Tag Archive: hong kong

  1. Hong Kong

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    I have wanted to go to Hong Kong for a very long time. I’ve seen it in pictures, movies, TV shows, and I have heard about it in stories. So when we were making changes to our Asia trip, we decided to stop in Hong Kong for a couple nights between Singapore and Taipei.

    I had expected an exotic experience–one filled with a little intrigue, a little history, and maybe even a little challenge. But wouldn’t you know we got off the plane, took some money from the ATM, went to the taxi stand, and when I handed the attendant the card I had carefully printed out with the Chinese name of our hotel, he shook his head at me and said “Where are you going?” and I answered “Hotel Icon.”

    Thanks, Imperialism!

    The taxi ride was a longish one. There were two large bridges to cross. The landscape was communist-industrial. There were high rise apartments by the twenties. It was raining.

    We arrived at Hotel ICON and were pleased with the lobby. We had a nice view of the harbor. I liked the high design of the room–the bathroom had a rounded door that slid closed. And a new trend, that would repeat itself in Taipei, was the free minibar. I immediately helped myself to a Pelligrino.

    We were tired from the Taxi-Flight-Taxi already but we decided to head to the Kowloon Promenade. Only problem was, it was cold. It was so cold, in fact, that we decided to end our walk early and go straight to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, which was very quiet. In fact, we were thirsty and looking for a sip of water but even their cafe was closed down. While the collection as a whole was on the slim side for one of the world’s largest cities, I’m so glad we went if only to see the amazing wood sculptures by Tong King-sum.

    After a tour of the museum, it really was time to get a meal. John found out about a great Dim Sum restaurant near us so we hopped in a cab not confident we would be able to communicate where we wanted to go. But again the driver took us straight to our desired spot. Tim Ho Wan was authentic and delicious and I will think about their outstanding buns for years to come.

    From there we were experiencing a difference of opinion. John wanted to walk to the Temple Street Night Market. I wanted to cab it to the Ozone Bar at the Ritz Carlton. So as is often the case with a couple who has been together almost 22 years, we compromised. We walked to the market first then we cabbed it to the Ozone Bar. Since it was my idea, it’s easy for me to say that the Ozone Bar was more fun. While the market had lively shoppers, hawkers, and trinkets, the Ozone Bar had tasty beverages and a killer view. All in all, we could not go wrong.

    Ozone Bar is billed as the highest bar in the world since it is on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton. Our drinks cost ten million dollars each. They were tasty and big and delicious and worth every cent for the view. We sat outside and it was bone-chillingly cold. Too bad! I was surprised how friendly the staff was given that I hadn’t packed for freezing temps and ended up in an outfit straight out of a Saved By the Bell episode. Those folks didn’t even look at my clothes! They were so nice and treated us like we deserved to be there. I enjoyed it.

    We cabbed it back to Hotel ICON, where they had already re-stocked the free mini bar, and we fell asleep.

    On Day Two in Hong Kong we woke early and took the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong proper. What a beautiful ride. The weather was still terrible, but we could see the skyline and the mountain behind it. Our first stop was to take the tram up to Victoria Peak. It was a fun ride, but once up top it was cold, windy, and full of tourists. So we came back down and headed to Hong Kong Park, Graham Street Market, and Man Mo Temple. We weren’t very hungry so we just had a plate of chips at an English pub called The Globe, and then we were tired but we didn’t feel like taking the Ferry back since we wanted to eat dinner at Ho Lee Fuk in Soho.

    This is how I know I found the right man. I said, I need to lie down so let’s get a massage. He said, “Yeah!” So we found a great spot called Ten Feet Tall to get a 90 minute massage where we rested and prepared for a lovely meal.

    We did enjoy our dinner very much. We stuck around in Soho just so we could hit the door at 6 pm since we had heard it was hard to get a table. The place was empty, so we got our table and started ordering. We had the hibachi, The BBQ Pork, octopus, and cauliflower. It was a delicious meal. Then we took the ferry back to Kowloon where our mini bar had already been re-stocked AGAIN.

    Three cheers for Hong Kong.

  2. Spring Break 2015

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    I’ve been talking with students this week and many of them are doing super cool things for spring break. One student is doing a solo hike on the Arizona Trail from Superior to Oracle. Another is celebrating her wedding anniversary in Sedona. Another is going camping in the Chiricahua mountains. Another is going to Oahu, where John and I went for Spring Break last year, so I sent her all my TripAdvisor reviews and hope to hear a thorough report on how all the spots are holding up.

    John and I are doing something super cool too. We had planned to serve on the Delegation of the Phoenix Sister Cities to Taipei Taiwan, and had paid our downpayment and got a smoking deal on flights. Then the trip got canceled. Since much of the fun of being on the Delegation is to meet city officials and attend meetings and tours with local arts and business leaders, we worried we might not have enough to do in Taipei for 11 days. So John found a race to run in Singapore, and some restaurants to try in Hong Kong. I picked some great hotels to try in each city. We’ll be in Singapore three nights, Hong Kong two, and Taipei three. And we made a list of about 15 places to visit in each city. We’ll see how much we can fit in!

    Perhaps more importantly, I picked my books to read on the trip. Got my iPad loaded and ready to go. I’m not sure how much of a dent I’ll make reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and A Simple Heart in the original French, but I like to spend a few minutes a day on those since we’ll be in France later this year and I don’t want to embarrass myself with my 19 year old Bachelor’s Degree.

    I’m really looking forward to reading Enon by Paul Harding since we’re interviewing him for Issue 15 of Superstition Review and I loved his novel Tinkers. We’re also interviewing Robin Black and Ramona Ausubel, and my Interview Editors wrote such wonderful questions about those books that I can’t wait to get caught up on them as well.

    I hope you have a lovely Spring Break too, and may it involve good travels, good books, good food, and good rest.