The island of Hong Kong ("Fragrant Harbor") and the mainland of Kowloon ("Nine Dragons") are compact shopping and business areas which haven't changed much since the Chinese takeover in 1997. I doubt that any changes will come very fast because this Pearl River Delta Area which includes Canton and Macau is a booming, commercial powerhouse.

For more: Tourism, Our Hotel, The South China Morning Post Newspaper, and the Heritage Museum.

The Chinese New Year's celebration was underway while we were there, so the image with the fireworks on the front page of this site is very recent. Can't you just imagine being on that peak and watching the fireworks yourself?

Traditional activities are: 1st day - eat only vegetables, 2nd day-eat only meat, 3rd day-visit parents, 4th day-visit relatives, ..., 7th day everybody's birthday, etc.

Celebrations go on for the whole month.

After we went to Victoria Peak, our guide Dianna took us to the home (with large pool) of a very rich family near the top of the peak. The view from the beautiful back garden was almost as good as from the very top of the peak. A full time gardener kept immaculate care of the place. What a lucky stop off!

Of course, every tourist must visit some of the classic places on Hong Kong Island like the Aberdeen fishing village where we had a fun ride in an old-fashioned sampan and the beach at Repulse Bay. Before we left, we also had to take a ride on the Star Ferry and go to dinner on the Island both of which were very exciting. We had a stimulating conversation over a cold beer with some guys from Canada and Germany who had a business there. They said they were working their butts off but making good money. They steered us to a very upscale-modern, continental Italian restaurant which we enjoyed a lot.