Our plane from Beijing got in around midnight and we took the train back to Central and then got a cab to the flat. The door was open so we came in quietly and I called mom because I hadn't been able to call her from Mainland China at all. Everything was fine in Florida and with the children so Peter and I went to bed to get some much needed sleep. We woke up around 8 or so and tried to figure out what to do for the day. I played with the babies some and fed Divya and put her down for a nap while Peter checked the weather and bus and train routes
for the places we still wanted to visit. Ultimately he decided we should revisit some of the shopping sights we already saw to pick up a couple of things we hadn't purchased yet. We ate just a piece of toast each (we weren't hungry) and then headed out the door. We got the HSBC shuttle down to Central and then grabbed come coffee at Starbucks. You aren't aloud to eat or drink on any of the public transportation systems so we walked to our train slowly and talked. I finished right as we got to our train and it had it's doors open so we jumped in and rode to Tung Chung. The day was rather rainy but we had our umbrellas so we didn't mind too much. The cable system was closed due to the weather but we had planned on taking a bus anyhow because it is cheaper and I think about the same amount of time. We arrived just as the bus was pulled up which was nice since the rain started coming down even harder. The ride was fine and went
along many winding roads and narrow streets and we got to see some of the local communities along the way. Various small buildings and houses and just cool sights we missed by taking the cable car last time. We arrived in Gnong Ping right at the stores we wanted to see so we checked out the clothing on first but decided the price was much more expensive than we wanted to spend and then went on to the Chopstick store that Peter wanted to see again. He had been looking for nice chopsticks but so far the only ones we had seen elsewhere were cheaply made and not very durable. This store had a variety of medal, bone, and different types of woods with many designs and holders. He looked for a long time and after some discussion decided for some alloy sticks with silver design. They were fairly inexpensive for what they were especially compared to others we had seen. Peter was happy with the purchase and since it was all rainy out we figured the view for Big Buddha wouldn't be any better than before but when we turned around it was very clear. We decided to walk around and get some pictures since we didn't get a single good
one last time. We didn't walk all the way up the stairs again but only to the front and then a little farther out. It was raining still and also thundering and being that we were already on a tall mountain we thought it best not to climb up higher. We got the bus back to Tung Chung and grabbed some lunch. We weren't really all that hungry but we knew we had to eat so we opted for Pizza Hut which turned out to be a huge mistake. They had really weird food, lots of seafood and various fried things and four different menus to go through. They wouldn't substitute anything out in the meals they had together and when things came with a drink and we didn't want it they didn't understand. Finally the food came and really, it was pretty bad. There was hardly any flavor in most of it when I asked for Ranch Dressing for the chicken wings she said all they had was tomato sauce. Oh well, we ate enough to be full
then took off. On the way in we were asked to put our umbrellas in a bin (really it was just a trash can) because they were all wet. On the way out we grabbed our umbrellas but when we walked back to the train station I realized that my umbrella (actually Vandita's) was not the same one I had brought in. We went back to Pizza Hut and went through the bin but determined that someone else must have taken my umbrella thinking it was theirs so when we left I grabbed the other one because it was the only one left. No big deal, we found it rather humorous and now Vandita will have a newer umbrella because the one we borrowed from her was about to fall apart. At that point we took the train back to Hong Kong so we could catch a bus to Stanley Market. The market closes at 6 nightly and it was about 4:45. Last time we took bus 6 but when we asked the driver how long it would take to get to Stanley he said 45 minutes then he pointed to the bus next to him (260) and said "express" so we jumped on that one just as the driver was shutting the doors.
This bus was much quicker than last time and it took about 20-25 minutes so we were at the market with plenty of time. We wandered only a short while before we found the shop I wanted and then bought a dress and shirt I had looked at before. We walked around after that but not really for anything. We stopped in a few shops just as things were closing then went to the flower stand to get a bouquet of roses for Vandita. We caught the bus back to Central and it took a little longer getting back because of traffic but no big deal. We walked to the next bus station just in time to catch bus 1 and headed back to the Peak. At the flat we started some laundry and then had some dinner while enjoying a good conversation with Vandita and Anupam.
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