Annelyse and I started with a small layover just north of Hong Kong. After getting our luggage and re-checking in we found ourselves in a small cafe before our flight to Shanghai!
Before we knew it, it was time to board our plane and head on to Shanghai. The flight was pretty short. The interesting thing in China is that you get a FULL meal regardless of how long the flight. Even our little jump of a flight from Hong Kong they gave us a huge thing of crackers and bottle water - the flight was only 30 minutes!! At this point, swine flu inspections were in full swing. We were often finding ourselves delayed because of inspection officials needing to do their job.
Once in Shanghai and through baggage claim we got in line for a taxi. We both forgot to exchange money at the airport and the taxi line was moving quickly. Since we were now on mainland China, the currency changed. We hopped in the taxi and showed him we only had credit card. He was a little upset at first and we figured out between the language barrier that we could exchange Japanese Yen for RMB at the hotel - we did just that. After about a 40 minute taxi ride we found ourselves at the ever so lush Sofitel Hyland Shanghai. The hotel is located in a terrific part of town and best of all it was only $100 a night for us to share this amazing room in a 4 star hotel!
We checked-in to the hotel, gave them our passports for copying, and were on our way up to our room! We had intentions of going out since it was Saturday night but decided we needed to take naps first! Before that we decided to go downstairs to ask a few questions and make reservations for the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe and get directions to a few Jazz clubs! Then it was time for a nap...After the first attempt of waking up we decided we did not want to go out and that we had plenty of time to party in Shanghai. I said that we should go get some food and remembered seeing a Haagen Daas downstairs on the main floor of the hotel. So we both got really excited and were cracking up out of being sleep deprived and loopy! We put on jackets and went down stairs.
It was a rainy evening but quite a beautiful view with the neon lights of Shanghai glowing through the haze of the rain. We found ourselves very comfortable and quite content sharing a banana Sunday with 3 scoops of ice cream, 2 bananas, strawberries, almonds, and a little whip cream. It was heavenly and hit the spot for two tired girlies! We then decided that we should have some actual food since we had not eaten dinner yet. We walked out on the main road of Nanjing road. We were hassled by street vendors. We figured out if you say nothing - they go away! We let them stuff themselves with their fake purses and watches. That was my only gripe about Shanghai in the area of our hotel was,"ohh, pretty lady come to my shop I give you good price on watch...purse...etc."...
It was on to "subway" for us. We were tired, it was raining, and we did not feel like figuring out where other food was. We saw it, bought a 6" sub and split that for dinner - it was fantastic. We went back to the hotel and enjoyed the movie "Shallow Hale" it was a cute movie staring Gwenth Paltrow and Jack Black it was then sleepy time for us so we could enjoy our first full day in Shanghai.
The next morning we woke up, showered, watched the news on swine flu, and were out of our hotel to go explore this new city! We first stopped at Madeline's cafe down in the bottom of our hotel to enjoy croissants and then find the subway station so we could start our day. I had found a lot of information online prior to us going to Shanghai. I read up on a street that was chalk full of sweet boutiques and fantastic restaurants. We took the subway a few stops, grabbed a taxi, and were off to this oh so (apparently) cool crossing.
When we first got there we were somewhat unsure which direction to walk in. We started heading West. The area is loaded with embassy's so the roads are sweetly lined with gorgeous trees and little courtyards. Not too long after we began our adventurous walk we came across a nail salon. Annelyse and I looked at each other, started laughing, and went in for a delightful manicure and I also indulged in a polish change on my tootsies :) There was a pair of German friends sitting across from us. We spoke with them for a little while. I also savored a diet coke! Diet coke is impossible and I mean impossible to find in Japan any more. They have added stupid orange flavoring to ever stinking bottle in this country! So, it is better for me not to drink it I know but I was able to really enjoy it in China!
Anyway, after our wonderful morning/early afternoon of being pampered in the adorable, very European salon, we continued our walk down this delightful road. We hit a dead end and decided we needed to just turn around. House after house, shop after shop, we decided to enjoy a delicious Thai lunch. The restaurant was gorgeous. We ate outside near this beautiful canopy with flowers and water surrounding us in every direction. We had our own little private abyss or so it seemed. We savored so many fantastic flavors. We shared spring rolls and two different curries. We even had Thai tea! We were going to enjoy dessert but decided we had a lot more walking to do and we should get a move on.
