05/04: A Quick Stop in Hong Kong

In Mid May of '04, enroute to Thailand, I stopped in Hong Kong for a couple of weeks. An old friend, Bob, whom I had known since high school invited me to stay with him. He lives in a studio apartment on a high floor with a great view at the edge of Central in HK. This wasn't my first trip to see Bob nor to visit HK and I still enjoy it everytime. Bob's very generous and always takes great care of me whenever I'm in town. I love the food, the harbor views at night, riding the Star Ferry, drinking and listening to the bands at Lan Kwai Fong, the shopping along Nathan Road and visiting Macau although about a week at a time for me is about enough.

This is a pic of the best steakhouse in Macau. No, that's Bobby but Pinocchio has the best steak in the city even though we had a bit of a communication problem with the staff. The steak was a large piece so we asked if we could have the steak cut into two pieces and cook one medium and one medium rare. Well they use percentages for the extent of cooking per steak. So we stated 30% on one and 60% on the other. Well, we got back three pieces of steak (30%) and they were all cooked at 60%. Go figure and we speak the language!!

Like Washington DC, Hong Kong is another great "walking" city especially since it's not awfully big but if you didn't feel like walking, they have a great transportation setup in their subway systems, the ferrys, their double decker streetcars or just a taxi. The city is not to be compared to the cultural heritage of Washington DC but is a great city to visit in its own right. They have everything one can ask for, great shopping, great food, and great scenaries. I've always enjoyed the Hong Kong skyline from the Kowloon side. If you needed a place to stay, my recommendation would be the harbor view rooms at the Salisbury Hotel. This hotel is a renovated YMCA, located on the waterfront next to the famous Peninsula Hotel. You can get the same view at a fraction of the cost.

One of the most enjoyable areas with the great clubs, bands, food and beautiful people is right next to Central in an area call Lan Kwei Fong. Bob took me there for a few nights as we enjoyed just people watching and listening to the music, many of which were filipino bands. One area I would not recommend for tourist would be the old go go clubs in Wan Chai as they tend to overcharge their drinks significantly for company you probably didn't want in the first place.