I am a practicing clinician, a recent doctoral graduate who finally graduated school but will never leave school, a huge technology lover, a man constantly fighting off the fat, and a father.
Part two of Hong Kong 2012 summer trip throwback post. I had just come back from Singapore for a week and was in Hong Kong for one last week. Went to Mos Burger and was generally disappointed with the taste. I had read so much about its cool rice burger so when I got it…it was just rice and meat but in a bun shape. I’m not sure what I expected.
The street grind and wear and tear on older buildings was a common sight in Hong Kong. Without any greenery in the city, it was a huge concrete jungle to me, a prairie boy. The cramped spaces were a bit of a problem for me. I felt like I couldn’t breath in this super humid/hot/tight space.
One of the traditional Chinese medicine clinics. I had no idea what was happening here for a majority of these therapies. It was really interesting reading their credentials and how they get their license to practice medicine here- there were lots of plaques and degrees on the wall.
In a really old shopping mall that had fallen out of favor with the cool crowd. You can see a roller coaster at the top no longer used. It has multiple safety nets to catch random things falling out of pockets of brave coaster riders.
Its actually kind of a crazy coaster. I’m not sure how they would have serviced it when it was still running.
Looking out from the safety of the air conditioned mall. I remember absolutely dying from the heat here.
Another super tall apartment complex. I’d love to see the view from up there.
My favorite thing in HK- afternoon tea. this was assorted BBQ meats with cold HK style milk tea.
In one of the camera shops away from the tourist trap of Mong Kok. Here I remember the service people being absolutely fantastic and just eager to share their love for photography. The yellow in this Nikon table makes me super giddy. I don’t think I’d hit up as many electronic shops if I went a second time here. It kind of gets the same old, although part of me is always hoping to find a region exclusive item/accessory.
Catching a gondola ride up to the Ocean Park attraction.
The ride was low and exciting. There was lots to view from here and it rode slow enough to give you time to appreciate the sights.
We rode a lot of the rides at the top. Being at the top meant that the view from these was insane and maybe more terrifying because it was a huge drop over the edge.
My favorite of the aquairums- brackish water fish/fresh water fish from the South American water systems.
Lots of jellyfish to see.
This was really crowded, impossible to find a seat in, and so so hot. I obviously am not fit for tropical climates, given how much I hates the heat.
One of the coasters we caught at the top- you can see the view is insane from these rides and its just beautiful.
I love these super deep aquariums where it just looks like you sink into the oblivion.
Street vendor food. I would love to be able to just shell out a few bucks for a snack on my route back here in Canada.
One of the many meals we would have in HK. I can’t remember what any of this was.
Swimming on the beach in the middle of a mock lifeguard practice drill. I really ought to learn how to swim. I think its kind of insane how easy it would be to drown in these waters and how all my physical fitness would mean nothing because I can’t swim.
More ferry riding to the island. I can’t emphasize enough how beautiful the city is and what amazing views it can offer.
One of the restaurant’s lobster tank. I am quite interested in taking one of these home as a pet.
I found a Tekken Tag Tournament 2 arcade machine.- it hadn’t hit north american shores yet. I used to play the first one a ton in high school and it was always like this- people sizing you up to see if you were worth fighting. Nobody fought me. Because I suck at the game haha.
Street vendors at night. It was really hard to keep walking and not take pictures- there was so many beautiful things to shoot here.
On the base station waiting for the next tram- this is pulled upp by a single wire all the way up the mountain.
The peak- we really should have gone up at night but that’s for next time. I am super curious who lives in that red building in the foreground. That has got to be an incredibly wealthy person to have this view out their front window. I think I’d be kind of annoyed with everyone always looking at my home though.
Our food was supposed to be delicious western fare, but it struggled. The shrimp was really overcooked and compared to local HK cuisine, the price was sky high. The view wasn’t that crazy either- you could go to the platform outside and have the same view.
Eating at the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant at the Peak- ok view that was kind of obstructed by metal bars everywhere. The shrimp was NOT good. Kind of disappointing.
Pizza hut in HK is like a fancy restaurant and it was quite expensive compared to local fare. Met with a bunch of friends here and had a blast over American cuisine.
Went to this reallllly long drive to eat the most delicious roast goose in the middle of nowhere (that’s what it felt like to me.
The goose was UNREAL delicious. It was so crispy and so flavorful. Every part of the goose was used- I didn’t eat every part of the goose. I was too Westernized to overcome my fear of eating the cooky parts.
Iced milk tea sitting in a bath of ice- this is so the ice doesn’t dilute the tea. I liked the idea, but it wasn’t always cold enough when I wanted to drink it.
Air Canada first class lounge had a variety of dim sum and Melona bars for me to splurge by stomach on before we left for home.
Saw a Nissan GTR R34 Skyline in HK. This is one of the most beautiful machines IMHO on the street. I’ve seen one pop up in Edmonton so far.
Drives me nuts thinking how close these places are – this is looking down from the 15th floor – these clothes lines have tons of flapping apparel in the ocean breeze that are clipped on with trusty clothes pins. Apparently there’s a trust thing where you put fallen clothes in a base at the building for owners to recover. Its nuts to think how close these apartments are- you could crawl over the the adjacent building from window to window.
Eat as much as you want snacks (dim sum) on the first class seats on our way back to Canada. We really lucked out being able to fly first class and I felt quite privileged to be able to experience it. I was doing data analysis on one of my RA projects here. I HATED having to do work on a vacation but that’s life.
Lots of food to eat and a cozy ambient feeling in a stretch out first class pod. There was a cool remote control to manage my seating pleasure on the left. It was super cool here!