As we strolled down this glorious, old street, we came across various street vendors. It was nice to see fruits being sold out of a cart. Well, not too much further down the street we ran into a Chocolaterie :) That had my name written all over it!! We went in for a look and came out with a custom box just for us! The lady had prepackaged boxes or we could select various flavored chocolates. It was 10 for about $10. My favorite was the grand mariner flavor - woowha it was good! We continued on down the street for a while longer, grabbed a Starbucks, and then headed on home.
The walk was marvelous, the trees, city people, alley ways, and just having Annelyse by my side was fantastic! She makes quite the travel partner! I really adore her company. A few subway stops later we found ourselves back on Nanjing Road. We headed back to the Sofitel to refresh our feet and ourselves with a nap and some chocolate and about an hour and a half later we were off to the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe!
Annelyse and I dolled ourselves up to the 9s! We wore cute dresses and decided we were going to have a great night out on the town! The evening started in a taxi and ended in a taxi with a few taxis in between! Taxis are the best means of transportation in China. They are quick and cheap! The theater was about 25 minutes away. It was a small theater. It was beautiful with red velvet seats and thick draped curtains. We waited about 20 minutes before the crazy show began.
The show was incredible! From people being thrown around, to being stacked up on each other, to spinning dishes, to jumping through hoops, to balancing acts, it was just phenomenal! After the show we walked around for a bit trying to avoid hobos and grab a cab! It took us a while but we finally went to a hotel, stood in a taxi line, and about 15 minutes later were on our way to the world trade center for a cocktail at the Park Hyatt Hotel! The views would have been amazing had the clouds not been in the way. It was still a gorgeous bar with amazing hospitality. Our cocktails were delicious cocktails entailed something along the lines of egg whites in a silver gin fizz for Annelyse and whiskey and cherries in a Mississippi something another cocktail for me - the combination of our 2 drinks set the mood for an amazingly fun night!
After cocktails it was on to yet another adventure. We went to the ever so beautiful bathroom (seriously, Park Hyatt knows how to create bathrooms) and then went through the lobby to grab another cab to the jazz club we were then going to. Annelyse and I after a while realized that we were back over by the theater where we had just come. Well, apparently our taxi driver could not find the jazz club but fortunately we had the number! The jazz club had moved from that location all the way back over by The Bund and our hotel area. A little annoying but WELL worth the mix up! Annelyse and I are so easy going that it really doesn't matter where we are going.
We finally made it to the House of Jazz & Blues where we spent the rest of this incredible night together! We ordered a few items for dinner. We each had pumpkin soup and for our main entree we split the lasagna! We sat center stage at the Jazz club. We were both in heaven. We are both big fans of Jazz music so this was really fun for us! The artists were mostly from America and there was one guy from Japan. It was a jam band type session and different artists kept cycling in and out of sets. Well, me being me, I got up and asked one of the guys that was not playing at the time if Annelyse could get up and sing on stage. Low and behold she closed out the night with the band singing, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". It was a perfect ending to our amazing day! I have the song on video but think its too big to upload on to here. We finally made it home after some great wine and good music!! It was good night for us and on to temples in the morning.
In the morning, we started out a little slow and a little broken as we were having a little difficulty figuring out the subway system. But we finally got back on track! We started our day at a very famous temple in Shanghai called Longhua Temple. It is about 1,700 years old. We enjoyed the pagoda, the temple, all the small rooms within the temple, and saw some Buddhist monks hard at work. It was interesting for me to see people praying. This is a new experience for me to witness Buddhism and the rituals that go along with it. I also enjoy Chinese architecture with the extreme roof tops and beautiful colors.
After Longhua temple, it was on to the Jade temple for us! At the Jade Buddha temple we experienced a bit of haggling but I ignored it as best as I could. We went in and enjoyed the Buddha. I was very offended by a German at this site so I am trying to block this part of the day out of my mind as best as possible. I personally enjoyed the red lanterns against the yellow painted walls with the dark wood lining - it was striking. I also enjoyed seeing the monks in their traditional, ornate garb - it was beautiful.
