Hong Kong 2010
2/3/10 - 2/14/10 Started my trip on Wednesday, February 3, at 4 am with a trip through the snow to National Airport. Caught my 6 am flight to Chicago with no problem. Made my connecting flight in Chicago. Boarded the plane and then sat... for an hour... my layover in San Francisco was only 52 minutes... figured I was going to miss my flight to Hong Kong. Hmmm...
Arrived in San Francisco, ran (as fast as one can run with luggage) through the airport to the international terminal only to see my plane pulling away from the gate. Arrived in the United Airlines First Class Lounge in tears, apologizing for being in there since I was definitely not traveling First Class. The lovely ladies were very helpful. Tried rebooking me on a flight to Hong Kong through Korea. Finally decided it would be easier for me to wait until the flight the next day. Booked me in the Hilton-Burlingame.
Left a voicemail for sister-in-law Julie who just happens to live in San Francisco to see if she would be available for dinner. Took the shuttle to the Hilton-Burlingame. It is right on the water - very nice. Got a call back from Aunt Julie who said she would love to visit me that evening. Had an afternoon free so I took the shuttle from the hotel into the town of Burlingame. It's very cute. Had some lunch, did some window shopping... Enjoyed an almost 4 hour dinner with Julie. So great to catch up.
Thursday, February 4 - Took the shuttle back to the airport. Caught my flight to Hong Kong. Enjoyed the 14 hour flight next to a man who has no sense of personal space. He slept the whole time so it was fine. Enjoyed a few movies.
Friday, February 5 - Arrived in Hong Kong Friday evening. Hong Kong is 13 hours ahead of us. Benjy was there to greet me. Took the Airport Train to Hong Kong Island. The airport is on Lantau Island. Who knew that Hong Kong was made up of a bunch of different islands? I had no idea. Benjy and I wandered into an Irish Pub in the Lan Kwai Fong area of Central Hong Kong. Enjoyed a few beers and a salad. Felt like I had not had any veggies in days. Took a cab up The Peak to the Sawin flat in Cloudlands. They live at the top of a mountain. Grace, Riley and Jean were already in bed so I crashed on Grace's bottom bunk.
Saturday, February 6 - Oatmeal for breakfast with the girls and then headed out to the Aberdeen Marina Club. Benjy and Jean have a membership there. Benjy and Jean went to work out, and Riley and I headed for the playroom. (Grace, unfortunately, was at home because she had misbehaved the night before.) I actually went down a slide on a burlap sack with Riley. It was very scary. Just watched her play the rest of the time. After the parents' workout, we had lunch in the dining room of the Club. It was quite yummy. A buffet of salad, sushi, buckwheat noodles, etc. Went back to The Peak to get ready for Grace's school's fundraiser 3k walk for Haiti. We walked on a trail that goes around the tip of the mountain. Luckily it was cloudy so I could not see what was below us. It was quite scary. After the walk there was a festival type thing in Grace's school's playground. Moonbounce, face painting, popcorn, the usual... I snuck out early and went back to the flat for a much needed nap. Saturday night the grown ups went in search of the Temple Street Market. Finally found it. It was crazy. A whole street of tables set up with whatever you can imagine for sale. And some stuff that should never be imagined (like the whole duck with all of its stuff sucked out of it so it was this white flat thing - you must see the picture). Ended up at a Thai place for dinner.
Sunday, February 7 - Went to Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. They offered an English Mass which was good for me. The Sawin's picked me up after Mass and we went for Sunday brunch at The Flying Pan. Eggs benedict with salmon - yum. (Please note that I've been here since Friday and have not had Chinese food yet.) Grace and Riley had a birthday party to attend at Pizza Express in the afternoon. The kids all made their own pizzas. It was very cute.
Monday, February 8 - Got up early to go to the Hong Kong Football Club with Benjy to meet his friends for a Super Bowl viewing party. The Super Bowl would be televised at 7 am so we left The Peak at 6:15 am. They had a breakfast buffet and blood mary's and plenty of big screen tv's around the room. It was fun. Afterward Benjy and I went with his friends Thais and Stam to Happy Foot to get our feet massaged. It was an hour of bliss. Then we wandered over to a very upscale shopping mall so that Benjy and Stam could get their hair cut. Part of the Chinese New Year tradition is to get your hair cut. Thais and I looked around the shopping mall. The high-end shopping is unbelievable. I saw a Louis Vuitton baby stroller. Once the guys were looking beautiful we went to a Chinese place for lunch - yeah! Had some spicy shrimp dish and a shredded pork and vegetable thing that was really good. I did not see one fortune cookie on my trip.
