After two more days exploring Hong Kong, I'm back on Victoria Peak again to check out the city lights at night. The view is spectacular this time. Hong Kong reminds me of a cross between San Francisco and New York. It's got the ocean, the mountains and the fog of San Francisco, the urban bustle of New York and the expense of both. It also has some spectacular (as well as some spectacularly ugly) architecture. It's not my favorite city in the world, but it certainly is an exciting and interesting place.

After heading back down the peak yesterday, I found another little noodle shop for lunch before heading back to the hostel to rest. Most of the restaurants here (at least the ones I've been eating at) are renao -- "hot and noisy." Most have been mediocre, but the spot where I had lunch today, in a very picturesque section west of downtown, was delicious. Aside from a foray out to dinner, the rest of yesterday was spent resting at the hostel and hanging out with some of the other travelers there. There's an Israeli, and Norwegian and a Brasilian that I've been talking to. They're all experienced travelers, having been on the road for several months at least, and they all regard Hong Kong as an outrageously expensive stopover en route to somewhere else.

After a good night's rest, today's explorations began with a ride all the way across town on the double decker trolley, which takes you from one end of the city to the other for HK$2 -- probably the best and cheapest way to get a good feel for the north side of Hong Kong island. Far beyond downtown, the trolley dropped me off at an open-air produce, meat and fish market. Armed with the numbers of two buses and an (incorrect) assurance from Lonely Planet that Pok Fu Lam Country park was a short walk from one of the buses, I headed around to the south side of the island, which provided some beautiful views of the surrounding islands and the scenic, comparatively undeveloped southern coast. A very long hike along a section of the Hong Kong Trail (a paved trail that wanders for 100km from one end of the island to the other) from the south side of the island brought me back to Peak.

The Israeli guy in my hostel pointed out a curious thing about Hong Kong currency: it's not all issued by the government. Each denomination of bill comes in several varieties, issued either by the government or one of several banks. They all work (except in the subway ticket machines, which only except government bills), but only the government bills claim to be legal tender.

Tomorrow I'll head off to Lantau Island to check out the biggest outdoor, seated, bronze Buddha in the world (a somewhat obscure world record) and kick off my boots on a beach. Mmmm.....beach.