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My flight out of Tashkent made a long stop in Almaty, Kazakhstan. About nine hours later my next flight departed towards Hong Kong. My left knee was still hurting until my second day in Hong Kong, then I was able to walk normally again.
Hong Kong was given back to China by the UK in 1997 and enjoys a separate status from mainland China with a high degree of autonomy. Hong Kong is small, just 1104 sq. km (2.5 the size of Curaçao) but has more than 7 million people. It’s a very modern city and an important financial and trading hub in Asia. I came to Hong Kong again as a stop-over to my next destination. In November 2007 I spent one whole day in Hong Kong on my way towards Australia, but this time I stayed for 5 days and I saw a little bit more than I saw in 2007. I could have seen more but I didn't bother too much, since I wanted to take it easy for a few days.
I arrived in Hong Kong and waited at the airport for about 4 hours until Ivan finished working; a former colleague I worked in New
Zealand with. He works at the airport and I stayed at his place. It was really nice to catch up again after almost a year and I had a pleasant stay! The first day I didn’t do anything because my knee was still hurting. Besides, I was very tired and needed to rest. The next day I woke up late and waited for Ivan to come home in the afternoon, then we went to Kowloon. By then my knee was much better and I was able to walk normally again. First we wandered through the Temple Street Market and then we met a friend of him and had dinner. After this we walked through Kowloon and went towards the south until the harbour. From here you can enjoy the nice views of Hong Kong Island on the other side of the water, with its skyscrapers nicely lit. We walked on the Avenue of Stars where there is a statue of the famous Bruce Lee.
For the next day Ivan explained to me which bus I should take from home and where to get off etc. He went to work and I woke up later and went to town
by myself. I went to the Hong Kong Museum of History, which was recommended by Ivan. The museum was indeed a very interesting place to visit. It shows a lot about the first inhabitants of the region; the flora and fauna; the many ethnic groups, all with their own customs; the British conquest in mid-1800’s; the natural disasters and the process towards 1997 when Hong Kong was transferred back to Chinese rule by the UK, led by UK’s ex-prime minister Margaret Thatcher (the “so called” iron lady). I couldn’t help but think about the European colonial greediness in the past; what an arrogance and abuse of power! It already happened and you can’t change the history but I’m happy that those things cannot easily happen anymore. Back then it was like a free for all, what a shame! Anyway, I spent about two hours in the museum and then I went to meet Ivan who just finished working. I was supposed to meet him at a subway station at exit A at 5pm. I was there and I waited for half an hour, then he came. He was waiting for me inside while I was outside. Luckily I got a
free wi-fi connection to send him a whatsapp message. We walked towards the harbour again and boarded the ferry towards Hong Kong Island. We walked towards The Peak Tram, which takes you up to Victoria Peak at an altitude of 554m. It was getting dark by this time and it was quite busy. I have been up here in 2007 too, but during the day. This time the weather was very foggy and you couldn’t see much of the city. We had dinner at the mall located up there before going back down and returned home.
The next day I was completely by myself. I boarded a bus to Kowloon and made my way towards the harbour. Here I boarded a ferry to Hong Kong Island, where I wandered around the main centre for a bit and it's the place where you’ll see the iconic double-decker trams. I walked mostly around the Soho area, a shopping and entertainment area well known for having the longest outdoor escalator system. I went to the Man Mo Temple where there was a lot of smoke, coming from the large amount of incense they use there. I continued walking true the narrow,
steep streets and stairs of Soho; some with vendors selling all kind of random stuff. I boarded a bus and went towards Stanley, on the southern side of Hong Kong Island, a part of the island where it’s quieter. The bus drove along some beaches before arriving in Stanley. First I walked through the Street Market where I bought some souvenirs and then I continued on the boardwalk along Stanley Bay. I had some food here before I continued towards the Murray House and the Blake Pier. After walking around the area for a bit, I took a bus back to the main centre of the island and then boarded the ferry back to Kowloon and made my way back home. During my last day I tried to go visit the big Tian Tan Buddha before going to the airport, but unfortunately I was just too late. The cable care was still going but the site would close 10 minutes after my arrival there. I should have searched for information about opening times first. I was way too relaxed and lazy to leave home earlier, that’s why I missed it. I went back to the mall at Tung Chung (Citygate
Outlets), where I had my bags stored in a locker, and I had some food and I also took advantage to send three postcards and a small parcel to Curaçao. I always send three postcards from every country: to my parents, to the school where I used to work and to a foundation where I used to work a few afternoons a week. Then I made my way to the airport and checked-in for my flight. Just after the employee of the airline gave me my boarding pass, she called me and took it back. She asked me to show an outward ticket from my next destination. I said I didn’t have one yet but I will book one after my arrival. She made me book a ticket right then, otherwise she wouldn’t give me my boarding pass back. I was obviously NOT amused at all since I think it’s bull shit! Having an outward ticket is not a guarantee that I will leave the country. If I had intentions of staying longer and become an “illegal”, I’d just stay and not show-up at the airport on the day I’m supposed to leave. It’s so annoying that the airline staff
are acting like migration officers. If I needed a visa to visit the country, then I would understand that they want to check if you have one. When I arrived at my destination the officials did not ask me for an outward ticket at all! So what’s the big deal? Discussing with the employee was not an option. Luckily I have my little laptop and there was free wi-fi available. I sat on a bench right across the check-in counter, booked an outward ticket and then showed it to the employee on my laptop. This is so easy to fake anyway and if I really want to fake it, I’d easily do it and get away with it, especially by showing a screenshot of the e-mail on your smartphone for example. Anyway, I flew out of Hong Kong for about 3 hours to my next destination. More in the next entry!
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Ake Och Emma
Ake Dahllof and Emma Holmbro
How cool
I am going to HK next year. Will for sure gpo and see this statue then/Ake