It’s hard to believe that the last time I was in Hong Kong was
in 2002 during an internship in college. I was only there for a week but
I remember that it was very dynamic and fast moving - much quicker paced then
Oklahoma or South Bend. I needed to be in Hong Kong for customer meetings
so I was happy to see this vibrant city after 13 years as well have Amy join me
for the weekend as she had never been there.
What I love about Hong Kong is that there is so much history and
culture. Hong Kong was a British Colony for years (as was Singapore) but
control was eventually given back to China in 1997.
This makes it a very interesting city since there are Confucian
and Chinese values. It is a financial hub much like London or New
York, but with much less communist influence then mainland China. And
unlike China, Americans do not need a visa to travel to Hong Kong. (On the
other hand a one-time Chinese tourist visa is approximately $250 and takes a
week to process from Singapore, but we believe this has recently changed.)
Besides exploring an amazing city, the motivation for the trip
was to be fitted for my tuxedo for the upcoming wedding. We visited the
Samtani’s in Kowloon. Ash (founder) and his son Luke have made suits for four
generations of my family. Luke’s son, Amar is now working in the business as
well. As a matter of tradition, and since we live in the ‘neighborhood,’ I
couldn’t think of a better place to have my wedding tuxedo made.
Between fittings at Ash Samanti Clothing we had time to explore Hong Kong. You can’t talk
about Hong Kong without talking about food. We had a list about a mile long of
dining recommendations from our friends and colleagues. (If you
do visit Hong Kong, Yelp! Is very active there and is a great tool. Our fellow
Yelpers didn’t steer us wrong!)
We had some of the best poké we’ve
had outside of da Poké Shack in
Kailua, Hawaii at a new place called Pololi,
dinner atop Victoria Peak at
the Peak Lookout, and an amazing
burger at the Butcher’s Club.
One of our favorite spots was the lounge at our hotel. It’s
not your average hotel bar. I can certify that between the view, the comfy
couches, the french fries and one of the best lounge singers I’ve ever seen –
this is in fact the truth.
I forgot just how awesome of a city Hong Kong is and I hope to
see you there sometime soon.
Happy Trails,
Raegen & Amy
PS- Click here to see a really cool timelapse I did of the city coming alive. (And follow us on instagram while you're at it!)
