Hong Kong
Trip Start
Jan 16, 2008
1
12
117
Trip End
Jul 28, 2008
Where I stayed
Hong Kong,
China
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The welcome sound of English in the air and on meaningful signs was sheer bliss. The stark contrast with the Mainland cannot be overemphasised.
Our time in Hong Kong was made so incredible by a repeat dose of my aunt's business contacts! A public thanks must go to Chas and Chris for transforming our travels into 5 glorious days of "flashpacking"! The photos show the view from our hotel room looking down on Central and Kowloon beyond. We were amazingly fortunate.
Valentine's Day was spent crossing the harbour on the Star Ferry, before exploring the shops and market stalls of Kowloon. Even Kim was raving about the superb Hong Kong History museum (certainly aided by a lack of jade and ceramic pillows?!), which included some fascinating exhibits on the 1997 Handover
A classic!
. We finished the day overlooking Central as the spectacular "Symphony of Light" laser display filled the night sky.On our second day after wandering through the Botanical Gardens, we headed up the Peak on the famous tram to be afforded stunning views from atop of Victoria Peak, albeit a touch hazy. Equally impressive were the views from the 43rd floor of the Bank of China Tower nestled in the heart of Central casting a shadow over St John's Cathedral and Government House.
With splashing the cash in Louis Vuitton and Tiffany's not high on our agenda, we managed to spend a couple of days exploring the outlying islands of Hong Kong. Firstly Lantau Island with the extraordinary Tian Tan Buddha statue and Po Lin monastery, as well as the new Ngong Ping 360 cable car which descends with sweeping views over the international airport.
We then rather caught the sun on Lamma Island where we kept up our travelling tradition of signing in the sand! (Just for the record Kim was not wearing a fleece or a jumper!?)
Our Hong Kong experience ended with indulging in ex-pat lifestyle by staying over with Chas and Chris at their house in Sai Kung. It was blissful luxury, nothing more so than museli and cold milk for breakfast - no stupid dim sum or fried noodles for us?!
Officially the relationship between China and Hong Kong is "One country, two systems" - really!?
What memories, what a place!
Comments
Terrific!
Fantastic photographic updates. Enjoy your overnight bus journey to Guilin at 7.30pm your time(Monday 18th). Lfu. D
Hong Kong
Heard you were great guests - am off to Shanghai and HK next week - pity we couldnt meet up but keep enjoying yourselves - very jealous Love from us all cajje x