In mid April, we set off on what was to be a major trip to Australia. Since it is such a long journey down to the other side of the world we decided to stop off in Hong Kong on the way. We flew out from San Francisco on Cathay Pacific, a very nice airline, just after noon and arrived in Hong Kong in the early evening. Hong Kong's airport is very modern - nice and clean, better than nearly anything in the USA. The transit through customs was pretty straightforward. They gave us 30 days of access as tourists and I think if needed you can get up to 90 days, all without a visa.
We took an Uber from the airport to the hotel in the central business district - The 98 Bonham, a pretty good hotel in a great location and not too expensive. We got a nice room on the 36 floor of the building with nice views of the city below.
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| Hong Kong Trams |
As we needed a bit of exercise and it wasn't too late we walked down to the waterfront from the hotel. The city was looking very splendid with all the buildings lit up. I was pleased to see that they still were using the old double-decker trams.
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| Kowloon at night and the Starr Ferry |
They were also using the old ferry boats too. We caught the Star Ferry over to Kowloon. A very simple process - tap your credit card on the entry gate and you are on board. The ferries run back and forth continuously, probably every 10 minutes and they are cheap - less than Hong Kong $5 which is around 65c US.
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| Temple Street Night Market |
In Kowloon we walked up the main street. This street had every high end shop you could imagine and many more that I had never heard of. It looked like the economy was doing very well. We walked up to Temple Street where there is a night market. The market is primarily comprised of food stalls with all manner of local dishes and treats with a few hardware and clothing stalls.
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| Mango Sago Pudding with Rice Balls |
After the street market we wanted something to eat. We needed cash so we found an ATM and got some Hong Kong dollars (about 7 to the US $). We then stumbled across a very busy dessert shop, the Kai Kai Dessert Shop. There was a line of people outside so it piqued our interest. We took a number from the machine outside and we joined the queue. After a short wait we got a table. The menu had all manner of sweet soups. I had the Mango Sago Pudding with Rice Balls. It was terrific. So much so I had a second order. The restaurant is in the Michelin Guide.
At that point the jet lag kicked in so we took the quick route back to our hotel in an Uber. There is a tunnel connecting the mainland Kowloon with Hong Kong Island so we didn't need to catch the ferry.
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| Elevated Pedestrian Walkways |
The next day, we had a relatively early start and we again walked down to the waterfront. There is a nice system of elevated pedestrian walkways around much of the downtown area. It links the office buildings and hotels and shopping malls so you avoid a lot of the busy street traffic. We went into the rather fine Four Seasons Hotel and indulged in their buffet breakfast. It was very expensive but very good - great dumplings and buns and lots of good western items too.
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| The Victoria Peak Tram |
We then walked through town to the station for the Victoria Peak Tram. This funicular railway, in operation since 1888, took us up the hill to the top of Victoria Peak where there were great views of the city below. We walked the loop trail around the hill on Lugard Road and Harlech Road. It was a nice shady walk of just over 2 miles and the views were wonderful.
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| Hong Kong from Victoria Peak |
Back at the tram station we went up the 4 or 5 levels to the viewing platform jutting out from the hillside. It was all a bit touristy with cheesy shops selling all manner of tourist items. The view from the platform was not that much better than the view from the road.
We took the tram down the hill and decided the next place on our itinerary would be the Tian Tan Buddha, the so called Big Buddha, near Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. This required a long subway ride so we made our way through the city to the Central Station.
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| Cable Car to the Tian Tan Buddha |
The subway system was quite impressive, obviously capable of carrying a lot of people, very modern, very clean, easy to navigate. We rode out on the subway to Tung Chung and then bought tickets for the gondola ride up to the buddha and monastery. It is quite popular and the lines were long just to buy the tickets. Fortunately we opted to purchase the ticket for the glass bottomed gondola (slightly nore expensive) and these lines turned out to be shorter. The gondola ride is some 3.5 miles long and takes 25 minutes. It is an interesting ride over the bay below and then the forested hills up to the monastery.
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| The Tian Tan Buddha |
At the end of the gondola ride the area is again a little touristy with shops and food stores - all a little tacky for what is also something of a sacred site. The buddha is quite majestic, sitting there on top of the hill above the monastery. It would perhaps be more appealing if it had more history behind it but it was only completed in 1993 so it is quite new (note China took control of Hong Kong from the British in 1997 so the Buddha predates the return to China).
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| The Tian Tan Buddha |
From the base of the hill to the buddha there is a long flight of stairs (some 268 steps). It is an impressive approach as the buddha gets larger and larger as you get closer and closer. On top we walked around the buddha and took way too many photos before descending again and catching the tram back to Tung Chung and the train back to the city.
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| Central Hong King from Victoria Harbor |
The jet lag was starting to be felt again but I wanted to fight it so I went out for a walk around (Diana stayed at the hotel). I made another trip to the waterfront and again caught the ferry to Kowloon. I didn't stay in Kowloon. I just walked off and then back on to the ferry for the return to Hong Kong Island. As the sun was setting there were some nice views of the city.
On the way back to the hotel I stopped at an Italian Restaurant for a bite to eat before joining Diana in the room for an early night. There were annoying smokers at the next table and I asked to be reseated away from them. We are spoiled in the USA where there is no smoking in restaurants.
The next morning we had a more leisurely start. We walked down the main street, Queen's Road, and went into the Landmark Shopping Mall, where, we had heard, the Landmark Cafe made a fine breakfast. The Mall had every high end shop you could imagine and more and the breakfast at the Landmark Cafe was superb - I had Pain Perdue.
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| The Old Police Station |
We then walked up towards the old Police Station. This old colonial buildings that once housed the main Police Station and the Gaol have been restored and are now home to museums and an arts complex. It is now known as Tai Kwun.
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| Escalators up the Hill |
Adjacent to Tai Kwun there are a series of escalators that take pedestrians up the hillside. The system of escalators is 1/2 mile long and rises some 450 ft. Apparently it is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. We traveled the length of it and then walked down towards our hotel where we checked out and left our bags with reception.
We continued to walk around Hong Kong Island. We visited Cat Street Market - a street of shops selling antiques and curios and other interesting things, We looked inside several art galleries and high end antique stores - all a bit out of our price range. Diana had an abortive attempt to buy some jewelry but found everything a little pricy.
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| The Cenotaph near Statue Square |
We walked back downhill towards the Central Station and Statue Square. Statue Square was a bit disappointing. We found only one statue - that of a banker - I was expecting more. There is a Cenotaph in an adjacent park - a smaller version of the one in Whitehall, London. There is also a nice old post box, painted green. Still used as a post box too.
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| Financial District, Hong Kong |
We walked through the financial area where the stock market is located and we had a cup of coffee at a nice coffee shop in a mall. We then struggled to spend our last 50 Hong Kong Dollars. Somehow the only items we could find to buy were a little dish and a small jug. Items that we did not need but we stioll carried them through the rest of our 6 week trip.
After collecting our bags from the hotel, we took an Uber to the airport. A quick shower in the Cathay Pacific lounge and yet another bite to eat before we were on our way to Sydney, some 13 hours away.
