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Published: January 14th 2009
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Seriously....what a place!! What an amaaaaaaazing, phenomenal and exciting place Hong Kong is!!!
Bedazzled by its bright lights, zapped by its enlivening energy and staggered by the curious amalgam of cultures which Hong Kong gives home to, I tell you, this place was a real shot in the arm.
The flight from Jo'burg to Hong Kong was a looooooong, cramp-inducing 14 hours. It was in fact probably the most deplorable and unsatisfactory flight of the trip so far. Miserly meagre leg room, bland offerings at inflight mealtime and a behind-the-times entertainment system were among my many complaints. Disappointing for Cathay Pacific after everyone speaking so highly of them.
On arrival I had to make a small confession to Kerry. Silly ol' me had not noted down the address of our hostel. No sweat, I thought - a quick check online and I'd be able to ascertain the details. However, hard as it might be to believe, computer terminals with internet access at Hong Kong International Airport are like hen's teeth. After a bothersome quest on various airport floors, I happened upon a computer but not before having to pay the compulsory small fortune for a coffee - computers
for cafe customers only - aaarrgghh!
Hostel details in hand, we stepped out of the airport and were instantly struck a blow by the intense humidity of HK's tropical climate. Tired, after a long flight, slightly tetchy, we made a quick dash for the cool of the air conditioned coach which took us into town.
We stayed in Mong Kok, a busy densely populated area on the Kowloon Peninsula. In fact, 'Mong Kok', in Chinese, literally means 'flourishing/busy corner' and the area has the highest population density in the world - 130,000 per square km. Unsurprising really when rubbing shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, cheek to cheek, crotch to rear on the people packed pavements.
I adored our grubby hostel situated, amusingly enough, on Argyle Street. Up where our room was on the seventh floor, we could observe from the communal balcony laundry on lines, neon signs, house plants escaping from windows and running up the walls. It was dank, dingy, drab and exquisitely shabby. It had real character. There was something very authentic about it. And notwithstanding the windowless closet-sized room we had to share, I loved it: one of my favourite stays from the
entire trip.
We still had the whole day ahead of us. Determined to make the most of it, we allowed ourselves only a very short lie down before heading out to explore. Meandering in Mong Kok was an exciting and sensuous experience: the bark of market sellers, the stench of butchered meat in the specialist meat markets and the bright dazzling signage, obviously best seen at night. The place teems with an array of markets - Temple Street, the Bird Garden (songbirds for sale but in the tiniest little cages - poor things!), the Flower Market, the Ladies' Market, etc.
The MTR (the HK underground system), we found to be an impressive system - fast, clean and air conditioned. A superb way of getting around. We followed various lines in order to get to the starting terminus of the Ngong Ping cable car. Climbing high into the mountains, we journeyed up to Ngong Ping on Lantau Island where a formidable seated Buddah rests at the top - the world's tallest seated outdoors Bronze Buddah I'm told. It was a tad touristy at the top. The cable car spilled us out into a lane where of all things stood
a Starbucks. Is there nowhere sacred?? Didn't stop us going in right enough. Still very tired from our long flight we left the long walk up to the seated Buddah for another day knowing that we would be back in HK for a longer stay after our visit to India.
In the evening, our tired tummies and tastebuds didn't quite feel up to the challenge of the Cantonese savouries on offer in the noodle bars and traditional restaurants surrounding us in Mong Kok. Instead, we ate Big Macs in McDonalds and mused sleepily on the constancy of the McD's brand the world over.
We slept that night a full uninterrupted 13 hours. It was one of the deepest sleeps I've ever slept. I woke still slightly tired, a little bit numb but otherwise really quite refreshed.
We seized the day with an urban discovery walk set out in one of our tour books. Starting at the Western Market, we made our way through a network of streets (Des Voueux Road, Bonham Strand West and Hollywood Road) lined with shops selling very traditional Chinese type products - ginseng, bird's nest, herbal and traditional medicines, curios and antiques. My
eyes bulged at the sight of some of the bizarre assortments of exotic dried seafood - starfish, scallops and squid with drooping tentacles. The smells, as you might imagine, were special.
Stopping in at the Man Mo Temple, we observed traditional worship to the Gods of Literature and War. We then travelled on the Central-Midlands Escalator (the world's largest covered escalator), jumped off at Soho for lunch and then continued our walk past very many different colonial style buildings finishing with the HK Court of Appeal and St John's Cathedral. Hot and sticky from our amblings, we cooled off with iced coffees in a large shopping centre near the Kowloon waterfront. We emerged refreshed in time for the light show - Symphony of Lights - a light and sound show on either side of Victoria Harbour involving HK's most famous skyscrapers. It's the world's largest permanent light and sound show. We stood and watched in awe. Not so much at the light and sound show, which is markedly tame, but at the architecture and buildings themselves. The skyline is truly spectacular.
Turning in for the night, we couldn't wait to see more of HK. But that, however, would
have to wait. We would return to HK but first, INDIA!
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