The last weekend in April, I met up with my friend, Marc, and we explored Hong Kong and Macau. Marc is teaching in mainland China and recommended HK for a long weekend over Chinese Labor Day and I couldn't turn down the opportunity. I am confident in my travel abilities but both Marc and I agreed that booking a tour guide in each city. I boldly told Marc, "I've got this", and found a travel agent to help me find the right tours.
I flew into Hong Kong early Friday morning and searched for my elusive hotel shuttle. After searching the entire arrivals terminal, I called the hotel and was informed that I did not have this service booked. Nevertheless, I made my way to the hotel. We were staying in Kowloon, a peninsula across the harbor from the island of Hong Kong, I spent the morning walking around Kowloon before meeting up with my friend, Elizabeth, who was in Hong Kong for the weekend with her brother. I explored a street market where everything could be found. Electronics, live fish, oil paintings, sex toys, and knockoff purses were all on the same street. I continued on to the Victoria Harbor to meet Elizabeth. We took the ferry to Hong Kong and walked through their World Trade Center and Times Square. Elizabeth works at Google and we ate lunch at their office (both lunch and office were phenomenal). I then went to the airport to pick up Marc. We walked to a different street market that had a wide variety of restaurants and picked on that looked good. All the menus had pictures of the food and we selected a variety of dishes. After dinner we met Elizabeth at a rooftop bar for a drink before Marc and I explored the party district, Lan Kwai Fong (LKF).
Saturday morning Mar and I took the metro to HK and went on the longest escalator in the world. I was expecting a super long, singular escalator but in fact it is a network of escalators and moving walkways on an elevated platform. After a few streets, Marc and I had enough so we stopped for brunch.
I flew into Hong Kong early Friday morning and searched for my elusive hotel shuttle. After searching the entire arrivals terminal, I called the hotel and was informed that I did not have this service booked. Nevertheless, I made my way to the hotel. We were staying in Kowloon, a peninsula across the harbor from the island of Hong Kong, I spent the morning walking around Kowloon before meeting up with my friend, Elizabeth, who was in Hong Kong for the weekend with her brother. I explored a street market where everything could be found. Electronics, live fish, oil paintings, sex toys, and knockoff purses were all on the same street. I continued on to the Victoria Harbor to meet Elizabeth. We took the ferry to Hong Kong and walked through their World Trade Center and Times Square. Elizabeth works at Google and we ate lunch at their office (both lunch and office were phenomenal). I then went to the airport to pick up Marc. We walked to a different street market that had a wide variety of restaurants and picked on that looked good. All the menus had pictures of the food and we selected a variety of dishes. After dinner we met Elizabeth at a rooftop bar for a drink before Marc and I explored the party district, Lan Kwai Fong (LKF).
 |
| Wontons, clams in a black bean sauce, fried noodles, and a pork dish |
Saturday morning Mar and I took the metro to HK and went on the longest escalator in the world. I was expecting a super long, singular escalator but in fact it is a network of escalators and moving walkways on an elevated platform. After a few streets, Marc and I had enough so we stopped for brunch.
 |
| The escalator can be seen in between Marc and me |
We then went back to the hotel to meet our tour guide. We got into the minivan and were driven to a different part of the city and told to get out of the car. We waited on the corner for a few minutes before being ushered on a coach bus. Both Marc and I thought this was excessive for just the two of us. A few minutes later, a group of 30 Indians exited the adjacent building and started climbing into the bus. I had booked a group tour.
The guide, Michael, came on and informed Marc and me that we were on the wrong bus and we had to get off immediately. Our minivan driver came to our defense and told the guide that we belonged and he let us stay put. Michael was confused how two white guys ended up on a tour booked by an Indian travel agent. Once I explained my situation, he lightened up and was immediately more friendly to us than the others on the tour.
Almost anywhere I have traveled, the tour guides have prejudice towards one group or another. In most locations I've been to, the most dreaded group is Chinese tourists. While in China, the guides have to find a foreign group to dislike and Michael picked Indians. He had a very strict schedule and did his best to enforce it but with more than thirty people, most of them families with kids, we inevitably ran behind.
Our first stop was The Peak, the biggest tourist attraction in Hong Kong. We waited in line for the trolley and then crammed on board for the short ride up the mountain. The trolley rail has been in place for 120 years and is an engineering marvel in itself. Our climb was at a much steeper angle than I thought possible and I was glued to my seat for the whole ride. The Peak consists of a mall - tons of restaurants, stores, and a wax museum - that has an open rooftop that allows for a wonderful view of the Hong Kong skyline. If you've ever seen a movie set in Hong Kong, they almost always have an establishing shot from The Peak to set the scene.
We took pictures at a few spots before heading back to the bus for a ferry ride. We got on the ferry just in time to see the skyline light show. Every night, after sundown, the skyscrapers of Hong Kong have a choreographed light display and huge crowds turn out for it. We had a pretty good view from the ferry and it was a good way to end the tour.
