Hong Kong & Home!!

Hong Kong & Macau (28th November-2nd December, 2007)

I was very excited to be leaving London knowing I was on the way home to Summer in Melbourne. It was also nice knowing that in 2 weeks time Rupesh would be joining me on his first trip to Australia. Most of my family had no idea I was coming home least of all mum. The morning of the day I was to leave London I was on MSN Messenger to mum. I had to pretend that my webcam and microphone were broken as I wasn't sure how much longer I could lie for especially if she could see my face and if I had to talk as well. So we just typed. I also had to try and keep it brief knowing that I had a lot of packing ahead of me!

Arriving in Hong Kong I forgot that it was only 3 hours behind Melbourne. I was talking to Jessica on MSN and had to pretend that I was still in London and just about to go to bed! Almost got caught out!

Causeway Bay
Great location on Hong Kong Island which is where I stayed in a hostel for the 4 nights. Not long after arriving at the Yes Inn Hostel I met Mike (Canadian) and May (American) who were also both travelling on their own and we spent the next few days doing a bit of sightseeing together. First thing in the morning around Causeway Bay there were loads of locals doing their stretches and other exercises and what looked like Thai Chi.

Shopping
In Kowloon on the Hong Kong mainland I found loads of bargains at the Ladies Market in Mong Kok. Lots of bartering and the old 'walk away' trick and the price drops dramatically. Harbourside in Kowloon is one of many huge shopping centres in Hong Kong. If shopping is your thing then Hong Kong is certainly the place to be. The streets were teeming with people at 11pm. And the Temple St. night market was still buzzing close to midnight.

The Peak
Hong Kong has an amazing skyline especially at night. I caught a tram up to the Peak on Hong Kong Island, watched the sun go down and then slowly all the buildings lights came on. The view was sensational.

Tsim Sha Tsui
Mike, May and I enjoyed Dim Sum at the Jade Garden restaurant in Kowloon overlooking Victoria Harbour. At 8pm nightly there is a sound and light show on the buildings which you can see from Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon across Victoria Harbour. It runs for about 15 minutes and was worth seeing. Being close to Christmas, lots of the buildings had plenty of Christmas lights up.

Macau
Macau reminded me of a mini Las Vegas with lots of big casinos and flashing lights, looking a bit out of place. Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China like Hong Kong. It is the oldest and last European colony in China. It has its own legal system, police force, currency and customs. Mike, May and I caught a one hour ferry across to Macau and had a great afternoon and evening. We walked around the town including the old section and found ourselves eating some sort of semi dried meat which sounds disgusting but it was actually very tasty . We shared a 'sheet' of spicy pork! Our walk ended near the Macau tower. We took a lift to the top and enjoyed great views over Macau and lots of little tents below. The tents below just happen to be a food festival - great timing! We sampled Macau beer and lots of local delicacies including deep fried ice-cream which was interesting. We hit a couple of the casinos - the Venetian was by far the most impressive. It has 3 major canals, gondola rides and San Marco Square inside just like Venice. The 1.30am ferry back to Hong Kong was booked out so I had to wait until 2.45am and that too was packed!

Lantau Trail
On Hong Kong Island I spent a day hiking a section of the Lantau Trail, taking me from Mui Wo to the village of Ngong Ping via Sunset Peak and Lantau Peak (934m). In Ngong Ping is the Giant Buddha which I could see for quite a long way along the trail before I reached it.

Home!!!
My sister Kathryn and Jessica met me at Melbourne airport. Jessica didn't know I was coming home and was holding up a sign with the name 'Wuise Nguyen' on it! Kathryn had told her she was picking up someone from work and she didn't know what she looked like! Wuise being the asian translation of Louise! Jessica got a surprise but not quite as big as the one mum got when she came to the front door after I rang the bell. She wanted to know what I was doing here!! And she was speechless which is a first!!!

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