Hong Kong Vacation (part one)

It's been a few months but I just have to get back and blog about our vacation to Hong Kong!!! Having been to China before I was interested to see how similar and different it was to mainland China. Boy was it both. After flying all day from Detroit, all we could do the first day was check in to our hotel and find a bite to eat before sleeping off some of the jet lag.

The next morning we decided to get up bright and early, head to get some coffee and check out the sights. We were staying in Kowloon so we took a boat across the harbor to Hong Kong Island. In the morning sun it was kind of hazy. Anyone that has been to China before knows that the pollution is pretty bad over there. Hong Kong was bad but nothing compared to what I experienced in Beijing. Anyways, the views are pretty cool with tall tall buildings and then mountains behind them.

             (map from Lonely Planet... http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/china/hong-kong/)

Once on the Hong Kong side we walked around checking out the shopping and decided it was time for lunch. We ended up at a restaurant that was known for it's Roasted Quail. Not the duck I had in Chinatown in NYC but still very very good! We grabbed a couple of snacks from the bakery next door and walked to the Tram station that would take us up to the Peak. 

The Peak is basically a huge lookout spot on top of a mountain that gives amazing views of the city below. Inside the building are lots of shops and restaurants. There are a few hiking trails around the area too. To get the views you can go up top to the roof and walk around. We went up before the sunset so we could see it both day and night. 

This gorgeous place is where Geoff proposed to me on our first night of vacation. I was so surprised and happy!!!

I guess the evening is primetime for the tourists so afterwards we were hungry but the lines were so long everywhere- including the Tram ride back down. Once we got back to Kowloon, we found a street market going on and ate at one of the outdoor restaurants there. :) Yum!