Hong Kong Street Markets

The shopping in Hong Kong is incredible...from high end designer boutiques like Chanel to good old reminders of the US like Kate Spade, Origins and Nine West to the street markets....where you can buy ANYTHING...produce, knock-off bags, clothing, souvenirs, food, spices, jewelry, antiques....and yes, even undies......there are several organized markets and many that just seems to pop up around the corner...

When we were there, the preparations for the New Year were in full swing...and the Year of the Tiger merchandise was present in every market.

I had a good time poking through and shopping a bit...the HK$ was 10-1 of the Euro, so it made shopping much more fun!  The only regret: I found out after we were home that there is an Orla Kiely shop!  Ugh!  That sound you hear is of my husband's gratefulness.....

Hong Kong Solo Exploration

After our first day in the sun in Hong Kong, the Hub had to go to work and I had to begin exploring!  Often when we tack on a little vacation to a business trip, I find myself alone in uncharted waters.  I usually scout out the city and then take him back to places that I have found, to eat yummy things I have sampled.... 

Like bubble tea!

On one of my adventures, I discovered what is called the "World's Largest Escalator"...it is actually a series of escalators that are connected and slowly bring you up the hill from just after the harbor.  Here are some shots of the escalator and also some sights you can view while riding..
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On the way up, you pass this beautiful mosque-I got off and poked around a bit...

It was a tranquil place, nestled in the hillside...compared to the bustling city below!

...here you can see the line of covered escalators as I was looking downhill...

...check out  this cool bamboo scaffolding...it is what you see everywhere in the city-it's what they use when a building is being worked on...just shows you how strong bamboo really is!  We watched the guys putting up this scaffolding-climbing up with barely any safety harnesses....

 

These small incense houses are outside many of the shops in Hong Kong...with either candles or incense burning..a small offering to the retail gods?

Next Hong Kong installment: street markets!

Hong Kong

Another thing that has kept me pretty busy (and not visiting the blog) has been travel.  The Hub had a meeting in Hong Kong in February, and so I went with him.  Hong Kong is one of those places that I never thought that I would visit...the distance from the US being prohibitive...my love of our European vacations and not willing to substitute one for HK another.  But, with his travel planned for him by his work, I thought "why not?'", and I am very glad that I went along.

Hong Kong can not be explained in only one blog post...so there will be a few to come...but let me start by stating that HK is one of the most lively, noisy, exiting, packed with people, busy, stinky, beautiful places that I have ever seen!  It assaults every sense-and in a good way.

On our first day, we were blessed with a gorgeous, sunny day. (It would turn out to be the best weather day of our trip). So, we headed up to Victoria Peak, where as you can see, the views are spectacular.  The peak has a walkway around it, so we took a little stroll...

 

 

And took a lot of pictures of Hong Kong below and Kowloon across the harbor.  The pathways wound around the hill and people's houses.

 

And we saw what the Hub told me is called the Ghost Fleet, a place where the ships that are not in use (presumably due to current world-wide economic situations and lack of need) are docked.....and are waiting....

We saw this funny sign on the trail...No Dog Fouling!

And ended our day toasting our trip with a lovely dinner and sparkles on a beautiful hillside restaurant that felt so decadent and evoked past times....a romantic start to our trip.

We ended this day by taking a nighttime look at the city from the Peak...I cannot decide whether the city is more breathtaking lit by sunlight or by the lights of the buildings...what do you think?

 
More to come from the Hong Kong trip...I have so much to share and glad you are here to share the journey!

I swear that I am not turning this into a craft blog.....

But, I do think that I owe you an explanation for what I have been doing...since blogging doesn't seem to be it...

Now before you think that I have gone completely off my rocker, let me just say that the Hub lost his scarf in Frankfurt or somewhere like that on one of his travels...and I had been feeling the itch to knit...ugh...I know...but it served a dual purpose...I was able to hand craft a nice (maybe) birthday gift that maybe he will not lose, and frankly, I can wear it too!

My grandmother, Florence (Flossie) Gertrude Norris Solmose ( my goodness-the poor woman had the longest name on earth-and the most old fashioned, right?  Nobody-I mean nobody names a child Florence or Gertrude for that matter....let alone both names!) taught me to knit when I was probably 6 or maybe 7 years old.  She was an amazing knitter-an artist, really.  We all have favorite sweaters that she made for us over the years-Icelandic wool, baby sweaters, coat cardigans-and even some of our spouses have been fortunate enough to have had one knitted for them...anyhow, I knit the Hub a scarf-to channel some of that good Flossie energy and to prove to myself that I could do it...and I did!

Hub's birthday is March 27.  Finished it with over 10 days to spare....whew.....

But don't think that I am going to go all crafty on you....I'm baaaaacccckkkkkk!