Our travel day to Hong Kong from Taiwan went smoothly, but was long. A 2 hour drive to the airport was followed by a long wait with delicious food. The flight was direct and the public transport from the airport to our friends’ apartment was easy. We stayed with friends of my parents from our hometown. I had not seen them since I was a teenager so it was a fun reunion. It was also so wonderful having a home base with home cooked food, great company, laundry, and people to give us recommendations.

Nick and I learned how to play mahjong. Our host Natalia was nice enough to take it easy on us, so Nick won his first game he played and I won the first one I played. It was similar to rummy card games we were familiar with so it wasn’t too difficult. The part that is hard is memorizing what the tiles are and the point system.

It was a fun game to learn but the games are so big and heavy it’s unlikely we’ll be able to bring a set back with us to the USA.

Our first full day in Hong Kong we walked around the waterfront near our friends’ apartment. We ate dinner at Undici, which had some of the best pasta I’ve ever had. Nick had the risotto with beef. Mine was pasta with scallops, caviar, seaweed, and topped with mayo and siracha. It reminded us of a poke bowl but with pasta instead of rice.

After dinner we went to the horse races at the Happy Valley Racecourse. It was my first time being at one. There were all sorts of people there. Some seemed more interested in the gambling element, but others were dressed very nice and were there to take lots of photos. Nick and I placed around $12 worth of bets on one race. We lost, but one of our horses did almost push through for us in the end. It was a photo finish and he was just short. We watched two races before making our way back to the apartment. I was getting a bit too excited and figured it was best to leave before I start saying, “Just one more bet.” I also learned that it is difficult to get not blurry photos of horses who are racing, not surprising though.

The next day Nick took me on a wonderfully planned day. We started off by taking the mid level escalators, which are half a mile of escalators connecting business districts to residential areas for commuters. We stepped off partway up and tried egg tarts from a Bake House, which were yummy. They were different than the Portugese egg tarts we are used to from New York but still good. Next we made our way to Man Mo Temple which was small, but pretty. There were chandeliers made of incense burning on the ceiling, a large gold deer statue, and statues inside.

After the temple we tried some Shandong Pork dumplings from a dumpling shop, as well as tea and a pork sandwhich from Lan Fong Yuln, and butterfly pea lemon soda from Chan Kan Kee. Later in the day we also had pearl milk tea with boba, a mango milkshake, and steamed chocolate milk. Nick said it was like a mild chocolate pudding.

Hong Kong was great for trying lots of different kinds of food. Trying to find hidden gems was a fun challenge and we had the advantage of local recommendations.

One of our evenings we had a nice Turkish dinner with Natalia and Allan. It was in the chefs home and he prepared so many dishes for us it was hard to keep track. There was beans, hummus, feta, assorted breads, chicken, steak, and more.

We are happy we got to have that evening with the two of them, since everyone started to get colds/flus during the week so it was the last time we could all be together.

After our meal we did the Morning Trail hike partially up to Victoria Peak. On the hike we saw a badger, a porcupine, and two wild adult pigs with a baby pig. It was so strange seeing so many animals so close to such a large city. The views were okay; it was a cloudy night so the visibility wasn’t the best. There are (as it turns out) many roads leading back to the city. We ended up taking the wrong one and didn’t get home until 1am, when we had expected to be back by 10:30pm. It was a tense journey home to say the least.

Luckily I was able to get some alone time the next day while Nick went off on his own adventure. He did a quick visit to Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery. The center of the garden was closed for some kind of event (someone important was visiting, indicated by the armed guards wandering around), but the nunnery was gorgeous with beautiful ponds and bonsais.

A quick walk away was the Wong Tai Sin Temple, where he took the opportunity to get a quick non-Kajsa-friendly lunch before heading to the temple itself. Natalia told us about how the architecture is inspired by the 5 ancient elements – Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. A quick metro trip took him to the Jordan neighborhood for some delicious sesame paste at Kai Kai Dessert. From there, a quick walk to the Tsim Sha Tsui area for some walking before our evening rendezvous. The guys hanging around outside Chungking Mansions were disappointed he wasn’t looking for any drugs, but he enjoyed his stroll through the infamous bazaar and hostel – for a while it felt like he was back in India.

I met up with him in the evening to take a sunset boat tour of the harbor. We enjoyed our included beverages and watched the sunset on the water. The lighting on the skyline and skyscrappers was golden at that hour. As it became dark the skyline lit up and the water had many reflections from the buildings. It was my favorite activity we did in Hong Kong.

