RTW Trip Part I - Hong Kong

When we found out we were headed back to the US, we decided it was a good time to take an extended trip. We were both between jobs so we knew we wouldn't have this opportunity to take a 4 week trip anytime soon, so we jumped on it! We've always wanted to go to Australia and New Zealand, but needed a month because there is so much to see and it takes so long to get there! Finding the right airline tickets was quite a feat, but we ended up with a good deal on Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand (highly recommend their premium economy!). We didn't plan much of our trip beyond the flights we had locked in - i.e. we didn't book any hotels, sightseeing, etc until we were on the road. It seemed to work out pretty well that way and left us very flexible. So we were off to Hong Kong, then Sydney, then New Zealand, starting January 24th. We spent 6 nights in HK, including a few nights with our friends from Oxford, Rachel & George, and one night in Macau (the Vegas of Asia). There's so much to tell about Hong Kong! It was both Kent and my first experience in China, and it was a good intro as some remnants of the British society felt familiar and it's full of expats. But, it was still China - overall really densely populated (about 7 million people in 425 square miles!), polluted and filled with skyscrapers as far as you could see. We toured the central city, took the tram to the top of Victoria Peak for a smoggy view, visited the flower and bird markets, rode the mid-levels outdoor escalator, enjoyed the local food, watched George play in a rugby match, partied in the expat area, hiked up Lantau, and gambled the night away in Macau. A great week in HK and special thanks to our hosts Rachel and George!! Photos and captions really tell the story best, so here's a link to the Hong Kong album: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=567474397903%3A2112171036&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer