A day of culture

Lantau island was exhausting, especially because we were gone all day yesterday and didn't get back home until very late. I woke up today feeling extremely lazy, and a few attempts at being active this morning convinced me that I'd be dragging for most of the day. Saeeda discovered that museum entry to the main Hong Kong museums was free on Wednesdays, so it was settled. Today would be a day of culture and education.

The first museum we decided to explore was the Hong Kong Art museum, which is situated on the southernmost tip of Kowloon peninsula and has stunning views of Hong Kong harbor. I'm not an artsy kind of guy, and we'd seen plenty of museums displaying Chinese art in Beijing and Shanghai, so I have to admit that my reason for visiting the museum was motivated by the free admission. There's got to be a business school lesson in there somewhere - is it possible to stimulate demand for a good that people wouldn't normally purchase, simply because it is free now?

But the visit was pleasant, made more so by the string orchestra that greeted us on our entry. Not only was it free admission today, but the Hong Kong symphony orchestra was performing pieces from Mozart and Tchaikovsky in the Art Museum's lobby. I've had plenty of disorienting moments on this Asia trek, and this one ranked up there at the top. Saeeda and I were in Hong Kong, at a Chinese art museum, listening to Mozart while in the background we had stunning views of one of the world's busiest harbor's. Sampans, junks, trawlers, tugs, and tankers moved gracefully in the background, almost as if they were timing themselves to the music, while far in the distance towers belonging to Samsung, Sony, HSBC and Citigroup gleamed in the sun. Only in Hong Kong.

The museum didn't take long to see, so Saeeda and I decided to maintain our day of culture and headed across the street to one of the most famous hotels in Hong Kong - the Peninsula. Claiming a long history of hosting the cream of the aristocratic elites of the area, the Peninsula is a glitzy place from the very beginning. Even before you enter the hotel, you have to navigate the fleet of Rolls Royce's parked outside. Incidentally, this is the largest privately owned fleet of RR's in the world, so much so that the Peninsula gets to customize each of its cars to its own specifications. The drivers attend special training, and the guests at this hotel get exclusive use of these beauties for transport to anywhere in Hong Kong - a city that is so extensively by ridiculously efficient mass transportation that owning a car is a folly. But when you have money, you have to spend it somehow, right?

Our stay at the Peninsula was confined to afternoon tea, which as it turned out, was overrated. Not that we're experts, or that we do this all the time, but we've had better tea in the US. I imagine one comes to the Peninsula for the name, and less for the quality of the meal.

I couldn't resist grabbing a picture with one of the cars outside upon leaving.