We rounded out our China adventure with a trip into the beautiful countryside around Guilin and Yangshuo.  This area is located in south-central China, about a two hour flight west of Shanghai.  It's famous for its dramatic karst mountain peaks, beautiful rivers and the wide variety of outdoor activities available to visitors.  

Getting There
You can't fly directly to Yangshuo.  The fastest way to get there is to fly to Guilin and then take a 1.5 hour bus trip to Yangshuo. Our flight from Shanghai arrived late at night so we stayed in the city of Guilin for the evening and then took a mid-day bus the next day to the town of Yangshuo.  We were a little worried about communicating with the folks at the bus station since we were in a smaller Chinese town.  While they didn't speak English, they understood Yangshuo and Express.  All signage at the bus station was in Chinese characters so we would show our ticket to the attendants at the terminals and they would point us in the right direction.  The ride was on an older, beat up coach bus, but it got us there and it only cost us 22 yuan (about USD4).  

The bus dropped us off in the middle of Yangshuo.  We'd read a lot of reviews of this area, so we knew that the town of Yangshuo itself drew a lot of visitors and would be jammed packed with hawkers aggressively trying to sell everything under the sun.  We purposely chose a hotel outside of town so we stepped off the bus and walked a few steps to the cab stand to get out of the madness that was downtown Yangshuo! 

Phoenix Pagoda
We unknowingly scored huge with our choice of hotel here.  We booked a room at an inn called the Phoenix Pagoda Fonglou Retreat, knowing only that it was located about 15 minutes outside of Yangshuo and had received some good reviews online.  While the hotel room was very rustic, it was incredibly comfortable and peaceful. But the best part of this place was the service and the food.  The people who work here are warm, friendly and really take care of you.   

Upon arrival, we met the hotel's owner, a Taiwanese guy named Jerry who we got to know pretty well over the next few days.  Jerry has a really interesting background, speaks perfect English (he lived in the US for a few years while in the military), and is very enthusiastic and active.  He splits his time between overseeing the Asian arm of a global company, and running this hotel which he opened two years ago in his favorite spot in China - Yangshuo.  

After checking in and meeting Jerry, we went on a quick bike ride to orient ourselves.  The hotel has a variety of street bikes and mountain bikes guests can use.  We chose mountain bikes most of the time as there are some amazing off-road trails that you can explore, which take you through the countryside and small villages.  After our ride, we headed back to the hotel for an incredible meal of the local specialty - beer fish - as well as an amazing pumpkin dish and a side of spicy fried tofu.  Dinner is served on the hotel's beautiful roof deck.  After this home-cooked meal, we knew we'd be doing most of our eating at the hotel - this was the best food we'd had so far in China!  The chef loved us because we cleaned our plates at every meal.  Here are some of the things we had over the next couple of days.

Exploring Beautiful Yangshuo
For our first couple of days here, we were some of the only guests at the hotel.    We were incredibly lucky, because Jerry took us on different hikes and bike rides each morning to view the stunning scenery, and to explore the town and meet some of the local people.  Here are some of the things we saw over the next few days, both on our morning hikes with Jerry and while out exploring on our own.

After four nights in Yangshuo, we decided we could have easily spent more time here.  We highly recommend this area to anyone planning a trip to China, and above all, recommend the Phoenix Pagoda Fonglou Retreat and the incredible staff, food and hospitality there. 

We took the high speed train from Beijing to Shanghai whivh took about 5 hours. We booked a pair of first class tickets, which are not as nice as business class but provide more leg room than second class.  Overall, I'd recommend the train - it's easy, comfortable and you get to see some of the Chinese countryside on the way.  One thing we found interesting was that despite having so much open land, the Chinese still build high rise apartment buildings in their small towns.  We'd see vast amounts of empty farm land and then, suddenly, a small-scale city, complete with mid and high rise buildings followed immediately by more countryside.  Many of the high rise buildings were under construction and most appeared to be cookie-cutter buildings - 5-7 identical high rises being built simultaneously, one after another. 

The Grand Central Hotel
We arrived in Shanghai in the afternoon and took the subway to our hotel, Grand Central, located downtown near Nanjing Road - one of the main shopping and entertainment areas of Shanghai.  The hotel was in a fantastic location - close to the subway and 5 minutes from the Bund (riverwalk). We got a great rate on our room as well as a room upgrade.  The hotel is massive, but very comfortable and luxurious compared to many of the places we have stayed on this trip.

