I debated whether to include this as part of my DragnTrek Adventures, and decided, of course! With only 2 weeks to go before I am living in my van full time, that’s close enough. So, whether on the road or in the air and everything in-between, it’s all part of this new chapter in life. This was a super surprise last minute trip. My friend Werner was celebrating a major birthday milestone and invited my son Ski and me to Hong Kong to celebrate with friends and family.
We were in Hong Kong for a week, and we explored as much as possible while there…which means lots..and lots..AND LOTS of pictures!! I decided to put it all in one blog post instead of splitting it up, so settle into a comfy chair with snacks and your beverage of choice, cause this is going to be a long post…you’re going to feel like you were in Hong Kong by the time you’re done here 😊
Sun, May 12: The Arrival
I started taking pics as soon as we got on the plane, and had to take a pic of my very first sight of Hong Kong as soon as we arrived at the airport. Ski was excited to see a Sanrio shop, and right away bought something for a friend. He was also excited to see the McDonalds menu, curious to see how different it is than whats in the USA..remember that for later! It was a beautiful airport, just a small taste of what was ahead of us in the week ahead. It was both Ski and my first time in a car where the driver sits on the right side…that felt weird lol We stayed in a hotel in Sha Tin…we had a beautiful room, with an incredible view of the city! We all met up for a late night dinner in the Tin Tin Bar in the hotel, but I forgot to take pics of the food. 😬
Mon, May 13: Welcome to Hong Kong!
Starting the day off, I took my customary “view from my hotel room” photo, and it was a gorgeous scene to wake up to! Afterwards, Werner gave us all Octopus Cards, a smart card that is used not only for the rail, but also can be used as payment in stores, restaurants, pretty much everywhere in Hong Kong! He showed us how to use the rail system, which was actually pretty easy to learn. Everything was clearly marked, colour-coded, maps and everything. It’s impossible to get lost here. After we got off the rail, we took a double decker bus to Central to pick up phone cards and run a few errands. Ski and I ended up not being able to use the phone cards, but there is Wi-Fi everywhere, so keeping in touch and getting around was no problem at all. Later, Werner told me one of those buses can hold up to 125 people..they are massive!
Ski and I took off on our own to explore, Werner suggested we take the pedestrian walkway above the city that starts in Central Market, which was several floors of shops. We stopped in Street Food Central where Ski got some milk tea that HK is known for, and I got fruit tea that was full of various pieces of fruit..sooo good. From there, we continued on the pedestrian path where we saw the Hong Kong Observation Wheel, and decided we wanted to take a ride on it. We exited the path at the Central Ferry Piers, where we stumbled on the Hong Kong Maritime Museum. We can’t resist a museum, so decided to go there instead, and it was amazing! Really fascinating to learn the history of trade and transportation along the piers. Also, the views were incredible! We ended up spending several hours here before heading back to the hotel to meet everyone for dinner.
For dinner, we head to Mak’s Noodle in Jordan, and it was so good! We had noodles and…other stuff, it was all delicious! And yet again..I forgot to take pics of the food. It looked so good, and I was so hungry! I was too focused on eating, and not picture taking! 😂
Tues, May 14: Tian Tan Buddha aka The Big Buddha
On this morning, I took a panoramic view of the city from the balcony of the hotel lounge…it was such a beautiful day, and for some reason, each day looked different from the prior one, so I never tired of the view. Today, we took the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car which was an incredible ride to Lantau Island. Ski and I are a bit crazy, and would have loved to take one with a glass floor, but its a good thing Werner booked the regular cable car, because the others were already a bit wooah! lol It did shoot way up high, over the water, from one mountain to the next. It was about a half hour ride and the views really were insane…like nothing Ive ever seen before. As we got closer to Ngong Ping Village, the Big Buddah made his appearance, can’t miss him. Hes HUGE!
We strolled through the village, Ski and I stopped to share a small lunch of dumplings and a chicken dish before heading off to say hi to Tian Tan Buddha. This is the worlds largest outdoor seated Buddha, at 112ft tall, weighing 250 tons. And, as luck would have it…its his birthday! So being here was a pretty big deal. Unfortunately, I could not walk up the steps to see him up close…I’d be able to get up the stairs fine, but my knees would object to the coming back down the 256 steps he sits on top of. Buddha would have a new roommate as I settle into my forever home if I had walked up there.
