Blogs from Hong Kong, Asia - page 18

Whilst being back home in the UK for three weeks I went for a wee break to Bonnie Edinburgh. Highlights include eating Battered Mars Bars, Afternoon Tea, The Castle and having Braveheart take us on a guided tour around Edinburgh. I stopped the night in Manchester at the Hill-Billy’s and in the morning after miss-judging the amount of time needed to catch public transport to Manchester airport, I made my check in with 15 minutes to spare. Ten more mins longer and in bed and I would have been writing this from Willenhall. I went through security, spent about 10 mins choosing a book and it was time to board the aircraft- 12 straight hours to Hong Kong. A semi full flight had meant that I had two seats to myself to put my feet up ... read more

Well thats it the last day but we still had plenty planned. Up we got, showered and dressed, bags packed and had one last look at the view from our room before checking out. Once we checked out of we headed to the metro to the Admiralty area and a walk up the hill through Hong Kong Park to catch the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak on Asia's oldest funicular tram which runs to the top through the high rise buildings. At the top is Peak Tower an anvil-shaped building with shops and restaurants within it. Once inside you can pay to go out onto the roof, this is worth doing just for the 360 degree views over Hong Kong and the surrounding area, simply amazing, it was a hazy day but the ... read more

Hong Kong is amazing city It has a high energy excitement about it. There are signs everywhere calling itself Asia’s global city which would appear true It is an interesting contrast of 4 strands: Traditional Chinese, Western capitalism, Chinese communism and the old British imperial system. . While the public transport especially the metro is very efficient you also do a lot of walking between stops. In fact a lot of the transport is a tourist attraction in itself for example the star ferry between Hong Kong island and Kowloon and the ding ding tram and the famous funicular ride up to The Peak . All of these are worth doing as tourist attractions as well as being a means of transport. The skyline of Hong Kong while incredible during the daytime it comes alive at ... read more

Now sat in the airport lounge with just 30 minutes before boarding. Next stop London Heathrow. Yesterday we took the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island and strolled around the Central area. There is one or two government buildings from the past still standing amongst the glass skyscrappers. We found the Charter Garden, an oasis in the city centre. We stopped at a McD for lunch as Lynn has had her fill of noodles. After lunch we tackled the Central to Mid Levels escalator system, the worlds longest group of escalator travelling over 800m and climbing some 135m. Then back to the Star to cross back to Kawloon. We then walked up Nathan Road, the Golden mile, where there are more Cartier watch shops than McDonalds. The number of jewellers and the prices of items in ... read more

Arrived at Hong Kong airport just before dusk so by the time we were on the coach being transferred to the hotel it was dark. Traffic was awful just like the coach driver, so we were glad to arrive at the hotel in one piece. The Grand Harbour Bay in Kowloon is definitely 5 star plus, large marble staircases and so many staff they keep tripping over each other. And another upgrade, this time to an executive Harbour view room on the top but one floor. Two whole walls are glass looking out over the harbour. Tremendous. This morning was an early start for the Hong Kong tour. We visited Aberdeen, the original hong kong village and took a ride in a sampan. The ride in the harbour amplified the vast divide between rich and poor ... read more