so we went to hong kong last weekend & had a wonderful time! we purchased a holiday packet from info, tickets & tours (ITT) on base, which was easy & somewhat affordable. we left on a friday night & were greeted at the airport by our own driver who took us right to the hotel. we stayed at the regal hong kong, which is located in causeway bay on the island. a nice hotel, it smelled good (important for a pregnant lady) & the staff were very friendly. our room had a nice view of the city & the best part of the hotel, besides location, was the rooftop pool.
saturday we took the mtr to the big buddah on lantau island & had an awesome (sweaty hot) day! had lunch at one of the shopping areas near the mtr before heading back. the mtr is easy to navigate & affordable (we got the octopus card), but certain areas still require a lot of walking to get from the train to your destination. but it seemed like every station had a mall inside. holy shopping hong kong!
our personalized tv greeting
some sights around the hotel
in the cable car
big buddah & mini buddah belly
one of the deities at the top
after our late lunch & train ride back, we hit the pool & chilled out until it was time to shower up & head out for dinner. we stayed close to the hotel & checked out a huge mall in causeway bay - times square. we ate at a nice chinese restaurant & had dumplings & a chicken & veggie dish. the waiter asked if we wanted a fork & knife & we said no, because, come on who wants to be those people..... we're not bad with chopsticks, but we're not the best. especially when the veggie dish has these teeny little slippery round mushrooms that made me feel like any second i could be mistaken for julia roberts in pretty woman when she shucks the snail across the restaurant. but all mushrooms stayed at our table & i wish i had gotten a picture of the table set up..... beautiful. but too hungry for pictures, so sorry blog.
killer views
chopstick store!
the next day we were gonna head out to the bird & flower market & then hit up a temple, but it was a bit rainy so we headed across the island to kowloon & tsim sha tsui to check out the museums. we went to the art museum which was awesome, beside beautiful art the view from the building was stellar. you could see all the harbor! we had a great time. after the museum we headed to harbour city, another huge shopping area. we had the best burgers at BLT burger & walked around a bit before heading back to the hotel for some more pool time.
in the art museum, crazy view
hong kong ballet poster in the mtr
i really wanted to catch a harbor cruise to see the lights & buildings, but you can't rush a pregnant lady & when i need to eat, i need to eat. so we skipped it & hopped in a cab & headed to soho in search of a tapas restaurant i read about. again, i should have taken a picture of the restaurant, but when it comes to food there are no distractions. we shared some great plates & had delicious dessert & then wondered around soho. i think the following weekend there is a lunar festival of some kind because we saw lots of women outside burning things (papers, incense, food..... yep, little fruits & stuff). we even ran across a little shrine in an alley & it smelled so good with all the incense burning. to end the night we hit up a soccer pub & watched a game before heading back. the guy working there was awesome & even gave jeff a free beer!
alleyway in soho
alley shrine
at the soccer bar
so our last day, monday, we were planning to head up to the peak to take in the sights of the harbour, but jeff woke up really sick..... puking, chills, the whole deal. so i played mommy & walked to the 7-11 for meds & gatorades. i felt so bad for him.... who wants to get sick on vacation? poor guy. but he was a trooper. we got a late check out & then went to the closest mall to eat (well, so i could eat) & kill time before our car was to take us to the airport. we ducked into an alley market & got some good photos & then went back to the lobby to meet the car. we enjoyed our last drive through hong kong before boarding our plane back to guam.
taxi view
alley market
being dropped off at the airport, goodbye hong kong....
we had a great time together & it was a much deserved, although quite delayed honeymoon, (we've been married 4 years). it was a wonderful trip, being pregnant while traveling was no biggie (lovin the 2nd trimester) & we were so happy to do something special just the two of us before our baby girl arrives. we didn't stress that we didn't win the sight-seers most scenes seen award, there is SO much to do there, but we got a great feel for the city & culture & really enjoyed our time there. & who knows maybe we'll go back before we leave guam.
