A Birthday in Hong Kong

On Wednesday (Randy’s birthday), we walked from the hotel through the mall to the metro and took it two stops down to Kowloon Tong.  Here, an even larger mall (Festival) was located and also the City University of Hong Kong.  You can actually walk directly from the mall to the university which is very convenient.  Leaving Randy to shop, I went to the industrial engineering department where I met my local host, Dr. Kwok Tsui.  He is a native of Hong Kong who was formerly on the faculty of Georgia Tech.  It so happened that another visitor from the U.S. was also there that week and I knew him from long ago, Dr. Russell Barton of Penn State.  I was also able to pay a brief, impromptu visit to the President of the university, Dr. Way Kuo, another old friend.

Dawn over Hong Kong from our hotel room

Our metro station near the Metropolis Plaza Harbour Hotel

Main entry to City University of Hong Kong - easily reached from the Kowloon Tong metro station

With the President of the University, Way Kuo, in his office

I gave a seminar to several faculty members and about ten graduate students and then we all adjourned to the Festive China restaurant at the Festival Mall for lunch at a very delicious Cantonese food place.  We had an abundance of dishes and Randy joined us.  After a brief consultation with Kwok back at his office, Randy and I returned to the hotel where we met Abdullah, Sadan and Ceren Konak.  Apo and Sadan spend one to two months each summer teaching at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a respite from their regular positions at Penn State – Berks.  Thirteen year old daughter Ceren enjoys this way to spend part of her summer vacation and knows the metro better than her parents do. 

Kwok Tsui and Russell Barton (visiting) and other faculty members at City University listen politely to my seminar

Russell at the nice lunch at Festive China City University hosted for us at the Festival Mall

Alice and Kwok enjoy lunch

The Konaks, Abdullah, Ceren and Sadan, came to our hotel for an afternoon and evening of fun

We took the metro to the Kowloon edge and walked to yet another mall (but this one has some views) located in an old harbor building.  Along the way, we walked through the famous and expensive Peninsula Hotel and past countless very upscale shops.  There is a lot of money being spent in Hong Kong, most of it from China.  Chinese take shopping trips to Hong Kong (and Macao as we were later to learn) and drop huge sums of cash on prestige watches, clothes, jewelry and much else.  A real exhibit of capitalism at its worse.  

The very prestigious and historic Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon

The 1921 clock tower in Kowloon is all that is left of the railroad station that stood there

View of Hong Kong island from Kowloon

This view is from a harbor shopping mall but it is great anyway

We took the Star Ferry across and walked through a very large mall and found a leafy outdoor rest area to enjoy the views and give our feet a break.  We then decided to use the extensive escalator system which runs from this area (“Central”) up the Mid-Levels where many people, mostly ex pats, live.  We got off in the middle to walk over to Man Mo Temple, a small historic site in the center of the city.  We were lucky to arrive just before it closed and enjoyed this slice of old time Hong Kong though it paled in comparison to the temple complexes we had seen in China.

Ceren and Sadan on the Star Ferry

Another view of coming into Hong Kong on the ferry

The big mall at Central has a huge two story Apple store - this one's for you, Tim

The secluded rest area we found on top of the shopping mall with views of Kowloon beyond

Apo and Randy enjoy both relaxing and the view

The trolley (which we never did ride during our time in Hong Kong) seen from one of the many pedestrian bridges in Central

On the escalator - going uphill the easy way

A selfie on the elevator

The Man Mo Temple in the center of Hong Kong is more than 150 years old

Description of the historic site - there are not too many like it in the city

A guardian outside the temple

Inside there was a lot of incense and lanterns

Huge coiled incense were burning on top

The ornate doors of the temple

On the roof were interesting ceramics of fish and other sea life

Reaching the top of the escalators (this took about 30 minutes or more) we then walked back about half way to a central restaurant street of the area.  The area is called Soho and is full of restaurants and bars with most of the patrons ex pats.  Randy chose the place to eat as it was his birthday and he spontaneously chose “The Olive” a Mediterranean place.  We were the only customers when we entered and got a round table for five at the front window.  This was great because it gave us a super view of the street action.  The food was very delicious and included chicken shish kebab and salmon on mashed potatoes.  We finished with a desert of tiramisu and baklava with a candle so Randy got two birthday cakes on this trip (one in Beijing and one in Hong Kong).

Randy's choice for his birthday dinner in the Soho district of Hong Kong

Ceren and I were ready for some food

Randy blows out his candle on his tiramisu / baklava desert platter

We walked back to Central and reversed our journey over from Kowloon, stopping for a few nighttime photos from the Avenue of Stars area.  It was a full day and being on the go in the hot and ultra humid weather is wearing but we saw a lot and were especially happy at the friends we were able to share this special day with.

The view the ferry was just as good at night

One of the ferries passed us as we both crossed between Kowloon and Hong Kong island

The amazing night time view from Kowloon

It was a very good day and topped off in a spectacular way

This is one reason that Apo and Sadan love Hong Kong