Tuesday, February 9 - Benjy went to work and Jean and I headed downtown to catch the Star Ferry to Kowloon. We went to The Peninsula for afternoon tea. It was lovely.
Wednesday, February 10 - Headed downtown to catch the train to Lantau (the big island where the airport is). The last stop is Tung Chung. From there went on the cable car to get to the Big Buddha. I cannot express how freaked out I was. Part of my problem was that I watched the Extreme Engineering episode a few weeks ago about the Hong Kong Cable Car. It did not inspire confidence in me about its safety. Having a glass floor didn't help either. The ride is about 30 minutes. At one point we were in the clouds so we couldn't even see the other cable cars. Anyway, I got to the village of Ngong Ping safely. It's really cute. Walked up to the Big Buddha. It was so cloudy that I mostly saw his bottom 2/3 but it was very impressive. Got quite a workout too. Afterward I look at some of the shops in the village. Went to a tea house for a tea demonstration. Bought some tea that turns into a flower when you brew it. Had some noodles at a noodle shop then braced myself for the ride back down on the cable car. I ended up being by myself in the cable car. I was much less stressed going down. The views are quite incredible. Once back on solid ground in Tung Chung, I did the obvious thing - got a glass of wine to calm myself. Wrote out some postcards and mailed them. Would you believe they've only arrived here in the past couple of days? It took 2 weeks! Got back on the train to go back to downtown Hong Kong. Wanted to find Man Mo Temple which was built in 1842. Got a bit lost looking for it but did finally find it. Lots of incense and food offerings at the different altars. Then wandered down Hollywood where the antique shops are located. Worked my way back to the more central downtown area to find the tram to take me to Happy Valley where I was supposed to meet my brother after he got off of work so we could go to the Wednesday night horse races at Happy Valley Race Track. It was really neat. I didn't bet anything, but it was fun to watch. Afterward we went to an Indian place for dinner. Had the spiciest chick pea curry ever.
Thursday, February 11 - The sun came out! The views from The Peak are incredible! Went to the Peak Tower to go up to their observation tower. Got some great pictures of the city. Took the Peak Tram down the mountain. It's really not a tram. It's a funicular railway. There are 2 cars and they are pulled up and lowered by a cable. Their transportation relies too much on cables. It just doesn't make me feel safe, but I'm a wimp. Luckily I was still reeling from the cable car so I did not panic on the tram. Went down the mountain. At the bottom I hiked up a mini-mountain to the Hong Kong Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Didn't go to the Zoo part but did enjoy the Botanical Gardens. Had a good view of the HSBC Building. Went back to the Peak Tram to ride back up the mountain. Went through some of the gift shops at Peak Tower and enjoyed watching all of the other tourists.
Friday, February 12 - Went to the south side of the island with Jean. She had a tennis lesson so I visited Tin Hau Temple, saw the Murray House and hung out at Starbuck's. Afterward we went to Stanley Market. Lots of bargain shopping. Got a few souvenirs at very reasonable prices. Had dim sum for lunch. Steamed pork buns, shrimp dumplings, some pork dumpling thing with soup in it - all very delicious. Had to follow that with a scoop of melon ice cream from Haagen Dazs. Drove back - on the way saw Repulse Bay which is where Benjy and Jean used to live. Very resort looking. Friday night Jean and I went to the HSBC Building to meet Benjy for drinks at the HSBC bar. Met a couple of his co-workers. Ended up at a Greek place for dinner. Had an eggplant hummus that was really good.
Saturday, February 13 - Benjy and I took the girls to the Aberdeen Marina Club so that he could work out and I could hang out in the play room with Grace and Riley. Afterward we took the boat shuttle over to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. It's gorgeous! An obvious tourist trap but so much fun! Had some dim sum for lunch. The girls love the steamed pork buns! After lunch we accidentally got on the wrong shuttle boat so we took an impromptu tour of Hong Kong. It was great! Spent the afternoon hanging out with the girls since I was leaving the next day.
Sunday, February 14 - Benjy and the girls took me into the downtown area to catch the Airport Train. They are so cute! Wandered about the airport for a while. Went to the Hong Kong Disneyland store and got some cute souvenirs. Had a terrible bowl of ramen. Who knew you could get bad ramen in Asia? Arrived in Chicago a few minutes late. Ran through immigration, customs and security to make it to my connecting flight with 5 minutes to spare. After being on the plan for a while, they made us get off. Something about a gouge in the cargo door. I did not have good luck with planes in Chicago on this trip. They were able to find a replacement plan so arrived back at National only an hour and 15 minutes late. Not too bad!
