Honkers

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Kara & Kim in Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong (or as we like to call it Honkers) late on Sunday, April 1. After the shuttle bus ride to our hotel in Kowloon, it was almost midnight Hong Kong time, or about 2am Adelaide time. So there was little to do except go to sleep!
The following day we woke up and took full advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel - well, Kim did especially. His plate was piled to the max with just about everything there was on offer. We're talking bacon, eggs, dumplings, ham, toast, croissants, mushrooms, cheese - you name it. While Kara settled for some toast and a couple of chocolate chip muffins!
We started off our brief stay in Honkers by exploring the place ourselves, starting with an excursion to Kowloon Park - a beautiful array of greenery in the middle of a concrete jungle. After exploring the park for most of the morning, we then set off to catch a ferry to Hong Kong Island, the commercial hub of Hong Kong.
We had a quick look around, starting with a shopping centre close to the port where the ferries come and go. After a quick bite to eat, we set off to go an have a look at the world's longest outdoor escalator. But before we got there, the weather turned extremely bad. The rain was absolutely torrential and saturated us both. We then went into this little supermarket to buy umbrellas for us both, but the supermarket lent out there umbrellas on a borrowing system. We were meant to return them when we had finished using them, but we kind of couldn't be stuffed going all the way back to the island the next day. So instead, we just left them next to a bin in another shopping centre!
After trudging all the way back from Hong Kong island to our hotel in Kowloon and a much deserved hot shower, we just hung out at the hotel waiting for the bad weather to pass. Luckily it was ok to walk out for dinner and to have a look around the Ocean Harbour shopping centre.
On the Tuesday, we decided the best way we were going to see a lot more of Hong Kong was to go on a tour. The tour that we went on allowed us to do heaps of different things, starting off with a ride in a Sampan, which is like a little boat. While on the sampan it started to rain again, but unlike the previous day, when it was humid, it was so cold!
The next stop was a what the tour guide called a jewellery factory, but was more like a jewellery store. Probably just a ploy to get unsuspecting tourists to blow their money on expensive jewels - but Kim wasn't buying into that!
On the way to Victoria Peak, the highest peak in Hong Kong, we drove past the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The racetrack is just shoved into a mass of old buildings, mainly our equivalent to Housing Trust homes, but these are high rise apartment blocks and the apartments have little more than a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom for about four to six people. You can tell that the Jockey Club is pretty wealthy given that the track is in pristine condition and owns a fair bit of property around Hong Kong as well.
The peak was a pretty amazing site with fantastic panoramic views of the city and plenty of photo opportunities. We then took a tram ride from the top the peak to the bottom, where the bus was waiting to take us home. On the walk back to the hotel, we did a little bit more window shopping before hanging out at the hotel waiting for our shuttle bus to the airport for our flight to London.

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Photos

Kowloon Park
Kim enjoying himself in Kowloon Park, in the centre of Hong Kong. It's just one of the canons inside the park. With so many highrises around and a heap of pollution, it's hard to comprehend there is a gorgeous park right in the middle of it.

Sampan Ride
This is what we got to see whilst riding in the Sampan - Hong Kong for a little old boat. Its driver was just as ancient, or so we thought, until he pulled out his mobile phone! Not sure what this thing actually is, but it looked good at the time.

View from the top
This is the view we got to see of Hong Kong island at the top of Victoria Peak. In the past, the buildings on the island were pretty small to make it easier for planes to get through, as the airport was nearby. Since the aiport re-located there is basically no limits to how high these buildings can be.

Scaffolding
The safety standards in Hong Kong must be pretty good. This is what they call scaffolding - made out of bamboo!

Comments

[Bish]

Looking good Biggsy... where you off to next?? Keep the photos going... good to see. Its providing some good motivation to come over! Cheers, Bish