So how does an adventure in Hong Kong sound? Good? Well this one is for you! If any of you others don't care, then you can just go away while the rest of us enjoy this. Ha!
Let's first take a look at where Hong Kong is.......
You have to look closely for it on the southeast edge of China by Macau, below Taipei, Taiwan.
Let' look closer.......
The pictures this week are from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon as well as Victoria. Let's go check it out!.......
The first thing we need to do is decide on how we are going to get around Hong Kong. Let's get in a taxi.
It looks like the taxis here are rather old fashioned just like in Tokyo.
Well lookie here. These guys think that they are on the "right" side of driving like the Japanese and the British. Hmmm. I wonder why. Maybe it is because Great Britain owned them for so long. Really? Let's find out.
Hong Kong (香港, see Name section), alternatively known by its initials H.K., is a special administrative region of China situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea.[8] The city is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of over seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.[9] Hong Kong's population is 93.6% ethnic Chinese and 6.4% from other groups.[4]Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originate mainly from the neighbouring Canton (now Guangdong) province,[10] from which many of them fled to escape wars and Communist rule in China from the 1930s to the 1960s.[11][12][13][14]
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). The Hong Kong Island was first ceded to the UK in perpetuity, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories was put under lease in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War (1941–45), after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty.[15][16]The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era.[17]The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West",[18] and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England[19] until reforms implemented in 2009.[20]
On 1 July 1997, Hong Kong became the first Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, under the principle of "one country, two systems" (the other, Macau, attained that status in December 1999). It has a different political system from mainland China.[21] Hong Kong's independent judiciary functions under the common law framework.[22][23] Hong Kong Basic Law, its constitutional document, which stipulates that Hong Kong shall have a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign relations and military defence, governs its political system.[24][25] Although it has a burgeoning multi-party system, a small-circle electorate controls half of its legislature. The head of the government, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, is chosen by an Election Committee of 400 to 1,200 members, a situation that will be in effect during the first 20 years of Chinese rule.[26][27][28]
Hong Kong is a world city. It is one of the Alpha+ cities. Also, a Time Magazine article in 2008 coined the phrase "Nylonkong", which referred to New York City, London and Hong Kong, that these three cities form a global network that facilitates the global economy. As Hong Kong ranks the third most important leading international financial centre, after London and New York City, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world.[29] The lack of space caused demand for denser constructions, which developed the city to a centre for modern architecture and the world's most vertical city.[30][31] Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.[5] The dense space also led to a highly developed transportation network with the public transport travelling rate exceeding 90 percent,[32]the highest in the world.[33] Hong Kong has numerous high international rankings in various aspects. For instance, its economic freedom, financial and economic competitiveness,[34] quality of life, corruption perception,[35] Human Development Index are all ranked highly. According to estimates from both UN and WHO, Hong Kong had the longest life expectancy of any region in the world in 2012.[36]
Now that we know a little more about Hong Kong, let's get on with the pictures.....................
Now that we know why the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, why do we have to watch t.v. on the left side of the car? I would much rather watch outside to see where we are and what is going on.
(I won't mention that the Japanese take much more pride in the cleanliness of their taxis, and I won't show you a picture of the interior of the Hong Kong taxi......mainly because it is too dark.)
Here we have a trail of apartment buildings. Think about living in one of those. I wonder how long it takes someone from the top floor to get to the ground floor? The buildings go up and up and up in Hong Kong.
We have billboards that dress the sides of many buildings. These just make me want to jump out of the car and run into the store to buy these.........So what are we advertising?
This apartment building isn't quite as tall as many others. Notice the scaffolding up toward the top of the building made out of bamboo. Cool! They must be remodeling. On the left side of the building in the shadow, you can see things hanging out to dry.
Here is a camera shot from a bridge. We have train tracks in the middle of the road, double decker buses, taxis, delivery trucks, a cement truck, and people. I wonder if the sun ever hits the ground between these building?
If I were the manager of this place, I might request a paint job from the owners......
This tall building will never need a paint job, but the short building in front of it could use a new coat of paint. That pink isn't too becoming to itself!
Tiffany and Company includes itself in the variety of buildings.
Views from our room.
We stayed right next to Times Square shopping mall. Four women next to a shopping mall? Need you ask anything else when the "we" you are talking about is four women?
Looking out our window.
Let's go out for a walk.
These sidewalks are made from bricks.
I highly recommend to leave your heals at home. But don't forget your......
helmets!
Walking under this bamboo scaffolding could be dangerous!
Let's talk about this rail.
Evidently this barricade is a safety precaution which prevents you from jaywalking, getting hit by a bus if it or you choose to trade places, or catching a taxi. Did I say catching a taxi? Yes, I did. It is a joke to catch a taxi around here. You have to go find a taxi cue or forget it. Empty taxis drive right by you if you are not in line at a cue. If you can't find a cue, or if there are double yellow lines between the sidewalk and the road and there is no guard rail, then you can just forget about flagging down a cab. About 90% of the roads in the city are not very conducive to those of us who want to take some weight off of our aching feet. Really? Gotta love Tokyo for the ease of catching a cab!
The Chinese have figured it out! Let's put animal heads on our mannequins or.......
let's have no heads at all!
You can find any high end store that you want in Hong Kong.
Or any store that you would find in most any shopping mall in the U.S.
Who says that pianos have to be only black? Where were these when Elton John was big?
You not only can find extremely expensive, beautiful stores, but you can find......
Uhhhh......Duck, chicken, or ?????? anyone?
I'm not sure what Full Da Pharmacy means. A pharmacy that is full? Full of what? Your guess is as good as mine.
How about a snack? It is served with plain rice, congee. soup, and hot tea. Maybe I should grab a few and bring them home.....???? They're already cooked so I shouldn't be worried about carrying raw meat across the border.?.?.?
These are probably really good. Maybe I'll get some of this instead of the meat. Too bad there is so much moisture in the air. It blurs the glass.
Here's a shop with nuts and other mysterious delectables. I sure hope no one spits in those open bins.
Dried mushrooms and who knows what else. If any of you know what these are, let me know.
The neighborhood Chinese herb shop.
There just isn't enough jewelry in this country.
In order for the foreigners to buy that jewelry, they need money. Money exchanges are everywhere!
More gold and jewels.
You can even put a down payment on something!
If jewelry isn't your gig, buy a Porsche! If the real one is too expensive, buy one of those little ones.
Shopping whips up a real appetite! Grab one of these. Check out the pigs feet. Do they wash those?
The poultry shop is next door to the pork shop so pick up some of each.
No, these pictures are not from National Geographic, I was really there.
This shop obviously doesn't have a large customer base.
Let's try and figure out what these are. We have meat on skewers, but what is this stuff that looks like connected balls? Maybe it is a kind of bun to go over the meat balls?
Gotta love the outdoor night markets.
Anyone need a backpack or a stuffed animal?
Maybe we should pop in and see Stephen Shum for a few minutes!
It's pretty obvious that one of these artists think that people have big mouths.
I noticed a difference between the night markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Lights. Yes, lights. In Taiwan, they had lots of strings of lights overhead. Not in Hong Kong.
I was dying to buy at least 12 of these beautiful trinkets..... Especially the skull and bones with the pearl in it's mouth for my bathroom shelf! The rose, mice, bunnies, pigs, and cows could be lovely kitchen decor. Right? Wrong.......
Maybe these could be used to hang on a baby's car seat for her to play with. No? Okay, they are really good luck charms.
Really? And what is this doll for?
I laughed and laughed when I saw this doll. They must be mocking themselves because everyone in Asia does the peace sign when taking pictures! Everyone!
When I go back to Hong Kong again, I would be happy to pick any of these fat Buddhas up for you.
Does this mean that when the tailor is sewing he sings while he eats wings?
Marianne? Let's check out this place.....
Okay, this is the real stuff. Lots of foreigners come in here for high quality, inexpensive jewelry.
Check out the U.S. Embassy......
on our way to Victoria Peak.
We rode a cable car up to the top of Victoria Peak.
Inside of the cable car. (Sorry it's rather blurry!)
Soft, comfy cushiony seats are awaiting us. Uhhh, no, not really. But they are original!
This picture does not show the steepness of this cable car. Is that a hitchhiker in red on the side of the track? Sorry, we don't make stops. He'll have to grab on as we go by, or maybe not......
We arrived at Victoria Peak, but we still had to go up further to the lookout point.
Well, here it is. The view of Hong Kong. Pretty spectacular.
The building to the left was a very nice, high-class hotel many years ago. I'm not sure if it is still considered to be a nice hotel. How would you like to have a house perched up on this hillside? The view is great, but getting to it is rather difficult......
We ate at Bubba Gump's while we were there.
This is a large mechanical box that has been painted like buildings on a street with a cable car beside it. Pretty clever to hide some big, annoying mechanical box in the middle of a public walkway!
Let's now go to Stanley Market where you can buy just about anything for cheap.
