The Peak

I promised some tourist sights so here's one of the best. Everyone who comes to Hong Kong goes to The Peak, as everyone should. That's it, way off in the distance.



This is the highest point on Hong Kong island, with fantastic views of maybe the most fantastic cityscape in the world. To get there, you enter the tram, then ride up the mountain. It is like a very slow rickety roller coaster ride that never leaves the ground but goes really, really, high on a really, really steep grade.



When you reach the top you see "the anvil" - a shopping/restaurant complex.



And you see luxury homes on the hillside - apparently this has traditionally been where the wealthy live to get up above the smog and crowds.



But the real goal is to see this.





In the second photo you can see Hong Kong island, then Victoria Bay, then Kowloon and the green New Territories.

Equally amazing, you turn to look in the opposite direction and see this.



There are long hiking paths and easy trails. Guess which one we chose?



Lovely... uh, what's that? It's as big as Robb's hand!





Okay, now let's look for birds. They're so much nicer. And maybe one of them will eat that thing. We ate at The Pearl restaurant - really nice meal and glass wall views. Sorry, no pictures from the restaurant.

My favorite place

We are doing some tourist sightseeing and I promise to do a blog on the Peak and the Avenue of Stars. But today I'll share my favorite place. This is Victoria Park in our neighborhood, Causeway Bay. Living spaces here are small and favorite leisure time activities are going to a park or a shopping mall.

Each day and time of day in the park is different. Sundays are the most lively. The first thing you notice on Sunday is the gathering of women who are not Chinese. These are amahs, domestic helpers with childcare and housekeeping. Traditionally, amahs were older, unmarried Chinese women who became a part of the family. Today, they are young working women from the Phillipines, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand or Sri Lanka. Like most everyone here, they work a half day on Saturday and Sunday is the only full day off. Each group gathers in a particular park to see friends on Sunday. Our park is a gathering place for Indonesian amahs.





Every morning the park is alive with people doing tai chi among the trees that line the walks. But on Sundays, there is a new exercise around every corner. Basketball,soccer,lawn bowling and skating (the most fun to watch)...









Tai Chi and other martial arts... Those two men are practicing with real swords.





Sundays are also good for phone calls and naps.





On weekday mornings the old men like to loiter. Oops, is that Robb?



And finally, some of the best spots in the park.

The "energetic foot massage path" - no shoes allowed. I give it a try now and then.




The model boat racing pond. We haven't figured out when the boat races occur, but it is a good spot to take a rest. The crane is real.



Amazing trees...






And just everyday people to watch doing everyday things - my favorite sport.

Good news from the doctor

Saturday we went back to see the eye doctor. Again there was a check on Robb's vision. He has progressed dramatically from "okay, no eye chart. Can you see my hand waving 3 inches from your face?" Now he actually reads the top couple of lines on an eye chart across the room using his right eye. This is very good!

Again the pressure in his eye is good, the examination indicates the retina is still attached and in position. The gas bubble holding everything in place is much smaller. Dr. Kwan says now we need just 1 kind of eye drop, 3 times a day. We'll return in two weeks, on December 9. If the bubble keeps shrinking at this pace, it seems likely that we will get the okay to travel in about 3 weeks. If the bubble remains, but is very small there are some eye drops that can make it safe to travel. We're hoping that we can come home in mid-December.

Three weeks... is that a short time or a long time? Suddenly I feel like I'd better do some more serious sightseeing!

In that spirit, this weekend we decided to take the brand new cable car from Tung Chung, up the Lantau mountain. This is a new tourist attraction, just open this October. We arrived around 2 pm, to discover that we had a 2 hour wait to board the cable car and it was too late to get a 2-way ticket. We'd need to take a bus back down the mountain. So... we chose to just hang out at the Tung Chung MTR station and watch the kids playing in the plaza fountain instead. We are very easily amused.







Parking lot for bicycles

For Lisa

"It makes no difference how far we travel or where we go, but it is important to be perfectly clear about where we come from."

- The Village of Stone, Xiaolu Guo

Thanksgiving in Nansha

We just spent 3 days in Nansha, on mainland China. Early Monday morning we went to Wan Chai - a business district in downtown Hong Kong. This offered a new view of rush hour. Huh. Art Garfunkel is coming to Hong Kong. Last week we missed The Village People.



We got our visas at the China Resource Center. This is a modern building with a lovely entry garden that includes this huge ceramic dragon wall.




We took the ferry to Nansha on Tuesday morning. One of Robb's colleagues told me that the Nansha Grand hotel was a 6-star hotel. I admit that I was skeptical. Aren't 5 stars the peak? But this just might deserve a 6th star. Very luxurious inside and surrounded by gorgeous gardens outside. The photos really don't do it justice... it was another gray day.







Here's Robb in our room, catching up on local business news. (Eye watchers, his right eye is now almost as open as his left, but often looks a little tired at the end of the day. He says he is starting to see out of the top of his right eye now, which means the bubble is getting smaller. Yay!)



We had a very authentic local lunch outside of the hotel grounds. On the way in, we passed these tasty morsels. Turtle or alligator anyone? I am not so adventurous and enjoyed the tofu, veggies, and pumpkin cakes. Robb went for the chicken. I had to tell him that he had just put a chicken head on his plate. He proved not so adventurous either and didn't eat it. (Good thing I'm here to provide a little sharper eyesight.)



On Wednesday, lunch included a yummy pumpkin and ginger "sweet soup" dessert, a local specialty. We had dinner at this beer garden, part of the Nansha hotel complex. I passed on the deep-fried sparrow, chicken feet, and duck web. Instead I went for the "home-made German beer", spring rolls, veggies, and the tofu with crispy egg, a house specialty. I vote it the best tofu so far. I am happy to say that there seems to be plenty of tofu on the mainland.



We planned to head back to Hong Kong on Thursday afternoon, Thanksgiving Day. I walked back to the beer garden to find a recommended local craft shop. I found more beautiful gardens and this lane of classical architecture, snack shops, and lotus ponds.






A small and happy group gathered round these musicians, who were playing classical Chinese music.



We went to the hotel for lunch with a colleague of Robb's and were pleased to see a fixed price Thanksgiving menu! We had some turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin soup. Back "home" in Hong Kong, Robb managed to find a turkey and avocado sandwich at the grocery store - almost like leftovers. Now if only there had been a football game on TV.