We finished the evening off by going to OZONE, the worlds tallest bar. This was our fancy night in Hong Kong. We got seats on the outdoor balcony with a window. The views over the city at night were amazing. Nick and I each got a beverage and shared some dinner. This included some beef tartar, mini lobster rolls and sliders. It was confusing remembering what we ordered or not because the order the food was brought out was main course, then dessert, then appetizer. I accidentally did the conversion wrong in my head for my cocktail so ended up with the most expensive one I’ve ever had. That was a funny mistake, but luckily the cocktail came with chocolates so we joked it was a good deal. We got ice cream cones after, too.

One of our afternoons was spent walking through three of the main cemeteries. Nick loves a good cemetery walk so this was a great afternoon for him. We checked out the Hong Kong cemetery, the Catholic cemetery and the Muslim cemetery. They were all in a somewhat forested section of the city right beside each other. It was nice having views of the skyscrapers and trees when walking through them. Some were more visitor friendly for walking through then others. One thing they all had in common was lots of mosquitos though.

Nick spent several days exploring some areas on his own so I could spend more time with Natalia and catching up on our logistics. It turned out to be more socializing then logistics, but that’s okay. That’s one of the best parts of getting hosted by someone in my opinion. I did use the opportunity to eat at Undici again and tried their honey comb latte.

A solo day for Nick took him to Sai Kung, a village to the east of Hong Kong proper. A direct bus left right from the foot of Natalia and Allen’s building, so an easy hour-long ride put him in the quaint, but touristy, village. The fishing village is known for it’s seafood, and a walk down the aptly named Sai Kung Seafood Street led Nick past a number of restaurants displaying tanks filled with a variety of fish and crustaceans. As it turns out, the menus do a great job of providing tasting options for groups of at least 2, but are difficult on a solo traveler. Even more than usual when we are forced to be parted, Nick was devastated by my absence. Luckily he was able to find some tasty mango shrimp in an alley Thai restaurant.

Looking on Google Maps, Nick saw a little hiking path and decided to head just outside of town to check it out. A short, but very sweaty hike later put him at Trio Beach. Despite signs warning about the lack of life-saving services, there were still some folks braving the water, so Nick decided to as well. The cooling effects of the water were quickly undone by the hike back to town. Luckily he was greeted by a very yummy smoked meat sandwich and a Hong Kong style milk tea.

It is an easy day trip to go to Macau from Hong Kong. We opted to take the ferry, which for foreigners is free on the way to Macau and reasonably priced for the return trip. Macau was like the Vegas of Asia. There was replicas of streets and casinos from Vegas everywhere. We met an old neighbor and family friend of Nick’s there who now lives in southern China also named Nick and his girlfriend. Seemed like a crazy place for a reunion for two people from Neenah, Wisconsin, but fun!

In Macau we tried egg tarts, pork sandwiches, and even found a Five Guys for milkshakes. The four of us went to the ruins of St. Paul’s, which were very busy and not a lot left to see. It was an impressive wall, though. Senado Square was next, which was fine, but again nothing spectacular.

One of our favorite places in Macau was the Mandarin’s House. It was a beautiful house with many rooms and levels to explore. There were artifacts, plants, and open windows showing through open stairwells and rooms. They had elegant frames for the windows and doors with strong features.

Our day trip ended with a trip to the Venetian, a replica of the hotel/casino from Vegas. They had the American food establishments, the little Venice with full water and boats, and a huge casino. Some games were ones we were familiar with, but there were also new games we had not seen before. It was very crowded and large. We did one game of roulette where we won and one game where we lost. Overall Macau was neat to see, but felt sterile. It was great to be able to see Nick and meet his wonderful girlfriend.

On our last night in Hong Kong, I stayed in, but Nick decided to try to cross a couple last things off of his list. It ended up being his favorite excursion. He left Natalia and Allen’s shortly before sunset and made the trip to the edge of Lion Rock Country Park via metro. It didn’t take long to realize that the 1.5 hours that were mentioned in the guide he had looked at was a one way trip. Luckily, because it was fully dark the trail was pretty empty and he was able to knock out the full hike in under 2 hours, including having 20 minutes on Lion Rock Head all to his own. The view was spectacular.

After making his way back to the metro, Nick headed to Jordan to check out the Temple Street Night Market. Although most of the market was a little trinket heavy for his taste, the food section was great. Maybe the giant oyster lady thought his was a little small, but regardless of the reason she put an extra oyster in his shell, turning the snack into more of a dinner. His trip to the souffle pancake stand was equally as delicious. He didn’t realize how different being out in the evening would be without me. When on his own he was approached by both people selling drugs and a prostitute. It helps having your wife around in those instances!