After the Jade Buddha temple, it was on to Yu Garden and Bazaar. We had not had lunch yet and it was nearing 3 o'clock but I was just really in a bad mood after the Jade Buddha temple. Once we reached Yu Garden we walked around for a place to eat. We found a dim sum place and enjoyed a cheap lunch there followed by a frappacino to brighten myself up! It was then heading into the "bazaar", a fascinating market place in Shanghai. The architecture was just beautiful there. Red buildings and strong, striking rooftops surrounded by canals of water - just gorgeous.
Annelyse and I had a great time bargaining through the market place. I made out like a bandit! I bought several things for myself, my family, and of course omiagye for teachers/friends back in Japan! After we finished at the Yu Bazaar it was time to head back to the hotel for a nice little rest before another incredible night out in Shanghai!
We dressed up one more night. This time we were headed for The Bund for a dinner reservation at the New Heights restaurant out on their patio. We wore dark jeans and cute tops :) We enjoyed spectacular views of Shanghai at night - it was a breath taking view over The Bund, the harbor, and the TV tower. We enjoyed duck spring rolls (YUM) and a delicious seafood, glass noodle, curry type dish. The restaurant was very chic and we sat under tall heaters and took in what was all around us. We sat and talked for a long time as we seem to do :) We are just so excellent at keep each other company!
After dinner we went downstairs and across the street to Glamour Bar at M on The Bund! We had such a blast at this little lounge bar! We ordered wine and gin & tonics (our staples) and took in this adorable little bar. At one point we both had our boogie shoes on and felt like dancing, so we did! hee hee! We stayed and people watched and observed the "interestingness" of this bar. The bar counter and above was entirely made of mirrors. There were tons of interesting angles! After dinner and the bar we headed over to Rouge bar which was on our way home. We did not have a drink there but just admired the views. The neatest part was the walk up to the bar once inside the building. There was a spiral staircase that had a bike statue that consisted of bikes interwoven with one another - pretty cool!
Then it was time to wrap things up...we needed to go back to Sofitel and get our beauty rest as it was time to pack up and head out to Beijing!
Shanghai was amazing and now that I am back in Japan talking about it, I would go again. When I was in China I wasn't sure if I'd go back again. I of course have many other places I need to go first BUT I would go back to Shanghai...
Next up - Beijing!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Here We Go! Golden Week 2009 ~ Hong Kong: April 29 - May 2nd =D
Bare with me as this will take me some time to fully explain the entire trip. I will update then update again and then probably update again. I have been extremely busy these past two weeks since being back in Japan. We have now started the beginning of the Ayame (Iris) festival and I am very busy with that along with school, Japanese class, and Ikebana.
Okay now that that is finished I can begin =D
Annelyse and I met at the airport around 4:30 on Wednesday April 29th. We had been excitedly awaiting this trip for so long and the day was finally here and ours! We killed a bit of time at the airport by exchanging Japanese Yen to Hong Kong Dollars. We also went to the book store and indulged in some Starbucks! Starbucks is a delicacy for us as it is a treat because we don't have it at our finger tips like we do back in the states. I like that because it saves me money and calories! After doing a few things at Narita it was time to sit at the gate and get ready to board! We were disappointed as we were not sitting next to each other on the plane :( Because of the swine flu they had to put the flight to a halt for an hour - ugh. After an hour we finally took off around 7:30. The flight was four hours long and we were able to enjoy our special meals as we had checked the box on the Internet check-out page for our reservation that we wanted low salt meals :). I watched the movie "Doubt". My dad had told me what a great flick it was. So, I decided to check it out - it was fantastic! Having gone to an all girls Catholic school it brought back memories but also brought about the issue of priests and the speculations of little boys. It was very well done and Meryl Strep was good as always.
*Four hours later* Annelyse and I found ourselves in Hong Kong! Becky, a good friend from Lake Forest, met us at the airport. However, she was not there when we immediately got off the plane. Luckily, the couple that was sitting next to me on the plane saw us and asked if we needed to borrow their cell phone. Fortunately, we were able to get a hold of Becky and she was about 5 minutes away! We bought tickets to go into the Wanchai area of Hong Kong. It took about half an hour I'd say to get to her area of town. We then took a really cheap taxi cab to her apartment. It is unbelievable to see how cheap taxis are and all transportation for that matter!
