Hong Kong - Day 2

Wow! Day two was busy!I started the day heading over to Hong Kong Park, a lovely oasis in this sea of high rise homes. From there I rode the Peak Trolly to Victoria's Peak for a spectacular, even if cloudy, view of Hong Kong. I had planned to head out to Stanley in the afternoon but Chris called and changes in his work schedule and meetings made that evening the only chance for me to head over to Macau and meet some of his coworkers from Shangahi. I rode a highspeed ferry for about an hour then took a bus to the Venetian where several of us had dinner and visited over about the course of three hours!
I am becoming something of a 'pro' at riding the subway now and love the Octopus Card which can be used in the subway, on buses, trams, and even at 7-11 and McDonalds. (Which is sort of a fancy place here. They are all McCafe's with Ikea seating and tables and a coffe bar as well as the typical food counter)
So, here are some photos to give you a sampling of the day!

This one is for Caty, who was skeptical when I told her about this sort of public potty!


As I walked through the lush garden, the skyscrappers would peak in at times, creating an unusal visual contrast!


Even after the tram ride up the hill, I had to take several escalators to get to the top viewing deck of The Peak!

The clouds hid much of the expected view but you can still see a large section of buildings. While many of these have shops on the first three or four floors, everything above that is residential. (There are some that are either hotels or corporate offices as well)

It is almost New Year's here and there is much activity to decorate and prepare for the biggest holiday here. Apparently these live mandarine orange trees are for luck. People would walk by and pick a fruit and eat it! I started to pick on, because I love mandarin oranges, but felt like I was stealing so left it on the tree!