Day 10: First Day in Hong Kong

Today was a rest day. We are both showing signs of getting sick (scratchy throats, achy muscles, general fatigue, etc.) so we decided we were better off just taking it easy today. It's also a holiday here in Hong Kong (the Mid-Autumn Festival) so many shops were closing early. Seemed like a good day to just stay in.

We slept in late, then I wandered off in search of cold and sinus medicine for Che. Our hotel is connected to Pacific Place, a large upscale shopping mall full of high-end boutique stores (Versace, Fendi, Escada, Tiffany, Hermes, etc.) and cafes and restaurants. Fortunately, there is also a Watson's drugstore, where I picked up meds. I then followed the signs that said "Great Foodhall," thinking I could pick up food for lunch and take it back to the hotel room. Great Foodhall, however, was not a food court like I thought it would be. It's actually a fantastic Western-style grocery store complete with a gelato bar, juice bar, deli, and amazing bakery. I picked us both up fresh-squeezed juices chock full of Vitamin C and headed back to the hotel room. By then, Che was up and about, so we headed back to the mall for some lunch.

Pacific Place does not have a standard fast-food food court area like most malls. Everything here is a sit-down restaurant. Che was craving an American breakfast/brunch, so we hit a grill-style restaurant and afterwards he started feeling lousy again. He headed back to the room, and I headed off to the grocery store to get pastries for breakfast and a coffee from Starbucks. When I got back to the room, he was asleep. I was pretty beat too, so I laid down for a nap, and that's been our day - lounging around the hotel room, resting, and watching TV. I've also mapped out an itinerary for the week, so it wasn't a completely wasted day. Plus, we have great views from our hotel room (if you look past the reflection back into the hotel room):






High-end shopping at Pacific Place Mall: