Lantau Island

One of the many places Greg and I went to Hong Kong was Lantau Island, a fairly large peice of land off of Kowloon. Truely great and a piece of Hong Kong that I did not know exist, a rural farm community.
When we were out on the island we had time to take the bus out to a little fishing village in the middle of nowhere.
After being on the bus for awhile, heading thourgh verdant mountains and meadows, with the sea almost always in site we came to the village of Won Tai, a very traditional village built on stilts over a tidal river.
The village was really cool with mixes of ancient chinese and colonial architecture. Unfourtantnly, soon after we got there darkness began to set in and the heavens opened so we did not get to rummage around the town to the extent that we wanted, but oh well, it was a good time and the ferry ride out and back was pretty cool even if they didnt serve us any beer.
1. The village of Won Tai built on stilts over the water
2. Dried shark anyone?
3. Another picutre of the houses on stilts. The tide here seems to come up pretty far.
4. Everywhere you go in Asia you can check out a little endangered species bbq. Here are some dried seahorses, no not the ones you get from the back of comic books, these are real.
5. The hand painted door at a very old temple that unfortuantly was closed by the time we got there.

Hong Kong One

I have wanted to go to Hong Kong for years. I don't know why, maybe the same idea that the British had to come to Asia flows in my veins. I do know now that Hong kong is an incredible place, full of not just shopping but incredible views, and if you are really lucky you can head out to the relatively unspoiled outlying islands and see a part of Hong Kong that you never knew existed, that of the rural Hong Kong.
While Greg and I were in the city we hit all of the tourist high points. The golden mile, filled with shops selling immensely expensive watches and clothes for the newly rich of China, the peak, with its stunning views of the city below and its equally stunning views of the homes of the old British elite that litter the peak, an oasis of cool in a place where the average humidity level while I was there was around ninety percent, the night market, filled with every bit of junk and suvioner that you could dream of buying, surrounded by the food of the bountiful sea that has feed Hong Kong for a thousand years, and the old quarter of Hong Kong island, distinctly different from the the hustle and bustle of Kowloon, with its old colonial buildings and the grim court of final appeal.
1. Pork, chickens, and ducks, the ubiquitous Hong Kong street food.
2. Old and new, a two hundred year old brick building huddled under an ultra modern sky scraper.
3. A view from the peak. Hong Kong island is just below and Kowloon is across the water.
4. Dragon fruit
5. Jade and amber scattered across the table.

Hong Kong Two

Some more, crappy pictures of Hong Kong, thanks to a camera that was on its last legs and was replaced a few days later.
1. Hong Kong Island from the Star Ferry
2. Hong Kong island at night
3. A sidewalk shrine
4. Kowloon at night
5. Piggy piggy piggy!

Hong Kong Food

I was really amazed at the wide range of different foods and ingredients on display in Hong Kong. Everywhere you looked there were different markets and stands selling all kinds of exotic and not so exotic fruits, vegetables, and meats.
On our first day in Hong Kong we found this little Vietnamese place right by our hotel that had good, cheap, food and friendly service we quickly made it our own and had breakfast there everyday, trying out the menu.
After eating our fill of pork cheeks, Viet sausage, and rice we would head out for the day, stopping at various times to sample fresh fruit and other delicacies like this incredibly moist pork that was served over rice.
I did not eat anything really weird and made it through my entire time in Hong Kong without ever tasting dim sum, but it was a lot of fun to eat our way through the culinary mishmash that is Hong Kong cuisine.
For me the best meal that I had was in the night market where there were trays of seafood set out to pick from. After hemming and hawing over the huge shrimp, scallops, and many kinds of fish I choose little clams with chili paste and Greg got scallops. We had this with a huge plate of fried rice and ice cold San Miguel beer, totally awesome, especially when eaten out on the street amongst all the people shopping and sweating in the Hong Kong heat.
Pictures-
1. Fried pork with green onions, really succulent and crispy
2. Our appetizer in Macau, stuffed mussels, chorizio, and sardines.
3. One of my absolute favorite dishes, pork cheeks with green onions and noodles.
4. In Macau, pork and clams, not great but not bad, the sangria however was top notch
5. This is a three buck meal, rice, succulent roast pork and crispy pork skin, vegetable soup, and a cold Tsingtao

Macau One

Some more pictures of incredible Macau!
1. Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, banks here.
2. Cones of incense hanging from the temple ceiling. These cones will last about twenty four hours before they are finished.
3. Just a hallway in a five hundred year old Buddhist temple.
4. The Wynn Macau, the coolest casino that I have ever been in
5. An alter for offerings in a temple

Macau Two

Macau, the peice of Europe that was dropped in amongst the sprawl and humanity of Asia. Founded before the British even thought of Hong Kong and given back after the Brits gave Hong Kong back this is a little piece of colonalism that time has forgot. It has long been a backwater but with the rise of casino gambling it is reinventing itself as a destination resort in Asia and next year work will start on a bridge linking Hong Kong and Macau.
I am pretty glad I have gotten here before the bridge was built as I think that the influx of Hong Kong tourists will change this tiny little enclave of imperialism for the worse.
All I could think as I was walking around in the rain was how much this remains me of the other Spanish and Portugese colonies that I have visited. Even though the Portugese langauge is being replaced by English there is still an old world feel about this place. Everywhere you look, from the four hundred year old cobblestone streets to the churches and main plaza you felt like you were back in Lisboa or Bilbao.
1. In the main plaza where life is still contemplated in the old Iberian tradition, slowly.
2. The main plaza, each building here is over four hundred years old.
3. Looking down the steps from the ruins of St. Pauls
4. The ruins of the cathedral of St Paul, never rebuilt after the fire of 1813

mushroom festival

The joys of the mushroom festival. This is the same one I went to last year and it was just the same as I remembered it, full of good times and lots of drinks! This time was pretty cool because we got to play a contest to win some soju, what fun, although I did not get out of my head on rice wine this time.
1. The fabled Song-i mushroom that sells for way to much money! This bunch alone is about three hundred dollars
2. Paul and Aubrey with the friendly mushroom man.
3. Good festival food, Ruthe, Aroha, Jen, and I shared this bowl of mussels and a squid pancake.
4. Aroha with the friendly soju guy, no prohibition on cartoon ads to get the kids drinking quick here in Korea
5. Drumming up good wishes for the coming harvest.

Kelly and Saun

Last weekend was Kelly and Sauns last in sunny Sokcho as they have decided to head back to old blighty after several years in the land of the morning calm. It was really great knowing these guys, hanging out, drinking, going to the islands, drinking, eating, drinking, you get the idea, together.
Guys, it was great to have you here and I wish you all the best! We will meet again!
1. Ruthe and Toby, before the cops arrived, getting ready to down an ice cold Cass. Remember you cant spell Cass without ass.
2. Babbie, Kelsey and Becka
3. The happy couple, grinnig because they are oh so close to getting out of here.
4. Aubrey, a very pregnant Shawna, Kelsey, and Babbie
5. Kelly, in fine form even at the end of the night.