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Blogs from Kowloon, Hong Kong, Asia - page 100
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January 8th 2006
Jet lag day My first day in Hong Kong I lived in some kind of daze like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. I didn't get enough sleep on the plane and so I had to fight falling asleep the whole time. First impression, overload of my (numbed) senses: the buildings, the signs, the smell... and people asking me ' a tailor made suite for you sir?' every five seconds. As it was a clear day, I went up to Victoria peak directly for some good views of the city and a nice hike up to the peak. The evening I've been checking out the amazing lightshow that HK island is after dark... Oh! and I also managed to get lost in a shopping mall!?!?! Hey, they are huge! Where did all the Chinese people go? ... read more
January 1st 2006
We arrived safely in Hong Kong after 19 hours on the plane. Somewhere along the way, we lost December 30th! Despite our large amounts of luggage, everything arrived and we were quickly transported to our hotel. It was really strange to see poinsettias growing in the same pots as palm trees and Christmas trees basking in 20 degree sun! After an afternoon snooze to try to get through the jet lag, New Year's Eve consisted of shopping on Canton Road (new video camera!), walking through Kowloon Park (there is green grass in Hong Kong!) and the Star Ferry countdown cruise on the harbour. The lights are absolutely incredible - whole office towers decked out in animated light shows. Despite the millions of people gathered along the harbour's edge for the celebrations, we managed to make our ... read more
December 29th 2005
We had decided that getting the train to the airport was a good idea as we were pleased with previous journeys. This train journey was a little different. We waited on the platform for the train which was only 10 minutes late, which was fine as we had several hours to spare. There was lots of people but that was Ok as it was a terminal station so the train would be empty. What we didn't count on was that everyone including ourselves had third class tickets. We got onto a second class coach & moved down the train to the last third class carriage which was already full & we just managed to squeeze into a space in the the aisle. Although an express train it seemed to stop at every rinky dink station & ... read more
December 21st 2005
EMAIL 5 - Thursday, November 17th Peeps, How’s Ingerland working out? My school’s currently on total lockdown - it’s ‘showtime’ as the school inspectors prowl the corridors, lurk in dark corners, ‘shadow’ selected students, inspect teacher’s records and generally strike terror deep into the hearts of all my colleagues. I’ve never seen anything like it - the teachers are designing incredible multimedia lessons, the kids are being constantly threatened to behave, the place is so clean I can see my face in the blackboard and suddenly the printers all work. It’s almost too perfect and the assessors will no doubt see it - but the school has a reputation to maintain as one of HK’s best. It’s made me recall how I’d feign confusion when Ofsted inspectors descended on my old school, asking teachers why ‘we ... read more
December 9th 2005
Am behind with my blog again... ;0) This is a quick update on the stopover in Hong Kong that I had on the way back to NZ from the UK. Now I know I was here in autumn but I still expected HK to be hot. When I've previously been to SE Asia in 'autumn' or 'winter' it's been hot (by my fair skinned english standards anyway), so I imagined HK would be the same. I was rather suprised then (and pleased I'd packed my fleece!) when I arrived to find locals wearing thick winter coats like I'd wear in the UK! Apparently it had been really hot a few days before, but for the three days I was there the temperature averaged about 14oC... really not what I was expecting!! I also thought HK would ... read more
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December 6th 2005
Arrived at Hong Kong International airport at Chek Lap Kok at around 7.30pm in the evening. A cold blast of wind hit everyone, signalling a change in climatic conditions, and everyone rushed to pull out jackets, sweaters and pullovers from their bags. Stepping out into the freezing air, and into the stone-cold tarmac, everyone clambered onboard the airport shuttle bus en route to the main terminal building. Waiting for an hour or so for the usual custom formalities to be cleared, everyone streamed out from the Arrival section of the airport and dissipated, dispersed and intermingled with the rest of the airport crowds. Bought an Octopus card (an EZ-link card analog) and proceeded to the bus interchange to board bus A21 bound for Mongkok. Should have taken a photo on board the bus, but oh well. ... read more
December 3rd 2005
Right then, I'm finally on me way at last and have arrived safe and sound. Plane trip over was well cushtie coz the two people next to me didn't turn up so had a full 3 seats to lie across. watched war of the Worlds which was a lot better than I expected considering I fooking hate Tom Cruise! lol When we were getting towards Hong Kong you could see all the mountain peaks poking through the clouds, it looked mint! I took some pics but they don't do it justice really. My flight was actually cancelled because of the snow so I ended up landing in Hong Kong about 3 hours later than expected but I managed to get to the hotel fine so it was OK. The Concourse Hotel I was in the first ... read more
December 3rd 2005
After a good nite sleep I felt so fresh n all excited. Mark already left for work and Phui was up feeding the babe. Hee hee. Not use to seeing her being so motherly. After having breakie, me started my adventure in HK. Will do TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) as there is a tourist info center there. What a lucky gal i am. Phui's place is like in the centre between TST and MongKok. It just took me 20 Mins walk to reach the tourist info centre which is located at the Star Ferry Jetty. It was a little confusing taking the SubWay (underground tunnel walkway). Make sure you ask the people around. Sometimes they can be unfriendly and even nasty especially if u can't speak a little cantonese. But I was lucky as the couple ... read more
Episode Six: In which our heroine hits Hong Kong
Published: December 20th 2005Asia » Hong Kong » Kowloon
December 2nd 2005
Including her fantastic adventures: Checking out the Walk of Stars Relaxing in Kowloon Park Fending of fortune tellers... & hawkers... & prospective husbands Riding on the Star Ferry Checking out Victoria Peak and the Peak Tram Viewing the harbour lights on the Star Ferry & Soaking up the Christmas Spirit at Santa´s Village Wednesday started at 5:15am, when I woke up ready for George to drive me to the airport. I saw Cinderella Man on the flight, which I really enjoyed, then tried unsuccessfully to get some rest. Having had little sleep the night before, my arrival in Hong Kong had me tired and slightly grumpy, especially after more dragging of my bag through the streets getting hotter by the minute in inappropriate clothing (due to my assumption that the weather would be similar to that ... read more
November 20th 2005
Ever since I was in 12th grade and read an article about Hong Kong and how great the city was I have always said I would move there and life would be better. I’m convinced after being there it probably would. Hong Kong is a marvelous place, a mix of traditional and modern, both in the right amounts. Most of the ship (580 people) bailed on this wonderful city and went to Beijing, China. I decided way back in August when I needed to make the decision whether or not to purchase the Chinese Visa that I was going to spend my 5 days in Hong Kong. On the first day I went on the city orientation. Like many before it we were paraded around like third graders on a field trip, even having to keep ... read more
