The first time I was in Hong Kong was in 1997, just months before the British handover back to the Chinese. I was on my way to a study abroad semester in Australia and I met up with my brother, who at the same time was studying in Japan. A family friend who originally hailed from HK showed us around – we ate like royalty, with tourist sight-seeing stops seemingly the necessary evil of detours before the next extravagant feast of dim sum, high tea, or Michelin reviewed must-eats.
In 2014, I came back to run the Hong Kong marathon as part of my Road To… series of races. I revisited a few of the places I’d gone before – Lantau Island’s giant Buddha, the Peak, etc. But I also went to new-to-me spots, including Hong Kong Disneyland. That trip marked the first time I visited a non-US Disney theme park.
This year I came once more and did an amalgamation of my previous trips, a little from column A, a little from column B. And I brought my Mom.
As I tap this out on the marginally delayed flight back to the US, I feel like the 2019 trip has been decently photo-blogged on this site. And yet, I thought it might be fun to put up a “then and now” companion piece on a few of the Hong Kong memories.
To that end:
Lantau Island: 1997 vs 2014
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The Peak: 1997 vs 2014 vs 2019
Note: The majority of the 1997 trip exists in a photo album — I’ll need to find that book the next time I’m home.
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Hong Kong Disneyland: 2014 vs 2019
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Hong Kong Marathon: 2014 vs 2019
