Shelley, Issie, and Cousin Lou

So many places to show our visitors, so little time!

Toronto friends Shelley and Issie spent four busy days in HK a few weeks ago.  They arrived late on Friday night, and were met at the airport by Jeff, whose flight had just landed from Singapore (yes, it's that busy business travel season again).   I think that the hustle and bustle of HK must have shocked them, since they had just completed a two-week trip in the rainforest of Borneo (another destination to add to our wish list).

The next morning, Issie and I were off to Bowen Road for a run.  Bowen Road is a runner's paradise - it's flat (a wonder in itself, since we live on a mountain), shaded, and car-less.  I managed 7 km, but Issie did the whole route (11km).  Issie has recently completed his goal of running 39 marathons (one each month) until his 60th birthday.  His foundation has raised almost $100,000 for cancer research.  Needless to say, he is one of our heroes!

After our bagels and cream cheese breakfast, we headed out to walk and walk and walk.  We showed them our favourite haunts - the wet market in Central, the escalator, colonial and modern buildings, and Kowloon, ending the day feasting at the Temple Street night market.  One of the more interesting stops we made was at a Chinese medicine store (above left).  Shelley is a pharmacist, so she was even more fascinated than the rest of us with the goings-on in the shop.  The pharmacists very seriously measured all kinds of dried potions, then wrapped them up carefully and handed them to their customers.  We have discovered that Chinese herbal medicine is still very popular.  It is regulated in the same way as Western prescriptions.CMHK

The next morning, we decided to do what many locals do on Sundays - enjoy dim sum.  The meal at Metropol was scrumptious, and Shelley was thrilled that her favourite dish (turnip cake) was on the menu.  There were a lot of strange items carted around, notably ox stomach with turnip, which we politely declined!

Jeff left for Kuala Lumpur after lunch, but I continued shlepping our guests through beautiful Pacific Place and Hong Kong Park, where Shelley's skirt got tossed around "Marilyn Monroe" style at the fountain.  Tourists and locals were snapping photos of my sexy friend!
We had a good laugh.
Day three brought lots of sunshine: perfect weather to visit the historic Ohel Leah Synagogue and Stanley Market.  We ended the day at swanky IFC mall, eating more Chinese food.  I felt sorry for the young fellow sitting next to us whose two female companions had ordered only vegetarian dishes.  He kept eyeing our food, and asking what we were eating.  He was so intrigued with the fried eel (yes, it's delicious), that he ordered some for himself!
We concluded Shelley and Issie's visit the next day with a tram ride to the Peak, followed by the ferry to Cheung Chau (blog May 5) for lunch.

We spent a wonderful evening with Cousin Lou from Toronto.  Lou has visited HK many times over the past 15 years, but we managed to show him sights he'd never seen.  After dinner in Wan Chai, we walked underground through the Pacific Place mall and up the escalator into Hong Kong Park.  We were behind the skyscrapers, and the sky was lit up with their flashing lights.  The park is very quiet, especially at that hour, so the effect was beautiful.  We walked through the park, across the footbridges, down the path near St. John's Cathedral, and into Central.  After the quiet of the park, we hit the wild streets of Lan Kwai Fung, with all the 20-somethings spilling onto the road with their drinks.  We climbed up the steps to Hollywood Road and up the escalators to our apartment.  Lou has given a thumbs up to the Biteen tour guides, and plans to bring Mary along with him next spring.