Mr. Chan comes out again to show us around town. In the morning we head to the financial district on Hong Kong Island and then head to the Peak. One of my goals during our visit to Hong Kong is to see the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank building (香港滙豐總行大廈), now known as the HSBC building. The bank was designed by Norman Foster and prefabricated in London and assembled in Hong Kong from 1979-1985. At the time, it was the most expensive building in the world and the tallest in the Hong Kong harbour. This I learned in design history and it's like seeing a Van Gogh in person. The two bronze lions in the front were moved from the bank's previous headquarters and bullet holes can be seen from Japanese target practice during the occupation.
Occupy Protesters are camped out on the ground floor atrium. Photos are allowed as long as you only take pictures facing one side of the building. The guards seem a bit nervous of my clicking.
We walk by the Bank of China building next door with their traditional and modern dragon statues.
Then it's off to the Peak (太平山). We ride up on the trolley to see the city from Hong Kong Island's highest point.
We stop for lunch and I gobble down some satay noodles and Hong Kong style milk tea.
We ride back down from the peak on a mini-bus. WHAAAAAAAA!!! Twist and turns! The mini-buses seat 12 with no standing riders allowed. You have to know the route and where you're going in order to tell the driver where to stop.
We return to Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) and have a walk along the harbour. The Kowloon Canton Railway Clock Tower (前九廣鐵路鐘樓) stands near the Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Terminal. Dad: "There used to be a train station here. I had to take the train to here and then go on the ferry to go to school".
Further along the harbour is the Avenue of the Stars (星光大道) honouring many Chinese celebrities.
We still have some time before Dad meets his friends for dinner, so we head back across the harbour because I'd like to see the Central-Mid-Level Escalators. The Apple store is packed with the release of the iphone 4s in the IFC mall. With all the advanced technology and gadgets in Hong Kong, I'm surprised this is the only Apple store in Hong Kong and it only opened in Sept. 2011.
Mr. Chan shows us the Lan Kwai Fong (蘭桂坊) area known for it's night life. Bars and restaurants line the streets and it gets very crowded in the evenings. There's more decorations than usual as they're preparing for a weekend carnival.
We walk over to the Central-Mid-Level Escalators, the longest escalator system in the world. I'm just a fan of the film Chungking Express (重慶森林) in which they were featured. (Below: Faye Wong in Wong Kar Wai's "Chungking Express")
The escalators run downhill during the morning rush hour and uphill for the rest of the day. Lucky for us, we get to ride up a few levels. When we walk back down on the stairs, some sections of the escalator are closed for repair.
The Man Yee Building was the first building to ever have an escalator in Hong Kong.
Ahh! Darlie, formerly "Darkie", racist toothpaste. But rascist toothpaste comes with a Mr. Men glass! ...dilemma dilemma....NO! I will not buy it!
