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 Most of the restaurants and businesses that were here have been replaced by other restaurants and businesses, but otherwise, everything seems to be pretty much the same as when I was here.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. :-)

Lunch view

January and February brought uncharacteristically fabulous weather. But now winter's rainy season is upon us and we have day after day of dreary wet cold weather. Today though, the sun came out, and so did I. I had lunch at a chic coffee shop built into an ancient structure along a famous canal. I took this photo from my spot at the table. I live in such a culturally rich city; I love it! 

Don't love the high price of coffee shops in this city though. You know it's bad when you go to Starbucks because they sell the cheap coffee. Yeah, really.

BTW, the color of the water in this canal? It looks somewhat more icky-colored in the photo than it does in real life. It's brown, but not caramel brown. It's kind of like the color of most rivers in Texas. I still wouldn't go swimming in it or anything, that's for sure. I give it points for being quaint and ancient, but it is not clean.

Soothing views of the city

 I live in a beautiful place.

 Ancient, quaint, beautiful, fascinating.

 Traditional homes are built along canals.

 These are not just for decoration; real people live in these homes.

What a beautiful piece of furniture. The arms have drawers in them, and the bodice has doors that open.  It was on display in a shop window.

Today is Chinese New Year. Of all the places I could have ended up, I am glad to have ended up in such a great place as this. I'm sure the world is full of fascinating places and people, but I certainly never get bored of my discoveries in this place.

A colorful kingdom

Neon "terracotta" soldiers strumming guitars, green wedding dresses at a wedding photo shop, mail boxes in a village and boats near moats...just some of the regular sights around town I thought you'd enjoy seeing.