I just decided to post the story already. Tomorrow I will add the pictures to it! I decided to stay an extra night in Macau, so I should have some more time.
After taking another 2.5 hour flight, and a hotel shuttle bus, we got to our hotel in Hong Kong at around 5pm. For the first time in weeks, we didn't have a schedule at all, so we just decided to walk around the area a bit. There weren't that many food places so we just decided for a quick fix at the McDonald's right across the street. Later that night we grabbed a couple of beers at a local bar, after which we decided to call it a relatively early night.
The hotel offered a shuttle bus that would drive along the most useful places in the city. So we took that shuttle in the morning and ended up at one of the many parks. We walked around and took some pictures of the birds and gardens. We also took a quick look at the Science Museum, but then decided to stay outside and enjoy the sunshine instead. I was also anxious to get to the waterfront, because I had heard that the view from there would be great. And it was! Here are some pictures:
After following the waterfront for a while, we decided to head back to the hotel. Later that night we decided to head to the other side of the river where most of the night life takes place. We found a great bar where they served on of my favorite beers: Kwak! This is a delicious beer (8.4%) that comes in a very special glass. I convinced Dave to try it as well, and he did not regret the decision. We got two 750ml bottles, so there was plenty for each of us. Here is some evidence:
After those beers we headed over to Club Beijing, which my cousin Rob had recommended. We got there a bit too early though, so we decided to play some pool at another place first, where we also had a few more beers:
So by the time we got back to Club Beijing we both had had quite a lot :) After paying the $400 Dollar cover we were in. That is Hong Kong Dollars (clearly), but it still comes down to about 50 Dollars US. I guess this is normal on a Saturday night. But the club was huge, covering three floors, and the music and drinks were good too. Honestly, I do not remember most of what happened in the club, but I got home safely at around 3:30AM. I did lose Dave in the process, so we had to find our own ways home. But I'm glad to say that we both successfully did. I'm sure it was an unforgettable night, too bad I don't remember it..
The next day we just had to take it easy. So we slept in until about noon, after which we slowly headed out again for some more sight seeing. We decided to head over to the other side of the river again, so that we could do some more shopping and take a walk through some more botanical and zoological gardens. There we got to see an Orangutang, and some other interesting animals. It was funny to see that some of the "exotic" animals were actually really common to us.
After that trip we went back down to the bar street to have some food and a couple of beers. We weren't planning on making it too late, because we were going to travel to Macau the next day. But then, out of nowhere, we saw Branden and Bryant, two of the American students we had gotten to know in Wuhan and saw again in Beijing. They had been traveling around for the last week as well, and arrived that same day in Hong Kong. They also had a local friend with them, who was from the US, but had been living in Hong Kong for the last year. So instead of going back to the hotel early, we decided not to waste the opportunity and spend another night with these cool guys. We followed them to "the Peak", which Rob had also mentioned. A cable tram pulled us to the top of a hill where we entered the tower view point. This must have been one of the nicest city views I have seen. I doubt the pictures do it justice.
And that concludes our trip to Hong Kong. As you could tell, I had some catching up to do the last couple of days, so I might have rushed through things a bit. But I tried my best not to forget anything. We are in Macau now, which is dubbed as Asia's Entertainment Capital. I will spend one or two nights here. I guess I will decided in the morning whether I want to stay another day. Dave will be leaving, because it is time for him to travel back to the US. It has been a lot of fun traveling with him the last month. Let's see if we can one more awesome night to that. Hopefully one we'll fully remember this time :)
Take good care,
Jeff