We arrived in HK late Wednesday night where we met up with Kathy at the JW Marriott who arrived from DC just a few hours earlier. We were excited to catch up but also looking forward to starting our 10 day visit through China. We stayed on Hong Kong island and enjoyed a breakfast overlooking Kowloon. On our way to the Peak we met the GM of the JW Marriott who offered to take us to on a personal tour of the opposite side of HK island. To reach The Peak (1800 feet up) you take a tram that has been running continuously since 1888 on a single cable that takes you up through HK's neighborhoods including the Mids and Peak. From the top, you are able to see the entire HK area extending to the mainland. We walked down through Statue Square and had a close up view of HK's skyscrapers which dominate the list of the world's twenty tallest buildings. In the late afternoon, we joined Mark and Debbie Conklin for the ride to Stanley and a local tour of the Stanley Market before calling it a day.
The next morning after a sweltering run (sweltering heat has been the theme of our trip since leaving Auckland) ,we took a ferry to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha which is located at the top of hill which you are able to climb before heading back down on a 5 km gondola ride which offers a spectacular view of HK airport. As we rode down, we also were able to see the clouds that were beginning to roll in for the anticipated Typhoon which finally arrived late that night. But before we could hunker down for the evening, we met my friend Shannon Deacon, an Australian living in HK who I had met at the Great Wall five years earlier and also had met for dinner in HK. Shannon took us on an adventurous outing for seafood at a waterside restaurant where you picked the evening's dinner from rows of fish and shellfish tanks. Needless to say the fool was very fresh and very tasty. Our last morning in HK was spent doing a bit of last minute shopping before we headed for Shanghai via the overnight train.