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Hong Kong June 25, through June 28
I considered calling this blog “In Search of Suzy Wong”, but let's face it at my age I'm in bed by nine o'clock and there's little chance of sampling the night life Hong Kong has on offer. I had lived in China Town, Los Angeles for six months before settling in Russell, New Zealand and certainly feel that I am some what of a Dim Sum gourmet; if there is such a thing!
It was my idea to stop in Hong Kong on our way to Paris and Caroline didn't put up too much of a fight. While on board our Cathay Pacific flight we purchased a return train to the airport combined with a day Hong Kong metro pass. US $38 per person and well worth the price; it also functioned as an octopus card and were able to load an additional HKD $50 for our final days travels on Sunday 28
th June. An added bonus was the redemption of a HKD 50 for each card and we received the HKD $50 each we'd just loaded as well. Presumably, octopus cards travel free on Sundays!
Day 1 Our Hotel
is the Best Western Harbor View on Hong Kong Island. The room is small, but who cares, we only sleep there. Now, Hong Kong is hot in June, approximately 30c – 34c daily, overcast and humid. Showers are a constant worry although most of these only last a few minutes. For our first morning, I suggest a brisk walk to find a breakfast restaurant called the Flying Pan. After leaving the hotel we turn on to Des Voeux Road and walk towards Central. It's the dried seafood street, shark fins, dried shrimp and all kinds of exotic dried bits. An assault on the nose and certainly not what an eco friendly person wants to see; several of the shops have "no photo" signs, they obviously don't want to turn up on a Green Peace poster. We arrive at the The Flying Pan somewhat moist, the food is average, however the air conditioning is well received ; afterwards we locate a couple of street markets and then it's our first Dim Sum Restaurant, 4 floors, and we are the only round eyes in the restaurant. Good food, poor service, and pricey.
The afternoon finds us on the Kowloon side, again
looking for markets, we peruse Jade Market and then go back to the island where we buy two day Big Bus tours (approx US 74 per person) and are given numerous other freebies such as a sampan tour, harbor tour, peak tram tickets etc. The tours start the next day. The evening finds us once more in Kowloon looking for the Temple Street Night Market. According to Caroline's Iphone we have walked in excess of 12.5Km.
Day 2 The Big Bus tour is a find! There are 3 bus routes and an evening tour of the nightlife in Kowloon. Our first tour takes in Repulse Bay, Stanley and Aberdeen. Both Caroline and I are amazed at the architecture of the HK sky scrapers and several of these tall buildings have a hole on the center for the dragon to fly through. Auckland, eat your heart out, there are approximately 7.2 million people living above ground level in HK, and no single family dwellings!
Aberdeen is a smelly old harbor with bread and trash dotting the surface of the water. Worth a look, and we didn't go to the floating restaurant. However, we find a restaurant in the
Causeway district that has a very nice Dim Sum lunch. A little shopping at the Computer Tower finds me with a new Nikon Lens, and a tripod. Caroline finds a power pack for her Ipad. Tour 2 takes us through the central district on the island and then we take the harbor tour in the late afternoon. We are both wasted and after having a light dinner make it back to the hotel by 7.45pm..
Day 3 We take the Big Bus to the tram for the Peak and spend a couple of hours taking in the views of Hong Kong. This is a must for any visitors to this unique city. Day 3 Dim Sum is totally uninspiring and I can't even remember where we ate. The afternoon sees us once again in on the other side of the harbor for the Kowloon tour. At this point we're toured out and go back to the hotel foregoing the night tour. However, we venture out in the evening to find a restaurant in Causeway Bay, oops a big mistake, it's Saturday evening and throngs of people are out in force making table space a premium.
Day 4 Back to Causeway Bay for some shopping, then Kowloon to the Ladies Market,good shopping and then our Dim Sum find of the Trip. The London Restaurant in MongKok, is a winner. Great Dim Sum in a restaurant about half the size of a football field, a slight exaggeration but it is big and the food and service is excellent. There are two dried shark fins in a glass case that must have been about a meter high. Sad to see and it drives home the point that we really must preserve our seas!!
Day 5 Paris here we come!
Thoughts on Hong Kong: The metro system is ultra modern and amazing, we love the octopus card, buses are modern and drive at wild speeds given the small windy roads that riddle the city. And everyone is connected with technology. Wifi is free in virtually every place, from department stores to restaurants. However, young and old spend all there time watching there phones, and people interaction is disappearing, more so than most cities I have visited. In my view, technology overkill!!! And now from hightech to low tech "Bamboo Scafolding"!
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Jay
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Hal highlights
Great blog!