9:30 AM and we were off to Beijing’s airport through a muggy soup of yellow smog. On board Dragon Air, we were served ice cream and mooncakes to celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, aka Moon Festival. These deserts have a violent past – in the 1368 uprising they were supposedly used to relay messages to Chinese rebels against the Mongol dynasty. Lee probably wouldn’t have gotten the message because he ate the whole thing in a two bites.
Once in Hong Kong we used the A11 bus to deliver us to the heart of Hong Kong (Sheung Wan Metro Station). A very cool way to enter the city - find a seat on the bus’ upper deck and enjoy some of the best bay panoramas in the world. We trudged through the muggy heat with our gear in tow until finding our new home for the week, an AirBnB apartment smack in the middle of the antique district. That evening we cooled down with AC, a nice shower, and pizza delivery while we caught up with emails, Facebook and calls home.
It’s these moments that remind us how relaxing traveling can be – a flight from Beijing to Hong Kong, a bus into the city, and a short walk and instead of feeling stressed, we’re lounging in a cozy apartment chatting with friends online and reading up on adventures-to-be in a new city. Unfortunately, Jazz woke up with a severe cold that stuck with her throughout our time in Hong Kong; thus, she stayed at home and Lee struck out on his own (after much prodding by Jazz). Note: We'll be back with another blog post on Hong Kong when we return in a month or so with Jazz's mom. Look forward to markets, cable car rides and the botanical gardens.
The second evening in HK was spent at the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, an emotive, authentic and sweat-inducing event. Locals dance a 67 foot long ‘dragon of fire’ through three square blocks of Hong Kong for two hours, amongst hundreds of pressing, pushing and camera wielding fanatics (Lee included). The dragon, created by a string of burning incense, is danced to drum beats while incense hangs in the air. This was an inspiring and one of the most authentic experiences of our whole trip (and yes Lee needed a shower afterwards).
After the Dragon Dance and a few blocks over, a completely different setting offered a relaxing, peaceful atmosphere. Part of the Lantern Festival, hundreds of paper lanterns illuminated a cozy park in the heart of the city. It offered a welcome respite after the intensity of the Dragon Dance.
After spending the hot and humid day inside for further trip planning, Lee headed to the horse races at the famous Happy Valley tracks for some night-time adventures, and promptly lost $50 on two bets. His take away was that the horses have different names, and while that’s pretty cool, it’s not the best way to bet.
On our last afternoon, Lee headed to the Man Mo temple on Hollywood Road. Lots of incense, a moody atmosphere, a few practitioners, and overall a really neat place. Again though - a shower and fresh clothes were needed afterwards.
Next Up: Travels to Cambodia – The Temples of Siem Reap
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