Hong Kong Hotels
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Hit the Jackpot on Saturday!!
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Hong Kong... What a place - full of surprises like Arnold Schwartznegger, Dom Perignon and High tea at the Peninsula...
Well, I have got a little time - I am now in the Cathay Pacific lounge at HK airport - what a state of the art place this is!! Anyhow, to go back to my visit here - the last time I made an entry I had been to the Peak last Friday. Since then I have had an amazing time. On Saturday morning I went to Lantau Island to see the big Buddha and the Pi monastery. I got the ferry from Pier 6 on HK Island to Lantau - it was a bit choppy and took about 40 minutes. When I landed on the island I took a No. 1 bus to Tai O which is a fishing village - lots of quaint stalls selling dried fish and I saw a huge dried shark for sale. While I was there I took a boat trip to see the Pink Dolphins - they are very rare and can only be seen in this part of the world. I then took a No 21 bus to the Big Buddha - there are 280 odd steps to climb up to the feet of the Buddha - needless to say, I ran up there!! That would be quite a sight, especially with my wonky knee! The smell of incense is overpowering at the temple - you would need to get used to it. I returned by the MTR, which is a fast train, back to the mainland. The trains here are so clean and just glide along. I would recommend the Airport Express into town from the airport - it was great.
When I got back I decided to have high tea at THE hotel in HK - the Peninsula - I had to wait in line for 45 mins. but it was worth it! As I was waiting for a table who should go past me but Arnold and his wife - I asked him if I could take a photo and he said "go right ahead" and he wished me a good vacation!!!! The high tea was excellent and I was invited to sit with a family from HK - they were there with their son and nanny. In the evening I went to a place called the Aqua Spirit for a celebration cocktail and to watch the laser display across the bay - this takes place every night at 8 pm and is quite a spectacle. While I was there a really lovely young French lady asked if she could sit at my table as the place was packed - of course I said yes as it was great to have someone to talk to. Her husband had to go to China on business and they had been staying at the Peninsula. We decided to have dinner together as she had already booked a table in the restaurant on the mezzanine below. When we had ordered our food she also ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon for us to celebrate! This is her favourite drink and I could hardly refuse sharing it with her, could I? After dinner her car and chauffeur came to collect us and we had another drink in her suite while she packed to go to the airport - the Peninsula has wonderful suites! When it was time for her to leave for the airport, I returned to my hotel. We had a really good evening together and she is a most delightful person - I really enjoyed her company. So you can see what I mean by saying I hit the jackpot - meeting Arnold Swartzenegger, afternoon tea at the Peninsula and dinner with a really nice French lady. I wonder if it will be downhill from here?
Sunday 20th Nov......
I decided to go to the market in Stanley - don't bother - the drive to the market was more exciting than being there - I saw Murray House which was an old colonial place in HK and was transported brick by brick some years ago to preserve the place. On my return I stopped off at the Repulse Bay Hotel for tea - unfortunately, they were not serving high tea as a wedding had been booked and the place was closed to the public. There is a lovely beach here so I sat on the beach for a while and then headed back to get 7 pm Mass at Holy Rosary Church - that was a breath of fresh air - all the Phillipino staff have Sunday free and they have a really happy clappy singing time at church - the choir was youngsters and they were marvellous - what voices! After church I went to a place called "Heaven and Earth" to eat - it is in a very trendy area called Knutsford Terrace, just off Nathan Road - very good food and athmosphere, and no I did not hook up with another stranger!
Monday 21st - not a lot of time to do much today before flying off to Bangkok. Had a walk along the Avenue of Stars and visited the Museum of Art and Kowloon Park where people were doing Tai Chi - would liked to have tried it but time was against me - that's my excuse anyway!
You will have to wait for my pics to be downloaded when I get to Port Douglas - I will do them all in one hit for each of the places I have been.
To summarise HK - I loved it! My hotel was The Kimberley - it was in a very good location just off Nathan Road - all the focal points were within walking distance and I felt very safe there - got some brilliant reactolite specs - thanks to Laura's suggestion) at a fraction of the cost they would be at home and got a 1Gb memory card for my computer - again very reasonable. Would I go back? Yes, because there is plenty to see and do - I did not get to see it all - time ran out. Bye for now - I will not be in touch again until I have done Bangkok, so you will have time to digest the foregoing.
PS Get an Octopus Card at the airport on landing - it covers all forms of transport - it is very good value and saves queuing all the time. I have already met a couple from Milton Keynes while I was having some dinner tonight and have got lots of tips from them for Bangkok - they have been coming here for 16 years - lots of experience!
Latest Comments (1)
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Jammy buzzard :) (reply)
Nov 21, 2005 10:48 EST by paulinegrice
You would always come up smelling of roses. It's not what you know but who heh!
Sounds fantastic, we are not in the least green :)whilst we are frezzing our butts off here. The only good thing is the the sun is shining.
Well done you for your pioneering spirit, keep it up.
Much love P&K
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