After arriving at Becky's apartment, we waited a few minutes before going upstairs because we needed to give them our passport to copy so they knew we were with Becky. Becky's flat, I should say, is incredible. It is paid for by her law firm :) Since Hong Kong was once a territory of England her apartment has very much the feel of a flat in London. It is a fully furnished apartment with the works! I was expecting a so so apartment but was sure wrong! :) After setting our bags down, Becky gave us a tour of the complex and took us upstairs to the outdoor terrace to give us a great view of Hong Kong at night. She pointed out some good restaurants, the train station, Victoria Peak, and gave us good directions and advice to get around the city.
We went back downstairs and chatted until about 3:30 in the morning. Keep in mind that we did not even land until about 11:00 -11:30.
On Thursday, Becky had work and Annelyse and I slept in until about 9:00, I think (this is now about a month ago and I am recalling what I can!). We took showers and made ourselves cute as we were venturing into a new city! We left around 11 and went to The Flying Pan, a restaurant that Becky recommended for good western style food. Annelyse and I walked over, about 5 minutes from Becky's apartment, and enjoyed this delicious restaurant. We split an eggs Benedict, juices, fruit, and coffee. It was a fantastic way to jump start our day and our trip. I must say that Annelyse really is the ultimate travel buddy. She is so even tempered and just goes with the flow of things. We work really well together. I am going to miss her because it is so hard to find people that you FULLY click with.
After an hour or so we were on the road again, walking :) We headed towards the harbor so we could cross over into Kowloon via the ferry. We, of course, had our Starbucks fix. We each tried an steamed almond soy milk latte. It was interesting :). We arrived at the ferry after walking for a bit and bought tickets. So cheap! It was only 2.30 Hong Kong Dollars which is not even 50 cents to travel across the way.
Once we arrived we asked for directions to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. On our way, we were distracted...We walked into this little mall and found all sorts of ivory! It was really interesting to see the intricate detail of the ivory from the carving to the detail of ivory painting. We stayed in there for a while because it was like a mini museum of ivory. After that lovely distraction we were off to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery via the train. Once again so cheap! :) After about 30 minutes we were at the Monastery. It is to be found on top of one of the beautiful hills surrounding Hong Kong. Annelyse took a cab to the Monastery because the station master said it was a 15 minute walk, we did not know where we were going, taxis are cheap, and we were some what short on time!
...30 seconds later we were at the Monastery. Okay like a minute, literally! It was so funny. The cab driver gave us the funniest look like you stupid foreigners its right there! But we didn't know and the cab only cost us $2! We took pictures all the way up to the top of the hill. Buddha was certainly happy! It was really neat to see all the different faces of Buddha :) We definitely had some fun with them. We were naming them all the way up and down. We even took our picture with a few of them! We stayed about an hour before we needed to head back down and take a train back to the Kowloon stop to go back over to Wanchai to meet Becky!
We took a cab from the harbor over to Becky's work. Hong Kong by taxi is fun! It is a great way to see the city for a great price! Hong Kong is chalk full of designer duds, lush accommodations, and gorgeous high rises! Traffic was pretty bad over to Becky's office. Here is when I want to tell you about Becky and her job. Becky and I had mutual friend at LFC and became friends when I was a freshman and she was a junior :) We were both really good friends with the Delta Chi boys at LFC. After she graduated from LFC she began working with Meyer Brown Law Firm in Chicago. Last year she was offered the same position in HK for 6 months and so she took it! She has been in Hong Kong since January and has really loved the change! She has the opportunity to extend her contract but I am not sure whether she will do that or not. SOOO....
We finally reached her building and met her co-workers! We went out for a fantastic 8 course + extra meal at the Peking Garden restaurant. It was by far our most expensive meal the entire trip and rightly so! We enjoyed all sorts of traditional Chinese food and even Peking Duck and Beggar's chicken! Beggar's chicken is a old tradition dating way back to...who knows when :) ANYWAY, it is wrapped in lotus leaves, dipped in mud and then baked! It is the most delicious chicken I think I have ever eaten. It was so tender and savory! :) It was fantastic!
