It's my last day of the trip. Yesterday I hung around Sally's most of the day to rest and then went to a Chinese Medicine class that's offered by the tourist bureau here. There were 9 of us from different countries. Every time the woman lecturer asked if there were any questions, this one guy who I'm guessing was from Eastern Europe would ask "how do you take it, do you boil it?" It got to be quiet the joke. It was an up close look at many of the roots and things like deer antler and mushrooms that are used for their medicine. They gave me some "soothies" which are helping my throat a lot and I went back and got more today! I also purchased some anti-anxiety tea, which is really pretty with little pink rose buds and other colorful flowers.

 

I had lunch with Sally at the Helena May club, sort of like the town club in Pasadena. It was established about 100 years ago by the wife of the governor of Hong Kong, Helena May. It's very English, has a great library and garden and houses women upstairs. I was feeling so British and so had lemon squash (to drink) and fish and chips. It was a great look into the expatriate life here. Then we took the tram to Victoria Peak. They just opened a new center at the top that offers many restaurants (including Bubba Shrimp), souvenir shops, computer games and other entertainment. There was a woman flipping around on a rope in the middle of the of the center, suspended from the ceiling and then some lively African ethnic-type dancing on the main floor. This center just opened and it's very contemporary. The views from the peak were stunning, even if the sky wasn't very clear. The haze continues except for yesterday when we had a lot of rain.

 

Then we went to the China Club which was another look behind the scenes in Hong Kong. We walked there from the Helena May by going down quaint little steps and big overpasses through buildings, pretty much avoiding the main streets. This city is very walk-friendly and takes you through all kinds of very modern and beautifully designed businesses. It feels a bit like downtown San Francisco. It's so civilized. You can walk through all kinds of passageways in the rain and are totally protected from getting wet. (unlike San Francisco)  The China Club is owned by the owner of Shanghai Tang and has his wonderful art collection on the walls. It was a mixture of art deco and contemporary design. We went to a jewelry show of a very chic and contemporary Hong Kong designer. I managed to control myself and didn't buy anything.

 

Well I'm heading upstairs to pack now. My Asian adventures are coming to a close. There's so much I didn't get to see and do that I just may have to return one of these days. 

 

Cheerio!

Vicki