Day 9 - And relax...

On day 9 I didn't wake up until about 1pm. I think it was the 8.5% proof cider that did it. Especially since I had two bottles of the stuff. Still, it was quite nice. I decided to do what I didn't get the chance to do yesterday, so after a long shower and some food, I decided first to catch up with George and say bye before he headed off to Shenzhen. I managed to catch him, and I bid him farewell. Then I headed up to the swimming pool (I had rinsed out my swimming stuff from day 8 to remove the sand), and spent several hours in the pool relaxing and working off the stresses of the week. I also headed down to an arcade that George had told me about, which turned out to contain a very loud (and addictive) car racing game, and a very addictive (and very loud) drumming game. What with that and grabbing some grub, that was the afternoon gone, and in the evening I decided to re-do the peak (day 3) to get some pictures. However, little did I know that instead, on the ferry I would meet Illie and Nick, from Rochester. we got chatting, and instead of the peak we headed up to a bar at the top off the IFC, which did provide quite a good view of the light display, but the lights proved too hard to photograph (the attempts are on facebook), so instead we decided to just watch the wonderful display of dancing light. I can tell you, it really was something. I then split with Illie and Nick (who had to go back to Happy Valley, where they were staying with Illie's parents), and the IFC palace cinema caught my eye, as did a certain film, whose title begins with the word Inglorious (I can't give you the full name because this blog may end up on Mr Hood's whiteboard). I tell you. the seats in the theatre were amazing, really comfy, like armchairs, and with proper armrests and none of that stupid fold-up nonsense. And, for this? Only HK$85, which is very reasonable. The film was also very good (no details so I don't ruin it for those who haven't seen it). After the film I realised how late it was, and decided to run down to the MTR, which I managed to catch (well, it was past midnight, and that trains don't run all night). Then it was off to bed, back at Chungking.

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.

