Hong Kong

Every 90 days the girls and I have to leave China.  We can go anywhere as long as we are stepping out of the country, this is one of the ways the Chinese government keeps track of foreigners in China.  Kyle has to leave every 60 days which has caused a bit of hassle but really it requires nothing more than for him to fly to Hong Kong, get his passport stamped and then fly back to Shanghai.  It is just a long day trip.  In mid May the girls and I needed to leave so we all packed up and went to Hong Kong for a weekend.  Until 1997 Hong Kong was a colony of the United Kingdom and now the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of China although this comes with many caveats.  For fifty years Hong Kong will retain its own currency, legal system and parliamentary system.  So for all practical purposes Hong Kong is its' own country.  The people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese, their second language is English and third is Mandarin.  Visitors to Hong Kong have to apply for a separate visa to China and China nationals have to apply for a permit to go to Hong Kong.  Hong Kong has its' own passports and legal system.  Hong Kong and China also maintain a border and China has an embassy in Hong Kong.  So this is why foreigners can still get their passports stamped in a city that is considered to be part of China.  There are actually 235 islands that are considered to be part of Hong Kong.  The largest island is called Lantau, this island includes the Hong Kong Disneyland and the Hong Kong Airport.  We stayed on Lantau island when we visited.  There is also a 'China Side' of Hong Kong called Kowloon, it is on the mainland but officially still part of Hong Kong.  Hong Kong has a land mass of 426 square miles with over 7 million people which makes it one of the most densely populated places in the world.  The lack of space caused demand for denser constructions, which developed the city into the world's most vertical city.  Hong Kong also has one of the highest per capital incomes in the world.  Everything there was very expensive compared to what we are used to in the rest of China.

We flew in on Friday afternoon and we left on Sunday so we didn't have much time to explore the area.  We definitely are planning on going back though, we could spend a lot more time there, it was an amazing place!

 I felt like we were on some pacific island. 

 Kenz got sick the first night.  They were taking everyone's temps in the airport as people came in from mainland China because of the H1N1 scare and she got a fever about 20 minutes after they checked her.  Good timing for once!

Everything was super British.  They even drove on the wrong side of the street!  And signs were in English but with British words.  It was so weird.

 Hotel

 We took a train to the mainland

 We rode on the upper deck of one of these buses later in the day, I thought for sure he was going to tip us, I've never been on a bus with a driver who thought he was in some tiny sports car.  It was crazy, good thing it was so packed in there, kept everyone in their place!

 Island side - Hong Kong

 Cemetery

 On the train back to Lantau Island

 Best Subway I've had since leaving America.  They had actual meat and not the fake stuff.  It tasted amazing!

 Riding a cable car over the mountains on Lantau Island

 This is the Tian Tan Buddha also known as the Big Buddha

 Climb to the Big Buddha

 There are 6 smaller statues surrounding the Big Buddha, they are know as 'The Offering of the Six Devas' and are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit and music to Buddha.  These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, mediation and wisdom.

 This was a big playroom in the hotel off of the main lobby, the girls LOVED life when we discovered this place.

Hong Kong was fantastic, can't wait to see more of it!