Last

The last day in HK. Our flight wasn't until 5pm so we did have a bit of time to do something other than pack and check out of the hotel.

After breakfast we walked up to Times Square and to this Japanese department store called Sogo. In it we did a bit of shopping. I picked up green tea and Jin Ramen. I should explain the last item. This type of ramen was the one I'd eat in Korea and let me say, it's wonderful when you have a hangover. Not that I get hangover these days!

Anyway, a bit of shopping and a coffee before meeting the coach to take us to the Airport. Before we did that, I took these 2 pictures. I quite liked them. I have no idea what kind of 'rabbit' that is. I'm not even sure it is a rabbit?

The airport was 'alright'. It's an airport, what else can you really say about it?

The flight back though was really poor. Not only was there the 'normal' bout of turbulance. Typical really, when I fly but it latest almost the entire time we flew over Thailand. I'm not going there on holiday in protest. In addition, the inflight entertainment was limited. It harked back to the 'old' days in which you had to refer to the inflight magazine to find out what was on and on what hour and with it, had to figure out what 'hour' of the flight you were in. I didn't like that.

 And that was really it for Hong Kong. I enjoyed it. The missus didn't really. She's been and that's enough for her. Fair enough.

Sky

Yes, the last full day. I think it was fair to say that we were both a bit knackered. A lot of walking had been done and I think that had taken it's toll.

But the day started off with taking an old fashioned tram from Happy Valley to Admiralty in order to get the metro over to Kowloon. It was a bit of strange experience but that is part of the charm of them.

One in Kowloon we went to the park next to Nathan Road and during our time there, the sun came out. It had been mostly overcast up until that point. Not cold at all though. Next up was the Sky Building. It has 100 floors and gives an excellent view over Kowloon and Hong Kong. It was pretty hazy so we couldn't quite see over to the Airport for example. I must say, it wasn't very well signposted. I don't mean the building itself - it's massive! - but how to get to the bit where you pay to get the tickets to go up it.

Cherry Blossom in the Park

HK Island from the Sky100

A well deserved rest was taken in the afternoon, in readiness for the 'Ladies Market' in Kowloon. Before that though was our second attempt to get to the Symphony of Lights. We managed it thankfully. It was good and worth a visit.

Really wasn't sure what to expect at the Ladies Market given those 'interesting' market stalls yesterday. I need not have worried. It was a much better market than the one in Temple Street. More variety and more closely packed in. The missus picked up a purse and few other bits and bobs. I bought a cup. Yes, a cup. It's quite cool though and it has a bit instead that you can put tea in to steep. I like it!

Perhaps the best bit of the evening was the food. We were just kind of wandering around when we decided to go 'local'. We weren't disappointed. It was a canteen or sorts and it was busy. A good sign. In we went and we ended up sharing a table with 3 others. We had some lovely chicken and dim sum. Cheap but filing and most importantly, filling.


Afterwards, we walked back down to where the fortune tellers were and the missus did do a bit of tarot. It was late yet the place was still very busy. In fact, it was well after 11pm when we finally went to get the metro back and it was as busy as I'd seen it. It seems that it all happens at night in Hong Kong!

Monk

We walked quite a bit yesterday and the plan today was to do a bit less. That didn't really happen. In fact, we walked more. Walking is meant to be good for you but...

We headed out to Lantau Island. It's an island not far from the Airport. The purpose of heading here was to visit the 'big Buddha'. I think it's the largest sitting Buddha in Asia or something like that anyway. The plan was to take the cable car to it from Tung Chung. So, we got the metro to it. The metro was quite busy up until the 2nd last stop when almost everyone got off. The reason was that it was the stop for Disneyland!

Once we got to Tung Chung, we found that the cable car was 'suspended'. Nightmare! Instead, we had to queue for a coach to take us. The coach took about 40 minutes and let me say, the coach nearly didn't make it. The route was very steep and we literally crawled up the road at 10mph.

