The Klingbeils on Tour

Greetings from Hong Kong, blog followers! Since we have a relative visiting, we're touring the city left and right. Here's an account of what we've been up to.

Day One

On our first day of the Klingbeil 2014 Hong Kong Tour, we explored the Stanley Market. The Market is a winding path of charming stores that snakes around the more sophisticated Stanley Plaza shopping complex. We found that you can buy nearly anything in this market, and since it's just one path with no branches, it's nearly impossible to get lost. The best part is that the market is entirely covered with sturdy, tarp-like roofs and walls, giving the market shade and a cozy atmosphere.

My personal favorite store was one that specialized in personalized items. I ordered a stamp of my name  (plus its Cantonese equivalent) and was allowed to watch the carving. The shopkeeper was indescribably skilled in etching these symbols, carving a beautiful, clean stamp in just over five minutes. Watching him work was amazing- he would carve a shape, his quick hands verging on blurry, and when he wiped away the messy dust, a perfectly crisp symbol would be there as if by magic.

Carving the stamp.

The finished product, with an example stamping at the top. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the top of the stamp is a horse, since I was born in the year of the horse- 2002.

Day 2

Day two was slightly less interesting. We toured a part of the city that we hadn't visited before, browsing through the unusual stores.

Notice the tree bark for sale. This wasn't the only odd thing we stumbled across- we also noticed swallow nests, of all things. Swallows make their nests out of straw, which is glued together by saliva. Apparently, people have made a business out of removing the straw and selling what's left over. And as if all that wasn't strange enough, we also found a restaurant specializing in food made out of snakes.

Bamboo is a commonly used material for scaffolding here. Although it sounds odd, and maybe a bit unreliable, bamboo is actually a very strong and light material that is ideal for construction.

Also in this area was the world's longest consecutive line of escalators. Our visiting grandmother lost her balance and almost set another record- the world's longest human domino effect.

My model of the escalators.

Day 3

Our most recent adventure was a trip to the Peak, a mountaintop complex with several hiking trails. The Peak- and the tram that ferries passengers to and from it- is a well-known symbol of Hong Kong. Oh, and the tram goes up the mountain at about a 60-degree angle, which is why we are never riding it again.

In keeping with the Peak's mountainous theme, we hiked a trail with a sudden drop-off to the immediate right. To envision the trail, think of a stereotypical movie scene in which the heroes are hiking a dangerous mountain, and one wrong step means certain death. Then, add foliage and a fence.

The view from the nature trail.

The gigantic Golden Orb Spider.

The view from the tram station.

Dad fights Bruce Lee at the station. This is actually an elaborate wax figure.

Thanks for reading!

Bonus: Photos from around the complex!

Here are a few less exotic snapshots taken around our apartment complex.

Since the torrential rain that occurred not so long ago, every waterfall in the area is gushing with excess liquid. In fact, the rushing water makes such a racket that we're noticing waterfalls we never knew existed

Another waterfall, on the mountain behind our complex. The building on the right is ours.

                                                   

P.S.: Nearly all of today's photos were taken by my photographer grandmother. Give her a hand!

Up next: Adventures in Big Wave Bay!