Hong Kong is one of those exotic cities you read about, but never expect to see. So it was a delight to discover the professors and many of our law students would attend a joint meeting of Advocates International and FLAG (Faith and Law Around the Globe - a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ) in Hong Kong. I would be able to see the fabled city while participating in a conference of attorneys from around the globe who defend the persecuted church. I met so many interesting people at the conference who work faithfully in so many difficult places. And then there were some surprises along the way. Imagine sitting down to breakfast and talking with an attorney from Sacramento, only to discover that she is the attorney I had heard so much about that helped some students from Handong with VISA related problems while studying at Trinity Law School in preparation for taking the California Bar exam. It is a small and wonderful world. One of my favorites experiences was to be able to spend some time with a couple of good friends from Trinity Law School. It did make me a bit homesick for California. On the very sad side, there were incredibly tragic stories of religious persecution and human rights abuses around the world. I'm hoping to find some things I can do to help counter these problems.
Hong Kong is an amazing place with some of the best food I've ever tasted. At the conference we were provided wonderful meals each day with additional delicacies provided at every break in the conference. One of my favorite memories was the Dim Sum. In Korea they have a similar treat called mandoo (meat or vegetables steamed in a bun or pastry wrapping). In the US we have what we call pot stickers that bear some similarities. China has taken this treat called Dim Sum to an entirely different level. They have very delicate, colorful and varied steamed wrappers around delicious mixtures of meat and vegetables that melt in our mouth. Eating them has the same addictive quality of eating potato chips. You simply can't eat just one. Thankfully they are rather small and delicate allowing you to to eat them to your heart's content. I even had one with tiny fish eggs on top. All the other food was delicious as well and surprisingly included lots of American favorites like pork ribs, lamb, carved roast beef, crab legs and pastries that were so good that you would have thought you were in Paris. I was in heaven at every meal.
The sights of Hong Kong were not disappointing either. We traveled by subway to a ferry terminal to take us from Hong Kong Island to the mainland portion of the city. The skyline was packed with skyscrapers and beautiful buildings - many dating back to the British colonial days. We visited Lady's Market which is the most concentrated area of humanity on the face of the earth. One evening we traveled up to Victoria Peak which affords a spectacular view of the city and the lights. Everywhere there were crowds of people on the streets with shops and all sorts of exotic food (some of which didn't smell or look all that appetizing). It is obviously a very wealthy city. Lots of high rise apartments with views over the water. Every luxury car dealer imaginable had show rooms along with every sort of fashion designer you've ever heard of (and many you hadn't.)
I was delighted to be able to visit Hong Kong and hope I can figure a way to take the family there as well some day soon. It will take some serious saving to afford the trip. The Marriott is about $230 a night and up. Ouch!
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