Ahoy,
After almost leaving my dad at the rest stop, we got dropped off at the border to go through customs and immigration. There are tons and tons of buses doing this same thing. Everybody goes in line through the process getting pushed and tossed around. My mom likened it to the refugee experiences she's seen on tv and in newspapers. Although technically a part of China, entering HK still requires the same pleasantries of going from one country to another. We exited China and entered HK according to my passport stamps.
I booked our hotel in the shopping district of Mong Kok on the Kowloon side of HK. Fortunately, we were able to walk to our hotel from where the bus dropped us off, requisite complaining from my mom. We dropped our things and went out to look at the street markets and food. My parents praised the food we had been eating since leaving Beijing, and it would be no different here. We sent my parents home after dinner and A and I wandered a bit more.
Our first day, being led by a friend, we started off to Hong Kong Island at a dim sum place that was truly a unique experience. You have to hover to get your seats. And then you have to harass the cart lady to get food. This restaurant is an example of the epitome of Chinese manners. Pushing, shouting, sharp elbows are a must for getting fed here. My mom was appalled, my dad seemed to be having fun - their usual dynamic respectively. We went on to walk around Hong Kong Central to the Mid-levels. We passed the Botanic Gardens and Zoo again, surprised at how much A and I had seen our last visit. We found the expat neighborhood, eventually getting on a bus up to Victoria Peak. At the top, we had our 3rd McDonald's of the trip, this time sampling the McWings, available only briefly in the States, and the red bean pie. We mostly retraced one of the days from our last time in HK, but my parents had not been so it was worth it.
The following day, my mom very willingly opted out of the adventure of ten thousand steps with me. My dad joined us to the UNESCO Geopark in Lantau Island. It was very sunny. I think we all were a shade of lobster somewhere by the end of the day. One of the 'hikes' was a taxi ride to a reservoir that had some rad looking volcanic geometric rocks. The awe of those stones were eclipsed by my desire to get out of the sun. I wouldn't call that a hike. Our second destination was more what I was looking for. We took a short water taxi ride to an island with a tombolo - a strip of rocks between beaches/land that become submerged during high tide making the adjacent beaches inaccessible by foot from each other. We scrambled around on the beaches and tidal zones. My dad is so rad. A and I went for a dip in the hotel pool that evening. We also discovered the sauna.
Our final full day in HK, we went up to the big buddha. A had been before with his family, but this time we rode the cable car up. It afforded really great views of the buddha on the hill as we approached the top. My parents were starving, so we got lunch at the vegetarian restaurant. It was apparently free that day because of some holiday. My mom thought it was good. After lunch, we walked up the stairs to the buddha. My parents aren't much for religion, so they blasted through the displays and just hung out in the shade. My mom, ever eager to get the physical activity out of the way, led the pack up the stairs (not understanding pacing) so as to get it over with quicker. The RRS, bringing up the rear, per usual, in his quest to read everything. Back at the little town below, we walked along the wisdom path - my mom complaining the whole way, my dad embracing the adventure. It is easy to see how I am a product of both my parents. We got a snack at the little town. A wanted to get one of everything.
Our next stop was Tai O, a historic fishing village where the houses sit on sticks in the water. After walking around the streets/markets for a bit, we hopped on a little boat to go out and see the houses and look for pink dolphins. No pink dolphins that day, but we did see a helicopter make multiple trips to get buckets of water from the ocean to put out fires on the mountains.
The next morning, we went to see the apartment building where my dad used to live with his grandpa in Yau Ma Tei. He lived there before immigrating to Chicago. We had our last HK meal of dim sum before taking a train to Guangzhou. Some of the best don tots of my life live in HK.
safe travels,
jt
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