From Hong Kong With Love, Part 2

The adventures continue! 

I don't know if I actually mentioned this or not, but the reason why Brian and I went to Hong Kong was actually for a wedding. Brian's best friend since, like, birth married a wonderful woman from Hong Kong, and there was no way he was going to miss the celebration. 

The wedding was held at the Peninsula Hotel, which was built in 1928 and is absolutely gorgeous. I wish we could have gotten more photos, but we got the distinct impression that we were breaking some kind of rule getting the few snaps that we did. 

The bride and groom had actually already had a couple of ceremonies (a legal one, as well as a big reception here in Chicago for their American friends and family), and the bride's grandmother was celebrating her 81st birthday, so it was kind of a joint celebration. The food and the company were both absolutely wonderful, and we were so happy that we got to celebrate with our friends.

One of my favorite things about Hong Kong (and this will make me wound like a huge dork, I know) was the transportation. We spent quite a bit of time in train stations - we probably caught a train 5-6 times a day - and were consistently impressed by how fast and efficient they were, not to mention clean. If only they ran all night!

A couple of times we stayed out too late to catch a train home, and while the buses are just fine, I'm almost pathologically bad at riding them. I'm convinced that I'm not standing in the right spot or that the bus isn't going to come, and then once I finally get on the bus I'm so worried about missing my stop that I end up getting off early. I'd rather walk 8 blocks from a train station than 1/2 a block from a bus stop, and yes I know it makes no sense.

Another highlight for me was the various street markets. On one of the days that I was left to my own devices, I just spent the afternoon wandering around, checking out the Flower Market, the Bird Market, and various wet (or food) markets.

I'd read before I left that some people will stop you from taking photos at the markets, but I found that if I asked for no one ever said no. And really, that's only polite, isn't it? I'd feel really weird if someone just took my photo without my permission while I was at work. 

Our last day there was one of the nicest days of the entire trip. It was unseasonably rainy the rest of the week, so we were really pleased to see some blue skies to bid us goodbye. 

All in all, we had a wonderful time in Hong Kong. Brian's made me promise that we won't travel internationally next year (boooooo), but we're definitely planning another trip back. More food! More fun! Maybe we'll actually make it to Macau this time!

And that's what I did on my summer vacation. So, have I piqued your interest in Hong Kong? What sort of vacations have you guys got planned, or recently taken?