The Bund
One of the first things we did was to check out Shanghai's famous skyline from the the Bund. The Bund is Shanghai's waterfront area along the Huangpu river, facing Pudong.  The name Bund comes from a Persian world that means embankment.  This particular bund was named after the bunds in Baghdad along the Tigris river.  When the Baghdadi Jews settled in Shanghai in the 19th century, they built heavily on the bund along the Huangpo river.  The name stuck, and it is now the most famous bund in the world.

We visited during the day and at night and can easily say that night time is best!

Nanjing Road & Mr. Sweetpants' Dancers
Each evening we would stroll down Nanjing Road to check out the shops, find some food and observe the local entertainment. Nanjing is an electric street.  Literally. The entire street glows with neon lights from store fronts, buildings, trolleys, billboards and people selling stuff along the road. 

Here you'll find impromptu kareoke, make-over stations and our favorite modern Chinese tradition - flash mobs. These aren't the kind of flash mobs you see on YouTube where an entire group of people go from doing everyday tasks to breaking out into perfectly choreographed dance moves.  These are dance troupes that gather in different areas of Nanjing Road at night and perform basic dance moves to a series of songs.  Each troupe has a leader and we quickly found our favorite.  He's an older guy who leads a massive group, mostly comprised of women.  He wears the same huge white pinstriped pants every night and never, ever cracks a smile.  We nicknamed him Mr. Sweetpants and visited his dance troupe every night we were in Beijing.  

Din Tai Fung
Normally I don't dedicate an entire section to food, but these dumplings were so good that they deserve a special shout out.  As some of you may know, I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food.  We'd read good reviews of this dumpling chain in Shanghai and decided to try it for dinner. It was phenomenal!  The pork and hairy crab dumplings were the best. We loved it so much that we went back the very next day for lunch. It turns out they are expanding and have opened up branches in Los Angeles and Seattle.  Not sure if it's as good, but definitely worth a try.  Fingers crossed they make it to Boston (or New York at the very least). 

Yu Yuan Gardens
One day we walked over to the YuYuan Gardens. We walked down the Bund and then wandered through some of Shanghai's old city, the equivielent of the Houtongs in Beijing.  These small winding streets were full of all sorts of things - food, bikes, laundry, garbage, people, construction and stray dogs.  It was really interesting to see the disparity between these neighborhoods and the very modern parts of the city just around the corner.

Before entering the gardens, you must pass through an old style shopping center.  The shopping center was really beautiful, but it was incredibly crowded and the salespeople were very aggressive, making it uncomfortable to browse. 

Yu Yuan is a famous garden located in Anren Jie, Shanghai.  It was built in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) named Pan Yunduan.  In Chinese, Yu means pleasing or satisfying, and this garden was specially built for Pan's parents as a place for them to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their old age.  It was a really nice departure from the busy shopping center just outside the walls!  The buildings and gardens are beautiful and although there were lots of tourists, you can still find quiet nooks with peaceful vistas. Pan's parents were very lucky!

Every door had a different design!

Chris Hates Crowds
Here is a typical scene in the shopping area outside of Yu Yuan Gardens. Needless to say, after we saw the Yu Yuan Gardens, we beelined it out of the shopping area. 

A Few More Tidbits
Here are a few more things we did in Shanghai that I'd recommend:

French Concession - We walked around the neighborhood around mid-day and had a healthy lunch at Sproutworks. Although we didn't spend much time shopping, it looked like there were some great boutique shops for both men and women.

Lingo Bistro - Located near People's Square, this is a great little spot for French food. We had steak, tuna, a cheese platter and a bottle of red. It was a nice break from Chinese food!

Fairmont Peace Hotel - This beautiful art deco building is located right on the Bund at the end of Nanjing Road.  The interior is beautiful. I especially loved the tile work! 

We had planned to go out for a nice dinner at M on the Bund, but Chris wasn't feeling well that night due to a cold so we skipped it. 

All in all, we had a great time in Shanghai. It was a completely different experience from Beijing.  If comparing to the US, Beijing was a lot more like Los Angeles and Shanghai was similar to New York.  Shanghai is very cosmopolitan, and at times we forgot we were in China because it is so diverse and looks so much like a major American or European city.  

After a week and a half touring around big cities, we were ready to slow down and see some of the Chinese countryside. Next stop - Guilin and Yangshuo! 

