Blogs from Kowloon, Hong Kong, Asia - page 4

And we're back!!! Whatever it is they say, HK still has that special spot in me. I don't care about the mad rush of the season, the traffic and the swarm of people. I mind going back to those places I've been to in the past, nor buy the same merch I did some 4 years ago. And I will never stop coming back....The only difference this time is that its Christmas. And this is the first time that we will be out of our turf this time of the year. It was a very good experience spending Christmas abroad. I really don't mind....as long as I'm with family. Next year....will try Seoul or Tokyo perhaps :).... read more

I read an article that says that Hong Kong is the world's most expensive city to live in, but its citizens are relatively well paid, so they can generally cope with this. This probably goes some way to explaining why the hotel dining room was jam packed last night with people willing to fork out a hundred and ten Australian dollars, plus drinks, for a buffet, while we were filling ourselves up with sausages at the much cheaper German restaurant down the road. There are four other Chinese cities in the top 20 on the world's most expensive cities list, and other featured metropolises include Tokyo, Singapore and most of the larger cities in Switzerland. The list also includes a bunch of dangerous places in Africa. It seems that the list is based on the costs ... read more

In stark contrast to the flight from Venice to Dubai, our flight to Hong Kong is jam packed. Issy says she can never sleep on planes. I'm not surprised. The movies she watches would give me nightmares for months, and I can't even hear the dialogue. We don't have any local currency to get to our hotel so we try to get some cash from an ATM at the airport. It seems very reluctant to part with any of its hard-earned. We try a smaller amount, and then use Issy's card instead, but all to no avail. We wonder if it's run out of cash, but the person behind us doesn't seem to have any trouble. We begin to fear that our bank account's been raided, or maybe we've been black listed for making derogatory comments ... read more

HONG KONG - 29th March A big turnaround of passengers and crew today which would lead to utter chaos in the afternoon. Passengers were also transferring from Queen Mary (berthed further out) onto Queen Victoria to complete their world voyages. We have been here a few times, so a little retail therapy was in order. Hong Kong is undoubtedly one of the most exciting destinations, an impressive skyline outlines the harbour which is full of sampans, junks, ferries and cruise ships. We docked on Kowloon side and I think for the first time there was little pollution and clouds. We were able to see the Victoria Peak quite clearly throughout the whole day. We were not leaving till quite late so there were trips to be taken around the harbour to see the lights. There is ... read more

No, I am not talking about the New York City. In the past, I roamed around the lower and upper Manhattan in odd hours in the night with my friends and Suman, my future wife. We circled in the Central Park, hung around in the Greenwich Village tasting their famous onion rings, landed in the dark alleys of Harlem in the middle of the night. Yes, those were my fun days from the yesteryears. And that’s when we came to know that the New York City never sleeps. But I am not talking about the New York City here; that’s the story for another day. It’s another city that stands in the opposite side of the globe, and I found it also never sleeps. You got it! It’s Hong Kong. I was flying to Hong Kong ... read more