Afterwards, we checked out Lo Pin Monastery. There was a courtyard with incense for people to light for blessings, and here there were some of the biggest sticks of incense I’ve ever seen…not sure exactly, but at least 3 of me tall, so around 20ft or so?! At the steps of the monastery, we got to partake in the ceremony to bathe Buddha for his birthday! I was really hoping I’d get to bathe the Big Buddha, but this was good too. 😏
Before heading out, Ski and I got tickets for Motion 360, a 3D immersive movie that took us up close to Buddha, and around other areas we could not visit personally, like the Tao Fishing Village and Wisdom Path. It was pretty incredible! I accidentally bought these tickets, we meant to visit the Cable Car Museum Discovery experience, but this turned out to be WAY more fun than we expected!
We all had a really nice dinner, which I also forgot to take pictures of. But this time I remembered just in time to take pics of the empty plates before they were all whisked away…progress!!!!
Wed, May 15: Victoria Peak & Night Market
Today we had lunch at Sha Tin 18, and this time I took photos!!! Mainly because Werner helped, by reminding me to take a picture every time a dish hit the table. My fam who were dying to see pics of all the cuisine are very thankful, because I was doing a terrible job of it on my own. 🙈 Good thing too..everything was incredible! And it was such a nice place, with several stations where you can see various dishes being prepared.
Afterwards, we head out, and walked through Pacific Place Mall where there was a pretty cool interactive art installation. Ski did a questionnaire, and it came up with a customized pattern that then showed up in the cube everyone was walking through, that was pretty neat! We then walked through Hong Kong Park that is so beautiful with a waterfall, and lake with koi and turtles in it, its easy to forget that you are in the middle of a bustling city.
We then made our way over to the Peak Tram, the first funicular railway in Asia, and one of the longest in the world. It went into service in 1888, and carried residents up to their luxury homes in the upper levels of Hong Kong, but now also carries tourists up to the attractions and views up there. We caught sight of some pretty incredible homes that still are around there though. The angle of the tram is so steep, it creates an optical illusion that makes the buildings look like they are falling forward as you pass by them!! This took us all the way up to our destination at The Peak Tower. From here, we walked to the Lions Pavillion for some incredible panoramic views of the city. Werner let us know that it gives us the perfect view of Lions Peak Mountains, named so because the mountains look like the head of a lion…if your imagination is vivid enough to see it 😂 For dinner, we then head to The Peak Lookout, a really beautiful restaurant, and sat outside with more incredible views. On the way back to the city, we took a double decker bus that was going quick fast down a steep winding road with a massive drop off in the dark of night. The amount of faith we put in our drivers skills was immeasurable!!!
At this point, Ski and I broke away from the group as they were heading to the horse race track, and we wanted to check out the Temple Street Night Market. It was such a cool experience! I felt like I was in the middle of my Sims game! They have a new city in the game where in the evening, the Night Market comes to life with shopping and food stalls and colourful lanterns strung up overhead…it was just like that..except way cooler cause it was in real life! We were too full from dinner to eat anything, but it all looked so good!
Thurs, May 16: Grand Event: Werner’s Birthday!!!
