I am looking for copy watch, copy handbag, suits, Indian food...

Hello and goodbye. Wam bam. 5 days and it's all over. Although we only had 5 days in Hong Kong, we definitely made the most of them. Our feet are sore, our shoes are worn, and we are covered head to toe in sweat. Who knew this place was 98% humidity at ALL times? :)

We started our trip kind of off on the wrong foot, as Cathay lost a piece of my luggage...the piece carrying the Xbox360...yeah...But all was well later that morning when they returned it to us at the hotel room, more or less in one piece. I guess they stored my luggage in the engine by mistake. :(

We walked, ran, trained, bused, boated, flew, trammed, and taxied all over the Pearl of the Orient. I even got Andrea to try many different kinds of Asian foods she had never tried before, but not without some light resistance. Every man loves a little challenge. I will have to say that when I started ordering left, right, and centre at dim sum she got a little concerned. Perhaps no more concerned than when I ordered some chicken feet. Mmmm...tasty suckers!

The most eventful memory of the trip would have to be our ride on the 360 skyview tram up to see the Tian Tam Buddha on Lantau island. I told Andrea it might be better to wait for another day since it was so cloudy at the top of the island, but we were 'assured' by the ticket attendant that the Buddha was visible. So we alighted aboard this chariot of death up to the summit. We noticed it was windy at the bottom, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. That tram was a shakin' and a swayin' like a leaf in the wind. We were riding with a young Chinese couple who seemed to be enjoying the rough ride, but then they started popping motion sickness tablets like ravers popping uppers at a rave. They generously offered some to us, though we declined. Once we got near the summit we were enveloped in fog. It seemed like a scene straight out of 'The Mist.' Although I assured Andrea of the solidity of the tram and downplayed the severity of the wind, I was more than a little worried myself. ;)

We made it to the top amongst a sea of fog, we walked up the many stairs, we saw the big guy, we took photos, my sunglasses were ripped off my head in the wind...good times were had.

We would have written more blog posts during the trip, but after long days of traveling and walking in the +25 degree heat and +90% humidity, we were obviously low on energy. Not to mention it's nearly impossible to find an internet cafe in this town. Our local i-cafe was populated with late night gamers, who sit solemnly in their chairs, chain smoking cigarettes and ordering fast food while playing some form of online game. Not how we would ideally spend our nights in Hong Kong, but who am I to judge?

Perhaps the best thing about Hong Kong is that Andrea loves Hong Kong. There are not too many cities in the world that get the Andrea 'I could live here' stamp of approval, but HK has made that list. I always told her that it is the New York of the Orient, and although she didn't believe me, she certainly does now. Despite the mugginess, crowdedness, the hustle and bustle, and the non-stop pestering of the local street salespeople, Hong Kong has greatness in it. The humidity allows year-round foot traffic and night drinking and eating. The city is cosmopolitan and energetic. You can walk on one block and find Coach, Burberry and Louis Vuitton and on the very next you can find a night market to sit and people watch and maybe even buy a few trinkets for yourself, friends, and family. The city is obsessed with cleanliness - everything seems to be cleaned or sanitized many times a day, often with an attendant standing guard at each public place, protecting us all from unseemly germs. Transport is easy and cheap, sights are terrific and plentiful, and the alcohol can be as expensive or as affordable as you like. Hong Kong is truly a beautiful city and we can't wait to return at the end of our trip, and we urge everyone who reads this blog to consider a trip themselves.