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Published: January 20th 2009
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I felt a quickening as soon as I stepped off the plane. As magical as our trip to India was, it felt great exchanging its myriad intensities for the sane streets and reviving bright lights of Hong Kong. In a strange way, it felt a bit like coming home!
As folks will tell you, get me talking about Hong Kong and I'm all hands-waving, manic-stares, full of animation for this fun and vibrant city. Here, on our second visit, I relished the fact that we had almost a whole week to explore. Here's a taste of what we got up to:
Day 1: Essentially, this was a 'chill day' after our long international flight. It was, incidentally, my birthday and Kerry was so good as to treat me to a meal in the evening at a restaurant I had selected from Lonely Planet's recommendations. It was a Balinese restaurant with a permanent 'Happy Birthday' sign on the wall - very fitting we felt. When the waiter discovered it was my birthday, he even cued the birthday song. Hmmm, in actual fact, after a few killer cosmopolitans, I think I may have demanded a rendition of the birthday song! From
what I can remember - a splendid evening!
Day 2: We started the day with breakfast at Knutsford Terrace - a groovy little stretch of bars and restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui. From there, we did our own thing for a couple of hours. I visited St Andrew's Church off Nathan Road, took a stroll through Kowloon Park and wandered round the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre. Eventually about mid-afternoon, I caught up again with Kerry and together, we took advantage of a free-entry day at some of Hong Kong's major museums - the Art and Cultural Centre, the Space Museum, the Planetarium and Conference Centre. At the Art and Cultural Centre, there was a big emphasis on calligraphy. Traditionally, the Chinese consider calligraphy the highest form of artistic expression. However, what I enjoyed most was an exhibition of the works of Huang Bore - beautifully captured landscapes of Hong Kong. In the evening, we hopped on board a Star Ferry harbour trip which we managed to coincide with the Symphony of Lights - the famous skyscraper light and sound show. The ferry decks proved to be an awesome vantage point.
Day 3: Initially, we set out on
separate paths. I took to the hills of Lantau Island while Kerry went off to get her hair done. The queues for the Ngong Ping cable car were ridiculously long and what with the heat and humidity, I felt truly scunnered. Eventually, I made it to the top and climbed the steep 268 steps up to the Tan Tian Buddha. The views at the summit made the effort all worthwhile. Later, when Kerry and I re-grouped, we floated from bar to bar in the Tsim Sha Tsui district and made merry with locals over some beers and wine.
Day 4: We stopped in at the exceedingly pretty Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery. Unfortunately though, I was not at my best after our session the previous night. We quit the sticky humidity of outdoors and made for a nearby cinema complex and saw the new Batman movie. I'm not sure what was better - the movie or the AC! For dinner, we had some yummy Cantonese savouries at a little cafe type place called 'Portland St' in Mong Kok.
Day 5: A quiet day mainly given the humidity outside. We did however venture out at night into
the swanky and fashionable district of Soho which gets its name from its location -
South of
Hollywood Road. Soaking up the buzz, we enjoyed good wine in a little bar off Stanton Street, pizza, then tea at the Portobello Cafe.
Day 6: One of the major tourist attractions we'd been meaning to do for days was Victoria Peak . The funicular railway to the top was actually designed and put in place by a Scotsman - Alexander Findlay Smith. Prior to its installation, the only mode of carriage was the sedan chair. The exertion which must have been involved, traversing the steep Peak's paths in HK's sub-tropical climate with someone on your back, doesn't bear thinking about! The highest peak on Hong Kong Island, Victoria Peak offered a commanding perspective of the city and harbour. After some camera-happy kodak moments, we headed back to Kowloon for some snacks and wine to celebrate our last evening in beloved Hong Kong.
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