The Lone Ranger - 23rd - 26th Jun 06

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Having found out that my Mum would be in Hong Kong on business, whilst we were going to be back in Bangkok killing time before heading to Perth, in a drunken moment, celebrating England's first win, I decided to look into booking a flight over there for the weekend to see her ... as you do! Further convinced by listening to Bulk and Wigg wax lyrical about how fantastic Hong Kong is, the seed was well and truly planted and I spent the next day trawling the internet trying to find a flight that wouldn't bankrupt me. After a lot of false starts and hassles that I won't bore you with now (At one point I had 3 tickets!) I was booked onto a flight and on my way to see my ma - excellent work!
I was to fly out of Siem Reap to Bangkok on the 23rd June, which meant as the girls wanted to see Battambang and lads had already left for Thailand, I had a day on my own in Siem Reap - boo! This was quite possibly the longest day in the history of the world as I was climbing the walls with excitement - luckily I had a room with a TV in and Star Movies was a very welcome distraction!
The following morning, having already woken about 5 times willing it to be time to go, I made my way to Siem Reap airport for the first flight to Bangkok in a plane reminiscent of a Tonka Toy - it was one of those where you had to climb the stairs to get into it ... but there were only 5 steps - eek! I had a 7 hour wait in Bangkok before finally boarding the flight to Hong Kong.
As Mum and Tim (Mum's business partner) were going to be in a dinner meeting when I arrived, Mum told me to get a taxi to the hotel in Kowloon, where she would meet me. Moseying through the arrivals gate, looking for any signs for a taxi rank, I suddenly heard a very familiar voice say "there she is", and there was my Mum and Tim waiting at the barrier! I made every effort not to hurdle it, and got the hugest 'mummy hug' which I had been missing for the past 5 months!
Eyes dried and screeches over with, we caught the MTR to Kowloon, which gave me great views of the Hong Kong skyline by night, although it was very hard to take it in as Mum and I were chattering ten to the dozen trying to fill each other in on everything that we'd been up to. When we got to the hotel I was like a kid at Christmas - eyes as big as saucers and jaw dropping to the ground - this was schmance central and I was going to stay here for 4 nights - paradise!!! There was air con, a big comfy bed with pillows and a big squashy duvet, a lush bathroom with hot water and stunning views over to Hong Kong Island - a far cry from some of the holes that we had been staying in! By this time it was 1am, and despite being far too excited to sleep, I had expected to have to go to bed as Mum and Tim had to work the next day, but I had forgotten how hardcore my old dear is, and was dragged out for drinks immediately! We went to Sticky Fingers, a bar across from the hotel which had live music and other entertainment in the form of dirty old men with their young 'Ting Tong's'! I had my first pint of Stella since leaving the UK which was heaven in a glass! To quote Bec's 'This was the best day ever'!
We finally made it to bed at about 3am and Tim very kindly told Mum that he would handle all the business the following day so that she could spend some time with me - thanks Tim - what a legend! So Mum and I got up at the very leisurely hour of 11am and hit the hotel's buffet for brunch. I felt like I had just arrived into the real world from the dark ages, as there was heaps of 'proper' food to choose from as opposed to hot lettuce and cucumber in baguettes or potato skins that turn out to be a bag of crisps with cheese melted on them, and other such delicacies that we'd had to deal with over the past few months!
By the time we'd had our fill, Tim had arrived back from his meeting and the 3 of us went for a wander down by the waterfront. I got to see the skyline properly in the daylight which is just awesome! We strolled down the Avenue of Stars - a Chinese version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and attempted to find some names we actually recongised, and then headed back to the hotel for a drink. As we were staying in 'executive rooms' we had full use of the executive lounge where you can go for a drink and there are always plates of fruit and nibbles laid out mmmdarling! We sat there for a while chatting away, me recounting the story of the journey from hell (yes Bulk - still talking about it!) to Tim, when I turned my head to see my Dad standing there! It was like a complete action replay of my Sister turning up in Cape Town - such a shock and the best surprise ever. My jumping around and screaming broke the pleasant quiet in the executive lounge, but the guy sitting next to us, rather than being put out by the noise, said it was great to see such passion! Once the shock and excitement had subsided, my Dad explained that it wasn't fair that just Mum got to see me, so decided to cash in his air miles and fly to Hong Kong for the weekend - the crazy fool, but what a guy! THIS was the best day ever! Great to be back with my folks again, just missing my little sis now (who I kept expecting to appear from around a corner the way Tim kept going on, but sadly not!), but I did get to see her in Cape Town and hopefully may see her in Oz - hey Kudge?!