After our very long, delicious dinner it was time to take the trolley up to an adorable lounge called Sparks! :) Hong Kong is very hilly :) The are we went to was built up on a hill. It was like stairs. There would be an opening then a road then go up further then an opening with another road. It was so quaint! We enjoyed delicious champagne cocktails, talked for a few hours, and enjoyed great company! It was another really late night but fortunately we slept in just a bit and Friday was a holiday for Hong Kong so Becky was luckily able to hang out with us all day long!! :)
Friday was quite the adventure again! We started the morning with showers and egg tarts! Egg tarts are officially my new savory/sweet treat! It is a pastry shell with a custard egg filling - amazing! Thank goodness we were walking all over the place! After the little savory treat it was on to The Flying Pan once more! :) I enjoyed eggs rancheros :) Something I definitely can not get in Japan! or well not as easily as I was able to get in Hong Kong!
It was time for our adventure up Victoria Peak! We stood in line and bought tickets to take the train up to the top of Victoria Peak. WOW! What a fantastic time we had! We started the day at Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. Becky had never been and Annelyse went last summer in D.C. I had made my way to a the wax museum in New York when I was a senior in high school! We had an absolutely blast taking pictures with the stars and playing dress up! We came to this one dancer and there was a room to put on tutus. I decided to wear the bright pink tutu through the entire exhibit! We took pictures with people like Brad and Angelina, Sumo Wrestlers, Tiger Woods, Obama, The Royal Family, Hitler, Picasso, Rembrandt, and my personal favorite, me punching George Bush in the face :) It was a nice feeling! We spent so much time in there just joking around and having fun! We even went through the SCREAM haunted house. It was really scary! We had to hold on to each other's shoulders because people and objects would jump out at us and they didn't want us grabbing at the people that jumped out at us! We were laughing and screaming the entire time! When we exited, David Beckham was standing there (in his sexy wax self) and I went in for a hug! hee hee. We finished the museum and bought a few pictures for fun!
It was then up to the observation deck! The day could not have been more beautiful! The wind was fantastic and the sun was out and bright! We had such a fun time with Becky! THANK YOU BECKY for showing us such a great time on Friday (this was only the afternoon and I am not even done!) After the museum and the peak we enjoyed ice cream in waffle cones, bought drinks, and were headed back down the mountain! I am really glad we were able to see the mountain! Once we were down off the mountain Becky took us to this really beautiful part of Hong Kong. It was probably my favorite part of Hong Kong because the views reminded me of Greece.
We took a bus over to Stanley Market area. The bus winded in and out and around the hills. There were mansions and gorgeous views of the water below. The sun was kissing the waves as the sun was beginning to set over the island of Hong Kong. Stanley has a really fantastic market and great restaurants! Once we arrived we started walking through the market place :) I made my first attempts at bargaining at this cute little silk shop where Annelyse decided to try on a traditional, silk dress :) which she ended up buying and I am so glad she did! I had been seeing silk robes around the day before and earlier in the day on Friday. I decided I wanted one and therefore looked in this little shop! I saw it and it was mine! It is a royal blue silk with gorgeous flowers and a peacock - pictures to come! I bargained down just a little bit. I felt a little strange doing it but it worked! :) Since I asked they just gave the price to Annelyse. So I ended up buying a gorgeous silk robe for $25!!! I am sure I still got ripped off but in America that robe would cost a ton! along with Annelye's dress!!
We continued to walk around the market and then walked along the water front. The sun had almost fully set when we walked out of the market place. We decided we needed to figure out dinner because it was almost 7:00 and we needed to back up time, etc. in terms of going back and going out with Becky to Felix Bar at the Peninsula Hotel. We found an adorable Western/Asian Fusion restaurant on the water front. I along with Becky enjoyed an incredible curry meal. Annelyse ordered the set menu with all sorts of goodies! The windows were open, a cool air creeped its way in, we had fantastic conversation, and a great time all together. Stanley market is a must go if you ever go to Hong Kong! I am glad that we had Becky because we would have definitely not gone to this keep sake because we would have not know about it!
After dinner we worked our way back up to the bus. After our very windy trip back to Wanchai it was time to get ready to go out and wake Annelyse up! It took a tiny bit of convincing but not much because I am really over getting people to go out. If you want to go you will go, if not you won't! It's that simple and not worth my energy of getting you to come or not! We'd love to have you but its your choice in the end of it all! In the end, after hardly any convincing we went out to the Felix Bar. Now, John had told me this bar was a must go! The bar was nice but not the best. He said the bathrooms were incredible. However, they are different from the girls. He didn't know that but based on his description and what I experienced they are most definitely different! It was still fun to go to the #1 bar in Hong Kong! After we enjoyed our cocktails we went back to Wanchai and walked around in "college" central. It seemed like a row of bars you'd find in a college town. We each had one more drink and then called it a day! Back to Becky's place we went to then sleep and wake up to a new experience!
