Hong Kong 18th -20th Nov 2012
 |
| Hong Kong Island from Kowloon |
After an overnight flight from Auckland on ANZ we landed at the new Hong Kong Airport. Well, new to me anyway. The last time I landed here the Airport was at Kai Tak and you could almost look into the windows of flats alongside the runway. A fast train sped us into Hong Kong Station where we jumped into a taxi for our Hotel. The train cost $160 (£14) and the taxi $30 (£3). The driver did not know our hotel or the street it was in which was a worry. I suppose Wellington has another name in the Chinese language. After asking directions he got us to the Butterfly on Wellington. We were at the scruffy end of the street next to a market. The Hotel was nice inside though. It was 25 storeys high but there were only three rooms per floor so it resembled an upturned pencil. The first thing I did was check out the fire escapes. There were two staircases, one each side. I thought about checking out the roof but we headed for breakfast instead.
 |
| Kowloon Side |
The receptionist recommended a greasy spoon called 'The Flying Pan' or a Dim Sum restaurant around the corner. A case of Flying Pan or fire methinks. Actually my eggs and bacon with baked beans wasn't bad and the coffee was very welcome. The Frying Pan overlooked the Hong Kong prison. After a jet lagged snooze back in our hotel room, now partially flooded after a mishap with the shower, we headed for a late lunch - tough being a tourist! We chose an authentic Dim Sum restaurant on Wellington which had been recommended to us. Dim Sum is typically a number of small dishes chosen from a menu, or from a trolley. We chose beef in black bean sauce, spare ribs and spring rolls. Fairly safe choices? You choose by ticking boxes on a multi choice sheet. We failed miserably! The beef dish was chopped intestines and very chewy. Bit like eating an inner tube, I suppose that is what it was! The pork dish was not very desirable at all in that it was pink pork, which had not been cooked. The spring rolls were OK and we ate those, drank our green tea, paid up and left. Put it down to experience, or the lack of it. We then walked down towards the Star Ferry to Kowloon via the HSBC Bank. It was Sunday and the whole area was inundated with women sitting on the ground playing cards, picnicking, gossiping and the noise was deafening.
 |
| The Star Ferry docking in Hong Kong |
After managing to work out the ticket machines we rode the Star Ferry over to Kowloon. Riding the Star Ferry is a 'must do' in Hong Kong and we must did! After being forbidden from eating the Dim Sum by TW, I needed to find an acceptable Chinese meal. In the Ocean Terminal we found a nice Restaurant serving noodles, vegetables and a seared beef dish. This time we emptied our plates! It was a popular place, mainly with Chinese doing their Sunday shopping. We wondered why other customers seemed to be shunning us? We found out later that TW's habit of cutting up her noodls before eating them is considered to be diabolically unlucky. Suitably fed we headed for Nathan Road where we were besieged by people trying to sell us copy hand bags and fake watches. We escaped to the Quay where we could see the light show at 8 pm. They put on a bit of a laser show on the Hong Kong skyscrapers so we watched that before heading back to Central on the Star Ferry and taking a leisurely walk back to our Butterfly on Wellington. After the comfort and familiarity of the trip to New Zealand and Australia it all seemed a bit strange, a bit of a culture shock.
 |
| Crossing Back to Hong Kong Island |
Comments
Post a Comment