Exploring my local area
昨日, フィリピン
☀️ 31 °C
I slept well, but woke up early with a horrendous cough. When I tried to speak (I often talk to myself 😂), I realised I'd lost my voice completely! I'm sure it's the effect of the aircon. I'd planned a quiet day today anyway, so hopefully it will improve by tomorrow.
After breakfast, I went up on the roof to take some pictures of my surroundings. Then, I went out to explore the local area. I'm staying in the Makati district of Manila, which is known for its shopping and nightclubs, neither of which are my thing, but it's cheaper than staying in the historic centre. I'm only about three miles from the tourist hotspots, and there's an MTR station just round the corner, but it will still take me about an hour to get there! I went to see where the station is because I want to book a walking tour for tomorrow. I get the impression that the public transport system here is going to be a massive disappointment after Hong Kong!
I saw lots of Jeepneys in the streets around my hotel. They weren't going anywhere. They were just parked up with sleeping drivers stretched out across the front seats!
I didn't stay out long. It was 33 degrees by 10am, so not conducive to hiking! I found a couple of local shops and bought some groceries for the next few days, and then returned to my room. I did some planning for my time in the Philippines and grappled unsuccessfully with their online visa extension system. I don't want to book anything until I know they'll let me stay!
I caught up with some UK TV (Race Across the World), and generally had a lazy day, and no, at the end of it, I still can't speak 😂.もっと詳しく
From Hong Kong to the Philippines
11月12日, フィリピン
🌙 28 °C
I slept reasonably well and then spent a leisurely morning getting packed up ready to leave for the Philippines. I checked out of the hotel at around 11.30, walked across the road, and stepped straight onto a bus direct to the airport. Perfect timing! I knew I was going to be incredibly early for my flight, but I'd rather that than be dashing around at the last minute!
It was good to see some of the scenery on the way to the airport, especially as it had been pitch black when I arrived. We drove past the huge freight docks with thousands of containers piled high. We then crossed over to Lantau Island on an impressive road bridge. I didn't get too many photos as I was on the wrong side of a full bus.
The bus dropped me at Terminal 1, but check-in for my flight was in the disused Terminal 2, so I had to walk across there. It's very bizarre - a huge airport terminal that is only used for check-in, bag drop, and security for certain flights. You had to do the check-in and bag drop yourself, too - although there were staff on hand to help if needed. There was no problem with me being over four hours early for my flight. My check-in bag was 0.6kg overweight, but again, it was fine. Security was very quick and easy.
As an aside, every toilet cubicle in the ladies had a normal toilet and a toddler's one 😂.
Once all this was complete, we were transferred by train back to Terminal 1. It was all very efficient. Like everywhere else in Hong Kong, we were funnelled through. Everyone follows like sheep. Nobody deviates! 😀
I then went looking for some lunch. I didn't really fancy anything oriental, so I ordered a mixed mushroom pizza. I did have a serious case of FOMO however, when I saw the lady on the next table get her minced pork rice topped with deep-fried chicken and served with a side salad and a bowl of miso soup! 😂 My pizza was very good, though!
I spent the rest of my waiting time reading up on the Philippines. I was more excited about it when I'd finished 😀.
I hadn't paid any extra to reserve a seat on my flight, so I ended up in the middle seat on a jam-packed plane. The blokes on either side of me both fell asleep before we even took off! I managed to get a couple of sunset shots out of the window.
The two and a half hour flight took just under two hours, so we were on the ground early, but then we waited for about forty minutes for our stand to become available, so we didn't gain anything.
The queue for passport control was really long. It took almost an hour to get through, but I was stamped into the country for 30 days without question, so I'm not complaining. I collected my bag and made my way to the arrivals hall. That's when the madness began! From what I'd read, I knew that there was no public transport available from the airport into the city. All the advice was to use Grab, Asia's version of Uber, so I'd downloaded the app. However, It doesn't work in the airport! You have to go to the 'Grab lounge' and book a cab there. The cost was around 900 pesos, but the wait was up to two hours!! So, I tried to get an approved 'coupon taxi', where you pay an agreed price in advance. The first of these outfits I tried quoted me 2000 pesos. I bartered the guy in the office down to 1500, but then none of his drivers would take me! I was going 8 km, and it should have taken 25 minutes through the Manila traffic. By now, I was tired, hot, and bothered! The next office I tried quoted 1650 pesos. I agreed, but I only had 1000-peso notes, so I had to give him 2000, and of course, he had no change! Surprise, surprise! I knew I was being ripped off, and he knew I was angry, but I felt like I had no choice. It wasn't a great first impression of the Philippines!
Anyway, the driver dropped me off at my hotel at around 10.15pm. He was a bit disgruntled when I refused to give him a tip!
My room here is considerably bigger than the one in Hong Kong. I even have a kitchen and somewhere to work, so hopefully I'll get some stuff done in the coming days.もっと詳しく
Lunch in Aberdeen
11月11日, 香港
⛅ 24 °C
There were several signs for sampan cruises around the harbour for 100 or 120 dollars, so 10 or 12 pounds for 40 minutes. And from what I could see, they just kind of went in between some of the boats and then came back again. And then as I was walking along, I saw a sampan that was full of local people. I realised that people were getting on it and just tapping their Octopus card. So this was a commuter sampan that was just going to take them across to the other side. I decided to get on it. It was only HK$2.50 - about 25 pence to go across the water and see everything that I would have seen from a tourist sampan. I got off at the other side, took a few photos, but there was really nothing over that side except offices, so then I jumped back on the ferry, tapped my Octopus card again and came back. For 50 pence it was a great round trip - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Back where I started from, I went up Aberdeen High Street and watched all the locals doing their shopping. It's clearly a fishing community. It felt very local.
By this point I was ready for my lunch, so I found a local restaurant. Again, it was full of local people - no tourists. This time, when you went in, they gave you a little slip of paper with a QR code and your table number. When you scan the QR code, you can opt for the menu in English. You place your order on your phone and they bring the food to your table. I ordered a lunchtime special for $42 plus a bit extra for a Coke Zero. I got a big bowl of rice and diced pork, hard-boiled eggs, lettuce, and a savoury, soy-based sauce. It was good. It was a big plate of food - enough to keep me going for the rest of the day for not much money. Once you've eaten, you just take the QR code to the till and they know exactly what you've had and exactly how much you need to pay, which I just thought was brilliant.
After lunch, I got the bus back to Central District and the MTR back to the hotel. In the station, I bought a couple of pastries for my breakfast tomorrow. It fascinates me that every single metro station has its own shopping mall!
I struggled to check in for tomorrow's flight, and did some photo editing before going to bed.もっと詳しく
旅行者So have you enjoyed HK? From your posts I got mixed messages. Just wondering if we'd like it or if it would be too busy. We also hate high end shopping malls except if they have free toilets or a reasonably priced food court which they did in Singapore!
旅行者I feel quite conflicted! I have enjoyed it, but the crowds really got to me on occasion. In Central District, you are funnelled everywhere. I know they have to do it because it's so busy, but sometimes I just wanted to go the opposite way to everyone else - just for the hell of it! 😂 I did enjoy my bus trips out to the suburbs of Stanley and Aberdeen. Public toilets are everywhere - they are always free and always spotlessly clean. The food is really good, and not too expensive, especially if you eat where the locals eat. The public transport system is the best I've ever used - and very reasonably priced. The museums are all free, but I was put off by the long queues every time I tried to visit one! So, pros and cons 😀
Bookshops and a bus trip to Aberdeen
11月11日, 香港
⛅ 24 °C
Finally, I got a decent night's sleep! I slept right through till about nine o'clock this morning 😀. I sorted out my laundry and took it to a place downstairs. It was five pounds in weight and it was only 50 Hong Kong dollars. So about five pounds in money, which I didn't think was bad at all, seeing as we are in Hong Kong.
