Hello, Vietnam

We embarked on our trip today. Jody arrived at 430 this morning and we started the day. First was food then was Victoria peak then food again then off to Vietnam!

The flight to Vietnam was a quick two hours. Some more courtesy HKG shots for you. 

 Only in select countries can you be a millionaire so easily. Vietnam is one of these places.

After some fantastic local pho, we headed to the night market. Vietnam has quite the soul! And no traffic rules. 

This place only served pho. We pointed, grunted, and $6 later had dinner for three. 

Then off to the night market! Lots of typical crap. But also a million and a half motorcycles! This is the square by the markets. 

Ha long bay tomorrow! Jody was such a trooper - only a 45 minute nap on the plane. 

The Happiest Place on Earth

Faced with some spare time and decent weather, Jordan decided it was worth the risk of me judging the Disney book by its Chinese cover and go to Hong Kong Disney. Turns out, we had a great time despite me having no childhood memories to draw nostalgia from.

The castle is apparently smaller than the others. The teacups brought us particular joy and nausea. 

So turns out I like Disney! I would go to the real thing someday. They even had toy story! 

 The whole experience was actually pretty Chinese though. Lots of pushing and shoving. Lots of swarming. Still fun. The torrential downpour during the fireworks display was particularly Hong Kongy and special. 

All in all, I was a happy camper. We managed to do everything in 4 hours. Even eat.

Never Gets Old

My favorite views in the world...

Dragon's Back

By far, the closest thing to a "rural activity" that we have done since in Hong Kong is the "dragon's back trail" on the south side of the island.  Much of Hong Kong island is uninhabited due to the rocky mountainous terrain. This path takes advantage of this geology, providing a unique rural experience in an urban atmosphere.

The trail follows a couple ridges on the easternmost peninsula on the south side of the island. The ridges being the back of the dragon. I know, a dragon analogy in Asia. Unique, right? 

Regardless, the views were great and I see why this trek is popular. You almost feel like you're on a small uninhabited island! (until you look around too much)

You can see the path tracing the top of the hills. 

From up here you can see all the little expensive expat beach towns - again, not quite a rural experience, but it's as good as we are going to get! This is "big wave beach"

This is Stanley, where we watched dragon boats in previous posts. 

And a little more nature:

As with most Asian experiences, death or certain harm is never far away. We found this little path to a cliff and decided to tempt fate. Yes, I am stabilizing myself with my arms, and yes, there is a 1000' drop behind me. (skip forward, mom)

Also a characteristic of Asia, you are never THAT far from people - some nice Aussies took this one of us.

From the picture above you probably noticed Jordan is no longer wearing a shirt. It was almost too hot to function, as displayed by the sweat marks on my shirt:

Jordan is a statue!

On the way down we found some "spring water" that we decided was safe enough to touch without getting dengue fever or some other tropical disease. The water was cool enough and we were hot enough that we didn't care what was in it! We didn't dare get any in our mouths, though. 

And because I am slave to scenic vistas, I end the post with this one:

Drug store game

Which one of these items does not belong? This is the stomach issues section of the "mannings" drug store we sought Tums in. No Tums, but sufficient amusement.

For those of you wondering what that can of del monte sweet corn is doing there, yeah, we couldn't figure that out either. 

And according to the shelving label, no, it is not out of place. 

I Warned You

I say it DIRECTLY in the title, so please don't stop reading just because I cannot escape my obsession with buildings, skylines and pretty views.

I warned you.

Here are some of the best views of Hong Kong that I have so far (that I have not already posted).

From a walking path halfway up the mountain. 

From a bar called "OZone" on the roof of the International Commerce Center (ICC), which is (depending who you ask) the 7th tallest building in the world. The roof bar is actually open to the air, putting you pretty much... in the ozone. 

From the ground in front of ICC. 

From one of the better dim sum places we have eaten at. It was on the 28th floor. Despite the shrimp dumplings, this was my favorite part of the meal. 

On the ground at HKG. Jordan is SO SICK of my airport pictures. 

On the flight to Taiwan. There must have been lots of pollution in the air, because the sunset was fantastic!

Looking closely at the bottom right, you can see ICC hiding behind Victoria Peak on HK island. 

International Finance Center (from one of the recent batman movies)

And views from the boat are my favorite, despite the nausea. 

Don't worry, there are plenty more where these came from. I will post more as I snap them. You're welcome.

I warned you.

Pretty Neighbor

We are on the 21st floor and my desk looks out at the top of the surrounding buildings. This little guy was my neighbor the other day, perched on the top of the building next door! How cute.

Truly Hong Kong

Umbrella vending machine. I've seen it all!

A subway with first class? Yes, please! It's not special super exclusive premium business class, but it will do. 

Subway Scenes like this please me very much:

Ocean park

One of the most visited sites in the world, ocean park is an amusement park on the northern tip of Hong Kong island (please note it is actually the southern tip - Jordan and I get our north and south mixed up big time on hk island - I think it's Asian voodoo magic!). The park is magical and has fantastic views of the sea.

And of course it's Asian and ridiculous, which is the best part. 

Sea views!

We picked a great day to come, despite the typhoon level one warning. 

Their main coaster is actually one of the more fun coaster rides I have had - great views, fun flips, no death-defying drops, and a constant good time. 

Ocean park is known for its awesome aquarium. It certainly lived up to the hype. I will upload some other pics later but here is a good sample.

Ocean park was truly magical! We ended the evening with some live pandas, crazy goldfish, a mile long underground funicular ride, and this sunset: