Going bonkers in Honkers!

Hello out there in Cyber space,

Here is an update of our latest travels. Kafil and I recently went to Hong Kong for a 4 day 3 night, flying visit. I had heard many positives about Hong Kong and I must say it failed to disappoint.

We stayed on the mainland side of Kowloon, where there are more residential properties and less 21st century office blocks. After living in Singa, I was gob smacked to see the organized chaos which is HK. Streets have fantastic neon signs and buildings are covered in scaffolding made of bamboo. the profusion of posted advertising, was such a change from the pristine street scenes of our Singapore.



Coming into town, from the most enormous airport I have ever been in, the first shock was how much green hilly land surrounded us. As we drove over the wondrous suspension bridge, we could see miles of coast with its bustling boats and ships of all sizes.

Given that Sing is 95% urban the open spaces of HK were a welcome sight.

Kafil and I arrived to find we couldn't check in to our room for a couple of hours so we went for a walk and found a huge urban park frequented by locals and that had a great sculpture garden in it.

Temple Street Market was our next stop after a swim in the roof top pool. Temple market is held in the streets into the night, it isi full of antiquities and lots of things to fossick thru. I bought a great advertising poster from the 50's or so advertising cigarettes, but its a beautiful picture of women coyly holding a fan. Couldn't resist buying a beautiful Thai pink ruby pendant also. I am definitely a sucker for jewellery and handbags.

On Saturday we went to Central to traverse the peak on the funicular railway.
Well unbeknown to us, it was a special holiday and the queue was enormous. The carriage climbed up the steep rise with spectacular views of Victoria Harbour and the surrounding CBD.

We spent a few hours up on the peak admiring the views, and generally being tourists. Then to Stanley Market.

Stanley is a lovely spot on the coast, which to reach it takes in some beautiful sea views.

The pace at Stanly was a little more subdued and we enjoyed sitting on the esplanade, watching life's passing parade. Two old buildings have been moved to Stanley to add to its charm, a picturesque wooden pier, and an old mansion.



The next day we ventured to Lan Tau island, to see the worlds largest outdoor Buddha.
The journey was taken in a crystal cabined cable car. Spectacular views once again, and well worth the ride on a clear day.

The Buddha was most impressive and serene as he sits atop a hill overlooking HK central and Kowloon.

We climbed the steps to come close to the impressive calm Buddha atop his lotus flower, very spectacular indeed.


That evening we watched the huge light display from a vantage point overlooking the CBD. The music was cheesy, but it was great to see the high rise buildings with laser shows and colourful lights abounding.


On our final day we explored a very large temple and went to the magnificent walled city of Kowloon.

This is a memorial garden in honour of the former housing development which used to be on the site. It has one of the most interesting multi media displays with interviews, by former residents of the city singing its praises or damning there former home.
The gardens are very orderly with different sections divided up for a variety of floral pathways,eg.Magnolia walk, Lotus gardens etc.

Later on that day we went into the Mid levels of Central where a very long escalator, takes you up into the interesting, culturally diverse areas of SoHo and Hollywood Road. So many fabulous restaurants- so little time. We ate a lot of Thai meals, as well as some delicious
Schezwan meals.

We had a ball exploring HK together, and have vowed to return as there is so much to see and do there. the Public transport is 2nd to none, and in our 3 days, we rode on buses, double decker trams, underground rail, harbour ferries and taxis, no transport option was left unturned!

A great short break, can't wait to get back for round two!