes in Hong Kong are on the second or third floor away from the road and people so we sat at a window on the second floor and watched the people some more. It was then time to head home, plus we were out of money, except for a little money to purchase the Christmas CD we heard in Starbuck's! We caught a bus to Kowloon, then a train to the border, crossed both borders, then a bus to Shenzhen, then we waited for our flight, had a good flight, then caught a bus from a friend back to downtown Nanning, then a taxi finally to home! I think we covered all the modes of transportation minus horse and motorcycle! We probably walked 15-17 miles over the weekend and have the blisters to prove it, but we feel like we saw a lot of the city and we enjoyed just about every minute of it. It was great to see a big city, blend in with other foreigners and enjoy some of the foods we used to take for granted in the states.
We are teaching this weekend and sharing about Thanksgiving Day with our students. They are very curious about the holiday and its history so it is fun and a good opportunity to share with them. More about that later. For now, we'll talk to you soon.
Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson
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