I won't sugar coat or elaborate on this too much, but after much drama/hassle/hell we both got our f'ing Chinese visas and successfully made our way to Hong Kong and ultimately mainland China. Enough said. We arrived early in Hong Kong to see the city for a couple days before meeting up with the tour group that we were going to be traveling with in China with for the next three weeks... Hong Kong is awesome - it is easy to see how it can be described as the city where the East meets the West. It is very cosmopolitan and has a big city feel with a landscape complete trees, beaches on the sea, a harbor, and stunning architecture all around. Hong Kong has the world's largest number of skyscrapers: 7,558. The urban areas are small and that is why there is such a tall skyline in the city. We stayed with my friend Audrey (shout out and big thank you) in HK so we had a local to show us the town with is a huge plus. The city is filled with expats as we soon discovered for ourselves out on the first ngith SOHO where it seemed everyone we met was from somewhere other than China. Honestly, a nice change of pace from the last couple months being able to just blend in.
The next day was an absolutley beautiful day to see the city. We started off at the famous Victoria Peak where you can take a tram to the top of the peak that over looks the city. From the top you get an amazing look at the cities modern architecture and views of the harbor front to the steep hills of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Truly impressive. From there we grabbed some sushi lunch (ahhh it had been so long). We walked along Hollywood Road in SOHO and checked out a few temples in the area. We took a pretty hairy bus ride (Audrey was definitely nervous) to Stanley Market. Along the way we saw picturesque views of the South China Sea and the beaches. Stanley Market is the best market in HK to find anything you are looking for: Chinese silk bags or jewelry cases, jade jewelry, Chinese paintings, and any knock-off good you could want. There are actually many markets like this throughout China so don't spend all your money in one market/city. That night, on the way to meet up with our tour group at the hotel, we took the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor to Kowloon.
At the hotel we met up with the much anticipated group we were going to be traveling with for the next three weeks. When we walked in there were only three people there, our tour guide and another couple - Charlie and Holly. Turns out that was the whole group, just the four of us and Lilian our tour guide. Not going to lie, we were a little shocked at first that the group wasn't bigger, but it turns out that the four of us couldn't have gotten along any better. It was an awesome little team of Charlie's Angels. Charlie and Holly work in Hawaii on the Norwegian Cruise Line, which is where they met. The just got married and this China tour was their honeymoon... And they got to spend it with us. I know, I know. We were a big happy family for the next three weeks and now Mary and I can say we have gone on our first honeymoon. On our last day in HK we wandered around Kowloon Island. Taking in the outdoor markets, jade street, and a temple in the area. Then it was off to get some use out of our China visa and hit mainland China.
After one of our many overnight trains in China we arrived in the little town of Yangshuo. This town is surrounded by karst peaks and the Li River (represented on the 20 yuan bill). The town consists of just a few streets filled with small shops, an outdoor market, and restaurants. The town is known for its beer fish which we got a taste of - a light fish cooked with lots of veggies, chilies and yes, beer. We also fell in love with the eggplant dishes (even Charlie) and got a lot of it while in China. We tried our hand at a cooking school one night, right on the Li River. We cooked stir fried eggplant, cashew chicken, steamed tofu balls, and beer fish. And not to brag but all the dishes turned out pretty awesome. We spent a day bike riding and rode out to Moon Palace and hiked up to the top of the huge rock with a giant hole in the middle of it. On our last day there it was unfortunately pouring rain which ruined our attempts to take a ferry ride on the Li River. Bummer, but we were able to see all of the city in our three days there. After that it was another overnight train to...
The next day was an absolutley beautiful day to see the city. We started off at the famous Victoria Peak where you can take a tram to the top of the peak that over looks the city. From the top you get an amazing look at the cities modern architecture and views of the harbor front to the steep hills of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Truly impressive. From there we grabbed some sushi lunch (ahhh it had been so long). We walked along Hollywood Road in SOHO and checked out a few temples in the area. We took a pretty hairy bus ride (Audrey was definitely nervous) to Stanley Market. Along the way we saw picturesque views of the South China Sea and the beaches. Stanley Market is the best market in HK to find anything you are looking for: Chinese silk bags or jewelry cases, jade jewelry, Chinese paintings, and any knock-off good you could want. There are actually many markets like this throughout China so don't spend all your money in one market/city. That night, on the way to meet up with our tour group at the hotel, we took the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor to Kowloon.
At the hotel we met up with the much anticipated group we were going to be traveling with for the next three weeks. When we walked in there were only three people there, our tour guide and another couple - Charlie and Holly. Turns out that was the whole group, just the four of us and Lilian our tour guide. Not going to lie, we were a little shocked at first that the group wasn't bigger, but it turns out that the four of us couldn't have gotten along any better. It was an awesome little team of Charlie's Angels. Charlie and Holly work in Hawaii on the Norwegian Cruise Line, which is where they met. The just got married and this China tour was their honeymoon... And they got to spend it with us. I know, I know. We were a big happy family for the next three weeks and now Mary and I can say we have gone on our first honeymoon. On our last day in HK we wandered around Kowloon Island. Taking in the outdoor markets, jade street, and a temple in the area. Then it was off to get some use out of our China visa and hit mainland China.
After one of our many overnight trains in China we arrived in the little town of Yangshuo. This town is surrounded by karst peaks and the Li River (represented on the 20 yuan bill). The town consists of just a few streets filled with small shops, an outdoor market, and restaurants. The town is known for its beer fish which we got a taste of - a light fish cooked with lots of veggies, chilies and yes, beer. We also fell in love with the eggplant dishes (even Charlie) and got a lot of it while in China. We tried our hand at a cooking school one night, right on the Li River. We cooked stir fried eggplant, cashew chicken, steamed tofu balls, and beer fish. And not to brag but all the dishes turned out pretty awesome. We spent a day bike riding and rode out to Moon Palace and hiked up to the top of the huge rock with a giant hole in the middle of it. On our last day there it was unfortunately pouring rain which ruined our attempts to take a ferry ride on the Li River. Bummer, but we were able to see all of the city in our three days there. After that it was another overnight train to...
2 comments:
Love the rock shot.
Love, Dad
i'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next post!
-ghoul
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