Today we made way to Lantau island to go to the beach. I took pictures of the beach, but left my memory card out of my camera, and I didn't bring the USB cord to connect the camera directly, so I have no way to show on the blog. The beach we were at was in a bay, so there weren't really any open ocean or crashing waves, and the swimming area was bordered with shark nets, so it felt more like a public park than a beach, but Shelley was able to get a little sun nonetheless.
This has been the first summer she hasn't spent at least a week at the beach and she was craving the sun and water. It was a little different than the Outer Banks (they wouldn't let us even throw the frisbee) but we loved being at the beach nonetheless. And who would have thought you could come to Hong Kong and go to the beach?! This revelation has practically saved Shelley's view of the summertime in Asia. We came back this evening and went to Ruby Tuesdays for my first real solid meal post-op. It was still mushy- lobster bisque and potato skins (only the inside, not the skins themselves), but delicious. After dinner we went to a street stand selling crepes and had a great dessert.
My impressions of Hong Kong get better and better each day spent here. The city is really safe and clean, there are 3 or 4 ways to get to anywhere in less than 30 minutes, and it is so international. Today alone I heard French, American English, British English, Australian English, Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, and Cantonese spoken at different times. When you look for restaurants, you are just as likely to find a French, Italian, Mexican, Organic hippie, Thai, Korean, or Japanese restaurant as you are to find Cantonese food. In fact, we have yet to eat Cantonese since we've been here. When you're used to eating noodles and rice all the time, even a different style of noodles and rice just doesn't seem that appetizing when there are all those other options. However, we have never had dim sum, so are planning on trying that Cantonese specialty before leaving the island. Along with being international, the city is also filthy rich. The roads are like a car show with cabs mixed between. Today at a red light the traffic line up went like this: Audi (cheapskate), cab, cab, Aston Martin, cab, big rig, bus, Maserati, Porsche, cab cab, Mercedes and so on and so forth. My doctor told us yesterday that the busiest Rolls Royce dealership in the world is in the Hong Kong financial district. Today I saw in a jewelry store window a $58,000(US) Rolex and a 4 carat diamond... on display in the window! People here actually buy this stuff! A common item on menus is 60 dollar abalone tapas, and Ruth Chris is rated a 3 out of 4 dollar signs in price of food on the Frommer's website.
Tomorrow, we are going to Macau to spend the night there for a little romantic getaway. Included in our hotel stay is a breakfast buffet and afternoon tea, so we are really excited about that. Also, we are excited to be in a hotel with an actual pool. These things sound pretty basic, but to us, they are rare treats! Macau was a Portuguese settlement until 1999, so the architecture and culture are very European. It will probably be the closest I have ever come to Europe other than Epcot Center in the 10th grade. It also just overtook Las Vegas as the casino capital of the world, but we don't have in our budget to be high-rollers, so we are just planning on sticking to viewing old Portuguese settlements and swimming in a pool. Should be fun!
