Hong Kong

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went for a short jog along hk’s water front and then hit the weight room.  headed to the awesome breakfast at the regal kowloon hotel and then took the subway from TST to Mong Kok where we walked around ladies’ market on Tung Choi St. We grabbed lunch at Din Tai Fung and had soup dumplings. We also explored Harbor City shops…700 shops! dinner is at Caprice (french restaurant) located in the central district on Hong Kong. we got the reservations confused… tonight was Amber at 8p. the decor, ambiance, and food were amazing!  i can easily see why this was ranked 37th in the world and #1 in Hong Kong.  We walked around for a small bit around central and Wyndham St (bar area)….but it seemed very college age. We saw one poor guy in his 40s who had vomited all over himself and his nice suit. Luckily his buddy was still with him.

Beijing to Hong Kong

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We met Bargitta at the hotel lobby and went to her hospital and met her chairman and had a tour of the ORs.  then, we went over to Fuwai Hospital (specialty cardiac hospital) to check out the ORs. after the tours, we took the subway to henderson shopping center and had some delicious noodles for lunch.  after lunch, we packed and caught our plane from beijing to hong kong (roughly a 3hr flight).

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Hong Kong to Guilin

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After a gorgeous morning run along the Kowloon waterfront and a yummy buffet breakfast, we met Eric up and he took us up to Victoria peak via the funicular (old cable car). We were able to take spectacular pictures of both Kowloon and hong kong. Victoria peak is the Island’s highest point – 552 meters high. I’d highly recommend getting up to Victoria peak and taking a walk around. The view is outstanding!  Then, eric took us to repulse bay (nice beach and one of Jackie chan’s apts), Stanley market (beach town feel and very touristy), and Aberdeen (harbor area with junks and sampans)…all in hong kong.  After a quick lunch of goose, dim sum, and veggies at the airport, we made our way to Guilin via quick flight.  We arrived around 5p and were met by Sophie our guide.  After checking into the hotel, we toured the downtown area, which was quite huge for such a quiet relaxing town. Sophie suggested we check out a local rice noodle shop in the downtown area and it was delicious! It’s located near the niko niko shopping center. Plus, one dinner rice noodle bowl and a coke was only $1.50!

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Hong Kong

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Woke up at 6am for a pleasant 1 hr run along the Hong Kong waterfront.  Along the run, we toured the Avenue of the Stars, posed with Bruce Lee, placed our hands alongside Jackie Chan‘s, and delighted in the history of the Star Ferry terminal clock tower….the previous last stop of the Orient Express.  Awaiting us at the hotel was a very delicious breakfast! Waffles, noodle soup, fruit, cured meats, oh my!  Filling our bellies to the brim, we headed out to the hotel lobby to meet Erik at 9a.  After yesterday’s debacle, we were sure we were on time.  We toured the Wong Tai Sin Temple, which appreciated 3 different Chinese religions: Taoism, Buddhism, and confucionism.  The temple was ornate with tons of people coming to pray.  It is one of the most famous temples in HK.  After that, we headed to headed to the bird, garden, and jade markets.  Tons of stalls and jade and time to wheel and deal your way to the perfect price for your Burmese jade pieces.  After tours here, we headed to the Ladies’ market (fa yuen St, tung choi St, sa yeung choi St) and I picked up a very cool bag.  Lunch was an amazing dai pai dong with a plate of crispy suckling pig and goose, rice, and bok choy.  The pig was a lovely crunchy delicacy of flavor….but the goose was even more intricate in flavor and texture.  after lunch, we continued to walk around the ladies market, walking all the way to mong kok and then back to our hotel.  We crashed for a quick nap and then went for dinner at a very lovely restaurant called Hutong.  After dinner, we checked out the swanky Peninsula Hotel and went upstairs to Felix’s.  Now, my legs are killing me and it’s nearing midnight….so time for shut eye!

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Hong Kong

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We arrived into Hong Kong at 7pm.  HK is 15 hrs ahead of Cali time.  Getting through customs was a breeze. We looked all over for our China Odyssey tour guide, however we weren’t able to spot him.  better yet, he found us.  Eric is a very hyper, sweet guide who let us know that he put in his effort to look for us for the past 2 hrs.  We meet up and head to our hotel, the Regal Kowloon Hotel.  We’re situated pretty close to the water front on the 15th floor. After dropping off our bags, we headed to the night market on Temple St.  It was quite the hike, but after 16+ hours on a plane, we were ready for an adventure….even though the weather was quite hot and humid!  We found a nice lil street vendor (dai pai dong) and ordered four season rice and beef with black bean sauce.  The area was very reminiscent of Chinatown in the US (specifically Boston and NYC).  After full bellies, we headed back to the hotel and crashed around 2a  Sunday.

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China – SAN to EWK to HK

It’s 830p SD time and I’m sitting at Gate36 getting ready to board my flight from SD to Newark on the red eye. 5 hr flight should be no problem, right? Well, in my recent travels, I’ve discovered my tolerance is roughly 2.5hours on a plane.  So, a cross country US flight will be interesting…and the Newark to HongKong will be even more interesting! I’m meeting a friend in Newark and we’re flying together to HK.  Should be incredibly fun! We’ll actually get to HK 7pm (15hrs ahead of SD time).  We’ll get ready to board and I’m really hoping that the trip goes by quickly.  I came with my Guatemalan pack…2 weeks for a chick, not bad!