May 3 (Monday), May 4 (Tuesday), May 5 (Wednesday)

Wow friends! It has been ages since I have written anything. Ok, so I must catch you all up on the madness…

Hmm, ok so Monday May 3-

Monday morning I slept in a bit and then went down to Stanley Market with Kerry. Did a lot of browsing to see what I liked and wanted in the future. So much fun, you can walk down there in about 10 minutes. Walk DOWN. But then you have to walk back up, a bit steep. My legs are going to look fabulous by the end of this trip! So along the road to Stanley market I took lots of pictures, which I will upload as well! Some of the steps down to where the ocean is are so so so steep it's just insane. I can't believe it! So anyways, the market was way way fun, its madness and so overwhelming at times but it's a really nice market. Not too full and most people speak some English. Wow, i'm getting overwhelmed at the amount of things I have to write about still, there is oh so much!

Anyways, so Kerry had to leave about 4pm from Stanley to go into Central. So I stayed at Stanley Market and met up with Luke and Sammy. It was their last day in HK and they had a flight at 9pm to Australia. So I showed them around the market (I'm an old pro now!) and then we went to the waterfront (which is absolutely gorgeous, pictures!) and then went to a bar. It was just like a british pub. So we sat and had a beer and caught up a bit more. I hadn't seen Luke in ages, so it was really fun to catch up. I think the last time I saw him in the UK was 2 years ago perhaps? So when they got back on the bus to Central and then to Kowloon to the airport, I walked back to my house. (It's my home for the next month, so it's going to be called my house.) I ended up staying in for the rest of the night, I was really tired and quite jetlagged still. I sat in the study and started watching Dexter. Dexter is this Showtime show that is oh so addicting! (mom you won't like it) It's about this guy who works for the Police in Miami as a blood analyst but in his spare time at night he kills bad people who slip through the system or cheat the system. So good, Kerry has Seasons 1 & 2 so I am set!

Kerry and I had dinner that night alone because Paul (my uncle) was away on business. I am loving all this different foods here! Phoebe cooked us sea bass, which was absolutely lovely, and i've been drinking some lovely wines.

Kerry and I have been watching Season 3 of Gossip Girl some nights. She is quite addicted and I am holding her in suspense since I have seen most of the episodes she has. She bought them in Bali, but she's missing the most recent ones since they have only recently aired in the US.

Tuesday - May 4

Woke up to ridiculous drilling and jack hammering outside my window. Seriously?!

They are redoing the outside of the building, like the WHOLE outside. So the whole building's outside and the lobby are like a building site and it's all scaffolded with white netting and bamboo. The workers walk on the bamboo (quite high up) without any protective harness or anything, I wouldn't dare do it! So the jack hammer is pretty loud. I met one of Kerry's friends who is a realtor who came to look at their apartment. Then I decided I would go down to Stanley Market to escape all the noise and madness. Wendy, this computer specialist was there to transfer Paul's desktop to a Mac! (Ha!, converts!) So it was just quite busy in the house. So I walked down to the market and had a great time. I browsed around all the little shops and stores. Had so so much fun just looking around and seeing all the different things you can get, even many American things, like YooHoo and Doritos. Hm, so I got a few things, an I <3>

Kerry and I had dinner at home again, and had some delicious salmon and Phoebe's glorious salsa with avocado in it! Finished Ep. 16 of Gossip Girl. That's all Kerry has, she is desperate for the last episodes!!

Wednesday -May 5

haha the start to my endless and crazy 48 hours.

Ok, so Wednesday morning Kerry and I drove to the Jade Market. OMG, so much fun. There are pictures showing the endlessness of jade here. It was a fabulous time and you can haggle down the prices. So it was lovely to have Kerry with me because she knew some of the sellers there and got me local prices! We were a bit dressed up Wednesday because after the Jade Market we went to lunch in Central at IFC (the financial and main part of town) We went to this italian place called Isola. We had a lovely view into the harbor. We met up with one of Kerry's friends Caroline and her daughter Victoria and her friend Katie. They are my age, so it was lovely to meet them and make some friends while I am here. We had a lovely buffet lunch. The buffets here are absolutely nothing like they are in America. The typical buffet lunch here is some kind of cous cous/ chick pea with vegetable, some lettuce or greenery, cooked vegetables, sliced cold meets, shrimp or tuna in salad or rice, fruit, and various toppings like olives, balsamic vinegar, oil, sun dried tomatoes and much more. It was very delicious, and I was very full afterward!

After lunch and a lovely time with everyone Kerry and I started the shopping! We went to H&M, which is even cheaper here than it is in the states! I got a fabulous sweater dress for HK$50 which is like US$6. We also went to this shop called CottonOn which is an Australian shop. It's fabulous. I was like a kid in a candy store, and will definitely be revisiting there to purchase this great pair of blue lace up heels! They sound crazy but they are really really nice and very classy. Don't' judge before you've seen them!

Kerry was on a quest for a "lunch dress" so we also ended up in Esprit and M&S. Yes mom, they have M&S in HK! But it's much more expensive. Oh sorry, that's Marks & Spencer for you Yanks who haven't experienced M&S, it's this huge huge department store, but a lot nicer than any in the states. Anyways, after that we went into the IFC mall and went to ZARA, which is a lovely store as well. So I had a great time really just looking around at everything and taking it all in. My feet were starting to smart a bit, since I had been in heels since lunch, I left my gladiator sandals in the car! After our shopping extravaganza we stopped at the Country Club for a bite to eat. I had Tikka Masala, and it was a delicious Indian! Quite spicy though for a Tikka!

After dinner we headed home so I could take a quick shower and change. One of Kerry's friends son's had agreed to take me out on the town since I don't know many people here. Jamie (my cousin) wanted to fly back from the UK for a week so he could take me out but Kerry said no, lol. So anyways, I changed and then we went over to James' home (just down the road) and I met their family and we sat down and had a glass of wine. After a bit, James and I left and got the bus into Wan Chai. There are two areas of town where you go out in HK. Wan Chai and Lan Kwai Fong. Wan Chai is usually where the 18-20/21 yr olds go because it's cheaper. Lan Kwai Fong or Lan Kwai is a bit of a nicer, but more expensive area. So anyways…we got the bus to Wan Chai. Oh, so on the bus, to pay, you can use an Octopus card. They're fabulous. You load them with however much money you want, and then you just scan it and it automatically takes it off your Octopus card. It will scan while still in your wallet/purse, so you never have to get it out. It's nice too bc you can use it at a lot of smaller cafe type places and for parking or the bus. Sorry, that's a bit of a side note. Ok, so we arrived in Wan Chai and walked through the sketchier part (ie prostitutes and clubs I will not be attending) Don't worry, mom! Wednesday night is LADIES NIGHT! So I had quite a cheap night haha. Wan Chai is just a bunch of bars so you go from bar to bar and drink whatever is free there. James (my tour guide for the night lol) introduced me to lots of people and I even met a few boys who are very good friends with my cousin, Jamie. They were in shock that I was his cousin and that Jamie wasn't here! So all in all, it was a good night and the boys and I had a lot of fun!