We went to another night market and bought some goodies before calling it a night.
Sunday morning, we went down to the ferry dock and started the journey to Macau. After navigating the terminal and waiting in the immigration line, we settled in on the ferry for the one-hour journey across the bay. We arrived in Macau and found our way to the hotel shuttle bus. We had to laugh at the brevity of our hotel commute as it was maybe 500 yards from the ferry terminal. We checked in to the hotel but were told the room wasn't ready yet. Marc and I walked around the pedestrian street near our hotel and had a nice lunch before meeting our city tour guide.
In walked Vivien, all of 5'2", with lots of spunk to make up for a lack of size. She drove us and another family to several historical sites in Macau including a temple, the old city walls, and the remnants of a church built by the Portuguese. We then went to the newer and more luxurious areas of the city and saw a few of the large casinos. After Vivien left us, Marc and I walked through many of the casinos and explored the town before heading back to the hotel.
The hotel/casinos were constructed by many of the same conglomerates that own the majority of properties on the Las Vegas Strip. It's remarkably similar but more spread out geographically.
When we finally got back to the hotel, we found that we had been upgraded to a Garden Suite. The room was beautiful and we had our own private garden patio which would have been very useful if we had spent more than ten hours total in the room.
The next morning we took a ferry to the Hong Kong airport and said our goodbyes before going our separate ways. It was a great way to spend one of my last weekends in Asia.
On that note, I'd like to announce that this will be my last post. I am headed home in a week and won't have any more adventures before that. This has been a fun way to keep everyone updated on my travels and I know I'll enjoy looking back on this in the years to come. I'm excited to soon see my family and friends again and tell more stories of my short stint in India.
Thanks for reading!
The guide, Michael, came on and informed Marc and me that we were on the wrong bus and we had to get off immediately. Our minivan driver came to our defense and told the guide that we belonged and he let us stay put. Michael was confused how two white guys ended up on a tour booked by an Indian travel agent. Once I explained my situation, he lightened up and was immediately more friendly to us than the others on the tour.
Almost anywhere I have traveled, the tour guides have prejudice towards one group or another. In most locations I've been to, the most dreaded group is Chinese tourists. While in China, the guides have to find a foreign group to dislike and Michael picked Indians. He had a very strict schedule and did his best to enforce it but with more than thirty people, most of them families with kids, we inevitably ran behind.
Our first stop was The Peak, the biggest tourist attraction in Hong Kong. We waited in line for the trolley and then crammed on board for the short ride up the mountain. The trolley rail has been in place for 120 years and is an engineering marvel in itself. Our climb was at a much steeper angle than I thought possible and I was glued to my seat for the whole ride. The Peak consists of a mall - tons of restaurants, stores, and a wax museum - that has an open rooftop that allows for a wonderful view of the Hong Kong skyline. If you've ever seen a movie set in Hong Kong, they almost always have an establishing shot from The Peak to set the scene.
We took pictures at a few spots before heading back to the bus for a ferry ride. We got on the ferry just in time to see the skyline light show. Every night, after sundown, the skyscrapers of Hong Kong have a choreographed light display and huge crowds turn out for it. We had a pretty good view from the ferry and it was a good way to end the tour.
We went to another night market and bought some goodies before calling it a night.
Sunday morning, we went down to the ferry dock and started the journey to Macau. After navigating the terminal and waiting in the immigration line, we settled in on the ferry for the one-hour journey across the bay. We arrived in Macau and found our way to the hotel shuttle bus. We had to laugh at the brevity of our hotel commute as it was maybe 500 yards from the ferry terminal. We checked in to the hotel but were told the room wasn't ready yet. Marc and I walked around the pedestrian street near our hotel and had a nice lunch before meeting our city tour guide.
In walked Vivien, all of 5'2", with lots of spunk to make up for a lack of size. She drove us and another family to several historical sites in Macau including a temple, the old city walls, and the remnants of a church built by the Portuguese. We then went to the newer and more luxurious areas of the city and saw a few of the large casinos. After Vivien left us, Marc and I walked through many of the casinos and explored the town before heading back to the hotel.
The hotel/casinos were constructed by many of the same conglomerates that own the majority of properties on the Las Vegas Strip. It's remarkably similar but more spread out geographically.
When we finally got back to the hotel, we found that we had been upgraded to a Garden Suite. The room was beautiful and we had our own private garden patio which would have been very useful if we had spent more than ten hours total in the room.
The next morning we took a ferry to the Hong Kong airport and said our goodbyes before going our separate ways. It was a great way to spend one of my last weekends in Asia.
On that note, I'd like to announce that this will be my last post. I am headed home in a week and won't have any more adventures before that. This has been a fun way to keep everyone updated on my travels and I know I'll enjoy looking back on this in the years to come. I'm excited to soon see my family and friends again and tell more stories of my short stint in India.
Thanks for reading!
