Isles of the Tia-Pans

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Well it’s finally arrived – the day we have waited for and saved for so long is now here.

Woke about half an hour before the alarm was due to go off - 6.15am – but with still so many little jobs to do I’m glad I did. Mum & Dad arrived right on time, 8am and we were ready to go. Tony’s day started with him slamming his middle finger in the car boot – OUCH – as he loaded up the backpacks.

By 8.05 am we were on our way down the world’s most boring & frustrating road, North East. Peak hour traffic didn’t help our cause, but we still managed to get to Adelaide Airport with plenty of time to spare. Checking in was easy – my backpack weighs 12.9 kilos, Tony’s about 16. As he had his shoes strapped to the side of his they provided him with a huge plastic bag to put his whole backpack in – will come in handy to keep if it rains! Looks like we have an airbus but no choice of seats – found out we have a two hour stopover in Melbourne – NOT HAPPY. Sat & had a drink with Mum & Dad until time to board – Tony’s day continued to go disastrously as first he couldn’t find his wallet (in his daypack, of course) and then he misplaced his boarding pass (located with his ticket!!) Soon it was time to take the obligatory farewell photos and head into the departure lounge.

Couldn’t believe it when we walked through, only ONE person behind the counter checking boarding passes for a plane load of passengers! It seemed to take forever, but as soon as we got to be about 3^rd from the front of the line, they decided to put two more people on. Made it through without any more hassles, checked duty free and I got zinged going through the metal detector for my watch. Boarded on time, flight is an Airbus 330, roomy with video screens in each seat. Journey to Melbourne uneventful and short – given ham & cheese roll & orange juice. Played solitaire on the video screen and read the inflight magazine. Arrived Melbourne 12.36pm & waited in transit lounge to board at 2pm. Explored transit lounge although not much to see – shop assistants are snotty & would not give me change for the coke machine. Reboarded flight about 2.10pm – they check your face to your passport now before you board. About nine and half hours from Hong Kong, which is 2 hours behind Adelaide time. Decided to watch movie – Tony “The Last Samurai” & me “Something’s Gotta Give” Man in front of Tony keeps putting his seat back so makes watching video a bit hard. Two kids across the aisle from us, brother & sister, quite well behaved so far. Dinner paste with mushroom sauce (YUM), chicken caesar salad and blueberry strudel (Everything yummy) Movie ended – surprised to see that after nearly 3 hours in the air we are still in Australia !! (Just heading towards Darwin)

Yippee! About two hours out from Hong Kong & its refreshment time – flight been non-eventful so far – watched another movie “Love Actually” & I have tried to sleep while Tony reads. A kid grizzled for about half an hour, we both wanted to shoot her. Flying just west of Manila.

Finally arrived Hong Kong around 10pm local time – checking through immigration & baggage was easy although time consuming. Found a ticket machine that sold tickets for the Airport Express – HKD90 to Kowloon. Train very efficient, left from airport & took about 20 mins to arrive in Kowloon – it is now past 11pm & all the train stations are empty. Asked the man at the Customer Service desk where the MTR to Mongkok was, and he advised us to take a cab to the hostel, would cost about HKD40.

Cab dropped us out the front of Sincere house, where our hostel was located on the 7^th floor, but do you think we could find the door?? Tony stayed with our bags while I walked around trying to find a door or a way in – luckily I found it on the opposite side, and we checked in about 11.30pm. Our room is very small with 2 single beds – it will do as at least it is clean. Fell straight into bed, very tired and went straight to sleep.



Thursday 1^st April 18 degrees 97%!h(MISSING)umidity



Woke up busting for the toilet. It was about 7am, woke Tony and went and had a shower. No windows in hostel, can’t tell what the weather is like or even if it’s night or day. Shower is hand held but pressure is good and water hot. Had McDonald’s for breakfast (same as we always do in Australia – except it tasted better & was cheaper!!) Then went to the nearest MTR station at Mongkok to catch the Metro to Tsim Sha Tsui. We purchased a HKD50 tourist ticket which gives us unlimited rides for 24 hours. We got off at Tsim Sha Tsui and wandered down to Kowloon harbour. Day overcast & foggy, sightseeing is difficult & photo taking a waste of time. We went to the tourist office to find the times for the Macau ferry, and then back on the MTR to Hong Kong Island. We then caught the number 70 bus to Aberdeen (HKD4.70) so we could go on a cruise around Aberdeen harbour. As soon as we got to the harbour we were approached by an older woman who wanted to take us on her sampan for HKD120. We said HKD100 (about AUD17) and she took us to her friend who had a sampan – we were soon joined by an American couple (who we suspect paid less than us) & were driven around the harbour. The harbour is surrounded by many high rise apartments, many of which are over 40 storeys high. We sailed past the marina, where the police boats and expensive looking boats are moored. We also saw “JUMBO” which is the world’s only floating Chinese restaurant. By now it was starting to rain, and by the time we had finished, the rain was quite heavy. We caught the number 70 bus back to Central and then decided to go to Victoria Peak, even though the day was overcast and viewing would be difficult. We walked uphill to the Peak Tram Station and bought return tickets for HKD30 each. The tram has one of the world’s steepest gradients – it looks like the buildings are tilting but it’s actually the tram’s angle. The ride was less than 10 mins & unfortunately the rain had started again, so we didn't stay out on the viewing platform long (just long enough for me to discover that the ice cream machine I had been waiting for, for over three years was out of order BOO HOO) We then found an Internet cafe where we had some cappuccino’s & sent emails. Would have been a great place to be if the weather was good. We then decided to catch the MTR out to Tung Chung on Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha. The MTR system is fantastic – we walked from central Station to Hong Kong Station through the underground – so clean & sterile, it was like being in an airport, with all the moving walkways. The MTR is so clean that it doesn't even have one of the world’s dirtiest things – a toilet!! We were both busting by the time we arrived but there wasn't one to be seen until we reached a major shopping mall in Tung Chung. By now it was literally pouring with rain, and we were beginning to have doubts about the Big Buddha, but as we had just found where to catch the number 23 bus, and one had just rocked up, we decided to go ahead. The bus journey took 35 mins across Lantau Island – if it hadn't been raining the scenery would've been spectacular – most of it was National Park. There were only three of us on the bus. We finally arrived at Po Lin & the Buddha WAS big, and quite impressive. We climbed 260 steps to the top in the pouring rain, but it was well worth it. Climbing down also took some effort as neither of us wanted to slip on the wet steps. I think our legs aren't quite used to climbing up & down 520 steps – we both nearly collapsed on the last four, the “pain” was “tremendous”. We stuck our heads in the Po Lin monastery but by now we were a bit wet & miserable so we didn't go in, but jumped on the bus back to Tung Chung. Overall we stayed less than half an hour at the Buddha, but we were both glad we went. Arrived back at Mongkok about 5.30pm – Maccas for tea (hey it may be our last for months!!) and currently are vegging in our shoe box at the hostel.

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