But, it was worth it. The Buddha is perched right at the top of a hill and there are something like 260 steps to reach it. Another geek fact is that it is north facing which is unusual. It was definitely a sight to behold. After that we went down into the monastery at the bottom of the hill and had lunch. Really not sure what it was but it was definitely vegetation. It was a really relaxed afternoon and I really enjoyed it.

The Big Buddha

The bus stop to Po Lin

Out feeling of 'calm' suddenly vanished on the trip back to Tung Chung. About 6 rows in front of us was this toddler who literally screamed the whole way back. I don't know why and I don't know what on earth the 'mother' was playing at but my goodness, I have rarely heard anything like it.

From Kowloon back to HK Island

On the way back to 'town', we decided to go to the Avenue of Stars which is basically the same as the Hollywood Walk in LA. It's right on the shore in Kowloon. All the Hong Kong favourites are there like Jackie Chan and Jet Li etc. We then headed up Nathan Road to the night market at Temple Street. It's a great sight - all bright lights and essentially anything you could wish to buy all at a 'good price'! All the way up the road were restaurants with tables outside. The smell was wonderful. We went a bit further up past Temple St. and discovered 2 things. Loads of stalls selling sex toys and the like. Interesting! Nearby were a lot of people who tell fortunes, read tarot or palms. The missus had said she was interested in getting it done but she couldn't find a decent person to do it.

After a very quick bite to eat - McDonalds for the first time this millenium! - we rushed back to the Avenue of Stars for the Symphony of Lights. This is basically lights and lasers beamed from the buildings on the shore of Hong Kong Island to music. But, we missed it! We thought it was at 8.30pm but it was actually at 8pm. Instead we got some photos and then headed on to the Star Ferry back over to the Island itself. Then we walked back to the hotel. Yeah, more walking. And to celebrate, we had a pint at the hotel bar. Not the cheapest pint but it tasted pretty good.

And that was pretty much it for the day.

Soho

And so the first full day of our trip to Hong Kong!

It was cloudy but not as cold as I had been expecting. In fact, I had a shirt with a t-shirt underneath and that did the job. At least it wasn't raining.

Quite steep - Peak Tram

After breakfast we headed out. The hotel provided a complimentary bus to Times Square is where the nearest metro station was - Causeway Bay. We took that and elected to head straight to the Peak Tram. This is a tram that takes you to the top of Hong Kong Island. It's not just a funny name! Actually, the tram itself goes up at literally a 45 degree angle. I know because I felt it. It was busy and no seats were available. We had to stand and let me say, I was holding on on the way up!

Once at the top, there were a number of shops as you'd expect. But no view. In was all grey as far as the eye could say. Which was about 20 feet in front of us. Not good at all. Instead, we had coffee then went to Madame Tussard's. Yes, really. It was located right there. It was alright. A mix of Eastern and Western famous faces. We've never been before and since we could see anything, we might as well.

At the top of the Peak!

The greyness did dissipate after a while so we did get to see 'something'. Afterwards, we went back down the hill and headed to the financial district then onto Soho. In Soho we had this excellent lunch. It was one of those canteen style restaurants. The food was good and plentiful. Sweet and sour something, rice and something else. Can't remember what. But the plates were emptied!

Next up was a temple near Soho. It was weird to see because all around were buildings, seriously tall ones, then this single story temple. It was quite small but the design of it was very intricate. We went inside and had a look around. No photos allowed and we respected that. Other 'whiteys' didn't sadly. Inside was nice though smoky with all the incense. I quite enjoyed wandering through Soho. There were a good mix of restaurants, boutique style shops and antique shops all on the side of quite a step hill. I wonder what it would have looked like at night?

At next we went back to the Times Square area of town for dinner and a look around. It was really busy actually. For dinner we had sushi. It was one of those restaurants with the conveyor belt that you selected what you wanted. Nice!

