After a fabulous dinner at the Verandah Cafe at the Peninsula tonight, I finally made it out to the harbour to get a good shot of all the Xmas lights on the skyscrapers across the water. You can see how the Chinese go all out with full-scale holiday decorations on their buildings (see bldngs in lower left corner)...quite spectacular in person. In this picture is the new 2IFC (Two International Finance Centre) building, now the tallest building in Hong Kong at 88 stories--surpassing the Central Plaza Building (78 stories) and I.M. Pei's Bank of China Tower (72 stories), seen in the photo next to my head. The building in a purple neon glow on the right is The Center, the 4th tallest building. In the evenings, there have been mini laser light shows off the top of some of these buildings in addition to fireworks. This view still takes my breath away....a must-see if you ever visit Hong Kong, esp. during holiday time.
Mustered my way around the Night Market in Mong Kok today, which is really open all day but happens to be insanely popular at night. Quite the touristy spot, this is 3-4 blocks of ridiculously cheap rip-off bargains from Hong Kong. One can find things like a fake Gucci bag for less than ten bucks or a cheap shirt or some fake Rolex watches. If you can brave the crowds and be willing to bargain, you'll walk away with some deals. I was thinking just today about how claustrophobic this city can be. It's only Wednesday and the streets and subway are constantly crowded---you don't even want to know how bad it can get on a holiday (such as Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve). I don't think there's any city in the U.S. that can even be comparable.
Style note--what seems to be popular amongst the hip girls in Hong Kong:
calf to knee length slouch leather boots
a skirt or some sort, the funkier, the better
fur. lots of fur. especially in the form of a vest or the hood lining on a jacket
wearing your boots *over* your jeans (i remember doing this in junior high...i can't believe it's coming back)
carrying your cell phone on a cord around your neck with the earpiece attached to the cord for easier access
vests overall--with fur is better...but i'm seeing vests everywhere
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