Quick Report on the trip to Hong Kong

Our trip to Hong Kong last week was great. Really enjoyed the city in all it's efficiency, mass transit, cool/cold weather, lively crowds of people, and delicious food. We did quite a lot in our three days there. Took a tram to 'The Peak', hung out at Victoria Harbor, went to numerous street markets, saw the walled city park where the walled city used to be, hung out with friends at St. Stephen's Society, met and had lunch with Jacki Pullinger, joined in for worship with "the brothers" in one of the St. Stephen's homes, and connected with about nine Filipinos from Cebu that we know and love. The folks at St. Stephen's took really great care of us. It was a good balance between time with others and a time just the two of us exploring the city on our own.

One thing we noticed about the city was how efficient it is! Everything happens fast. You can use prepaid cards on the bus, the train and in many shops and stores. It takes about 1 second to pay for something. We never waited in a line in a store the whole time. The only lines were to get on the subway trains. Most people use the trains and the excellent bus system. So much so that as far as we could tell there wasn't much traffic on the roads. Didn't see any congestion or back ups in our three days there. Bizarre for such a small, yet extremely populated city. There are people everywhere! The crowds can be a bit overwhelming. But the buzz of being among the crowds at night in the street can be equally exhilarating. We walked and walked and wandered around many street markets in the evenings, taking it all in, trying to decide what and where to eat. All the lights, the noise, the people, the smells of steamed meat-filled buns and dumplings. The bright lights. Bubble tea. Dim sum. Did I mention the food was good?

We pretty much did a lot of walking and a lot of eating. The cooler weather was fantastic. Apparently there are numerous well-kept hiking trails in and around HK. It is quite easy for us to fly there from Cebu. There's a direct flight, only 2.5 hours. I think we'd really like to go back again sometime and make sure we get in a long, at least a day, hike during the cool season.