I've been stressing a little bit about not having done any research or preparation for going to the Philippines tomorrow. My preferred method is to actually have a physical guidebook which I can then annotate and make plans from and discard bits. I just find it suits me to have it all in one place and to have a paper copy to refer to. I know it's old-fashioned, but that's what I like. And it's been stressing me out not having it and not knowing anything about where I'm going tomorrow. So the first thing I did after I'd taken my laundry down was to go out and look for a Lonely Planet guidebook to the Philippines.
I went straight to Central on the MTR. I'd seen a bookstore there a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, they were sold out. The lady in there was very helpful and she phoned their other branch, but they too had sold out. I Googled other options and came up with a store called Bookazine. There was a branch not too far away, so I went to find it. Oh my goodness, it was in a shopping mall in Princess Building. What a horrible place. It's full of top-end stores - Gucci, Prada, Tiffany's, and the like. They're all there, but it's a maze. It's horrible. I just kept getting completely lost. I asked the concierge where the shop was and he told me. I set off to look for it and then I ended up in front of the concierge again!Goodness knows what I did! Anyway, I did find it eventually, but I just found the whole building depressing. The bookshop served its purpose, though. They had a copy of the Lonely Planet Guide to the Philippines. I bought it and because I'd spent over 200 Hong Kong dollars, I got a voucher for a free coffee at their newly opened flagship store and cafe in the adjacent shopping mall. I thought I might as well have a free coffee. According to Google Maps, it was a three-minute walk away. But inside all these buildings - Prince's Building, Alexandra House, and the Landmark Atrium - all linked together by walkways, it took me ages to find it! I gate this kind of shopping mall - full of high-end brands, all the big names, and then above each of the malls was a tower, 50 or 60 floors of offices. By the time I was looking for the second Bookazine store, loads of office workers were coming down to the same level that I was on to get coffee or whatever. There was something called a Starbucks Supreme, their premium store. I just found the whole place really depressing. These people don't see the light of day! It's just awful! I hated it!
Anyway, I found the other shop. I had a coffee. I didn't have to pay fifty dollars for it. I sat there, browsed through my Philippines book, and then decided where I wanted to go for my last day in Hong Kong. There's so much that I still want to see, but you can only do so much. It's funny, a friend of mine is here in Hong Kong. I didn't know she was here until I saw her post on Facebook last night. So I messaged her and she messaged back asking me what my plans were for today. And I said, well, I had been going to go and see the Big Buddha. That was my plan. To use the cable car. But in the end I just could not be bothered. I know the queues would have been horrendous. It's one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong. It's not an ancient site. It was only built in 1993. From what I've read, it's built for tourists. It's a bit Disneyfied. And I just thought, no, I don't want to do that. So I cancelled the trip that I had already booked and I was going to go to the beach, which is what I told my friend on this message. She came back with, you're on holiday - you can do both. And I just thought that's what people don't get, the difference between a holiday that she's on for three weeks, and what I do, which is longer term travel. I don't have to cram it all in. I don't have to do two things in one day if I don't want to. In the end I decided I wasn't going to do any of that.
Instead, I took the bus to Aberdeen Harbour. I've always loved being around boats and fishing places. And I know Mark would have loved it as well. We'd have definitely been going if Mark was still here. So that's what I decided to do. I went on the bus, which was cheap as chips. I was upstairs front seat as I try to be every time to get the best view. I was going in a different direction to where I've gone before. The southern suburbs of Hong Kong Island are still being built. There's so much construction work going on. There are huge cranes everywhere, roads being built, more skyscrapers being built.
I got talking to somebody today who told me that Hong Kong is the world's tallest city with more than 2,300 skyscrapers, which he defined as buildings over 100 metres tall. I think it's probably even more than that. But anyway, many of these skyscrapers are apartment blocks. And in Hong Kong, more people live on the 15th floor or higher than anywhere else on Earth. That's quite a fact. It was an interesting drive down to Aberdeen.
I got off the bus where Google Maps told me to, and I ended up walking behind all of the fishing sheds. It was signposted Aberdeen Promenade, but I did feel like I was in an area that I shouldn't have been in. Anyway, I just continued walking through and eventually I did find the promenade. It was stunning. There were colourful fishing boats mixed in with super yachts in the harbour, with the background of skyscrapers on the other side of the water. It was a lovely place to walk.もっと詳しく
Symphony of Lights
11月10日, 香港
🌙 19 °C
Then I walked down to the Avenue of Stars. I walked all the way along the boardwalk, working out the best place to watch the Symphony of Lights. The waterfront is certainly spectacular at night anyway. There were lots of brightly lit boats going backwards and forwards across the stretch of water. At eight o'clock on the dot the Symphony of Lights began.
It was very difficult to film or photograph because basically they play music from one side of the river and all of the buildings on the other side of the river light up in time with the music. Because the area is so vast, it's very difficult to actually keep an eye on where the lights are flashing on and off. But having said that, it was a good experience.
Afterwards I wandered back to my hotel. Only 13,000 steps today!もっと詳しく
Temple Street night market
11月10日, 香港
🌙 20 °C
After I'd eaten, it was dark, so I travelled a few stops on tge MTR to Temple Street to visit the night market. This has become quite a tourist attraction, I wouldn't say it's particularly authentic, but it was colourful and vibrant and I enjoyed it. I thought it was worth a visit. I met an American couple as I got there who wanted me to take their picture by the sign. And then they took mine. So yes, far more touristy than where I'd just come from!
The market started with street food stalls and then went on to the usual vendors selling tat that you get at any market. The street foods were interesting. There was a lot of tripe, and a lot of oysters and other seafood. Because I'd already eaten, the only thing I bought to try was a traditional Hong Kong bubble waffle. I just had a plain one, so no filling. These are like a waffle but the batter is predominantly egg and the bubbles are pockets of air. So they're very light. It was quite delicious.
After Temple Street, I walked down Nathan Road to go to the Avenue of Stars to watch the Symphony of Light display that's on at eight o'clock every evening. I walked down past my hotel and outside there was a recycling stand where people were taking bags of stuff that could be recycled. There were two guys who were sorting it all, weighing it for them, and actually giving them some money for bringing the recycling. I thought that was a brilliant idea. We should do that in the UK.もっと詳しく
The second half of my guided walk
11月10日, 香港
☀️ 21 °C
As we continued our walk through Sham Shui Po, Hazel pointed out all the brothels in the area. Prostitution is legal in Hong Kong, but only if it's done by an individual. As soon as you put a few individuals together in a place, it's considered to be a brothel and that is illegal. However, the practice goes on. Many of the prostitutes are poor women from rural China who come to Hong Kong. They're only granted a seven-day tourist visa when they arrive. Some make as much money as they can in those seven days and go home again and then repeat the exercise when they want more money. Others outstay their visa and take the risk of prosecution. Others try to find someone who is legally in Hong Kong that they can marry to facilitate their own stay in the country. It's all pretty desperate. These brothels that we saw were not obviously advertised as such. They were massage parlours with lots of girls sitting in doorways.
