Hong Kong - Also: Just kidding! We aren't blocked in Hong Kong, only mainland China :-)

We last left you at the airport when we thought we wouldn't be able to talk for 2 weeks. Being the quiet one, Talia was OK with silence for 2 weeks, but it was difficult for Rony, so imagine his delight when he discovered that we aren't blocked in Hong Kong!

We woke up at 4:30 am to catch our 5 am shuttle to the airport. For those of you who are not personally acquainted with 4:30 am, that would be the time that the roosters say, "Sh! We're sleeping!" Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted.

The flight was with Cathay Pacific, and the flight was really nice. The food was good (we had MENUS!) and you can lean back with your chair, except your chair doesn't move back, only the seat, so no one is leaning on your legs!

Plus the entertainment system had a bazillion movies - including new releases that are still in the theaters! Rony watched The Town, The Expendables, and The Social Network, and Talia watched Going the Distance (which was surprisingly funny) and The Social Network (at the prompting of Rony who insisted it was good - which it was). They also had full seasons of a bazillion TV shows, so we both watched a few episodes of the sitcom Community, which had some really funny moments. Talia also played a few games of Mah Jong Solitaire, Backgammon, and a few rounds of Centipede.

You're welcome, you know. We knew your day wouldn't be complete without a full rundown of our in-flight entertainment selections.

Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Hong Kong, and lo and behold, we don't understand a word. It all sounds like Chinese to us.

Our first impression of the city was awesome: We took the complimentary bus shuttle from the Kowloon train station to our hotel, and since it doesn't stop at our hotel, we were going to take it to a certain Metro station that is right by our hotel. We were the only people on this particular bus (in Hong Kong = cool. In Harlem = not so cool), so the driver asked us what hotel we were going to, and after telling him Largos (you're welcome again), he told us that he thinks we should take a different station because it is closer - and he was right. It was sooo much closer! So thanks, Mr. Bus Driver.

Our room is about 2.5 cm by 4 cm (that's 1 inch by 2 inches in American), but it's very nice and clean and has a nice view and a western toilet and a sign on the door that says "please lock the door with latch" but we have no latch. But I digress.

After settling in and resting a bit, we went down to reception to ask them where we can get something good to eat. The doorman got so excited (even though we asked reception, not the doorman), that he pulled the map out of the person at reception's hand, said the other map was better, and started telling us where to go and what to do. So the first 3 minutes of the conversation, we were like, "Wow, this guy is so cool, this is awesome," and then for the next 20 minutes that he was talking we were like, "Wow, in her best days Talia couldn't talk as much as this guy."

So we crossed the road and walked towards Temple Street which is apparently a very famous night market that we were right next to and of course Talia totally knew this when she booked the hotel and it was on purpose.

The market was nice, and even though the doorman/travel agent/winner of China's Biggest Talker recomended a restaurant to us, we have no idea what restaurant it was because - get this - it was all in Chinese. But we did what you're supposed to do when you go to Chinese restaurant - walk into the one where all the Chinese are.

Which was everywhere.

So we just walked into a restaurant that looked nice and had a really really great meal. We are even 70% sure we know what we ate.

Kidding, 100% sure, it was written in English, too.

We got back to the hotel, watched a really interesting episode of 60 Minutes (again, you're welcome), and at around 9:50 Talia went to sleep and was asleep at 9:50 and 12 seconds. There's a 3 hour time difference between HK and Sydney, so 10 pm was like 1 am, plus we had gotten up at 4:30 am, which was like 1:30 local time, so I have no idea where I'm going with this, I just got tired by writing it, but I think the cosine of this equation is 0.23.

We decided to let ourselves wake up without an alarm clock and got up around 9:30 am (LONG sleep), and started our first day in HK. First thing, we went to Mang Kok to buy a Japan Rail pass. The train system in Japan is crazy expensive, but if have a foreign passport you can buy an all-you-can-use pass for the trains for an insanely expensive price that is insanely cheaper than purchasing individual tickets. Of course, we had no idea where to go, so in the morning we Googled it and found out that the smaller travel agencies actually offer discounts so we bought it with a 6% discount, which is a lot of money when the price of a 21-day pass is $680...

After the travel agency, we stayed in the neighborhood cause that's where all the markets are. We started at the Electronics market, saw a bunch of stuff we would have loved to buy, but didn't. We then went to the Ladies Market and saw a bunch of stuff we wouldn't ever buy, and didn't. We were looking for a coat for Talia for Japan, and we found one that looked nice, but wasn't really warm enough. We did, however, have the marvelous experience of being verbally hijacked by the saleswoman who kept calling Talia "My Friend" and saying that Rony was a hot guy.

We continued to the sports market where they have really nice brand name sports shoes for ridiculous prices, but we resisted the temptation to buy. Talia saw a bunch of coats that were more expensive than the ones at the market, but these were coats with down feathers, which is what she wanted, and she ended up finding a really awesome one for $63 US, and it's gorgeous, even though it's not purple.

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple - Wish Garden

After grabbing some yummy lunch (same process as above), we set off to the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. It was beautiful, of course, and the gardens there were gorgeous. What's funny about this market is that it's very serene and tranquil with the traditional Chinese music in the background, and then you pick up your head and there are dozens of skyrises reminding you that you're in the middle of the city.

We then went on to the Nan Lian Gardens and the Chi Lin Nunnery, both of which were gorgeous, excet we didnt' get to see the inside of the nunnery cause we got there 2 minutes late. In Talia's defense (she did the planning today), all the guides and websites said it closes at 5, but it closed before 4:30. It's OK, though, we had a great time, and we'll try to go back there another day if we can.

Nan Lian Gardens

And that was that. We headed back to Mong Kok to pick up our Japan Rail passes and headed back to the hotel.

So far, Hong Kong is great. We are enjoying it a lot, and especially the food (which is thankfully very cheap). And now we're going to sleep so we can have more fun tomorrow. Night!!

Pics from Hong Kong:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=598379&id=906005363&l=c7ada97e68