Merry Christmas from Hong Kong

It is Christmas morning in Hong Kong! Merry Christmas to friends and family in the USA, who are still celebrating Christmas Eve! I miss you!

The Murals of Hong Kong

One of the activities that I have enjoyed while being in Hong Kong is viewing and taking photos of murals. I got the idea of photographing city murals from my Asheville N.C. friend Allen, who has taken amazing pictures of the murals there. I have been surprised by the lovely and creative murals here in Hong Kong. Many of these are images of people. These are sometimes colorful, and others are done simply in black and white. The detail in some of these images reminds one of a fine painting. But there are cartoon murals as well as abstracts. How fun it is to discover these treasures in some unexpected spots!

A Meal to Remember in Hong Kong: Mott 32

Several nights ago,  Rich and I were fortunate enough to dine at Mott 32, one of the most highly rated restaurants in Hong Kong. This special treat came about because Rich’s sons, Tash and Morgan, gave us a dinner there for a birthday gift for Rich. Mott 32 is a Chinese restaurant with a large and interesting menu. We decided on Peking Duck, a specialty of the house. One has to notify the staff of this when the reservation is made, so enough time can be given to cook the duck.

Our meal began with beer for Rich, and a fabulous cocktail for me. This place is known for cocktails, and this one, called Old Shanghai, did not disappoint! In fact, I had two of them. The duck was perfectly prepared. To accompany this, we had fresh cucumbers in garlic sauce, succulent eggplant,  and asparagus with water chestnuts. The vegetables were amazing, almost as good as the duck! We ended with a guava custard cake. This was a once in a lifetime experience, with perfect service to go with the meal. Thanks, Tash and Morgan, for letting us enjoy truly world class dining.

Hong Kong: A Walk in the Park

Today is a gorgeous day in Hong Kong, with mild temperature and deep blue skies. We decided to take a walk in Hong Kong Park and the Zoological and Botanial Gardens. We have walked the streets of this city every day, surrounded by vertical buildings and street markets. Today we experienced one of the green parts of the city. We have been to Hong Kong twice before, but had never been to Hong Kong Park. What a pleasant surprise to discover beautifully landscaped gardens, creative water features, and even turtles! The park is a perfect strolling garden, once you get past the numerous steps that characterize Hong Kong. Apparently, the park is also a popular activity for school childrens’ field trips, as there were several groups of them. Following this, we went to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens. They were also as lovely as remembered from our previous visit. There are also birds, including flamingos and ibis. We were impressed by both green spaces and may return again on 

another sunny day!

Hong Kong: Living like a Local

When we made the decision to stay in Hong Kong for an extended time, one of our goals of the trip was to experience the city as a local would. This meant doing activities like walking daily, using the trains, eating at restaurants frequented by locals, and continuing our interests that we already enjoy in the USA, such as hiking for Rich, and participating in group classes at a fitness center, like I do.

When we arrived here almost a week ago, I willl admit being overwhelmed by the idea of getting to a gym every day without getting totally lost.  For that matter, I wasn’t sure I could walk two blocks outside of our building and make it back! But we have since ventured out every day, I can say that I feel comfortable walking to various places, including the fitness center that we joined.

Yesterday, we worked out at the gym, called Fitness First, for the first time. This is about an 8-10 minute walk from our apartment. I see everything from the usual tall modern buildings to street markets and food stands on the way. And I can’t believe the hills! Hong Kong has more hills than I remember from our previous visits. The downtown hills in Asheville seem small in comparison. So yesterday, by the tine I got to my dance and yoga classes, I had already had a workout!

The facility is nice and  and located in a modern building. Rich noticed the amazing views out the windows as he was doing his weight workout. As for me, I did a dance class that was new to me called Body Jam. (Have you heard of that, Shellie, Eleanor, or Natalie??) It had a little hip hop, and movements that were strange to me, But I got through it, then followed it with a good yoga class. 

So I am going back to the gym today to do Zumba (yay), while Rich hikes with his meetup group. We are starting to feel like we live here!

Hong Kong: Walk to the Peak

On our last trip to Hong Kong, we took the tram up to the Peak, which is the highest hill on Hong Kong island. Yesterday we decided to walk to the Peak and back. We started from the Central district, where we are staying, where we took the “moving escalator” to the point where we started our walk. We took the city route, where we were surrounded by the usual vertical buildings for which Hong Kong is known. Then we got on a paved path that is open only to walkers. Being “hill experienced” walkers from Asheville, NC, we thought that this walk would be a cinch. Wow, were we surprised! Our elevation gain was about 1200 feet, and was very steep most of the way.

Although we took some breaks along the way, we made it! Lots Hong Kong natives do the Peak as a fitness walk. Along the way, we saw many walkers, and a friendly Hong Kong couple offered to take our photo. There are great views all the way to the top of the Peak. At the top, there are lots of shops and restaurants, as well as Christmas decorations. When we returned to the bottom (which was considerably easier because it was downhill), we stopped at the Botanical and Zoological gardens and had a peaceful rest. And we loved the orangutan statues with Santa hats. It was an enjoyable walk,but I was wiped out when we returned to our apartment.

The Magic of Hong Kong

Well, we are here! After 39 hours of travel that included a 10 hour layover in Zurich, we made it to Hong Kong! This is out third trip to Hong Kong, and, at a month, will be our longest. I have said that Hong Kong is my favorite city in the world of the places that I have traveled. It is certainly not an easy trip, and I have wondered if my decision to make an extended trip here would be worth it. We decided to stop in Zurich on the way, as it would give us a chance to walk around a bit, see a little of Zurich, and break up the plane trip. I traveled to Zurich many years ago, but had never been to the Christmas market. This is a lovely area indoors with numerous vendor stalls, decorations, and restaurants. What a great way to spend some time on our layover before getting on an almost 12 hour plane trip to Hong Kong. And Rich had a good time trying on a flashy jackets in downtown Zurich. I am looking forward to his up and coming appearance with Tyra on America’s Top Model!

We were elated to finally get to Hong Kong. We love our apartment in the Central District of the city,
which is convenient to numerous restaurants, bars, and shops. In addition, it has the most spectacular views that one can imagine, both from our living room and bedroom windows, and from our private rooftop terrace on the 36th floor. We managed today to go grocery shopping, visit fitness centers to decide which we might join during our stay here, do some shopping at the mall, enjoy a drink on our outdoor terrace, and have pho at a restaurant within a short walking distance from our apartment.

So far, I can stay that I am still in love with this city. Yes, there are hundreds of people walking in narrow spaces, a lot of walking with steep hills, buses, cars, and crowded trains. So - what’s not to love?? It is relatively easy to visit for and Asian city, as most people speak at least a little English, since Hong Kong was a British colony until the Chinese took over 20 years ago. I think of Hong Kong as a marriage between the East and West, mixing the best of both. By far my favorite aspect of Hong Kong is its beauty, particularly at night. With the verticality and spectacular lights, the bay, and the mountains, Hong Kong is hard to match. I look forward to learning more about this amazing place. Stay tuned! By the way, so far there have been no squat toilets, I am happy to report!

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