Eating in Hong Kong

Everything in Hong Kong was more expensive, including the food. Oddly enough, MacDonald's was among the cheaper (and easier to find meals). That means we ate at MacDonald's more often than we would have liked, though the kids didn't mind at all. :-) Still, we experimented where we could. Here are some of the pictures of the food we ate.

Dim Sun is a tradition in Hong Kong. It's essentially many small dishes, allowing you sample a variety of foods. Our dishes included turnip patties, stuffed peppers, and shrimp dumplings. Most of it was good, some of it was different.



Malls were everywhere in Hong Kong, and food courts were a clean, air-conditioned place to eat and try different food. Jacen ordered from a curry place and got this incredibly long piece of bread, which was used for dipping into the sauces:



I ordered from one place where they served raw meat. But it was in a skillet-like plate that was piping hot (no doubt some regulation would forbid this in America), so I literally cooked my own meal at the table, flavored by the sauces I chose:



Over all: delicious!

Flower and Fish Market

One entire market in Kowloon was dedicated to selling flowers and another selling fish. The former was jam-packed when we visited it; Ann figured out why: The next day was Mother's day. Most of the little shops sold cut flowers in a brilliant display of colors and shapes; I wish there was a market like that near our house. The goldfish market was a street where nearly every shop was full of aquariums and fish supplies. Most interestingly, they sold lots of fish in bags.



Mums, I think, but in a shape I hadn't see before.

Kowloon Markets (pt2)

Our favorite shopping in Hong Kong was not in the ultra-ritzy malls but the ordinary street markets, many of which were in Kowloon. They were crowded but offered a little bit of everything. Bartering was a must; typically we paid less than half of what was asked for, sometimes as little as 1/6. Here's a couple shots of the street.

Kowloon Markets

We got up early on Saturday and went to the Jade Market, one of the many markets in Kowloon, Hong Kong. We didn't buy much jade, though Ann got a nifty tea pot. Afterward we wandered around some of the streets nearby. This was what we expected streets in Hong Kong to look like:



Some dried fish for sale:



Need some meat? Don't buy it frozen, buy it fresh!

Flats in Kowloon

When we went to Hong Kong, we stayed in a flat in the Mei Foo neighborhood in Kowloon. They really know how to pack the people in around there. Our 2 bedroom flat had 450 square feet. Here's a look out our flat. Bonus: See how they dry laundry in HK?



A look at the neighborhood, where huge apartment buildings are crammed together one after the other.

The Peak

After visiting the parks, we took a tram to the top of The Peak, which sits atop of one of the mountains behind Hong Kong on Hong Kong Island. It offered a breath-taking view of the island and harbor (which we took full advantage of) and a plethora of generally over-priced stores to shop in (which we did not take so much advantage of).

Jacen in the tram:



The tracks leading up to The Peak. A view of Hong Kong Island, the harbor, and (in the distance) Kowloon:



Ann on the observation deck of The Peak:

Hong Kong Parks

We visited 2 parks on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens and Hong Kong Park. They featured birds, animals, gardens, fountains, a playground, and more. After ascending the escalators and eating lunch at a Greek restaurant, we took our time walking through them. I enjoyed the walk-in aviaries the best, but the kids enjoyed the playground.

Billboard

I didn't know billboards needed love...

Mid-level Escalators

The mid-level escalators on Hong Kong Island are the world's largest covered escalator system in the world. From bottom to top takes 20 minutes. It's a series of escalators designed to get commuters up or down the hill quickly. The need for an escalator becomes apparent when you realize that Hong Kong is built onto the side of a mountain. Here's some perspective:



Looking up at an escalator:



Looking down: (Notice the Thai restaurant; despite the abundance of such restaurants, we couldn't bring ourselves to eat at one.)



One last picture inside an escalator.

Hong Kong Harbor

First day in Hong Kong we took the MTR to the southern tip of Kowloon, then walked down to the harbor and took the ferry across to Hong Kong Island.

Looking across the harbor at Hong Kong Island:

Thai Wedding

Recently I was asked to shoot a wedding for a Thai couple. Here are a few shots from before the wedding:

Book Review: The Book of Romance

I recently finished Tommy Nelson's "The Book of Romance: What Solomon Says About Love, Sex, and Intimacy." This is a book that I really wanted to really like, but in the end I only sorta like. I was hoping and expecting that the book would be, at least to some degree, a commentary on the Song of Solomon; it is not. It doesn't interact with the Hebrew text, doesn't deal with interpretive issues, doesn't do any of the normal things commentaries do. Nelson lightly treats the text and pulls from it only the simplest, highest level interpretation; that is, the subject matter of the book is at best loosely based upon the text. I want more.

What is the book about? More than anything it's biblical, fatherly advice given to those who are dating and thinking about marriage. It's the wisdom of an older man given with a biblical world view and organized around subjects like dating, courting, communication, conflict resolution, sexual promiscuity, and so on. As such, the book is decent. I suppose if I approached this book expecting it simply to be a collection of good advice, then I would have been less disappointed. I might recommend this book.

Pictures: Swim Meet 2

Here are a couple pictures of Jacen, one doing freestyle and the other on a kickboard:

Pictures: Swim Meet

Every spring and fall, Grace International School hosts a swim meet. They graciously let homeschoolers practice and compete with them, so Jacen and Emmy participated again this year.

Emmy diving in:



Emmy swimming in the bouy race (arms only):



I blogged about this swim meet last year.

Pictures: Jezzy chasing water

During the dry season I water the yard and flowers, and one day I discovered that Jezzy loves chasing water. As I squirted the water around the yard, she went nuts chasing it:



Of course, afterwards she was soaked, and looked kinda like a large, wet rat (with a collar):

Pictures: James and Ann

As part of my anniversary gift to Ann, I need a good photo of us. Here's my first attempt using a homegrown "studio."



Here's another one.