During our last two days in Beijing we visited the Summer Palace, saw an acrobat show and spent time wandering around the old part of the city. 

Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is located northwest of the city center, about a 45-minute drive from our hotel (without traffic).  It was originally built during the Jin dynasty in the 1100's and was subsequently used by the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.  It served as a summer resort for royalty. 

Our driver dropped us off and we spent about three hours wandering around the palace grounds, which included walking the entire circumference of Kunming Lake. 

Duck Tale
Our visit wasn't ideal because the weather was really hazy and grey and the palace was jammed packed with visitors.  It was more crowded than usual because it was the weekend and everyone was coming to see the giant Rubber Duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, which was temporarily in Beijing.  According to Hofman, the giant duck is on a world tour in an effort to evoke peoples' fondest childhood memories, which will hopefully inspire peace and liberty instead of war.  A rubber ducky might conjure up nostalgia for Westerners, but it doesn't for most Chinese since they never owned the floating yellow bird as children.  Despite this fact, the duck has given a nice boost to the local economy - generating millions of dollars in park admission fees and in restaurant, merchandise, transport and accommodation sales.  The rubber duck might not evoke nostalgia from Chinese adults right now, but I have hunch it will for future generations! 

From our perspective, the rubber duck was a nuisance.  We came to see the Summer Palace for its history, architecture and natural beauty. The rubber duck was a massive distraction - like a huge zit on a beautiful face.  It also drew hordes of people to the park, which we could only escape once we walked to the other side of the lake.  

I really liked Zhang Shaohua's perspective as reported on China.org: 

I couldn't agree more and I like the idea of a massive duck floating aimlessly in the sea, perhaps washing up on the shore of some tiny island in the Pacific.  Nevertheless, we had some fun with the duck.

The Red Heads & The Acrobat Show
That night we went to an Acrobat show at Chaoyang Theater.  Acrobatics is very popular in China, so we decided to see what all the fuss was about.  To get to Chaoyang, we took the subway to the Hujialou stop and walked across the street to the theater.  The tickets were inexpensive - about 12 USD.  You could spend about eight times as much for VIP seats, but the theater is tiny and there really isn't much of a difference between the VIP and regular sections. 

I had mentioned in previous posts that I was getting a lot of attention from the Chinese tourists while in Beijing.  Well, I fell out of the limelight at the acrobatics show.  A family with two read-headed boys showed up at the theater and the Chinese tour groups went NUTS.  It was like they had won the lottery!  They crowded around the boys and took pictures of them and with them.  The boys handled all the attention really well and although they were a little shy, they posed for pictures with all the strangers. 

Hutong Time
The next day we gave our driver the day off so that we could do some exploring on our own.  We took the subway over to the Beihai North stop, then walked northward toward Beijing's inner-city lakes.  Surrounding the lakes are really interesting old hutongs, or traditional neighborhood streets, which look much like they did in the old days (though they are now paved and feature plenty of parked cars).  

A Different Drum
As we completed our circuit around the lakes, we emerged near the Drum Tower.  This ancient tower's top floor contains an array of massive drums and antique time-keeping devices.  In the old days, the tower staff was Beijing's official time-keeping authority.  The clever devices were used to keep track of passing time, and the drums were used to announce the time to the rest of the city.  Climbing the steps inside the tower also rewards visitors with a beautiful view of north Beijing.

Vegetarians In Beijing?  They Do Exist.
There's no doubting the fact that Beijingers love their meat.  I was really hoping to take a night off from the heavy protein, however, so we found one of Beijing's few vegetarian joints.  If you're in Asia and are looking to eat vegetarian, here's a little hint - find the nearest Confucianist or Buddhist Temple.  Odds are there will be a restaurant nearby catering to the local monks who do not eat meat.  We found Xu Xiang Zhai across the street from a Confucianist Temple not too far from our hotel.  We enjoyed a huge and really interesting buffet with all sorts of creative vegetarian dishes - it was wonderful!

With our time in Beijing drawing to a close, we got ready for our early train to Shanghai the next morning...

I'm in Heaven
The Temple of Heaven that is.  This is a famous site in southern Beijing that houses several old temples and royal sites.  It was primarily utilized during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when emperors would lead ceremonies meant to bring about a good annual harvest.  The complex was built between 1406-1420, by the same emperor responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City.

