Day 2-5 in Hong Kong!

So sad- I just discovered that many of the photographs that I took are nowhere to be found. The ones from Victoria's Peak seem to have been rewritten over, as my camera has no memory of ever taking them and my lovely pictures from my little point and shoot are also gone, including pictures at the beach, food pictures, and stray dogs of Hong Kong. I have NO clue how that happened.

On our second day in Hong Kong, we spent it in Kowloon. I would post pix from dim sum, but alas those were on my small camera so those pictures are gone. We did a lot of walking that day- saw a couple temples (including the LDS one), saw crazy crowds in Mongkok, and also saw the Festival of Lights show in Victoria Harbor. We then went to a fairly expensive Indian restaurant where we had a curry that even burned through Adam's mouth (as the restaurant menu proclaimed, it was "HOT HOT HOT!"). It wasn't that enjoyable of an experience- they charged an arm and an a leg for soda and rice, I never did get any utensils or a plate (I borrowed Adam's appetizer plate and used a communal dish spoon), and they lost Paul's credit card for a good 15 minutes, searching under tables and around the restaurant. I would take India Cook House over this high-end place in Hong Kong any day!

Sunrise on day 2 (around 6:30am)

Betty's McD sundae fix...one of many on this trip!

LDS Temple- it was closed for cleaning, but Chris (who was a missionary in Hong Kong almost 10 years ago) got to talk to some of the missionaries who were around

Busy streets of Kowloon- everybody is out shopping

The light show off of the harbor- came with music and we saw a huge catfight between these two women! Lots of yelling and curing in Cantonese!

On our third day, we spent it on Hong Kong Island. We started off with some lunch at a local eatery (all the food pictures were on my little camera so are lost), then did some walking around SoHo and Causeway Bay. Since it was a Sunday, we saw crowds of Filipina women picnicking under awnings and buildings. We took the covered escalators to one of the temples there, before taking the tram up to Victoria's Peak. The view at sunset was beautiful, and there was a nice mix of fog, rain and lights.

Lunchtime at a small restaurant in Hong Kong- fun times, lots of food!

All over Hong Kong were huge crowds of women who were taking a break from their jobs as housekeepers, nannies, etc. With nowhere to go, they hang out with friends in the public spaces. Since there was rain out, every covered area was where the crowds went.

Covered escalators...glad they have them because the hills are STEEP!

One of my few pix from Victoria's Peak. I have no idea what happened to the hundreds of pix that I took, but they were not on the memory card. =( Luckily I got a few from Betty!

Day 4 was spent in Macau. I can't talk much about this day because I was sick with a cold and not in a particularly good mood. Adam probably can tell a better story. We did eat some amazing egg tarts here and I took my parents to get some cool stamps at the Post Office and took my mom to the Wynn to do a little gambling.

Inside the Wynn

Today was a catch up and breathe day! We slept in, did some laundry (which is still hanging to dry...with rain and humid weather, the clothes don't dry as fast as in Ridgecrest!) ate lunch in Mui Wo, took the dog out for a walk, then headed to Tai O to see the houses on stilts, walk through the dried seafood markets, and eat dinner. The dinner was a little underwhelming, despite the restaurant getting rave reviews from Lonely Planet.

One of the many large animals we saw on our walks in Pui O

Homes on stilts along the water in Tai O

One of the many dried seafood stands along the small streets in Tai O.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Hong Kong. Susan and Paul will ring in the new year in Victoria Harbor, but the rest of us don't have the energy to stick it out (plus I am still sneezing up a storm with my cold). I am going to take a ton of photos to make up for how I am feeling right now!