Day Two - Exploring Hong Kong Island

Kong deep in thought next to the ocean in Stanley.
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Finally got some sleep last night. Even though it was only about 5 hours I felt so much better!

Kong and I started off our day by heading off to the south part of Hong Kong Island. It was a lovely drive with winding roads and ocean views. First stop was the Stanley Market area. We strolled along the waterfront where there were some British pubs and other nice seaside cafes. There seemed to be quite a few ex-pats living in the area and I can see why. Stanley was full of lovely little low-rise apartments (many with sea-views), small shops and restaurants. When we got there in the morning it was before many of the market stalls were open and many people were out grabbing a morning coffee or walking their dogs. Kong forgot to pack his Crocs and we found a small Crocs store where he bought a pair. The locals seemed to be intrigued by them and kept looking in the storefront at Kong trying them on. We picked up a few things from the supermarket in Stanley Center and it was then that we realized that many non-Chinese lived in the area as many of them were getting groceries that morning. If we had to move to Hong Kong, I would live here too.  I really liked the atmosphere in the Stanley area.

The view from Victoria Peak
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It was then off to Victoria  Peak. There is a large shopping plaza at the top as well as some restaurants. The view of Hong Kong was awesome, it could've been better if there was no haze, but good nonetheless. We had some travel bugs to drop off at a geocache here which we did first. There were lots of muggles, but we managed to pull off the exchange ok. We then shopped and ate at the Cafe Deco which had an excellent international Sunday brunch buffet. It was pricey at 50 bucks a head, but very good. After lunch we headed down the pathway towards another geocache. We walked down Harlech Road (the main trail around the peak) for approx. 1/2 hr. It was Sunday and there were many families out walking their dogs and people just going for a stroll. We then headed up another mountain (with our shopping bags in tow) which the geocache was at the top of. We followed a very narrow cement trail with very steep stairs all the way to the top of this mountain. Only a geocache would've taken us there! Once we were at the top, our GPS lead us off trail and down the mountain approx. 40m. as the crow flies through some very dense foliage and steep rocky ground. We made it and the view was awesome!

Climbing up the stairs to the geocache.
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We headed back to the main peak area and then proceeded to the Hollywood Road area back in the city. This area was like Hong Kong-of-old like you would see in the movies. Seafood, fruit and vegetable stalls in the alleyways galore.

Hollywood Road then lead us to an area called Lan Kwai Fong. This was a very cool little area cluttered with many international pubs/restaurants. Everything from local fare to Australian food. We walked around here for a bit then headed back to the hotel to clean up for Supper. We liked Lan Kwai Fong so much we headed back there for supper too. We ate at an Italian restaurant named Tuscany. It was quite an upscale Italian restaurant and the food was very good. The wine list was incredible. We seemed to get more than the usual attention from our waiter Daniel which at times even made me a bit uncomfortable because I felt like I was being watched. When we left the chef/owner even came out to say goodbye. For some reason nobody else in the restaurant seemed to be getting the same treatment. It was strange. Maybe they mistook us for someone else??

The view from near the geocache.
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I really enjoyed our day together. I love Hong Kong, it is a bustling cosmopolitan city.