Hazel pointed out that if we looked up and saw a pink neon strip strip light sticking out from the side of the building, then that meant that there was a prostitute there and she was available - she was at work. These buildings are high rise. They're like a rabbit warren when you get inside. So the girls have their strip lights, and they also have a neon number. For example, we saw one which was 256. That meant that that girl was on the second floor, room 56.
We then continued our walk through an ordinary market area where locals were out and about shopping. Hazel explained that there were a lot more vegetable shops in this neighbourhood, as well as little cafes that just did vegetarian food. Both are indications that this is a poor area where people can't afford meat and fish on a daily basis. She also pointed out to us the buildings of ten storeys and more with no lift. Often these buildings are occupied by older people who struggle to even leave the building because they can't manage the stairs anymore. It's a tough life. Also in this area there are many more laundry places than you would normally see in a suburb of Hong Kong because nobody has their own washing machine. There are public bathhouses, too.
We then went into a public building, a community space with a shared sports area where people play sports indoors and a library. We took the lift up to the top of the building to see the blocks of apartments on the opposite side of the street where there were roof dwellers. It's debatable whether these roof homes are preferable to living in a cage home or not. There are pros and cons. From what we could see from our vantage point, these roof homes are jerry-built at best. They are very cramped. They have very few facilities, very little running water. And they're incredibly hot. They must be. A lot of them are built out of corrugated iron sheets, so they're going to be roasting, especially in the summer. From where we were standing, we could see rats running up and down. I know there are rats everywhere in big cities, but these were just openly running up and down the roof around these makeshift homes. Hazel, explained that the building we were standing in was a refuge for people who live in places like that because they spend the day in the public building in the air con. They treat it like their living area. And then they just go back to their roof homes to sleep.
In the background from our vantage point, we could see the public housing behind the block with the roof homes. And we could also see private high-rise apartment blocks. The difference between the two was mainly the fact that the private apartment blocks had bigger windows and balconies for each apartment. The public housing ones had tiny little windows, no outside space at all, and more apartments crammed in on each floor. You could clearly see which was which.
We ended our tour at the Society for Community Organization or SOCO, which was set up in the 70s as a community project to help local residents. We met a social worker who works there and advises locals on what they're entitled to. They also run an after-school club because working people often don't get home till 10 p.m. so their kids come out of school at half past four and have nowhere to go. So, in the space that we were in, after we'd gone, they were expecting a whole load of kids to turn up. It gives them a safe space to sit and do their homework. I thought that was brilliant.
All in all, it was fascinating to see a completely different side of Hong Kong. Hazel wasn't bitter about anything. She accepted that this was her life and said that she wants to stay in Hong Kong forever. It's her home. Quite sobering really.
After the tour had finished, I think most people headed straight to the MTR to go back to wherever. Me being me, I had a wander around the local area, took some photos of the market stalls and people just going about their business. And then I was hungry. It was five o'clock or so. So I went to get some food. I found a little local restaurant called Eat Together. Again, there were no foreigners in there at all, just local people. It wasn't as busy as previous places I've been to. So for once I didn't have to share a table. I have to say the meal that I had was the cheapest that I've had in Hong Kong so far and also the tastiest, the most delicious. It was a bowl of broth - basically noodle soup with egg and tomato, sliced beef, spring onions, and bean shoots. You could choose the type of noodle you wanted. I chose the bigger flatter noodles, thinking they'd be easier to eat with my chopsticks. This wasn't necessarily true. In fact, I made a bigger mess when they fell off my chopsticks because they were bigger and heavier noodles and they splashed the broth everywhere! 😀 There you go. It's a learning process. There was a condiment on the table which was like a very fragrant vinegar sauce. I'm not sure what it was, but squirted on top of the bowl of noodles, it was delicious. I had a coffee again. There were two different coffees on the menu. One just said coffee and one said coffee with milk. So I ordered the coffee and it still came with milk! 😀 I drank it and it was flavoured with something like allspice. It was quite nice and it went very well with my soup.もっと詳しく
The reality for ordinary Hong Kongers
11月10日, 香港
☀️ 22 °C
I had another really bad night. I didn't sleep at all before 4 a.m. but then I must have gone to sleep. I woke up at 10:15! I just feel like my body clock is upside down - goodness knows why. Anyway, I had a walking tour booked for this morning, but luckily they messaged me last night and asked if I would change to the afternoon slot. So that worked out well. It meant that I could spend some time this morning sorting out my photos and my travel notes.
I left the hotel at 1:45 to go to the meeting point for the walking tour, which was described as a walk around the dark side of Hong Kong. The meeting point for was Prince Edward metro station, which is a few stops up the line from where I'm staying. It was a different direction to Central where I've gone before. The districts that we were walking around were Prince Edward itself and also Sham Shui Po.
Our guide was Hazel. She began with an introduction to the housing situation for ordinary working people in Hong Kong. The figures she was quoting were shocking. It's difficult to remember all the specific information she gave us. One thing that stuck in my mind was that the average salary for people like teachers would be around 20,000 Hong Kong dollars a month. So about two thousand pounds a month. But it's impossible to rent anything of your own for that. You just can't afford it on that salary. And if you're earning even less as a road sweeper, for example, you've got really no chance at all. We stopped outside an estate agent's window and Hazel was explaining to us the property prices to buy for a start, which is just out of any realms of possibility for most ordinary people in Hong Kong. And in terms of rent, you can't rent anything for less than equivalent of 1800 pounds a month for your own space. And these are very small spaces - 20 square metres or less. There were some shocking figures and you just wonder how people cope. We went to look at a subdivided apartment, which has been one of the solutions, if you can call it that, to the housing crisis here in Hong Kong for many years. So what you would consider to be a normal small apartment, let's say 40 square metres or less, is subdivided into mini apartments that are rented out by landlords. The extreme of this is cage homes. So these homes are two metres square and they are literally a single mattress in a cage that's lockable to give you some kind of security. At the extreme, a 50 square metre apartment can be divided into 20 cage homes for 20 individuals all paying the landlord rent of around 600 US dollars a month for a two square metre cage home. Then you've got 20 people who are sharing one bathroom and one kitchen in that same space. It's mind-blowing! These homes are mainly let to single men, there's a growing number of single women who are forced to rent these spaces as well. It's quite shocking to see. I'm used to tiny living, but at least it's mine and I have all the home comforts that they don't have. There were quite a few people on the tour who are considerably wealthier than I am. They were most shocked by the fact that the shower was over the toilet in a space about three foot square. I explained that I'm quite used to that, living in a van for months at a time 😀. The difference is that it's mine. I don't need to share it with anyone.
At the outset of the tour, Hazel did explain to us that poverty tourism is illegal in Hong Kong. They present this tour as the reality for people. The subdivided apartment and the cage home that we actually went into were mocked up, recreated if you like, by the tour company as a representation of how people live. But before you think that this is not real, at the end of the tour, Hazel explained to us her story. Her parents came from mainland China many years ago with the promise of streets paved with gold - they were going to earn their fortunes. Obviously, that's not the reality. But back then it was slightly easier to get public housing. So after they'd been in Hong Kong for a few years, they did get public housing, even though it was well away from the centre of Hong Kong city itself. They did had a 50 square metre apartment for themselves and their three children - Hazel, her older sister and her little brother. Although this is not a lot of space, it's quite luxurious for an ordinary working family compared to today's standards. Her dad had set himself up as a street hawker, so they didn't have a huge amount of money. Before they got the publuc housing when Hazel was five years old, the entire family lived in a subdivided apartment which was only about 10 square metres.
