After a few days in Tokyo, my dad and I flew to Hong Kong on Jetstar. Pro-tip: don't fly with Jetstar. The flight was budget-friendly but also brutal in terms of customer service and in-flight amenities.
Flight aside, we were excited to check out Hong Kong. First, we had to grab some grub.
After some roast goose and a solid night's rest at Hotel Sav in Kowloon, we set out for Lantau Island to visit the Tian Tan Buddha.
Lantau Island was far away and big, so we ended up spending a majority of our day out there. On our way back from the Buddha statue, we stopped by a fishing village on the coast of the island.
After returning from Lantau Island, my dad and I had dinner and then went back to the hotel. While my dad hit the hay, I hit the racecourses in Happy Valley to meet up with Dee, one of Emily's friends from Argentina.
The next day, we stayed closer to Kowloon and explored Hong Kong Island itself. First stop: dim sum.
Pork buns at Maxim's Palace in the Central area of Hong Kong Island. Dim sum recommendation credit to Dee.
After lunch, we walked around the waterfront by Central and came across a kung fu class.
Later, we bought tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus. After checking out what we could see with the bus, we decided to start with Stanley on the far side of the island.
After touring around the rest of Hong Kong Island with the bus, we made our way to the Peak Tram, which took us to the top of Victoria Peak. The view from the top was stunning.
The next day, we actually went out of Hong Kong and caught a ferry to Macau.
After spending the day out in Macau, we wandered along the waterfront by Tsim Sha Tsui to catch a glimpse of the iconic Hong Kong skyline at night.
After a few nonstop travel days, my dad and I were ready to take it a little easier. We started the next day a bit later and got brunch at a Peking Duck restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui called Spring Deer.
Afterwards, we wandered around the waterfront by Tsim Sha Tsui, checked out some of the street artists performing there, and took an hour long cruise around the harbor.
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center from the harbor cruise.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by the Yau Ma Tei area to snag 煲仔飯 (bāo zǎi fàn), otherwise known as clay pot rice with Cantonese sausage.
煲仔飯 (bāo zǎi fàn), or clay pot rice, at Hing Kee in Yau Ma Tei.
It looks really simplistic, but 煲仔飯 was phenomenally good.
Dee showed me around Hong Kong the final night, but just like that, our Asia trip was a wrap. With a load of sights and dishes under our belt, my dad and I headed back to Seattle with a new found love. Hong Kong, we'll be back.