Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient

Hong Kong… what a city! 😯

Although I only had two and a half days there, I sincerely enjoyed my time. With a constant juxtaposition of seeming opposites, the city has such a unique and vibrant feeling that I’ve never experienced anywhere else.

From its towering skyscraper jungles & forested mountain slopes, designer shopping malls & bustling street markets, glass-and-steel structures & bamboo scaffolding, loud and crowded streets & tranquil bays and islands, to its rich Chinese tradition & Western colonial history, Hong Kong is a very memorable place indeed.

Here are some photos that I took from walking the streets:

Something I thought was funny was how often I’d see images of skinned animals next to prices outside of eating places:

…and how random animals seem to often accompany advertisements:

…or how names of some places just wouldn’t fly in the USA:

But not everything is so weird. For example, this is apparently a common type of Hong Kong wedding cake:

For one of the days, my mom and I were lucky enough to have her cousin Ruth take us around more local places within Hong Kong.

Although there’s countless of delicious types of foods within Hong Kong, the kind that my mom and I were most excited about eating was dim sum. So much so, that we ended up going to two different places for it! What is dim sum, might you ask?

Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum dishes are usually served with tea for a full tea brunch.

On our first night, Ruth and her husband Nelson were kind enough to take us out to a traditional Chinese restaurant for dinner.

Here are a couple photos of some of the dishes that we got to try:

The next day, we took the roughly 25-minute ferry to Lamma Island at Ruth and Nelson’s suggestion. It was a decision I didn’t regret, as the island was a beautiful and tranquil get-a-way from such a bustling and lively city.

Even on the remote Lamma Island, I still couldn’t escape the far-reaching tendrils of the drama-filled U.S. election. When we passed by a bar that was playing the news, my mother, like many other passersby, latched onto it like a moth to a flame.

After too long for my liking, we continued on our way and hiked up a pathway into a residential area.

When we walked back down the valley, we were ready for lunch. I spotted a seafood restaurant that was overrun with locals, so we decided to eat there.

After Lamma Island, we took the ferry back to Hong Kong and walked to the station for the Peak Tram.

Unfortunately, it was a foggy night, so the photos that I took didn’t turn out very well. Here’s the best one that I managed:

So that sums up my two and a half days in Hong Kong! With its simple and well-developed public transportation, amazing and delicious food options, deep and rich culture, and sophisticated fusion of East and West, I can safely say that I would visit again. 🙂

Did you like my first overseas post? Was it too long? Too short? I’m still very new to this, so if you have any suggestions for improvements, please let me know! I welcome any comments and feedback.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please come back for my next post about Brunei.

– Comrade Brad