Ok, now I've seen it all! (Day 1)

This past week has been a whirlwind of sightseeing & exploration of Hong Kong and the surrounding areas. Dan's (and now my) cousin Adam visited from New York and we spent the week hanging out and basically conquered all of Hong Kong. We did all of Hong Kong Island before lunch time on the first day!

The first day we checked out Hong Kong Park, took the tram to Victoria Peak, climbed all the way back down the mountain, got dim sum for lunch, checked out a wine shop, tons of markets, and basically any other neighborhood we could think of by the end of the day. :-)

Dim Sum was an experience. The restaurant, well known among locals & in the guidebooks, was packed during lunchtime. We were lucky to get a table and had to squeeze in with some other people. Wild animals or a rowdy group of kids must have been at the table before us because if was covered in half eaten chicken, bones, and broth. The waiter lightly wiped it down with a dirty dish rag and we were ready to go. Then, they brought us dishes which we had to wash ourselves at the table. I would have thought the hot water was to make tea so luckily we were able to follow the example of others. The food though makes up for the less than pristine surroundings. Beef & ginger, steamed buns, a tofu soup, and a noodle dish are what I can remember off the top of my head.

Highlights of the day included the peak, dim sum lunch, and the markets. Hong Kong park was just ok and was incredibly difficult to get to. The one plus though is that they have a tea museum with a great gift shop. Adam and I probably spent an hour or so sniffing tea. Which I think is legal!

Here is a view from the peak...

Billy Joel

Last night, Daniel and I went to a Billy Joel concert. IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING CONCERT EVER! Seriously, he was awesome. I sang along with every song the whole night. And he played our wedding song - yay!

This was his first time performing in Hong Kong. Last summer, when he was playing at Shea, we really really wanted to go but it was nearly impossible to get tickets. We camped outside the stadium to listen to the show. It was so much fun camping out. I thought that was probably the closest I'd get to hearing Billy Joel in concert. Then, only a few days after we moved, Daniel and I saw an advertisement for his first concert in Hong Kong ever! What are the odds?! Probably 1,578.21 to 1. It was much easier to get tickets here. And the tickets we bought here were so much closer to the stage than we could possibly have been in NY because the venue was so small.

And no, the concert was not performed in Cantonese. He did however, get into the Hong Kong spirit by doing weird Tai Chi moves all night. :-)

(my Billy Joel concert tour T-shirt. After Hong Kong he is traveling to Korea and Australia)

Waiting for the concert to begin

The concert starting! Billy Joel at the piano!

Towards the end of the show we were able to move up and get a closer view of the stage

Saying goodnight and doing one of those Tai Chi moves I was mentioning.

I did not want the show to end! When he sang Piano Man I was sad because I knew it was the last song of the night. I've considered traveling to Australia next month to catch another concert. ;-)

Weekend Adventures: The Star Ferry & Kowloon

This weekend we decided to take the Star Ferry over to Kowloon and check out the boardwalk. The view of Hong Kong Island is supposed to be breathtaking, both on the ferry and walking along the boardwalk. There is also an "Avenue of Stars" which I thought would be fun to see.

But.. we ended up getting sidetracked by the mall located right by the ferry exit so we didn't quite make it to the Avenue of Stars. Maybe next week!

The ferry was fun! They say that this is one of the Top 10 things to do in Hong Kong. Its been around forever and only costs 1.70 HKD.

We arrived in Kowloon to explore Harbour City. If only we knew what time it was when we arrived...


We explored the Harbour City mall and then walked over to the Kowloon MTR stop. There we found another mall (this will be a running theme!). This mall had an ice skating rink in the basement. We'll definitely be back there again.


Looks like they are missing the "Beyond" here in Hong Kong.

My Husband

Didn't we always say he was full of hot air? ;-)

And me?

I'm just a little full of hot air..

Many blog posts ago I started a list of reason's why I love Daniel. This is one.. who else would have fun taking these pictures with me? :-)

Halloween in Hong Kong

We were not sure what to expect when it comes to holidays in Hong Kong. We knew Christmas is pretty popular over here (at least as a commercial holiday) but that was the only familiar holiday we thought they would celebrate in Hong Kong. However, to our surprise apparently Halloween is very popular! I've been told it is more of a recent thing, but people were really into it. Our building was decorated and there was a haunted house set up in our town center.

The biggest celebration of Halloween took place on Hong Kong Island. There is a street called Lan Kwai Fong, which is famous for its bars and restaurants. Its always popular and packed on the weekends. This weekend was no exception and it was THE place to go for Halloween.

People loved to take pictures of each other's costumes.

Even the pets dressed up!

Daniel in his "Developer with a blue shirt" costume. Pretty amazing likeness if you ask me.

Welcome to Discovery Bay!

We are really happy in our new town, Discovery Bay. We are a quick 25 minute ferry from the center of Hong Kong. The community has about 16,000 residents, many of whom are expats and young families. We have our own shops and restaurants and even a beach! The restaurants are ideally located right along the water so there is always a beautiful view during dinner. :-) I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Town Center:

Tables set up to grab a bite, a drink, or just to sit and chat

View from our favorite restaurant in town (yes the Mexican place in Hong Kong, ha ha!). Love the palm trees.

Our beach

The ferry station to take us to Central Hong Kong

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Hong Kong Abramowitzes!

Adventures in Hong Kong: Visiting the Buddha (Part II)

We arrived at Ngong Ping after a beautiful ride over the water and through the mountains. There is a cute village you pass through on the way to the Buddha. We stopped at the entrance to the village to take some pictures.

(reach out and touch someone)

(He's got the whole Buddha in his hands!)

The Big Budda is also known as the Tian Tan Buddha, and its the largest seated bronze Buddha in the world. Some facts about the Buddha:

• His right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction. His left hand rests on his lap in a gesture of giving dhana.
• The Buddha faces north, which is unique among the great Buddha statues, as all others face south.
• The Buddha statue is surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues.
• The Buddha was built in 1993.
• Visitors climb 268 steps to reach the top and visit the Buddha.

We climbed the steps to the top. As soon as we got close enough I just had to give him a high five:

A few of the eight smaller Buddhas surrounding Big Buddha:

Time to head back down:

Bye Buddha!