Hazel's own story is that she's in her late 20s and not married. When she wanted to leave home and get her own space, all she could afford to rent was a cage home. She lived in it for two years before she moved into the apartment she's in now - a tiny place which she shares with one friend. There is only room for one small mattress that they share, but they have two cupboards whech serve as small study rooms to give them a little personal space. So Hazel was talking to us from an angle of personal experience. It wasn't just hearsay. It wasn't something that she'd been told to say. This was her lived experience. She works three jobs and all she can afford is a tiny shared space with a friend.
When we'd seen the subdivided apartment, we visited a park where there are homeless people living. We met a few of them. The authorities regularly move these people on. They come round with power hoses and jet wash the parks, soaking all the belongings of the people and forcing them to move on somewhere else. There's no solution. They just move them from pillar to post. So there are people who are homeless, there are people who choose to be homeless rather than live in a two square metre cage.もっと詳しく
The Peak at night
11月9日, 香港
🌬 20 °C
Because it was getting dark then, I made the decision to go back to the Peak to see it after dark. I had to change buses and I waited about half an hour. It was quite windy and I was thinking, have I made the right decision? But anyway, eventually the bus came and for not much money I returned to the Peak.
I didn't go in the plaza straight away. Instead, I started at the finish point of the circular walk, so that I was on the right side for the city views. I walked around so far to get some photos. There were a lot of people doing the same thing, so it was a bit crowded. But wow, the views were spectacular! I'm sure my photos don't do the night scenes justice. It was lovely to see all the different coloured lights on the skyscrapers. A couple of the skyscrapers have light shows going on with different messages coming up on the sides of the buildings. It was incredible! I stood for a while just watching. But I have to say, it was pretty windy up there at night, and I was feeling quite chilly, so I decided to head back down to Central.
When I had got off the bus, the queue of people waiting to catch a bus to go back down was horrendous. It was so, so long. So I thought to myself, maybe I'll just buy a single ticket and go back down on the tram. After I'd been and taken the photos I wanted to take, I went into the plaza to use the facilities. I did go out on one of the viewing platforms there, but it was blowing a gale, and I really couldn't get better photos than I'd taken from the trail. I went outside and realised that the queue for the tram was just as long as the one for the bus. And here they were queuing in an exposed area. It was very windy and quite cold. So I just thought, I've just got to bite the bullet and go and join the queue for the bus. At least it was in at the bus station, so it's sheltered, and I wouldn't be paying anything like the amount of money to get back down. I went and joined the queue. There were I don't know how many hundreds of people, but buses kept coming in and people kept getting on, and so I only waited about half an hour in the end.
I went back down into Central on the bus, got off at Admiralty, and from there it's just one stop under the water to get back to where I'm staying on the Kowloon side.
When I got back to my side, I realised I'd walked 23,000 steps during the day. It was getting late. I was tired. But more than that, I was suddenly hungry. I went past a chicken shop and thought, I need a couple of bits of fried chicken weird because I don't go to KFC anywhere in the world! I'm not really a fried chicken fan, but I just passed this chicken shop and thought, I'm going to have some! I got myself a couple of pieces of chicken and a drink and took them back to my room, by which point it was just gone ten o'clock. It had been a long day, but an enjoyable one.もっと詳しく
Exploring Stanley
11月9日, 香港
🌬 23 °C
I got off the bus at Stanley Plaza, yet another shopping centre. I descended through the plaza, down the escalators past all the usual brands of shops to get down to sea level. There, I walked along to Blake Pier and sat there for a while just watching the world go by. I am not a cat person by any means. They're not my favourite animal. But I saw the most beautiful cat with markings more like a leopard than a domestic cat. It was clearly a pampered pet. Its owner was standing close by. And later, when the owner was ready to go home, he jumped on his bike and put the cat on his back! I didn't get a photo of it, but I wish I had.
There were people fishing off the pier. I saw a couple of people catch a few small fish. And someone whose wife was freaked out when he pulled in an octopus. That was quite amusing!
From the pier, I walked back past what I believe was an army billeting station back in the day and walked along the prom. There are several British-style pubs. It felt very pleasant. It had a really nice vibe.
Having explored the seafront area, I walked up to the bus station to catch the bus back to the city. The sun set as we were on the bus and I managed to get a slightly blurred shot of the sunset from the upper deck.もっと詳しく
Lunch and a bus ride to Stanley
11月9日, 香港
🌬 25 °C
After the walk, I took the tram back down. I was hungry by now, so I went in search of lunch. In the Central District, just off a main street, I found a restaurant packed with locals. No tourists in sight. That's a bit of me 😀. So I went in. As is the norm, I was shown to a table where there was already a gentleman sitting eating. It looked like he'd got beef in black bean sauce with green and red peppers. It looked very good and I couldn't see it on the menu. So I asked the waiting staff if I could have what he was having. It turned out that the green peppers were not green peppers. They were bitter melon. And it really was bitter! It's probably an acquired taste. I ate some of it, but not all. The rest of the dish was delicious! It was served with rice and a choice of either a broth, tea or coffee. I asked for coffee, not thinking that it would come with milk, and it did. So as I usually drink my coffee black, that wasn't the best part of the meal. But anyway, the food was very good 😀.
By now I had done enough walking for a while. I'd read about the suburb of Stanley, a great place for a seaside stroll. So I decided to take the bus there. It takes about an hour - an opportunity just to rest my legs. I was first in the queue for the next number six bus to Stanley, so I was able to sit upstairs on the double-decker with great views from the front seat.
As we went along, we drove through clearly expensive seaside suburbs, past golf clubs, country clubs, jockey clubs. At one point a number of teenagers got on the bus. They were clearly Americans and Russians, presumably with very rich parents. A very affluent area.
We drove through Repulse Bay with its beautiful white sandy beaches to get to Stanley. I have to say that that coastal road along there reminded me very much of Cape Town, South Africa, where we took the hop-on hop-off bus and drove through the coastal suburbs. The apartment blocks, the gated communities, the fabulous views of the sea - they all reminded me very much of that Cape Town coastal road.もっと詳しく
Peak Circle Walk
11月9日, 香港
🌬 24 °C
I stayed up there for quite a while before making my way back down. I took photos of the Sky View from below and now I understand why it's known locally as the wok (because it's shaped like one!).
I then found the start of the Peak Circle Walk. This is a three kilometre walk that takes you around the peak at a slightly lower level than the shopping centre. It's mainly flat. And as you set off along it, it's not long before you're in amongst the trees. You've left all that noise and hassle behind. It was a joy, actually. It was a joy to hear the birds singing, to see beautiful big butterflies. Obviously I didn't capture any photos. But it was good to be in nature amongst the trees, especially the banyan trees.
As you walk on, the path obviously takes you back to the city side of the peak. The views from there are possibly even better than from the Sky View. You're actually closer to the buildings below you.もっと詳しく
Exploring Victoria Peak
11月9日, 香港
🌬 24 °C
My intention this morning was to leave early to go and visit Victoria Peak. I set my alarm for 7:30. I got up. But by the time I'd faffed about, showered, and discovered that my fruit salad was frozen (but then I thought, It's not going to kill me, so I ate it anyway 😀), I didn't leave the hotel until 9:45!
