Hong Kong

Hong Kong was a total sensory overload of flashing neon lights and a population just brimming over 7 million people who walk as bad as they drive; though being the fourth densest "country" in the world probably doesn't make it very easy. Despite being overcrowded things run very smoothly thanks to inventions like the Octopus card (a universal debit card) and the 800m Central-mid-level Escalators, the world's largest covered outdoor escalator. The people are also surprisingly friendly and polite. After transferring from Macau we bumbled around Kowloon trying to find our hotel, apparently with lost faces, when a man asks us if we needed any help. Skeptical, we accepted his offer and were astonished when he actually walked us to the hotel we were looking for, no baksheesh required!

On Kowloon and Hong Kong Island there are many markets that make up whole streets selling almost any and everything such as birds, fish, flowers, jade, ginger, chandeliers….the list is endless. After a couple hours of taking in some interesting sights we headed to the Peak for sunset; although we never actually got to watch the sunset since it completely disappeared behind a wall of pollution. However, the glow from the skyscrapers at night more than made up for it.

In the morning we explored the culture filled island of Lantau. Hopping on a bus to the quiet fishing village of Tai O, we spent the rest of the morning trying to identify dried seafood that was being sold in stalls along the narrow streets. No longer trying to understand why or how people eat these things we decided to see a creature that has no problem with it. Tai O has developed its own little tourist attraction by boating groups out past the breakwater to admire the rare pink dolphins that trail behind the trawling nets of the fishing vessels. Back on shore we make our way to Ngong Ping, home of the Tian Tan Buddha, or just Big Buddha. This 110 ft tall Buddha pleasantly sits on his lotus throne looking out over Po Lin monastery and the mountain side, which was a view that you too can share after climbing up the 268 steps. Leaving the company of Big Buddha we took the cable car down soaking in all the sights of the island.

Once the sun went down and the city lights came on, we strolled down to the Avenue of the Stars for the world's largest permanent sound and light show. The Symphony of Lights involves over 40 participating buildings that flicker on and off with happy Asian techno music. After the show, hoards of people "line up" to have their picture taken with Bruce Lee's statue and Jackie Chan's hand prints.