Time in Hong Kong

Well, I returned from a 4 day trip to Hong Kong last week (for visa purposes), so I thought I would share with you about my experience while I was there.

My time was pretty relaxing and included exploring the city and eating some great Western food.  My friend Erica and I got checked into our hostel Saturday afternoon and then went off to find Outback Steakhouse for dinner (which was great).  We walked down to Victoria Bay on our way back to the hostel and completed the evening with a stop at 7-Eleven.  Side note:  I have to say that my time in Hong Kong reminded me a lot of Florida with 7-Elevens and Circle K everywhere and the smell of the bay - it actually made me miss FL and want to go out on a boat this summer while I am home.

(Victoria Bay at night)

Sunday was another beautifully sunny and clear day (unlike most days in Xi'an) and we headed off to club at one of the tallest buildings in the financial district of Hong Kong.  We had a great experience there and enjoyed the Easter celebration of the risen One.  Afterwards we were invited to join everyone in an Italian themed pot luck lunch.  One of the club members is originally from Italy, so he actually made many of the dishes, which were excellent.  Afterwards Erica and I headed over to the Peak Tram, which takes you to the top of the highest peak on Hong Kong.  Since it was a holiday and everyone had the same idea, it would have been a 2 hour wait.  We decided that we would prefer to come back the next day and instead went to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens just up the road, and that was free admission.  And on that night we decided to eat at Burger King after failing to find a Mexican restaurant.

On Monday we headed back to the Peak Tram and were in line for only 10 minutes before getting on the tram to the top.  Once at the top we went out on the the observatory deck and looked at all of Hong Kong down below - it was a pretty cool sight.  Afterwards we headed inside to Pacific Coffee (ranked #1 in Hong Kong 7 years in a row) and had coffee and a great Greek salad for lunch.  After awhile we left there and headed back to walk around in the Central district of Hong Kong, where we found a park that we walked through and explored for a little bit. 

(Peak Tram)

(View from Peak Observatory)

And on Tuesday it was time to head back to the airport to fly back to Xi'an.  So, most of this day for me was spent checking out of the hostel and getting on a bus for an hour to the Hong Kong airport and then just hanging out at a Pacific Coffee before boarding my flight.

I definitely enjoyed my brief time in Hong Kong.  It is definitely an easy place to get around and things are in Chinese (mostly Cantonese, though many people speak Mandarin too) and English.  The subway system is amazing and the Star Ferry also makes it easy to get from the Kowloon region to Wan Chai or Central District region in 7 minutes or less.