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Published: September 2nd 2010
Sunday 29th August 2010 We left Perth just after midnight on a Cathay Pacific flight. This was a new plane but it had seats where the base slid forward rather than tilting backwards and we found them most uncomfortable. Rags slept very little.
We reached Hong Kong and caught the airport bus for a 40 minute trip to a bus station where we were met by David, a friend of Judy's, at whose house we were staying. David and Carmel live in an apartment attached to the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Carmel is a professor here, David an associate professor at Lingnan University. Rags had not met either David or Carmel and Judy hadn't met Carmel so we spent a couple of hours really getting to know each other. We had a great chat and found we had lots in common!
We were driven around the University which is a huge complex with different learning centres, staff apartments, and student accommodation. Small buses move around the campus transporting students and passengers between different areas.
After settling in we caught the train and visited the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Here we saw displays of the history,
Temple of a Thousand Buddhas
This is just one of the Buddhas, with the addition of a phone!art and culture of Hong Kong. An interesting place which we would like to revisit when we are not so tired.
Hong Kong's development hasn't slowed down since we were here last in 2002. New buildings, roads and bridges are springing up everywhere. The water supply comes from the Chinese mainland and here the Chinese again showed their ingenuity in building a reservoir by blocking off the bay, pumping out the salt water, and then filling it with fresh water. The reclamation of the sea bed is a continuing project all over Hong Kong, flatland being so scarce.
From here we walked to the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple. This temple was reached by walking up lots of steps in high humidity! each step was bordered by a man sized Buddha, each unique.
The evening was spent at an outdoor restaurant, the Chung Shing Thai near the dam that supplies freshwater to Hong Kong. Here we reintroduced ourselves to the delicious food here in Hong Kong. An early night followed with us trying to catch up on lost sleep.
Monday 30th August 2010 After a tasty breakfast, which included delicious fresh Dragon fruit, a white
fleshed centre in a green and reddish skin, we caught the bus and train to the harbour in Kowloon where we caught the ferry to Macau.
Macau has totally changed since Rags was there over 15 years ago. The Venetian hotel, where we stayed, is built on reclaimed land, known at the Cotai Strip, between old Macao and an island.
The hotel just blew us both away! It is huge, three towers with over 3000 rooms, a shopping complex as large as any city centre, a large food court, restaurants, swimming pools, and the best gymnasium Judy has ever been in, and of course the casino.
On checking in we were asked if we wanted to upgrade, which we declined. As it was, our room consisted of a large bedroom with king-size bed, stepping down into a lounge area with another TV, lounge and study desk overlooking old Macau. Bathroom was again large, with separate shower and bath, double basins, and a separate toilet. Here, marble was used extensively, as in the whole complex.
The theme throughout the hotel was, surprisingly, Venetian even to the point where all the shopping areas were named as Venetians squares
and connected by canals with the inevitable gondola. It was all very opulent and magnificent! The main hall had a ceiling similar to that of the Vatican, with period paintings on it and similar style murals and sculptures abounding.
After a much-needed nap late in the afternoon, the rest of the day was spent exploring the maze of shops before a relatively early night.
Tuesday 31st August 2010 We could choose from three different locations to have breakfast, the Fogo Samba being our choice for today. The highlight of this cafe is the freshly cooked kebabs and meat on a spit, but the service was such that we saw very little of it. The rest of the fare was ordinary, so we'll try elsewhere tomorrow.
Old Macau was our destination for the day and on arriving at the passenger terminal by courtesy bus, we hired a tri-shaw to show us the sights. The tour followed the coast through some interesting old and new areas, stopping at the A-Ma Temple, one of the first on the island and concluded at the Ruins of St Paul's. This took about an hour, and apart from the fact you
didn't have to walk and it had a novelty aspect to it, was not worth the cost. Using a map and a taxi would give a much better coverage.
We did enjoy St Paul's and the busy food shops leading up to it, even though the heat and humidity were oppressive. Getting back to the ferry terminal had a few problems as even though we did travel in the right direction, the buses didn't, and we ended up in almost the furthest distance we could get from our destination will stop when we finally reached our bus a few harsh words had been said, caused by the heat and general weariness.
A shower, snooze and a cold drink at us ready for the performance of Zaia, by Cirque du Soleil. Colourful, which was spectacular, and we were both glad to have experienced it.
Wednesday 1st September 2010 The first day of Spring, 34° and about 45%!h(MISSING)umidity. Judy jumped out of bed at 7 AM and went to the gymnasium,Rags waited in bed until her return at 8 AM and together we went to the pool. This gave us an appetite so breakfast at the
The "girls" take in the view.
Thanks to David for permission to use his photo. Cafe Deco followed and this experience at both of us wishing we could extend our stay. The choices of food was vast, from fresh fruit's, Western, Asian, vegetarian, all displayed in sections, with attentive staff removing used dishes and refilling our tea and coffee continuously.
A quick shopping spree at Skechers followed, three pairs of shoes being added to our luggage before we raced off to pack and check out by 11 AM.
We took the fast hydrofoil or Cotai Jet, for our return, taking about 30 minutes off the trip. Rags' Seniors Card was accepted, and Judy was included, much to her disgust, the discount making it cheaper than the other line.
Following the train guide we had no problems returning to the University, great transport system, and we were soon settled in at David and Carmel's apartment.
David prepared a delicious meal of Laksa soup followed by peppered Australian pink salmon, all washed down with a French rosé. Very civilised.
Thursday 2nd September 2010 Today is our last day in Hong Kong, so after a quick breakfast we caught the train into central Kowloon. We walked around the waterfront taking in
the same sights we had when we were here previously. We checked out several of the photography shops for a new lens for Judy's camera but have decided to do some more research on what is required for bird photography.
As it was getting close to lunchtime we caught the train to Mong Kok, both of us enjoying the atmosphere of this area much more than that of the harbour area. The streets were more crowded and there were fewer tourists to be seen. We came to the Ladies Market where we bought some covers for our iPhones, probably paying too much but at a good price compared to what we would pay at home. After the first stall we saw many others selling the same products and therefore could have got a much better price. We did however, do some bargaining for a top for Judy, and were pleased with what we paid.
Before we called the train home we dropped into a local eatery and had a delicious meal of squid and beef. It was good to get back to the apartment where we could have a shower to freshen up and rest for a while
before David and Carmel returned.
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Lucy
non-member comment
Good start
Looks like you've had a good start to your trip with more tofollow! Hong Kong seems to have gone downhill smog wise since we last stayed there!!