Feeling the Love
It turns out the Chinese people love me (and I them).  Before we came to China, we expected that Chris might draw some attention because of his height. However, the Chinese were more interested in me.  As I walked through the tourist attractions, people would stare at me with big smiles, point at me with enthusiasm, wave, and often times they would ask me to pose for pictures with them.  Sometimes, shy people would stand next to me and pretend to take a picture of something in front of us, when I could see that they flipped their camera view and took a selfie with me in the background (likely looking really confused or angry as I sometimes suffer from Resting Bitchy Face). We were trying to figure out why I was getting so much attention, but came up empty.  Nonetheless, who am I to shun the limelight?

We caught a few of these friendly tourists on camera and these two were my favorites:

The Forbidden City
Next, we made our way up to the famous Forbidden City, which was packed with tourists. We procured an audio guide here, as we'd read good things about it.  We had also read that the audio guide was narrated by Roger Moore, but unfortunately, they've replaced him with an anonymous Chinese female.  We found this disappointing.  Nevertheless, onward.

Outside the Forbidden City complex is Tianamen Square. Since we were in the area we stopped by for a look.

That concludes another wonderful day in Beijing! Stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow...

After securing our Chinese visas in Hong Kong, we were off to visit the mainland! Our first stop was Beijing, where we'd stay for 5 nights.  We got a great rate on a room at the Park Plaza which is located in a very nice area of the city full of offices, upscale malls and a pedestrian shopping area.  We considered staying at one of the traditional locally-owned courtyard-style Chinese hotels, but opted to go with a more mainstream hotel because we really didn't know what to expect from the city and felt comfortable that at least the hotel had English-speaking staff and a concierge that could help us to get our bearings.  

Lucky Us
We were very lucky in Beijing.  My cousin, Antonio, works for a large tech company in Beijing and generously offered us use of his driver and his administrative assistant who is fluent in English.  He and his family were out of the country on vacation during our visit, so unfortunately we didn't have the chance to see them.  We also received a list of things to do in China from our friend CJ, who has spent a lot of time in this country.  It was incredibly helpful and saved us lots of planning time.  We gave our list to Antonio's admin who provided us with feedback and then set up our driver for the next few days.  Easy!  We'd initially thought of hiring a guide in China, but with Antonio's driver & admin, CJs recommendations and our guide book we felt comfortable without one. 

First Impression
Our driver picked us up from the airport and we made the half-hour drive to the hotel with our eyes glued to the window, as we were so curious to finally see this famous Chinese city.  After we checked into the hotel, we spent the afternoon checking out the immediate area around the hotel.  It was very modern, and full of luxury malls and fancy car dealerships.  It reminded me of LA without the palm trees.  There were several businesses in the area, resulting in sidewalks full of well-suited young professionals and coffee shops on every block.  This was so far off from what we both expected. We thought it would look a little more like the streets of Sheung Wan in Hong Kong - densely packed narrow streets with old buildings, shops, cars, bikes and people. While there were a lot of people, it was very spacious, modern and organized.  Aside from the Chinese characters everywhere and the occasional Chinese-style architecture, this could have been a city in the US. 

The Great Wall of China
Our first full day was a busy one.  Our driver picked us up at 6:30am and took us to Mutianyu - one of the many sites along the wall.  It was about an hour and a half ride, and we arrived right after the site opened for the day, and before all the locals and  hawkers set up shop.   Initially we had planned to stop off at the Ming Tombs on the way back, but ended up scrapping this idea as it was a bit out of the way.  

When we arrived, we were among the first people to buy chair lift tickets that day. No one was there. We had the wall to ourselves and it was glorious!

We spent just under 3 hours on the wall, enjoying the picture perfect day. After about an hour, people started to trickle in.  After about 2 hours, the tour buses started to arrive and bigger groups began passing by.  Many of them were tourists from other parts of China that likely don't see a lot of western visitors.  As a result, we became part of the tourist attraction, and they would often ask us to pose for a picture. 

We were pretty psyched for the toboggan ride down the mountain.  The guy working the toboggan spoke a little English and chatted with us bit.  He noticed the Chinese characters on Chris' Team Barbier shirt which supposedly say something along the lines of Carpe Diem or You only live once.  He confirmed the translation was similar, although not quite the same.  He then wrote our names in Chinese characters on our hands. 

The ride down was a lot of fun.  We were both cautious at first, frequently using the brakes.  As we became more confident in our tobogganing abilities, we flew down the second half of the course.  

