Revisiting Hong Kong

When we showed the concierge the list of places in Hong Kong we wanted to see, he said we were 'greedy'- lol!
He was right. Thankfully though, for all us 'greedy' tourists, those hop-on-hop-off bus tours were everywhere and for the two days we were in Hong Kong we got through most of our list.

Repulse Bay seems to be the Mission Bay or Camps Bay of Hong Kong, and is perhaps the place we should've got off the Big Bus Tour for drink. Instead though, we hopped off at Stanely Street, a few bays along. Yellowish boulders lined the beach and, with the historical Murray House presiding over the bay, the area looked rather scenic. The restaurant we 'dined at' in Stanely Beach (which used paper plates and plastic chairs) was overpriced and didn't have Smirnoff Ice :( My fellow travellers though seemed pleased enough with their Hoegardens - if I was a beer drinker, I'd be pretty happy with a Hoegarden too, they are huge!

Riding on the sampan (traditional Chinese wooden boat) at Aberdeen gave us an up-close look at the livelihoods of the fishermen who live on the many houseboats docked in the habour. On the muggy Friday morning some of the boat dwellers we saw were burning rubbish, others were washing their boats and clothes, and some of the boat dwellers were dogs! I did ponder a bit on what the life of a sea dog must be like...

The night view of Hong Kong was the highlight of my day and it doesn't surprise me at all that the city's skyline ranks among the world's best. The Star Ferry took us from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon where we watched the daily 8pm light show. The show was not anything special (not after the fountain show in Dubai), but the view of Hong Kong at night was amazing. I wish my camera had done the glittering panorama more justice!

A cute red cable car took us up Victoria Peak, where we proceeded to get lost in the mall at the peak's summit. The top of a mountain did strike me as an odd place for a mall, but given the scores of people that were visiting Victoria Peak along with us, I can see the logic. Luckily we went early in the afternoon, because as we descended and saw the queues, I think we easily could have been deterred.

Riding the outdoor escalator that cuts through Soho and Hollywood Rd was an experience. The one way outdoor escalator system (don't quote me - is the longest one in the world - ) and changes direction part way through the day. Not at the precise time we needed it to though... We rode numerous escalators in the wrong direction and then had to make the dizzying walk back down  - not so fun.

The mid-escalaor area was packed with quirky little shops and cafes which morphed into trendy nightclubs and bars further along in Lan Kwai Fong. This appeared to be the expat hangout and if I return to Hong Kong anytime soon, I'll certainly be heading back there for a sundowner.

I really liked what I saw of Hong Kong. Some aspects of the city are ultra modern, the high end shopping and the skyscrapers, but interspersed are innumerable traditional Chinese street markets which give the city so much character. The commentary on the bus noted one area where local elderly women can still be found sitting on the streetside reading palms and placing curses on people - oooh! (Lifting curses apparently involves beating a piece of paper with a shoe - that would've been a sight)

It was great to head out of the central city area to see how mountainous and green Hong Kong is. The only attraction we didn't get to was the famous Buddha, so here's hoping for another DXB-HKG sometime soon.

(Trip from July '11)