Home in Hong Kong

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I arrived in Hong Kong after a long over night flight from New Zealand. Guess what it was raining! So I put on my coat collected my bag and boarded the train as per Sue's instructions, as soon as I walked out of the air conditioned train the heat hit me, the humidity in Hong Kong is stifling. Like nothing else I have ever experienced. After stripping down the layers to trousers and t-shirt I found a taxi to take me the rest of the way to Sue and Marks Apartment in Kowloon. I did try Cantonese using the sounds like Sue had sent me in her instructions, unfortunately the driver just looked at me as if I had grown an extra head while we were sitting there, so I showed him the printed e-mail with the address on and off we went.

When I arrived at the beautiful apartment complex that had a reception area just like a posh hotel I bussed up to see if anyone was in. Both Sue and Mark were in, we had a cup of coffee and introduced ourselves, and then Sue gave me the tour books and an overview of what would be good to do whilst I was in Hong Kong. After Sue left for work Mark made me another Tea (yes tea real PG tips, it was probably the best tea I have ever tasted, that's no exaggeration, just imagine 4 months without tea then all of a sudden your drinking PG tips! Any way, I decided to go to Victoria Peak even through it was cloudy so Mark said he would come with me to help me get my bearings. I had a much needed shower then we set off. On route I felt swamped as I had never been anywhere this crowded, it’s even more crowded than Liverpool Street Station in the mornings.

Being typical me I was too busy talking to pay any attention to where we were going, at this stage I hadn't even realised we were on Hong Kong Island, but then again you get the train there so it's not as though we went over any water. The tram ride up to Victoria Peak was really good it at a 45 degree angle, when it begins you are looking up at the skyscrapers, after a few minutes you are above them looking at what I imagine would be a fantastic view over Hong Kong Business district. I say imagine as the clouds were lower than I was and all I could see was white!

Mark and I were hungry so we headed back to Kowloon for lunch, Mark took me to a Cantonese restaurant for dim sum, I wouldn't have been able to go here on my own as the menu was in Cantonese. Mark ordered some dishes and we sat hoping we would get what he had ordered. Although he said that all dim sum was nice so we should be ok, he was right every dish that came was very tasty. In the afternoon I had a nap then read through the books to plan the next three days.

As soon as Sue got home she offered me a glass of wine and it was red, wonderful! We spent the evening chatting and drinking. Oh and I managed to get lost when I went out to get some more wine, typical!

On Tuesday I got up and went on a trip around Hong Kong Island, Firstly I got the tube over to central then a the number 6 bus to Stanley, I waited for the number 6 even though the 260 to Stanley was already there as the lonely planet said the number 6 went a more scenic route, it also told me to sit at the top right of the bus for the best view, for once the lonely planet was right, the views were fantastic. When I arrived in Stanley I wondered around the market and bought myself a belt (for $30 £2) then walked around the sea front to the oldest building in Hong Kong, it used to be where the Bank of China building is in Central but they took it down and rebuilt it in Stanley. When they rebuilt it there were six pillars left over that they didn't know what to do with so they left them in front of the building and they are still there. I had lunch in the building itself, it was a bargain I had a massive salad for £4. After lunch I walked to the side of the building for a look around the Buddhist Temple.

Next the Lonely Plant advised me to walk down the side of the temple through the housing estate to see a large statue of Mercury the god of the sea and another temple. I walked and walked then it rained and I walked some more. When I was just about to give up and get a bus to Aberdeen I saw it! It did not feel like a welcoming place as there where two dogs baring there teeth at me and the looks I was getting for the monks! As the monks can't talk I walked around the back avoiding the dogs and had a look at the statue then came back for a quick look at the temple although I only stuck my head in as the dogs were still there. As I got back to the main road there was a bus to Aberdeen so I jumped on.

Aberdeen is the most tradition town in Hong Kong and looked exactly as I had imagined Hong Kong would look, there is a harbour there and I finally managed to find a Junk to ride on, they tried to get $100 out of me but I agreed on $80 for half hour. I clambered aboard relieved to get out of the rain for half an hour and admired the view of Aberdeen harbour, after ten minutes the driver (not sure what there are really called captain maybe?) decided that he would try and get me to pay another $80 and have an hours ride, I kept saying no and in the end just ignored him as he didn't seem to understand no he only understood $80 which is what he kept saying to me over and over again. When I got off I walked around Aberdeen for a while soaking up the atmosphere, hustle bustle and rain until I soaked again then got the bus back to central. I was hoping the rain would have stopped by the time I got back so I could walk around Central before getting the Sta ferry back to Kowloon, but it hadn't so I got the train as I had already been on the ferry and went straight back to Mark and Sues.

Tuesday night Mark and Sue took me out for dinner I had Pigeon to be adventurous (the head was served with it Mark had to take this off the plate so that I could eat it) and lamp chops to be safe. Then we went for a drink at a local wine bar. After a lot of champagne we went home.