Reading back over this I realize I talk about food a lot. Oh well. I believe I have put my pictures in chronological order so they should go along with this narrative. Enjoy!!
Click HERE to see the picture album!
Arrived in San Francisco, ran (as fast as one can run with luggage) through the airport to the international terminal only to see my plane pulling away from the gate. Arrived in the United Airlines First Class Lounge in tears, apologizing for being in there since I was definitely not traveling First Class. The lovely ladies were very helpful. Tried rebooking me on a flight to Hong Kong through Korea. Finally decided it would be easier for me to wait until the flight the next day. Booked me in the Hilton-Burlingame.
Left a voicemail for sister-in-law Julie who just happens to live in San Francisco to see if she would be available for dinner. Took the shuttle to the Hilton-Burlingame. It is right on the water - very nice. Got a call back from Aunt Julie who said she would love to visit me that evening. Had an afternoon free so I took the shuttle from the hotel into the town of Burlingame. It's very cute. Had some lunch, did some window shopping... Enjoyed an almost 4 hour dinner with Julie. So great to catch up.
Thursday, February 4 - Took the shuttle back to the airport. Caught my flight to Hong Kong. Enjoyed the 14 hour flight next to a man who has no sense of personal space. He slept the whole time so it was fine. Enjoyed a few movies.
Friday, February 5 - Arrived in Hong Kong Friday evening. Hong Kong is 13 hours ahead of us. Benjy was there to greet me. Took the Airport Train to Hong Kong Island. The airport is on Lantau Island. Who knew that Hong Kong was made up of a bunch of different islands? I had no idea. Benjy and I wandered into an Irish Pub in the Lan Kwai Fong area of Central Hong Kong. Enjoyed a few beers and a salad. Felt like I had not had any veggies in days. Took a cab up The Peak to the Sawin flat in Cloudlands. They live at the top of a mountain. Grace, Riley and Jean were already in bed so I crashed on Grace's bottom bunk.
Saturday, February 6 - Oatmeal for breakfast with the girls and then headed out to the Aberdeen Marina Club. Benjy and Jean have a membership there. Benjy and Jean went to work out, and Riley and I headed for the playroom. (Grace, unfortunately, was at home because she had misbehaved the night before.) I actually went down a slide on a burlap sack with Riley. It was very scary. Just watched her play the rest of the time. After the parents' workout, we had lunch in the dining room of the Club. It was quite yummy. A buffet of salad, sushi, buckwheat noodles, etc. Went back to The Peak to get ready for Grace's school's fundraiser 3k walk for Haiti. We walked on a trail that goes around the tip of the mountain. Luckily it was cloudy so I could not see what was below us. It was quite scary. After the walk there was a festival type thing in Grace's school's playground. Moonbounce, face painting, popcorn, the usual... I snuck out early and went back to the flat for a much needed nap. Saturday night the grown ups went in search of the Temple Street Market. Finally found it. It was crazy. A whole street of tables set up with whatever you can imagine for sale. And some stuff that should never be imagined (like the whole duck with all of its stuff sucked out of it so it was this white flat thing - you must see the picture). Ended up at a Thai place for dinner.
Sunday, February 7 - Went to Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. They offered an English Mass which was good for me. The Sawin's picked me up after Mass and we went for Sunday brunch at The Flying Pan. Eggs benedict with salmon - yum. (Please note that I've been here since Friday and have not had Chinese food yet.) Grace and Riley had a birthday party to attend at Pizza Express in the afternoon. The kids all made their own pizzas. It was very cute.
Monday, February 8 - Got up early to go to the Hong Kong Football Club with Benjy to meet his friends for a Super Bowl viewing party. The Super Bowl would be televised at 7 am so we left The Peak at 6:15 am. They had a breakfast buffet and blood mary's and plenty of big screen tv's around the room. It was fun. Afterward Benjy and I went with his friends Thais and Stam to Happy Foot to get our feet massaged. It was an hour of bliss. Then we wandered over to a very upscale shopping mall so that Benjy and Stam could get their hair cut. Part of the Chinese New Year tradition is to get your hair cut. Thais and I looked around the shopping mall. The high-end shopping is unbelievable. I saw a Louis Vuitton baby stroller. Once the guys were looking beautiful we went to a Chinese place for lunch - yeah! Had some spicy shrimp dish and a shredded pork and vegetable thing that was really good. I did not see one fortune cookie on my trip.
Tuesday, February 9 - Benjy went to work and Jean and I headed downtown to catch the Star Ferry to Kowloon. We went to The Peninsula for afternoon tea. It was lovely.
