This was a 6 day stay over, on our way back from Europe. There was only $30 difference each, in the airfares to go home via Hong Kong, so why not? Although Hong Kong isn't our "cup of tea", it was still worth the visit and we saw some great scenery and experienced their hectic life style. This place was a little disappointing, in parts, due to the pollution levels and the people's disregard for others around them at times, (a far cry from Europe, where we had just come from). We thought the shopping would be better, however the only cheap items there were, are cheap because they are exactly that.
That aside, we sought out the best of the place and didn't have a bad time on our visit there.
Hong Kong's public transport is abundant and certainly contributes to the high level of air pollution. Here we caught the airport bus to our hotel. Just $5 Australian each for a 40 min trip.
The traffic is as bad as it looks. All the cabs are red in the city and the buses are double decker.
The Eaton Hotel where we stayed. Very nice and the service was great.
The view down to Nathan Rd from our room.
The external elevators have a great view.
On our first morning we walked 20 minutes down to the harbour to see what tours were available. These two stand out side the Art complex on the harbour.
The City skyline across the harbour. The smog was incredibly thick.
We spotted this gentleman fishing. That's a tiny fish in his hand and he did keep it.
Two of the "Star Ferrys" alongside the wharf.
Just when we'd thought we had seen it all. this guy was fishing through the drain which falls through to the harbour below. How small would the fish have to be, to fit through the grate?
Here we catch the ferry across to Hon Kong Island for a "Hop on Hop off" bus tour.
Another shot of the harbour. (no comparison to Sydney here)
The ferry we caught.
The ferries come every 20 minutes or so and still operated with only 20 people or so, on board.
A row of rickshaws. These were for sale.
Cathy climbs to the upper level of the bus.
As you can see, it was crowded.
So this is the city of Hong Kong, across the harbour from Kowloon where we stayed.
Today was Sunday and there were thousands of women having a huge day out.
It turns out it was the Indonesian maids day off.
Even their trams are double decker. They're only on Honk Kong island though.
Part of the deal we got was a train ride up to "The Peak".
Victoria Peak is serviced by this very steep tram line.
Here's one pulling in to pick us up. There was an hour wait due to the amount of people waiting to go up.
The view down to the city as we climb up.
This view from the top.
These steps are no longer in use so this fig decided to grow within them.
Away from the noisy shops at the peak, is a walking track.
Hong Kong is very fertile due to the amount of rain that falls there.
These buildings up higher.
Along the walk path, we find this pleasant little waterfall.
After spending a couple of hours, we started our way down.
The rail is steeper than it looks.
Here's one on the way up.
Back at the bottom and in the city, we find one of many markets. They seem to just spring up out of nowhere, wherever there's a bit of space.
A fresh fruit stall.
And here, just about everything else.
Fish, but not refrigerated. A bit of a worry really.
Cathy looking for that bargain.
The next stop was at the Man Mo Temple.
Over 160 years old.
Large pots full of the ashes of incense candles.
Incense also hung from the ceiling.
I so badly wanted to dong this bell.
Very peaceful atmosphere inside, unlike the noise of the city outside.
My lovely wife enjoying the ferry trip back across to Kowloon.
The next day, the smog didn't seem as heavy and the sun was out. Much more pleasant.
One of the more traditional styled boats on the harbour.
And another.
Today we took another route with the bus.
These guys were sorting newspapers and magazines then loading them on trucks under the stairs at the Central Wharf. Try doing that back home.
This is the seaside town of Stanley
Stanley is well known for it's market.
Stanley's bay. A little cleaner and quieter than the city.
Moving on to Aberdeen and a ride in a San pan.
The San pan took us around Aberdeen harbour.
A new coat of lacquer, like new.
This one looked like someone's home.
And this one.
Our next stop was the Jumbo Floating Restaurant where we let off to have lunch.
This was such a poxy touristy thing to do, but I included for your amusement.
We cross the Tsing Ma suspension bridge to get to Lantau.
This is a sample of the huge cable that suspends the bridge, not a dead caterpillar.
The next stop was this beach. It was described as a "fantastic" sandy beach, but the Aussies in the group looked at each other and smiled.....no contest.
We then moved on to the traditional fishing village of Tai O.
Not the prettiest place but traditional and interesting.
Various dried seafood in stalls along the street.
And live fish and crabs too.
We get taken on a short boat ride around the village, unexpectedly.
Most of these homes, we're told, are the fisherman's huts. Their homes are town.
As you can see, some of these structures are crude but effective.
Laying the fish out to dry.
