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Hong Kong Day 3

Today was a Jet-Lag recovery day. Vance and I lounged around the condo for most of the morning. We chitchatted with Matt for a bit before he headed off to work. We decided to go see the Giant Buddha on Lantau Island today. As we were getting ready to depart, we got a hold of another one of the Disney CMs over here – Michael. We decided to meet up with him for lunch in the Gold Coast Village near the condos. It was nice meeting up with him and we chatted for quite awhile. He gave us insights into some of the challenges and also some of the successes with the new park. Let’s just say it is always interesting when two corporate cultures clash.

By the time we finally got on the road it was almost two in the afternoon. To get to the MTR line to take us out, we have to take the 140m bus. The trip time is usually 30 minutes or so to the Tsing Ji station. This time, it took us almost two hours to get there. There was what looked like a bakery truck smashed up. Not sure if there was an accident involving other cars or if they just lost control and smashed into the center divider. It was a mess. At one point we sat not moving for about an hour. We made it to the MTR, but by then it was too late to head out to the Buddha. After scanning our options, we headed out to the Hong Kong Space Museum in Kowloon – right on the harbor near the Peninsula Hotel.

The Museum was pretty low-key and looked like the exhibits hadn’t changed much since the early 80’s when it opened. We opted to skip the Sky Show on the dome since it focused on Albert Einstein and we didn’t really want to fall asleep. I tried out the gyroscope attraction, which was OK. Vance was disappointed the multi-axis chair was on rehab and that the Moonwalk had strict height and weight requirements neither of us met. All in all it was worth the HK$10 we spent (a little over a dollar) to get inside. I bought a cheesy key chain that featured a pen that didn’t work (probably been in the display for 20 years) and the attendant asked if it was OK that the pen in the key chain didn’t work.

From there we hob-knobbed with the rich and elite at the Peninsula Hotel. This hotel in Hong Kong is regularly rated as one of the best hotels in the world. It is very expensive but also very luxurious. I managed to score a photo of the Gorn and me with one of the bellhops in their traditional white outfits. I was going to get one with just the Gorn, but since I had to move fast I decided to be in the photo.

It was getting near dusk so we sauntered around the harbor waiting for the lights on the buildings on Hong Kong Island to come on. Lots of people were there as well taking in the scenery as well as returning from Harbor Cruises or taking the ferry. Near the Star Line Ferry building, Vance and I scored some soft serve from a truck. It actually was very creamy and good – just small portions. Then again it did cost HK$6 (about US$0.80) so the price was right. After taking way too many photos, we found the Avenue of the Stars – the HK equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This area honored famous HK film stars so we made it a mission to find Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, and of course Jet Li. We were not disappointed and even found one for Bruce Lee.

It was then time to head back to the condo. We finally got in touch with of Matt and met him and his friend Chuck back at the transfer point at Tsing Ji. Matt brought us a change of clothes and we headed to SoHo – a trendy part of Central Hong Kong that has a lot of western restaurants and some cool bars and clubs. We ate at Taco Loco, which had really good Mexican food. At the restaurant, we met up with Joe (another Disney CM) and one of Joe’s friends. After grubbin’, we headed over to the bar for another late night of mingling with the locals. Vance and I were a bit out of our element, but we kept ourselves amused by people watching. It was another fun night out on the town, and we made it back to the condo in a not-so-scary cab and again collapsed into bed.

We are going to try and make it out to the Buddha tomorrow and get a bit earlier start. I am not sure what we will do post-Buddha, but we will find something to do. Michael mentioned to us that it shouldn’t be a problem to visit the Cast Member store at the park when we are there, so I am hoping to score some really cool items.