Our first stop on Lantau Island is the Big Buddah on Ngong Ping. Unfortunately, when we visited Lantau Island, the Ngong Ping Cable Car was out of service, so we took a leisurely bus ride up the mountain to see the Giant Buddah.

The Giant Buddha sits serenely atop Ngong Ping plateau amid the spectacular mountain scenery of Lantau Island. The eyes, lips, incline of the head and even the right hand (raised to deliver a blessing to all), combine to lend great depth of character and dignity to this extraordinary statue. The majestic figure of the seated Buddha was cast in China and took 12 years to complete. It was unveiled in December 1993. Visitors can climb more than 200 steps to reach the platform where the Buddha is seated.

Besides attracting Buddhists from all over Asia, the magnificent figure with its compelling presence almost instantly transformed the remote Po Lin Monastery with its devout monks into a must-visit on tourist schedules. The Po Lin Monastery is set amid spectacular mountain scenery on the Ngong Ping plateau.

Next, we take the high-speed express train to Hong Kong’s Disneyland.

Of course no visit to Hong Kong would be complete without a trip to Hong Kong’s Disneyland. Like the southern California version, Hong Kong’s version is a magical journey through four themed lands – Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Tomorrowland. Although much smaller than the US counterpart, Disneyland on Lantau Island is just as enjoyable.

This year Hong Kong Disneyland is celebrating it’s fifth year open. To mark it’s birthday, special parades of beloved Disney characters are presented regularly during each day.

In Tomorrowland, we drive tiny Chevron gas powered cars around a race course.

In the “It’s a Small Small World” attraction, we ride a boat across a colorful miniature world with more than a hundred brightly costumed and animated dolls.

Later we learn the secrets of how to draw and animate Disney characters in the Animation Academy.

At night, we watch the incredible multimedia fireworks show called “Disney in the Stars”.

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We visited the first day of this year’s 21st Annual United Northwest Model Railroad Show, benefiting the Snohomish County 4-H Foundation, at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, WA. The show this year, as with previous years, is housed in a 50,000 square foot building at the fairgrounds and is supported by Amtrak.

This year there’s several model railroading manufacturers present as well as nearly 100 vendors. There’s over 20 different layouts from all over the region and from many different railroading clubs on display.

Each of the two days of the show, several clinics are presented that can help model railroaders learn new techniques for improving operations, realistic scenery and detailing, and railroading history. We caught the clinic on “Weathering with Chalks” presented by Walt Huston, and a later clinic presented by Paul Scoles, a famous modeler and author of many instructional DVDs on scenery techniques.

We saw many layouts, but the highlight was the host’s layout. Started as a high school project back in 1975, the United Northwest was originally a group of N scale modelers who later crafted a layout for display at the Pacific Science center in 1978. The layout and the club have evolved over the years since that first show into today’s much larger charitable organization. The N scale layout on display today is a work in progress for nearly 25 years. N-Trak takes up about 14 x 36 feet and is built in modules that are easy to take apart and transport. The layout doesn’t follow any particular era. It represents some of the highlights of Pacific Northwest railroading.

One of my favorite exhibitors each year is Baby Gramps who is a master of model detailing as well as a longtime Seattle folk singer. He has been exhibiting his unique modeling for over 30 years at various train shows across the northwest. He began building model trains with his twin boys when they were young, and he said he enjoys depicting the past.  Gramps says his 8-foot-long display depicts the history of trains and the imaginative yet practical nature of past railroad engineers. You can visit his website to learn more about this multi-talented artist.

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Opened in 1977, Ocean Park is one of Hong Kong’s favorite attractions, featuring rides, exhibits and conservation facilities. It’s Hong Kong’s version of Seaworld. Ocean Park is located on the southern side of Hong Kong Island, covering more than 870,000 square meters of land. The park is separated into two main attraction areas – the waterfront plaza which consists of animal exhibits, the aqua city lagoon and grand aquarium, panda exhibits and a bird theatre. The summit is the second area and it features the ocean theater, an amazing jellyfish exhibit, and a huge amusement park complete with a ferris wheel and lots of roller coasters.

