Journey in Hong Kong

So here my adventure begins. I sat in the plane, starring into blankness, thinking “what have I let myself in for? 5 weeks away from home and work is far too long! Will the house be OK? Will we still have jobs when we return?” Getting myself all worked up, the plane landed in Hong Kong International Airport and I forgot all about my worries. The adventure is on!

Hongkong is quite huge. Before I realized how much walking I had to do in Hongkong, I already had blistered feet. Even though Hong Kong was situated next to China, it was made a British Colony as part of the treaty that ended the Opium Wars in 1989. The British were given a 99 year lease and built a flourishing colony in the heart of 1898. In 1997, the lease expired and Hong Kong reverted to China. I am uncertain how it is governed, but from what I understand from our tour guide, Hong Kong is still very much a separate country from China. Everything is more western because of the British heritage. The trains even say “Mind the Gap” just like in London.

Looking at the map, Hong Kong consists of three parts. First is the tip of a long peninsula – The New Territories (you have to love the poetic British names) and the tip of the peninsula is called Kowloon. Across from Kowloon is the heart of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Island. The main city of Hong Kong Island is called Central but there are several other cities on the island. The third part consists of multiple islands in the harbour, the biggest of course is the Lantau Island.

7-8 hours flight to Hong Kong, as most of you know I am a pain when it comes to sleeping so when I arrived I was dead tired. We took the subway from the airport to Tsim Sha Tsui centre and took a cab to the hotel. Our hotel was situated in Tsim Sha Tsui. I loved the hustle and the bustle in Tsim Sha Tsui. The people were dressed fashionably and there were many shops and restaurants. The hotel was cosy and convenient. For about $200 AUD a night, I thought we got ourselves a bargain.

The weather in Hong Kong was hot and humid. Just being outside caused us to sweat and we really appreciated any opportunity for air conditioning. 

We freshened up in the hotel and headed out into the main city on Tsim Sha Tsui. We were looking for a traditional Hong Kong restaurant for something to eat. We ended up in a Chicken Rice restaurant in Nathan Road.  I tried speaking in Cantonese so when the waiter understood me, I was over the moon!

After dinner, we walked around for a little while and the heat was killing us so we decided to buy some snacks and a bottle of mineral water and head back to the hotel.

The next day, we tried to see everything that Hongkong could offer but with time limitation, there is only so much we could accomplish. We decided to do a half day tour. First stop was a Buddhist Temple, wreaked of incense.  

They were doing some minor renovation in the temple and the scaffolding being used is bamboo shoots. All over Hong Kong apart from skyscrapers they use Bamboo, look highly dangerous, always took a few glances when walking underneath. 

  

Next stop was Victoria Peak. It was blah as the fog gave the skyline a kind of a hazy view. We took the tram up to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island. The ride was steep but short. The ride took less than five minutes, but the temperature difference was striking. The views from the tip were nice and it was interesting to be so high up the mountain and to look out level towards skyscrapers. The tour guide’s photographer then took a picture of us and sort of the city.

Whilst being up on Victoria Peak, with the strong wind blowing – I like Hong Kong, I’d thought.

Next we headed on a little boat trip around Aberdeen Fishing Village that had skyscrapers sprout up around it like mushrooms. There was a floating restaurant which looked interesting.

Next on the tour was some jewellery factory. We headed through to the shop and everything was sparkling and beautiful. I couldn’t help myself.

We then headed to Stanley Markey, where we had about an hour to shop. Here, your bargaining skills really show. Basically you have to bargain your way through every purchase. We bought a few things and nearly missed the tour bus home.

After the tour, we got ourselves back to the hotel as it started to pour. We freshened up and decided to get early dinner. We went scouting the entire city for a dim sum restaurant and finally found one. We ordered a few dumplings but there were not as tasty as we have expected. John then realised that I got the flights schedule wrong! We were leaving at 12.30am that night and not 12.30 the next afternoon. I panicked and got really worried as we finished our dinner and walked back to the hotel.

We started packing and freshening up. It was about 6pm then when John realised the toys he purchased (for his step brother) from Stanley Market was broken. We then rushed out to the Harbour Central trying to locate Toys R Us to find something else for him. Harbour Central is a huge shopping complex and filled with designer boutiques. You can find any luxury brand in here.

 

We finished packing and met up with my former uni mate – Kam Fatt. As always, Kam Fatt is busy with life and his hectic career. Nevertheless it was great catching up with an old friend.

We then checked out the hotel and caught a cab to the airport.

I guess Hong Kong is OK. Its mainly shopping, eating and drinking. Lots of skyscrapers and buildings everywhere.

View more pictures on:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=268110&id=600648202&l=062291678f or http://www.flickr.com/photos/evaknutsson/sets/72157624998355295/