Happy Days in Hong Kong

What a difference a day makes...

Our Friday began in the Canadian snows as a rare blizzard blanketed Vancouver airport and delayed our midday departure. We eventually left ten hours late and arrived in Hong Kong at five am on Sunday morning. But what had happened to Saturday? Had we slipped through a time warp?
But it wasn't just the time. The temperature had jumped 22 degrees, the skies had cleared and we had waltzed into a balmy spring day...

Hong Kong is in many ways similar to Vancouver. It is a shining city of highrise apartments and office towers on the rim of the Pacific Ocean. But at ground level it is another world. While Vancouver sprawls leisurely along its many waterfronts and gently eases its way into the surrounding valleys and mountains, Hong Kong is crammed into a dense jungle of concrete and glass towers that reveal only fragments of sky. However, when the skies clear and we step back a little from the bustle the soaring buildings are a testament to the builders of this city...

...although watching the construction workers balancing on the flimsy bamboo scaffolding can be vertigo inducing...

The cluttered twisting lanes and alleys of Hong Kong are in sharp contrast to the wide clean streets of its Canadian cousin. But it is the constant bustle and the exotic sights, scents and sounds of Hong Kong that makes it such a vibrant city and draws us back here...

Hong Kong is at the crossroads between East and West and is truly cosmopolitan in all respects. While the majority of people are Chinese, the streets are thronged with people of every colour, race and creed and no one seems out of place. We receive no special attention here, although James is certainly a target for the many tailors' touts who promise inexpensive handmade suits, shirts and ties at every turn. And then there are the restaurants where Peking Duck is a staple...

When it comes to food, Hong Kong can be as cheap or expensive as you make it. Five dollars will get you a decent breakfast including coffee, but the same five dollars will barely get you a medium Starbucks. Whereas, at this street cafe, five dollars will get you enough boiled pigs intestine for a family of four – the choice is yours...

Local foods will play quite a part on this trip as we travel across southern Asia, but we are on the trail of tea. Our next stop will be Colombo in Sri Lanka, the capital of the island once known as Ceylon, the tea capital of the world. In the meantime – we will start with some Chinese green tea here in Hong Kong...