Olympic Park
On our way back from the wall, we stopped off to check out Beijing's Olympic Park, home to the games of the 2008 Olympiad.  We remembered some of the famous structures, such as the distinctive bird's nest stadium and aquacube where the swimming events were held.

Whoopsies: The beef costs how much?!?
Chris was dying to see what the Peking Duck tasted like in Peking, so we did a bit of research and ended up heading to DaDong, a famous roast duck joint near our hotel. To reach DaDong, you have to go into - you guessed it - a mall, and take the elevator up to the fifth floor.  We emerged into the restaurant, which was furnished with modern decor and a giant brick oven area in the middle with lots of ducks waiting to be roasted.  We showed up around 7 and the place was packed.  We had about a twenty-minute wait at the bar (as a side note, it seems that the practice of having a drink at the bar while waiting for one's table is a somewhat Western phenomenon, as we seemed to be the only ones doing this!).  We were seated and Chris, of course, ordered his long-awaited duck.  

The duck is served not by the portion, but by the duck.  Since I don't eat birds, this meant Chris would have an entire duck to himself.  I scoured the tome-like menu for some alternative choices and settled on an interestingly presented papaya salad, pumpkin soup and some beef cubes served with truffle and lime salt.  

Soon, the food began to trickle in.  The duck is carved table-side and is served with the traditional thin pancakes, sauce (in China they use a sauce made from fermented berries instead of plum sauce), and condiments such as julienned onion, radish, cucumbers and pureed garlic.  You are also given a bowl of large sugar crystals.  You are supposed to dip the pieces of duck skin in the sugar to give it a crispier texture and sweeter flavor.  (Traditionally, having roast duck in Peking meant eating only the skin, while the rest of the meat was used in other dishes, such as soups.  Today the dish is typically served with the meat as well).

True to his word, Chris ended up devouring the entire duck single-handedly.  I really enjoyed my food too!  The beef cubes were fabulous and the truffle and lime salt gave it a very interesting flavor. Chris even had to help me with the beef because I was so stuffed.   Together, we finished all but four or five of the beef cubes.   The waitress was shocked that we hadn't finished it off and asked if we were absolutely sure we didn't want the last of the beef.  But we could not do it!  We were surprised to find out that we were given complimentary desserts of tiny apples served in a sea of dry ice, and sweet rice pudding.  Yum.

It was finally time to ask for the check and we were dealt a shocking blow by the final tally.  There was one line item for 880 Yuan that we didn't recognize (it was all in Chinese characters).  880 Yuan converts to about 150 USD, and this comprised the vast majority of the overall bill.  It turned out to be our beef cubes.  We could not believe any beef could cost so much and asked to see the menu again to confirm.  Sure enough, there it was.  Clearly, I did the conversion incorrectly in my head when ordering and must have had a decimal in the wrong place (I was thinking $15 or so).   Now it seemed to all make sense to the waitstaff, who previously mistook us for high-rollers when we didn't finish every morsel of this expensive dish!

We later looked into my foolish mistake and ascertained that we had ordered Wagyu beef  (also known as Kobe beef in Japan).  While I was familiar with Kobe beef, I had never heard of the term Wagyu, thus had no idea to double check the price.  This is the most expensive beef in the world because the cows are genetically predisposed to marbling, which keeps the meat from getting tough.  Supposedly, the cows are also given nothing but beer to drink and receive regular massages while listening to classical music.  I must say the beef was tasty, but also by far the most expensive dish I've ever ordered in my life.  I guess these are the pitfalls of switching currencies every few days.  It was an expensive lesson learned, and I will be heavily scrutinizing all menu prices henceforth!

We spent the night digesting our pricey beef and getting ready for our next day's adventures at the Temple of Heaven and Forbidden City...

We spent our last days in Hong Kong wandering the streets, visiting the Big Buddha and filling our own big buddha bellies with delicious food throughout Sheung Wan. 

Big Buddha
One day, we took a break from this wonderful madness:

...and to see something a bit more low key:

To get to the Big Buddha, we took the train out to Ngong Ping on Lantau Island to see the Po Lin monastery and the massive Tian Tan Buddha on top of the peak.  Part of the fun of this trip is the journey to reach the Buddha.  When you get off the subway, you board a cable car that brings you on a 7km ride across the harbor, the airport and several mountain peaks before arriving at the park about 25 minutes later.  Some of the cable cars have glass bottoms, which cost extra.   We happened to be visiting on a day when a typhoon was skirting Hong Kong on its way to China, occasionally resulting in some very strong wind gusts!  Chris, who is not a fan of cable cars to begin with, could have done without being rocked back and forth by the wind.