We start our visit at the Aqua City Lagoon. During the day, the lagoon features dancing fountains and refreshing water sprays in the hot summer sun. At night, this display is transformed into a stage for the world’s first 360 degree water screen show, called Symbio, which features two 9 meter tall dragons.

The grand aquarium in Ocean Park features over 5000 fish from over 400 species and many other aquatic wonders. At the touch pool, children get hands-on experience with sea cucumbers and sea stars as they develop an appreciation for sea life. In the bubble tunnel, we can see the fish swim by the world’s largest aquarium dome, which stands at an astounding 5.5m in diameter.

At the ‘Amazing Asian Animals’ exhibit you can visit some of Asia’s rarest animals from all over the continent.

We enjoy an interactive journey of discovery at the ‘Giant Panda Adventure’ where we get to know some of the Asia’s most precious native animals like giant pandas, red pandas, Chinese giant salamanders and Chinese alligators.

There’s a spectacular display of goldfish at the ‘Goldfish Treasures’ exhibit.

At the bird theater, we take in a show called “Emperors of The Sky” which showcases the Macaw, Eagle Owl, Steppes Eagle and Crane in a high-flying aerial show about conserving these endangered species.

There are two ways to get up to the summit at Ocean Park, one is the Ocean Express high speed train, and the other is the cable car, which we’ll take now. On the cable car, you get an aerial view of the entire park.

Our first visit on the summit at Ocean Park is the fascinating display of jellyfish, called Sea Jelly Spectacular, which features more than 1,000 jellyfish of all sizes from all over the world.

Next, Ocean Park’s talented marine mammals and trainers present a heart-warming and delightful performance about the dream of how human and animals could live together with love and respect.

We leave the summit and travel in the high-speed Ocean Express train back down to the waterfront plaza.

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The Golden Bauhinia Square, outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the waterfront marks the most significant occasion in Hong Kong’s history – the return of the former British colony to the People’s Republic of China, and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The Golden Bauhinia sculpture is a gift from the Central Government to mark the widespread joy of the people at the return of the territory to China after more than 150 years. Near the Golden Bauhinia stands the Reunification Monument bearing the inscriptions of President Jiang Zemin’s calligraphy.

The handover took place in 1997 in the convention centre with President Jiang Zemin and other dignitaries representing China, and Prince Charles present to witness the relinquishment of what had often been described as “the richest jewel in the British Crown”.

Jutting into Victoria Harbor on the Wan Chai waterfront is one of Hong Kong’s most impressive and stunning pieces of architecture. The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with its sweeping sails roof and vast glass windows, is a striking visual testament to Hong Kong’s ongoing development.

To mark the occasion, there’s a daily flag raising ceremony that takes place in front of the Golden Bauhinia statue. Uniformed Hong Kong police officers conduct the flag raising to the national anthem.

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There’s a reason why The Peak is one of the most popular attractions in Hong Kong: the views of the city skyline, Victoria Harbor and Kowloon are spectacular. Looking down from The Peak you’ll be amazed by the spectacular view of the surrounding city skyline.

Located at the tram lower terminus and opened in September, 2007, The Peak Tram Historical Gallery is like a time tunnel with more than 200 memorabilia exhibited. Divided into 15 theme sections, it takes you back to the Hong Kong of the 19th and 20th century. Many years were spent in collecting memorabilia from all over the world and planning The Peak Tram Historical Gallery. Some of the display items are more than a hundred years old. A replica of the first generation Peak Tram carriage is on display and the 1926 Haulage Room is recreated to show how it pulled the Trams up and down the Peak for over 60 years.