The afternoon was spent with me trying to come back down to earth and get my head around it all! A week ago I wasn't going to see my parents until February back at home, and now here I was in Hong Kong with both of them! Mum, Dad and Tim are all quite familiar with Hong Kong and go to a bar called Ned Kellys which is run by an English bloke, every time they're there. It's a fairly small bar and they play live music with Colin, the English guy, at the helm doing everything from singing, to playing the teapot, with a bit of stand up and trombone playing, amongst others, thrown into the mix! It's a great place with a fab atmosphere - just what I would've expected from my folks! Mum had told me that Terence, one of her and Tim's business associates would be meeting us there for drinks. She explained that he was educated in England and was desperate to retire there as soon as possible, so I was expecting a middle aged guy, not the 26 year old that turned up, who after brief introductions, had soon got the measure of me and returned from the bar with shots of Tequila for the 2 of us! The night soon descended into carnage, with Dad, Tim, Terence and me downing numerous shots of Sambucca, and Mum sticking firmly to the vino (but downing it just as quickly!) We met Mr Wong, and eccentric old Chinese dude, apparently a regular at Ned's, who sits there with his binoculars and camera around his neck, taking photos as if it is the first time he's ever been there! As the night went on and the band got livlier, Colin tried to drag me up on stage! I attempted to resist the pure embarrasment, but as the chants of 'get up get up' got louder, I had no choice but to get up there - I was just praying that he wasn't going to make me sing - that would've emptied the place in seconds! Luckily, we were all spared that humiliation, and after a thankfully brief serendaing session, I was released back to my seat - phew!
On Sunday Mum and Tim had to go to meetings so Dad and I spent the morning exploring Hong Kong. We took the Star Ferry over to the island and had a mooch around the shops as well as riding the famous escalators, which run up the city and are the longest network of escalators in the world. After a re-charge of the batteries at Starbucks we caught the MRT to Causeway Bay, apparently the most densely populated place in the world, before heading back to the hotel to catch up with Mum and Tim. Everyone was feeling fairly fragile after the previous nights session, so we all headed off for power naps, and Dad and I then went for a swim in the rooftop pool in an attempt to wake us up before dinner! We met (a very hungover!) Terence and Gary (another of Mum and Tim's business associates) at Cafe Deco on Victoria Peak for dinner. The views over Hong Kong from the peak are outstanding and as the sun goes down, all of the buildings light up with their neon signs and flashing lights, and there is a laser show over the water. It was a really clear night so the views were stunning and we were also treated to a fireworks display down by the water. After dinner we went back to the hotel to watch the footie, before heading to bed for a relatively early night.
Our last day in Hong Kong was spent doing what the Whits do best ... shopping! We went down to Nathan Road and shopped up a storm, resulting in a new pair of sunnies, watch and bag full of toiletries for me, perfume for Mum and a video camera the size of a pea for Dad - all in all a successful trip! We then went to the Peninsula Hotel - one of the best in the world - for ridiculously overpriced drinks before heading back to the hotel to grab our bags and check out. A final farewell dinner was had at the brilliant Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, where the steak literally melts in your mouth - my last bit of luxury before heading back to the world of hostels and cheap caffs! As we were all flying out within an hour of each other, we went to the airport en masse where very tearful farewells were made. As was the case with my Sister - it's so great to see them, but awful when you have to say goodbye! I boarded the flight back to Bangkok an emotional wreck, having had the best time in Hong Kong, but looking forward to the next leg of the adventure in Australia.
Cheerio!

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Photos

How embarrasing!
Making my stage debut at Ned Kelly's

Skyline
The amazing Hong Kong skyline at dusk

Hong Kong Island
The island viewed from Kowloon

The Star Ferry
Runs between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon

Hong Kong Streets
As viewed from the Central Level Escalators

MTR
The spotless and highly efficient underground system

Oh My God!
I was slightly shocked when my Dad walked through the door - what an amazing surprise!