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Published: November 13th 2008
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Harbour Tour Star Ferry
It looks alot better at night Hey Everyone
Its been just over a week since I left the UK and thought it would be a good time to let you all know what i've been up to.
The First Day
I was rather fortunate that when I had left the airport and went looking for the Hostel (Chungking Mansion) I met two friends from london (Nick and Ellen). We instantly got on well together and relaxed by the river until we could check in. I have to say that the Chungking Mansion is one of the worst buildings I have seen!!! The main street (Nathan Road) is full of indians trying to sell you knock-off suites and watches, the first two floors of the mansion are literally full of phones shop, indian takeaways and computer stores who are constantly trying to shove leaflet in your face and everytime you enter the place they ask if you would like a room when they know already that you have one. The rest of the 13 floors are filled with hostels owned by different families (There's probably about 50 hostels here at least). Buy hey it can only get better from this??? The only good thing I
The Gang
From Left to Right - Clint, Julie, Ellen, Nick, Ryan and of course me can say about the Chungking is that its ridiculously cheap, average room is about 15-20quid a night. That night we took a harbour tour along the river when the Symphony of Lights started. Its one the most impressive displays i have seen and as we were on the ferry we got to see both sides displays.
The Peak
The second day I met Ryan (USA), Clint (Australia) and Julie (Canada) who had all arrived the same day as me and we all decided to head to the famous Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island. We took the tram up to the landmark and went straight for the roof to get the best view. The company were rather cheeking in not telling you at the base that if you dont purchase the delixe ticket you cant go on the roof, so we had to spend a little extra to get there, probably one of the ways the company try to make more money!! The view from the roof was stunning and we had not even gone on a clear day. As you can see from the video you get to most of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon easily.
The walk down from the peak was long and exhausting but we were lucky to stumble upon a free Zoo (I know never gonna happen in England). One of the best things we discovered in Hong Kong is that the small kiosks and local stores sell beer for about 8-12 Hong Kong dollars (under 1quid) or some beers are 2 for 12dollars (2 for a pound, an absolute bargain!!!). So of course we relaxed by the river and had a few.
The Hong Kong History Museum
While me and Ryan were looking for a room to share we came across Emanuel (USA) who was also looking for a room. We all instantly got on a shared a dorm for a couple of nights. This was Clint and Julie's last day in Hong Kong and as Nick and Ellen were going to Ocean Park we thought a little learning was in order and where better than a museum. The museum was huge and really cheap to get in. I noticed the further i went through especially in the section about the 20th Century alot of people here and in China dont like Britain and my point was proved
Para Para
What a Style in the last video we saw, It didn't show anything good the British had done for Hong Kong. When it was time for Clint and Julie to go to the airport and home me, Ryan and Emanuel went to a bar to see what the night life was like in Kowloon, and i gota say its impressive but i'm comparing it to Ipswich so it hasn't gota do a lot to be better lol! All the bars had live music and happy hour (Thank God otherwise it would have been over 5pound a pint) but still it was the first time i had strongbow since saturday (what a relief i was dying out here with no cider!!!).
Para Para
Dont ask what it means because i haven't gota clue, all i can say is it's some dance craze from Japan that had all the locals going crazing. A small group performed certain dance moves with there hands and basically everyone joined in (apart from me of course, i dont dance unless i'm drunk). Nick was loving it with his drum and bass dance moves and at the end we managed to get pictures with the performers and Nick
Buddha
That's one big Buddha got in a huge group photo which could possibly be in a magazine (can you imagine there faces when they look at a photo full of teens from Hong Kong and a guy from London lol). On the way back to the mansion we walked past a biker gang, this one guy was very friendly and let us take a picture of him and his bike, he had lived in london recently so his english was very good. This was the last tme i'd see Nick and Ellen until they arrive in New Zealand in March time. There now off to explore Tailand, Cambodia, Laos and more.
A Big Buddha
Ryan had told me about this monastery called the 'Po Lin' which has the worlds biggest bronze seated Buddha (To good to miss). We took a cable car to the monastery (which has of course now been turned into a huge tourist attraction). The views from the cable car were excellent and you got to see the Giant Buddha from a long way away. The monastery was ridiculously busy but because the Buddha was so big you could get a picture from anywhere. This was also Ryan's last night in Hong Kong and a few drinks were in order but we weren't going to pay the bar prices, we headed to one of the night life spots on the island (Lan Kwai Fong Road) and straight in a 7eleven shop (our local balfour) for some cheap drink, but we soon realised that on the bars on the island are full of the upper class who are sad to say not that friendly or polite.
Hong Kong all to myself
Now that Ryan had also headed off to Tailand (hopefully we will meet in the US at some point). I relised that this would be the first point I was on my own and couldn't think what to do. I had been thinking of staying in a hotel for the rest of my time here but the price of the Chungking has ended up being to good to turn away from. I have spent the last few couple of days exploring Kowloon and Hong Kong Island in more detail seeing some local Temples and a number of markets and malls. I don't know what i will do for the following week but some ideas are the Peak again but at night and the Sha Tin Racecourse with an 80,000 stadium (Everyone knows i like a little bet now and then so this might have to be a definite).
I hope you all liked reading my first blog the many more to follow!! My next blog will be written soon talking about my second week here and preparing for Signapore!!
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Mum and Dad
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1st week
That's a busy week you've had!!