After stuffing our faces at breakfast - some more than others, guess which one! - we walked to the tram, which we took to the 'peak tram' which is really a funicular. The ride up was 'gravity-defying'...we were pretty much at 45 degree angle the whole way up. Good thing we didn't try standing!
The peak was stunning. Well not the peak itself, but the view below of Hong Kong is nothing short of spectacular. We walked all around the tower that the tram delivers you to, but we couldn't find our way out! They try to capture you here so that you buy stuff. Jerks.
When we finally did find our way out, we saw a crowd gathered on the patio of the Peak Tower. We craned our necks to see, and who was there? Well we didn't know, all we saw were a few vans filled with Chinese people. So Karla took a picture to document our brush with fame. We saw on the news later that night that they were the first Chinese astronauts to walk on the moon. We really were in the right place at the right time!
We walked up the road a bit to take in the view (and of course to snap some pictures!), then decided to brave the Tower again for the sake of quelling our hunger. We grabbed a bite at a little cafe, then found our way outside (much more easily this time!), and began our walk around the periphery of the peak. We got about a third of the way and were disappointed because we were in the woods, and didn't have a view of down below at all! But as soon as we started to doubt, we turned a corner and were greeted with a scenic overlook. From then on out, we had more view than we knew what to do with.
When we'd had our fill of the peak, we began our descent. Instead of taking the tram, we walked down Old Peak Rd, which was almost as steep as the tram ride in certain places! We walked down to the HK Botanical and Zoological Gardens, before realizing that neither of us really wanted to be there and walking toward the coast.
We walked through several markets in SoHo, ending up at the Western Market which was mostly closed. That didn't stop us from perusing the fabrics on the textile floor, and looking longingly at the wedding happening upstairs. It would have been so cool to peek in...unfortunately there was a woman guarding the entrance. And we did NOT blend in.
Dinner was next, followed by tea at a tea house. Although they put weird gelatanous balls at the bottom of our cups, we enjoyed the tea and the ambiance that we provided for ourselves by paying Christmas music on the Blackberry. It's quite Christmas-y feeling here...there are decorations everywhere, and of course it's cooler (and cleaner) here than in Thailand. Although the weather feels more like Halloween than Christmas. But it's a start!
We took the tram home, then relaxed and watched 'X-Men' on TV (don't judge our movie taste...there's only one English channel!) before passing out. The end.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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