St. John’s cathedral – After the Japanese attacked Hong Kong in 1941, they stripped this oldest historical building, including the stained-glass windows, and turned it into a Japanese club house.

This church is situated on the only freehold land in Hong Kong, meaning the owner of the property owns the premises completely, has no further payments to make, and has the right to use it for any purpose.

During this tour with Danny, I met Dominika and we became friends right away. Danny recommended a restaurant, and a museum, and we decided to try them out after the tour. The history Museum was just okay. It was too dark in there, probably because the lights would have damaged the artifacts, and the paintings.

On to the restaurant… Just in case you didn’t know, Dim Sum belongs to Hong Kong. So it’s a must try when you’re there. Pretty much, it’s good at most places. Dominika had never had it before, I wanted her to try it, and I also wanted to show it to my Cantonese friend in the U.S who started me on my Dim Sum journey. At the above restaurant, we basically used sign language to communicate because everyone was Cantonese.

Queen's Street Rest Garden in Sheung Wan. Danny talked about the history of Hong Kong, how Hong Kong came about, the British takeover, and later, the handover to China. There was a statue of Shennong, the father of Chinese medicine, and plants, used to make naturopathic medicine.

From there, we moved on to central midlevel escalator, world’s longest outdoor covered network of escalators, about 2624 foot long (800 meters). It starts in the central district and takes you uphill through residential neighborhoods, cafes, restaurants, liquor market, antique stores, art galleries, and other businesses. You also have the option of taking the stairs, specially if you want to stop by some of the shops and cafés.

Danny stopped by a popular Beer shop where Dominika and others got drinks. It was too early in the day for me to drink alcohol, so I opted for a latte. After Dominika finished her drink, we landed at a café. Danny gave us a 20-minute break after I complained to him that I needed my morning caffeine.

We looked through some of the art galleries. They had beautiful pieces.

Talk about crime, justice, and punishment where, there was no justice, but plenty of punishment to go around. In 2006, the police station, the Magistracy (courthouse) and the Victoria Gaol (prison) were converted to a public space – The police dormitory was changed into creative spaces, and the Magistracy was transformed into a group of restaurants. The police station buildings were remade into museums and used for art exhibits, and the prison courtyard is now a plaza with shops and cafés.

This dance was a complete surprise to everyone. No one knew that this couple was going to take the stage. But I was so glad that they did because my brain needed a break from information overload about history and culture.