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Published: November 6th 2008
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My roommate had gone for breakfast by the time my alarm went off. So after having had a relaxed wash, I made my way down to breakfast at exactly 09h00. As I wandered into the restaurant, I was greeted by a sea of pale faces and a babble of Estuary English. I vowed there and then never to go and stay in a hotel frequented by Brits again! Nothing was right - there were no fried eggs, the tea tasted funny (as did the milk) and who on earth would want noodles and rice for breakfast! As I sat there eating my noodles and rice with chillies I looked around wondering why my fellow diners had bothered coming and not stayed in the UK!
At 09h30, we all met in the lobby and headed off to Mong Kok metro station. The sun was shining brightly and by the time we’d walked the several hundred yards, we were all dripping water! Disappearing into the bowels of the earth, we climbed into the pristine train and emerged four stops later into the sunshine in Statue Square. This was the centre of the original 1890’s colony but all the original colonial buildings, including
the cricket pitch have been replaced by the modern glass skyscrapers. During the 1940’s, the occupying Japanese removed all the statues for
safe keeping and now there is just a solitary statue residing over the square - that of a much loved former director of HSBC!
Walking through some of these modern buildings, we made our way to St. John’s Cathedral. Built in the 1840’s, it was used by the occupying Japanese as a club in the 1940’s and is the only building in Hong Kong that is freehold! After WWII, the cathedral was restored, the main doors made from wood of HMS Tamar, a supply ship that was docked for over 50 years in Hong Kong Harbour
Leaving the cool of the Cathedral, we headed into Hong Kong Park but walked straight past the Tea Museum! This stunning garden is landscaped up the hillside and is surmounted by the Edward Youde Aviary. Although there are apparently over 800 birds within the aviary, I don’t think we saw more than forty or fifty.
Finally, the object of our morning’s walk came nearer as we made our way to the Peak Tram. This has been operating since 1888
and climbs 400m at an angle of 27 degrees. It is reputed to be the safest form of transport in the world with not a single accident being recorded - ever! Entering the terminal by using our Octopus Cards, we waited in the heat for the tram to appear before all climbing aboard. With 24 of us, this was no mean feat. As we ascended, we got the first glimpses of the views that would await us at the top.
We arrived at the summit at 12h00 exactly and our guide pointed us to a recommended restaurant for lunch. I took
recommended to mean
Western so headed in the opposite direction to the group and dined Chinese style with chillied beef and noodles with lemon grass. I learned later that my fellow travelling companions had suffered poor quality cake and dry bread in a coffee shop!
An hour later, we went outside to start the walk around the Victoria Peak. The tram arrives at its terminus in Peak Tower, which is known locally as the Flying Wok. It does, however, provide superb views from the top terrace. I wasn’t willing to pay $20 and so never got to
see those fine views from the top! However, the hour’s walk around the Peak proved to have superb views, accompanied by birdsong and the voices of 23 elderly British tourists!
Back at the Peak Tower, we boarded a bus and, climbing to the upper deck, began the scary, high speed trip down the hill to the Star Ferry Terminal at the bottom. Here, we boarded the aforementioned Star Ferry and returned back to the Kowloon side in no time at all.
A very short day but one in which we actually did some walking, although I have to admit, it was more like a Sunday afternoon stroll!
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Karen
non-member comment
Wow
Looks and sounds great... break out before you suffocate....