We arrived in Hong Kong just days before my 30th birthday. I had already freaked on my 25th birthday, so I felt relatively good about this one. That didn't stop Bill from a little payback. In November, about a month away from Bill's big day, I started to taunt him. "Was there anything that you had hoped to accomplish before this important pinnacle in your life that you haven't yet done?". This question was, of course, thrown right back at me. "Nope", I said. "I feel good."
The HK airport was clean and well-signed and our hotel had a desk just outside of customs and immigration. We were taken to a local bus to get to the hotel and we left promptly. No one else was on the bus and we made no stops, so we had a nice private trip over to the Sheraton Kowloon. Katherine was leaving on another flight, about 12 hours after us, so we checked in and decided to run some errands for the day. Our first stop, however, was food.
Yeah, this place has a lot of people
We found an amazing noodle shop and ordered dumpling soup. Bill got his "very spicy" while I opted for "hot". Both were seasoned perfectly and we were in heaven.
Later, Katherine joined us and we ate a quick dinner and then headed to the top-floor bar at the Sheraton. They had a nice bar and every evening the city puts on a free light show showcasing all of the tallest buildings. We enjoyed watching the show despite a bit of cheesiness. It was choreographed to music and had audio and we were happy to learn the names of some of the notable buildings.
The next day, we hopped on the historic Star Ferry that goes from Kowloon over to the island of Hong Kong. The ferry has been running since the mid-1800s and is an institution. The seven minute ride afforded good views of both skylines. We hopped on a bus for a quick ride to the Peak Tram.
The Peak Tram is a small train that chugs to the top of the island. At the top, you can get a great panoramic of the city. Afterwards, we took the ferry back to Kowloon and walked along the Avenue of Stars. Hong Kong has the third largest film industry after Mumbai and Hollywood. We found our favorite Hong Kong stars and I can happily announce that my hands are the exact same size as Jet Li's hands. I am not sure if that is good or bad for either of us. Oh well.
View of the Hong Kong skyline from the Peak
My hands are the same size as Jet Li's hands
That evening, we met Stella and Eugene for dinne. We had met Stella and Eugene, two college friends, on our fateful Halong Bay trip. They had helped to make an otherwise miserable trip fun and we were happy to see them again. The restaurant was amazing. It had an incredible view of the city and had floor to ceiling windows. Walking in, I was mesmerized by a tree that had hundreds of glowing candles hanging in balance.
The food was even better than the beautiful décor and the presentation was astounding. Soft shell crab came out in a basket filled to the brim with cherry-colored red peppers. We ate jade vegetables and beef and more food than I can remember eating in a long time. Katherine immediately took to Stella and Eugene and we had a wonderful evening.
After dinner, Eugene headed out to play hockey (Stella and Eugene are both originally from Canada). The rest of us headed to Morton's Steakhouse, inside the Sheraton, for dessert and cordials.
Stella had to work the next day, so we bid "adieu" and then headed upstairs to the top floor bar again. We were only 15 minutes away from my birthday and it didn't seem quite right to go to bed. Instead, Bill ordered a bottle of champagne and we celebrated in style.
The next morning, we packed our bags and prepared to move to the hotel next door. Allow me to explain. My dear husband was treating me to a stay at the Peninsula. The Peninsula is consistently at the top of the charts for Asian hotels and boasts the largest customized fleet of Rolls-Royces in the world.
As luck would have it, Stella is quite senior at the hotel and was able to accommodate us with an amazing corner suite on the second highest floors. As we walked in, we were immediately greeted by the quartet playing in the foyer.
People kept approaching me, "Happy birthday, Mrs. Trotter". It was quite plush, if I do say so. Stella immediately ushered Katherine and I to the spa for a surprise massage treatment. The spa was heaven. We settled in and were immediately drawn to the sauna and steam rooms. The sauna had commanding views of the harbor and the steam room boasted a large mineral rock in the center. Afterwards, we took turns acting like kids in the shower. It simulated a "spring rain" with soft cool water, flickering lights, aromatic scents piped in and the sound of rainfall and birds. There were two other intriguing settings, but the spring rain was definitely the best.
