hong kong

note: I've uploaded pics from Penang, Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur below...

I'll be honest - I was starting to get a bit tired of big Asian cities - they were all starting to look pretty similar, with few surprises to be found. Then I got to Hong Kong. Now I have a new favorite city. This place is unbelievable and seems to get better each day. I feel like some cities -- Beijing comes to mind -- drain all your energy while others, like New York and Tokyo seem to do just the opposite. Hong Kong certainly falls into this latter category.

So I've spent my first couple days here exploring the different parts of the city. On Friday, my first full day here, I spent most of the day in Central and SoHo on Hong Kong island. This is basically the main business area and where you will find most of the expats and businessmen as well as some of the world’s most impressive sky scrapers. It's also home to an absurd number of fancy malls, hotels and restaurants. But unlike other cities of similar size, the streets here are narrow, varied and a pleasure to walk around. The setting is also amazing, with green hills out one side and Hong Kong Bay on the other. Great backdrops for an amazing skyline.

There aren't many "sights" in Hong Kong, but the city itself is really the main attraction. The most touristy thing to do however, is to climb to the top of Victoria Peak on the extremely steep tram and take in the view of the city and harbor. This is exactly what I did at the end of the day, taking in the sunset as the city comes alive with lights. A spectacular skyline.

Saturday, I walked around Wan Chai and Causeway Bay - also on Hong Kong Island. It's a main shopping destination and since I had nothing to buy, I simply enjoyed walking around and people watching. In the Evening I went to Kowloon, directly across from Hong Kong Island for dinner. I made a bee-line for the Temple Street night market, fully expecting to find some decent food there. The market itself was pretty boring, but sure enough I found a busy restaurant that seemed to specialize in garlic/chili crab, something Anthony Bourdain taught me is somewhat of a local specialty. And so I had myself two large crabs with massive amounts of garlic and chilies. This took me close to 40 minutes to work my way through. Though very messy, it was really quite the feast.