Hong Kong Day Two

(Ms. Arkin)

Well today was our second full day in HK (and also our last). We are still having adjustment issues with the 13 hour time difference coupled with minimal sleep and lots of walking. Plus we are all on different sleep schedules. I keep waking up at all hours of the night. Fogginess seems to be an overarching theme when it comes to both my state of mind as well as the weather. Speaking of foggy weather, today was precisely that.

My friend Neil, who lives in Hong Kong with his wife and 16 month old baby, offered to be our tour guide for the day. No objections to that! We took the MTR to Central where we took a taxi to his apartment which is a good way up Victoria Peak. They were performing a “Lion’s Dance” outside of his apartment complex which is a New Years tradition. The purpose of the lion’s dance is to scare off the bad spirits for the New Year. It is also tradition to give money to both children and single people during new years. I had heard about this tradition before, but not the part about single people. Perhaps I need to make some more Chinese friends?! Anyhow, children get money presented to them in bright red envelopes which is referred to as lycee?? It was a very colorful, festive and happy setting as they ran around with their red envelopes dancing and chasing after lions. There was certainly a spirit of positive energy.

After the lion’s dance we went for a walk around the area. We went through a little park / zoo type thing which was quite pleasant. We then headed down Hollywood Avenue where there are antique stores although not much was open. It seemed that the fog was lifting somewhat so we decided to make our way to Victoria peak in the cable car. Victoria Peak is where you get a spectacular view of the entire city. That is, if it is a clear day. When we arrived at the top of the peak, it was one thick mass of white fog. We still took a picture of the four of us in front of what should be a fabulous view of Hong Kong. Unfortunately all you can see is us with a backdrop of white. Oh well.

Also, at Victoria’s Peak is Madame Tousseauds’s wax museum (along with all sorts of shops, cafes and restaurants). If you bought admission tickets to the wax museum in addition to the cable car, you were allowed to bypass the long line for the cable car that takes you to the top of the peak. Neil was kind enough to treat us all to this “double deal” excursion. We were very grateful and thrilled not to have to wait in another line! At the museum, Candice was very excited (that might actually be an understatement) to get her picture taken with Jackie Chan. So the weather was lousy and the view was non existent, but Jackie was there to make things right!

When we were done with the peak, we walked back to Neil’s apartment which I said earlier is about half way up the peak. I think Molly mentioned the steepness of things in Hong Kong in the last journal entry. She was not exaggerating. It is one of those hills that is so steep it is actually easier to walk up than down. My shins, calves and heels were ready to snap in half by the time we got to the bottom.

We were originally going to stay at Neil’s for dinner so that we could see the fireworks from their apartment which is on the 35th floor and provides a sweeping view of the city. Since their building was immersed in white fog, we decided to make our way back down to the kowloon area to eat dinner and watch the fireworks from there.

We ate at TGIF’s – one last American meal before we fully transition to Asian cuisine. It was also a matter of convenience. We were like four zombies during dinner – that hazy jetlag feeling combined with hunger and aching feet. Not the best mix! Our timing was perfect, however. Just as we walked out of the restaurant to head back to the YMCA, the fireworks were beginning. The crowd was impassable. Stephen hopped on top of some type of utility structure which provided an awesome view of the fireworks and also alleviated the discomfort of being smushed by the crowd. Molly and Candice hopped up next and I thought I would never be able to pull myself up that far, but somehow I managed to do so (although not with the same grace). It started a trend and before we knew it a family and 4 children had joined us. The kids were cheering and jumping and screaming and having so much fun. Stephen got some great photos of the fireworks. My pictures had the corner of a building in the way.

The fireworks ended promptly at 8:23pm (as scheduled) and the crowd dispersed quite efficiently. I managed to jump off the structure without killing myself and we made it back to the hotel.