End of Day One

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Another Successful Hong Kong night!

After our little nap this afternoon (giving the whole travel thing we needed it) we got ourselves up and about and headed off to the Temple Street Night Markets. Now there was a shopping experience. Mark saw a copy of Cars (as in the new Pixar movie) and Da Vinci Code for sale. Roughly about $HK20 ea. Now that works out at about less than $Aud5 ea. Not sure about the quality though. When we came back that way we saw Police on the beat and no DVDs. Funny really. We saw clothes, bags, jewellery, watches and even Air Pistols! Literally anything you want you can buy on those markets!

Bamboo Scaffolding: yes we saw lots and lots. Given the changes taking place in the Architectural World of Hong Kong, the changing face of the city includes bamboo scaffolding. I think that it must be a cheap and easily accessible building product for them as they grow naturally. (Stands of bamboo that is) And the neon lights. The brighter, more colourful and larger the better it would seem. But I do think that the question here is: Is it like that to reflect away from the housing of the people in the Older areas? Does it cover the decay and degradation of the buildings? Walking through the markets and streets brightly lit, if you looked up, beyond the lights you could see the buildings were old and by European standards dilapidated. But then again, I am wondering too if that is just my curious European sensibilities. Who knows?

We saw our first beggars. The girls started pointing and we quickly explained that we would talk about it at the hotel. It is hard for the girls as this is something they have never seen or faced. How do you explain to a 9 & 10 year old that in some countries the lack of Social Services includes care of the aged and infirm? We talked about it with them but perhaps this most tangible reminder will spark some sort of understanding of just how lucky they are when they are old enough to understand the concept.

We caught a taxi back to the hotel at the end of the evening and at about $24.80 (we took it up to $25 which is the accepted thing apparently) it worked out about $Aud5 so cheap enough. But even though we had read and heard about the business card in English and Chinese/Cantonese/Mandarin we really discovered what that was all about. We said a few times Intercontinental & Salisbury Rd but only when Mark pulled out the map could we make the driver understand where we meant. Important note to self - get some business cards from the desk tomorrow to use as necessary! =)

We also tried out the MTR today. Another massive milestone for us. Swipe the card and head on through. And those trains get on and find a space big enough to stand in and hold firm. The people that move through on the system! I can now see why they say it is arguable the most used Mass Transit system in the world. Very clean though. No graffiti unlike in Australia. And just like in Sydney you have to almost sprint onto the train as soon as the people getting off are out of the way. Otherwise you miss your chance.

Shona, the text was very welcome. We will keep in mind that whole green monster thing =) We were grabbing a quick KFC because we were unsure as to what food would be available - not a lot really so probably a good choice although it sure tasted different to any KFC I have had before. Oh! And Kids Meals do not exist in Hong Kong (KFC or Golden Arches) so they eat what we eat, and if they want the toy they have to pay for it. Really a much better idea.

Mark says to include an interesting bit of trivia too. Hong Kong is 11 000kmsq with 7 000 000 inhabitants. Cook Shire is 116 000 kmsq and 5 000 inhabitants. Just a bit of a size difference don’t you think?

Advertising on television is great to watch. Among some of our favourites is the keep Hong Kong clean ad. Cute little animated characters helping people to not spit, throw rubbish and cigarette butts out. Mind you, as we walked along the Avenue of Stars today we saw a Stormwater drain running straight into the Harbour. The Queensland EPA would be having fits if they saw that. And the smell of sewerage, the sulphuric smells which were present down near the Star Ferry Pier too were at times a bit strong. But all in all I think that these are small prices to pay for seeing the world.

Night night all!

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Comments

[Shona]

So brave!
Hi guys, I love to read your journaling. By the end of the trip you guys will be experts at bargining. The girls will want to go into their local store and start bargining with the checkout girl. You must be seeing amazing stuff. Have you come across alot of other tourists? Can't wait for our next instalment....................Stay safe!