Day 5 - Exploring and partying in Central District

We started out  rather slowly, as we were pretty tired from our trip yesterday to the mainland.  I had a rather simple, slow morning of working on my blog and cursing every few minutes when the Internet went out.  My husband, on the other hand, made me an omelet, did our laundry, cleaned the floor, helped me post pictures on my blog, worked out at the gym, and took me on a shopping trip. Also, if it weren't for his looking up directions to our destinations here in Hong Kong, I would probably end up some place where I would have to clean as well as use squat toilets.   I would say that he was the perfect husband to be with on vacation!  My partial excuse for being so lazy is that until this afternoon, I was still suffering from jet lag.

We headed to Central district this afternoon for a walking tour on our own.  I have to say that this is my favorite area of the city.  It is the perfect mix of old and modern.  We saw the amazing medicinal herb shops.  These are fascinating - rows and rows of of displays of all kinds of "medicines", like ginseng, dried lizards, starfish, and dried octopus.  From there, we saw rows and rows of antique shops, many with numerous Buddhas.  I loved this, as I have my own Buddha collection.  I have never seen so many in one area.  We visited 2 old Buddhist temples.  And again, I am always surprised by the number of tall buildings - everything is vertical.  Central is particularly interesting to me because of the old apartments with laundry hanging on the balcony.  We then headed to the Soho district.  This area is known for its bars, restaurants and night life.  We started out at a neat bar where we met our first American travelers - 2 men from Wisconsin.  They teach graphic art in central China.  We enjoyed our conversation with them, and they even recommended several places where Rich could get IPA's.  (he has been missing his good Asheville beer).  We then headed to dinner for dim sum at Ding Dim.  This place was rated one of the best in the city for dim sum, but we did not feel that it deserved that rating, although it was good.  We then headed to another party spot and ended  up at the Hong Kong Brewery.  This area is truly the spot for night life.  And it has more of an international flavor - I would say at least half of the people in this area were English speaking, mostly from England or Australia.  This is very different from the Wan Chai district where we are staying.  It is hard to imagine the numbers of people roaming the streets, the lights, conversations, and the sheer fun in this area.  We will definitely be back again during our stay here!

I must also mention the world's largest vertical escalator, located in Central. This goes half a mile up through the area.  One can ride the escalator and experience all of the vibrant night life that surrounds  it.  Being in Central reminds us of the Buckhead area of Atlanta about  25 years ago.  Or, as Rich says, this is Mega Buckhead!!