Hong KongIs it or isn't it China?As we stepped of the plane into Hong Kong, we imagined a smoother transition to this culture. Unfortunately, our lack of planning again hindered an easy transfer. Assuming we would be able to find a hostel once we got there, we quickly found that not only were many already booked, the ones available were extremely far away. As it was expensive to travel back and forth between islands, we ended up settling on one of the only semi-close options- a resort. As this process took us over three hours, we jumped in a cab and drove away to our newfound luxury. Arriving at our hotel, we lugged our backpacks inside and settled into our extremely clean, internet equipped room. The only odd thing about our resort hotel was that it was situated in a strange spot on the Tsing Yi island. We were surrounded by shipping crates and had to take a cab to go anywhere. The concierge directed us downstairs, where we had our first taste of Hong Kong food. Becca and I spent an exorbitant amount of time deciding between the many options. The woman we ordered from spent the time trying to describe things and help us decide. We finally decided on fish ball soup, shrimp ball soup and a plum rice roll. We enjoyed our lemon iced tea as we waited excitedly for our meal. And then it arrived. Slightly put off by the strange smell, we gingerly attempted to eat our meal. After a few bites, we just couldn’t continue. Thrown off by the fish skin floating in the bowl, we scurried away, hoping the sweet old woman wouldn’t notice that we barely touched our ball soup. Back in our room, we contemplated our next plan of action. Just wanting some normal food, we decided to find a pizza hut. Mapping one on my phone, we hurried outside to get a cab to take us there. Attempting to describe to the driver where we wanted to go was a feat, but we finally got him to understand by showing him a map. He dropped us off, chuckling at the two silly American girls as he drove away. Getting our pizza, we stopped another cab to take us back. Enjoying our veggie (with corn?) pizza, we blogged about Beijing and skyped with our families. And then Rebecca broke the toilet. Calling down to the front desk, someone came up and “fixed” it, telling us it was fine. And then it wasn’t. Calling down again, a longer period passed before the man came back to fix it. And then Rebecca called again. Another guy came up and taught her how to use it. Apparently, you have to pump the handle multiple times to build up the water pressure. After that fiasco, we decided to just go to bed. The next day, we woke up early to go to Lantau Island, where the world’s largest sitting Buddha is. We took the subway to the island, passing the stop for Disneyland. Walking out, we stopped at Starbucks, and of course Becca had to stop. Continuing on, we stopped at the Pgong 360, a cable car ride across the mountains and bay to the Buddha. Becca is extremely afraid of heights, but overcoming her fear, we bought tickets and waited in line. Getting into the cable car, Becca just faced the up direction, and I told her she could see my pictures later. Usually, we walk everywhere, but it would have taken all day to walk to walk up and down all the mountains. Arriving by the Buddha, we stopped at a restaurant to try dim sum. We had a specialty one with chicken, peanuts and onion, spring rolls, and coconut bread. It was delicious, and we were very happy that we stopped there. Our server was extremely attentive (not common in China) and extremely friendly. He had us pose for pictures so he could take them for us. Leaving the restaurant, we headed toward the Buddha. We climbed the stairs, took pictures and left, anticlimactically. We thought the Buddha was old, but then we found that it was built in 1993. Stopping to get ice cream, we headed back to the cable car. The next morning, we got up early to leave at four am to make our six am flight. Getting to the airport, everything was closed. Walking from terminal one to two, we found where we were supposed to check in, but no one was there. Heading back to terminal one, we wandered around the empty check in desks and finally found information. The two girls informed us that the check in was closed because it was less than 45 minutes before departure. Except it was 55 minutes before at that time, and we were at the check in place earlier. They sent us back to terminal two with a “hurry up.” We checked in there, and found that our departure gate was in terminal one. Sighing, we headed back, thankful to be leaving the disaster that was China. |