Day 29: Hong Kong (Friday, July 25)

This side of the trip we are actually spending an entire day in Hong Kong... but because of a variety of issues, we didn't actually get going until lunch time. Oh well. We had a good dim sum lunch in the Elements (the mall in which we were staying), and then spent the first part of the afternoon shopping. Requisite purchases made, we tried to make it to the Planning and Infrastructure Exhibition which shows plans for the future development of the city. It closed at 6pm, though, and by the time we got over to the island we didn't have enough time to spend at the exhibit. Instead, we made our way to the travelator (a series of moving sidewalks and escalators) to get up to the mid-levels for dinner. It was time for more Mexican food, and we found !Caramba! to be just the right place. Though the restaurant was completely empty (6p is a little early for HK), and would remain empty for the duration of our meal, we were requested to sit in a tight two-top wedged in a corner. Oh well, because we were early it was happy hour, so we got two margaritas for the price of one and a free chips and salsa. Jackpot. Everything was tasty, including the enchiladas and tacos that we ordered as entrees. Things were just picking up when we left the place, a little after 7p.

We walked all the way back down to the ferry terminal and took the Star Ferry back across to Kowloon. Hong Kong is ready for the Olympics. There's even an Olympics Piazza, complete with the silly looking mascot characters. We resisted the invitation to go inside, and instead went to line up for the fancy light show that is put on every night by the buildings on the island. The Bank of China building did its best to make the show special, but it couldn't quite get it over the hump. After the first bit, it was all quite repetitive.

After the show, we walked around the Temple Street night market for a while, and made a few random purchases, before calling it a night. Early flight tomorrow morning to Tokyo! We won't have much time in Tokyo tomorrow, so we only have one plan - dinner at Kikunoi. Stay tuned.