Hong Kong
I passed through Hong Kong many times whilst travelling to and from our South Korean associated factories and loved the place so much that I made sure that when we set out for our New Zealand holiday we stopped over there for Gill to experience it and also to recover from jetlag caused by a longhaul easterly flight. Back in my working days the only airport was Kai Tak - one of the most frightening and dangerous in the world. Plonked down on reclaimed land in the harbour, planes had to take off towards mainland China and then immediately climb sharply and also turn sharply to avoid highrise apartment blocks. Hong Kong was always the route because the local postal services were so unreliable between the two countries that the office would always prefer post to be delivered by hand. Suited me nicely as that meant I had to spend the weekend there! Kai Tak is no more, thankfully, as with the handover of the territory to China it became possible to build a proper intercontinental airport adjacent on another Chinese island (which also hosts Hong Kong Disneyland Resort). We arrived quite late in the evening and didn`t feel much like eating to we walked round from our hotel to the Peninsular Hotel and had a slow coffee in their spectacular lobby and just people watched for an hour or so before going to bed.
Hong Kong harbour has to be experienced. Back and forth ply the Star Ferries (see my pictures) which shuttle between Kowloon on the mainland and Hong Kong island a bit like London buses. The have a really neat trick where the seating remains rigidly fixed to the floor but the seat backs flip over on a hinge depending on which direction the ferry is moving. No need to turn them round as they move equally well in both directions and this speeds up the loading/unloading of passengers. The island has some worthwhile tourist spots. Happy Valley is the horseracing venue where meetings are held. And then there is Victoria Peak with amazing views down onto the former colony and harbour. The best way to access it is using the funicular tramway but it is also possible to walk up if you are young, fit and have plenty of spare time. Also, on the south side of Hong Kong island are the famed floating seafood restaurants - not to be missed - and Stanley market. In recent years a major addition to the transport system has been the addition of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway a very modern and efficient underground system which will whisk you to most significant locations. There were still a very few hand-pulled rickshaws to be seen when we were last there but I suspect that apart from tourists they are long gone by now. You will notice that one of the photos features the Bottoms Up Club. This is a `girly bar` that I was taken to by our local rep long, long before it featured James Bond in The Man With The Golden Gun. Actually it was quite disappointing! The `girls` seemed to be mostly bored Australians!!!
Hong Kong is a great for shoppers. On my very first visit I happened upon the Chinese Communist shopping emporium which just like a wonderland of `stuff` - so much so that I suddenly realised that I have spent 4 hours inside buying curios and nick-nacks. Indeed I then had to spend the princely sum of £5 on a leather suitcase to carry it all away. There were silk items like blouses and ties, Carved ivory (and substitutes) handmade silk roses, rattan work, exquisitely carved softwoods and cork scenes. And then going down the little side alleys on Kowloon where you can find some superb oil paintings (and loads of tat also!). I brought a number home to frame and you can see one in the album below. And they alleys also have food and fruit stalls. We bought a kilo of ramboutans - that`s the red hairy looking fruit a bit like lychees inside - in a moment of jetlag thinking that there were 2 kilos to the pound rather than the other way round. When we visited en route to New Zealand I asked my local contact if he could recommend a restaurant for us. His reply : There`s 2000 restaurants in Hong Kong and they are ALL good!! However he did point us to one and suggested that we give Beggar`s Chicken a try. Good move. It`s wrapped in palm leaves together with onions and other components and cooked very slowly overnight. Then the waiter brings it to the table, peels back the leaves and pokes it with the edge of plate - whereupon it falls apart as it is so tender. Highly recommended. Oh and don`t expect western eating implements in restaurants outside hotels!! You either learn to use chopsticks or starve.
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Browse through the picture galleries below relating to this page and you will get a much better idea than just reading my words! Each page has it`s own set of relevant images - where possible taken by us.