Casual International Teacher Conference Day 3: More Hong Kong!
Tuesday, November 25th, 2025
8:09 AM
Eaton HK, Kowloon
Kenny's cousin Sandra likes to tell me my hips don't lie every time I see her because I had a very good time at her son's wedding in Puerto Rico several years ago. If that is true, they would definitely tell you the following -- they are straight up not having a good time right now. 28,000 steps in one day, after 25,000 steps the previous day, will do that.
Yesterday started with me walking toward the island of Hong Kong proper. On the way, I picked up an egg tart and a coffee with red bean popping balls (I think that was the name in English). The egg tart was fantastic. The coffee was fine. Egg tart is a bit of a thing here in Hong Kong, and it is very good.
Egg tart is my new favorite pastry.
The Star Ferry across Kowloon Bay to the island of Hong Kong takes about 5 minutes and costs $4 HK, which is just above 50 cents US. I'm telling you, the cost of living crisis just fully skipped Hong Kong.
Avenue of the Stars. I looked photoshopped in.
While Kowloon is essentially flat, Hong Kong is not. I walked uphill to get to the tram that would take me to Victoria Peak, the place of highest elevation on the island of Hong Kong. Around there, I got another coffee -- a tangerine iced latte, which was actually pretty good and I would not try to get in the US.
Hong Kong getting ready for Christmas.
The tram itself was a little pricier than some of the other methods of transportation, just over $20 round trip, and I paid the extra to go on the "sky terrace" to get the panoramic views of Hong Kong, but I am a tourist so I splurged. The tram was built in 1926, so it is basically a historical site, but it was been bought by Disney I think, so the Mickey Mouse Club song played on a loop the entire ride.
Love that Disney decided Minnie Mouse was more important than the scenery.
I do not know if people understand what a line is here. It happened getting on the ferry, and it happened getting on to the tram, and it's very odd. Maybe, if the people jostling me were younger, I might understand, but they are not -- and, y'all, we are all going to the same place, and you are not getting to the top of Victoria Peak any faster by pushing yourself in front of me. The tram goes the speed of the tram. Relax.
Anyway, there's a huge mall at the top of Victoria Peak, and a lot of Disney-themed photo opportunities, along with other themed photo opportunities, but the vistas were stunning. Hong Kong is a bit smoggy, no question, but it's beautiful.
A cool way to get toys, I guess? Kids loved it.
Right below the Sky Terrace was a Bubba Gump restaurant. In case you couldn't find seafood somewhere else.
Alvin and I just pallin' around.
After being on the sky terrace, I walked downstairs to something called Mei Lok Experience studio, which was two floors down from the Sky Terrace, and had a bunch of knick knacks and furnitures from the 1970s and 1980s in Hong Kong. They had even recreated what a school looked like at that time. A mother and her father were exploring with their two babies (one crying up a storm in the baby carrier on mom's chest, and a 5-year-old sitting at the desk looking very intently at the log of cosines book on a desk), and Mei Lok must have hit the mark, because it made both of them feel very nostalgic.
I walked around a little more, including some exploration of the mall. I decided anything I bought here would be at a premium cost, so I headed back down. My next stop would be Tai Kwun, but I got distracted by Hong Kong Park and walked around a bit there. They had a visual arts center, which was free for entry, and which reminded me that I am too old to even pretend I understand experimental art. Interesting, though!
This exhibit allowed you to stamp the work. That's mine at the bottom, on the drawer! I don't know what it means.
Hard to see, but this is a video of a woman sucking a lollipop in 16 different frames. I don't get it? But it's cool!
Hong Kong Park has an apiary, so I walked around there a bit. There was some information on the types of birds that live in this area, but my brain was not able to read about it because I might not care very much (sorry!). It was beautiful, though, and I did see some neat birds. Honestly, having a park like this in the middle of a major city is wild. So beautiful.
From there, I walked on to Tai Kwun, but before I fully explored this cultural center (funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club), I needed to eat lunch. Tai Kwun is right by Staunton Ave, which seems to be a pretty happening place for restaurants. I also think Hong Kong has more Italian restaurants than San Diego does, but I am not here to eat Italian food, so I kept walking. I wanted a Cantonese or dim sum restaurant, but I settled on Korean food, and I'm glad I did -- it was delicious. I got the spicy squid, and I enjoyed watching 4 or 5 middle-aged Korean couples clearly on vacation come in, order several rounds of soju, and then leave. Koreans like to party.
Spicy squid for lunch!
