April 12, 2009: A Star-Studded Evening

It didn’t feel like Easter Sunday because usually slip on a brightly-colored dress, go to church and eat a large Easter lunch. Seeing as I was in Hong Kong, things went a little differently. We started our day with ham sandwiches in front of the TV and we chose one of the select few English channels, the Discovery Channel. There was a special about the history of Christ, which was intriguing, so we watched that for awhile until we got dressed for another day of more Hong Kong sites.

After an hour train ride, we had to walk for a half hour before arriving at our destination: the Peak Tram. We planned on riding in this cable car up a mountain peak. At the top is a shopping/restaurant complex. At the ticket counter, we learned that there was also a Madame Tussand’s Wax Museum up there.Emily had never heard of it, but I knew of the famous chain from watching stories on the news. I was ecstatic!

It was a short trip to the top of the mountain and since it was getting dark, all we could see were bright lights. Emily had done this before and she preferred this vibrant nighttime look over the typical hazy, grey skies, during the day. We reached the viewing deck at the top of the peak and it was just incredible! It was drizzling, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the fluorescent skyline.

We got our share of pictures and then saved the rest of our picture-taking for the wax museum. We were like little kids in a candy shop. It was nearing closing time, so hardly anyone was in the museum when we were. We had free reign and could touch, poke or feel any of the wax figures.

The one exception was: Barack Obama. Immediately after walking through the doors, you could pose with Obama, for a promotional picture only and you could buy it, but you couldn’t use your own camera. Typical marketing ploy!

There were three different floors of sports icons, musicians, movie stars, models and foreign leaders. Their features were so meticulous that it could’ve fooled me a time or two! Emily was especially entertaining with her goofy comments and uninhibited dance moves. So, I took the opportunity to use my video camera. After about an hour and half, the place was really empty, so, we took the hint and headed to the exit.

This week has been full of American restaurants, so add one more to the list: Bubba Gump. Don’t worry; I offset the ice cream covered chocolate chip cookie dessert with my main course, a delicious strawberry and pecan salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Just the sound of it is mouth-watering to me!

The food hit the spot, but since it was nearly 11PM, we had to head back to the peak tram and catch a ride back down the mountain. We made it in time for that and one of our trains home. However, the last train we were supposed to catch had already left; so, a cab ride was our only option. So, back to the hotel we go!