Our Big Adventure

First stop, Hong Kong

The flight to Hong Kong went reasonably well, that is once we got off the ground. Apparently the baggage compartment was damaged when loading luggage and once fixed had to OK'd by Canberra before we could take off. So being a Saturday it did take a little longer than usual. Finally about an hour later we were in the air and settled in for our 8.5 hour flight. We arrived in Hong Kong just as the sun was setting and it was beautiful sight. No problem getting into Kowloon by bus, they have a public transit pass called an Octopus that you swipe across a reader that is valid for train, subway, bus and ferry's and that we recommend anyone travelling to Hong Kong buys, it makes it so much easier to get around town, and they really do have a terrific rail system, clean, efficient and reasonably priced. We stayed at Lee Garden Guest House on Cameron Rd in Kowloon run by the friendly Charlie Chan (really). Although the rooms are small, they are spotlessly clean and the staff are friendly, in fact we didn't find anyone the 4 day's we spent in Hong Kong that was not helpful or friendly. We ventured out onto the streets looking for something to eat and a look around. It is busy and bustling, the hawkers offering to take you to have custom suits made in a day or wanting to sell you 'copy watches or copy handbags'. There are people just everywhere. I have never seen streets so busy anywhere. The next day we went to the Jade, Ladies and Temple Street night markets, just about anything and everything you want available and inexpensive. And it's so crowded, people everywhere. We ate with the locals at street corner stalls and it was wonderful, most of the time we had no idea what we ordered, but it was always tasty. We took the ferry over to Hong Kong Island to go up to the peak but we didn't make it to the top as the smog was so thick. We rode the central escalators, a series of 3 moving walkways and 20 elevated escalators that run 800m and is travelled each day by over 50,000 locals that take the 20min ride to and from work. We discovered a local market where the locals shop for their meat and fish for dinner, butchers in open air stalls cutting up beef etc and fish still alive and swimming in open containers. The Island is such a mixture of extremes,tall impressive high rises on the waterfront and then a few streets back tiny flats with laundry hung from windows, and streets on such a incline they look like ladders. Temples with huge burning incense coils hung from the ceiling in remembrance of deceased relatives. Bamboo scaffolding tied together with rope by nimble footed workers on new multi-story building sites amused Brian, this is a country of such extremes. On the island of Lantau we a rode the cable car up the mountain to see the Giant Buddha, inside the statue there is an alter which holds a sacred artifact said to be part of the ashes from Buddha. When he died his ashes were split into 5000 pieces and distributed to his followers to worship. At the Po Lin Monastery for a small donation we had a lovely vegetarian meal prepared by the monks. Incense burned here as well on large alters both inside and outside in remembrance of the dead. On our final evening we went down to the harbour to watch the Light Spectacular, a show with lasers lights that play in sequence on the skyscrapers on the waterfront of Hong Kong. We have enjoyed Hong Kong very much and look forward to visiting again.

posted by Brian and Julie @ 5:52:00 AM