After many sad goodbyes to dear friends and family, we left San Francisco on September 28 for the first stop on our trip: Hong Kong. Fourteen hours later we landed in Chek Lap Kok, an island built by land reclamation. After an easy train ride we arrived in central Hong Kong Island where we met our host Sy to gain access to her apartment. Sy and her dad greeted us at the train station and walked us to her apartment explaining that the typhoon signal 8 was up which meant many shops would be closed and cabs would be extremely expensive. Sy brought us ponchos for the rain and helped us with our luggage to her studio apartment, which we rented through airbnb.com for our stay in Hong Kong. We were off right away to explore and and navigate our way through the city, unfortunately though with the nearby typhoon everything was closed. Not able to do much, we walked around our neighborhood and tried some Chinese cuisine at a restaurant in the trendy Soho area. With a similar vibe to Soho in NYC, there were some tourists milling about in the pubs and varied international restaurants. The streets for the most part were deserted, so we bought a few supplies and slept off our jet lag.

The next day we awoke to sunny skies and a vibrant city. Hong Kong proved to be very hectic and busy, crowded and fast-paced, yet set against a tranquil backdrop of mountains and sea. Old Chinese traditions blended harmoniously into a modern westernized metropolis. As we toured the city in our open top, double-decker bus, it became obvious how Hong Kong's reputation as an east meets west city came about. In central Hong Kong skyscrapers and banks make up the impressive skyline, yet down every side street there is a Chinese market with locals selling all sorts of produce and (what we think were) meat products. Continuing through Hong Kong island we saw the place where Hong Kong was returned to the People's Republic of China from the British in 1997: Golden Bauhinia Square. The British influence remains, as part of the culture of the city, and it seems that everyone speaks English. We stopped off at Wan Chai computer center in the Wan Chai shopping district. The computer center was every gadget lover's dream, with shop upon shop selling all sorts of new technology, i.e. a phone watch, at fairly cheap prices. We bought a brand new Sony 14 megapixel Cyber shot for $1,000 HKD or $125 USD. There were so many cool toys we had to leave before we spent any more money. Our last major attraction on Hong Kong Island was the Peak. We took a tram straight up at what seemed to be a 70 degree angle to the top of Victoria Peak. The views from the peak were incredible as the city was on full display. From here we also appreciated the natural beauty of the island, as a large percentage of the land is undeveloped. From the top of the island you could appreciate the urban port set against trees and wildlife. Later on in the evening, we met up with one of Jackie's friends from high school for a drink at his brother's lounge where he explained the social scene. The lounge said members only on the door, which is a way to get around the indoor smoking ban and to keep out the paparazzi. He explained that Hong Kong is a very small island where everyone knows everyone and where gossip spreads like crazy. Later he took us to a club where his friend had table service. It was easy to see why it is a small island as Geoff and his wife seemed to run into people every time we turned a corner. The clubs are extremely crowded and the awesome fashions take the spotlight. There were so many people, it was impossible to dance, but everyone looked good standing around sipping champagne. The style in Hong Kong was very forward and it was obvious to tell people take a lot of pride in what they wear; they have serious swag We had an early night since we had a lot more touring to do the next day, but it was very cool to get an inside view on the local nightlife scene.

The next day we headed to the southern part of the island where we stopped for a Sampan tour, which was a ride around the harbor in a traditional Chinese boat. We saw local fisherman who choose to live on the boats and passed the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. The disparity of wealth in Hong Kong was very obvious in the harbor where a poor fishing community rested in juxtaposition to million dollar yachts. Continuing on our bus tour we drove past Repulse Bay, an upscale resort town, to Stanley Market. Here we strolled through the flea markets, and made our best purchase to date: Chinese silk robes. We headed back to central Hong Kong and took the Star Ferry across the harbor to the Kowloon side. Kowloon was completely different, and extremely crowded as it is the second most densely populated area in the world. We passed by a parade celebrating people quitting the Chinese Communist Party, and there were many people trying to take us to buy watches and purses. We went to the Ladie's Market which had every knock-off you could think of. After some serious haggling we walked away with a few things and went with the rest of the crowds to the harbor for the light show. Since it was a Saturday night there was also a fireworks show, so they closed down entire streets for the massive crowds walking to the harbor. We watched with thousands of people as the skyscrapers from Hong Kong island lit up in a choreographed show. We headed away from the harbor before the fireworks to Temple Street market where there were more shops set up and various types of street food for sale. Kowloon was extremely vibrant and even more crowded than Hong Kong Island, it seemed a bit grittier and was full of hustlers trying to make it in a very expensive city.

On our last full day in Hong Kong we took a trip outside of the city on the extremely efficient MTR metro trains to island to see a very large Buddha and Lan Pei monastery. We took a cable car up into the mountains and walked to see a huge Buddha situated at the top of a peak. We walked around the statue, and headed down to the monastery. Incense filled the air as chants of prayer were said in the temple. Gold statues, lanterns, and brightly colored flowers highlighted the monastery as people took time to say prayers and reflect. It was easy to see why people came to the monastery to escape the chaos of city life.

While there were many similarities between Hong Kong and other major cities, we found the food to be quite different. Trying to stick to a budget and eat like a local we tried a variety of Chinese cuisine. We found a "cooked food center" where we had a bit of culture shock as there were no English menus and we were the only tourists. We were won over to a woman's section where she proceeded to pick out a few things on the menu for us: fried crab balls and beef with celery and cashews. At another meal we sampled ramen, spring rolls, and noodles with shredded pork. At the Temple Street market we had shrimp nets and fried rice with pork and shrimp, which was a real test to our improved chop stick skills. We attempted to eat dim sum at a local restaurant by our apartment where we were the only tourists. Here the language barrier was an issue because we could not ask what was in the various bamboo baskets. While we appreciated the authenticity of our meals and eating where the locals eat we repeatedly found that the quality of meat was not what we were used to. By the end we stopped trying the local cuisine and went for food we were accustomed to staying away from meat products as much as possible.

We had a great time in Hong Kong and it was a lovely city to explore. As this was our first time in Asia, it was nice to be eased into the Eastern world with a city as modern as Hong Kong. We are looking forward to going back to Asia and exploring as many countries as possible.