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Published: March 4th 2007
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The Peak, Hong Kong
The view from the Peak in Hong Kong. This morning, we again woke up early, around 7:30 local time. We wanted to walk right down Nathan road, to find an internet cafe I had read about in the Lonely Planet guide (and yes I found it before I left!) We went to find some food first, as Rosy was starving, but I wasn't. I think being in a strange place does funny things to your appetite. So we went down to the Japanese fast food place, and picked up some breakfast noodles.
After our express breakfast, we continued walking down Nathan Road, stoping intermittently at the techy shops to ask if they knew about any local Internet Cafes... The only places we could find so far were wireless places, which meant we needed our own laptops... doh! I'm sure missing Mr Mac... 😞
It seemed pretty hopeless, but then I saw a Pacific Coffee place that had two internet terminals. All you had to do was buy coffee and you got 15 Minutes free! Unfortunately, Rosy really wanted to spend some quality time on MSN and it was decided that we should try and find somewhere where we could sit down for at least an hour.
So our journey to find the Internet in Hong Kong continued...
It was a nice day, so our walk was good... Took us through an area with fig trees that reminded me of the Botanic Gardens and Mrs Macquaries Chair area in Sydney.
Still following some directions from the last Tech Shop, we turned off the main road and headed into unknown territory. We passed a small gift shop (More like a haphazard road stall...) and stopped off to buy some postcards to write. The gentleman in the shop was lovely and asked Rosy where she was from and Rosy intimated in her broken Cantonese about how she can understand most of what is said but that she doesn't speak it so well. We then took the opportunity to ask the store owner whether he knew where any Internet Cafe was, and he directed us back to Nathan Road!
We were getting a little cranky by now. We never thought Hong Kong would be this bad for an Internet Cafe. We were starting to think we may never be able to log on at all. I guess this is all a bit of dramatic irony, seeing as though you are reading this blog, but I'm sure you understand the severity of the situation we were facing. :P
We caught a train to Central after that, hoping that the fact it is "Central" would make people want to promote their Internet Connections more readily. We wandered around again, and looked for another cafe listed in Lonely Planet. And we found it! But it was closed down for renovations!!!
At our wits end we asked the security guard if he could help us. He pointed into the near by Shopping Centre/Office block and said "Pacific Cafe, next to the Post Office". We were delighted just to go somewhere to sit down, but when we arrived in the Pacific Cafe, there was no one using the Internet and only a few patrons!! We sat on those terminals for about 1.5 hours... ahahahaha 😊
I also managed to write two of my postcards and bought a couple of stamps (a stamp vending machine! How efficient!) and sent off two post cards.
We then decided to find the Peak, which is a viewing platform on the Island of Hong Kong, to which we had to take the tram for. Because we couldn't find any buses, we took a taxi, which means we have only ferry to use of all the public transport available in HK. We have been on the train (MTR), bus, taxi and tram. We are apparently taking the Hydrofoil (supposedly) to the China Mainland.
So the Peak... yes! It was a clear day and was a beautiful warm-ish night. We treated ourselves to a delicious Japanese meal and some red wine. Too much red wine... 3 hours later we emerged just on dusk from the restaurant to go to the viewing deck with the rest of the plebs. We saw the entire city turn to night, light by light. The full moon was out and the atmosphere was most romantic. Unfortunately, Rosy was far from Chris and I was far from... *shrug* I took many many photos of the night sky and I can't wait until I can post them, but you will have to wait until I have the time and the internet connection to support it.
After a few deep breaths, we joined the QUEUE to catch the tram back down. Every man and his dog was there... And I wasn't in the minority being white and all... Gotta love tourist destinations. It really reflects the way of life in a country! NOT.
When we got to the bottom, we followed the locals back to Central and caught the MTR back to Mong Kok. We had a quick half hour rest and built up our courage to face the locals in the ladies market again. I had a mission: a bag, a watch and whatever else I got talked into. 😊 I purchased a leather handbag, which is now squished in my backpack awaiting use. I also bought a Strongbad pendant watch and a pressie for someone back home. (you'll have to wait and see if its you! 😉
Rosy and I both bought some singlet shirts at ridiculously low prices, by the end we became so carried away with underquoting the prices that we almost made a storeholder cry. Well Rosy almost made her cry. Of course Rosy was the one putting up with all the Cantonese chatter, while I looked on with amusement and horror.
Anyway, we were buggered and headed back to our hotel for a good chat and then sleep at about 12:30.
And so finishes another chapter in the Rosy and Susan; China Odyssey Adventure! Stay tuned for the next installment soon.
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jOHNdOE
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yay! I'll have to learn how to haggle from the masters, thats pretty cool that rosy can undertand cantonese! Another secret talent of the dynamic rosy susan duo, hidden language technique wooo ha ha ha