Last Post From China

Hard to believe, but it's here at last -- our final day in China, and it's time to say zai jian. We leave early on Friday. We are of mixed feelings -- tired and wanting our own beds; sorry to go so soon. We've had a wonderful time.

We spent our last full day doing the last round of touristy things: one last ride on the ferry, one last tour through a street market, one last round of buying presents (and, I'm embarrassed to say, one new suitcase to put all our new acquisitions in). I just watched the Symphony of Lights for the final time; I never get tired of it (in 12 days, I think I've watched it 6 times).

We've had a marvelous trip and many unforgettable experiences. We will continue to blog about all the things we've done and seen even after we get back home, but I wanted one last chance to post our thoughts from China.

Noah has announced he's used up all the hotel soap, so it's definitely time to go home. Goodbye! Zai jian!

Harbour Cruise

Last night we took the Symphony of Lights Harbour Cruise, in order to get the full effect of the light show with all the music. It was great! Colors, spotlights, lasers -- fabulous! I love this place!

Custom Tailors

There are custom tailor shops everywhere in Hong Kong. In Shanghai, we couldn't walk 5 steps without a hawker asking us if we wanted nice Rolex, Gucci bag, DVD's. Here, it's shills for the tailor shops asking Jon if he wants a nice custom made suit, shirt, trousers. (Apparently they are instructed to ask only non-Asian men.) And all the shills are Indian (subcontinental, that is); apparently, the shops are all run by Indians, but the tailors are all Chinese.

The other day Jon finally broke down and decided to go for it. After all, when in Rome, right? He'd been given some recommendations, but they seemed very expensive, and he didn't want a store that was fronted by shills. So we walked through some shopping centers (which are myriad) till he found one he liked. It was very small, filled floor to ceiling with bolts of cloth.

He described what he wanted, went through books of swatches, looked through bolts of cloth. The owner took a dozen different measurements for the suits, then more for the shirts. He told us to come back only 5 hours later for the first fitting.

We came back and Jon tried on pieces of a suit -- one arm (only pinned on), the lapels tacked on, pants with no waistband, etc. It was a hoot. They told us to come back the next day for the final fitting.

We came back and the suits were done -- 52 hours start to finish! And absolutely gorgeous. Silk lining, Jon's name embroidered inside. Jon wanted another 1/8 inch in the neck of the shirts, so those will be ready this morning.

Jon ended up getting 2 suits, one a cashmere/wool blend, the other a silk/wool blend, plus 6 all-cotton dress shirts with monograms on the cuffs. Anyone want to guess what he paid?

Stanley

Yesterday we went to a pre-colonial fishing village called Stanley. After all, how could we resist going to a place with such a wonderful name?

Stanley is located at the very end of Hong Kong Island. We took a bus along a narrow circuitous road up Victoria Peak and down again on the other side. The view was magnificent.

Stanley has become a seaside resort filled with Mediterranean-looking hotels, pubs and cafes along the beach. Yachts and windsurfers abound. Hardly seems Chinese at all. Then you find the temples and tiny shrines tucked into the corners, and it really takes you by surprise.

Then there's the Stanley Market, dozens of covered winding alleys filled with hundreds of tiny stalls selling everything. Now *this* is very Chinese.

We skipped the touristy restaurants and found an off-the-beaten track kind of place with typical Cantonese food (lots of grouper and other local fish), then came back at dusk and watched the sun set and the neon lights come on while we took the ferry back home. Another wonderful day in Hong Kong.