Guest number one!

Our first guest arrived on Monday evening!  Daniel left for Asia three days after his brother, David's wedding (blog June 8).  He spent three weeks in Japan followed by a month in China.  At the end of his China adventure, he ended up in Shenzhen, the shopping capital of the world.  I know it was hard work, but he spent four days there having clothes made and buying all the fakes he could possibly stuff into a suitcase.  He arrived at our flat with his backpack and a new suitcase filled with 5 suits, 5 pairs of pants, 5 sport jackets, 15 shirts, jeans, shoes, etc.  He has dressed up in a different outfit every night that he's been here, impressing the bold and beautiful in Wan Chai, Lan Kwai Fung and SoHo.
Daniel reminded me of the words of warning I had given him when we skyped a few months ago: be prepared to walk, eat, eat some more, walk some more.  That about sums up visiting HK.

One of the delicacies of China is Peking duck.  On Thursday evening, Daniel and I wandered through Kowloon, and then met Jeff, Ronnie and Joan, and Jason at the Peking Restaurant on Nathan Road (HK's answer to Yonge Street).  In addition to the duck, we had dumplings, an egg white dish mixed with crab, sweet and sour fish, etc.  It was a yummy feast.  All washed down with the local Tsing Tao beer.  The restaurant has been around forever, and so have the waiters.  Thanks to Jason, we ordered a few items that were not on the English menu!

On Saturday, we went to Mong Kok (a working class neighbourhood in Kowloon) to eat dim sum at the cheapest (and probably the best) one-star Michelin restaurant, Tim Ho Wan (the photo on the left is from the Internet, obviously not taken during the summer in HK!).  I stood in line while Jeff and Daniel went off in search for something cool to drink.  The "do not talk to strangers" rule was not in effect, so by the time the guys returned five minutes later, I had a new best friend, Randy, who ended up joining us for lunch and even picking up the tab (on his expense account).  Randy is Chinese-American, but doesn't speak Cantonese, nor can he read the language!  He currently lives in New York, but his company is trying to woo him to HK.

After lunch we took a long walk through Kowloon to the bird market and flower market.  Daniel make a few new friends, but decided not to bring them home.  I bought a hand-made bird cage and will use it as a planter (or a place to kill yet another plant).


One of the strangest experiences of the week was taking the Peak Tram up the mountain.  Every Thursday, Ursula and I walk up the peak, do the loop around (3 km) and walk down.  It is now too hot to do the climb, so Ursula suggested that we catch the tram about half-way up the mountain.  It was like getting on a ride at Universal Studios.  The tram is at a 45-degree angle when embarking, so it feels like you can't stand up!  I repeated the feat with Daniel on Friday morning, and when we sat down the entire tramload of passengers (mainly mainland-Chinese) applauded!

Silly photo of the week taken in the children's room of the Museum of Tea Ware in HK Park.  The museum showcases the clay teapots that Jeff has begun to collect.  Hanora, Joan, and I dashed through the museum and the gift shop, and then hustled over to Helena May (old English-style club) for lunch, managing to avoid a couple of downpours.

Speaking of rain, we had our first typhoon warning over the weekend.  Each building is required to put up a sign indicating the level of the approaching storm.  Fortunately, it was only a level one.  Unfortunately, Daniel went out without an umbrella!
Today Jeff heard that a T3 signal is imminent.  In Hong Kong, people wait for the ultimate T8 - everything shuts down and no-one is allowed to go to work (not even Jeff).  Like a huge snowstorm back in Canada.

I have few food cravings here, but when I need a fix in the afternoon, I usually wander by a bakery (being my father's daughter) and buy an egg tart or two.  We first tasted these yummy tarts in Macau back in January, and I've been hooked ever since.  They've replaced May Wests in my diet.