Hongkong

So much has happened in the last few days. We got on a bus for the airport at 6:30am. It was quite cold. We got to Hongkong about 2:30, and got a ride to our hotel in Kowloon, which is the peninsula side of Hongkong. Hongkong is a lot like Seoul. It is busy, crowded, full of highrises, smog, and signs you can't read. Unlike Seoul, there are also lots of signs you can read, and they reach out into the street to grab your attention, just like their owners. I can't tell you how many tailors tried to sell Chris a suit, or a Rolex. Within an hour of checking into the hotel, I was in the spa having a massage. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But I was sore for three days afterwards. Watch out for the Chinese accupressure massage. Our room was, well, adequate. There was no dresser and no room for one. But we had a bed, nightstand, desk and 2 chairs. The hotel boasted of a workout room on the 8th floor. But it was just a regular hotel room with 4 exercise machines and no furniture. Anyway, we weren't there for the room.
We walked outside and found ourselves a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant where we each had an entree and shared an order of dim sum. The next morning we had a hotel breakfast (included) and walked to the fabric market. It was warm. Many were closed but we kept walking around waiting for them to open. I was able to buy fabric from several countries for charm squares, and a bunch of chinese silk brocades. . We also visited the jade market, but it was too overwhelming for me so we didn't stay long. We bought a bag of cashews for $32 a pound.
Sounds expensive until you know that it takes 7 Hongkong dollars to equal one U.S. dollar. We walked back through a nice park. We sat for a few minutes here and there on the benches. They had an aviary, and a pond with turtles and flamingoes When we got back to the hotel, we were so tired of walking that we took a nap. Then we got dressed for the night tour. We boarded a tour bus that took us to the harbor for a cruise (all the alcohol you can drink, wasted on us). That was chilly. But the skyline was beautiful. Then we went through the mountain to another harbor. This one had a floating restaurant. We ate dinner on the 3rd floor. After that we were taken up the mountain to see the city from a different view point. We got back after 10pm and went straight to bed.
** to be continued **