Hong Kong - Octobert 27-31

Hong Kong is the final stop on the second half of my around the world adventure. It is also one of my favorite cities to visit. On my first day I walked from my hotel to Central Hong Kong Island, about 2 or 3 miles. I then took the Star Ferry to Kowloon - across the bay. This time I traveled like a Hong Kong local with my Octopus Card - good on the ferries, busses and metro.

That evening I returned to Kowloon - where all the night action is. I love going to the markets which are only open at night. I was in the mood to buy something, but only got a few small items.

My hotel was near the fish market and I thought you wanted to see what I didn't eat.

On my second day I went to Lantau Island to visit the Giant Buddha. It was amazing to see this statue on top of the mountain. Of course I had to climb to the top twice, since I had my camera set on the wrong settings the first time.

Here I am at the bottom of the mountain with the Buddha in the background. There must have been over two hundred steps to the top.

This is the Po Lin Monastery at the Tian Tan Buddha Statue. I had a vegetarian lunch here, which was mainly mushrooms and rice. First course mushroom soup. Second course mushrooms and veggies. Third course mushrooms and bokchoy. I skipped the mushroom tart.

On the way back I stopped at Disneyland Hong Kong. Here is a picture of the train to get there. It is a much smaller park, and there were very few people on the grounds outside the park. I walked to the resort hotel, which looked identical to the ones at DisneyWorld.

Here's the sign at the entrance to the park.

On the next day I went to Macao, the Las Vegas of Hong Kong. Here's the Venetian Hotel, which was exactly like the one in Las Vegas, including the indoor canal and shopping mall. I could not believe how large the casino was, much larger than the ones I've seen in Las Vegas. I didn't even wager one of my Hong Kong dollars.

This is one of the other amazing casinos in Macao.

And so ends my around the world adventure. I had a fantastic flight from Hong Kong to JFK. Because I gained 12 hours, I think I had six meals on October 31. Now I'll stay home, at least for a few weeks. I hope you enjoyed viewing and sharing in my adventures.