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Published: February 21st 2009
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hong kong from kowloon
the tall one on the right is the international finance centre and the one on the left, with a spikey top, is the bank of china building We arrived in Hong Kong on Day 77 of our adventure. The Airport Express train into Kowloon and Hong Kong is excellent. It takes just 24 minutes and costs £8.00 approx each way. Then just a short taxi ride from the station to our hotel, the YWCA, and we arrived there at 3.30 pm. Linda had the time of her life as this was the first (and last!) hotel that we were staying in for the whole week. Everything came out of the suitcases and was put away very neatly into drawers and cupboards. HK is continually growing, mostly upwards. Den came here in 1996 and the skyline has completely changed. No scaffolding here - they use bamboo poles tied together with string. Sometimes the builders wear proper boots and hard hats. Sometimes!! One thing that hasn't changed is the crowds of people moving from one place to another. The hustle and bustle is incredible. Our hotel was right across the road from the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, a great oasis in the middle of the city with aviaries and animals on show. Even better, it's free! The public transport system, mostly buses and trams with a limited underground system, is
hong kong from kowloon
at night the light show is great very efficient and inexpensive. The old fashioned trams run 20 km's from one end of the harbour to the other and cost HK$2.00 each way (about 20 pence). The sights from the top deck were brill. We caught a bus over the other side of the island to Stanley. It has some pleasant beaches and a great market. Aberdeen is also on the other side of the island and is the main fishing port. Unlike everywhere else in the world the fishermen keep their catch here, and a walk around the fish market reveals tank after tank full of fish, lobsters, crabs and other crustacea and molluscs (the like of which we'd never seen before in some cases). The Star Ferry running across the harbour to Kowloon is a very good way of seeing the city's skyline, and is especially good at night when all the skyscrapers are lit up. Kowloon has some fascinating markets. In addition to the normal markets there are also some specialist markets: one just sells caged birds; one just sells aquarium fish; and one only sells flowers. On every street corner you are approached by someone offering Rolex watches, designer label clothes or designer label
fruit and veg
one of the countless little roads full of fruit and vegetable sellers luggage - all very cheap!! The fruit and vegetable stalls in HK fill the narrow side streets everwhere. However, all the signs identifying the items for sale are in Chinese so apart from the things you recognise you have no idea what things are or what to do with them if you buy them. The fish stalls are full of tanks with live fish, and the stall holder has a fishing net. You point to the one you want to buy and he dips in the net and pulls it out for you. They have developed a way of cutting two fillets from either side of the fish, carefully avoiding al the fishes innards, whilst keeping the fish alive - you can see the heart still beating! Quite gruesome really. You can go up two of the highest sky scrapers free of charge. The Bank of China building, the third tallest, has a public viewing area on the 43rd floor, and Two International Finance Centre building, the tallest on HK Island, has an exhibition area on the 55th floor (photo ID required to be issued with a visitor's pass). Both give spectacular views of HK and the harbour. Hong Kong
fish, cockles and mussels alive alive oh
the fish market stalls are not for the faint hearted Park, again right in the centre of the city, has a fascinating aviary, very large with a tree top walkway runnng through it so that you are on a level with the birds. It's well worth a visit and is also free of charge. Our last day (Day 84 of our adventure) saw us taking a ride on the Peak Tram, a furnicular railway, up to the top of HK Island. Since Den was last in HK they have built an entire shopping mall at the top. There are superb views over both sides of the island, if you disregard the haze of pollution hovering over the city. HK is a great place, buzzing with activity, loads of things to do and see, and lots of places to visit.
As we got to the airport for our flight back home to Blightie our feelings became quite emotional as we reminisced over the things we had done and the places we had seen. Ah well - been there, done it, where's next??
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