Day 6 - Burgers, Buses and 10,000 Buddhas

To round off day five, I went back to the hostel via the juice bar and had a strawberry and advocado smoothie (it's actually quite nice). I slept very well that night, and I awoke at 4am, turned over, and slept till after 10. Brilliant! When I awoke, I had a quick shower and headed out to breakfast, which was a coconut cream bun and a chicken teriyaki sandwich, with soybean milk. I then went to see if George was up, which he was, and I helped his sort out his laundry before he packed (he's moving hostel). We then headed out to grab a quick smoothie from the bar, and then we split, with me heading back to Chungking to try to find a laundrette, which I did, and it was closed on Sundays, so laundry will have to wait until tomorrow (at least I tried, mum!). My next port of call was the shopping arcade next door to chungking, to try to get my bracelet (from day 5) adjusted, as it was too tight. There I discovered a small shop called the shellfish shop, run a a little old chinese lady, who adjusted the bracelet for me and only charged me HK$20. She did such a good job that I gave her 25. I then decided to head out to visit Sai Kung, as recommended by Jenny the air hostess (see day 1). I caught the MRT to Choi Hung, and then the minibus 1A to Sai Kung. When I got there, I was surprised at the contrast from Tsim Sha Tsui. Here, there was a contrast between the quiet, village like feel of the main promenade, overlooking a small but busy harbour full of little fishing vessels, and the bustling motorway further inland. The street was full of seafood restaurants, but I was put off by the way in which live seafood was sitting in tanks next to the diners, to be picked. I therefore wandered further down the street to a little restaurant called the camden town, which was offering a Burger and soft drink for $30. That did nicely, and was followed by some fries. One of the people at the restaurant working was a little girl, about 10, who was obviously helping out with her mum, and helped by bringing out drinks and ketchup. I was suckered in, and ended up giving her a $5 tip (I know, but she was 10 and working, surely that shows initiative). I then headed off to the bus stop to get a bus to Sha Tin station. The bus I got onto said Sha Tin town centre, not Sha Tin station, so I was keeping lookout to see where to get off, when the bus flew past a sign for the MRT network. Panicking, I pushed the button and watched as the bus moved further and further down a dual carriageway away from the station. When it finally stopped, I got off the bus only to discover that it had been another MTR station, not Sha Tina, and that I would have to wait for another bus. When I got to Sha Tin, I headed for the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery. To get there, I ahd to wind my way throught backstreets and around the gridlock until I finally reached teh path leading up to the monastery. The path consisted of over 400 steps, thought with the haet at that time of day, it might well have been 10'000. At one point I decided to pause for a moment, and grabbed hold of the shiny, red handrail. Not a good idea. With a sinking feeling, I removed my hand quickly from the railing, ad looked around for a sign, and found one, written completely in Chinese, which said "油漆未乾". I knew instantly what it meant, as i looked down at the palm of my hand, which was now bright red. The sign obviously said "wet paint". I headed up the remaining steps as quickly as I could, hoping that if I ever reached the top there would be a toilet, and somwhere to get water. I did reach the top, some while later, and stagered into the small restaurant and, panting heavily, asked for some water. The lady charged (a reasonable) $10 for the bottle of water, and directed me to a small toilet, and after several minutes of frantic scrubbing te red was gone. Thank Buddha for that. I then headed out to the temple, and saw the 12'800 (approx) small statues of Buddha which adorned the walls. Yet again I was surprised at how peaceful it was, after passing through the gridlock in the city below. I spent a while wandering, and taking photos befor heading back down the hillside, and I found the walk downward much easier than the walk up, especially as I had bought another bottle of water for the purpose. As I walked, one of the people walking up the hill paused for a moment, and guess what he leaned hi back onto? Yes, he had a bright red line right along the back of his top. I didn't have the heart to tell him, so I jst had to keep in the laughter until he was out of earshot. When I had returned to Sha Tin, I caught the KCR to Kowloon Ting, and then the MTR to Lok Fu. There I had intended to go to the Kowloon walled city, but discovered that there was no bus, and after to trip to the monastery, my feet wouldn't have coped with the walk, so insted I caught a bus to Star Ferry, and enjoyed the ride through the streets of Kowloon, even passing by Chungking Mansions. When I arrived at the terminal, I hopped on the ferry across to Hong Kong before walking over to my newly discovered favourite Japanese restaurant, Yoshinoya. After a Sumo Beef bowl, with miso soup, jelly and a fruit punch (I avoided eatng the Kimchi (spicy cabbage from day 5)), I headed back onto the streets of Hong Kong to look for a tram stop. I found one, an boarded the first tram, which was headed for Western Market. For the first part of that journey, I had to stand due to a lack of avilable seating, and, after banging my head several times off the roof, I found the best spot for standing, halfway up the staircase. When the tram eventually emptied, I grabbed the nearest available seat and sat down, looking out the window. The ride was quite enjoyable, but a little bit juddery (I put it down to the age of the tram and the busy roads). When we reached Western Market (I presumed it was, since everyone got off), I disembarked to find myself in the middle of generis Hong Kong shopping and so, not quite in the mood for shopping, I hopped onto a tram headed for Happy Valley. With a name like that, it had to be good, right? I was pleased to find the upstairs front seat available, and sat down and got out my camera to get some pictures of the journey. We rattled through the streets of Hong Kong, quite literally, and many of the pictures I took (on  Facebook) turned out quite blurry. When we reached happy valley, there was no major discernable difference from western market, and so I decided to call time on the visiting of new places for the day, and got a tram back towards Central, where I caught a train back to Tsim Sha Tsui, and so to the internet Cafe. Stay Tuned, folks!

