Our final day in Hong Kong was spent roaming the city center. Hong Kong is legendary for its shopping, and while it did have great shopping, I felt like most of it was very high-end (designer stores everywhere you look!) and definitely out of my league. My brother Jimmy has been to Hong Kong a few times, and he recommended that I see the Commuter Escalator. The section of Hong Kong in which it’s located is pretty much a steep hill rising up from the sea, so to ease the harsh slope the city built a series of elevated, covered, moving ramps that carry people up the hill. The escalators wind themselves through the streets, and there are a few points along the way where you can get off and climb down some stairs to get back onto street level if you so desire.
The old city center is filled with narrow streets and street vendors covering those streets. Cas was on a mission to find a traditional, outdoor street-food stand. When we finally stumbled upon one, it was no more than a few dirty tables protected from the elements by ratty tarps and a small enclosed kitchen. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to what was going on, and most of the group decided they wanted to go eat at a modern restaurant. But I stuck it out with Cas and we took our place among the locals. The “waitress” spoke very little English so we just pointed to what others were eating and said “Coca Cola”, and our orders were placed. What we got were two huge bowls of soup, sort of like raman noodles with a tomato flavored broth. Mine had chicken wings in it and Cas’ had some sort of mystery meat. I asked the people across from us to take a picture (by “asked” I mean shoved my camera their way and made a motion to communicate “take a picture”) and it turns out they spoke perfect English! They were a local Hong Kong couple, and they had both taken the day off to do some sightseeing in their hometown. The wife actually worked for a company based in Minnesota, and they had both been to many places in the US that I have never even been!
After lunch, it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up our baggage and head to the airport for our flight to Phuket, Thailand.
Pictures: The menu at the street food stand; Cas and I with our lunches.
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