Wednesday, February 10 - Headed downtown to catch the train to Lantau (the big island where the airport is). The last stop is Tung Chung. From there went on the cable car to get to the Big Buddha. I cannot express how freaked out I was. Part of my problem was that I watched the Extreme Engineering episode a few weeks ago about the Hong Kong Cable Car. It did not inspire confidence in me about its safety. Having a glass floor didn't help either. The ride is about 30 minutes. At one point we were in the clouds so we couldn't even see the other cable cars. Anyway, I got to the village of Ngong Ping safely. It's really cute. Walked up to the Big Buddha. It was so cloudy that I mostly saw his bottom 2/3 but it was very impressive. Got quite a workout too. Afterward I look at some of the shops in the village. Went to a tea house for a tea demonstration. Bought some tea that turns into a flower when you brew it. Had some noodles at a noodle shop then braced myself for the ride back down on the cable car. I ended up being by myself in the cable car. I was much less stressed going down. The views are quite incredible. Once back on solid ground in Tung Chung, I did the obvious thing - got a glass of wine to calm myself. Wrote out some postcards and mailed them. Would you believe they've only arrived here in the past couple of days? It took 2 weeks! Got back on the train to go back to downtown Hong Kong. Wanted to find Man Mo Temple which was built in 1842. Got a bit lost looking for it but did finally find it. Lots of incense and food offerings at the different altars. Then wandered down Hollywood where the antique shops are located. Worked my way back to the more central downtown area to find the tram to take me to Happy Valley where I was supposed to meet my brother after he got off of work so we could go to the Wednesday night horse races at Happy Valley Race Track. It was really neat. I didn't bet anything, but it was fun to watch. Afterward we went to an Indian place for dinner. Had the spiciest chick pea curry ever.
Thursday, February 11 - The sun came out! The views from The Peak are incredible! Went to the Peak Tower to go up to their observation tower. Got some great pictures of the city. Took the Peak Tram down the mountain. It's really not a tram. It's a funicular railway. There are 2 cars and they are pulled up and lowered by a cable. Their transportation relies too much on cables. It just doesn't make me feel safe, but I'm a wimp. Luckily I was still reeling from the cable car so I did not panic on the tram. Went down the mountain. At the bottom I hiked up a mini-mountain to the Hong Kong Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Didn't go to the Zoo part but did enjoy the Botanical Gardens. Had a good view of the HSBC Building. Went back to the Peak Tram to ride back up the mountain. Went through some of the gift shops at Peak Tower and enjoyed watching all of the other tourists.
Friday, February 12 - Went to the south side of the island with Jean. She had a tennis lesson so I visited Tin Hau Temple, saw the Murray House and hung out at Starbuck's. Afterward we went to Stanley Market. Lots of bargain shopping. Got a few souvenirs at very reasonable prices. Had dim sum for lunch. Steamed pork buns, shrimp dumplings, some pork dumpling thing with soup in it - all very delicious. Had to follow that with a scoop of melon ice cream from Haagen Dazs. Drove back - on the way saw Repulse Bay which is where Benjy and Jean used to live. Very resort looking. Friday night Jean and I went to the HSBC Building to meet Benjy for drinks at the HSBC bar. Met a couple of his co-workers. Ended up at a Greek place for dinner. Had an eggplant hummus that was really good.
Saturday, February 13 - Benjy and I took the girls to the Aberdeen Marina Club so that he could work out and I could hang out in the play room with Grace and Riley. Afterward we took the boat shuttle over to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. It's gorgeous! An obvious tourist trap but so much fun! Had some dim sum for lunch. The girls love the steamed pork buns! After lunch we accidentally got on the wrong shuttle boat so we took an impromptu tour of Hong Kong. It was great! Spent the afternoon hanging out with the girls since I was leaving the next day.
Sunday, February 14 - Benjy and the girls took me into the downtown area to catch the Airport Train. They are so cute! Wandered about the airport for a while. Went to the Hong Kong Disneyland store and got some cute souvenirs. Had a terrible bowl of ramen. Who knew you could get bad ramen in Asia? Arrived in Chicago a few minutes late. Ran through immigration, customs and security to make it to my connecting flight with 5 minutes to spare. After being on the plan for a while, they made us get off. Something about a gouge in the cargo door. I did not have good luck with planes in Chicago on this trip. They were able to find a replacement plan so arrived back at National only an hour and 15 minutes late. Not too bad!
Reading back over this I realize I talk about food a lot. Oh well. I believe I have put my pictures in chronological order so they should go along with this narrative. Enjoy!!
Click HERE to see the picture album!
posted by Barb French at
8:34 AM
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