HONG KONG... New York of the Orient.

Our group had a great visit to Hong Kong and the experience was completely different than China. We arrived Sunday afternoon and head directly to our hotel located on the Kowloon waterfront. The first evening we had a walk down the promenade just behind our hotel and everyone was awe struck by the Hong Kong skyline. The buildings here are magnificent and the skyline is truly one of the most impressive in the world… most of us had trouble getting our cameras to the right setting to capture the beautiful night scene.


Hong Kong could easily be an American city… Western influences are everywhere and English in widely spoken. The city looks, sounds, and feels so much like New York. The people here take pride in their English heritage and the culture feels nothing like we experienced in mainland China… the money is different, the language is different, they even drive on the other side of the road.

Here in Hong Kong we stayed at the Renaissance hotel in Kowloon… just across the bay from the magnificent skyline. Though our accommodations were probably a step down from the opulence we experienced at the China World Hotel in Beijing… we were located in one of the most centrally located and accessible places in Hong Kong… many of us took the opportunity to visit the nearby shops, hop on the super-modern subway system, or just walk the promenade to take pictures.

Our feisty tour guide was named Maria and she did a very good job of telling us about the features, facts, and history of Hong Kong. She was also very insistent making sure we left to our business visits on-time and telling us to “get off the bus”.

We had three business visits in Hong Kong that all went pretty well. First we visit Chinese University Hong Kong and heard some interesting prospectives from Dr. Foster and two professors that teach at CUHK. Afterwards we visit a business incubator next to the University known as the Hong Kong Science and Research Park. It was interesting to see the investments Hong Kong is making in research and technology to stay ahead of cities like Beijing and Shanghai as they become more competitive in this part of the world.

Another business visit that we experienced here in Hong Kong was Disneyland. We met with a BYU graduate and ex-pat that runs the operations at Hong Kong Disneyland. He showed us around the park and gave us some insights that were very interesting. Some stayed at Disneyland for a few hours to ride the rides (though most who stayed were surprised that park was only about half-the-size as the Disneyland in California). Many others took a ride on a tram to the top of a nearby mountain to see the famous Big Buddha and get some pictures.


Perhaps the highlight of Hong Kong for many of us was visiting the LDS Temple. The temple is very beautiful and is located on the peninsula not too far from our hotel. Many of us went inside to experience a temple session or participate in sealings. Though some were caught in a rainstorm… it was well worth the experience to visit a special place that serves over half the worlds population (the Hong Kong Temple district includes both China and India).

UPDATE: We’ve now arrived in Bangkok and we’re entering the twilight of our trip in Asia. Most of us are excited to come home and see our families. I’ll post once more about our exotic experiences here in Thailand.