Where are the Allens?: Fourth Day in Hong Kong

In the morning, we took the Star Ferry over from Pier 7 to Tsim Sha Tsui. Our only "set in stone" plans for the day were exploring the Hong Kong Space Museum and watching the Symphony of Lights in Vicotria Harbor.

The museum didn't open until 1:00 p.m., so we spent about 2 hours just wandering around. We ate lunch at a little Chinese place (you can hear Spencer sighing, "Finally!") called Hang Fa Lau. I never received my food - we're blaming it on the language barrier - but I ate Spencer's noodle soup and thought it was pretty tasty. Thankfully the restaurant had rice, otherwise Michenna was ready to go without lunch!

The Space Museum was fairly small. We liked the exhibits, but it didn't have the WOW factor of the Science Museum, or even the Coastal Defense Museum. Spencer went on a moon walk simulator - which Michenna was too short for, and I was TOO TALL for. I was devastated. Two centimeters too tall! (But I'm not bitter or anything.) Michenna and I were able to do the hang-gliding simulation. We also watched an Omnimax presentation called "Exploring the Black Holes". Michenna thought it was fascinating, I fought sleep, and Spencer snored throughout. (The Omnimax was also showing a movie about dinosaurs - hence the picture with the dinosuar.)

We left the museum and wandered through Tsim Sha Tsui. We found another of the ever-present playgrounds and let Michenna loose. It was an unusual experience for her; all the other kids were Indian (from India) and boys. They didn't have much use for her - and Miss Michenna is not accustomed to being dismissed.

The map indicated a "themed shopping street" near the playground, so we headed there next. There were lots of stores, but we never figured out the theme (unless it was tourist trap). At the end of the street we came to Kowloon Park.

Kowloon Park was incredible. It had a sculpture garden, hedge maze, bird and fish pond, aviary, playground, and a fitness trail. And those are just the things we saw! Apparently there is also a swimming pool in there somewhere. We ate ice cream, from a convenient McDonalds ice cream stand, and wandered slowly through the park.

It was getting close to dinner time, so we headed for a shopping mall on the map. We couldn't find it, or so we thought. As it turns out, the "hotels" we thought we were passing were actually Hong Kong's longest shopping center. We listened to an orchestra play Christmas songs and then ate dinner at Crystal Jade - more real Chinese food for Spencer. :)

After dinner we made our way, along with all the other tourists, to the Tsim Sha Tsui Public Pier so we could watch the Symphony of Lights - the largest permanent light and sound show in the world. We weren't able to get a clear picture, but it was incredible. Several buildings around Victoria Harbor participate in the Symphony every single night.