I caught the MTR to Central, which is becoming quite normal, then got a ding ding to Murray Road, and then did a ten-minute uphill walk to the Peak Tram. That area is just full of shiny skyscrapers. I walked past the back of St John's Cathedral, which looks a bit out of place in the midst of all the modernity.
It was a better day today - sunny and clear. I was hopeful of good views once I got to the top of Victoria Peak. So, I went and caught the tram. I could have gone by bus (it would have been considerably cheaper), but I wanted to experience the history and just the ride in the tram. It's one of the steepest inclines in the world for a tram.
I had read that I could just get on board using my Octopus card. That was a bit misleading. I still had to queue. But it was well organised. I waited about 30 minutes. When I bought my tickets, I bought the combined ticket of the tram and the Sky View, which I wasn't going to do. But then I thought, well I'm only here once, so why not?
Once I was on the tram, I realised there are glass windows in the roof as well as around all the sides. So you get a very good view as you're going up of the vista opening up below you of Hong Kong. Also, because it's so steep, it's a weird feeling because all the skyscrapers appear to lean. Obviously you're the one that's leaning and the skyscrapers are straight 😀.
When you reach the top of Victoria Peak in the tram, you are channelled into a modern shopping centre - surprise, surprise! It's on five levels. There are all the usual suspects, the Starbucks, etc. There are breathtaking views on every level. So I probably didn't need to pay the extra to go up on the Sky View terrace. There are lots of selfie studios. And also, bizarrely, there was a Mr. Simms traditional sweet shop. The last time I saw one of those was in York. It was a bit odd finding it there!
So, I continued up and then went through the barrier for those who've paid to go onto the Sky View deck, which is all outside. I couldn't help but be impressed. It was spectacular. I took far too many photos. It was a bit annoying because obviously it's a major tourist attraction and there were hundreds and thousands of tourists trying to do selfies - why can't I be there by myself for uninterrupted views? 😂🤣もっと詳しく
Another ding-ding ride
11月8日, 香港
☀️ 26 °C
Also in that area is the Cenotaph. I did take a photo of it on the day that we did the walking tour, but obviously since then they've had a Remembrance service, and so now it was adorned with lots and lots of poppy wreaths.
After that, again, I'd done 11,000 steps today, so not overly many, but I decided to get a ding ding to Belcher Bay. I sat by the water, reading my book and had my lunch. The chicken pie that I bought was as expected, but the cheese pie was sweet, really sweet, which was a bit of a surprise. Anyway, you live and learn.
It was getting dark by now, so I got a ding dong back to Central and then the metro back to the hotel. I did intend to go down to the harbour front tonight to watch the Symphony of Lights. I still haven't done that, but to be honest, I just am too tired. So, I came back to the hotel instead. I bought a box of fruit salad from a lady just outside. I think it's got yogurt and custard on it. I haven't eaten it yet, so it's in the fridge now and I'll give it a go for my breakfast in the morning.もっと詳しく
Little Manila and pastries
11月8日, 香港
☀️ 27 °C
I had read that the area of Statue Square, where I started my walking tour a couple of days ago, turns into Little Manila on Sunday afternoons between 12 and 6. So I thought I would go and have a look. And yes, it does. Every available space there was was just full of Filipinos, mainly ladies. The road around the square, because it's the central financial district, is empty on Sundays. There are no buses running. So the Filipino community had occupied the whole area. Apparently, it happens every Sunday because that's the only day these ladies get off work, and I guess it's just to be out in the open air. They were in big groups. They were all adults. I'm assuming that these ladies come to earn money in Hong Kong and leave their families behind in the Philippines. They were sharing food. There were lots of elaborate picnics. They were choreographing dance routines on the street. A lot of them were singing karaoke. Most were just sitting around on the pavements, on the square, on the road. There was definitely a party atmosphere in the square. There were police there, but they were very low-key. They were just monitoring the situation, but there was no trouble at all. It was unusual, to say the least.
And then it got even stranger. As I left the square, all I could hear was the sound of packing tape - that sound you get when you pull packing tape off the roll and use it to seal a box. The next few streets were rammed full of people packing boxes. There were piles of collapsed empty cardboard boxes that already had a roll of packing tape attached to them. And then people put their contents into the box and sealed it with the tape. There were other doing the paperwork. There were hundreds, if not thousands of Filipinos doing this.
I got talking to two ladies who explained to me that because it's nearly Christmas, they're sending all this stuff home to the Philippines. They said that stuff is cheaper for them in Hong Kong, which I find hard to believe because I think everything's expensive here. But anyway, there must be a benefit to them to doing it. One of the ladies did say that a lot of what they send is second-hand. This, activity went on for street after street. I've never seen anything like it in my life before. It was over the whole area.
I crossed a multi-lane road over a footbridge. There were people packing boxes before I went up the steps onto the bridge, and then on the bridge, there were lots of ladies in temporary shelters made from cardboard boxes having their picnics and socialising. They'd left all their shoes outside the cardboard 'house'. It was just very, very odd to see it. It's their only day off in the week and that's how they spend it, because it's just a question of being out in the open air, even though they're sitting above a very busy road.
There's a lot of pollution. I can feel it in my throat now. It's very sore. I think it's a combination of the fierce air con every time you go in a building and the pollution every time you come out.
It was eye-opening, very strange to see, to be perfectly honest. And the weirdest thing? All of this is happening in a very expensive part of Hong Kong. I mean, Hong Kong is expensive anyway, but it was literally on the corner of the five-star Mandarin Hotel. There were also a lot of ladies in the street outside Van Cleef & Arpels and Tiffany's, two of the most expensive jewellers in the world. The contrast was really incredible.
And then the next thing I saw was a whole row of Chinese bakeries with huge selections of sweet and savoury pastries, which I find hard to resist. So I did go in and buy a few, including some for the ladies that I had been talking to. I bought a chicken pie and a cheese pie for me to have for my lunch instead of going to a restaurant today.もっと詳しく
A ride on the Star Ferry
11月8日, 香港
☀️ 26 °C
I was awake again from 12:45 to 2:30. I don't know why I can't sleep through at the moment. I must have gone off back to sleep, though - the next thing I knew, it was 9:15! Somewhat later than planned. 😂. However, all the advice I've read was not to visit the popular tourist spots at the weekend anyway. So I'm saving those for later in the week, and today, after I'd had a spot of breakfast, I walked down to the Star Ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Central. It's a must-do thing when you're in Hong Kong.
I have to say that the signage was great. It was really simple to fathom out how to catch the ferry and where to catch it. Again, I could use my Octopus card. I paid a slightly higher price for my ticket so that I could go on the upper level of the boat, but it's not a lot of difference.
It was ridiculously busy, despite the fact that it was another cloudy day, but I managed to get a good seat at the front of the boat.
The Hong Kong Eye is on the waterfront on the other side, just like the London Eye is by the Thames. The difference is I don't know what you would see if you went on it, because at 60 meters tall, it's so much shorter than all of the surrounding buildings. So I'm not sure what benefit you would get by going on it 😀.
They're still developing the waterfront over here, so we were funnelled through a covered walkway decorated with explanations as to what they're doing. It's quite sterile. Halfway through the walkway there was a space-age café, which was completely deserted apart from the man behind the counter. It didn't look very appealing 😊.
