5 Star Living
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2008
1
26
84
Trip End
Ongoing
Hong Kong,
Hong Kong
Monday, April 21, 2008
I arrived in Hong Kong around 11 AM. I took the train into the city. That in itself was such an experience. The trains were amazingly clean and efficient. They even had flat screen televisions in every car. It made the trains in Chicago look really nasty. They even had a screen that showed your progression and announced the stops in quite a few languages. I don't think that they could have made it any easier for the foreign passengers. I got off at the train station and took a cab ride to the Shangri-La Hotel where I would be staying with Aunt Karen.
The hotel itself definitely earned its 5 star rating. The lobby is magnificent and you feel like you are walking into a palace. I went to the concierge and picked up the key. The room was beautiful. I was so excited to sleep in a nice comfortable bed without nine other roommates. My favorite part of the room was the controller near the bed that controlled everything with the push of a button (curtains, lights, temperature, etc.)
Typhoon warning
. If I was rich, I would get one of those for my home. I also replenished my dwindling toiletry supply with all of the free stuff. I also was looking forward to taking a nice, hot bath. Aunt Karen and her co-worker, Kim, came around 1:00. We went downstairs and had lunch. Then we went to the Jade market which is an indoor market where you can buy any type of jewelry known to man. Aunt Karen bought me a beautiful necklace with a gorgeous medallion. I haven't been in a bargaining situation since I was in Egypt. I still am not any better at it.After the Jade Market, we went to lobby and had a glass of wine. Then we decided to go to this fabulous Italian restaurant that looked like Rosebud's in Chicago. We had a little time to kill so we went to the Tiffany's bar for happy hour. We enjoyed 2 for 1 wine and then went down to eat. We ordered two margarita pizzas that made me think that I was back in Sicily. The crust was really thin with a homemade red sauce and wonderful cheese. Seriously, I think it's the closest I have come to finding a pizza like the one back in Sicily. Yummy!
Day 2
Today a Typhoon warning was announced and it rained ALL day long. I ventured out for a little bit to try to do some shopping and to get something to eat
Jade Market
. I finally gave up and went back to the hotel soaking wet. I realized that an umbrella is no match for a typhoon.Karen had to meet with a client for dinner so I went out to eat with Kim. Since it was pouring down rain, we decided to go to the vegetarian restaurant next door. We knew it was going to be good when we were the only white people. The owner was really nice and patiently explained things. We ordered a few appetizers that were both really good. For our main course, we ordered a sampler platter. Everything on it was delicious! We also ordered mango smoothies to help with the spiciness. After dinner, it had stopped raining so we went down to the water to look at the skyline.
Day 3
I decided to take advantage of the lack of rain. I wandered down random streets taking in all of the cultural differences. One of the strangest things that I saw were these huge flower arrangements sitting on the sidewalk in front of this store. They reminded me of something you would find at a funeral near a casket. Luckily, one of the cards was in English. I guess the store had just opened up and they were congratulating the owners. Another thing that I saw repeatedly were all of the dried seafood stores. Don't get me wrong, I love seafood but seeing it dried makes it look so unappetizing.
After Aunt Karen returned from work, we went up to the members only area on the 20th floor. This area has free drinks (beer, wine and soda) and free snacks (pretzels, nuts, cheeses, breads, crackers, etc). It also provides an amazing view of the city. I also met her other co-workers which were all really nice
Margaritas by the water
. For dinner, we decided to go to the Waterfront Restaurant. We some how managed to get the best table which was outdoors with a beautiful view of the city. The weather was perfect and the full moon cast a glow over the buildings. The food was excellent and the company was even better. Basically, the night was perfect.Day 4
Today I went for a nice long walk on the waterfront. I went down to the Avenue of the Stars which is the Chinese version of the Hollywood stars. They also have quite a few statues to commemorate the various celebrities. For dinner, we went to this excellent Mexican restaurant right by the water. I haven't had Mexican since I left so it tasted delicious! Plus, the margaritas were to die for.
Day 5
When we got up, we ordered a HUGE breakfast (pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, etc) from room service. I literally ate everything because I kind of viewed it as my last real meal for a long time. I was sad to leave because I had such a great time. But I had to fly to Singapore.