That was about it for the day. Quite tiring in some respects but enjoyable nonetheless.

Flight

Hong Kong baby!

The flight was until 10am which meant that we could afford a longer lie than we would normally have if we had to go to work. In the fact, the morning was quite relaxed. No big rush to the airport. Indeed there was no big rush at the airport itself either. The only thing of note was this blooming UAE E-gate card. In theory, you get this card and it means that you don't need to wait in line at immigration both on the way out and on the way back in. Instead, you go to the side and it's a bit like going to through a metro ticket machine thing. Same process really. Put your card in, the first set of doors open. You then scan your finger then pass through the second door and out. It should take 2 minutes which is a godsend. However, it never really works like that. This time it was my card that didn't work and I had to go through the normal process of getting my passport out and stamped.

Nearly there

The flight itself wasn't too bad actually. Mostly full. A bit of turbulence over the Indian Ocean, near Pakistan which though expected when you go from 'ocean' to 'land' but it's never an experience that I can say that I like. It really makes me nervous. Other than that, it was good. I watched Solider, Sailor, Tinker, Tailor. Is that the right word order?! Good movie. Slow in parts but I enjoyed it.

We got into Hong Kong around 9pm and were immediately whisked on a driverless train to the main immigration part. It look a while but doesn't it always. Then we got picked up and taken on a very nice coach through Kowloon, to Hong Kong Island and to the hotel. We checked in and went to the room which was on the 17th floor. The room was perfectly fine. It was after 11pm when we did this and instead of going to bed we cracked open the pink champagne, the Cadbury's Fruit and Nut and watched the Fugitive which was on the TV! How classy are we?!

TheStation

Yes Valentine's Day. More ingenious marketing by some bloke or company back years ago. And now we all have to play along otherwise questions will be asked, and arguments had. Or, the alternative view which states that you should show your love for your significant other on this day.

Whatever your view, it's still Valentine's Day.

To be honest, we didn't do much for it. A gift and a card. I can't say that we went out for the evening. Instead, we were busy getting ready for something much more exciting. Namely, our trip to Hong Kong in the morning.

Happy Valentine's Day nonetheless Mrs. F!

Star

Off to Hong Kong on Wednesday for 4 days.

Looking forward to it, no doubt about it. I like going on holiday. I wish I could do it more often. Sadly though, work and money get in the way of that. If I won the lottery...sigh.

I've been before. My best mate and I went back in 2000. Again, that was for about 4 days. It was the first stop off on our round the world adventure. Neither of us had been to Asia before and it was all new. It didn't really start all that well as the flight to Hong Kong was delayed. It soon perked up when we saw Jackie Chan standing waiting for us as we landed. A cardboard cut out of him at any rate. We had to make do with the shuttle bus driver welcoming us.

It really was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed it. I think it's far to say that I really knew nothing about anything at that time but I suppose such innocence was part of it all. It was all eyes wide open trying to take everything in. I can clearly remember going for dinner in Kowloon, into some restaurant. It was like a big canteen. We proceeded to order and me being the nice-but-a-bit-dim bloke I was, I just assumed that because we can order prawn crackers with the Chinese takeaway back in Scotland that we could do so here because, well, we were in China. Clearly the waiter had never heard of them!

It will be odd going back. I'm 12 years older and with that, 12 years richer in experience. My best mate has been substituted by a wife. My advantex camera is no longer in use to take widescreen photos of the harbor at night but not really knowing if they would come out alright. Instead, I have a digital camera and I can take as many shots as I want. The places that I'll want to go may well be the same but they will be 12 years older. I might even get to places that I didn't get to before. I will know not to order prawn crackers. In fact, I might even be a bit more adventurous when it comes to eating. The smells of the street cafes and stalls. I suppose I've also got a bit more disposable money if I want to buy 'stuff'. There is no way that this trip can replace the experiences of the previous trip. I don't want them to. It'll just be different. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Five days til HKG.