Hong Kong: People, Neon and Excitement!

Its difficult to describe Hong Kong. Its foreign and exotic. And huge and tiny all in the same sentence.

This is a tiny part of this island. Its incredible to see that where there is such a lack of space, there is no lack of space to the sky. And that's just what Hong Kong has done. Build to the sky. The tallest building you can see in this picture is International Finance Centre (Tower Two). Its a stunning 1,362 feet tall, with 88 stories. It is easily the tallest building in Hong Kong, and is the 6th tallest building in the world.

Continuing with the lay of the land (Hong Kong)

Hong Kong is a contrast in cultures. Pedestrians, cars, tunnels, bridges...you name it, Hong Kong has it.

New drug stores, ancient Chinese herbalists. Rickshaws, buses and a subway system.

Remnants of colonisation, all nestled in a back drop of the most modern skyscrapers in the world.

We love neon! (Hong Kong)

If you can believe it...we are standing on a bridge over the street that leads to the subway station. Here's the kicker...its air conditioned! Amazing!

This is Hong Kong's version of Times Square in New York! Its even called Times Square. The funny thing is with so much neon throughout the city, its hard to make this Times Square stand out!

Escalator Heaven (Hong Kong)

The people in Hong Kong are obsessed with convenience! So much so that there are escalators and air conditioning everywhere. In fact, the people of Hong Kong couldn't be bothered to develop a road around the island to the other side, so instead, they blew a hole through the mountain and put the road straight through!

This is an escalator that allows commuters to travel to work. Hailed as the longest escalator in the world, it is actually a series of escalators. The Central-Mid-Levels escalator is the world's longest outdoor escalator system, at a total length of 800 m. It goes only one way at a time; the direction reverses depending on rush hour traffic direction.

Subways, Subways... (Hong Kong)

C'mon...how can you resist this? Look at this advert! A local specialty!

(Jason hates when I make him take these pictures!) As you can tell, we are at the stop for Times Square!

Can you tell where we are heading? (I'll tell you a little secret...it switches back and forth from English!)

What else do you expect to see in China? (Hong Kong)

PANDAS!!!

These aren't my best work...but c'mon, they're pandas!

A little bit of Buddhism (Hong Kong)

Jason is standing at the base of Tian Tan, the "world's tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha." The statue is located near Po Lin Monastery and symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion.

The Buddha is 34 metres high and there are 268 steps to the top!I'm standing in front of the Po Lin Monastery. It is major centre of Buddhism just outside of Hong Kong.

268 Stairs? (Hong Kong)

Here we are starting the journey to the top!

Jason at the top! Regretting that he is in jeans!

One last bit of Susperstition (Hong Kong)

This lion is one of a pair that guards the entrance to the HSBC building in Hong Kong. The lions were carefully relocated from the old headquarters of the bank as the bank and its employees believe that the lions are the guardians of the bank's fortune. It is also said that good fortune will come to those who rub the lion's paws! Being very interested in good fortune, Jason and I rubbed all the paws on both lions!