I'd been to HK with my family about 12 years ago--we went for two weeks and it was my first big trip abroad and in Asia so I have very vivid memories of it and was obviously excited to go back.Hong Kong exceeded all my expectations--it is absolutely incredible! Even flying over the city on our way in--I could see the famous skyline, lit up, and the hills throughout the island and peninsula--the city amazed me.
I flew in with Julia and Amelia; Meg and Lindsay were going to meet us the next night. The three of us checked into our adorable hotel right inSoHo and then went out to dinner on one of the main streets in SoHo, filled with charming little restaurants, stylish boutiques and neighborhoody yet chic bars--I felt like I was in NY! Except the weather and hills and the general feel of the city is more like San Francisco.
After dinner we explored some of the nightlife, but wanted to head home early so that we could get some sleep for the rest of the weekend. Our first peak at the nightlife though astounded us. There's this area right night toSoHo called LKF (Lai Kwai Fong) that's basically 1 long street of bars and clubs, teeming with people--they're so packed that people spill onto and fill the street (a pedestrian street, no cars). And there were so many Westerners who weren't backpackers (those are the only kinds we see really inBKK )! It was all so overwhelming and was a bit of a culture shock (in the best way of course) at first--I felt like I was back in America. More on the nightlife later...
The next day the three of us walked around and did some sightseeing--we walked through SoHo and saw some of the amazing art and antique galleries in SoHo, the Man Po Temple near our hotel, and shopped in the cute SoHo boutiques that carried brands I recognized in sizes I could fit into. We walked all around Central, the downtown part of Hong Kong Island which is like the business district. The streets were so clean and the skyscrapers were so large and tall, just like in the States, it was such a novelty and all felt so familiar! Then we went to The Peak (Victoria Peak), one of the main tourist attractions inHK . It's this peak that overlooks all of Central, has a park up top and also is one of the most expensive residential area. We went up by tram to the top of the peak and even though it was incredibly hazy, we got great views of theHK harbor, Kowloon and HK Island. We also walked around the part and it felt like an early autumn day--crisp, fresh air, 60 degrees and sunny.
After the Peak, we caught a bus to take us to Stanley, a more residential area of HK about one-hour outside of Central. The bus took us through Repulse Bay and a bunch of other beach communities; it was one of the most beautiful bus rides I've been on, I kept wanting to snap photos! I felt like I was inSausalito , CA or Manly Beach in Sydney, driving along the edge of big green cliffs at the edge of an emerald-colored bay flooded with sunlight and the beaches looked nice too. I didn't realizeHK had this kind of natural beauty, I was stunned. People were sailing in the bay, others were barbecuing, there were cute houses steeped into the green cliffs; it was completely picturesque.
Once we got to Stanley, we walked around along the boardwalk, checked out some of the stores and found a quaint little restaurant for lunch. It was this small Parisian-style cafe overlooking the Bay with beautiful views and lots of sunlight. After we explored the Stanley market and headed back on our glorious bus ride to head back to Central. Once in Central, Julia and I continued walking around and shopping inSoHo while Amelia went to meet up with family friends.
Later, Julia and I took the famous Star Ferry over to the Kowloon side for dinner. The ferry had postcard views of the HK skyline. At night, the buildings are lit up and there are so many different colors, but it's not jarring like the visual pollution in Times Square (NY); for some reason, the colors and lights all seems to go together and fit well together. There were other boats in the harbor too, including some of the famous HK junk boats. Once on the Kowloon side, we headed to the Peninsula Hotel where we had a reservation at Felix, the Philippe Starck-designed restaurant on the 20-somethingth floor with stellar views of the skyline. The food was incredible, but subtle and the decor was nothing special except for the elevator pods and bathrooms (coolest bathrooms ever!).
