Here We Come Hong Kong!

November 28, 2018

Up at 5:30 and out the door by 5:45.  No one wanted to leave our wonderful home.  It was too short of a stay and too early of a morning.  Andy and Hudson each had their own tatami room.  I was able to get a load of wash done, but no dryer.  We had everything hanging up in the bathroom and cranked up the heat.  We got lucky and it all dried in time. A 10 minute walk to the train station for a 6:15 train. It is 1.5 hours  to the Osaka airport. Off on Cathay Pacific for the next 4 hours bound for Hong Kong! Cathay Pacific was definitely not as good as ANA. ANA really set the bar high.
Landed, through customs pretty quickly.  They were very efficient.  Jumped in a cab and went to a restaurant called Tim Ho Wan, it was supposed to be better than Din Tai Fung.  Not!  The bbq pork buns were amazing though.  Another cab and off to our amazing hotel. Prince Hotel.  Andy thought at this point in the trip it would be a really nice break to have a beautiful 5 star hotel in the heart of Kowloon.  It was on the street that has every possible expensive brand.  We dropped our bags and headed for the night market.  Lots of stuff/junk and lots of haggling to be had.  Kids wanted some knock off air buds and Beats.  Hudson really wanted a special Rubik's cube too. Mission accomplished! Took the Star Ferry for approx. 7 minutes  to Central port on Hong Kong Island.   The skyline is all that and more.  It really is the most beautiful skyline we have seen.  Grabbed the 8:00 ferry back because that is when the light show starts on the skyline.  It was a nice show, but not amazing.  I think maybe I hyped it up too much in my head.  Still the skyline alone is stunning.  Back on the Kowloon side again. Because  the room is once again small, really just for two people.  Andy booked another Air BNB in an area called Discovery Bay.  You can only get to it by ferry or a bus that is just for the community.  It is an expat community.  Signs are in english.  Andy and Saylor got back on another ferry and headed to the Airbnb place for the night and Hudson and I grabbed a cab and hit our hotel.

November 29, 2018

Up in the morning Hudson and I checked out of the hotel and left the family's luggage with the hotel.  We walked to the ferry and took it over the Hong Kong Island again where we met up with Andy and Saylor.  Jumped in a cab and we to the Flying Pan restaurant.  We were all craving an english style breakfast.  It feels like forever since we have had eggs for breakfast. We pretty much inhaled everything.  It is really interesting how this side was so different.  The old clashed with the new.  One street would be very old Hong Kong vibe and the next would be new and modern.

Took a ferry to Lamma Island.  It is definitely a laid back area. A great escape from all of the cities we have been in.  A few restaurants and a couple of shops.  Andy told us there an easy 2.4k to the other side.  All tired, a bit hungry  and warm we all still agreed to go.  1/3 of the way in there is a swimming beach. All of us warm so it seemed like a good idea to dip our feet in for a bit.  Kids found some fun sea creatures.  As we were leaving we saw a saw to stay away from the shark net - it helps to keep them away from the swimmers. Another 20 minutes of hiking, it is getting hot and steep as we need to make it over the hill to the fishing village and the kids and I start saying how this feels much longer than 2.4k.  Andy then says- No, 2.4 miles.  Thanks Honey- if we had know we may not have gone! Jury is still out if the miscommunication is from being tired or sneaky. :-)    The trail was nicely maintained and had some really beautiful views , but it was hot. So many beautiful butterflies! Butterflies of every color! Walked through a number of restaurants along the water.  They all had lots of fishing tanks filled with fish and seafood so it was easy to pick what you wanted to eat. Decided on Fu Kee Seafood. Had a great table right along the water. A big lazy susan in the middle of the table that we managed to fill up with fish, shrimp, squid and house noodles.  Headed back by ferry to Central, then another ferry to Kowloon.

Grabbed our bags, a taxi and off to our Airbnb. We drove by the gates of Hong Kong Disney.  Kids were excited to at least see that.  Got to our place, dropped the luggage and took a bus to the dinning area of the community.  Lots of great places to choose from with tables set up outside by the water.  We were able to grab some groceries for breakfast.  First time to get to make a real home cooked meal. Everyone is excited for morning.

 Final thoughts on Hong Kong... is a city is decorated in beautiful Christmas lights and garland. Every high end store you could want and every knock off item to match. The people are more aggressive here. Not as aware of others around them and not nearly as spotless as Japan. The food and taxis are a lot cheaper.  We got lucky once again and the weather was beautiful. Loved the junk boats on the water. Especially, with the jaw dropping skyline in the background.