Getting to the top of the peak is an unforgettable trip. There’s nothing in the world like the Peak Tram. Pulled by steel cables, the tram climbs 373 metres. It’s so steep that the buildings you pass look like they’re leaning.

At the top, this fabulous vista has been further enhanced by the 2006 revitalisation of one of Hong Kong’s most striking landmarks, The Peak Tower. Perching on The Peak at 396 metres above sea level, The Peak Tower is one of the most stylish architectural icons in Hong Kong. With an avant-garde design representing the epitome of modern architecture, the spectacular tower has been featured in millions of photographs and postcards across the world. Inside The Peak Tower, there is a myriad of restaurants, shops and entertainment venues.

The Peak Tower boasts the highest 360° viewing platform – The Sky Terrace. Standing at 428 metres above sea level, the Sky Terrace offers spectacular panoramic views of the city. The terrace also has a new sky gallery that displays 17 historical photos of old Hong Kong. The photos let you step back in time to the old Hong Kong and see how it has changed over the years.

With over 100 incredibly lifelike wax figures, Madame Tussauds of Hong Kong delivers a fun and interactive celebrity experience where anyone can become a star. In addition to the realistic wax figures of the famous, audio visual effects and interactive displays add to the experience. There are six themed areas: Hong Kong Glamour, Historical and National Heroes, World Premiere, SCREAM, The Champions and Music Icons. At Madame Tussauds, you can see Bruce Lee, pose with Barack Obama, experience the glitz and glamour on the red carpet with Nicole Kidman, meet with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, shoot hoops with Yao Ming, and dance with Lady Gaga.

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We take a subway and walking tour of downtown Hong Kong today.

Our first stop is the International Financial Center. Soaring 420 metres above the Central waterfront, this imposing landmark is currently Hong Kong’s tallest building and among the world’s highest structures. The International Finance Center was completed in 2003 as part of a complex that includes a shopping mall and hotel, as well as the Hong Kong Station of the MTR Airport Express lines. The first four floors are taken up with the ifc mall, which is home to some of the worlds most exclusive retailers: Armani, Cartier, Tiffany, and Apple, to name only a few.

Next we visit Western Market, renovated in 1991 and converted into a shopping complex, it’s an Edwardian-style building featuring shops selling arts and crafts and fabric. Completed in 1906, the impressive building has a red brick exterior with a handsome granite arch over its entrance. The market now houses shops formerly located in old alleys in the heart of Central, which sold all manner of cloth. The building is also home to traditional handicraft stalls and a number of cafes. The top floor is home to the Grand Stage where dance lovers can rendezvous and enjoy a romantic dinner.

From Western Market, we take a subway and then walk to Man Mo Temple. Man Mo Temple is a picturesque tribute to the God of Literature (Man) and the God of War (Mo). The temple is located about halfway along Cat Street and a stop here in its quiet, incense-shrouded interior makes a pleasant break from the tourist jam. You can see giant incense coils hanging overhead everywhere.

We walk along Hollywood Streets and Cat Streets. Crammed with antique shops and an open-air curio market, Hollywood Road and Upper Lascar Row, also known as ‘Cat Street’ is an ideal place for picking up eclectic souvenirs and gifts. Everything from Ming dynasty furniture and lotus lamps to Mao badges and ancient snuff bottles is on sale here.

Strolling along Hollywood Road we soon discover Hong Kong’s “SoHo”, the area “South of Hollywood Road”. It offers a wide range of upmarket international restaurants and bars along Staunton Street, Elgin Street and Shelley Street.

We jump on what the Guinness Book of World Records calls the world’s longest covered escalator and experience the cosmopolitan atmosphere of this great city from above the streets.

When the lights go down, the “in crowd” heads for Lan Kwai Fong. Lan Kwai Fong is a buzzing centre of clubs, bars and restaurants. With western-style restaurants, nightclubs, delicatessens and bars, Lan Kwai Fong is a must visit for night owls and people watchers.

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