We each sat in a reclining chair and sipped on fresh squeezed orange juice while awaiting our treatment. The massage was wonderful and as usual, I was not ready to leave. Afterwards, I took a small nap in the relaxation room and we drank some tea. Unbeknownst to us, poor Bill was waiting in the lobby for us to come out so that we could go to lunch!
We took the elevator to the pool and ate poolside. It was raining hard, but fortunately the pool is inside. The large windowed doors that often open to the outside were closed for shelter. We had a nice lunch, but Bill was noticeably disappointed when a message came saying that our afternoon plans had been cancelled due to inclimate weather. I didn't know what those plans were though, and I was content to just swim for a while.
The pool was lovely, but we were all amazed that music was piped into it. You couldn't hear the music when you were above water, only when you were swimming. While Bill napped on a lawn chair, Katherine and I headed back to the spa to enjoy the segregated jacuzzi. Their was an icy plunge pool which we did not partake in and then a nice, hot jacuzzi.
Arriving back at our room, we had a three-tiered stand filled with delicious chocolates. Moments later, someone showed up with a birthday cake and chilled champagne, courtesy of the hotel. Katherine also surprised me a nice bottle of Veuve-Clicquot.
Champagne, chocolate and terry robes. Me likey
We had dinner reservations at Gaddi's, one of the Peninsula's main restaurants and one of the best in the city. Bill and Stella had arranged for us to sit in the kitchen in the lone table reserved for special guests. The chef, David Goodridge was delightful. He gave us a wonderful tour of the kitchen and then served us a delicous five course meal, consisteing of beef cheek, sea bass and the main course, pigeon.
For dessert, we opted to go to the dining room and enjoy the atmosphere and the band. The band sang me happy birthday and the kitchen delivered another cake! We were already stuffed, so after a courtesy taste, we had the cake and our petit fours packed and delivered to our room.
Bill gave me my present - a book on playing guitar and a promise that we will get an acoustical guitar when we get home. I've always wanted to learn and so I am looking forward to getting home and practicing!
After dinner, we should have gone home, but we went down the street to an Irish bar instead. Within minutes, we met another American that had been in HK for a long time and was lonely. He started buying us whiskey and tequila. On later reflection, we all decided that we should never start drinking with a stranger that already has red wine stains on his shirt.
The next day, I woke up and wanted to read the paper. For the second day in a row, we had not gotten a paper and I thought it was very strange that a hotel that paid such attention to detail could oversee such a thing. I called guest relations and requested someone to deliver a paper to our room. "Did you check in the closet?" she asked. Huh? I said something to that effect and she repeated the question. I was so dumbfounded that I just told her that I would call her back. I did one of those things where you replay the conversation back in your head in the hopes that it will make sense the second, and in this case, third time around. I just looked at Bill and said, "She told me to check the closet".
We were both confused, but when I looked in the closet, lo and behold, there was our newspaper. Within the closet, there is a small door and within that door there is a compartment that houses your newspaper and shoes that you can set there to be shined and delivered the next morning. We were both like kids in the candy store. How does it work? Who puts it there? Should we stick our head in there and ring the button and scare the hell out of the man or woman that appears? These questions were all paramount and we spent the next ten minutes trying to figure it out.
In case I've piqued your interest, allow me to explain. There is the door that enters into the closet that provides the guest with access to the goods. At the opposite side of the compartment is another door that provides access from the hallway. Stella later informed us that apparently the chairman of the Peninsula got tired of going out to the hallway in his bathrobe to get the paper and instructed his people to come up with a solution. Ladies and gentleman, that is some cool shit. When you set your shoes inside, you press a button so that the magical elf knows to come and pick them up. Bill talked me out of putting my head in there.
