Hong Konggity Kong!
Can I start by saying that life is so good? I mean, despite the jet-lag and long working hours, I am so blessed to be able to travel for my job. Especially with my Brad by my side! Oh boy, where do I start? This trip was such an adventure… One night we wanted to go out and see some shops on the street, and we found ourselves on this ‘Pet Street’. There were SO MANY ANIMALS – Everywheerrreee. It was so stinky I literally dry-heaved a couple times. When the fish would die before getting sold, they would just chuck them into the street… It was a different experience, that’s for sure – ha! The market I would recommend going to is called ‘Ladies Street’, I know it sounds sketchy, but it’s not what you think. They had so many fun trinkets and knock off stuff, it was ridiculous. Brad picked up some ‘Beats by Dr. Dre’ for $12, and I got a sweet backpack for super cheap. I made Brad do all the dirty work, while I stood in the background smiling and nodding – He’s gotten pretty good at this wheelin’ & dealin’ stuff! One of my most surprising moments from the trip was the morning we decided to wake up super early and go see the Big Buddha. We were standing in the bus line, and this little girl came up and held my hand. I thought she was mistaking me as her Mom, because she hadn’t looked up.. She started kissing my hand and thats when I noticed she had special needs. I knew we didn’t speak the same language so I was playfully saying “oh, oh!” with each little kiss she gave me, so maybe she would notice I wasn’t her Mom – Then quickly after, her little tongue came out and she started licking my red nail polish! Hahah – they don’t call it ‘Candy Apple Red’ for a reason! Aw man, such a sweet/funny moment that caught me by surprise & totally made my day. Me and Brad giggled about it for hours. Anyway, we got up to the Buddha and it was breath taking! Waking up early was so worth it. At the top we sat and watched people sing and pray… It was cool to experience the buddhist culture. I’m still boggled how they built such a huge monument on a mountain top! It seriously was so big. I would highly recommend any future HK tourists to go there. 😉
ONE OF THOSE ‘YOU HAD TO BE THERE’ MOMENTS I WANT TO REMEMBER:
Lets talk about the haunting beef stick, shall we? The night before the event, our Chinese friend Steve wanted to treat us all to this really nice Tai Restaurant. We were so excited to finally get our hands on some good food, and we drove across town to get to this restaurant. It was me, Brad, Darci (The event planner from SLC) & Dr. Qutab (the funniest guy ever, from pakistan. I think his accent & slight vulgar language might be what makes him so funny). Anyway, we get in the restaurant and they start bringing out a MILLION dishes! Way more than we can eat, and to be honest, dishes that I don’t want to eat! Brad was nice, and dove into the raw prawns… While I patiently waited for some ‘normal’ dishes to come out. These chicken and beefs sticks came out and we all devoured them pretty quickly. Later they brought out a second round of the same dish – except this time we got a closer look before diving in so quickly. Brad was the first to notice the beef was covered in little curly hairs!! He quickly sat it back onto the plate and we watched each others reactions, as each person discovered it! I was giggling so uncontrollably, while exchanging glances with the others. I was trying so hard to hold it in, because I didn’t want to make Steve feel bad for taking us there! You know those situations your not supposed to laugh, so it makes it ten times funnier? Dr. Qutab said “Steve, do you like that beef?” and Steve replied “Yes yes, I like that beef.” then Dr. Qutab motioned to the beef stick “Go for it!”. That was the moment I completely lost it! I about fell on the floor! Oh the tears!! I held up the beef stick to Steve while stuttering over my words trying to hold back my laughter “Is this normal??” Oh my gosh. It was the scariest piece of meat I’ve ever seen, haunting really. And to think we ate the first ones that came out – They were probably the same! AHH! Dr. Qutab was saying under his breath that I should not repeat that made everything so much funnier. We then hid the beef under a piece of lettuce, because despite the hair, it looked horrendous. I quickly lost my appetite after that, especially when I took a closer look at my whole plate and noticed my chicken in my curry was blue. We went to bed hungry that night for surrre. So much for trying to get some good food in HK! The next day at the event, me and Darci went back stage to grab some food and low and behold they had BEEF STICKS! So we brewed up a genius plan. Prior to Dr. Q arriving to the convention dinner, we found his name tag and placed one on his plate. When he sat down we all about died! Oh the haunting beef stick!
Things to comment on: 1. Those pants are killer 2. Animal street sounds sooo interesting/nasty 3. I can't believe you got your hand licked by a stranger! 4. Your job is totally rad!
That is so awesome that you love what you do! What a gift! Pet street sounds gross…
This is a great post! I want to get some knockoffs in Hong Kong!
A Golden State of Mind
You guys are always so happy smiley. So cute. Love this!
i love your positive attitude and the smiles from you! You inspire me.
xo. m.
Ah you should have had the raw prawns, it was one of the best things I ate while I was in HK. And yeah, sometimes the food is pretty sketchy. YOHKO!!!
http://byuguardgirl.blogspot.com/
your life is so unreal!
What a memorable trip! I'm glad that you two were able to have such a fun time. And those pants?! I'm in love.
http://www.kayliwanders.com
ok- let's talk about this life of yours real quick. so AMAZINGGG! i got that travel itch now. also, i feel as though i need your pants. xoxo
jess
http://www.goldenswank.blogspot.com
Those pictures! Amazing! I can't even stand it!
that's so rad you guys have been traveling all over asia! i'm completely envious!
http://www.kerryjune.com
I am dying to get to HK sometime soon! on my list for sure!
hahaha love this recap. eating in asia is always a party. love it. hong kong is such a rad city, glad you got to see it! makes me want to go back and re-explore!
your blog is amazing. I love following all of your travels. I have traveled all my life and now that I am married it makes it harder to do. I hope that T and I can travel as much as we want and have the wonderful adventures you write about. thanks for being awesome.
hallahmikaela.blogspot.com
Oh my word I need your pants. Where did you get them?