From a distance the Big Buddha appears to be some ancient wonder of the world, but it was actually built in the early 90’s near the monastery, which is a major Buddhism center in Hong Kong.  When you arrive, there is a small street lined with tourist-oriented shops on the way from the cable car to the monastery and Buddha. Once you pass the little village and enter the monastery grounds it's a lot less commercial and much more peaceful (save a few ice cream kiosks here and there). We climbed up 200+ steps to the massive statue to survey the views.

We walked around the monastery and grounds for a bit before making our way back via the same gondola ride.  The wind had picked up even more for the ride back!

Good Eats in Sheung Wan
One night, we met up with my brother’s friend, Dan, and his girlfriend, Steph, who both live in Hong Kong.  We tried out a new Issan Thai restaurant called Chachawan, known for its spicy dishes and cool atmosphere.  Chris was psyched for spicy Thai and luckily for me, most of the spiciness was in the sauce which was usually served on the side.  The food was fantastic! The four of us shared a bunch of  Thai specialties including a spicy papaya salad and an entire salt encrusted sea bass. My favorite dish here was the Kanom Dtom which was - no surprises here - a dessert.  It consisted of  gooey coconut rice dumplings served in a bowl of coconut milk and was absolutely amazing! 

Next we went to an tiki style bar called Honi Honi Bar, where we enjoyed tasty fruit infused cocktails on the bamboo covered outdoor terrace.

After our drink at Honi Honi,  Dan & Steph led us down to a little back alley bar called Brick House. It was very colorful, casual and featured some fantastic ink artwork by one of Dan's friends named Marc Allante.  Check out his work here - it's good stuff.   We had a really nice time getting to know Dan and Steph and it was great to try out some more local spots with them!

Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, our passports and visas were ready to be picked up for our departure to Beijing the next morning.  That night we said goodbye to Hong Kong with dinner at Le Contache, a French-inspired hipster restaurant in Sheung Wan.  We were greeted in French and attempted to respond likewise, which the waiter kindly acknowledged and then immediately switched to English :) We shared a cheese platter and  a variety of French/Laotian fusion dishes accompanied by a fantastic Syrah.  Le Contache has a throwback vibe with décor reminiscent of the 90’s and a mix of American and French funk and old school hip-hop playing in the background.  We had a great time here and highly recommend checking it out!  

Speaking of French places, as a side note, it turns out there’s been a huge influx of French people into Hong Kong of late, resulting in lots of French-oriented bars and restaurants popping up around town.  According to a NYTimes article last year the French community in Hong Kong has grown more than 60 percent since 2006.  French luxury companies (ie clothing, dining, wine, banking) want French nationals on their local teams and since much of their growth is occurring in Asia, particularly in China, they are relocating their people.  So this probably explains why we were the only people in Le Cantoche that were not native French speakers! 

This concludes our wonderful week in Hong Kong.  Special thanks goes to Dan and Steph for their great company and for showing us around the local food & bar scene! 

Next stop...Beijing! 

On our third day in Hong Kong, we decided to take advantage of the clear day and ventured up to Victoria Peak, which is situated on Mount Austin in the western half of Hong Kong island. Locals simply call it The Peak.

We had three options to reach The Peak - 1) take the subway to a tram that climbs the mountain 2) take the escalators up the hills to the mid levels and then walk a bit back downhill to the tram 3) climb the mountain by foot.  We went with option #2 on the way there and option #1 on the way back.  Had we more time in Hong Kong, we would have considered climbing the mountain, but we didn't want to spend all day here.  Plus it was really hot! 

Hong Kong Escalators
I'm a huge fan of the public transportation system in Hong Kong and the escalators are no exception.  Since much of the city is vertical, the escalators make it easy to ascend to the higher neighborhoods without breaking a sweat.

Zoological & Botanical Gardens
We rode the escalators up from our hotel to the mid levels then cut across toward the tram to the peak via the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, where our path took us past a variety of flora and fauna.  The most interesting aspect of this park is how it was built into the hillside of HK Island amongst a slew of skyscrapers, but from inside you feel like you're in a tropical forest.  

