Mel went on her Mission to Hong Kong, so since we were so close, we had to skin on over for a couple days. Hong Kong was amazing! To be honest, HK was what I expected VN to be. It was a little poorer, dirtier, busier, and less shiny version of America. But it was more Western and more modern. There were huge oversized pop culture things to take pictures with everywhere. And cool food things. We just had fun. HK has these HUGE apartment buildings that start really far off the ground and go so far into the sky, no one here must be afraid of heights. You can't be. And these apartments are in clusters so millions of people can live in tiny little areas. Even though HK is a group of islands, there is still so much green and undeveloped land, it is amazing and feels like a jungle still. We did not get a massage in HK. Things looked a little sketchy. They had signed that said "No Sex Services" and they dressed up in costumes that you could pick?? Ummm geez, why would anyone think you offered sex services? And then they were down a dark alley or up 3 flights of stairs. None were just right there on the street with open windows and chairs like in VN. So we didn't go there...even in search of a cultural experience.
Things were more expensive in HK so we didn’t shop a lot. But we did take a cable car up 6 miles to the tippy top of a mountain to a Monastery and then walk up 9 stories to the giant Buddha. We made it all the way to the top and I was super proud of myself. We also saw a funeral on that day and all the village came out in robes and sang and walked in procession to the cemetery from the monastery. It was a beautiful thing to behold. I will hold going to the giant buddha as one of the greatest experiences ever. Right up there with the Vatican, and Notre Dam. Amazing!!