Hong Kong

Ah, the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. SUCH a fabulous city as it soars high in the sky...the architecture having a complete personality of its own. Victoria and I ventured out to the Kowloon side of Hong Kong to the Jade Market to do a little shopping and also to accomplish some business-oriented tasks. I seem to find something jewelry-oriented to do wherever I go. In the picture below, I am sorting through beads for a woman who is stringing some bracelets for me. All the heavy challenges of picking through pearls and gemstones worked up our appetite so we headed to a traditional Chinese lunch of "Dim-Sum." As we sat down, I had a sudden revelation. I realized that about 15 years ago, it was with Victoria's father, Fred that I had my first Dim-Sum experience. He took our college group to a restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown for Dim-Sum lunch. And now, I'm here in Hong Kong with Victoria enjoying her first foray into the craziness that IS typical chinese Dim-Sum. My dad said there was a wonderful sense of symmetry about that. Indeed.


We continued to explore the Kowloon side a bit and soon headed back to Hong Kong Island or "Central" as the locals call it. One of the beauties of Hong Kong is the MTR train system. It is a fast, efficient way to move in between the two sides of Hong Kong and to get around both the Kowloon and Central sides. I have only stayed on the island side and seem to gravitate to that side, it being the business center and foundation for some of the best architecture I've seen. One of the easiest MTR stops for me is the IFC. (the International Finance Center). It is a central point for business people as well as locals who just like good shopping. Less busy than hectic Causeway Bay, I tend to gravitate to IFC. There is a great little movie theater, a "City Super" (the most amazing grocery store in the world) as well as a Valentino store (my mother ship).

Victoria "indulged" me by letting me drag her through some of the amazing buildings that dot the skyline. One of my personal favorites is the Bank of China building. An I.M.Pei icon, the triangular plan springs from the foundation, rises in famed I.M. Pei style creating a myriad of lines and surfaces against the futuristic Hong Kong backdrop. We also hit the Norman Foster building - the main Hong Kong bank building, home of the famous bronze Hong Kong Lion. (which also graces the Hong Kong Twenty Dollar Note).




We continued to explore the city in our last few days in Hong Kong. Heading up "the Peak," we hoped to catch some beautiful views of the city. Sadly, the fog had set in (something we San Franciscan's are quite familiar with) so we couldn't get a full view of the beauty that is Hong Kong from that height. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our time, made the best of our trip atop the peak and continued to amuse ourselves and laugh whenever possible.