I had to check out of the hotel at noon on Tuesday. So, after finishing up some work, I went downstairs, asked the concierge about the tram going to the top of Victoria Peak (overlooking Hong Kong), and checked out. I needed to return at 5pm to pick up my visa. I hoped there would be no trouble. As soon as I stepped outside though, my spirits sank – a lousy foggy day. There would be no views at all of the ciy from the top of the peak. Well, I decided I would take the ferry over to the main island and set off for the IFC, the International Financial Center. The IFC is the area around the IFC building, the tallest in Hong Kong, and the 5th highest in the world, just behind the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Jin Mao building in Shanghai.

The impressive IFC Tower:

Just beyond the IFC is a great area for shopping and dining speckled with parks and such. I figured I’d just go wandering here. Hong Kong is a pretty small city in terms of land mass and you can cover a lot of ground just by walking. I was hoping to get into the IFC and ride the elevator, but a card key was needed. Instead, I went up the escalator and out of the doors into a large and luxurious mall, one of many that I would pass through today (it’s hard to avoid).

Scenes near the IFC (the first picture is especially for the Meshew. Ain’t no ‘swap meet’ here, homes.):

Beyond that, I followed tunnels and raised and enclosed sidewalks that connected buildings like a mouse in a maze. I won’t recount all of the individual places I went to (bo-ring), but I saw plenty of stores and restaurants. The parks were a nice respite from the elegant concrete jungle and were cared for with fastidious attention. I snapped lots of pictures of buildings from parks.

On the map, I spotted “World’s Longest Escalator” near where I was. I had to check that out. Well, it’s nothing exciting. It’s basically a series of escalators that take you up part of the mountain into the residential areas. It was fun following them though. In between I’d stop and check something out. I stopped and had a fabulous lunch at a Lebanese place. At the top of the escalator, I didn’t have the view that I was hoping for (too many huge apartments in the way), so I just meandered along more twisting sidewalks back down into the main part of the city. Along the way, I passed through a small zoo which featured tons of monkeys and birds. I didn’t hang around too long; I was more intent on exploring. Taking time at a zoo is more fun when you’re with someone else. I ended up in Hong Kong Park, passing the spot where I would have taken the tram, the US embassy, among others. More pictures, more malls, and I eventually ended up at the Admiralty subway station where I made my way back to Kowloon and my hotel.

Lebanese restaurant (on the right):

Some more sites around the Soho area (near the escalator):

Some shots of apartment high rises:

This is kinda boring. But I shot a short video of this monkey swingin’ on a rope in the zoo.

The visa was ready for me shortly after I arrived. Instead of taking the sissy ferry ride back, I decided to go “local” and take the train through Luo Hu back. I’ve heard stories, but, being early evening on Tuesday, it wasn’t bad at all. I even got to sit down! At immigration and customs, I had no trouble, except when I took a picture of the immigration line and a stone-faced guard approached me and gestured angrily to show him the picture. He made me erase it. I’ll try to be a little more sneaky next time.

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