Big thanks to those that contributed knowledge and time to helping make this a successful trip. You know who you are!

Hong Kong is a very different place than Taipei. Not having been to either, I naively expected a few more similarities. They’re both just big cities in east Asia, right? HK is dense, dense, dense, and built vertically and in general is far more commercial and fast-paced. While I’m more naturally inclined towards somewhere like Taipei, HK has a lot of very nice things that I greatly enjoy, especially the food. Dim Sum, Chinese bakeries, all cheap compared to Seattle prices. Yumm… We spent ~10 nights in Taiwan and four in Hong Kong. The first couple days were used doing relatively standard tourist things (going to tall buildings, Victoria Peak, Star Ferry) which left a bit of time for tea shopping. (more…)