We start off with a ride on the Star Ferry from Hong Kong Island over to Kowloon — the four kilometre strip of land on the Chinese mainland also snatched up by the British in 1860 and still part of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong. Our Big Bus tour tickets are also valid for today so we do the "blue route" tour of Kowloon.
We tour up busy Nathan Street, hop off in the Mong Kok area to walk around and then bus it over to see the tallest building in Hong Kong.
The Kowloon area is closer to the authentic Asia we have been seeing for the past month with buildings and streets closely packed together and possessing a more urban Chinese atmosphere. There are lots of alleys jammed with stalls, markets are everywhere and heaps of crazy neon signage fill the few remaining spaces.
Hong Kong is known for its culinary variety. We hit a Japanese spot for lunch, a place recommended to us by my dad. It is incredibly flavourful and we are glad we called in.
We take the Star Ferry back across the bay and zip over to The Peak tram. With a clear sky being a rarity in HK's winter months, we want to make sure we can take in the views from Victoria Peak before the fog rolls back in.
It's a little steep going up...
But, the 360 view from the Sky Terrace is worth it!
Waiting for the tram back down to the bottom, we bump into David and Sylvia from our Intrepid tour who also happen to be in Hong Kong for a few days. Our unplanned meeting results in the only possible option.... A reunion photo!
Before heading back to meet Karen, we stop in to see the Man Mo Temple over in Soho. It is a quick stop as both of us have trouble breathing in the incense laden space. All those incense coils are smoking us out!
We pick up Karen and head back into town. It's a boys night-girls night out tonight!
After dropping off Keir to meet up with Curtis, Karen and I hop the ferry back across to Kowloon and enjoy a dinner at her favourite restaurant. Although the evening light show over the harbour is old news to her, I am impressed by the colorful skyline.
We walk up to Soho where she has thoughtfully booked us in to enjoy foot massages at Dragonfly. Down comforters, choose you own pillows, fresh tea and the most outstanding foot massages ever ensure we both fall asleep in the deluxe care of this swanky place!
Meanwhile, Keir and Curtis are club hopping over in the Wan Chai district. They hit Agave for dinner then enjoy drinks at the historic "Pawn" before checking out the live music, club scene and police raids at Neptune II and Amazonia.
Everybody Wan Chai tonight!
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