Hong Kong!

Whai friends and family! 

Over the past week Jen and myself have explored Hong Kong; from the highest peak to the wettest coastal cave! Arriving from Auckland, New Zealand, after a very turbulent eleven hour night flight (landing at 7.30am local time) all we wanted to do was find somewhere to curl up and sleep. However we had to navigate Hong Kong airport, which is rather massive and comes complete with its own underground train to transport passengers to luggage collection and immigration. Thankfully, due to Chinese efficiency, we breezed through the different stages of security and were on Hong Kong island 

within an hour. Stepping off the MTR air-conditioned train, we were in for a rather nice surprise to learn that Hong Kong was some 15 degrees warmer than New Zealand, reaching highs of 37°C on the day of our arrival! After a very cheap taxi journey we arrived at Merry Terrace, Seymour Road, the home of Claire and John, close family friends, (Claire went to college with mum in Cheltenham) who have very generously allowed us to stay at their flat for the duration of our stay in HK. We were welcomed into the flat by Joy, the family’s helper because Claire was in Australia, and John was in the UK with their children Alex and Emma. We dropped our bags and decided to venture out into the crazy bustling city around us. Finding the escalators that link Mid-Levels and Central, we quickly descended into the heart of the city to explore. Soon we found ourselves in very narrow dainty streets full of stalls selling delicious smelling, fresh oriental food. Eventually, after getting our bearings, we headed back to the flat and had our first lovely lunch of many prepared for us by Joy. It was that same evening that uncle Miles and myself got in contact and organised to meet up for dinner and drinks. After another delicious meal, we were taken to what felt like most of the bars in central Hong Kong and admittedly my memory of the early hours that followed are a hazy blur. 

The following day needless to say was a bit of a write off, suffering from lack of sleep and being somewhat hungover, we picked up some sushi and subway and indulged in a Sherlock marathon in the flat, certain that the next day we would be fresh and revitalised for the coming week. However little did we know that a rather severe Typhoon was heading our way and the next couple of days would be a wash out. Yet, this did not deter Miles and being keen for more drinks, he decided to take us Skybar; a very smart bar which lies on the highest floor (118^th) of the ICC, the tallest tower in HK during the height of the typhoon. As the storm howled around the building and lashed it with thick sheets of rain, which in turn caused the building to move and the marble bar to shake violently, we greedily drank exotic cocktails! Sadly we could not appreciate the views one sees from Skybar that makes it such a desirable drinking location for obvious reasons. After a hazardous walk from the MTR station as the Typhoon raged in the city tearing up trees and bits of building, we got back to find Claire had just returned from Sydney! We later realised that it was dubbed the worst typhoon in 13 years and the number 10 flag was hoisted!

With Claire as our guide we ascended Victoria Peak the next day to see some amazing views of the city despite the weather being rather grey and overcast. It was on the peak that we saw the true power of the Typhoon that had raged the previous day. Trees and shrubs had been torn and thrown across the roads, small landslides blocked pathways and a huge cleanup operation was underway to get the city running back to normal. We had lunch at Hong Kong Cricket Club and after filling up on some lovely Chinese food, we were taken to Stanley Market by Claire and browsed the goods that were on for sale by local merchants. We then explored Stanley, visiting Blake Pier, which once stood on the northern side of the Island and was moved piece by piece to Stanley in the south. Getting home we had our first relatively early night’s sleep and were ready for the ferry journey to the beautiful island of Cheung Chau. Like Hong Kong island, it was not spared by the Typhoon, and trees amongst many other things had been broken and uprooted. Upon arriving Claire treated us to some Dim Sum (dumplings stuffed with vegetables and meat) and we soon started a hike around the island. Making our way on the coastal path we were treated to some amazing views, however a very wet weather front moved in and soon even our umbrellas couldn’t shield us from the monsoon like rain. We quickly made it to a beach and, figuring that I couldn’t get any wetter, I decided to take a swim in the sea. Warming up in the warm water I got changed and we carried on the wet walk round the island. Claire led us to Cheung Po Tsai Cave and kindly gave up her I-Phone so I could use it as torch and venture from one side of the cave to the other whilst Jen and our host walked round to meet me. Even though I was in one side and out the other within ten minutes the cave was very dark, warm, smelly and wet, (something similar to Hereford’s Play nightclub if you have ever been) but well worth the visit. We eventually made it back to the town, and after a late lunch caught the ferry back to Hong Kong. 

On Thursday Jen and I spent the day in Kowloon whilst Claire picked up Emma from the airport. Visiting local museums we came out educated on Hong Kong’s history and later in the day we went to a special exhibition of China’s terracotta warriors. Afterwards, we walked to the famous night market on Temple Street and bought some more cheap tack and food! Sadly due to the wet weather there was no Chinese opera to watch, so we made our way back to Hong Kong Island. That same evening I met up again with Miles, who took me to a bar in Soho and over many beers we had a good, albeit rather expensive catch up! Yesterday we were taken round Sai Ying Pun by Claire, an area of Hong Kong which is famous for its huge number of shops selling all kinds of wears, in particular exotic foods; such as shark fin, sea horse and many fruits I have never heard of before. Claire very generously took us out for two meals yesterday, Dim Sum for lunch at City Hall, followed by a delicious Thai in Wan Chai for dinner. Last night we all pulled an all nighter to revel in patriotic bliss whilst watching the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. I eventually got two hours sleep at around 7am this morning; needless to say today hasn’t been the most productive. Our exhaustion was illustrated when we missed the ferry to Lantau Island to visit the ‘big Buddha’ statue, instead we visited HK’s botanical gardens and our reserve plans of visiting Victoria Peak again on a beautiful day such as today never happened. Tonight we are hopefully meeting Miles for more drinks one last time before we leave for Hanoi, Vietnam tomorrow, where we meet Dave and Freya who are joining us for three weeks, happy days! Hong Kong is an amazing bustling city, which so diverse in many ways, and despite the awful weather, thanks to Claire and Miles we have seen the sites and really got a taste for HK life! I would like to thank Miles for meeting up with both Jen and myself and giving us a very large and delicious dose of the night life here. I would also like to thank Claire, for not only giving up her time to guide us around the city she loves, but also for feeding us and putting a roof over our heads for the past week! You have both made our time here so much fun and really shown us what an amazing place Hong Kong is! We are both now looking forward to really delving further into Eastern Asia and discovering what delights we can find!