On Saturday morning, we packed and took our stuff to this really neat check in service. It is a service in the center of town that takes your luggage for you to the airport. It is a real check-in counter just doesn't have the plane there. It is so you do not have to lug your baggage everywhere. Once we had our luggage squared away it was off to a breakfast/brunch/lunch of dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Chinese way of eating. Dim sum consists of different entrees that are served on carts that come around the restaurant. The ladies offer different things from rice, to soup, to chicken, to pork, and little dough stuffed pastries filled with meat! It was a really fun experience and so China! It was my first time with anything like this. Annelyse had experineced this before back in the states. It was an fantastic way to finish our time in Hong Kong with Becky.
I'd definitely go back to Hong Kong especially since you do not need a visa! :) It was then off to the airport via the train and on our way to our next CRAZY adventure in Shanghai! Shanghai we were on our own :) I have another university friend in Shanghai but things did not work out to see him.
Stay tuned, Shanghai is up next!!
Okay now that that is finished I can begin =D
Annelyse and I met at the airport around 4:30 on Wednesday April 29th. We had been excitedly awaiting this trip for so long and the day was finally here and ours! We killed a bit of time at the airport by exchanging Japanese Yen to Hong Kong Dollars. We also went to the book store and indulged in some Starbucks! Starbucks is a delicacy for us as it is a treat because we don't have it at our finger tips like we do back in the states. I like that because it saves me money and calories! After doing a few things at Narita it was time to sit at the gate and get ready to board! We were disappointed as we were not sitting next to each other on the plane :( Because of the swine flu they had to put the flight to a halt for an hour - ugh. After an hour we finally took off around 7:30. The flight was four hours long and we were able to enjoy our special meals as we had checked the box on the Internet check-out page for our reservation that we wanted low salt meals :). I watched the movie "Doubt". My dad had told me what a great flick it was. So, I decided to check it out - it was fantastic! Having gone to an all girls Catholic school it brought back memories but also brought about the issue of priests and the speculations of little boys. It was very well done and Meryl Strep was good as always.
*Four hours later* Annelyse and I found ourselves in Hong Kong! Becky, a good friend from Lake Forest, met us at the airport. However, she was not there when we immediately got off the plane. Luckily, the couple that was sitting next to me on the plane saw us and asked if we needed to borrow their cell phone. Fortunately, we were able to get a hold of Becky and she was about 5 minutes away! We bought tickets to go into the Wanchai area of Hong Kong. It took about half an hour I'd say to get to her area of town. We then took a really cheap taxi cab to her apartment. It is unbelievable to see how cheap taxis are and all transportation for that matter!
After arriving at Becky's apartment, we waited a few minutes before going upstairs because we needed to give them our passport to copy so they knew we were with Becky. Becky's flat, I should say, is incredible. It is paid for by her law firm :) Since Hong Kong was once a territory of England her apartment has very much the feel of a flat in London. It is a fully furnished apartment with the works! I was expecting a so so apartment but was sure wrong! :) After setting our bags down, Becky gave us a tour of the complex and took us upstairs to the outdoor terrace to give us a great view of Hong Kong at night. She pointed out some good restaurants, the train station, Victoria Peak, and gave us good directions and advice to get around the city.
We went back downstairs and chatted until about 3:30 in the morning. Keep in mind that we did not even land until about 11:00 -11:30.
On Thursday, Becky had work and Annelyse and I slept in until about 9:00, I think (this is now about a month ago and I am recalling what I can!). We took showers and made ourselves cute as we were venturing into a new city! We left around 11 and went to The Flying Pan, a restaurant that Becky recommended for good western style food. Annelyse and I walked over, about 5 minutes from Becky's apartment, and enjoyed this delicious restaurant. We split an eggs Benedict, juices, fruit, and coffee. It was a fantastic way to jump start our day and our trip. I must say that Annelyse really is the ultimate travel buddy. She is so even tempered and just goes with the flow of things. We work really well together. I am going to miss her because it is so hard to find people that you FULLY click with.
