The Peak

So, it's day two in Hong Kong and I'm not the tired grumpy mess I thought I'd be. In fact, quite the contrary.

I woke to the dull hum of the air conditioner and a rising sense of urgency.

Being here in Hong Kong hasn't dampen my enthusiasm for the playoffs. Let me just say now that while I'm a die hard Canucks fan, I'm also a hockey fan. So, I'll pretty much watch any playoff hockey game. That being said, Canucks are come first.

The only problem with celebrating hockey here in Hong Kong is the lack of access to it. If you were to surf the numerous sports channel I have access to here in Hong Kong, you'd find soccer, cricket, tennis, golf, car racing as well as many sports you probably won't see in North America such as, squash and table tennis. But, the full array of hockey playoff games there is not. So, I rely on my friend the Internet and my girlfriend's family's Slingbox to get my hockey fix. (A Slingbox device that allows you to stream TV from your home television to pretty much any device that has access to the Internet.)

So after firing up the computer and launching the Slingbox, I sat down to enjoy some mid-morning hockey.

Unfortunately for my girlfriend V, she woke up with a different set of priorities. For V, Saturday morning meant work. On May 5, the school that V teaches at and also went to as a kid, Diocesan Girls' School, will celebrate it's 150th anniversary. And such a milestone demands a celebration befitting of that history.

So, instead of watching hockey with her father and me, V was off to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the celebration will be held, to help with the planning. The HKCEC sits facing Victoria Harbour on the waterfront of Wan Chai, one of the busiest districts on Hong Kong Island.

Meanwhile back at home, home being Lam Tin on the eastern side of Kowloon Peninsula, V's dad and I watched the Canucks steamroll their way to victory, in what appeared to be their best performance of the playoffs so far. But, it wasn't as simple as just watching hockey. I was tasked to make sure that V was kept fully apprised of the game. So, with every goal and major event, I was quickly messaging her.

As the clock began to click down and the game ended, it could mean only one thing: lunch. So, V's dad and I head out to the local mall for food. Lunch was simple. A bowl of noodles with some veggies and random bits of meat.

Soon after we got home from lunch, V returned too.

With much of the day surrendered to work, V and I headed out to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. So, we headed out for Victoria Peak. Victoria Peak is a mountain on Hong Kong Island that overlooks the Central district and Victoria Harbour. I've been to the peak a couple of times. But, this time we thought we'd go a different way.

The traditionally touristy way of getting up to the peak is to take the Peak Tram, an inclined rail system. The tram started running in 1888 and today carries both tourists and residents from Central to the Peak through the Mid-Levels district.

But, in the spirit of adventure, we decided to take a different route. So, we headed for the Star Ferry, crossed Victoria Harbour and waited for the 15C that would take us up to the Peak. Now, the adventure isn't in the ferry ride (although that is fun), but in the double-decker bus ride up the side of a mountain on a winding, narrow road. The best part about the ride is sitting in the front seat on the top deck of the bus as the bus hurdles up the mountain at break-neck speed.

After our harrowing journey we reached the top unscathed. It was cold at the top. Very cold. Windy too. So, we disappeared into The Peak Tower for shelter. The Peak Tower is a tourist mall with restaurants, shops and Madame Tussauds wax museum. We decided to have dinner and began the quest for food. Stopping at the second level, we were uninspired by the Chinese and Japanese restaurants, so we headed upstairs. We ended up on the third level at Bubba Gump.

Now, it may seem strange to end up at an American restaurant over 10,000 km from home, but sometimes it's just nice to have something other than Asian food once in a while. The nice thing about Bubba Gump is that it has a spectacular view of Central and the harbour. And going for dinner early meant that we could get a table with a view. V had a Shrimpin' Dippin' Broth, a small steel pot with seemingly endless shrimp in a Louisiana-style broth with rice and french bread for dipping. I had something off of the daily special menu: Lt. Dan's Drunken Shrimp, grilled shrimp, andouille sausage and mashed potatoes.

While waiting for dinner, V entertained herself by watching the people outside have their clothes tossed around by the strong winds and fail to get near the guard rails to get a better view.

We dragged out dinner purposefully so that we could see the view after sunset. At night, the Hong Kong skyline lights up in brilliant colours. It's actually the first time I've seen the city lights from The Peak. It's definitely worth seeing.

And with our meal over, our adventure came to an end.