Victoria Peak
Continuing our walk eastward from the gardens, we reached the base of the peak tram.  It's a bit of a wait to board the tram - an old cable car chugging its way up the mountain - but while you wait you can view displays about the history of the peak and how tourists and residents reached the summit in the old days.  Back in the 19th century, Victoria Peak attracted many Europeans because of its view and cooler temperatures.  Wealthy Europeans purchased property up here and before the tram funicular was built in 1888, they reached the peak by sedan chairs which were carried by locals up and down the steep slope.  Victoria Peak remains an exclusive residential neighborhood and is the home of Hong Kong's most expensive properties. 

Kowloon Night Out
That night, we took the subway over to Kowloon watch the sunset over the city and scope out the beautiful night views of HK Island.  We grabbed a promenade-front table at Deck N' Beer, strangely one of the only outdoor bars on the water in Hong Kong, and had some drinks while taking in the nighttime views across the water.  The night view was spectacular, as if a giant computer chip emerged from the water.   I've never seen a skyline covered in so many branded electronic billboards.  Imagine Times Square New York times 100. That is the Hong Kong skyline.  As a marketing person, I found myself calculating the cost of a logo in lights on the skyline.  Good old Samsung didn't stop at a giant electric billboard.  At 8pm, Samsung sponsored a short but entertaining show, where different buildings on the HK side light up and shoot lasers to music played on the Kowloon side.  When it came to brand presence, Samsung was definitely the king of Kong. 

We had another fantastic day in HK and were looking forward to the rest of our time there which included a giant Buddha, meeting new friends and more great eats! 

We left Kuala Lumpur early in the morning and flew 3 hours to Hong Kong, where we would stay for the next 5 nights.  Hong Kong might have the best public transportation system we've seen thus far and it was very easy to get from the airport to our hotel in Sheung Wan by subway.   The only caveat about the Hong Kong subway system is that it can get very crowded and if you are really tall, it could be tight at rush hour:

Holiday Inn Express
When visiting Hong Kong as a tourist, it's convenient to stay in the central areas - Sheung Wan, Wanchai, Causway Bay on the Hong Kong side or Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side.  It's very easy and inexpensive to cross the harbor by subway or ferry.  Hotels are very expensive in these areas (and in HK in general) but we got lucky and found a great deal at the Holiday Inn Express in Sheung Wan/SOHO.  The location was perfect - steps away from the subway stop and lots of shopping, dining and places to go out.  The hotel was clean and comfortable with decent sized rooms, excellent wi-fi and a great breakfast.  It doesn't have the spectacular views that you'd get from a hotel on the harbor in Kowloon, but those rooms would require you to dig deep into your pockets.  We figured we'd head over to Kowloon at night to get the views anyway.

Chinese Visa
Our first order of business was to get visas for China.  Americans are required to get visas before they visit China.  You can't simply purchase one upon arrival at the airport. The fee is $130 per person and you have to send your passport away to the Chinese consulate.  We didn't have enough time to do this before we left, and since our visit to China was towards the end of our trip our visa would have expired by the time we arrived. 

Luckily, there are services in Hong Kong (which is considered a Semi-Autonomous Region of China and doesn't require visas for entry) that expedite the visa. We used China Travel Services (CTS) as it was recommended to us by a friend and received tons of positive reviews online.  We were a little nervous about handing over our passports for a few days while abroad, but it worked out well.  We arrived at the office, waited about a half hour, filled out a form, had our pictures taken and paid ~$200 to get our visas processed in 3 business days.  Although expensive, it was a smooth and efficient process.  


With our first day's housekeeping item out of the way, we had a healthy dinner at O Green Cafe in Sheung Wan.

Kowloon
The next morning we took a ferry across the harbor to Kowloon.  While it's faster to take the subway to Kowloon, we wanted to give the ferry a try so we could see the skyline in both directions. It was a really quick ride and the wooden interior of the boat was pretty cool, and a throwback to an earlier time.  The view of the city was a little hazy. 

Custom Suit Fail
Our next order of business was to find Chris a custom made suit. Hong Kong is known for it's speedy tailors that can turn around a custom made suit in just a few days for a reasonable price.  For those of you who don't know Chris, he is very tall and thin and therefore has difficulty finding clothes that fit him properly.  Chris had a list of tailors to visit and we ended up visiting three.  Unfortunately, the price of a custom made suit has risen quite a bit in the last year or two, and all three tailors quoted him prices much higher than expected.  For a little more money, he could have a suit made back home without the rush.  He decided to pass on the suit for now.  There are lots more shops in HK where you can still get a custom suit cranked out for very little money, but we were advised to skip those as they can sometimes churn out unwearable garments!  Oh well.

