Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong and again we did not know where we were going to stay that night. We had been trying to find a place that fitted our small budget, and Derek had been helping us loads to find something, but most of the places were a bit too expensive for what we were after… our only chance to fit our budget was ChungKing Mansions!!! But there are too many stories about this place… and we were a bit suspicious about it. It is a massive old building full of different guest houses, and the reputation for cleanliness and safety is just not good.

Fortunately when we got to the airport we called Derek, and he had booked a room for us at the IBIS Accor, which was not cheap, and was not too expensive, but we only had two nights there, so we needed to find a place for the last two nights.
Anyway… we had a place to stay, and it was Lorena’s birthday on our first day in Hong Kong, so we went to the hotel, relaxed for a bit, and then went out to find somewhere to eat. Derek suggested going to
Soho (all big cities seem to have a place called Soho!), so we got the MTR to Central, and then looked for the outdoor escalators that take you up the hills. Hong Kong is pretty much built up against the mountains, so you either go up and down a hill, or up and down a building… this is escalator city! And also there is a system of pedestrian bridges and passages that connects a lot of buildings, which means you don’t even have to walk on the road to get somewhere.

We got up the hill to a nice area full of bars and restaurants… mostly western food, so we thought we would give the Asian food a rest and went into an American Italian restaurant called Fat Angelo’s. We splashed out on a bottle of wine since it was Lorenas birthday… and ordered some starters and mains… but by the time we ate the massive complimentary salad and delicious warm bread with some wine, we were quite full, and when we saw the size of the bruschetta starter, we had to cancel the mozzarella and tomatoes. The food was good, but there was loads of it! And we quickly got tipsy with the wine… but then a piece of plastic appeared on Lorena’s parmiggiana, and by then she was so full that we did not really want another dish. They were really apologetic, and in the end we got her dish for free, and we got a delicious tiramisu with a candle and the waiters singing happy birthday! (I told them it was her birthday and our first day in
Hong Kong to make them feel even more guilty). So we had a great time and came out quite merry after finishing the bottle of wine.

The next day we met up with Derek in the morning and went for breakfast at Luk Yu, a traditional chinese tea house where the dim sum were great, and we sat there for about an hour drinking different teas and stuffing ourselves with dim sum... it was great. Then we went for a relaxing drive around the island with Derek, stopped at the Cyberport and at Repulse Bay (strange name for a beach) for a little walk on the beach... the weather wasn't too great, but it was not raining... by this time Hong Kong was on typhoon warning number 1 (not too bad).

We then went to another little place by the beach and had some great roast duck and pork... more food!!! we carried on around the island and ended up at the peak... where you can pretty much see the whole of hong kong island on both sides. It was actually quite cold and windy up there... the typhoon was beginning to show up.
The rest of the night was a typical friday night at any big city... we went out for some beers around Lang Kwai Fong, where there are loads of bars and restaurants... expensive beer and lots of people... definitely not within our budget, but we had already blown that with the hotel, so what the hell!

After a few beers we got quite tipsy and we met up with some friends of Derek, so the night went on quite late... and we probalby got back to the hotel at about 1am... at least the taxis in Hong Kong are not like London prices... and I think Derek payed for it anyway!

The next morning we woke up quite late and the weather was even worse... raining and very windy... the typhoon was now warning number 3 (a bit worse). We had some late breakfast/lunch (called brunch in some places) and then we met up with Derek and Jacky for a coffee... by this time it was really chucking it down with rain. We went to a nearby temple and started getting slightly wet. After that the plan was to see if we could find some place to stay for the next night... Chung King Mansions was the destination for that. So we got a taxi to the ferry, and across to Kowloon (on the ferry). We then tried to go along all the escalators and undeground passages from the ferry exit, but ended up having to walk outside, and the rain was really heavy. We were all getting very wet all over... this was probably the middle of the typhoon, but it did not go to number 8 (very bad).... but pretty bad was bad enough!

Anyway... we got to Chungking Mansions... and found a lift with a massive list of guesthouses next to it. We made the queue, and after about 10 minutes we got on and went up to the 8th floor. The place was pretty horrible! just dark little corridors, with tiny doors, and noboby to ask anything about... just telephone numbers on some cardboard. So we made our way down the stairs and it got worse and worse... We did actually find someone at the Deluxe Hotel... it had a reception and he showed us one of the rooms... but Lorena was pretty sure we were not staying there, and I was too, even thought it was just 300 HK dollars a night it was too much for what you get!

We even tried another guest house nearby... but the level was pretty much the same, some tiny not exactly clean room, within some narrow corridors and lots of weird people around. We then decided to really blow our budget and stay at the IBIS hotel for a higher rate of 800HK dollars.

That was the end of our hotel search... we were wet cold and hungry... and the worst thing was that Derek and Jacky were also getting soaked with us. We went for some hot pot food nearby, and got a bit dried out... the food was great. For all you Colombians... it was like sancocho, but you cook all the meat yourself in front of you while you eat. It was a big boiling pot and lots of things to put in it and eat. We were there for about two hours just eating continuonsly... it was great!

The next plan was a bit diferent... straight away we were going to a fashion show at one of the ferry piers... we were looking very rough, especially after getting so wet. But we got in no problems with Dereks fashion world contacts... Christine invited us to come along. It was free champagne, wine and nibbles... all night! we were not going to refuse... so we got drinking and trying to fit in with Hong Kongs high society. We stayed there until we got kicked out at about 2am (the last ones to leave). The contrast from the ChungKing Mansions to free champagne on the same night was quite amazing.

The next day we also took it easy in the morning and then met up with Derek again to go to Sai Kung in the New Territories... it as a small city that still feels like a fishing village, with lots of nice seafood and poeple going for the weekend. We had some great food again, and went on a little boat ride to a nearby bay to walk on the rocks... looking for some amazing caves that the boatmen showed us on some pictures, but we never found them. We got back to the hotel at about 7pm and just did nothing coz we were quite tired from the last days.

The last day in Hong Kong was quite relaxed, and we just went to Mon Kok to check out the bargain shopping places... even got a memory card and battery for the camera. Then we went to the peak again on the cable car... since the day was much nicer than all the others... the sun was out and no rain... the typhoon was gone! so we saw the HK lights light up all over... and then met up with Derek again later on in Causeway Bay to say bye... had some really good food once again... this time we tried some eel and goose (delicious), on top of the chicken feet and other weird things we tried before (Durian... the one thing we did not like... some fruit that smells and tastes like gas).

But the food was definitely the highlight of our stay in Hong Kong, and all thanks to Derek who showed us all the great places to go to. And of course... we will never forget Chung King Mansions!!!

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