This Christmas was a change in pace from the last two years that we spent in the States. With Sara 8 months pregnant, there was no way we could make the long-haul trip back to Spokane. However, the three week holiday was far too long to spend sitting at home preparing the nursery. So we opted for a short trip to Macau, and then to Hong Kong.
In spite of the thick smog, Hong Kong has a breath-taking skyline, particularly at night. The nightly laser light show that plays from the buildings is really a sight to see. We went back to the harbor a couple of times in the evening just to see the light show. In addition to the skyline as a whole, there is some intriguing architecture up close. One of our favorite buildings was Two Financial Tower - especially festive because of the lighted Christmas tree in front!
But Hong Kong wasn't all flashy buildings and laser light shows. One of the most engaging elements of the city is the many interesting side streets and pedestrian walk-ways. You could easily wander the streets for hours, day or night, without getting bored. Since this was the closest that Sara and I have been to mainland China, we were particularly drawn to all of the lanterns, bright colors, and sundry
knickknacks.
But one of our favorite places among the shops was the Lock Cha Tea Shop, where we stopped in for a tasting. All of Lock Cha's tea comes directly from the farmers and is prepared and served more traditionally than what I am accustomed to.
As a Special Administrative Region of China, Hong Kong had a unique feel. There was definitely a sense of collision between East and West - vestiges of the 99 year lease that the British had on the area following the Opium War. English is generally understood, and it's easy enough to get by as a tourist. There's something entertaining about seeing a city that is huge, polluted, and by all accounts a Chinese city - but that operates with the efficiency of a western capital. Double-decker buses, a modern rail system, and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks all work together to make Hong Kong a delightfully modern city (especially when compared to Manila), even though it has the highest population density of any city in the world! The crowds at Christmas were suffocatingly enormous (especially outside the luxury shops in the posh shopping districts), but somehow everything still worked.
There is order to the teeming masses.
Even when the crowds got to be too much for us, there were plenty of places in and around Hong Kong to stretch your legs and get away from the crush of holiday shoppers. We traveled just outside the city, to Lantau island, to visit a giant Buddha.
And we also walked to a local park, right in the middle of the city, that has a respectable aviary. The best part about Hong Kong's public parks is that they are free! And considering how expensive everything else is, that's a welcome change.
As much fun as it is to see the parks, the museums, the temples, and the streets, there is nothing quite like the sight of Hong Kong at night. One of the highlights (and most freezing cold outings we took) of the entire trip was looking out at the harbor from the vantage point of The Peak. Now
that's a skyline view worth the price of admission.
our cats. The multi-color tabby is named Beaker. She got that name because she sounds like a certain muppet character of the same name. The white one with the stubby tail is named Buko. Buko is the Tagalog word for coconut. The small, orange tabby is named Lily. She earned this name because we came home from a beach weekend in Boracay to find her in the garden, under the lilies. She was about 3 weeks old at the time, and I still maintain that she won the "kitten lottery" by being abandoned in the garden of Sara "crazy cat woman" Kopp. At first, the big girls didn't like Lily, but they have grown to tolerate her. That is most evident when they all sleep together in what Sara has affectionately termed "the ball of fluff".
