A day at the Museum

On Wednesdays, all the museums in Hong Kong are free of charge. Guess what we had planned. We thought we would start with the art museum, then history and end at science. We only lasted thirty minutes in the art museum. Now, we have visited many art museums and enjoy them, but whole displays of calligraphy Chinese characters? WE CAN'T READ IT! An entire room was dedicated to an artist that dripped paint on the canvas and called it a masterpiece. Ok, that is stretching it a bit, he did use the drops and smudges to create shapes and animals but they all looked so similar and so simple. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. "you hungry? I'm hungry, lets go". We ended up shopping in a local market and happened upon the science museum later that night. It was still open, so we thought we would try again. Man, we should have gone there first. Maybe we would have tried the history museum too instead of giving up. It was like the Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC. Awesome! We were like two little kids, playing with all the hands-on stuff. The house of mirrors was the best part. I found one I would love to have at home. No need for Weight watchers with this baby. I am not talking about the one that takes off my whole body, just the one that slims it up a bit. One of the mirrors reflected a side image so we tried to take a self portrait. Forgot to smile though. We ended the evening at Steak Expert, a little restaurant that serves Nebraska beef. That's Nebraska, USA beef! It was so good! The first steak we've had and worth every Hong Kong coin, whatever it is called. They even had escargot. A set menu with three courses and a drink and one of the options for appetizer is escargot, it was even cooked properly, tender. That's snails, just in case you were wondering. Frank won't touch chicken feet but he loves snails. Gotta love him. We met our lovely host as she got off work nearby and we sat in a local coffee shop and caught up on blogs, emails and just relaxed. If we had given up on museums altogether, perhaps are evening would not have been as fun.

mandy
“Most convicted felons are just people who were not taken to museums or Broadway musicals as children.”
Libby Gelman-Waxner

“Give me a museum and I'll fill it.”
Pablo Picasso

A Meal to Remember

Our new friends treated us to Hong Kong's famous seafood dinners. This is not a trip to Red Lobster or even a Chinese buffet with all you can eat crab legs. Oh no, this is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Outside the restaurant are aquariums full of sea creatures, some familiar, some not. Our host was handed a paper and he checked off which of the unfortunate creatures would grace our table. Then, we took a seat at a large round table and sipped tea. One by one the entrees arrived. Split lobster with white sauce over pasta, steamed shrimp,heads on; fried calamari served with sweet and sour dipping sauce, a whole fish surrounded by lemongrass and green onions, the head of which was devoured by our friend; whole crab sauteed in butter and garlic, already cracked to help us along. My favorite dish was an animal I had spotted in the tank outside. Our host could not identify it except to say it is in the same family as shrimp. It was about ten times the size of a shrimp. These delicate prawn-like creatures were served fried, dusted with spicy seasoning salt that you licked off before cracking open the very thin shell. The meat was so tender and sweet and did have the texture of shrimp. Every time we thought we were done, another plate would arrive. We also ate a plate of stir-fry vegetables to appease mothers everywhere and finished it off with fresh orange slices. Oh, how could I forget, the chicken feet! Yes, a plate of feet is the perfect complement to seafood. I did eat one. It too was full of flavor, I just had to get past the fact that I had a FOOT in my MOUTH! You can guess Frank's reaction!

It was indeed a meal to remember. Hungry anyone?

mandy


“Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God....I could be eating a slow learner.”
Lynda Montgomery

Tap Mun Island

Here are some pictures of our visit to Tap Mun Island, a fishing village about an hour from Victoria Harbor. Several of our new friends served as tour guides. Hope you enjoy!

These paper bills are put atop graves so the dead will be wealthy in the next life. I think.

This drink is sugary milk with red beans. It is actually really good.

Drying Shrimp

Our Tour Guides and New Family

At Journey's End

It is amazing that only a few hours separate mainland from HK yet they are hundreds of years apart. Horse-drawn carts are replaced by subways. Rock and root steps become escalators. Foreigners are not foreign and public restrooms abound. The sidewalks are for walking on only. Yet, in both lands, the Asian culture shines through. Technology may be king in HK but the people are still nice, simple and ready to bargain. We head out in a few hours, back to the much simpler life of Mainland. Will I miss it here? Definitely the clean western toilets, the ocean and the friends we have made. The simple life calls me back though. I am ready to wake up to horse hooves going by our building. I thought I heard them one morning, then I realized it was the bath fan flapping. I wondered if anyone here but me would mistake the two. I miss our friends and the work we have. I told Frank that I could live here in HK but I wonder how long it would take before the fast, rich pace would wear me down. There are so many wealthy people here and most everything is geared toward them. There is even a first-class compartment on the subway. It has been stimulating here but I think I am ready to go home. Our flight leaves in 5 hours. Simplicity awaits.
mandy

“It is proof of high culture to say the greatest matters in the simplest way”
Ralph Waldo Emerson