Back from Hong Kong!!

If you haven't been to Hong Kong before, or never thought about going there, you should change your mind. Hong Kong was one of the greatest places Travers and I have been.  We had such a great time seeing the sights, visiting family, and eating and drinking our way through the island.  While it was extremely humid, we faced the weather and made sure we did as much as we possibly could.

We arrived on a Saturday evening at The Fleming Hotel, which is a wonderful boutique hotel in the Wanchai area.  We walked to Causeway Bay for dinner and got noodle bowls with pork and veggies. Yummm. Then we walked back to Wanchai for margaritas at the Coyote Bar & Grill, where we started chatting with the table next to us.  With our new friends, we went to a bar called Mes Amis and then ended up at Dusk Till Dawn where we danced and sang along to the live band that was playing until we poured ourselves into bed around 4:30am!!

Sunday morning, my Auntie Ronnie and Cousin Rachel picked us up and took us to Dim Sum at the Jockey Club. Coming from Geneva, where chinese food, not to mention dim sum, is very rare, we were extremely excited about eating delicious dim sum!! And it did not fail us. We enjoyed everything, even the pig trotters that Travers tried!

The next couple of days we spent touring around Hong Kong and Kowloon. Monday, we took a tram up to The Peak to see spectacular views of Hong Kong, walked around Central for a late lunch in one of the many air conditioned shopping centers, and took The Aqua Luna that night, which is a traditional Chinese junk, and watched all the lights from the buildings on either side of the bay perform a light show!  Tuesday was spent in Kowloon, going to the park and then to the Temple Street night market. We didn't buy anything there but it was really fun to walk through stall after stall of shops.

Wednesday we took an hour bus ride through Hong Kong past Repulse Bay on our way to the Stanley Street Market. I bought a dress for my cousin's wedding, and we met my Auntie Ronnie and got a beer at The Smugglers Inn.  That night my cousins took us to the Jockey Club again, but this time it was to the race track. We got a spot right along the rail and watched and betted on several horse races. Both Travers and I won one race each and walked away with a 40HKD profit (that's a little over 5USD)!!!

By Thursday, we were exhausted from all the touring, so we took it easy, got some foot massages at Happy Foot, and waited for my family to arrive. Once they got there, we took Ben and Bryna out for a couple drinks at Mes Amis to welcome them to Hong Kong.  Friday was spent catching up with the family, and walking around Wanchai. We had a wonderful welcome dinner that night at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then all the cousins took cabs to Lan Kwai Fong, which is one of the hot spots for clubs and bars. Shots were passed around, we stopped into the Ice Vodka Bar, where you can borrow a fur coat, and sit in basically a freezer on ice blocks and drink vodka.  We eventually made our way to a club to go dancing, and then a last minute attempt at going to the top of the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel which is known for spectacular views of the city.  To end the night right, our cousin Karen took us to have some late night delicious chinese food. Yumm!

My cousin Eugene's wedding was on Saturday. It was a beautiful event with spectactular views and delicious food. We sweated through the outdoor ceremony, and enjoyed appetizers and beverages during the cocktail reception.  Then had a great dinner with 8 courses!! 

By Sunday, we were all exhausted, but had a family dim sum brunch and then celebrated Father's Day with afternoon tea, some sight seeing, and an italian dinner in the Soho area. We spent Monday saying our goodbyes and getting packed up. And topped it off with a traditional chinese dinner at a restaurant called The American Peking Restaurant, right before hopping onto the train to head to the airport.

All in all, it was an extremely successful trip. We had lots of delicious food, saw amazing views of Hong Kong, and got to spend some quality time with family.  If you ever find yourself in Hong Kong, let me know and I can give you some great tips on where to go and what to do. Its a wonderful place and we will definitely be back to visit some day.