Hong Kong: Getting Settled In

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I arrived at 1:30 PM HK time (about 1:30 AM T.O. time). The airport, which replaced Kai Tak many years ago, is located on Lantau Island. It's pretty nice, modern and all that, but it is always interesting to see how similar airports around the world are getting these days. But, at least it is clean (and the danger of flying into tenements has effectively been eliminated).

I decided that I would take the cheapest way possible to HK Island. Citybus runs an Airbus line (A11) which goes directly to the island, passing Central, Causeway Bay, and Fortress Hill. A one way ticket costs $40HK, which sounded fine to me - certainly better than $375 ($60CAD) by cab. It was a nice, smooth ride, and pretty convienient. I was dropped of 10 minutes away by foot to my hostel.

On the advice of a co-worker, I'm staying at a Hostel called "Yes Inn." The main lobby is actually located at 294 King, while the rooms themselves are located about two blocks down the street. Everyone says that rooms in HK are small. They are soo right. I reserved a double room deliberately because I wanted to avoid feeling claustrophobic. Honestly, I would hate to see what the single rooms are like. It is clean, though, and I'm amused by the washroom. There is no separate shower stall - the toilet, sink, and shower head are all neatly piled in the same area. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it without wetting the entire floor.

I slept for an hour, then got up to explore a bit. My area is full of restaurants, malls, electronic stores selling all sorts of gadgets, hairdressers, etc. Very, very busy. I decided to pick up my Octopus card and check out the subway system (Called the MTR here). The card costs $150 ($50 card deposit plus $100 credit) and is good on the MTR system and some ferries (but not the star ferry to Kowloon). The trains are nice and clean, even though the subway is still busy up until 8 pm).
I took the train down to Central Station, and decided to walk to the ferry docks. Since it was a rainy night, it didn't make sense to try and cross to Kowloon to get a good night shot, so I just walked around a bit. Very, urbanized (I don't think I've seen quite so many neon signs before) but cool. Went back to my hostel, had a rice bun and two peices of tiramisu for dinner (!) and went to bed.

Today, it's off to the peak and Happy Valley.

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Comments

[Sue]

Asian bathrooms
Glad to hear that you arrived safely! Don't worry about wetting the floor in the bathroom. I don't think you're meant to keep it dry. Hope you brought a pair of flip-flops or something! Looking forward to hearing more about your travels as you go. :)