Jet-lagged but hungry, we made our first stop for food. The restaurant had autographs by various Hong Kong celebrities all over the walls. On our first full day, we started with exploring Kowloon, found jumbo size lemon Vita and hung out with Charlie over coffee and Bruce on the Avenue of Stars at Victoria Harbour.

day at the market
To get a better taste of Hong Kong life, we wandered through a few markets including the bird market, flower market (where we found ‘shiao ding’…little tings!), goldfish market, jade market (knick knacks galore), and one of many temples. This temple was to Tin Hau, the Goddess of the Sea.

lantau island
We visited Lantau island, where we saw the Po Lin Monastery, climbed up to the Big Buddha and walked the Wisdom Path. Too bad I don’t feel any smarter.

Afterwards we went to Tai O village, one of the last authentic fishing villages in the area. It was interesting to see the locals live pretty much free of modernization…except for the crates and crates of empty Coca-Cola bottles waiting to be picked up.

hong kong island
Downtown was impressive. My favorite was the ‘Lippo’ building, which looked very sci-fi. We were able to visit Joe’s dad at work before having lunch together in trendy Soho, where there is the longest covered escalator in the world, connecting the streets together. Truly a great invention.

During our last day, Joe’s dad drove us all around Hong Kong for a few extra sights, including the Peak for a view of the city (very foggy). Naturally, in between all the sightseeing during the week, we had plenty of good eats and retail therapy. Thank you Joe’s dad for having us!