Unsurprisingly, the walkway takes you straight into a huge, shiny shopping mall - very expensive with all the big names. A shopping mall is not normally a place I would go into anyway, wherever I am in the world, so I just walked through to get where I wanted to go, being careful not to trip over any of the robot cleaners that were all over every floor. Apparently they sweep, polish, and spray air freshener into the atmosphere. So, no need for human cleaners.もっと詳しく
Kowloon Park and goose for lunch
11月7日, 香港
☁️ 26 °C
I then walked up to Kowloon Park thinking that I would get some respite from the crowds. No such luck. It was really, really busy. Kowloon Park is known for its statues and its fountains. It was nice but because it was so windy, you couldn't go anywhere near the fountains. You couldn't go up the steps and have a look properly because you were getting absolutely soaked where the wind was blowing the water. So I walked through, and took a few photos - that was it.
At this point I'd done 16,000 steps. So I went to find a restaurant to have some lunch. I chose a local place that was full of local people, no tourists. I'd passed quite a few that only had a menu in Chinese. I thought that was a step too far. So the one that I chose did have English translations in tiny print underneath the Chinese writing. I went in and ordered the roast goose. They were doing a plate for one which I thought was quite good. I got roast goose plus one topping. And hilariously for me, the toppings were other meats. So you could have barbecue pork or steamed chicken or chicken in soy sauce. So I had roast goose with steamed soy chicken. It came with a bowl of plain rice, some interesting sauces which were delicious, and a pickled cucumber salad. I'm not a fan of cucumber, but the liquor that was in the bowl was really nice when I had it with my rice. As yesterday, I had to share a table with another diner. When I arrived there was another single lady sitting at the table that I was directed to. I don't know what the etiquette is about sharing your table in this country, but when they brought her lunch, it looked delicious. I told her so and asked her what it was. I may well go back and have that another day because it did look really good. When she had finished her meal, I was quickly joined by a solo male. The rest of my meal wasn't so pleasant because he slurped and burped his way through his plate of jellied something or other. It really didn't look very pleasant to me, but he seemed to be enjoying it. So that was my lunch experience today, and I paid for it with my Octopus card, which made me very happy.
After lunch, I headed back to the hotel. There, I did my diary and watched Michael Palin's, documentary series about the Philippines because that's where I'm considering going next 😃.もっと詳しく
Exploring Hong Kong's Waterfront
11月7日, 香港
⛅ 26 °C
For some unknown reason, I just did not sleep again last night. I was awake from just before three o'clock. As much as I tried to get back to sleep, I couldn't. So I eventually got up feeling really tired. My eyes have been very sore all dday. It's a good job I had planned an easier day today.
Before leaving the hotel, I had the egg tarts that I bought yesterday for breakfast with my coffee. I enjoyed them. As nice as they were, though, they weren't a patch on my grandma's egg custard tarts that she used to make regularly. She used to put a liberal sprinkling of nutmeg on the top, which was absolutely delicious. I can still taste them. So these were nice but not a patch on hers 😀.
When I left my accommodation, went first to the metro station to put some more money on my Octopus card. Then I walked down to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, which is at Victoria Harbour. It's only a few minutes walk from where I'm staying. It was really cloudy today and very windy. There was an odd spot of rain and no sun.
My intention had been to go on the Star Ferry this morning, but I decided not to because it wouldn't have been any good for photos. Instead, I walked along the harbour boardwalk which is known as the Avenue of Stars. It starts with the Hong Kong Film Awards statue and then continues. There are handprints of famous Hong Kong actors, directors, singers, and producers on metal plaques attached to the rail.
I walked to the end of the boardwalk, and then sat for a while watching the harbour and reading my book. I have to say that it wasn't very restful. The world and his wife were out today. It was absolutely heaving, I guess because it's a Saturday. All the locals were out as well as tourists. When I left my hotel this morning, I got talking to a guy from Vietnam who just could not believe how busy Hong Kong is. I told him I was surprised because I'd lived in Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City for three years and that is a very, very busy place. And he said, yes it is, but you don't have people walking about like you do here. And I said, no, everybody's on a motorbike. It was quite an interesting comparison that he was making. To him, Ho Chi Minh feels a lot quieter than Hong Kong just because there aren't the number of pedestrians. It is very wearing here. You do find yourself getting tired quickly as you negotiate the crowds of people just to get to where you want to go.
Anyway, I took lots of pictures along the boardwalk. I also saw my first kiosk which was manned just by a robot. This robot was selling juice. It was quite interesting to just stop and watch for a while. I then retraced my steps and then walked up as far as the Star Ferry but I didn't go on. As I said, I'm waiting for better weather.もっと詳しく
A ding-ding ride 😀
11月6日, 香港
☀️ 28 °C
I had walked over 20,000 steps by this stage of the day, so needing a rest, I caught a ding ding, which I loved. That's what they call the trams here in Hong Kong. It's already my favourite way to travel. They're double-decker trams. They remind me of the trams I used to ride on as a kid up and down the prom in Blackpool. They are very similar - tall, narrow, double-deckers.
I sat upstairs, both going and coming back. The windows were all open. You see all of human life in Hong Kong as you go past. I caught the ding ding up to Kennedy Town along the harbour and then came back. I wasn't particularly going to look at anything today. It was just a question of using the tram and it's inexpensive. It's about the only thing I've found so far that is inexpensive in Hong Kong! 😀
After my ride, I transferred to the metro for the journey back to my hotel. On the way, I passed an unusual building. I've never seen a building built to look like a piece of luggage before. But that's exactly what they've done here in Hong Kong. It's a Louis Vuitton building made to look like a Louis Vuitton case, complete with gold coloured clasps to close it. Interesting 😀.
Round the corner from my hotel, I called at 7/11 to get some soft drinks and a yoghurt for breakfast. I have a fridge in my room, but it only works when I'm in there and have inserted the key in a special lock 😃.もっと詳しく
Escalators and markets 😀
11月6日, 香港
☀️ 27 °C
After saying goodbye to Audrey, I had my lunch, and then rode the escalators all the way to the top. I hadn't really considered the return journey! Because the escalator only runs one way, I had to walk all the way back down many, many, many flights of steps. I was quite shaky by the time I got off about two thirds of the way down. My legs felt like jelly. It wasn't the exertion of coming down the steps. It was the fear of falling down them! I still haven'tgot used to my new varifocals! 😀
Anyway, I got off about two thirds of the way down because I wanted to explore Graham Street Market, which is the biggest wet market still in existence in Hong Kong. There was some interesting stuff for sale! I bought some fruit. I thought it was incredibly expensive. I got talking to a guy next to me, a Hong Kong guy, who was also buying fruit. I said it's so much more expensive than the UK. He said because we were in Central, it was probably 50% more than other districts in Hong Kong. He advised me that I should go to Wan Chai district. I'll give that a go while I'm here.
But at least the Graham Street market is still there. It's an authentic market and obviously some people can afford it. It's severely reduced in size from how it used to be, I believe. And it seems very crammed in between the tall skyscrapers. But it's still there.
I also went to Central Market, which is a different kettle of fish. It's a covered market that's been gentrified. t's got a floor that's dedicated to street food, but whether it's authentic or not, I'm not sure. There was quite a lot of fried chicken, appealing to westernised teenagers, it seemed to me. And there were a lot of craft and gimmicky stalls selling tat, to be honest. It wasn't authentic like the outdoor street market, but having said that, they did have very good toilets and they were free 😀.もっと詳しく
Man Mo Temple and lunch
11月6日, 香港
⛅ 28 °C
The final stop on the walking tour was Man Mo Temple. We sat in a children's play park opposite the temple so that Audrey could tell us about the history and about what we were going to do when we got inside.
