We packed quite a bit into Hong Kong, but it was striking to note how much of the culture is about SHOPPING! Yes, there are traditional markets, and we visited them (Graham Street Wet Market, Temple Street Night Market, etc.), but there is also an immense amount of upscale shopping to done. I'd never seen so many Gucci, Dior, and Tiffany stores in such close proximity to one another. There are freestanding luxury stores, and huge shopping complexes full of designer shops. And a visitor does not have to look far---the shopping finds you: in walking from the Star Ferry terminal to the escalator to return to our hotel, we passed through a gorgeous high-end mall; the airport had incredible shopping, including Hermes and Jimmy Choo stores.
Did I mention our hotel? When I visited Hong Kong solo seven years ago, I stayed right at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula across from Hong Kong island. This visit, we stayed ON the island of HK in the Midlevels (about halfway to Victoria Peak). It was a steep walk to our hotel (HK is an incredibly steep volcanic island), but Hong Kong, thankfully, installed covered escalators ascending from sea level to Midlevels. It was VERY cool riding the escalator home. It's a fun way to travel...it's fun that the escalators are a means of travel in Hong Kong: "Craig, should we take a bus home or a taxi or should we walk? No, let's just ride the escalator!"
When we checked into our hotel, Craig smartly used his charm to get us a free upgrade to a suite (Craig's such a savvy traveler). The bedroom of the suit had floor to ceiling windows on two sides and affording quite the city view. We could lie in bed and enjoy the whole Hong Kong skyline from the Midlevels. We could even see some of the harbor and Kowloon! It was high class!
We left HK Monday morning and now we're exploring Cambodia!
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