Hong Kong trip, part two. The last part of our stay in Tai Wai village and our hotel stay in Tsim Sha Tsui!
More of the Tai Po District.
Near the water.
Near the water.
Off on a walk to find coffee.
Big spacious coffee place.
Coffee was expensive, I was told that they charge prices in anticipation of Korean tourists.
*****
Back to Tai Wai village.
Visiting another uncle who just got home from the hospital.
*****
Our first day free to wander out on our own!!!
In case anyone wants a job in a Hong Kong Starbucks, here in Tai Wai!
Checking out the local mall, it is huge.
***
We walk by this little shop in the alleys every day.
It sells incents for the many mini-shrines that folks have outside of their doors and also inside their house. Almost everyone in the village has at least two shrines per house.
Checking out best places to catch a taxi.
*****
Next day.
We made it back to the big mall again.
Had to come see this toy store!
They have an excellent Warhammer collection!
***
Of on the MTR subway to go meet my cousin for lunch!
Exit in Tsim Sha Tsui!
Cousin!
Baked rice dishes.
Afterwards, I brought home a little bonsai for uncle.
I think that he likes it!
*****
The next day.
After breakfast, we caught the taxi to another part of Hong Kong to start the rest of our vacation:
in a hotel on our own!
Harbor View Mall
Where the ocean liners come to dock.
More exploring, walked past the night market.
They hadn't quite finished setting up yet.
***
Our hotel room.
Finally!
Messing around with the selfie stick.
Much blowing off of steam.
The camera suggested this color pop.
***
Off to find where this city hides it grocery stores.
As with all tightly packed metropolitan areas, grocery stores are hidden and hard to find.
This city tends to hide them several stories underground, in malls.
The New Territories version of Time Square.
The view from our room.
Tis the fashion in some hotels to have glass walled showers.
At least this one has an electric curtain!
The way we do urban camping.
Hand laundary in the shower.
Done.
*****
Next day.
Subway MTR
Found coffee.
Yes please.
Really liked these fragrant rose lattes that are topped with real petals.
Made it to the mall.
Now we wait for our time to go to the workshop for which we got tickets.
Messing around with reflections.
Yes, the cotton candy machines DOES call to you.
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Another great color pop.
Yum.
***
Finally, it is our turn to do the mini-tour of the Cup-of-Noodles Museum!
Big cup.
Where our ramen making workshop will take place.
During our tour, Miss actually has to get on to a group chat for her university econ class.
Group mid-term project.
I'm thankful for online university classes.
They allow for her to still be able to travel and take class!
Ramen making time!
After hand mixing, comes the machine mixing.
Then the elongating.
Then the long thin piece was run through the cutter.
et voila.
Cutting the edges.
Setting into the pans.
The process, described on the wall.
After a steam, its put into the deep fryer.
Our very own personally made ramen packets!
*****
Next day.
The rain in Hong Kong is warm, during this time of year.
Umbrellas bloom like flowers in this rain.
Most people cannot be caught without an umbrella.
And the reflections of the many colors onto the rainy street is quite pretty.
The night market.
Again, they are still just setting up.
Spotted in the MTR tunnels:
many bakeries.
One of which specialized in petit choux!
*****
Next day.
Got to see another cousin for lunch!
Miss really, really liked these soup dumplings.
Post lunch piccie with auntie and my cousin!
Spotted in the MTR tunnels.
*****
Next day.
Another day, another coffee finding mission.
Hong Kong Must Eat.
Liked their coffee.
Don't let this crazy out.
***
Dinner was at this restaurant.
Got a tasty wife's bun.
*****
Next day.
Noticed these cool old-pagoda-style accents on an apartment highrise.
The view from our window this morning:
OSHA would definitely not approve of these working conditions.
Here morning navigation assignment:
to find morning coffee for Mama.
One of the local Tsim Sha Tsui Starbucks
found.
***
Afterwards we were going to make our first visit to Hong Kong Island itself.
You take the subway.
Of course.
In someplaces, the MTR is so expansive, one really could drive around.
But here, in the underground....
Pedestrians rule.
Made it to Hong Kong Island.
The buildings are even taller.
The crowds crowdier.
And the famous shops even namier.
Made it tour our goal destination:
A stationary store with well stocked postcards section.
Really actually difficult to hunt one of these down.
So, hurray!
Another market
*****
Next morning.
Taking it a little slow and composing some messages.
But first, coffee.
This little coffe joint was directly across from yesterday's Starbucks, so we had to give it a try.
Curious mug.
Truffle fries.
Miss approves.
And the mussels weren't too bad either!
Delivered some postcards.
Before catching a taxi to got to Lantau Island.
Off to go see the Big Budda.
So, bummer, we were really hoping to take the cable car up to see the Budda, but we will have to take the bus instead. The cable car was closed for the month- for maintenance.
The bus ride.
Reminded that all of this is island and that a lot of the ethos of Hong Konger life is "island life".
Was my mom an island gal?
Finally made it up to the monestary to see the Big Budda!
You can see it in the distance.
See at the base of the Budda.
The Budda, which is actually a building, part museum, part mausoleum.
More of the grounds.
***
Before our trip back to the New Territories, we found some bubble tea.
Took the MTR back.
Awaiting the first of 3 trains that we will have to take.
Took the train all the way back...
To Tai Wai, to do a bit of fruit shopping, because the fresh fruit is more abundant, fresher, and cheaper than in Tsim Sha Tsui.
For dinner, we made it back to Mong Kok neighborhood, upon Miss's request.
...for these!
Yum.
*****
Another morning.
This is a busy day.
Another Starbuck run.
We are going to be tourists and see this.
I did read this entire book cover-to-cover after all.
Must make some use of it!
But first, some postcard composing.
And some mid-term essay composing.
***
For lunch, we went to the Causeway and met ups with my mom's second cousin!
In between meals with relatives today, we caught the Victoria Cable car up to the highest point on Hong Kong Island.
About to make the climb.
We stopped at the top only briefly.
Didn't have time to hike around.
Only had time to peed at a gift shop and mail 4 postcards from the top of Hong Kong.
These will have very special stamps on them.
Awaiting the cable car to take us down.
The view as we are going backwards, down the mountain.
Made it back to Causeway bay.
Found some bubble tea.
People regularly walk under this mass of bamboo and stuff.
Met up with a bunch of cousins for dinner!
These second cousins hit it off!
Back on the MTR to go home to our hotel.
Long fun day.
*****
Next day:
After a coffee run, I strike out on my own and leave Miss in the hotel so that she can finish her group essay composistion.
Found and used this post box to mail the last of my postcards!
Met up with my cousin for another coffee date!
Fun times!
<3
***
Back at the hotel.
Miss is hard at work.
*****
Next morning.
Caught at early taxi to the airport.
On the first plane home.
HKG->SFO
What I will miss the most...
Besides the amazing fruit.
And the lovely relatives...
Above all is the immersion into a world of Cantonese.
To hear it, in complaints, sarcasm, knowing advice.
To speak it.
To say good morning in Canto and have people understand you.
These are things that I didn't know I would again miss until they came back into my life, if just for a few short weeks.
*****
After 14+ hours in transit...
We are home in SLC!
He took us straight to the FTC State Finals...
To see Miss 2's robot team complete.
And do a LOT of winning!
Go CubedETs!