Wednesday we all felt a little hung over me and Sue a lot more than Mark. So Sue took today off work as she was planning to have at least one day off with me. She took me over to China to go shopping; this will be an experience that I won’t forget in a hurry. We started with a stop at Starbucks for coffee and sandwich for later, next was the newsagents for a big pile of trashy magazines, then to the train, we set ourselves up in first class and started to read our magazines, but our peaceful journey was soon to be interrupted by the arrival of mother father and baby! How’s that for luck anytime, let alone when you have a hangover!

When we got off the train we had to be processed through customs which took a while and as Sue was a resident of Hong Kong we had to go in different queues then try and find each other again after each queue. Finally we got in to China, it is so different to Hong Kong and the brief visit has given me a hunger to see more of China one day. Right out side the train station is the shopping centre, but it’s a shopping centre like no other, I really don’t know how to describe it but I’ll try. There are five floors with at least 100 shops on each floor, all or the shops are pretty much identical, they are about 10ft by 10ft each with a Chinese lady outside shouting missy missy at you, to begin with I was acknowledging them and apologising Sue said you need to just blank them, I soon realised she was right, just imagine walking down a row of 100 identical shops and getting called missy outside everyone of them. There are large sections that are cloths sections for shoes, electronics and where I spent most of my time a section for designer bags. Although I did stop off for a manicure and foot massage on the way. In the bag shops you ask for the bag you want then they send off a runner to get it for you, during this time they give you a seat to sit on whilst you are waiting.

On one particular shop there was a mad Chinaman that kept mooing when the bag was cows leather and baaing at us when it was sheep’s leather. At the end of a successful trip for me where I had a new top, five new bags, the complete third series of lost and the whole seven series of sex and the city (sue didn’t get quite so much) we got the train back to Hong Kong.

In the evening we sat watching Sex and the City back to back with a Pizza Hut pizza. After the budget meals and pasta I had been eating for the last four months this was the nicest pizza I have ever eaten. We did save some for Mark who was out at football.

On my last day I went to get some beauty treatments so that I was in tip top condition for my return to the UK. After this I visited a Buddhist Temple in Central, you could smell the incense from the top of the road! I then wandered around Central got lost and had to get on the MTR then work out how to get to the largest sitting brass Buddha in the world, surprisingly when I got off the train at the Buddha it was raining again!! I went up to Buddha walked around in side although I’m not to sure what I was looking at as it was all written in Cantonese.

I then went up to the Monastery I was lucky that there was a service in progress which I watched for a while but became conscious that I was wearing a wet t-shirt that wasn’t really appropriate. I then went to get me free water I was entitled to for paying to go inside the Buddha, I tried to explain that I just wanted water not the free food and that I would like to keep the ticket as a memento but I ended up with water noodles and no ticket. It was pouring down by now so I decided to head back.

When I got in Mark was there, he laughed at how wet I was, when I had dried off Sue came in to see if I wanted to go out but as I had to be up at 4.30am to fly home I thought it was best to just have an early night.

So I somehow packed everything in to my backpack then just sat with Sue and Mark chatting until bed time.

After a very intermittent sleep I gave up trying to sleep and got up got dressed and went to the airport. Mark had booked me a cab and agreed a price of $200. The doorman made sure I got in the right cab. Unfortunately the cab driver didn’t know he was only charging $200 he put the meter on and as I sat in the back watching it go up and up I started to wonder if he had got the message about the fixed price. When we finally arrived he said that will be $350! I tried to explain that I only had $200 on me and that it had been agreed as a fixed price, unfortunately he spoke no English and after five minutes of trying to explain I dropped the $200 on the front seat got out hoping beyond hope that the boot was open. I was in luck it was thank god so I pulled out my luggage got a trolley and dashed off whilst the cab driver shouted for the police. The funny thing about all this is $150 is about £5; I just didn’t have the money.

When I got in the airport I changed my top in case the police had been given my description. When I got through security I finally felt save and knew I was going home.

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Photos

Touch Down
Landing in Hong Kong Look at the weather in the early hours of the morning

Victoria Peak
Look at that veiw its world famous!

Victoria Peak Tram
Thats Mark's ear and the view just under the clouds as we came down from Victoria Peak in the tram

Sta Ferry
Veiw from the Sta ferry as Mark and I went back to Kowloon to get some lunch

Dim Sum
Me and Mark out for a traditional lunch

Stanley Market
The hustle and bustle of the small market lanes was like nothing else I have ever seen

The Oldest Building in Hong Kong
Can you see the 10 pillars out the front that they didn't know what to do with

Me On My Junk At Aberdeen Harbour
The junk I went on at Aberdeen Harbour

Me In China
Thats the mad shopping center behind me

The Smelly Temple
This is the temple that can be smelt from up the road in Central

Big Buddha
This is me in the rain as I got to the largest sitting brass Buddha in the world

Room With A View
This is the veiw from Mark and Sues on my last night