Saturday, July 3, 2010

Beauty and the Bird

 Finally back in Hong Kong.  This is my favorite city in the world.  It is gritty and glamorous and beautiful and harsh.  It utilizes such a seamless and effortless dichotomy, that it seems pointless to criticize its shortcomings or praise its shine.  It is too obvious to acknowledge.  This is an old land, and you can feel it has grown honest about its identity with time  Also, the mtr subway shoos you around the city at breakneck speed, making any undertaking effortless. 

 Our room at The W Hong Kong 

 Out on the road, Hong Kong is full of giants 

 Whatever 

 You might want to click on this picture to read some of these shirts.  My favorite is the Rambo one.  "You strong like Rambo Look like Hero But your Brain just like Potato."

 View from Hong Kong Peak, one of the best views in the world 

 Hong Kong Shopping 

 We ate at this restaurant, Maks noodle, which is sort of an institution and recommended by Mr. Bourdain.
 Dumpling and Wonton Noodle Soup, looks boring, but I promise, this was so freaking scrump 

 Once at the peak, we surveyed the scene.  This is the second most expensive place in he world to live.  Number 1 is a street in Monaco.

 We were blessed with a really clear day.  On foggy days , you cannot even see past the first few rows of buildings 


 These are some of the most expensive houses in the world.

 The Peak Tram that delivers tons of passengers up the steep hill to the peak 


 The quiet backside of Hong Kong, also quite beautiful 

 Backside Again.  One of these days I am going to check this area out.  Looks cool.

 The Peak Tram 


 No dogs allowed in Hong Kong park 

 A childrens playground

 So Hong Kong park houses this huge aviary full of crazy birds 
 It was so much more fun than I could have imagined.  I had no idea hanging out with a bunch of armless loons could bring such joy.

 This one looked high tech 

 And this guy?

 Some freak from Papua New Guinea.  Love the do buddy.

 How red is red?

 This little fella was hungry 


 This guy looked important 


 What the hell are these things 

 Do your thing 

 Bali Starling, these things are super rare 

 This guy was the most personable bird I have ever met 

 He took one look at Kristin and knew he was in love.

 We think he mistook her bracelet for some kind of treat 

 Let me at it lady 

 The Aviary 

 I wish I knew names, but I am not much of a birder 


 Pelicant

 The vantage point in Hong Kong Park 


 Buildings and the Aviary 


 We came upon this nice little pond 


 It was a pretty nice park 


 It even had a cool waterfall 

 I love reflections 

My other pictures were on the camera that was stolen by a one armed bandit.  It would be great to have that memory card back.

Troubs in Hong Kong

Tonight, Kristin's bag was stolen from the waterfront.  We are dealing with the repercussions of this, canceling cards and making claims against our stuff that was involved in the heist.  I am out a camera and Kristin has one less ipod.  We also had all of our Hong Kong dollars taken.  Great night.  Nope.  Here is a picture of a bird that I took today in Hong Kong Park.  I may update later once we are done making phone calls, but this is unlikely.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Travel Day - Cambodia to Hong Kong

Our meal last night at a Cambodian restaurant.  They offered us snake, goat, roo, and ostrich. We ordered chicken because we were.  Ryan ordered big shrimps. 

 Our day began at 6:30am.  We flew from Siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur and than from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong.  It was a 12 hour travel day.  Once in Hong Kong, Ryan was doublefisting Coke Zeros.

 Lucky for us, we checked in at the ultra luxurious W Hong Kong which was a welcome change of pace.

 Our bathroom

 Our shower which floods like crazy 

 Ryan and Meagan discussing plans.  Kristin staring out the window.

 Our lobby on the 37th floor 

 The pool on the 75th floor 

 Back in Hong Kong, walking between giants 

 We roamed the streets searching for the ladies market

 Hong Kong, like most huge cities, does not sleep, so we did not have much trouble grabbing a bite at 11


 Neon signs everywhere


 Furmonster of the day, out of focus Hong Kong weirdo 


 We walked by a really crowded noodle shop, and decided it would probably be a good idea.

 Ryan and Meagan having a laugh while sharing some noodles

 These guys did fine work.  Our noodles were great

 Beef Brisket with noodles 
 Egg noodles 

 Regular Noodles 

 cat at the bookstore 

 We got an ice cream at a Mcdonalds, opting out of the taro pie 

Lots more from Hong Kong tomorrow

 The girls bough Loubs at the Ladies Market