Currency:
Hong Kong Dollar

Highlights:
The Peak, the worlds biggest Buddha, iconic skylines, mesmerising views and gambling in Macau

Our Adventure:

We woke up early and jumped back on the Skyliner (for the second time in 24 hours) to Tokyo Narita airport where we checked in to our Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. We did however realise that we were flying a different airline which after flying quite a lot over the past few months made us very excited as this meant new movie choices! After having an amazing time in Tokyo and Beijing we were very excited to see what Hong Kong had to offer us.

Hong Kong (meaning "fragrant harbour" in English) is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China and it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass of 1,104 square kilometres and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

This vibrant, dynamic city was just a "barren rock" housing a collection of fishing villages when claimed by Britain in 1842 following the First Opium War with China and it has now transformed into an unbelievable place to visit.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong now runs on economic and political systems different from those of mainland China. Hong Kong is one of the world's leading international financial centres and is frequently described as a place where "East meets West", reflecting the culture's mix of the territory's Chinese roots with the culture brought to it during its time as a British colony.

Hong Kong offers a host of memorable tourist attractions and we were looking forward to being amazed by the diverse contrasts and close proximity of the stunning cityscapes and soaring mountains, heritage sites and extensive green countryside that makes up Hong Kong.

Avenue of Stars, A Symphony of Lights, Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo
21 December 2009

We arrived late afternoon in Hong Kong and jumped on the Airport Express and headed to Hong Kong Island to where our hotel Yes Inn in Fortress Hill was located. After dropping our bags off we decided to go out and explore and first stop was the Avenue of Stars.

Avenue of Stars is Hong Kong's version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and it is located along the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade and it celebrates icons of Hong Kong cinema from the past century. There are plaques, hand prints of stars (including Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan) and there is even a two metre tall statue of the legendary Bruce Lee.

The seaside promenade offers fantastic views, day and night, of Victoria Harbour and its iconic skyline which makes it an ideal place to see "A Symphony of Lights", which is a spectacular light and laser show synchronised to music and staged every night at 20h00.

So after wondering around the Avenue of Stars we grabbed a spot to watch A Symphony of Lights which is the world's "Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show" as recognised by the Guinness World Records and it features more than 40 of Hong Kong's skyscrapers in a stunning multimedia extravaganza. What an amazing show!

We then headed to Lang Kwai Fong which is an area that when the lights go down the "in crowd" head for as it is buzzing with clubs, bars and restaurants. Lara and I sat down and grabbed a seat and a drink at Agave - a Mexican bar - and did some great people watching.

Next and final stop for the evening was SoHo which according to the Guinness Book of Records has the world's longest covered elevator. SoHo offers a wide range of upmarket international restaurants and bars and walking around you definitely get to experience the cosmopolitan atmosphere of this popular food district.

After our earlier Mexican experience we came across another Mexican restaurant called Tequila and wrapped the evening up with a great Mexican meal.

You can view our photos here:

2009-12-21 [China, Hong Kong] Hong Kong - Live it - Love it:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=365348&id=713415257&l=250ee25dcf

The Peak, Star Ferry, Ngong Ping 360 and Macau
22 December 2009

We woke up early the next morning as we knew we had a lot of things to cover to say that we had truly got a taste for what Hong Kong has to offer. Our day panned out as follows:

The Peak:

First stop was to The Peak which is one of Hong Kong's most popular attractions and offers spectacular views over the city, harbour and mountains beyond. There is a reason why The Peak is one of the most popular attractions in Hong Kong: It is absolutely incredible!

Getting to The Peak is also an unforgettable trip and there is nothing in the world like the Peak Tram. Hong Kong's tram system is the only one in the world that runs exclusively with double-deckers which are everywhere in the city but the best tram is the Peak Tram which is pulled by steel cables and the tram climbs 373 metres up towards The Peak. It is so steep that the buildings you pass look like they're leaning at a 45°angle! Whether you're going up or coming down, this is truly a unique tram ride and highly recommended.

As we looked down from The Peak we were amazed by the spectacular view of the surrounding city skyline, the world-famous Victoria Harbour and Kowloon, the towering skyscrapers and peaceful green hillsides. We enjoyed this fabulous vista from the Sky Tower where we got to stand outside and enjoy the magnificent views of the city.

Star Ferry around Victoria Harbour:

Once we had a bird's eye view of Victoria Harbour from The Peak we decided to head down to the harbour and get up close and personal with one of Hong Kong's greatest assets and a jewel that people marvel at no matter how many times they visit Hong Kong.

We jumped on the iconic Star Ferry that runs from Central to Hung Hom which takes you through Victoria Harbour and we marvelled at the fabulous views of Hong King Island and Kowloon skylines as well as the beautiful Victoria Harbour.

Ngong Ping 360 to Lantau Island:

No trip to Hong Kong would be complete without a visit to the world's tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha which sits serenely atop Ngong Ping plateau amid the spectacular mountain scenery of Lantau Island.

We decided to jump on the Ngong Ping 360 which is a 5.7km cable car ride that takes you to the Giant Buddha on Lantau Island. The Buddha sits upon Ngong Ping Plateau at the Po Lin Monastery. At 26m high and weighing in at 202 tons of bronze, it is the world's largest seated outdoor Buddha and the eyes, lips, incline of the head and even the right hand (raised to deliver a blessing to all), combine to lend great depth of character and dignity to this extraordinary statue.

After a quick lunch at Zen Noodle Café in the Ngong Ping Village, Lara and I climbed the 268 steps to reach the platform where the Buddha is seated which was truly an awesome experience and offered a close up view of the Buddha. After wondering around we had a walk out to the Wisdom Path which offered more magnificent views and was a truly peaceful place to contemplate life.

Next up was the Po Lin Monastery which contains various figures of gods and other colourful manifestations of aspects of the Buddhist religion.

Coming back down on the cable car we were treated to an amazing sunset which wrapped up a must see for us in Hong Kong and a great afternoon of exploring.

Macau:

Our final stop for the day would be to head out to the island of Macau. Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China and is located across the Pearl River estuary from Hong Kong and until 1999 Macau was an overseas territory of Portugal.

We jumped on the 19h15 TurboJet and 1 hour later we arrived in Macau. Macau although known as the world's most densely populated place to live, is best known as Asia's largest destination for gambling and Macau takes in even more revenue than Las Vegas! Shoowee.

We hit the streets of Macau and explored the Grand Lisboa, the Wynn (where we also caught a magnificent light and water show), the MGM Grand and we finished up at the StarWorld Casino where my completely risk adverse wife and I did some gambling. We learnt a new game called Sic Bo and finished up on the casino which meant the casino would pay for an awesome dinner for us to wrap up our time in Asia's premier gambling destination.

We jumped back on the TurboJet to Hong Kong Island and finally flopped into bed around 03h00 and although it was a fairly hectic few days we truly experienced Hong Kong. Next stop for us would be Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which meant that we could ditch our massive jackets, our beanies and our gloves as that was the last of the cold places that we would be visiting on World Tour.

You can view our photos here:

2009-12-22 [China, Hong Kong] The Peak, Star Ferry, Ngong Ping 360 and Macau - Part 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=365759&id=713415257&l=354e7e5243

2009-12-22 [China, Hong Kong] The Peak, Star Ferry, Ngong Ping 360 and Macau - Part 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=365886&id=713415257&l=a0185b3b69

Until next time,
Leise + Lara