More about Hong Kong

The first day back from the short break is over and done, and considering the circumstances, the day went well. Now, Rachel is out shopping (I think she's getting a Christmas tree....oh my!) and Colby is happy to have someone to play with at night (though as I blog he is sad to be tied up).

But let's get to it. Hong Kong.

We were there for a teacher conference, which was located at the new campus of a Christian international school in town. The school was breathtaking. As a teacher, create a wishlist of every single thing you would possibly want in a school - and they've probably got it. It was hard not to get a little jealous, I must admit...

The conference had its ups and downs, but there were some notable speakers at the large group sessions - including Dr. Gary Chapman, the author of the "Love Languages" books. Hearing from him and some of the other authors was certainly uplifting.

Outside of that, here's some highlights:

Our hotel was right along one of the many waterways that circles the islands of Hong Kong. Every time we left the hotel, we were able to walk along the river to go to eat, to shop, and to get to the train.
The hotel itself was quality, but we didn't really spend too much time there (other than the afternoon nap I practically had to FORCE Rachel to take). The only remarkable thing was that we got a room with 2 beds - which Rachel immediately pushed together. We slept. We left. We returned, to find the beds split up. Rachel pushes them together again. We slept. We left. We returned again to find them yet again split. If I was nice, I would have helped - but I guess I derive too much pleasure from watching my wife work so hard :)

The thing we did the most of on this trip was walk. A lot. All over the city. My feet are still tired! We saw a lot of sites downtown, including the building from Batman: Dark Knight where Batman got the Asian guy.

Usually the walking was either to go eat (we had yummy Japanese, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Italian, and American food - thanks to Bubba Gump Shrimp for the last one!) or to go shopping. Shopping was a bit of a chore at times, because finding the right spot was tough. Hong Kong is known for its alleys and alleys of cheap knockoff purses and watches and other trinkets.

Unfortunately, we have lost our taste for the uber-low quality of these cheap wares. On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of high-end European boutiques that we couldn't dream of affording. What we needed was right in between - and there were certainly a few malls that provided some fruitful finds. And good news - Rachel did get one pair of brown shoes! Hooray!!

But the highlight has to be our trips to view downtown. Victoria peak is a mountain that overlooks the harbor and downtown, and the view was so good, we went there twice. The first time, we took a cable car tram to the top - and it was steep!

The second time we went at night and took a city bus. And I'm glad that it was dark, because watching us navigate skinny mountain switchbacks from the top of a double-decker bus was nauseating enough without being able to see exactly how far we could tumble to our deaths...

And at the top, of course, were more shopping malls. Of note was the EA Experience store, which had a dozen video game stations to play. Somehow, Rachel snagged a free Madden station and we played a full game. I was the Lions, so of course I lost as she beat me with the Bears.

And from the top, we got some great shots. Here's what the harbor looked like at night.


Finally, asking Rachel what her reflections were - she said "food food food!!" We ate well, and I really liked the snacking. Mrs. Field's has descended on HK in full force. We stopped for cookies 3 times, and came home on the plane with a full bag. (its all gone already though!!) Mmmmm...

So I have a few weeks to rest and relax before our next trip - Rachel is just like her Dad, in that they are both hyperactive tour guides that never ever stop. Ever.

-alan