Shoes and a newspaper, all delivered through the closet
The following day, we got up and went to lunch with Stella. We had discovered that the noodle shop that Bill and I went to the first day was also a favorite of Stella's and we thought Katherine might also enjoy it. As we ordered, Bill and I both tried to order our dishes as "hot". Stella ordered for us in Cantonese but the waitress shook her head no and informed Stella that it would be too hot for us. We insisted, saying that we had been there a few days prior and had eaten it "very hot" and "hot" and it was just right. Stella suggested that maybe they had written down something else, but we felt confident and stood our ground. Stella and the waitress politely went back and forth with each other and the waitress wrote down something. Stella then said something back to her and told us that despite what she had told the waitress, the lady still wrote down a milder spice level. At that point, we became obstinate and the matter was settled.
I'm sure you see where this is going, and that's exactly where it went. I am not sure why we pay to subject ourselves to pain. I tried to make a good effort on behalf of all of Stella's hard work, but I couldn't take it. Bill was more of a trooper and he finished his soup. I left with a very runny nose and tears streaming down my cheek. Bill left red and sweaty. Good times.
We all instantly had stomach aches from the spiciness, but we headed back to the Peninsula. Stella went to have a coffee and wait for us while we went to our event (the one that had been cancelled the day before).
I still didn't know what we were doing, but I figured it out once we got into the special elevator on the top floor. Bill had made reservations for the China Clipper, the Peninsula's helicopter (call sign Hotel 0) that takes off from the rooftop. Bill, Katherine and I all climbed in and were treated to an aerial trip of the Hong Kong skyline. It was amazing. I got to sit up front and take in the view. I had never been in a helicopter and for someone that flies in a plane as much as we do, it's quite strange to ascend directly upward without a gradual incline. It felt very surreal.
Me, Katherine and the China Clipper
Yeah, I'm a badass
It was a lovely day and we had fun when the pilot dove down and did some side turns. We circled the whole island and the pilot pointed out all of the sights. At the end, we each got a hat commemorating our trip. It was very cool.
We met back up with Stella and then headed toward Stanley, just outside of town. There are a lot of trendy bars and restaurants and a great local market. We met up with Eugene and perused the market. Katherine and I bought Christmas ornaments (we always pick one up when we are travelling somewhere new) and everyone picked out at least something. Stella left to meet a friend and Eugene took us to his favorite restaurant in the Times Square area.
I like a cat with a sense of humor
The food was great. Eugene ordered a ton of food and we made a good dent in all of it. We had scallops and broccoli, duck, shrimp and all sorts of delicous dishes. That night, we met Stella for drinks at the JW Marriott.
The next day we started to pack up to get ready to head to Macau. Katherine and I had dropped off laundry a couple of days prior and we went to pick it up. The laundramat was closed. This presented a few problems since half of my clothes were in there and let's be honest, I am continually wearing the same stuff day in and day out. We needed to head out to Macau though if Katherine was going to get a chance to go, so we opted to head out anyway. We reasoned that Katherine could pick up the clothes a couple of days later when she flew out of HK. Bill and I wouldn't be back, so I had a free license to get some new clothes!
We met Stella at a delicious Cantonese restaurant on our way out of town. The efficiency of the restaurant was commendable. You are in and out in as much time as it takes you to eat because they immediately serve you, clean up and provide the bill. The whole affair is over within 30 minutes.
We were sad to say good-bye to Stella and Eugene. Their hospitality was above and beyond. Bill and I have been lucky to meet some wonderful new friends on this trip. Most of the time, you make acquaintances that you share the same basic questions and conversation on a surface level - where are you from? Where are you going? How long are you travelling for? How much longer do you have? On occasion, however, you meet lifelong friends and we have certainly met some on this trip.
The last two stops had been full of visits with new friends - Mel, Mel and Ryan in Perth and Stella and Eugene in Hong Kong. We were also extremely lucky to have Katherine come out and visit us for a second time, no less. As we moved into China, we were looking forward to Beijing just a few weeks later where we would meet other friends from home - John, Damien and Polly.
But with the exciting prospect of a new country on our mind, we focused our thoughts to mainland China and our first stop, Guangzhou.
- Chrissy