After an hour or so we were on the road again, walking :) We headed towards the harbor so we could cross over into Kowloon via the ferry. We, of course, had our Starbucks fix. We each tried an steamed almond soy milk latte. It was interesting :). We arrived at the ferry after walking for a bit and bought tickets. So cheap! It was only 2.30 Hong Kong Dollars which is not even 50 cents to travel across the way.
Once we arrived we asked for directions to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. On our way, we were distracted...We walked into this little mall and found all sorts of ivory! It was really interesting to see the intricate detail of the ivory from the carving to the detail of ivory painting. We stayed in there for a while because it was like a mini museum of ivory. After that lovely distraction we were off to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery via the train. Once again so cheap! :) After about 30 minutes we were at the Monastery. It is to be found on top of one of the beautiful hills surrounding Hong Kong. Annelyse took a cab to the Monastery because the station master said it was a 15 minute walk, we did not know where we were going, taxis are cheap, and we were some what short on time!
...30 seconds later we were at the Monastery. Okay like a minute, literally! It was so funny. The cab driver gave us the funniest look like you stupid foreigners its right there! But we didn't know and the cab only cost us $2! We took pictures all the way up to the top of the hill. Buddha was certainly happy! It was really neat to see all the different faces of Buddha :) We definitely had some fun with them. We were naming them all the way up and down. We even took our picture with a few of them! We stayed about an hour before we needed to head back down and take a train back to the Kowloon stop to go back over to Wanchai to meet Becky!
We took a cab from the harbor over to Becky's work. Hong Kong by taxi is fun! It is a great way to see the city for a great price! Hong Kong is chalk full of designer duds, lush accommodations, and gorgeous high rises! Traffic was pretty bad over to Becky's office. Here is when I want to tell you about Becky and her job. Becky and I had mutual friend at LFC and became friends when I was a freshman and she was a junior :) We were both really good friends with the Delta Chi boys at LFC. After she graduated from LFC she began working with Meyer Brown Law Firm in Chicago. Last year she was offered the same position in HK for 6 months and so she took it! She has been in Hong Kong since January and has really loved the change! She has the opportunity to extend her contract but I am not sure whether she will do that or not. SOOO....
We finally reached her building and met her co-workers! We went out for a fantastic 8 course + extra meal at the Peking Garden restaurant. It was by far our most expensive meal the entire trip and rightly so! We enjoyed all sorts of traditional Chinese food and even Peking Duck and Beggar's chicken! Beggar's chicken is a old tradition dating way back to...who knows when :) ANYWAY, it is wrapped in lotus leaves, dipped in mud and then baked! It is the most delicious chicken I think I have ever eaten. It was so tender and savory! :) It was fantastic!
After our very long, delicious dinner it was time to take the trolley up to an adorable lounge called Sparks! :) Hong Kong is very hilly :) The are we went to was built up on a hill. It was like stairs. There would be an opening then a road then go up further then an opening with another road. It was so quaint! We enjoyed delicious champagne cocktails, talked for a few hours, and enjoyed great company! It was another really late night but fortunately we slept in just a bit and Friday was a holiday for Hong Kong so Becky was luckily able to hang out with us all day long!! :)
Friday was quite the adventure again! We started the morning with showers and egg tarts! Egg tarts are officially my new savory/sweet treat! It is a pastry shell with a custard egg filling - amazing! Thank goodness we were walking all over the place! After the little savory treat it was on to The Flying Pan once more! :) I enjoyed eggs rancheros :) Something I definitely can not get in Japan! or well not as easily as I was able to get in Hong Kong!
It was time for our adventure up Victoria Peak! We stood in line and bought tickets to take the train up to the top of Victoria Peak. WOW! What a fantastic time we had! We started the day at Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. Becky had never been and Annelyse went last summer in D.C. I had made my way to a the wax museum in New York when I was a senior in high school! We had an absolutely blast taking pictures with the stars and playing dress up! We came to this one dancer and there was a room to put on tutus. I decided to wear the bright pink tutu through the entire exhibit! We took pictures with people like Brad and Angelina, Sumo Wrestlers, Tiger Woods, Obama, The Royal Family, Hitler, Picasso, Rembrandt, and my personal favorite, me punching George Bush in the face :) It was a nice feeling! We spent so much time in there just joking around and having fun! We even went through the SCREAM haunted house. It was really scary! We had to hold on to each other's shoulders because people and objects would jump out at us and they didn't want us grabbing at the people that jumped out at us! We were laughing and screaming the entire time! When we exited, David Beckham was standing there (in his sexy wax self) and I went in for a hug! hee hee. We finished the museum and bought a few pictures for fun!
