Hong Kong, China
November 28, 2013
I feel quite sad now having left Yangshuo. It feels like I have left China properly now that I’m in Hong Kong, and China has been brilliant to me. Looking back I’ve really enjoyed it. The food, the people, the places and scenery, the adventure of it all, its all been amazing.
Myself Gary and Bhavik left Yangshuo about 6pm and caught the bus back up to Guilin to hop on an overnight train to Shenzen then cross the land border there at the railway station and straight into Hong Kong. Yangshuo was beautiful and it was a shame to be leaving so soon. I’m really tempted to come back and do a lot of Southern China in particular as there’s a noticeable warmth and character about the people the further South you get, or maybe its just the further you get away from the big cities, it’s hard to tell but I know I want to see so much more of this amazing country.
It’s easy to get back in as well despite the long-winded Visa process back in the UK. I can come back into Hong Kong and get a Visa sorted within 24 hrs so it’s one I’ll keep in the back of my mind for next year. Plus teaching English appears to be a very easy job to get here so it’s tempting to kill a few months after my other travels by hanging around somewhere and working.
Eventually after about 17 hours travel from Yangshuo we finally rolled into Shenzen station and wandered to the border control. It was painless and is strange just getting off the train then crossing the border while still in a station. Once out of the other side we grabbed the MRT (Metro) to downtown and after a few changes we found our Hostel. Again the hostel seems like a really nice place, bang in the middle of a decent area of Hong Kong, although from what I have seen so far there don’t seem to be many particularly bad areas of Hong Kong, I guess that’s what money does for a place.
We showered and headed straight out for food, and yet again I bumped into someone else I had met before on my travels! This time it was Sebastion the lad from Chile that I met on the train from Mongolia to Beijing so it was cool to catch up with where each of us had been.
Gary and Bhavik also bumped into someone they had met elsewhere in China, a girl named Kelly so we all headed out and hopped on a tram along the length of the Causeway here as I wanted to see the HSBC main building. It probably doesn’t look much to others but going back to the days when I studied Architecture it was one of my favourite buildings in the early nineties, designed by a well-known British Architect named Norman Foster and it was great to see it in the flesh.
From there we took a quick wander down by the water looking out to Kowloon then headed off in search of what is supposed to be the worlds longest escalator. It kind of is but isn’t as you keep having to hop off and back on, but it certainly gets you up the hill pretty quick. Weaving its way between swanky bars and restaurants on the way. Hong Kong is strange and is a complete culture shock. Nothing like anything in China.
I haven’t really been to a place with massive skyscrapers, yet at the same time it reminds me of England a lot thanks to our occupancy a while a go. All the road signs etc and just the general feel of the place has a notable British undertone. It’s a bit like a massive UK China town but in China.
So after the escalators we went in search of the Peak Tramway. A tram that heads the rest of the way up the hill to give you some of the best views of the city. After finally finding the bottom station we also found a massive queue that snaked its way out of sight and round the corner. There were hundreds of people waiting get on these tiny trams. So we set of on foot and hiked…..and hiked …and hiked yet more. It was a really good little trek up as it was good craic and you also get different views on the way up from those that you would get on the tram. Passing what must be some of the most expensive Hong Kong houses along the way. The view from the top was pretty spectacular and it is an impressive city when lit up at night. It was impressive to see all the coloured lit up skyscrapers below us and across to Kowloon over the water in the background. There was supposed to be a light show at 8pm when the tall buildings fire off some lights in the sky, but to be fair I didn’t even notice any difference, maybe a bad view-point and it may look better from across the water at Kowloon.
A quick bus back to town and a few beers from 7-11 saw me through the rest of the night. I feel quite bad that I’ll be leaving for Malaysia by plane on Monday as I’ve enjoyed doing all of this trip over land and sea so far since Sweden. You get to see and experience so much more that way, in particular the people you meet along the way. I feel as if I will almost be letting myself down but needs must.