Antiquity & Modernity working in Harmony
After striking out in the suit department, we took the subway to Diamond Hill to check out the Nan Lian Gardens and Chi Lin Nunnery.  This tranquil park is nestled among high rise apartments along the side of Kowloon's giant hills.  Upon exiting the subway, we were in between a mall (shocker) and a highway overpass.  After crossing the street under the highway, we passed through the garden's gate and boom - we entered an oasis of trees, ponds and beautiful wooden architecture painted in rich warm colors that contrasted perfectly with green surroundings. 

Everything in this park was built with purpose. It was built in the style of the Tang dynasty and every inch of the garden, pond, rocks and wooden structures was situated according to specific rules and methods.  Here, we found an exhibition about Chinese timber architecture which was quite impressive as they don't use nails or other metal fixtures. 

From the park we wandered up the stairs to see the Chi Lin Nunnery, which is a Buddhist complex established in the 1930s, and renovated in the style of the Tang dynasty in the 1990s.  It's a very serene place with lotus ponds, bonsai trees and altars to Buddha and his disciples.  We saw several people praying, meditating and giving offerings to Buddha.

After our garden outing, we made a quick stop at the Hollywood Plaza mall for some dumplings.  Here we finally found a place that had Chris' contact lenses in stock (he had miscalculated how many he'd need for the trip and we'd been searching for an extra box since Melbourne) and I picked up a light jacket on the dressier side because (a) people here dress a little more formally and (b) every indoor establishment blasts their air conditioner.  So even if it's 80 degrees outside, it's freezing indoors!

That night we went to Noodlemi - a tiny restaurant in Sheung Wan (maybe 5 tables).  This place happened to have lots of gluten free options so it's a good spot if you suffer from Celiacs.  Neither of us have Celiacs but we have several friends who do, so we thought it was worth a mention.

So far, we'd had amazing weather.  Thankfully, the sunshine would last for our trip up to Victoria Peak the next day!

The cheapest flight from Bali to Hong Kong stopped in Kuala Lumpur, so while this city was not on our original itinerary, we decided we might as well spend a day and check it out.  It's really easy to get into town from the airport via a recently-opened express train called the KLIA express, which takes about 25 minutes.  Once downtown, the subway system or monorail can bring you to most of the major hotels in town. The subway was really easy, especially because English speaking staff  helped direct us to the right place. 

We arrived mid-evening, and the next morning decided to visit the Petronas Towers and walk around the city.  The first thing we noticed was that Kuala Lumpur is brutally hot and humid!  

Kuala Lumpur is probably most famous for the Petronas Towers, the tallest twin-towers in the world, joined by a sky-bridge on the 45th floor.  We made our way from our hotel over to the famous towers.  Until recently, you could go up to the top for free, but daily tickets were limited and first-come first-served, so they usually 'sold out' early.  It turns out they now charge for the experience, and tickets still sell out early!  By the time we arrived, the only trip up in the towers left was not until 8pm, so we decided to bag it.  But we did wander around outside and got a few shots:

Naturally, each of us had to get a picture with the twins:

We next learned that KL also has lots of malls and indoor shopping centers, likely because of how hot it is.  This is probably how many locals spend their time when it's too unbearable to be outdoors.  We walked a little loop around the downtown area, popping in and out of some of the local shops and international chains, before getting caught in huge thunderstorm around mid-afternoon.  It came out of nowhere and we had no umbrella or raincoat so we killed some time in a few stores until the downpour let up a bit.

We made our way back to the hotel in the rain (via taxi) and decided to take advantage of the Hilton's free  happy hour which went from 5-7:30 (if you get enough Hilton points, they upgrade your room, give you free breakfast and free happy hour).  The happy hour was on the top floor, which had a great view of the Petronas Tower: 

There was so much food at happy hour, we weren't hungry for dinner.  Since we had a very early flight out to Hong Kong the next morning, we decided to make it an early night and headed back to the room to catch up on some blogging and planning. 

So the verdict on KL?  Well, our experience was limited, and I am confident there's a lot of great stuff to see here that we didn't get to.  But we can tell you that if you want to go up in the Petronas Towers, be sure to arrive first thing in the morning, and be prepared for some steamy weather!

Anyway, the next morning, we were off to Hong Kong!