I stopped at a bakery called Bakehouse, and I got a plain scone, which melted in my mouth and was incredible, along with a sourdough egg tart -- also incredible -- and a latte. Bakehouse had a line around the corner, and it was pretty clear to see why. European and Chinese pastries mixed together, and really delicious results.
More of the neighborhood -- near Staunton Ave.
Tai Kwun was originally built in the mid-19th century and was first known as Victoria Gaol, and then Victoria Prison. It was supposed to be at the forefront of new prison reform, but that is very much not what happened. Hong Kong, similar to the US, has a ton of different cultures and people that have lived here for a long time -- people coming from all over Asia and Europe because of how convenient its location is, a big Vietnam population as they escaped the war 50 years ago. White sailors and pirates would commit the same crimes as the local Chinese population, and you'll never guess who was given the harsher punishment for the exact same sins. While it was mostly Chinese men in the prison, there were people of all backgrounds there, including some women and even their babies. Tai Kwun is, I think, a must-see if you go to Hong Kong. It has a lot to say about the justice system in any country. Many people ended up there because they couldn't pay their fines for things that frankly are not fully criminal while people who could afford to keep out of prison did so, which is certainly something we see in the US as well with the bail system.
Part of the Tai Kwun cultural center.
Some cells in the prison would have 3 people in this tiny room.
The prison yard.
It was also really cool to see the pride that Hong Kong takes in its history, especially in its diversity. Hong Kong is not particularly interested in integrating with the rest of China, even down to having a different currency. It's part of why, even on Avenue of the Stars (a dedication to the Hong Kong film industry), you don't actually see Jackie Chan anywhere, even when you do see a lot of Bruce Lee. Chan is sort of known for being a "mainland shill."
From here, I explored more, wandered to a toy store to get my grown husband a Gunpla (Gundam model kit), which was on the 8th floor of a business office building and had to be opened up by a young employee, and then meandered back to the Star Ferry so I could get back to Kowloon. I wanted to see the Symphony of Lights, which occurs at 8 PM on Avenue of the Stars, along Victoria Harbor on the Kowloon side of things. The skyscrapers in Hong Kong put on a light show that you can see in Kowloon, along with music, and it's free. However, it was only about 6 PM, my hotel was a half hour walk, and my feet were starting to feel all the walking I'd done. I decided to kill just over an hour at an Irish pub, where I ordered a pineapple juice and enjoyed just sitting down.
A young man nearby saw I had a portable phone charger and asked to borrow it. We kicked up a conversation. His name is Brad, he is in Hong Kong for a few days after his month-long trip to Australia to see some friends and the band Oasis, and he is heading back home to Leeds. He asked if I was Irish, and then told me his mom is.
"Have you ever been to Ireland?" he asked.
"Yeah, I... oh, wow. Not even in this century. It was 1999."
"That's the year I was born!"
I laughed. Oh my god. Everyone is a child around me.
"You must have been... what, 1 year old?" he asked.
"That's adorable. Very sweet. I was 9."
"You still look young."
Okay.
We talked about money, and how relatively cheap Hong Kong was, and how many quid his many beers with his dinner last night would have cost back home, and exchange rates, and his mom lives in Toronto now--
"I think the American dollar is just a bit stronger than the Canadian dollar," I pointed out.
"Well, for now. Not with those tariffs though. Trump's tariffs."
"Ah. Yeah. That's... yeah. Embarrassing."
"Yeah. Your country... with Trump, your country has become a bit of a laughingstock."
Don't hold back, kid.
We chatted more. He said he assumed I didn't vote for Trump, and I told him I would have voted for a flaming bag of shit over him, and he agreed that he would have done the same if he was in the US.
The light show was pretty enough. Probably more fun with kids. I think, at this point, I was grumpy, and tired, and very annoyed that a woman next to me kept playing audio out loud on her phone while the show, which included its own music, was playing, and then took selfies with her friend, and her friend had her phone flashlight on so the selfie would come true, but that flashlight was right in my face. It was time for dinner and then bed.
I went to a restaurant called Dim Sum Here, which lived up to its name. It was delicious. I got the bbq pork dumplings, some sort of honeycomb beef thing (disappointing), and then a rice and chicken dish that had been steamed in a lotus leaf. The dumplings and the lotus leaf dish were incredible. More of that, please.
Any plans I had to go the hotel bar were pretty much dashed by the time I got back. It was 10 PM, and I was tired. A full day of wandering around Hong Kong. I like this city a lot.
Later today, once I get moving, I'll go to PMQ and a nearby Chinese temple. And then I will take a train to Guangzhou, where I will be picked up by a guy named Ben and taken back to a hotel.
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