Post dinner, we walked along Nathan Road (very sleazy, kind of gross, avoid!) up to the Temple Night Market. Compared to Bangkok's markets, this one was nothing special, except for all of the sex toys they sold, kind of strange--our markets certainly DO NOT carry those (they're illegal). After the market, we headed back to theHK side via MTR (subway) to meet up with Amelia, Meg and Lindsay to begin our night out.
So back to the nightlife and here I'll digress. Bangkok is a lot of fun. I have an awesome time, I have great friends, I really do love it here. However, there are a few things working against having fun "out": 1. Everything closes at 2am and my NYC programmed night schedule says things get started at around...1? 2. White women are kind of like lepers here so when you go out, it's more like you go out to dance and hang out with your girl friends. There isn't that element ofexcitement like, "What will happen tonight? Who will I meet?" 3. The clubs here aren't the clubs westerners are used to--there's only one of those and it's BedSupperclub . Don't get me wrong, I love Bed, but you can't go there all the time. So, needless to say, the nightlife is limited in certain respect.
Now, take HK. There are chic clubs galore: Dragon-i (the "in" club of the moment that "epitomizes" HK clubbing--models, cool kids, randoms), Drop, Volar (too many models...), Insomnia (live band, great 80s covers, feels like a college party) Lotus (chic lounge, good cocktails, older crowd), and many many others. Then there are fun bars that take you back to college days, serve jello shots, play top 40 and 80s hits, etc. Lastly, there are lots and lots and lots of Westerners--it's so easy to blend in, not stand out, have people look at you for reasons other than to gawk! Basically, we all were in heaven. We had a thorough night of late night partying till 5am and stumbled back to our hotel where we realized we had 3 twin beds for 5 girls...oops. Only inHK (real estate is too expensive!)
The next day we treated ourselves--High Tea at the Peninsula which is apparently "the tea" to do, guess there are still remnants of British high-culture, and then more shopping, walking and exploring. We decided to celebrate my birthday that night so we ate lavishly atNobu at the Intercontinental Hotel, another restaurant on the Kowloon side with great skyline views. The food was delicate and utterly delicious and the sea urchin ceiling decor was kind of cool too. I was surprised with a birthday dessert and singing and then another fun night out on the town; I even got to meet up with Princeton friends living inHK! All round fun times.
The next day was our last day in HK. We had a dim sum brunch--dim sum is a HK "must" so even though I hate Chinese food, I succumbed. They didn't really understand "vegetarian" though; to them, vegetarian means you just don't eat pork (they all eat pork, all of Asia!), butchicken and beef are okay. Needless to say, it was a light lunch for me, but I'm glad I experienced HK dim sum; I've since tried the dim sum restaurant in The Conrad connected to my office building and it was amazing, but probably not as authentic, but hey, I gave it another chance.
For our last hours, we took the hydrofoil to Macau. Tired, hung over and a bit rundown, we opted not to explore the tourist sights, but just explore The Venetian. Not that there are any tourist sights inMacau--I mean, I'm sure there are, but to me, Macau or seemed like Las Vegas 10-15 years ago--nothing but a few hotels, a lot of huge developmets in the works (so many cranes!!!) and nothing else nearby, but maybe I didn't see the right part. The Venetian though was incredible, it's just like the Venetian in Vegas, but bigger! You didn't think it could be any bigger, could you?! There was also a Four Seasons and a few other big hotels, but the Venetian seemed like the main player. We walked around the Canal Shoppes and eventually made our way to Morton's Steakhouse for a hearty dinner (no steak for me, just salad, still amazing and not easily found in Thailand) before boarding the plane home.
The trip as a whole was so so SO fun--one of my best weekends in Asia and one of the best birthdays I've had too, even though it wasn't my actual birthday. So yeah, I lovedHK, I think it's one of my favorite cities.
My actual birthday was spent with my cast in rehearsal and a big pink vagina birthday cake they made me, can you get anything more unique and memorable?!
Me and my vagina birthday cake...I think she's cutting the lip, clitoris still intact...
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