Day 63/64 (1-2/2/10) - Hong Kong (Peaking Early)

Monday saw us head over to Hong Kong Island where we took the Peak Tram up Victoria Peak. The ride itself is quite a novelty, as the tram climbs a steep incline and gives a skewed view of the buildings and foliage on the way up.


Once at the Peak we went out on the Sky Terrace, where we had 360-degree views over the city. Unfortunately the smog made a it a little difficult to see very far.


We started doing the Morning Trail (a walk that takes you around part of the peak) but then got sidetracked off it, so we wound up walking for about 90 minutes. It was a nice walk though - the weather was perfect and the views were amazing.


We had a late lunch up the top before taking the tram back down again.

On Tuesday the weather unfortunately took a turn for the worst, which (very literally) put a dampener on our plans. We had initially planned to take the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong island, but due to the grey cloud we took the MTR (train) instead. We tried to stay indoors as much as possible; we went to Causeway Bay and Times Square and did the shopping mall there.


Everyone seemed gripped by Lunar New Year Fever; there were sculptures, plants and decorations (with a multitude of Chinese people posing in front of them). We decided to get in on the Year of The Tiger action.



That's about all the exciting stuff we did (I won't bore everyone with the shopping and browsing that was done in between). Nik really enjoyed his first time in Hong Kong, and I noticed a few things that have changed since I was there in December 2005. I am not sure if I would hurry back again (four days of intense pushing through crowds and shopping centres is enough, even for me), but it is definitely a city I would like to pass through again.

Day 62 (31/1/10) - Hong Kong (Birds Of A Feather)

We began the day by taking the hotel shuttle into Mong Kok, where we wandered the streets browsing electronics, clothes and other kitschy Asian merchandise. We also went to the expensive Langham Place Shopping Mall...although the only thing we bought was cheap Starbucks coffee.


Around lunchtime we met up with a friend of ours from back home - Steph Wong. Steph is in Hong Kong doing an internship with their Refugee Advice Centre, but she took some time out to show us around.


We had lunch with her and another of her friends in Mong Kok before Steph walked us through the Flower Market, Bird Market (where I confronted my fear of winged creatures) and a number of other specialty streets.



Everyone is gearing up for the Lunar New Year at the moment, so it was a struggle at times navigating the crowded streets.


When the afternoon got the better of us, we went to a cute little coffee shop that did a vast number of coffees, chocolate and jelly drinks. We spent a couple of hours in there talking. As evening turned into night, we strolled through the Temple Street Markets before having dinner at a Cantonese place.


However there was still room for dessert, so we rolled into a small cafe-style shop that specialises in Mango and Mango-related desserts.


All this took us through to 12:30am, when it was time to call it a night. It was really wonderful having someone who knows the city better than we do to show us around (and it helped that Steph speaks Cantonese).

Day 60-61 (21-30/1/10) Chiang Mai --> Bangkok --> Hong Kong (One Night In Bangkok)

We managed to get out of Chiang Mai just fine. We had breakfast at the Secret Garden, enjoyed the surrounds for a couple of hours, got driven to the airport by one of the proprietors and breezed through the airport. The flight was delayed by about half an hour, but even that wasn't really all that bad. The trip itself passed without incident.


Things were a little more complex once we made it back to Bangkok ahead of a one-night stopover in the city. We disembarked on the tarmac and took the world's slowest airport bus back to the terminal, where we were greeted by a 45-minute wait for the baggage carousel to start up. Then came a struggle to find our airport shuttle, followed by a wait for it to arrive.

Eventually, though, we made it to the Silver Gold Garden Airport Hotel, which wasn't really silver or golden but was cheap. It was comfortable enough for a night, but I wouldn't recommend a longer stay.

Anyway, we headed out and checked out a market immediately outside the hotel grounds. Full of very unsafe looking food products and illegal VCDs, it was an interesting place to spend some time in.


Later, we had dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was fine, before heading back up to our room to enjoy some of the great movies on cable highlights: Sydney White, a hip update of Snow White starring Amanda Bynes and Prom Night, a slasher movie starring someone who Zarah says guest starred on Gossip Girl).

We got back to the airport and out of Thailand without a hitch, taking a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. There was some turbulence along the way, which bothered Zarah more than it did me, but we got to Hong Kong safe and sound. We took a taxi to our hotel, the Metropark Hotel Kowloon, which was very nice.


That night, we headed out to the nearby Ladies Bazaar, where Zarah did a little shopping, before heading down to the harbourfront to watch the Symphony of Lights. It was pretty cool, even if thick haze did dim the skyline a little. We ate in the food court of a nearby department store and then turned in.


Zarah will fill you in on the rest of Hong Kong soon enough.