Blogs from Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, Asia - page 7

Hong Kong: Haircut, Lee Gardens and Times Square This morning we left the hotel, walked around the block, down a short hill, across a busy street with construction, weaved our way through some barricades and found Hennessey Street and the Amour Salon. You may have noticed in the blog pictures, that with all this humidity my hair was getting a little long and wild ;-) Amour, is a cute little shop with about 6 chairs. All the hair products are L’Oreal. First I was shown a book with 4 prices from $290 Hong Kong dollars to $480 HKD- divide by 7 for US dollars. Next to each price was the level of person that I wanted to cut my hair. Lowest level and least money was Experience under 6 months. Then it went up from there ... read more

Hong Kong: Champagne, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride & Laundry Last night ended with a sweet surprise. When we were returning from Hors d’oeuvres up in the lounge, we noticed a Marriott server ringing our doorbell. Yes, we have a doorbell on our room ;-) He had a beautiful setting of desserts, fresh strawberries with chocolate dips and champagne with glasses. Cope told him he had the wrong room as we hadn’t ordered anything. The server just smiled and handed me a card that said “Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary and your belated birthday. This lovely cart WAS for us! ;-) Marriott management had sent it up. NICE! I guess we’re going to have leisurely mornings in Hong Kong as virtually nothing opens before 9:30 or 10 however; they stay open till 11 or midnight. Definitely not ... read more

While the crowds have thinned, those still there have settled in for a while. Tents are set up along Connaught Rd, and makeshift study halls have been created so the students can keep up with their studies. There are families wandering around, older people taking selfies with tents in the background, and tourists checking it all out. High school students are there in uniform, and there were some uni students in their graduation cloaks. We even saw a couple having wedding photos taken with the protests in the background. Free drinks are bing provided, and there are increasing numbers of signs and posters. Overall though the mood is calm and quiet. The police are staying away, and the crowds are pushing non violent civil disobedience. Calm and peaceful, but no end in sight.... read more

We have arrived in Hong Kong a little ahead of schedule to find our 0040 departure to Paris has stretched to a 3am departure. As compensation, Cathay Pacific allows us HK$150 for use in any of the airport eateries. Now before you get as excited as I did with my limited knowledge of the local currency, this equates to 2 single waffle cones, 2 bottles of water and a 3 biscuit pack of Oreos. The phone issue was dealt with at Melbourne Airport through the purchase of 2 SIM cards, no frills, no data, top up on line, and usable in every country we visit at reasonable rates. A small problem put to the side. You've got to love Victorians and the passion for Aussie Rules football. Within seconds of being allowed to turn on phones ... read more

Today was the first official full day of the tour. I was up early as we were meeting at 8am to get the bus and go hiking. I nipped to Maccy D's for breakfast before meeting the others. We were joined by Stuart from Northern Ireland and Ged and Lauren form Calafornia. We all headed out to the tube and then caught a bus up to Victoria park. It was a hot day as usual and the bus was full. When the bus terminated we got off and walked up the view point which had two sides, one with a view out over the sea and the other a view out over the city and took lots of photos and then walked down the winding path. I'm so glad we did it this way as the ... read more