HONG KONG NYE

For New Year's we went to Hong Kong with some friends. We had a lot of fun, a little too much for my immune system, as I have been sick for the last few days. 

Our first night we arrived late, I asked the concierge where we could go for a "drink and an appetizer"...he directed us to Lan Kwei Fong, which felt a little bit like college on crack...

I was not prepared for this...

the people watching was incredible...

the boys were very excited to find Guinness on tap

Why did this man have a large sticker on his jacket? I have no idea. 

We sat next to him and his loud friends only to find out that they were no longer serving food...

So I opted for a gyro from the late night place and we bought beers from 7-11 and drank in the street, we're so classy...

Party time in LKF! 

(we didn't last very long, but we were entertained)

Strange dancing dogs on the street

Are we at the Ice Capades? Nope, just HK.

We fell asleep hard and woke up to enjoy the view from our hotel. 

not too shabby, eh?

this does not suck.

We had a pretty sweet room with access to the Executive level. We tried to go up there for breakfast....

However, Javier got asked to leave because he was wearing the hotel slippers.

He changed shoes and we ate breakfast and headed out to Stanley Market.

First, we went to Pacific Place mall, which was attached to our hotel.

HK mall decorations intrigue me....

I was so happy when I saw Starbucks, I may have run....

Victory! Chai tea latte:)

We took a double decker bus along the bay and landed at Stanley market...

"Most people brushing dogs teeth simultaneously"

What? Ok.

It was a rainy day, but it was lovely!

XXXXXXXXL clothing? In Hong Kong? Maybe this is where they are made....

Umbrellas with sword and rifle handles....

Hello Elmo? Only in HK....

Stanley Market--nice view, eh?

tacky-tie central

Our friend found a fancy umbrella

What does one do in Hong Kong? Go to a British Pub, of course! We tried out The Pickled Pelican

Mini-guinness and mini-burgers for Hubs

The most amazing French Onion soup of my life!

Bangers and mash!

After lunch, we had to go shopping a bit more. We bought some ah-mazing souveneirs, which we cannot show because they are coming your way!

Any hugs are good, but holiday ones are the best!

Yoma-don't you think the Princess needs one of these?

More strange decorations at Pacific Place...

Ballerinas in eggs, of course!

We were pretty spent, but we didn't want to miss out on our hotel's happy hour...

Javi lounging in the lounge

Our VERY happy hour: dim sum, quiches, sushi and more!

For dinner, we decided to go where one might first think of in HK: Mexican Food! Okay, not really, I know it sounds crazy, but we heard about an amazing place called Brickhouse. It was pouring, and we got a little lost. It was right outside of LKF.

Where IS this place?!

Would you go down that alley? We did....and there we found a packed restaurant....

and....

Delish salsa and guacamole

Yummo grilled corn

Queso fresco

The taco platter

A group of great people!

Hubs and I with his new shirt

<thanks Javi>

Members of Hubs training class, reunited!

After dinner, we decided to explore LKF with our friends. It was very entertaining.

Wall art in LKF

Jumbo beers....

Jumbo beers and jumbo smiles

Woman down!

Artsy beers

(we didn't drink that many, but aren't they HUGE?! we needed to take many photos)

No shirts were removed, but this is a funny sign

Santa was EVERYWHERE and so was Christmas music, it was fun:)

The following day, we met up with friends for the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world.

Alas, the store sells "tickets" and we didn't make it in time for brunch

We DID get to see cute pugs in sweaters though....

We took a lovely drive back from Kowloon to a recommended place: Maxim's Palace at City Hall

the line was very long....

...so we camped out...

Who is placing hard objects in toilets in HK?!

After an hour, we got in!!

The place is HUGE!

We were ravenous, but we still "mindfully" ordered dim sum

Above: shrimp dumplings

the most amazing tofu ever!

Veggie dumplings, shrimp rolls and spring rolls!

Getting ready to attack the BBQ pork buns

Happy Javi

the dessert cart, with a hi-tech tv!

Sesame pudding aka Mime dessert

Coconut pudding!

BBQ pork pastry-YUM.

Some kind of sesame balls with peanut and egg yolk, I don't remember, but it was awesome

5 people, one dim sum card:)

Ladies everywhere were hanging out in the skyways, playing cards, knitting and having fun. Apparently, these women are all nannies and service workers who spend their Sundays together hanging out. 

Another intriguing mall display--tights vending machines...

I would have bought these if they weren't $40+ USD

Every trolley needs SPAM advertising, don't you think?

I found AVEDA in HK! 

My mama owns an Aveda salon and it always reminds me of home, I had to pop in for some comforting tea:) Smells like home!

After dim sum, we went back to our hotel for tea time, this was the view:)

Not quite high tea, but it was lovely

Tea and crumpets

After tea time, we got ready for our evening in Macau

Naturally, the boys brought their tuxes

Javi wore his slippers and no one turned him away from the Executive lounge:)

Me and two of my faves

Javi left his cuff links at home, so they boys bought semi-matching cufflinks-heart shaped, of course.

So they could "wear their hearts on their sleeves"

We love photo opps!

Our ride to Macau....

Just kidding! We took the ferry, it was 60 minutes....

"Brave Battle Warriors"

The name of our boat

We're on a boat!

Macau at night...

The Venetian

Macau doesn't mess around!

We went to a restaurant, but it closed before we could order, so we ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe

There was a terrible band...but we enjoyed it

All-American Burger

City of Dreams aka City of Broken Dreams, as our restaurant closed early:(

Prettiness

Inside the Venetian

Looks like Vegas, without the cocktail waitresses

A creepy vibrating chairs 

We only lasted 45 minutes because we wouldn't bet more than $100HK-$13USD, it was not exciting.

Another view of Macau at night

NYE practice at the MGM

We had a fun night with good friends, but we didn't win or lose too much money. We slept in the next day and went to breakfast with our travel companions.

From inside the trolley

Walking to breakfast...

The Flying Pan

Delicious All-American breakfast

Pre-food coma

Oreo shake!

A super platter for the Hubs

Jumbo frittata for me

After breakfast, we decided to head to see The Peak, the highest view in HK...

The line was "2 hours"

We manifested 90 minutes...and it happened! Our friend opted to take a taxi up top and take a taxi down, that's what I recommend doing, but we had fun!

After crazy pushing, we made it on the tram!

We're on our way!

it was very steep...

A view from the Tram..

At the top!

Our tram:)

Not a shabby view, eh?

me and my love

Dudes

the view from the other side of the Peak

Bring it on 2013!

"no hawking" with our favorite hawk

The ride home takes cash or squid?

We survived more pushing and windburn!

HK on NYE

We went out to dinner at another friend from DC who now lives in HK

The lovely view from our friend's house

Reunited friends!

It was a lot of fun, but I was too tired from 3 days of fun, so I missed the fireworks, however, we had an incredible weekend!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!