Beautiful flowers, fruits, and vegetables are part of the shopping adventure, but NO PHOTOGRAPHS! (I didn't see that sign until after I took the picture. Oops.) I'm still wondering why no photos. It must be an Asian thing.
We are in this fabric store and as we are walking around checking out things we find something other than fabric on the shelf.......
A cat! Yes, a cat curled up sleeping. Is that cat for sale, or is the table runner under it for sale, or neither? I'm not quite sure, but it was funny to see it.
The street is lined with shops.
kids things,
cashmere sweaters, silk and cashmere scarves, etc.,
art shops,
clothing,
and fruit stands.
It started to rain, so down from the roof came the plastic to cover all of the goods.
Anyone up for a drink of coconut water?
This tree was holding on to this cliff for dear life. Pretty cool.
Pictures of the waterfront.......
If you feel inclined, you can worship on the dock.
Anyone up for a fishing trip?
2014 is the year of the horse.
Beyond the rail and the wall is a large cemetery on the mountainside.
Let's now check out some of the food.
We went to a delicious Italian restaurant called Cecconi's. We were trying to decide if this was a restaurant or an art gallery! This is our first course, a rare beef, arugula, parmesan cheese salad;
shrimp and crab perfection;
date wrapped, coated deliciousness;
freshly made cheese ravioli and;
the most incredible bananas foster ever. I know, I know. It doesn't look that good, but the lighting was bad. It was absolutely delicious!
Here we are: Michelle Ricks, me, Mary Murray, and Neisha Gilbert.
We all have smiling faces after the fabulous meal.
Now, let's go on to the next night's meal. Chinese. Hmmmm....
Boiled peanuts with tiny, spicy fish and some kind of garlic something.
Cooked tofu with a salt sauce. I think the Japanese do a much better job with their cooked tofu.
This is beef and bok choy. Good, but again, I think the Japanese can out-do the Chinese at their own cuisine.
Noodles. We have a funny story about this dish. When we finished our meal, the waiter and waitress took away many of our plates and utensils and brought us fresh fruit for our dessert. As we are waiting for our check, they brought these noodles and said that we ordered them and we had to eat them. Really? They already gave us dessert and took away many of our place settings and chopsticks. Well, I told the guy that I needed chopsticks and he was rather annoyed so he just threw the chopsticks that he was using on my plate. We all had to laugh at this funny incident. You really would have had to have been there to see the humor.
Here's the flustered waiter dishing us up. So funny! Notice the mango dessert sitting on the table to the right.
Neisha and Michelle
Mary and me.
The purpose of my trip was to attend an annual women's conference at our church sponsored by a group called Associated Sisters in Asia. It was so wonderful to have English speaking women from all over Asia attend this meeting where they were given relief as well as encouragement to press forward with living in a foreign country. Many of these women live in such remote areas that they only see each other at this conference. The women who attended are presently living in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Kuala Lumpur, Thailand, and Japan.
Beautiful stained glass windows in the chapel.
Many of these women and their husbands are the big "shakers and movers" in Asia. Great, powerful women.
These are two of the women who were on the planning committee. Katie Hoskin from Beijing, China and Carrie Chiles from Taipei, Taiwan. Again....sorry it's rather blurry.
Japan well represented by: me, Caroline Robison, Corina Clark, Neisha Gilbert, Michelle Ricks, and Mary Murray.
Anna Nash and I. Anna's husband and my husband work for the same company, but they live in China. It was so nice to meet her.
When Kent and I were in Taiwan, we met this wonderful woman by the name of Linda who told me about this conference. I was so grateful to her for telling me about it.
Yes, the meeting was over and we were trying to hale a taxi, but no luck!! Ha! We were standing in front of our beautiful church in Hong Kong.
This is a side view of the church without seeing the upper floors. It is called the Wan Chai building which is located in the heart of the city.
It is so wonderful to be a part of a great organization that is all over the world. You are never alone wherever you may live. Love it!!
Love to each of you!
Mom and Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
Uncle Kent and Grandma Barb
Kent and Barb
Once again, another fascinating adventure! Better than the National Geographic! Thank you so much Barb... What a wonderful way to start each week.
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Patricks day! I just hope you are not eating too crazy of "green" things today!! ( actually, I can only imagine!!) (:
So fun!! So if it's the same thing Carl and I have had before, the bread stuff that looks like "connected balls" ha ha is kind of like a waffle type thing. We had it in San Francisco in China town...it's like a sweet really moist soft desserty type thing ha ha. All of your food looked AMAZING!!!
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