Kicking it off in Hong Kong
30.11.2010 - 04.12.2010
26 °C
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Honeymoon
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And so it begins! Our fifteen and a half hour flight finally brought us to the first destination of our two month long honeymoon - Hong Kong. We were nervous and excited stepping off the plane not really knowing what to expect. But really, this was the perfect place to begin out trek. In many ways, it feels a lot like home (well, let's say Spadina or Markham), with signs being in English first and Chinese second. Language is not an issue and the city is one of the safest we've ever been in.
Over the last few days we walked around the entire city and have gotten to know the sites (and smells) pretty well. George is about twice the size of most of the population and we figure that he won't be able to buy any clothing if he ever needed to since it is "made to fit the asian frame", and we all know George's frame is anything but asian. We visited all the markets and are sharpening our haggling skills. Apparently, you can offend the merchants by going too low, as we found out when bartering for George's signature souvenier - the magnet. Who would ever pay $6 for a magnet? And the much anticipated lazer light show along the waterfront was spectacular in the 90's I'm sure. It could definitely use a bit of an update but still was a great concept.
on the waterfront
We took a terrifying trip up a gondola to see the famous Big Buddah statue and Buddhist Monastery, one of our highlights so far. And today we plan on siteseeing some more and attempting to improve on our haggling skills - knock off purses here I come!
petrifying gondola ride with giant buddha in background
that's one giant buddha!
Some major things we've noticed being here so far - there are TONS of people! In the subways, the streets, the markets, people are everywhere and you really have to fight for your space, which George is getting pretty good at, standing his ground when a small asian woman tried to elbow him out of the way and sucking her teeth when she realized it wasn't going to happen. Victory! I on the other hand get trampled by elderly grandmothers everywhere we go. They have some muscle! Another thing we've noticed is they blast the AC to unspeakable temperatures. It feels like we're in the Arctic every time we enter a building. And the food...hmmm, how can I put this, well...it's interesting. Basically the options are traditional chinese food (picture Spadina restaurants with headless meat in their windows) and McDonald's. We pretty much expected this here but haven't had the courage to try it. Mental note - lemon chicken and sweet and sour pork is NOT real chinese food. Maybe we'll be adventurous today...
typical Hong Kong street
Overall, we've enjoyed the culture and vibrancy of HK and are happy we started our trip here. We're off to Vietnam tomorrow - can't wait!
Posted by jgjourney 02.12.2010 23:23 Archived in Hong Kong
Wow! What an incredible adventure and it has only just begun! I love the giant buddahs!! Noah and I look forward to the posts. He says "googaaagoogaa" which means have a fun but a safe trip. Oh, and a good shopping tip, don't buy too much at the beginning of the trip because you have to carry that with you for 2 months. Keep posting! I love looking at this stuff!
03.12.2010 by Sandy Lemire