The combination of these three: city, sand & surf - is one of the things I love about Hong Kong.
CITY
Not much can beat an evening ride on the Star Ferry across the harbor with this incredible view, a boardwalk stroll to a tapas bar for dinner and a hole-in-the-wall jazz club afterwards. Date night perfected. City Lights? check. Sangria and chorizo? check.check. Funky riffs of incredible talent? check.
Ned Kelly's Last Stand is the name of the jazz bar and it's the oldest bar in all of Hong Kong that is still standing in its original location. Dixieland, classics, and improvisation rule the showy stage. We'll definitely be back!
It's not just the fancy side of HK that draws me to the city. Its also the gritty peopled-ness of it all:
the "ding ding" - aka The Tram - get around the city with pennies
typical scrunched stairs winding between busy streets
just another street in Central
The Helpers - nannies, house cleaners, ahmahs... congregate on Sundays to get out of their work place and chillax with their friends. Picnics on cardboard boxes on sidewalks and walkways all around Central.
SAND
Finally warm enough (and dry enough) to head to Shek-O beach for an afternoon! Met up with friends, played and then walked into the village to a fabulous little restaurant called Black Sheep.
Restaurant on the left - doesn't look like much, but the food is delicious, the staff is friendly, and the inside is decorated with black lights and fish tanks. Plus, you get to watch the guy on the right tidy up his own shop at the close of business.
temple in the village
SURF
Dragon boat sidled up next to its home-boat
image from internet
image from internet
Dragon Boat Races!!! You've read Boys In The Boat? - It'll help you appreciate this age-old cultural tradition. With up to 20 rowers per boat shouting in Cantonese and a drummer keeping the pace - it's fun to watch them practice from our balcony but a race is even better. We watched from our window, then from our "yard". If only I'd had a better camera to capture the energy and color.
Having a live-in-nanny means we get to go on dates. Often. Movie Night - here we come!
The theatre we tend to go to is in Pok Fu Lam - at a place called CyberPort which looks and feels just like the name.
Going to the movies here is really growing on me, I have to say. I miss the "extra butter" of the USA theatres... but I've become quite partial to the "half-n-half" popcorn here. Half salty, half sweet. YUM! Another thing to love is that you can buy beer, wine, etc at the counter before going in - ta da! Also - you choose your seats when you buy your ticket. So that means, you can skip the previews and still get a great seat.
But lest you want to skip the previews.... check this video out. It is the typical pre-show movie and it cracks me up. every. single. time. I mean - seriously.
