Hong Kong

I was privilege to spend a few days in Hong Kong last weekend. Each year our ward has two temple trips. Ashlyn and Craig went to Cebu, Philippines in November and so it was my turn to go this time. We are officially in the Hong Kong temple district- although sometimes they go to other temples around us, usually in the Philippines or Australia. I was lucky to go with a friend, Monica, and spend a few days touring as well.

Hong Kong is an amazing city. It's a HUGE city - like 10 New York's put together. The view from the top of Victoria Peak shows buildings and skyscrapers as far as the eye can see - in both directions.

Yes, that old woman is me! I celebrated my birthday while in Hong Kong - a fabulous birthday weekend! (Luckily, you can't see the gray hairs!)

One thing I noticed is the stark contrast all around of the mixture of old and new. There were tons of old, run down buildings mixed with huge, new skyscrapers. This is very different from Singapore which knocks down all old buildings and constantly rebuilds.
The highlight, or course, was attending the temple on Saturday. I haven't been to the temple since last summer so this was such a treat.
I also attended an English branch on Sunday. It was fun to see another expat ward in another country. The building was also unique - 7 stories (ours is only 4).
We did lots of shopping. There were lots of street markets throughout the city.
A 'wet market'.
The Flower Market - streets and streets of flower shops.
The Jade Market - my favorite. Heaven for me - rows and rows or jewelry. So nice to shop without kids (my kids complain so much about my always stopping at jewelry shops when we travel). Lucky for me it was my birthday!
We did lots of eating! I'm so lucky to live in a place where people all around me have traveled extensively or lived in other countries so I get lots of recommendations for food/restaurants. I have two friends that lived many years in Hong Kong so I only ate at recommended places. It was all so good!
I'm such a food person - it's all about the food!

Saturday, for my birthday, we ate at the beautiful Peninsula Hotel. A birthday dinner I will always remember.

My birthday 'cake'.
On Monday, I was on my own (my friend left Sunday evening). I took a bus (thanks again to helpful info. from friends) and headed to the south part of Hong Kong island - to Stanely. It was nice to get out of the city and see another part of the island - where there is mountains and greenery. It was really beautiful down by the water.
Stanely Market is a famous 'knock-off' market. It was alley ways, and alley ways of shopping - I got lost in the maze of it.
I capped the trip off at Lucy's - a little restaurant tucked in the middle of busy Stanely Market. I would have never found the place if I hadn't been told about it. Truly a jewel and a fabulous ending to a wonderful weekend in Hong Kong.