It was then up to the observation deck! The day could not have been more beautiful! The wind was fantastic and the sun was out and bright! We had such a fun time with Becky! THANK YOU BECKY for showing us such a great time on Friday (this was only the afternoon and I am not even done!) After the museum and the peak we enjoyed ice cream in waffle cones, bought drinks, and were headed back down the mountain! I am really glad we were able to see the mountain! Once we were down off the mountain Becky took us to this really beautiful part of Hong Kong. It was probably my favorite part of Hong Kong because the views reminded me of Greece.
We took a bus over to Stanley Market area. The bus winded in and out and around the hills. There were mansions and gorgeous views of the water below. The sun was kissing the waves as the sun was beginning to set over the island of Hong Kong. Stanley has a really fantastic market and great restaurants! Once we arrived we started walking through the market place :) I made my first attempts at bargaining at this cute little silk shop where Annelyse decided to try on a traditional, silk dress :) which she ended up buying and I am so glad she did! I had been seeing silk robes around the day before and earlier in the day on Friday. I decided I wanted one and therefore looked in this little shop! I saw it and it was mine! It is a royal blue silk with gorgeous flowers and a peacock - pictures to come! I bargained down just a little bit. I felt a little strange doing it but it worked! :) Since I asked they just gave the price to Annelyse. So I ended up buying a gorgeous silk robe for $25!!! I am sure I still got ripped off but in America that robe would cost a ton! along with Annelye's dress!!
We continued to walk around the market and then walked along the water front. The sun had almost fully set when we walked out of the market place. We decided we needed to figure out dinner because it was almost 7:00 and we needed to back up time, etc. in terms of going back and going out with Becky to Felix Bar at the Peninsula Hotel. We found an adorable Western/Asian Fusion restaurant on the water front. I along with Becky enjoyed an incredible curry meal. Annelyse ordered the set menu with all sorts of goodies! The windows were open, a cool air creeped its way in, we had fantastic conversation, and a great time all together. Stanley market is a must go if you ever go to Hong Kong! I am glad that we had Becky because we would have definitely not gone to this keep sake because we would have not know about it!
After dinner we worked our way back up to the bus. After our very windy trip back to Wanchai it was time to get ready to go out and wake Annelyse up! It took a tiny bit of convincing but not much because I am really over getting people to go out. If you want to go you will go, if not you won't! It's that simple and not worth my energy of getting you to come or not! We'd love to have you but its your choice in the end of it all! In the end, after hardly any convincing we went out to the Felix Bar. Now, John had told me this bar was a must go! The bar was nice but not the best. He said the bathrooms were incredible. However, they are different from the girls. He didn't know that but based on his description and what I experienced they are most definitely different! It was still fun to go to the #1 bar in Hong Kong! After we enjoyed our cocktails we went back to Wanchai and walked around in "college" central. It seemed like a row of bars you'd find in a college town. We each had one more drink and then called it a day! Back to Becky's place we went to then sleep and wake up to a new experience!
On Saturday morning, we packed and took our stuff to this really neat check in service. It is a service in the center of town that takes your luggage for you to the airport. It is a real check-in counter just doesn't have the plane there. It is so you do not have to lug your baggage everywhere. Once we had our luggage squared away it was off to a breakfast/brunch/lunch of dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Chinese way of eating. Dim sum consists of different entrees that are served on carts that come around the restaurant. The ladies offer different things from rice, to soup, to chicken, to pork, and little dough stuffed pastries filled with meat! It was a really fun experience and so China! It was my first time with anything like this. Annelyse had experineced this before back in the states. It was an fantastic way to finish our time in Hong Kong with Becky.
I'd definitely go back to Hong Kong especially since you do not need a visa! :) It was then off to the airport via the train and on our way to our next CRAZY adventure in Shanghai! Shanghai we were on our own :) I have another university friend in Shanghai but things did not work out to see him.
Stay tuned, Shanghai is up next!!
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