With our trip to Hong Kong half over, we still had tons of stuff we wanted to see and do. One day while out shopping for some gifts, we stumbled across this interesting store which sold items of all kinds. The only weird thing was that all the items were made of paper, even things like iPods, chocolate, and shoes. Thinking this was very strange, I began picking out some interesting and hilarious looking paper items to buy as gifts. I tried to ask the store owner why everything was made of paper, but communicating was bit tricky. So, I went along picking out random things. As I went to pay for everything, I realized that everything was made for burning (sacrificing) when someone dies and is cremated. The store owner thought I had a friend recently die, and kept asking me if I am bringing these items back to my dead friend in the US. I decided to not inform her that I was just buying these as gifts, and had no idea originally why a store would have fake items made of paper.

On this particular day, I adventured out to the island of Lantau in search of a little fishing village a local had recommended to me. A MTR (subway) and minibus ride later and I was in the town of Tai-O.

All the houses are built on stilts, and people leave from their door in their fishing boats each morning.

The tight alleyways between the stilt houses are reminiscent of Venice, and are packed with fish markets.

I hung out until the sun set, grabbed some snacks, and began heading back towards Kowloon.

The next day Alex and I decided to check out the back (South) side of Hong Kong Island. Although it's only about 5 miles from downtown, it takes over an hour to get there by bus and couldn't look a whole lot more different than the nearby city.

Lush mountains, beautiful coastline and beaches, what more could you ask for?

A Hong Kong prison, lucky bastards get the best view in town. Although the water and food would probably kill you in a week...

We made our way through a number of little coastal towns and beach resorts.

I had to throw in at least one hilarious Asian sign. I can't help myself.

With our time in Hong Kong coming to an end, we checked out of the hotel and caught a train back to Guangzhou. After a day of people watching and absorbing our last taste of China, we headed back to the states. Home sweet home.

Thanks for reading!