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Published: April 5th 2010
The first week in a bit has seemed to go by quite quickly here in Hong Kong, I managed to get a cold so didn't do a lot for 4 or so days and Brett was busy working. Brett had Sunday off, so besides having a busy week of work he did manage to sneak in some sightseeing as well, and think we managed to ride in almost every form of transportation that day (except a plane). It is really easy to get around Hong Kong and pretty cheap as well. We took a taxi from our hotel to the Star Ferry terminal and then the quick ferry ride ($2.50 HKD about .35ยข AUD) across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island. From there we caught the bus ($7.90HD each, about $1 AUD) to Stanley, which is on the other side of the island. Stanley is a waterfront area with markets, restaurants and a few old buildings. The ride over there on the double decker bus took about 45 minutes and was pretty steep and windy in parts and gave you a great view of some the beach areas of Hong Kong, shark nets and all, and some huge houses situated high
up on cliffs, and of course some huge high rise hotels and apartment blocks. We didn't really spend much time in the markets as they were really crowded and they all kind of have the same stuff anyways. We had lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants that unfortunately all seem to cater to Westerners and each one pretty much had the same menu; pizza, pasta, fish and chips and burgers. Not the best spot for authentic Chinese food, but a nice location.
From Stanley we took the bus back to the other side and got off and walked a few blocks uphill towards The Peak Tram which is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island and has really good views over the harbour and skyscrapers of Hong Kong. It is quite a steep ride up a climb of just under 400metres in 1.4 kilometres. And the ride down is even better as you ride down backwards. It's first day of operation was back in May of 1888, and has some upgrades since then (like a shopping mall built up at the top!), and provides a
great view, although not the clearest with the hazy smog around, but is still worth a trip.
After the trip up The Peak, we took a walk around the Soho area having a look at all the eateries and bars and shops, then made our way back to the Kowloon side this time on the MTR train, which took us about 10 minutes from our hotel. So we really did manage to take alot of different types of transport that day!
During the work week we have made our way out to quite a few different restaurants since we don't have a kitchen. And it seems to be cheaper (depending where you go) on the most part than buying groceries which are a bit expensive. Brett's boss, Simon took us and 2 other guys out one night to a steak house for a really good dinner and then somehow ended up a bar where him and Brett were on stage doing karaoke, at a bar that didn't even really have karaoke on that night! Think that is a first for Brett! And you couldn't drag the 2 of them off of the stage, see the pictures.
I
have also checked out quite a few different areas and taken a wander through some of the different markets like the Goldfish market that sells pretty much every type of fish and aquarium and accessory you could need for your fish. Goldfish are considered good luck here so this a busy market with stalls covered in plastic bags holding different types of fish.
We are here for probably another few days, so it will be just over 2 weeks, and just about enough of a taste of work for Brett he said... Need to start buying lottery tickets again I think!
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Dave Moran
non-member comment
awesome
Looks awesome guys. Holy shit that makes me want to strap on my backpack and get onto an airplane!