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Published: April 6th 2011
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Man Kee Food
The name says it all. The only moment of note on the flight to Hong Kong was boarding. When people realised that the plane wasn't full they rushed around to snap up empty rows. One woman was so excited that she couldn't move properly. She just kind of jumped up and down on the spot and shook until she realised that all decent spots had now gone when she sat back down where she had started. A smooth flight and a few hours sleep later and we arrived in Hong Kong.
Mongkok on a Sunday afternoon is a well and truly chaotic introduction to Hong Kong. People were shoulder to shoulder, the noise of constant voices and traffic makes heads spin, while the smell of street food attracts nostrils. When we finally found Hong Kong Budget Hostel it was basic but decent enough. So, time to sample that street food.....
We really should have seen trouble coming. After all, the small place on the corner is called Man Kee food. We bought chicken, possibly from some part of a hen but in no way meat, sticky rice, not bad if a little fishy, and peppers. Only the peppers were completely eaten as one after
the other of us looked around with horror as we chewed on tendons and fishy rice.
Lunch done with we shuffled through the crowds to the market on Ladies' Street. It had plenty of nice things and I picked up a couple of cheap t-shirts. Julie had her first bartering experience which turned out to be unsuccessful. Street sellers of Hong Kong, you might want to rethink the hard sell approach.
Next we headed, we thought, towards the harbour. A few miles later we realised that we were going in completely the wrong direction and that, if we didn't stop soon, we would end up in China. Conceding defeat there was only one thing for it - the MTR (Hong Kong Underground).
Having finally reached the harbour we oohed and aahed with the best of them as the Symphony of Lights fired lasers into the sky. Pure cheese, Hong Kong style.
Food came from Temple Street Night Market, along with a couple of bottles of San Miguel. We didn't quite believe it when we were told it was 'Hong Kong beer,' but, sure enough, when it came it was brewed in Hong Kong. It washed down
the chicken and prawns nicely.
Our early night had become midnight and it was time to tiredly stumble to bed.
After sleeping through the alarm and missing our Tai Chi, we grabbed a coffee and tried to spot bits of the harbour through a think mist that had fallen overnight. From there it was to the Ngong Ping Cable Car. From the terminal we couldn't even see the mountain we'd be going up, never mind the giant Buddha that sits atop it. The mist was getting thicker by the minute and made the cable car ride very eerie. We couldn't see oncoming cars until they were right alongside us, appearing out of the fog like swaying mechanical zombies. The other un-nerving aspect of the ride was that whenever Dad moved, even just a shuffle in his seat, the cable car shook violently. If he moved to one side of the car it would lean right over. Luckily, I was at hand to put us all at ease, telling the story of the car which fell off this line a few years ago, crashing down the mountain and into the sea.
On reaching the top of the mountain
we wandered half blindly through the mist and up the steps towards the Buddha. There are 248 steps, we couldn't make out so much as an outline until we had climbed 246 of them. Even at the top, the Buddha was little more than a shadowy outline. While slightly disappointing it did give the whole experience a very different feel.
Back down the steps and Dad's face fell as we entered the Po Lin Monastery vegetarian restaurant. I've never seen him eat so little, although we did get him trying tofu as plate after plate of Buddhist friendly food was brought out. It was tasty enough and filled a gap for the MTR ride back to Central.
Hong Kong island is more the Hong Kong that is seen on tv. Skyscrapers rise above modern streets and, while busy, it is a far cry from where we are staying in Kowloon.
We walked to the terminal for the Peak Tram where we were squashed and battered in an enormous queue. Eventually, we were on the tram and taking a journey which has not seen an accie=dent since it began over a century ago.
By the time we
reached the top it was nearly dark. By the time Mam and Julie and finished shopping it was completely dark. After a coffee we went up to the viewing platform and looked out across Hong Kong Harbour. It is an impressive sight, with the well-lit skyscrapers towering over the black water.
The queue to get back down was once again huge so instead we took a local mini-bus. Hurtling around hairpin bends as we flew down the Peak I wondered how the safety record matched up the the tram's.
Tomorrow is a ferry to Macau before we move on to Thailand.
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