Last few days of my China adventure. Hong Kong offers a variety of tourist sites from the Escalator (25 million to construct) which is located in Central Area & covers several streets (including very trendy restaurants in Soho), the Aberdeen (small fishing village) plus a tour to Macau. En route to Aberdeen we passed one of the oldest cemetery's in HK, it situated on a slope of a hill and surrounded by concrete high-rise area. Remember space is a premium!

We spent a half day in Macau despite a passport mishap. This territory was formerly occupied by the Portuguese & was returned to China similar to HK. The 1 hr ferry ride cost $151 HK one way & since we didn't know when we would return, it cost us $191 HK.

The signs in Macau are trilingual - Chinese, Portuguese & English. Once you leave the ferry terminal & head towards the city centre, it is fairly easily to navigate on foot. No need to exchange $$, Hong Kong money is readily accepted! The main attraction for us was visiting the historic city square, the old fortress and the remains of a 16th Century facade of the Ruinas de Sao Paulo.

The centre of Macau has been designated a World Heritage Site (400 yrs old). When you walk around the centre you will admire the 400 years of Chinese & European architectural structures. The facade is the only thing that remains of the Ruinas de Sao Paulo church when it was destroyed by fire caused by a typhoon during 1800s. It's amazing to see the carvings & statues depicting the first signs of Christianity in Asia on the facade.

One of the yummy hi-lights was the sampling of the different type of beef & pork jerky for sale ... It taste so fresh! No, nothing exotic like Bugs Bunny or Kermit. Moon cake was readily available for purchase too! Prices were considerably cheaper than Hong Kong.

Macau has been labelled Las Vegas of China, there is a main hotel/casino strip. You can't miss it since it neon lights illuminate the entire area and certain hotels have line-ups that provide free bus shuttle service to ferry. I supported the gambling industry by making a $20 contribution to the Emperor Casino slot machines.

Our last day in HK. May & I decided to visit one last tourist site - 10,000 Buddha's Monastery. We lost count after completing the first steep hill. It's a 15 minute walk up & along the pathway are life size Buddhas with ruby red lips, I don't think there was two alike. The main temple houses tiny gold Buddha's, it amazing to see since the tiny figurines cover all 3 walls & extend to the top of ceiling. When you reach the highest point of the hill, you get a wonderful view of the city below. It's a very tranquil site & it's hard to believe that there is a fast moving city below. Like most Buddhist Temples, you can purchase a plaque with the name of a person who has passed on & have it placed on the wall. This place is also a practicing temple, people come and burn incense & pray for people who have passed on and of course to the Buddhas.

Hong Kong is a wonderful place to shop, if you are into Designer high-end fashion or if you are into the "knock offs"! It seems like everywhere you go there is a Coach, Christian Dior or Prada sprinkled with H&M stores. I've never seen as many shopping malls & markets within short walking distances of each other. Kim of course was in heaven! There seems to be "sales" all over the place! The crowds @ Winner's on a weekend is nothing compared to the many Shoppers on a week night! Our last day we managed to hit three markets - Stanley, Jade and Temple Street (night).

The food in Hong Kong is different from mainland China. There seems to be little restaurants situated in every nook & cranny offering traditional dim sum, noodles and sit down full dinners. Meat seems more abundant here than in Mainland China, every restaurant we passed displayed duck, BBQ pork and chicken. Everything is tasty & they seem to have better control of the amount of salt used (vs China - you are not biting into salt crystals).

I've gotten to know my Niece a lot better on this trip. She's turning out to be a real neat, energetic person, a fine & cool young adult.

After spending most of the August in China, I've concluded that all Chinese people look the same to me, ;)!

Our flight leaves today @ 3:40pm .... Hmm, sadly vacation is almost over! Probably my last blog. I can't wait to show my pictures to everyone! I'll need a vacation from my vacation .... Did anyone book me a tee time for this weekend (assuming I am not suffering from jet lag), ;p!?

PS - It's Wednesday & I am blowing another kiss to Parker.