Hope you're all well! Rich (he says "buenos noches, senor") and I are great and loving the sunshine and warmth!
This is our first post so I guess I should fill you in on what we've been up to so far...
HONG KONG
We landed in Hong Kong on 14th Feb - just in time for the Chinese New Year! We arrived late evening but just in time to see the street parade pass by which was an experience. The following day we went to see the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping. The weather was very misty so they closed the cable car which meant we had to take the bus instead. The 40 minute bus journey was an experience
in itself! We went up and down mountain roads with barely any visibility, being flung every possible way...but eventually we did arrive at our destination. It was just as misty, if not more so, at the top of the mountain but we headed up the numerous stairs to get a look at the Big Buddha anyway. When we arrived at the top we could barely see Buddha -as shown in the photo!
in itself! We went up and down mountain roads with barely any visibility, being flung every possible way...but eventually we did arrive at our destination. It was just as misty, if not more so, at the top of the mountain but we headed up the numerous stairs to get a look at the Big Buddha anyway. When we arrived at the top we could barely see Buddha -as shown in the photo! We decided to head towards the monastery and temple, where there were many people burning incense and making offerin
gs to Buddha. Some of the incense candles were gigantic!! There were also a couple of eating places, which were all vegetarian, so we figured I would be safe eating the food (had to be careful everywhere because of my allergy). The noodles and spring rolls were very yum; but we weren't too keen on the 'vegetarian pork'.
gs to Buddha. Some of the incense candles were gigantic!! There were also a couple of eating places, which were all vegetarian, so we figured I would be safe eating the food (had to be careful everywhere because of my allergy). The noodles and spring rolls were very yum; but we weren't too keen on the 'vegetarian pork'. 
My Grandpa arrived at lunch time, so that evening we watched the New Year Fireworks with him outside his hotel. They were set off from a number of barges in the harbour and went on for 25 minutes at least! The fireworks made pretty shapes including flowers and smiley faces but my camera wasn't quick enough to catch them.
On the 16th Feb we headed over to Hong Kong Island for the day. The weather had improved in so far as the fog had lifted so we headed to The Peak to view the city. The views of the Island were incredible! We had a great day exploring Hong Kong Island - we went to Man Mo Temple, but it was too busy to go in. We also had a ride of the world's longest escalator through Soho and had a wander through the Botanical Gardens and Zoological Park.
That night - which was our last night in HK - we walked along the harbour front where all the buildings were lit up. It was an incredible sight and I could have happily sat their all night...unfortunately we had to head back and pack as we were leaving in the early hours of the morning for our flight to Singapore...
