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I arrived in Hong Kong late in the evening and had to spend 3 hours in the airport as HSBC thought it would great to cancel my bank card for the third time even though I have told them several times where I am going! So I ended up arriving in HK with about 8 pounds, so finally after loads of phone calls and messing around I finally got it sorted and managed to catch a bus into Kowloon. Hong Kong is split up into a few islands, Kowloon is north of Hong Kong island and is part of the main land connecting it to China
My first impressions of the place was that I couldn't believe how many neon lights there where , the whole main street (nathan street) just glowed so brightly from all the shop lights and signs, I could only imagine what it must look like from space. I was very lucky as I really had know idea where to go and after hearing about Owen wandering around for hours trying to find a place to stay I didn't want to do the same. All I had was a name of a place called Mirador mansions
somewhere on Nathan road, well Nathan road is huge and runs the full length of Kowloon, so being very lucky i just took a guess and jumped of the bus at what i thought would be an appropriate stop and lucky got off right out side the place I wanted, I swear some days i have some one looking out for me and guiding me.
I thought when I was in Singapore that there were a lot of electronics shops but I think that this place even beats Singapore, you could buy any electrical device ever invented here and more.
That evening I wondered down to the river to look across and see Hong Kong Island and all the lit up skyscrapers, it was a magnificent sight. I had a walk around the avenue of stars which is very similar to the one in Las Vegas but with loads of Chinese actors I have never heard of before. There were many stars there but I only recognized Let lee, Jackie Chan and of course the one and only Bruce lee. There was even a bronze statue of him next to his star which was pretty cool.
The following day
I walked around Kowloon looking at the shops and other areas of interest.
Even though there is a great Asian influence with all the Chinese writing and food everywhere it was also so westernized compared to what I was used to. I think the most notable thing was that every one had such a straight emotionless face on, just like in London all busy rushing around doing what ever important things they had to do, where as I was so used to every body having happy smiling faces. In Thailand and Cambodia you smile at a stranger they beam a smile right back, so it took a bit of getting just to again and on the plus side there where not people hassleing you every 5 mins for a tuk tuk!! (you can simthaize with that cant you Owen!)
I had a look a the space museum which was very interesting learning about planets, rockets and of course other space related facts, there was even a full mock up off the inside of a space ship which was pretty cool. I spent a good few hours in the museum soaking up loads of information before heading out to find the
main night life area. Well that was definitely easier said than done all I wanted was a quite bar were I could sit and have drink and read my book or meet with some other travelers but all I kept finding was upper class restaurants with many executive types inside, so after an hour or two I decided to give up and head home for an early night.
The next day I decided to take the ferry across to Hong Kong island, I found this place a lot nicer than Kowloon. I had a walk around a lovely park which had all these great lakes and small waterfalls everywhere with some really cool looking skyscrapers in the background. In many of the lakes there where these cool looking turtles and huge fish, it was a real tranquil and relaxing place to get away from all of the hussle and bussel of the city. Also with in the grounds of the park was a small free zoo which housed a number of monkeys and rare birds but definitely the highlight was the leopard they had there which was awesome.
From the park I had a little walk to the hill
train which was 45 degree train that was pulled up the side of Honk Kong island. Once at the top there it gave the view over Honk Kong although it was a over cast it was still a little better than the pictures show but not a lot. I would have loved to see it on a clear day but I could see far enough and the views were still worth the trip up there.
That evening I met up which a couple of Americans called Aaron and Alan who and also encountered the same problems as me the previous night as there couldn't find the main night spot either. So we all headed out to Honk Kong island and finally managed to find the area we were looking for, a whole block of bars and restaurants. I had a really good night out with them and talking all about the places we have been and seen. But I really couldn't get over how expensive is was here especially after being in SE Asia for so long I have got far to used to paying 30-50p for a beer instead of 3-4 pounds!!!
For the next day I decided
The avenue of stars
The whole time I was in Honk Kong the weather didnt get any better than this to head to Lantau island which is next to HK island and also is where the airport is. In the middle of this Island there is a huge sitting Buddha at the top of the mountain. So me and my new English mate (not sure how to write his name) decided we would venture to the top to hopefully get some better views over HK, well how wrong could we be!!! As we heading in the cable car to the top it started to get more and more overcast, till eventually we couldn't see the cable car in front of us of even the floor which was only about 30 feet below! Once we got to the top it was even worse we could even see the shops down the street and when we finally got to the big Buddha and climbed the stairs to the top we could only just make out the shape of the Buddha. All we could really do was laugh about it, I really do think we couldn't have chosen a worse day to have come up! But than it didn't both me that much as I have seen so much in the past 5
months that it has been only one of a few disappointing experiences, but on the up side we did get a free meal token for paying to go in the big Buddha. So all in all we paid over the odds to travel all the way up to the top of a mountain to eat some noddles and then venture all the way back down again 3 hours later to see a very misty Buddha. We both couldn't stop laughing about it all the way up and back down again.
I did however see the views on another mates camera of would it would have looked like without the mist and It did look a magnificent view and well worth the trip on a clear day.
The last night i had a quite one dispite Aaron and Alan trying to presuade me out again, but i had to get up at stupid'o'clock in the morning and didnt want to miss my flight as I have wanted to go to Austarulia for the past 25 years and was determined I would not over sleep and miss my flight due to having 1 to many beers.
I can't wait too
see Oz but the only draw back is now that I will be back in employment very soon and that is a very disturbing thought, i even get the shakes just thinking about it!!!
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