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Published: March 19th 2010
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Clear skies
Flying to HK A ridiculously early start saw me sharing a cab with a chatty aussie fella; he was touring China for a month, but we were both heading south for some warmth. Once at the airport I was questioned about my huge amount of baggage, but just as I thought they were going to charge me, they let me through.. I think it was something to do with travelling through the US, but I was very relieved at 20kg over!
While I waited for the flight the sun rose and the mist and murk of the previous few days had blown away to leave clear blue skies - shame I couldn't have stayed to see the Summer Palace. A surprising 4 hours of flying saw us head out towards the Wall, before heading south, and over the clouds, popping out just west of Kowloon, and a smooth touch down at the new airport.
I hadn't really planned too much of my time in Hong Kong, and after getting on the wrong bus I eventually made it to North Point, and my hostel. The bus hadn't dropped me too close, and the walk in the 25 degree heat with all my bags had been
First view
as we popped out through the clouds a bit of a mistake. Still I was there, right? Wrong, I'd been "upgraded" to another location. A cab ride later and I staggered into my room, in a converted apartment, but only on the 5th floor. I write only because Hong Kong is the highest rise city in the world, with more people living above the 14th floor than anywhere else. And what a skyline! There are 2 of the worlds top 10 tallest buildings here, and the rest are mighty impressive, too. So the room was a little odd - there was the expected air conditioning unit, tv, bed, etc but then there was also a de-humidifier that seemed to heat the room, and the ensuite bathroom is a little special... I know that space is at a premium in Hong Kong, but it wasn't even the smallest bathroom I've used. It had a sink, and a toilet (that smelled of sulphur), but the unique thing was that the shower head was mounted above the toilet - you could "go" and wash yourself clean at the same time. Of course it helped that it was a wet room, too.
After too much rest and recuperation I set off
Busy port
lots of containers, and huge ships for a walk - down to the waterfront, and into the city. It was about this point I realised I'd made a bit of a boo-boo visiting Hong Kong for so long.... it's a shopper's paradise, but there isn't a lot more to it, and me, with my bags full, I could only window shop! Nevermind, I made a good go of it - I went off to the Temple Street night market, and managed to only walk away with another painting... I was looking for somewhere nearby to eat and found a restaurant with a few people in, but perhaps my tastes are different as it seemed to be gristle and rice!
Next morning found me dicing with the shower, a bit of electronics and book gazing before sleeping off yesterday's early start. It surprised me that nothing in the city seems to open before 10:30 am, but then it doesn't close until gone 9:00pm so... Before you ask about the Peak, it was cloudy and I wasn't going to head for the top unless I was going to see something!
The evening found me wandering off into Wan Chai to meet up with a couple of old school
no junks
not sure what these are friends, one of who, although Chinese was the last person you'd expect to be working in Hong Kong - even now he doesn't speak much Cantonese. Still, it was great to see them, and to actually have a Chinese meal where you don't have to guess what to order (noticeably there was no rice on the table, and only noodles as a starter). Afterwards we caught the tram (a Hong Kong institution) into downtown for a couple of drinks in Lan Kwai Fong - a street full of pubs and tourists.
Day 3 turned much colder, but still cloudy so I set out for a longer wander; I found lots of covered, elevated walkways through the city making walking surprisingly easy, or at least it would have been if they weren't full of Indonesian and Filipino women. I couldn't quite work out what was going on, but they'd brought lunch, some of them were playing cards, and later on they all produced dinner, too - not leaving until after sunset. Meanwhile, plenty of their sisters had taken to the streets to demand more rights for immmigrants... interesting that I saw very few men all day - where had they all
Temple Street Market
anyone been to Thailand? gone?
In search of some warmth I found myself in the IFC mall - International Finance Centre - and was quickly approached by estate agents trying to sell me flats in the buildings above; they didn't seem to care that I was a tourist, and perhaps I should have had a look. As the day drew on I went to investigate the escalators that lead from downtown up into the hills, past Soho and upto people's homes. A very civilised way of doing things, and it must save some traffic. Nighttime found me on a star ferry, bound for Kowloon to see the nightly light display - all the skyscrapers are lit up and synchronised to music. To be truthful it felt a little too much - just the lights themselves were a marvel, but with the music it pushed it all OTT. Nevermind!
For Day 4 I decided to explore the markets a little further - first to Mong Kok - Ladies Market; none for sale, I was a trifle disappointed, and actually there wasn't much in the way of the promised clothes either. From there a quick kaiten sushi and I wandered to the Jade Street, and was
neon skies
big signs everywhere, mostly for Luk Fook Jewellers! equally disappointed to find most of the shops closed. Oh well, on to the Jade Market... and there was almost noone in there, either - the stall holders were desperate to sell something - they were telling me that the rain had kept people away. Not really what I'd have called rain - an occasional drizzle, but judging by the explosion of umbrellas today, still just as unpopular with the locals. Sadly (for me, at least) the Jade was much, much cheaper than in Beijing - but then it had come from Burma, not China.
Back on to the Island for a Thai dinner, and packing... because Day 5 was my last day on my trip. After dropping my stuff at the hostel I went to find some of the other markets - firstly the local market; butchers' stalls next to fruit and veg next to fishmongers... left me wondering about the hygiene, but I guess as a local at least everything is in one place. Onwards to the flower market (more orchids than I'd ever seen), and the bird cage market - lots of crickets, cages and more than a few birds. I felt very sorry for something so
you can buy anything
was told off for taking the picture, though! free to be in a cage where it could barely open its wings, so I walked away from the madness, up towards the hills this time, and despite temperatures cold enough to make my breath steam (is this really the tropics?) I was soon feeling rather hot as I climbed step after step after step. I soon found almost noone on the streets, and started to walk along the edge of the city/forest, watching the hawks circling above and the changing skyline. On the other hand, my hunger quickly brought me back into the city and before I knew it, it was time to head for the airport. Caught the right bus this time, but arrived just in time for all the restaurants to be shutting down, so lukewarm chicken and rice for tea!
There are actually 2 British Airways flights back from Hong Kong within 20 minutes of each other - not sure if this is every night, but that's 800 people fitfully dozing their way across 8 time zones for 13 hours...
Knackered, I didn't have much of an opportunity to reflect on the trip before I zonked out, waking up an hour or so before touchdown. I
corridors of ladies
bit blurry, sorry, but felt a bit rude taking the picture did wonder as we flew in over my home county, if I waved out of the window, would anyone below wave back?
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