May 9 (Entry #23)

Posted by Howard Simpson at 5/8/2008 10:22 AM
Categories: uncategorized
While I have left SE Asia behind me, there is still plenty of Asia to see.  My next stop was Hong Kong, where I went to visit my friends Stephanie, from UCLA, and Nick, her fiancé.  After months of living in hostel dorms and cheap hotel rooms, it is so nice to be able to stay at someone’s home...it doesn’t hurt that the home is nice and in the heart of Hong Kong either.  I definitely welcomed the hospitality and friendly faces.

My first night in Hong Kong I met up with some friends from business school, Tai and Henry.  Stephanie and Nick were out of town that night, so I ventured out on my own to find them.  I met them out in a busy area for nightlife, especially among foreigners, called Lan Kwai Fong.  It seemed like a fun area and we had a few drinks before heading over the river to Kowloon.  Here we went to a few bars that were definitely more often frequented by locals.  This meant cheaper drinks and bigger pours.  I couldn’t complain.  I also learned a dice game that all the locals play.  Overall, it was a fun first night.

The next day, Stephanie and Nick returned and we headed to The Peak, which overlooks the city.  Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy and misty, which is apparently pretty common here, and therefore the view wasn’t the best.  I still got a good feel for the city though.  From there we headed to the Hong Kong Zoo.  This zoo was pretty small compared to any zoo I’ve ever been to before (not that I’ve been to too many zoos, but...).  The reptile section was populated by three reptiles.  The largest collection of animals was the different types of monkeys.  I could have watched them swing and mess with each other all day.
On Wednesday, we headed to Stanley Market, a great little place to buy some fun souvenirs located right off the water on the less built up side of Hong Kong Island.  This side of the island was definitely calmer, without large skyscrapers shooting up everywhere or bulldozers dumping dirt into the water in an effort to create more land to build on, as is
common in the city center.  After some shopping, we had a nice lunch by the water.  Our trek back to the apartment allowed me to explore the city some more, walking through Hong Kong Park.  That night we took a ferry across the bay to the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kowloon.  The hotel has a great view of the Hong Kong skyline.  Every night at 8:00 there is a light show from all the skyscrapers.  So we ordered dinner and sat at the hotel watching the city light up.

Yesterday morning I woke early, ready to watch Kobe Bryant get his MVP trophy and see the Lakers beat the Jazz again.  As you all know, it was a great game and Kobe got his MVP.  With the game over and the whole afternoon still in front of us, there was only one question left to be answered: “Howard, you just watched Kobe Bryant win the MVP award and the Lakers go up 2-0 in their series, what are you going to do now?!”  The answer, of course, was easy: “I’m going to Hong Kong Disneyland!”
While Hong Kong Disneyland is much smaller than Disneyland in Anaheim, the duplication of the original Disneyland was quite impressive.  It was hard to remember sometimes that I was still in Hong Kong.  Unfortunately, many of the rides weren’t there, like Pirates and the Matterhorn, but the rest was great.  Also, the skies were completely clear and the sun was out.  Stephanie said it was one of the most beautiful days she’s seen in Hong Kong since moving here.  I don’t think
I've been to Disneyland since GradNight 12 years ago (wow, I’m old...).  The first thing we did (besides buy ridiculous hats to block the unexpected sun) was to go on Space Mountain.  Space Mountain was the first roller coaster (does it count as a roller coaster?) I ever went on at the age of 7.  Perhaps the highlight of the day was It’s A Small World.  That ride just never gets old, although I’m pretty sure some of the displays they had here were different than the original ones.  It was great because it represented a microcosm of my trip and many of the places I experienced.  I quickly started cursing myself as I realized that I could have saved thousands of dollars and just ridden It’s A Small World over and over again.  Oh well, maybe next time...

After saying our goodbyes to Mickey and Minnie and making plans to see them in LA, we headed to dinner at a Chinese restaurant near the apartment.  Now it is time to say goodbye to Stephanie and Nick as I am off again to my next location.  Stay tuned as there are only two blogs left!!!

Hong Kong Fast Facts:

Pictures of the Hong Kong skyline: 87 (I deleted about 75 of them though)
Sunny days: 1
KFC visits: 1 (and I wasn’t overly impressed…Australia has still had the best so far)
Friends visited: 4
Monkeys jumping around their cages: about 30
Pirates of the Caribbean rides: 0 (how do you not have the Pirates and still call yourself Disneyland?)
Traveled around the world: 1 (It’s A Small World counts, right?)
Lakers Performance: Kobe won the MVP and the Lakers went up 2-0 in their best of 7
Churros and funnel cake ate: 0 (they didn’t sell it at Hong Kong Disneyland!!!)
Chicken Feet ate: 0 (last year in China I had 2!)
Days: 5
Blog Entries: 1
Blog Entries left: 2

Click here to see pictures of Hong Kong and Disneyland
 

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