After leaving New Zealand for the last time in who knows how long we settled in to a pretty full Air New Zealand Flight to Hong Kong. Flight was nice and uneventful. The guy who had the windowseat needed to use the toilet at the start of the flight and never needed to go again. That is the sort of person I like. We managed to get a fair amount of sleep and arrived relatively refreshed in Hong Kong.
After arriving at our hotel we were luckily able to check into our room and drop off all our luggage pretty good considering it was about 7am. Tempting as it was to go to sleep straight away we decided to go for a wander around Kowloon to see what the neighbourhood was like first thing in the morning. So we went for a mosey down to the waterfront via the first mall we came across. Turns out everywhere you can go in Hong Kong they put a mall there but luckily Jess didn't feel the urge to go shopping.
It was nice and calm with not too many people around the waterfront so we went along the 'Avenue of the Stars". Kinda like the Hollywood walk of fame, but we handn't really heard of most of them.
We then headed around to Kowloon park, which was near our hotel again. It was full of people finding their inner peace through tai chi. We were tempted to join in, but didn't want to make idiots of ourselves. However, the calming effect of the tai chi seemed to kick in and we decided we just needed to take a nap so head back to the hotel.
A couple of hours later we were feeling refreshed and ready to tackle a midday Hong Kong. It was certainly warmer outside and busier. The hustle and bustle had arrived. Again we decided to walk around the shops in Kowloon. A couple of hours sure makes a difference. There were people everywhere and you couldn't go five metres without being touted to buy a new suit, a watch, electronics. Those people sure work hard to get your business. Despite that we didn't succum to their marketing prowess and managed to avoid buying everything under the sun. However, one thing we did want was a camera. It was certainly difficult to just look. They all wanted a sale and of course there were no prices. After much navigating we found a shop that looked a bit less like they were going to sell us a camera with one hand while picking our pocket with the other. A bit of looking, some smoke and mirrors and some bargaining later we had a camera. It was small and easy to use. Not sure if we got a good deal but at the end of the day we had what we came for. The hunger was building by this stage so we went hunting for a Dim Sum (Yum Cha) we ended up finding one which we thought was, but in fact wasn't. Nonetheless we had some similar food and it was very tasty. Marcus even drunk the tea!
The evening was coming along so we made our way down to the waterfront again to see Hong Kong's Symphony of Lights. Basically a number of the buildings get lit up with spotlights and lasers all in time to music. Sounds a bit random, and it was, but still pretty cool. The China Bank Tower definitely performed the best.
Day 2 we decided to be a bit more planned and head onto Hong Kong island itself. So down to the waterfront again for a short trip on the Star Ferry. Those things go back and forth about every 15 minutes all day. Hong Kong Island was a real contrast to Kowloon. Where Kowloon was kinda raw and dirty and felt very Chinese, Hong Kong seemed to be much cleaner and more refined. We had a quick nosy around and then jumped on the bus off to Stanley Market, on the far side of the Island. The bus ride was a good way to see some other parts of the island, all of them covered in HUGE skyscrapers. Stanley Market was very touristy. Your standard fare of handbags, watches, clothes etc. It was good fun though and we came away with some "authentic" new watches. We also got to take things more slowly by heading to the Tin Hau Temple and having a look around. I don't think it was Buddhist, but I'm not sure what it was.
It was then back on the bus and off to Hong Kong's number one tourist attraction, Victoria Peak, which was supposed to have beautiful 360 degree views of Hong Kong. So we made our way to the ticket counter with the hoardes of other people looking to do the same and went past the numerous displays advertising other tourist attractions until we got to the Peak Tram, which seemed to be a larger version of Wellington's Cable Car. Unfortunatly once we reached the top and made our way through yet another mall to get outside (there was another mall outside the first mall) the fog blocked our view so we saw very little. Kinda eerie just seeing the tops of buildings. Although named the Peak Tram you had to travel a bit higher to get to the true peak. It was a fair hike up the hill but there was a nice park at the top and not many people around which is a novelty in Hong Kong. Alas the fog never broke so we didn't get to see much of the view.
Back down the tram and a quick walk through Hong Kong to the ferry and
we were back to Kowloon; "Tailored suit...cheap watches...handbags...". Was getting dark and we were getting hungry so decided to head up to the Night Market to try out some of the street food. We were only there a few minutes when someone had us seated in their "restaurant" before we knew what was going on. The San Miguel girl had us ordering a beer each (Big Beer. $5. Very happy) and then we ordered some food. Although there were some exotic dishes on the menu we wimped out and ordered chicken and beef. We were feeling very satisfied by the end of it all. A look around the market and Jess also came away with a Jimmy Choo handbag.
Our last day in Hong Kong and we decided to head out to Lantau Island, which was supposed to be a bit less packed than Hong Kong and Kowloon. So our first excursion on the metro was uneventful and we arrived at the Bottom of the Gondola station. It was tempting to veer off course and try Hong Kong Disneyland but we managed to refrain ourselves....
The Gondola ride was
supposed to again have magnificent views. Alas, the fog had come in even heavier than the day before. So once we were halfway up the hill you couldn't see 2 metres outside of the gondola. It certainly wasn't any better at the top either. At the top was Ngong Ping village, which appeared to have been built entirely around tourists, and the Po Lin Buddhist Monastery. The fog gave everything a mystical feeling. We had one target and that was the world's largest seated outdoor Buddha Tian Tan. But we were foiled by the fog again. After climbing many steps to the top we were metres away and still couldn't see anything other than an outline. Nonetheless it was still very cool and clearly had a big effect on all the buddhist people who were visiting.
We then head down to the Po Lin Buddhist Monastery. Again very impressive and they were looking to build it even bigger. The highlight would definitely have to have been the lunch however. Huge dining room which we shared with other people where they bring everyone the same meal. A number of very tasty vegetarian chinese food dishes. It seemed like whether you had a table of two, like us, or a table of six you still got the same amount of food, so we had no chance of finishing it all, despite Marcus' most valiant efforts.
After a short walk around a bit more we decided it was time to head home again. According to my Lonely Planet Guide you could get the bus and then the ferry back to Hong Kong. We assumed it wasn't far but we were on the bus for at least half an hour or more so got to have a good look around other parts of Lantau Island too. We also managed to score a window seat on the ferry to could have a look around on the trip back to Hong Kong. The fog was clearing by this stage and Hong Kong Island from the water is very impressive.
As our last evening kicked in we went looking for dinner. We found what we thought was a nice looking Noodle restaurant. Turns out it was a Japanese version of McDonalds, but the food was still much better. It was then off to pack our bags and sleep for an early start the next day. An easy trip to the airport the next morning and our time in Hong Kong was at an end.
http://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/HongKong#
hey had and what people were up to in between hail storms. Lucky we had remembered to bring our jackets. We left Chris and Rachel to some peace and quiet and head home before heading out again, this time to Hammersmith. There we met up with Amy and Ian, Katie, Tree and Jen. Jess got to see whether she wanted to develop a cider habit before heading off for a dinner at an Indian vegetarian restaurant. Marcus was worried but pleasantly surprised. The food and company was great and we had a really fun night. David Bowie even joined us late in the piece....