Built in 1847, this beautiful temple on Hollywood Road is one of the city's oldest places of worship, dedicated to Man, the god of literature, and Mo, the god of war. Audrey explained that students traditionally pray to Man for success in their exams, while Mo is worshipped by both police officers and members of criminal gangs, all seeking protection, strength, and loyalty! Before entering, we stepped over the raised stone threshold, symbolically bowing our heads in respect. Inside, the air was so thick with incense smoke that my eyes immediately started streaming! We announced our arrival by striking a drum and ringing a bell three times each, before lighting three incense sticks representing heaven, earth, and humanity. Holding them to our foreheads, we bowed three times and made our own private prayers. Audrey told us that many people come here to pray for prosperity, or simply enough money to survive in this incredibly expensive city. It was a fascinating glimpse into Hong Kong's spiritual traditions and a wonderful reminder that, amid all the skyscrapers, shopping malls, and relentless bustle, centuries-old customs remain very much alive.もっと詳しく
Walking tour of Hong Kong
11月6日, 香港
☀️ 28 °C
Despite being so tired, I didn't sleep very well. I had booked a walking tour this morning, so I had to be up anyway! I had a shower, which was of the 'over-the-toilet' variety. It's not a problem for me having spent so long living in caravans and campervans. I'm used to showering in confined spaces 😂.
I made myself a coffee and had a makeshift breakfast with the items leftover from my airline meals yesterday, and then went to get the metro to the meeting point for the tour. It was only two stops. My Octopus card worked like a charm, and surprisingly, it wasn't too busy!
The meeting point was Statue Square. We met our guide, Audrey, and were given headsets so that we wouldn't miss anything.
The tour today was just a general introduction to Hong Kong, which Audrey, told us would be split into three sections. The first one being government and finance, the second one being food and culture, and the third one being religion.
We were standing just below the HSBC building, so it was here that Audrey explained to us all about the 'one country, two systems' situation that's been in place here in Hong Kong since the territory was transferred back to China in 1997. There is definitely a sense of worry, shall we say, now that we're more than halfway through the 50-year handover period. People seem genuinely concerned about what's going to happen when this period ends in 2047 because for now, China have agreed that they have to respect Hong Kong's sovereignty in terms of currency and lots of other aspects including the judiciary and the police. Nobody knows what will happen in 2047. I'm glad I'm seeing it now. It's an interesting time to be here.
We talked a lot about the government and the judiciary. We saw a historic, colonial, domed building built by the British and used today as the Supreme Court of Appeal. It was dwarfed by the huge, huge skyscrapers that completely surrounded by us. And I'm not sure why the square is called Statue Square. We only saw that one, although there was lots of work ongoing so it could be that there are other statues but they weren't visible at the moment. I did see a massive Christmas tree, the first one I've seen.
Audrey talked quite a bit about the currency. Hong Kong has a similar system to Scotland, where they have different banknotes for the same denomination depending on which bank has printed them. So, for example, all of the Hong Kong banknotes printed by HSBC have lions on them because lions are the logo of HSBC.
We walked across to the extraordinary HSBC headquarters, designed by British architect Norman Foster, and met Stephen and Stitt, the two bronze lions guarding its entrance. Both still bear scars from Hong Kong's turbulent history, including bullet damage from the Second World War and damage during the 2019 protests. One of the biggest surprises was discovering just how much of Central stands on reclaimed land. Places that were once right on the waterfront are now surrounded by roads and skyscrapers!
From the HSBC building, we walked up a flight of steps which had waterfalls running down it. It was very nicely done. At the top, we were in the grounds of St John's Cathedral, which was the first oasis of calm we'd seen all morning. We sat in the shade of a tree and Audrey told us all about her history and background. She was born and brought up in Hong Kong. She moved to the UK for a while but then came back because she missed her parents. Her parents are interesting. Her mum was born in mainland China and was brought up under the communist regime. Audrey described her as being very Chinese in her outlook on everything. In contrast her dad was born in Hong Kong and is very westernised, speaks English fluently, and looks to Western capitalism for everything that he strives for. So for Audrey, it was a real contrast growing up with the two of them as her parents. And she had to find her own path and decide which way she was going to go.
Built in the 1840s, St John's Cathedral is one of Hong Kong's oldest surviving Western-style buildings and has been a place of Anglican worship since 1849. Inside, I was particularly taken with the stained-glass windows, including one depicting Jesus in a red robe alongside a Hong Kong policeman. There are some fascinating reminders of the city's colonial past, too, including a carved emblem marking a pew once reserved for British royalty and colonial governors, and an old Hong Kong flag displayed in a side chapel. It is the only pre-1997 Hong Kong flag that's allowed to be flown in Hong Kong now because it was banned when Hong Kong reverted to Chinese ownership. St John's Cathedral is built on freehold land, so they are still allowed to fly the pre-1997 Hong Kong flag.
From the cathedral we walked down through the Central Business District where Audrey told us about the astronomical rents that are paid in Hong Kong. It's eye-watering!
The reason for walking down there was to get to the bottom of the Central Mid-Level Escalators. This was fascinating. We only rode on it for a short way on the tour. Later, I went back and I rode the whole thing from bottom to top. Opened in 1993, this extraordinary 800-metre-long system of 16 escalators and three moving walkways is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. It was built to help commuters travel between the residential neighbourhoods high above Central and the busy business district below. It runs downhill from 6am to 10am to take people to work, then reverses direction for the rest of the day!
It's completely free to ride on, takes around 20–25 minutes, and offers a fascinating bird's-eye view of everyday life in Hong Kong as you glide past shops, restaurants, apartment buildings, and narrow streets. I even hopped off to visit the peaceful Jamia Mosque along the way. Women are not allowed to enter. But I did look at it from the outside. There was quite a bit of scaffolding around it because it's undergoing renovation. But it was somewhere quiet and peaceful for me to just sit for a few minutes out of the chaos because Hong Kong is bonkers!! It is so busy!!
Back to the walking tour! We got off the escalator so that Audrey could tell us about Hong Kong's food culture and give us some recommendations about where we might eat.
She pointed out two restaurants on opposite sides of the street that are famous for wonton soup. There's Mak's Noodle, which is in a very historic building. It's famous for serving the original wonton soup with small wontons. It's a light lunchtime meal. In comparison, Sim Chau Kee on the opposite side of the road serves bigger wontons. Audrey said they are more the size of ping pong balls. They're more modern and appeal to people with larger appetites.
After the tour I did have my lunch in Mak's Noodle. People were queuing down the street so that was, for me, a sign that it's got to be good. It has only got a few tables inside. You are expected to share, which I don't have a problem with. As a single diner, I didn't have to wait long. I jumped in front of the groups ahead of me in the queue and was shown to a table where a gentleman was already having his lunch. Unfortunately, I couldn't try the famous wonton soup because it contains shrimp. I ordered noodles with spicy minced pork which were delicious. They came with a black tea. I'm not a tea drinker at all. I don't like the stuff. I couldn't tell you the last time I had a cup of tea. But today, it proved to be a very good accompaniment to my spicy noodles 😀. My meal also included a clear soup with spring onions floating in it. I had two spoonfuls and then thought to myself, I think I can taste some shrimp in here. I asked the gentleman who was sharing the table with me and he told me that it probably had some fish sauce in it. That's one of the problems for me being here in Hong Kong. It's the same as when we lived in Vietnam, it was very difficult to find things that didn't have fish sauce in them. However, what I had was very good.
