Victoria Peak in Hong Kong

The most famous view of Hong Kong is this one, from atop Victoria Peak. What a beautiful city, built on mountains in a tropical setting along a harbor.

The Peak Tram is one way to get up the mountain. The public city bus is more scenic and cheaper though, so I generally choose the bus. But I have taken the tram several times before.

See the bird in the center of the photo? Such a beauty!

Do you see the spider in the middle of this photo? Yikes! Victoria Peak has quite a few hiking trails that take hours to complete if you go the entire way; it goes through tropical forest areas. I took a stroll down one of them for about 5 minutes, and saw this spider along the way. I didn't figure it was a good idea for me to go hiking alone, even though they have hiking trail police. And then the spider really confirmed to me that I needed to get back into civilization.

Stanley Market in Hong Kong

Stanley Market, in Stanley Village on the south side of Hong Kong Island

Stanley village and beach

The entrance to Stanley market

Lots of interesting shops. I went here with my parents in 1997. 

That's seven Hong Kong dollars, worth about one U.S. dollar.

The bus.

Snapshots on the island

Just a few random shots I took on Hong Kong Island … I like the window display above. They use the old-fashioned (but effective) China thermoses and ceramic bowls to create a quaint bit of window art.

 Most buildings are not as colorful as they are in this neighborhood.

I'm sitting on a bus, taking photos out the window as we zoom on winding mountain roads with steep drop-offs.

 I love the scenic mountain roads on the island!

The beach at Repulse Bay, Hong Kong

Here are photos of what is perhaps my favorite beach in the world, the beach at Repulse Bay on the south side of Hong Kong Island (odd name for such a beautiful place). Of course Tasmania and Hawaii have some awesome beaches too, but I think there's something wonderful and mysterious about a beach along the South China Sea.

On a Thursday morning when thunderstorms are in the forecast, it was not crowded at all.

This last photo was taken from inside a speeding double-decker bus hugging the side of a mountain!

By the time you see this post, I should be back at my own place with my snuggly Pekingese, Lord willing. But I am not finished showing you around Hong Kong, so I will continue to post more about Hong Kong in the next few days. 

The Mongkok neighborhood of Hong Kong

Here are a few photos from the Mongkok neighborhood of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The above photo was taken on a Wednesday, you know, when most people are at work. Just imagine how crowded it is on weekends and holidays!

There is good shopping in the Mongkok area!

Hello Hong Kong!

I'm in Hong Kong for a few days. I first visited Hong Kong in 1989, so this is the 25th anniversary of my first trip here. I even lived here from 1995-96, so I know the city fairly well.

The bridge was being built when I lived here, but it wasn't open for traffic. It links the main part of Hong Kong to the "new" airport. Of course the airport isn't new anymore. I was in the new airport the first week it opened though. When I lived here, Kai Tak Airport was still in business. It was famous for its landing approach -- planes barely skimmed the roofs of tall buildings upon landing approach. I took my parents to stand on top of a building near the old airport so they could experience the nearness of the plane. They were sufficiently shocked.

Hong Kong Harbour is full of all kinds of boats. 

My favorite is The Star Ferry. Riding it across Victoria Harbour was the first thing I did on the first day I was in the city this trip.

 It only takes a couple of minutes to cross the harbor, and first class tickets are 40 cents.

 As I said, all kinds of boats are in the harbour.

Here's a look at Hong Kong Island from the Star Ferry Pier on the Kowloon side of the harbour. The building with the geometric pattern towards the left used to be the tallest building in Hong Kong. The International Financial Center (center) now dwarfs it. There are more buildings than when I lived here, and they keep reclaiming more land on which to build. Most of the restaurants and businesses that were here have been replaced by other restaurants and businesses, but otherwise, everything seems to be pretty much the same as when I was here. It's a great city and I'm glad I got to live here before I voluntarily moved inland to an even more special place. :-)

Sunday night market

This past Sunday I went to the Sunday market at Toppae Gate in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Locals set up booths and sell their crafts near the city gate and moat.

 These ladies are making and selling fruity, chocolatey waffles.

I ran into some friends of mine! Yes, literally ran into them -- boom! I'd been working with them all week on a project, but had no idea we'd run into each other at the market. We roamed around together for awhile, then I left them. I am old enough to be their mother, so I didn't want to overstay my welcome. :-)

 This is the food court at the Sunday night market.

Here are tuk-tuks (pronounced took-took), motorized open-air taxis. I take these when I am in Chiang Mai. In the past, they didn't have real taxis here, but now they do. People still use tuk-tuks more than taxis. 

The photo above and below are of the Sunday market, and were taken from the second floor of one of Chiang Mai's many Starbucks coffee shops.

Next stop? Hong Kong!

Buddhism in Thailand

Thailand seems to be overflowing with Buddhist temples, statues, orange-robed monks and altars where incense can be seen burning. The graven images cannot speak or understand their prayers, and serve only to rob the one true God of the glory and praise that belongs to Him. Here is a sample of what I've seen this week.

I believe these young monks were playing with one of their cell phones.

“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6 HCSB)