Day 7 - Aimless wanderings...

On day 7, the fist thing I intended to do was head to Lok Fu, but even the best laid plans go to waste, and instead, after finding George, I spent most of the morning 'helping' him to pack (i.e. standing chatting), as he planned to leave his hostel, or, as he put it 'escape'. He was either going to find a new hostel, or head to China to meet his (Russian) girlfriend, Tanya. I caught the bus (discovered day 6) from outside Chungking, and relaxed and enjoyed the trip through the urban sprawl, arriving at Lok Fu after about an hour. I then consulted the Bible (i.e. guidebook), and spent a good 10 or 15 minutes looking to find some bearings, before giving up and deciding to ask one of the security guards at the mall. He gave the nod and head shake which said, quite clearly, "I don't speak English". He then headed off, in pursuit of an anglophone, and eventually found a teller in the bank who spoke English enough to tell me that she didn't have a scooby. Useful, very useful. So I decided to admit defeat and head somewhere else, although that didn't cause me to lose faith in the Bible, after all, it's not the Bible's fault that Hong Kong has a lack of street signs pointing to the walled city. I headed into the MTR at Lok Fu, and decided to indulge my curiosity and head out to see what was at a station called, ambiguously, "LOHAS park". On the way out of the MTR station, I went into the 7 eleven and bought a lunch, intending to eat it in the park. That would have been lovely, apart from the fact that LOHAS stands for 'Lifestyle Of Health And Sustainbility', which is Hong Kong beauracracy's way of saying 'High Rise'. And they had't even finished building it, so there wasn't even much to see, or seat at which to have lunch. I decided to yet again admit defeat, and head instead for Hong Kong island, where I managed to end up on the (aptly named) 'Island Line' of the MTR, which travels along the north coast of Hong Kong island. I decided to get off at Shau Kei Wan, as I remembered (also from day 6) that it was one of the tram termini (I know, posh words today, eh?). When I got out of the MTR, i found a bus depot, but the thought of any transport was sidelined, as I saw a small park to one side with, wait for it, PICNIC TABLES!!! I sat down at one, and, started to tuck into my lunch amid coughing from the fumes from the buses going past every nanosecond. This, however, was bearable, as I was joined for lunch my several small and fearless birds (finches, I believe) who decided to gather round to pick up anything I should drop (or decide to feed them). I chose the latter, and  both the birds and I dined on turkey and shrimp paste sandwiches (actually quite nice) and crisps. I then headed off to find the trams, and upon another consultation with the great (yet lonely) god of planet I discovered that I could take the longest possible journey on the tram system by catching a tram to Western Market, and then onward to Kennedy town. It was a while down the line to Western Market that the tiredness hit me, and I decided to yet again relent and head back to the hostel, where I sat for a while before heading out for some traditional fayre (which was elusive, so I  gave up and went to Mickey's). I then decided on a nice, quiet night in (after a quick visit ti the internet cafe, where I discovered that George had left me a message telling me that he was still in Hong Kong). Then it was off to bed, with a vodka limonata (left over from day 3) and I slept.