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Published: August 25th 2011
Hong Kong – A catch up with a great friend and a holiday whilst traveling, perfect!
For the past 10 days I’ve been in Hong Kong, my destinations of late have become progressively more representative of life back home apart from not having a job of course. HK is very different to Shanghai and has a very western feel to it, it was like stepping into London but with intense heat and a lot more pollution.
After yet another delayed flight, a protest in the airport by the passenger and my bags being lost I eventually arrived in HK 24 hours later than I had hoped. At some point in China I’m hoping an internal flight might get me to my destination within 4 hours of the allocated time but I’m not holding my breath. After my fellow Chinese passengers blocked the boarding gate to the flight in protest about the delays and lack of information the airline company eventually agreed to a £50 cash refund to all passengers for the delay, which was an unexpected bonus when the flight only cost £80. When the Chinese get together and decide they want something they certainly aren’t shy about making
Macau Tower
Sky walk. I'm sh*ting it!themselves heard, it was really interesting to watch the whole event unfolding, but they got what they wanted in the end so fair play to them. On the downside these additional delays meant I had missed any chance of crossing the land boarder and making it to HK because all trains had stopped running by this time so I had to wait in Shenzhen (China) until the next day once my luggage had been found and delivered back to me at the hotel the airline put me up in. Having said all this I’ve now reached the point where I expect to be delayed and if I don’t get delayed it’s a bonus! Set the standards low and you won’t be disappointed……
My visit to HK was primarily to meet up with my friend Sammi (or as she now prefers sister) to catch up after she left London about 3 months ago to start a new life and career in HK. It was so great to see Sammi and hang out with her and her new friends especially Angela who took me to a Yoga class and a Piano lesson, yet more firsts! I have to say I’ve a
new found respect for anyone practising Yoga, admittedly I was in an intermediate class and well out of my depth but even so some of the positions and routines they do are so technically difficult and require immense levels of core strength which I‘ve clearly lost since travelling, I’m also kidding myself that I ever had such attributes to my physique. It was a really good morning and in the afternoon I decided I wanted to chill out so I made the most of my first class lodgings! Thanks to Sammi’s lovely new home on the 53rd floor I had the use of a gym and a swimming pool, not to mention a fully air condition apartment which was super comfortable complete with amazing views. I could easily get use to this life, it was a really relaxing break from the noise and general craziness of the rest of China and hostel life.
Whilst I was in HK Sammi had this “great” idea that she wanted to do the world tallest Bungy jump from the Macau Tower, well for those of you who know me or have read my previous blogs you will already know how much I love
heights! And for those of you who also know Sammi you will know that once she has an idea in her head its basically happening like it or not! So we set off to Macau and reached the tower, sadly again there was no way I could do the Bungy jump so I compromised and agreed to do the skywalk, but Sammi being the hard-core adrenaline junky did both, a total nutcase! As you will see from the photos the Bungy jump is 233m high and is on the same platform as the skywalk, Sammi needed no encouragement and just went for it, then it was time for our Skywalk. Up until this point I was fine with the height whilst inside the building but as soon as we stepped outside I froze! The Skywalk is approximately a 1meter wide walk way round the complete perimeter of the tower at 233m high. There were many insane things you could do whilst on the platform like sit on the edge of the walkway, hang off the walkway or run and jump/swing in your harness over the edge. Or if you’re like me just walk round very slowly like you’ve only just
Macau Tower
Sammi and me pre-skywalk learnt to walk. It was quite simply terrifying but I’m so glad I did it because the views were incredible. I’m determined that on this trip somewhere I will do a Bungy jump (sorry Mum I know you don’t want to hear this) and I feel it’s getting closer, at some point I’m going to say f*ck lets just do it. Watch this space.
I felt like I had been a bit lazy in HK which I was more than happy about but as I’m sat here writing this blog I realise I’ve done so much. On my first weekend I went out with Sammi and Angela to a 4th Anniversary night VIP party at Prive nightclub, a big thank you to Omar for leading me some shoes! It was a great night and I have never seen so much bling in one club!
As you will see from the photos I went on the Tram to the Peak where you get the most amazing views of HK. I also went to Tai Long Wang beach which was picture perfect and almost deserted, it was hard to believe you were still in HK it felt like paradise. This
is also where I learnt many new sayings such as an Angry Dragon and a Jelly Donut, I won’t be explaining what these are on here but I’m sure there are definitions on the web somewhere for those who are interested.
I also took a day trip to one of the outlying islands to a place called Ngong Ping to see the 23m high Buddha set on top of a beautiful mountain it was incredible but I guess I must be getting spoilt by so many breath taking attractions because although the Buddha itself was incredible the other areas surrounding it did not make much of an impression on me, it felt a little bit like Disney world with a Startbucks, Subway and various themed gift shops and the staff saying “have a nice day.” I guess that’s the western influence for you and I can’t have it both ways.
Another great night out was on the Jumbo floating restaurant, the setting as the name suggests is on a large boat but inside it feels like a posh hotel, the food was lovely and the company first class. But the part that really makes it is getting to
the restaurant, you take a boat across the river driving between large commercial boats and luxury yachts, whilst taking in the breath taking HK skyline lit up like a neon light show. Simply beautiful.
There were so many great days spent in HK and I’m so grateful to Sammi for making my stay so special and taking so much time out of her hectic schedule to show me round. This was always going to be a little bit of luxury within my travel plans and it did not fail to deliver. All I have to do now is remember it’s back to hostel life from now on, I think that’s why I made the most of my time there by relaxing and soaking up all the creature comforts. Tomorrow I head to Guilin back in main land China, I can feel it’s going to be a shock to the system after two amazing weeks.
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rui lin
non-member comment
expressions
So, I thought the angry dragon and jelly doughnut expressions were Chinese sayings. What a disappointment.