Hong Kong, China
November 30, 2013
I have two days in Hong Kong and apparently not much to do from what I have read up on so far, seeing as one of the top things to do is to hop back over the border to Shenzen in China!
But I’ve managed to keep myself occupied and to be fair to the place for a big city (I don’t normally like big cities) I do actually quite like Hong Kong and it’s started to grow on me. Because it is a small place and so massively built up and populated since we occupied it many years ago there is no such old town or interesting architecture to go and visit, it is all new shiny high rises etc but there are still places you can go to get away from it. I headed out again with Gary and Bhavik.
We started with some absolutely awesome Dim Sum’s at a place that is well recommended and in some international chefs guide as being in the top 101 restaurants in the world to eat at. They were tremendous, totally subtle and very much to die for style of food. From there we took a look around a few electrical places in search of cheap and small tablets but I didn’t find anything that took my fancy and have decided to hang on until Dani fetches my replacement phone out with her when we meet in Bangkok thanks to my mobile insurance company being jolly good chaps and agreeing my claim when it was stolen in China.
We went for a quick wander to Victoria park which was pleasant enough and peaceful to get away from the hum drum of the noisy city and then caught a subway followed by a bus up to see the Po Lin Monastery and the big Buddha that sits atop the hill there. I’ve seen my fair share of Monasteries, temples and Buddhas throughout China and although it was a fair size and sat atop a hill it was just another incarnation of Buddha. If your ever here then yeah it’s probably worth a trip out if you want to get away from the city but it wasn’t a massive memory from this trip, good company aside.
By the time we headed back it was sunset and I spent the rest of the night sat in the hostel with a few beers and was given a bottle of Soju by a Korean girl staying here. It’s kind of like the rice wine from China but only 20% so not quite as lethal but I still woke up with a bit of a bad head this morning.
Bad head aside this morning I sorted out my hostel for KL where I will meet up with Gary again for a couple of days as we will cross paths again and then I headed out for a trek with a couple of American girls from the hostel. A quick subway ride followed by a train got us to a trek in the hills out of town called Dragon back ridge and it was a very nice way to spend the afternoon. The trek wasn’t big or strenuous and took just a few hours but it was really pleasant with some great views.
There were some guys up there paragliding off the top and you couldn’t really see the city from up there so you could have been anywhere in the world really other than HK. By luck we had timed it to perfection and had a cracking view for sunset up on the hill at a little picnic spot which was just ten minutes walk down to the next bus stop to catch a ride back towards the city. Sunset was beautiful over the islands and I can tell I am creeping towards the equator and warmer weather. Once off the bus we grabbed some pretty decent cheap food at a small place then caught the subway back to the city followed by a change to take us over the river to Kowloon on the mainland just in time to see the light show that I wasn’t that impressed with the other day when up at the peak. This time it was really good as the buildings are only lit from one side and designed to be viewed from the mainland looking across the water to Hong Kong island. Somehow they co-ordinate all the major buildings in synch to put out a decent show with lights on the side and lasers and search lights on the top
Once the light show was over we caught the Star ferry back across the water and wandered back up to the hostel, bottle of wine in hand and another bottle of freshly purchased Soju in my bag. Again another quiet night in to save those pennies as I know if I head out for a big night in HK it will cost me an arm and a leg that could be spent better elsewhere where the prices are cheaper and the money lasts longer.
Hong Kong is interesting. It’s a weird mix and you don’t stand out as you do in China as they are used to western occupancy from our time here a while ago. It’s easy to get round and the subways are great as well as the ferries. It’s all getting geared up ready for Christmas with lights and decorations up in many places and it feels like a comfortable place. It’s not a place for true adventure but it’s a decent place to spend a few days comfortably in between China and Malaysia.
