Nei Ho Hong Kong
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2005
1
36
Trip End
Nov 29, 2005
Kowloon,
Hong Kong
Friday, November 25, 2005
Arrived in Hong Kong at about 6.00. By the time we sorted out accommodation etc and got across to Kowloon it was pretty late. When we were about to land and flying over Hong Kong the smog from the place was unreal. One side of the plane was black and the other had blue skies.
Checked into the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel and this place was paradise. Had a bath and changed into our robes, ordered room service and chilled properly - in luxury.
The next day we had breakfast and caught the ferry over to Hong Kong Island where we got a bus to Stanley Market. This place was class - spent about 3 hours here. Had lunch and headed to Repulse Bay where we mooched about for a bit. Got the bus back to the centre. Walked about here for a bit and then got the tram up to Victoria Peak. This tram can get you from the bottom to the top in 10 minutes!!!! Seriously steep. If you've ever seen a photo of the Hong Kong skyline then it was probably taken from here. The views are amazing but because it was still daylight the smog covered most of the city, you couldn't get a good photo. We had dinner and waited until it got dark (all the lights were switched on) and then got some brilliant photos. It is a stunning view from this height.
Got the death tram back down again and then the ferry back to Kowloon - on the go for about 14 hours so chilled out that night.
The next day we got the train to Tung Cheung on Lantau Island and got a bus to Po Lin Monastary. Took about 2 hours in total.
Harbour
Tracy slept again of course. Po Lin Monastary has the biggest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world. It was huge. He's called the Tian Tan Buddha Statue. Climbed the 250 steps it takes to get to the top. Walked around the Temple and read about some of the people and scriptures. Not an awful lot of information but pretty cool. Then walked around the top outside. The setting is beautiful and it's really peaceful even with all the tourists there. A lot of people were walking around outside praying.We walked down to the Monastary where we had lunch and walked about some of the gardens - really beautiful. Very relaxing day. Headed back on the bus (we think our bus drivers are bad - you should see these guys).
Went downstairs to the bar in our hotel for a few drinks. The views of the skyline were absolutely amazing. Then we went out around the town for a bit of a nosey. Had dinner in Murphy's Bar (a traditional Hong Kong drinking establishment ;) ).
Pretty late by the time we got back to the hotel - time absolutely flew in. Really enjoyed Hong Kong - it's a cool place.
Had to check out of our hotel by noon but our flight wasn't 'till 11.45PM! We just left the bags in the hotel and went out shopping (Tracy was in her element). Jay picked up a few Cantanoese phrases (Well, when I say picked up, I mean standing with a notepad in a cafe and badgering some poor bloke until he gave all of the necessary info).
That night we had dinner in a local restaurant. Beautiful - although Jays was cold by the time he finished (it took him ages to eat the rice with chop sticks).
Long day. All that was left was to say good bye (joi gin) to Hong Kong and say hello (nei ho) to a 13 hour flight :(
