hong kong day 1: landed at hong kong international and took a cab to kowloon tong where my aunt lives. she was still vacationing in singapore so i had the house all to myself. right after i dropped off all my stuff, i headed to festival walk mall just down the street. its one of hong kong's newest and biggest malls with an ice skating rink, AMC movie theaters, trendy clothing stores, and fancy restaurants. i found the biggest KFC restaurant there and its designed more like a family restaurant than a fast food joint. it even offers more selections than the KFC in america. also at the mall is a yoshinoya restaurant. besides serving beef and chicken bowls, they have many other combinations. after that, i went downstairs to the supermarket where i always like to buy new things i have never seen in LA.
day 2: keith landed and he arrived at the house in the afternoon. immediatedly, i took him to the mall to have lunch. after that, we took the underground to tsim sha tsui and i showed him the walk of stars on the boardwalk similar to LA's hollywood blvd instead with chinese movie stars: jet li, chow yun fat, jacky chan, sammo hung, andy lau, etc. after that we walked up nathan road, which is kowloon's main street. store after store is pretty much repetitive with electronics, cell phones, make-up, etc... we arrive at a district called "the ladies market". its basically a flea market with fake handbags, watches, souvenirs, jewlery, etc.. next to the ladies market is "the shoe street, and also goldfish street which sells all types of shoes and pet fish. those streets are packed with people 24 hours a day sometimes to the point where i get irritated by their pushing and shoving.
day 3: today, we went over to the hong kong side. over there, we tried to go up the peak tram to the highest point of hong kong, but the line was too long. so we decided to walk around SoHo and escalator street. it is a street with the longest system of escalators in the world. but once we took the escalator to the top, there wasnt any way back down unless we took the stairs. so, we hopped in a taxi and headed to causeway bay, times square. packed with people, times square is just like new york's times square with flashy lights and trendy stores. we managed to find a pretty nice sushi bar and splurged on that. it was my first time trying fatty tuna and so far, its my favorite. after that, we hopped on the subway and headed to lan kwai fong, a place where the nightlife begins. its a place full of bars, clubs, and lounges that attracts all sorts of people around the world. since we like house music, we went to a club called yumla which is similar to mns. its small and intimate with good prog house music. there we met some locals and partied with them throughout the night.
day 4: my uncle reserved a table for us at a hotel ballroom. it was basically a huge party with a gourmet buffet. hong kong's buffet has never let me down. i have not yet been to a better buffet than in hong kong. from sharks fin, to lobsters, to prime rib, they had it all. even with my crappy appetite, i managed to force down chocolates, ice cream and fondue. we partied with other locals and had our countdown there.
day 5: today my aunt drove us to the peak since the line was still incredibly long. for chinese people, it was also a good meaning to go to a high point during the new years because it symbolizes progression in life. she then treated us to this awesome restaurant with views of both sides of hong kong. there we waited till sunset and saw the night scenery of the city lights.
day 6: keith and i decided to go to lantau island today to see the gigantic buddha. in order to get there, we had to take the subway to the end of the line and then another 30 min cable car ride to the top of the hill. my only complaint is the behavior of chinese people. im not talking about people in hong kong, but the people that come from the mainland china. they are rude, obnoxious, loud, and inconsiderate. i know i have to accept it because its their culture and they are used to it. it took 268 steps to go up to the base of the buddha where it was approximately the size of a 2 story house. it wasnt much to see whereas it only took us 5 min to walk around the base and back down we go. at the base of the hill is a small plaza that resembled old chinese architecture of the 18th century. most of the stores were souvenier shops or small restaurants.