Day Two - Sleepless Nights, Theme Parks and Giant Pandas

I didn't sleep a wink that first night. I suppose it was a combination of nerves, excitement and Jet Lag. I finally gave up trying to sleep at 4am, and I headed out for something to eat. On my way otu, I found the rceptionist sleeping, on the floor, by the door (and you thought my room was bad), and I had to quickly and quietly step past. Not surprisingly, the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui were dead at 4am, but this actually made it quite peaceful, as my previous exploration of Tsim Sha Tsui had been accompanied by offers of cheap suits and Fake Watches. I wandered for a short time, before discovering one of the few restaurants that were open. A 24 hour branch of everyone's favourite mutinational conglomerate fast food outlet - Mc Donald's. Annoyingly, I had arrived a few minutes too late to have a Big Mac, and just in time to hear a drunk canadian bloke complaining about the lack of Big Macs. This was beacuse, at 4am, McDonald's starts serving breakfast. This comprises of many of the usual suspects, such as McMuffins, but also includes bowlsof pasta with veg and sausage patties floating in them, and ethe Fillet o' Fish (for breakfast!?!). I decided to settle for hotcakes (pancakes), and thse came accompanied not only by syrup and butter, but also by a sausage patty. I decided to eat the sausage patty first, and then the hotcakes. Bliss. I headed back to the hotel room and, still unable to sleep, I sat and watched some movies on my ipod. The following morning, at about 8.30, I headed downstairs and changed some traveller's cheques before heading out to catch the MTR to central. I had initially intended on getting a ferry across to lantau, or catching the star ferry, but I found that I would have to wait. After consulting with the all-holy guide book, I then decided to catch the no.6 minibus to Ocean Park. I shouldexplain at this part that there are two different types of buses in Hong Kong. There are the convenbtional buses, which carry many passengers, and then there are minibuses, which are limited to 16. I took the latter and found that it was quite a comfortable trip to Ocean Park, travelling around the mountains and getting some great views along the way. When I arrived at Ocean Pary, I found that I was very fortunate. Tickets into the theme park were usually priced at HK$208, but, as I was born in the month of August, I was entitled to half price. Brill. When I got into the park, I found that the sheer size of the park was incredible. Where I had entered, there were some animal houses, and a ride called the ocean express. I expected some sort of underwater submarine simulator. What I had found was a funicular which provided an alternative route to the other part of the park (The normal route is the cable car, but more on that later).When I arrived at the top of the hill, I looked and found a sign pointing to the Bay View restaurant and Terrce Cafe. Great, some food! Alas, it was not to be, as both were closed until 11am, and it was only 10am. Thankfully, when I rounded the other side, there were some food shacks, one of which promised fried chicken, sausage and french fries, and juice. Sadly, the guy informed me that the grilled chicken  was not available, so I had to settle for spare ribs with a sausage and fries, and some dodgy tasting coke. I then headed for the rides, which included a loop the llop roller coaster, a log flume, a space wheel (a strange, hard to describe spinning thing, the same as the enterprise at alton towers). These were brilliant, but I was a wee bit disappointed to find the runaway mine train was closed for maintenance. When I went on the Dragon (loop the loop coaster), I had to sit right at the front, as it was the only place for my legs to fit in properly, but this wasn't a problem, as the ride officials were very helpful. I also went on the log flume, but I was alarmed to find no facilities for leaving things which you don't want to get wet (such as a digital camera) but there were signs advising that plastic bags were available. Just before getting into the ride, I asked for a bag, and was given a bag which was far too small, but before I could object, I was ushered into the boat and set off. With a bit of quick thinking, I recalled that I had packed my trusty packaway mac, and so I quickly took it out of its pouch and wrapped it around my camera bag, and my guide book (which I had managed to fit in the plastic bag). This meant that, whilst my trousers and legs were completely soaked, my camera remained dry (thankfully). I then went on the space wheel, which I was a bit apprehensive about, but which actually turned out to be brilliant. The cable car back to the main entrance was also brilliant, with amazing views (photos will be added to facebook when I can (this computer's too slow)). I then headed to the Panda House, and I managed to take some brilliant photos of a Giant Panda. I then headed for the Amazing Asian Animal House, and got some pictures of Red Pandas, and another giant panda. I then decided to head back to the hostel for a quick shower and then some food. On the bus back (a proper bus to Admiralty), I dozed off for a minute, and got a slight shock when I awoke to find that we had arrived. When I got back to my room, I sat down on the bed for a moment......  When I woke up, it was 12 midnight!!!!

Day One (part two) - The night market

I know this is late, but I didn't get to an Internet Cafe until today.

After my last update, I took the MTR up to Yau Ma Tei and visited the night market. It was a strange, with loads an endless row of stalls selling a huge amount of things, ranging from bronze buddhas and fans to knock-off formula one t-shirts and fake leather belts and watches. When I had walked through the main bulk of these stalls, I rached a small squre, surrounded by booths of fortune tellers, using all kinds of unorthodox methods of fortune telling, including shaking stones inside a tortoise shell, looking at palms and tarot. After walking through all of this, I finally arrived at Jordan MTR, and decided to retire to my hotel room and get some sleep.