Hong Kong Adventures, Part 1...

For our first evening in Hong Kong we were salivating at the thought of having some infamous dim sum at The Palace, which was recommended from one of my favorite blogs, Anthony Bordain's No Reservations on the Travel Channel...unfortunately they only serve dim sum for lunch but we had a fantastic authentic Chinese meal, then headed out to Lan Kwai Fong for some beers and some fun. We found both in copious amounts...

This morning we slept in, then had some very tasty McDonald's burgers and fries (the best in China yet) then hit the subway which runs under the Victoria Harbor and over to an island (there are over 200 here) called Lantau. Lantau is home to the Po Lin Monastery featuring the largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world, over 100 feet high and HUGE.

The cable car was quite an adventure in itself, easily the longest and highest we have ever been on - spectacular views of Lantau and Hong Kong International Airport.

The Buddha is impressive to say the least. We climbed exactly 208 stairs and enjoyed the peace and quiet despite a fairly heavy crowd of Chinese and Westerners. Pictures say it much better than words...

After relaxing with the big guy we headed back to the subway and got out in Kowloon which is directly across from north Hong Kong island separated only by the harbor. We were still craving some dim sum and on another recommendation from TripAdvisor we ended up walking about half an hour to the Marco Polo Prince hotel and right across the street is Sweet Dynasty.

Hong Kong is famous for their dim sum and we were not disappointed a second time! We whoofed down several plates of some of the best dim sum ever; lightly fried pork filled dumpings, small egg roll wrappers stuffed with shrimp and dipped in sesame seeds, slices of peppers, eggplants, and taro root filled with cheeses, and some of the richest, smoothest tea in China.

With our bellies stuffed, we headed down to the harbor to watch the light show at arguably the most famous skyline in the world. We both agreed we have seen no other city that comes close to the beauty and breadth of Hong Kong harbor, and it is certainly the longest, stretching almost 180 degrees from left to right...gorgeous.

After a few beers at Felix, an uber-chic bar at the top of the Peninsula Hotel with a view so stunning it literally took our breaths away, we trotted back down and hopped on the Star Ferry and were back on Hong Kong island in less than 10 minutes.

Our first day here also happened to be the hottest on record in the last 100 years for this day in April, and we barely broke a sweat - guess we are used to hot weather being from Tampa...the whole day confirmed that now Hong Kong is our favorite city in China, but we will always have Shanghai...:)

Here are some highlights...