Our First Night in Hong Kong/ Frist Morning in Hong Kong

At Harbor Metropolis Hotel in Hong Kong

     After successfully boarding the airport shuttle to our hotel, we discovered that we were indeed a bit peckish (yep.... that word is just for you, dear Trixie!).  Finding a place that was open after 10pm near the hotel proved problematic, so we settled on eating at the hotel.  The fare there was ridiculously expensive, but Scott had a luscious (that word is for you, Allegra!) soup, and I ordered steamed vegetables and rice. What I ended up with was one steamed vegetable, probably some sort of lettuce stalks... a whole plateload of them!  Needless to say, it was light fare for dinner, but it was good not to go to sleep with too much on our stomachs. 

     The hotel is lovely and very crowded with many groups of travelers from all over the world.  Western toilets are standard at most of the hotels in Hong Kong... although you'll be happy to know that I discovered I still possessed the strength of my thighs when I encountered my first squat toilet today at the Stanley Street Market.  Dear Monkey Queen Nancy, you will be proud and pleased to know that I did not have to clean my shoes with an old toothbrush and soap, like I did when I was in Guiyang for the first time three years ago!

Using a squat toilet is a great deal like getting back on a bicycle after many years of absence.  Your body just doesn't forget...

Below is the amazing view from our hotel window.  The first one is looking to the right, the second is looking a bit to the left.  What is that hand doing in the photo???

Another beautiful detail to notice is that the Chinese tend to add beauty to any space they can, often incorporating sculpture or natural displays of flowers, rocks, etc... into what could otherwise be barren or concrete areas.  The roundie below is a good example of this, with a rock sculpture and a green space inserted into the grey of the concrete.

Here are a few more images from our arrival in Hong Kong.  Several are from the train station across the street from the hotel, where we were trying to find food quite late at night. 

Our First Morning in Hong Kong...

     While waiting for George, our personal one-on-one tour guide, this morning, Scott did his Tai Chi form for the very first time in China.  He was pleased to have the water in front of him and the mountains behind him, as this provides for very good feng shui.  While he was doing Tai Chi, I was eavesdropping on a wedding photo shoot. 

The groom looked so very young, as did all his groomsmen.  He was wearing a traditional wedding outfit, holding a large bouquet of flowers.  He presented each groomsman with a traditional red Chinese envelope as he shook each hand, one by one. There was a delightful sense of friendship and gratitude exuding from this tradition.  The groom didn't seem at all nervous, just joyous and content.  There was much laughter as the groom and his friends struck very "canned" photos for the photographers.  I didn't see the bride or her bridal party.  Perhaps they have a similar tradition of not having the groom see the bride until the actual ceremony.  I will inquire about this...