Ski and I head out for a bit, and today we got lunch at McDonald’s of all places! I made sure to get things off the menu special to Hong Kong: a chicken big mac, with steak fries, milk tea and a ginger soycreme pie. It was all very good, but most surprising..the whole thing only came to about $8!!! Thats like, half of what a McDonalds meal cost in Seattle…without pie! 🧐Afterwards, we head to Mong Kok to visit Sino Centre, a multi-level mall that is all things anime. Ski was in heaven, checking out and buying a few things of his favorite characters, and he saw so many things he could never get here in the states. I had no idea which way was up, but it was awesome to see him so excited and happy! We saw a poster for In-N-Out, not the restaurant.. I took a pic thinking that was pretty funny, not realizing it was a prediction… 👀
And then, the grand event that brought us all here to begin with, celebrating Werners big 7-OH Birthday! We all went to Victoria Harbour Supreme, an absolutely beautiful restaurant with the most, amazing, spread of food, and biggest crab I have ever seen in my life!!! One crab fed two tables of nearly 20 people..!!! We got to meet Werners family, all the brothers and sisters and the kids and everyone in his wife Iris’ family. They were all so sweet, it really was wonderful to meet them all! The food was just incredible, and the dishes just kept coming, all of it was delicious. I ate all the food. All of it. And Werner steady reminding me to take pics the whole time hah! Afterwards, we stopped to admire the skyline at the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre before getting a nightcap at the hotel bar.
Fri, May 17: Day of Exploration
Today Ski and I set out to just explore whatever we could our last full day in the city. We first head to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre to check out the Voyage with Van Gogh exhibit, a 360 immersive experience that was really incredible. Afterwards, we took the iconic Star Ferry across the Victoria Habor over to Central. Its a popular bucket list trip to take, and I can see why…the view is stunning!!! Its such a short trip, only about 10 minutes, but everywhere you look, its just skyline, skyline, skyline…truly, one of the most amazing I’ve ever seen. Once in Central, we checked out Don Don Donki, the funny looking place I took a pic of our first day in Hong Kong. Its a grocery store…but not just a grocery store, its a 2 story, 12,000sqft Japanese mega grocery store… I dont even know how to describe it. Oh! It reminds me of OmegaMart in Vegas..except its real! Very trippy…!
We then somehow found outselves on the Central Mid-level Escalator, the world’s longest outdoor covered escalator system that spans half a mile, and about 500 ft in elevation! We got carried away going all the way up before remembering Werner telling us..it only goes up in the morning, and then reverses and goes down in the evening. We were tired, and hungry, and getting cranky as we walked back down a couple blocks til we ended up at a row of restaurants where we decided to stop for lunch at Fini’s, an Italian-American restaurant. And what do we see on the menu? In-N-Out animal style pizza..yes, THAT In-N-Out! Of course we had to have it. After some beer and pizza, we felt normal again, and made our way back to the rail station. On the way, passed by some construction..here in Hong Kong, they use bamboo for scaffolding! That was pretty interesting, def looks way cooler than steel pipes! We also passed through an area that I said looks just like Time Square, not realizing…it literally is Hong Kong Time Square. Go figure!
For our last dinner in Hong Kong, we went to Peking Garden in Admiralty Center. This place was beautiful…even the napkins were beautiful…all of us felt it was too pretty to actually use! And tonight..we feasted on Peking Duck! I took a video of our duck getting sliced, and it was really fascinating to watch. There was a couple having dinner right next to it, and the lady was so excited to see me so excited that she clapped when the duck was done being plated 😂 It deserved the applause though! Every dish was amazing…I could eat like that every day. I could eat like I ate in Hong Kong for the whole week every day.
Sat, May 18: Bai Bai for now Hong Kong
Our flight was not leaving until evening, and so Ski and I took advantage of our last few hours in Hong Kong by heading out early to visit the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. This is a beautiful, and massive museum spanning 3 floors plus outdoor exhibits. The exhibits were amazing, from traditional theatre to pop culture to sculptures from a manga artist to outfits and awards from music and acting awards ceremonies. The Bruce Lee exhibit was absolutely incredible!! Unfortunately, I could not take pictures inside, but it really was fascinating to learn more about the man behind such a well known name. I also learned why he has such a strong connection to Seattle as well! This info was not included in the museum, but Ski looked it up, and found out that he considered Seattle home, which is why he was buried there. Talk about coming full circle!
Speaking of Seattle… it was time for us to leave Hong Kong and return back to Seattle ourselves here. It was an incredible, memorable week, and we were so happy to get to see Werner and Iris and be able to celebrate his birthday with friends. This really felt like a trip of a lifetime. If you made it all the way to the end, I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure it as much as we enjoyed experiencing it. 🥰
Bonus! Pics of Lincoln from his sitter
