We managed to get a little sleep last night. Still feels like not enough. The
jetlag thing is catching us pretty good. Today we were taken on an amazing
tour of Hong Kong. Our guide took us across the harbour to Hong Kong island and all the way up to the top of the moutain. The peak is called Victoria Peak. It was a very winding bus ride through very scary traffic. I could not believe those drivers don't hit each other more often. That bus got so close to other vehicles (especially other buses) that he litterally had to inch past it to make sure no one "scraped" each other. And those roads are so narrow! I know we are fat, lazy Americans, but apparently we have FAT streets in the US too!
When we got to the peak, the view was astonishing. A little hazy because of
the overcast, we were still able to see the entire city and the harbour. We
were surprised, here are MANY large cargo ships that frequent the harbour
as well as a large floating Casino.
Then we headed back down the mountain to Stanley Market for some shopping. Let me tell you, I don't normally like shopping but O-M-G! What a neat place. We only spent about twenty bucks, but we got a set of wooden dolls, post cards, 3 t-shirts, a scarf and we found Mary a rattle-drum! I was LOVING it! We were supposed to bargain with the shopkeepers, but we didn't. Everything was so cheap that we felt guilty. Isn't that bad? We promise to practice our bargaining skills in Changsha.
Then our guide took us to the Aberdeen fishing village. That was an experience. We paid $100 Hong Kong dollars (about $13 US) for this smelly boat ride through the fishing harbour. I took over forty pictures! What an interesting way of life. Our guide said there are still about 14,000 fisherman in Hong Kong. Those fisherman live on these itty bitty fishing boats all the time. Made us feel real good about how we have it.
Next, we were taken to the Aberdeen Jade Factory. We knew before we went
in there to think dollar signs, and WHOA! It was neat to see how they make a
lot of the jewelry (not just jade). Then they led us into the showroom (how
convenient). Okay...we will admit it. We DID buy Mary her traditional piece
of jade (maybe for her 16th birthday). It is a georgeous pendant with an oval
piece of green jade, acented with three diamonds. Don't ask how much we paid. I was surpised Rob didn't cringe more, but jade WAS on our list of things to buy for Mary while in China. She is gonna have to be a lot older before she gets it!
Our last stop on the tour was at the Jade Garden restaraunt for a traditional
Dim Sum lunch. It was the greatest meal I think we ever had. They kept bringing more and more food out and setting it on the lazy susan in the middle of the table. It was delicious!
I am only going to post a few pictures from today as the picture files are
HUGE and are eating up the memory on my site. I would rather give
everyone our travel log more than pictures, but here are a few.
A fisher-dog (notice the man SHOWERING behind him? Oops!)
More of the fishing village
The market
The view from Victoria Peak
Us at the peak!
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