Turtle soup anyone?
What the hell? That's only $3 Australian. I'm worth more than that, surely.
Next, a visit to Kwan Tai Temple within the village. Almost 600 years old.
Our guide gives us some interesting facts.
Adjoining the Kwan Tai is a smaller temple built for fishermen.
Very small but full of character.
Making our way back to the bus, we see more dried sea food.
Cuttle fish and trevally.
This is a view from the bay side. We were told later that the whole area a has been fished out and these days most of the fish is imported from other countries.
This wharf recently built for tourism, which is quickly becoming the village's main source of income.
Our next stop was a visit to the huge Tian Tan Buddha. over 200 tonnes of brass.
These other smaller statues surround the Buddha at the base. 12 in all.
Nearby we visit Po Lin Monastery for a tasty vegetarian lunch.
More food.
A view of the Monastry from the courtyard.
This the outdoor dining area, but it had been raining.
A view of the huge statue from the monastry.
I was too hot and sticky with the humidity but Cathy made a quick dash up those stairs and back. Just because she could.
More incense pots outside the monastery.
This gateway leads to a huge cable car ride back down the mountain.
This is the top end of the Ngong Ping Cable Car system which ends back down near Hong Kong airport.
This thing is almost 6 km long!
Below is the beginnings of a huge bridge that will join Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau Islands, which will be over 50 km long in total, with it's longest span being 30 km long.
A little closer, See all the cranes?
Still on the cable car, looking back at the Buddha.
That's a hiking track running up the mountain to the left of the waterfall. You can do the whole trek on foot but man it would be so hot and sticky. Talk about a case of severe "swamp arse".
Yep, still on the cable car. This bit was very dramatic.
Nearing the end, we could clearly see the airport.
The Lan Tau Island day trip was a good experience and would recommend it. That night, Cathy and I went back out to witness the night lights of Hong Kong and Laser Show. This fountain was just outside the hotel.
We had just caught the tail end of the laser show and I was too involved in watching it, so no picture. But I did get the following of the skyline by night.
At night, you can't see the smog, so all good.
This traditional Chinese Junk looked excellent with it's red sails lit up.
It's true, they do use lengths of bamboo as scaffolding.
All the McDonald's we saw had a service window out front, simply to serve sundaes and ice cream. They sell loads of it due to the hot, muggy weather.
The out door markets were also the home of various street vendors. This guy was our favorite, due to clean presentation and various yummy skewers. The skewers were about $1.40 Australian each.
These guys were stripping coconuts for use in other refreshments.
This is the "Coconut Master". Really nice tasting Asian style drinks here.
The next morning we woke later and after breakfast, we head out to the Kowloon city area to do some sight seeing on foot together. We walked over 13km in the humid weather, but worth it and you see so much more when on foot.
First stop, Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery which adjoin each other.
This garden was quite large and a pleasant change to the noise of the city outside.
So clean, neat and tidy.
Cathy and I were wearing our ponchos. Yep it rained on us.
This structure in the centre, but no public access.
This is another shelter within the garden where we took a break while the rain came down. That's a large pond below.
With very large Koi Carp in it.
See? Bloody big.
Lovely section of the garden.
One of the garden's many beautiful bonsai trees.
Crossing the road via a bridge, we enter the Shan Men Monastery.
This place was a perfect sanctuary.
And meticulously looked after.
There were four of these lily gardens in the center of the monastery.
And several water fountains along the sides.
A beautiful bonsai bougainvillea.
Those ugly reminders hover over the monastery. A reminder of the reality outside.
About 2 km back toward our hotel, we visited the Walled City Park.
This was another great little place to visit, away from the noise of the city.
There was a lot of pride taken in maintaining the gardens.
This is the original outer wall of what was once a city which was pulled down after becoming a slum, then turning it into this beautiful garden.
A section of the city's foundations of it's south gate.
The old south gate plaque.
A scale model of how the city used to look. No wonder they knocked it down.
And finally, a large pond in the garden.
Making our way back to the hotel on foot, we come across this interesting scene. Apparently you can double park and have your tyre changed.
Or service cars two deep out on the street.
Our last day was spent packing in the morning, then after checkout, we had a walk about town before leaving for the airport. Hong Kong was good to see but it has nothing for us to return for.
The previous 4 flights of our entire trip (including Europe), we flew in Emirates A380s. Our final flight back home from Hong Kong, was in this Qantas A380. Both airlines were very good, but we believe that Emirates had the edge.
One final picture of a sign we spotted in a Hong Kong underground.
