Miguel's Bachelor Party - Day 3 - Hong Kong

We started off the morning with a visit to the Flying Pan in Central on Old Bailey St. This is an American restaurant that has all the details in place to represent an American Diner. I know, not the point when you are in Hong Kong of all places, but this place is actually famous in Hong Kong and deserves a visit, because it is seriously transplanted from the middle of America.  The food represents very well.  This isn't a British restaurant trying to be American.

We made our way down through the rest of Central. This area is filled with eclectic boutique stores selling antiques, furniture, and knick-knacks interlaced with weekend outdoor markets selling everything from fish to flowers.

The condensed, highly-populated Hong Kong island is rich with diversity throughout. On a side note, Central partially sprawls up the hill in the same fashion as San Francisco. On a cold, misty day, you could be mistaken for being in the chinese district of San Francisco.

We had to head back to our hotel and decided to take one of Hong Kong's more interesting modes of transportation, the Ding Ding. Stop laughing and look it up. The Ding Ding is a double-decker train that wasn't built for 6 foot persons, but sure is a cool ride. We decided to catch the Ding Ding, but we had to be sure to pick the right line. After much discussion, the purple, lime, dark green, and red lines would get us to our stop. Once we left the central area of Hong Kong Island and found ourselves all the way out by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Racecourse, we realized we didn't take the right train.

At least, this gave us a chance to see another side to Hong Kong Island and it did not disappoint. As you head further south on the island and up into the hills, you get into the well to-do area lined with high-end stores and well manicured public landscaping.

The Ding Ding was cool, albeit, narrow with low hanging ceilings. I barely fit in the seats. I wonder how really big people fit in these things. However, it was time to get off at the station we got on, so we could stop playing with the Ding Ding and catch the metro back.

Because it was such a long day, it was time for the first massage of the trip. I was looking so forward to it. A nine dollar, hour long massage cannot be beat, except for the excruciating pain radiating through my body. There must be a no mercy rule in Hong Kong. I twitched like I was getting electric shock therapy. Laughing by the masseuse does not have to be translated. A Cantonese person laughing is crystal clear in english.

With some rest behind us (for some of us), it was time to head back to Kowloon and into the market area. At night, the northern area of Kowloon comes to life even more with different types of markets: The Ladies Market, the Jade Market, and the Gold Fish Market. The Ladies Market is actually more of the general market selling everything under the night sky. This is where the majority of your true bargaining skills come out to play. They expect it and you better do it, because you are going to get ripped-off.

We spent all of our time in the Ladies Market that we missed out on the Jade Market and the Gold Fish Market. The evening ended with a review of the gifts we bought everyone and a good laugh at what would become a theme for the rest of the trip. A common exchange between Miguel and the vendors, "You are crazy! No, you crazy."

There is so much more to do in Hong Kong, but we had a night lined up in Macau and we were not about to miss out on that opportunity. Next morning was going to be turbo jets and the MGM Grand. What a great contrast for the trip. Now, if only we didn't stay up so late and drink so much...

Full Album for Hong Kong