When I came to pay, I discovered that I could have used my Octopus card!
One of the other things that Audrey recommended was roast goose, a specialty of Hong Kong. She pointed out a place that is the oldest roast goose restaurant in Hong Kong. There was nobody in there. Audrey said that's because the food's not very good. She told us you should always look at the goose or geese roasting in the window to check that they are dripping fat. This shows you that the goose is fresh and is going to be delicious. The ones that were on display in the window of this place were very dry and looked like they'd been there for ages!
The other thing that is ubiquitous here in Hong Kong is the egg tart, brought to the former colony by the British. Audrey recommended Tai Cheong Bakery. The tarts come either in a cookie crust or a flaky pastry crust. She said you have to have the cookie crust. They're the best. I did pick up a couple which I ate later as a substitute for dinner! They were good, but not a patch on the ones my grandma used to make!もっと詳しく
Second tiring travel day, but I'm here!
11月5日, 香港
🌙 26 °C
I was completely shattered when we disembarked in Shanghai. We had jumped forward by 8 hours, so it was 4.30pm local time, and already getting dark! My connecting flight to Hong Kong left at 6.10pm, so I had plenty of time to transfer through the airport, despite the rigorous security checks!
The 3-hour flight to Hong Kong was smooth and uneventful. I thought I might sleep for a while, but it wasn't to be 😊.
We were served beef with rice, followed by matcha sponge for dinner. Again, it was pretty decent - and still included in my £207 😃.
I was a little bit disappointed as we came into land that I couldn't see anything of the city. We came in over the sea and there was nothing to see 🙁.
In Hong Kong, I was one of the last off the plane, but it didn't matter as they took an absolute age to get our luggage through to baggage reclaim! In the meantime, I had successfully negotiated security and passport control, and been allowed into Hong Kong for a full six months! It's a shame it's such an expensive city - I might have been tempted to stay longer. Sadly, I didn't get a stamp in my passport. Instead, I got a flimsy little ticket to keep with my passport, which I hope I don't lose!!
When I got my bag, I went through customs and got some Hong Kong dollars. I asked at two different exchange places and the rate was terrible. So I went to an ATM and got 15% more Hong Kong dollars for my pounds. They offered me 895 Hong Kong dollars for a hundred pounds, whereas I withdrew a thousand Hong Kong dollars and it cost me £97.34.
Having done my research beforehand, I went to buy an Octopus card before I left the airport. It cost me HK$170, and can be used on all public transport in the city. While I was buying the card, a lovely lady, who was clearly trying to be helpful, stepped in to ask me where I was going and where I was staying. I told her and she came up with some convoluted route involving getting the Airport Express bus from the airport and then a metro and then change to another metro. And when I said, well no, I've already used Google Maps and I'm going to go on the number 21 bus from the airport, she said, oh, but that takes a long time. I said no, according to Google Maps it takes ten minutes longer, but there's no walking. Oh, but you have to walk here at the airport, she said. Yes I did, but it was less than five minutes. So I ignored her advice 😂 and got the A21 as Google Maps advised me to. It was an hour on the bus into the city from the little I could see in the dark. The best bit was crossing over to the area where I'm staying - Kowloon. All the information on the buses was very straightforward. There were displays and announcements in Cantonese and in English explaining which stop would be next, etc. I got dropped off just outside my accommodation, so that could not have been better, even though it was 11.30pm, and I was completely knackered!
I checked into my hotel after queuing for about 20 minutes. My guesthouse is on the 16th floor. There are several other hotels and guesthouses on the floors below, and everyone seemed to be coming home at the same time! At least there are two lifts, one for the even-numbered floors, and one for the odd. Clever! 😂
My room is tiny!!! I knew it was going to be. Space is at a premium here in Hong Kong, and I'm on a budget. There literally isn't room to swing a cat 😀. But it's clean, has good wifi, and aircon, so I'm not complaining!もっと詳しく
A full day of travel
11月4日, イングランド
☁️ 10 °C
My train journey went without a hitch, which is a vast improvement from last week when it took 16 hours to get from home to Plymouth - due to 'slippery rails' amongst other things! I got to Heathrow Terminal 4 at 3.20pm and had to wait until 5 for the bag drop to open. I'd always rather be early than late, though! While I was waiting, I changed the Indian rupees I had in my wallet - I won't be needing those! 😀
Check-in and security were both very smooth. There are not many distractions in Terminal 4, so I found somewhere to sit and read my book. I also took the opportunity to research the Philippines. Perhaps I'll go there from Hong Kong 😊.
The flight was completely full, so no chance of a spare seat next to me 😀. I never sleep on planes and sadly, tonight was no exception. We took off at 9 15pm, 15 minutes later than scheduled. Soon after, we were served a decent dinner, the main course of which was sweet and sour chicken with rice and steamed vegetables. Then, the cabin lights were dimmed to allow us all to sleep. I tried I really did! But to no avail. I read for a bit, and 'rested my eyes', as my Grandma would have said 😊. When we were 'woken up' for breakfast 8 hours later, I reckon I had dozed for less than an hour!
Like dinner, breakfast was pretty good. The main was cheese omelette with bacon, sausage, and herby potatoes. Not bad East China Airlines, especially on a flight that cost me £207!もっと詳しく
An unexpected start!
11月4日, イングランド
⛅ 8 °C
Well, this is a weird start to what should have been another epic journey. Now, it feels like I'm taking a very big leap into the unknown! I'm leaving this morning from Bodmin Parkway station on a train to Reading. Three changes after that, I'll arrive at Heathrow Terminal 4. Tonight, I'll fly to Hong Kong, where I will stay for seven nights. After that, it's a large blank!
Let me explain ...
I drove down to Cornwall on Monday to stay for a couple of nights with my family and to leave Bertha (my campervan) on their drive for the six months I was expecting to be out of the country. I was due to fly from Hong Kong to Gujarat in India on November 12th, take part in a textile tour, and then fly on to Goa on 25th, where I was due to stay until next April.
All of these plans were thrown into disarray, however, when I stopped at a motorway service station for a comfort break, checked my emails, and discovered that my visa application for India had been refused! No reason was given. I was absolutely devastated! All my plans had come to nothing. My head was spinning. All kinds of scenarios were wizzing around. I went through every possible solution I could think of - on the rest of the drive, once I arrived at my family's place, during a sleepless night, and into yesterday. Every idea I explored hit a brick wall!
So, here I am, on my way to the airport with no definite plans in place beyond next Thursday! I didn't even travel like this when I was backpacking in my youth! With no possibility of changing the India situation, I just have to embrace the unknown and work it out as I go. Having already paid out for flights to India and months of accommodation, whatever I do will be heavily influenced by my severely limited budget. I can't get any refunds because refusal of a visa is not grounds I can claim for on my very expensive insurance!
Come along with me for the ride. It will either be an epic adventure, or I will be back in the UK in a couple of weeks, facing a cold and miserable winter. Fingers crossed, it's the former!
The photos attached to this footprint are of picturesque Bodmin Parkway station this morning, where volunteers were busy tending the flower beds, and GWR staff were moving some very old carriages into the restoration sheds 😊.もっと詳しく
