Hello HK

Landed!

Back to a land of driving on the correct side of the road… cramped flight with Spring airways, but we’re here.

Let’s see what all the fuss is about. First stop, dim sum in a Michelin star restaurant, EatTravelGeek! A review of the restaurant.

Update!

Well, One Dim Sum was great! The surroundings or service weren’t exactly what you would expect from a Michelin starred restaurant, but the food was exceptional, and that’s what you should expect! A few pictures below of the dim sum we had.

Next day we took it easy with a trip to the IFC mall, surrounded by expensive shops. We weren’t going to stay long however the rain came and put an end to that! It was at that point we realised we could actually get from the south of the city to the north via a series of pedestrian tunnels linking multiple malls, hotels and eateries, so in the end we stayed pretty dry while window shopping all day!

Our next plan for Hong Kong was to visit the Tai O Island, West of Hong Kong Island. We got there using the metro to Tung Chung and waited for about 30 minutes to get our tickets for the cable car to take us to Ngong Ping, a small town/tourist quarter and home to the Big Buddha statue and Wisdom Trail (which we didn’t have time to see). Admittedly, the place felt more of a themed town than if anyone was actually living there, all nik nak shops and restaurants (of which Subway was one).

We had a quick walk round the Buddha, then went to get the 21 bus to the Tai O fishing village, a place made famous for the stilted houses lining the rivers around the coast. The town also has a great small market lined street for those who like dried fish, octopus, and anything else! Caution, fishy smells!

There were a couple of boat tours being run on the river, both very similar, one local and one tourist operated tour. Both about the same price (HKD $20/25, ~£1.25) so we decided to go with the smaller outfit. Turned out to be better, more fun/fast ride, we got a bit more time than they stated, plus we saw a white humped dolphin! You also get a small tour around some of the stilted houses.

Trouble came when we tried to get the bus back for our return trip on the cable car. Apparently the last bus back to Ngong Ping had been and gone, two hours before the last trip on the cable car… Why, we don’t know as the village was one of the main attractions on the island, but it now seemed the only way back was by bus to Tung Chung, missing our return trip on the cable cars. Great!

Moral of the story, get a glass bottom single trip cable car and the bus back. That way you can stay for longer and it’s cheaper!

Our last full day in HK we spent getting lost (on purpose) up and down the market streets in the northern quarter. There are several markets which we visited and where quite good:

• The goldfish market - Quite a long street further north than the other markets and well signposted, this is the place inspired by fairground goldfish winnings. There are loads of shops with bags of fish (live) hanging on the street. Big ones, smalls ones, turtles and marine vegetation all bagged up and ready to go. There are also a few pet shops with cute fluff balls, the usual, but looking a lot fluffier!

• Sneaker street - This street, also known as sports street, was basically the place to get any type of shoe. Not really any deals or amazing prices but a large selection. We ended up, down and around this street a few more times than we would normally because we were looking to buy Heather some replacement sandals (not such an easy task with big western feet!)

• Ladies Market - Running parallel to Sneaker Street, this is more of the market we expected. Chock full of stalls selling fake gear, fridge magnets and souvenirs ready to be bargained for. We found they start around 4/5 times the price of the actual item so start your bargain at least a quarter of what they say the item is!

• Fa Yuen Street Market *** SKIP DOWN IF YOU DONT LIKE BLOOD!*** - Not necessarily part of the tourist agenda but we found a wet market whilst walking between the other markets. Selling live (and dead) fish, meat and veg it may not be for everyone. A couple of times we were splashed by fish flapping around making their last bid for freedom. A shrimp managed to escape his tank, he found the floor… He didn’t make it! Upstairs was the meat and veg. Butchers carving up half pigs, chopping trotters and generally butchering. Very red in some places (like the fish section) so be wary if you are faint of heart!

After a jam packed day round the markets the day was nearly at a close but there was still one thing left on the agenda, Victoria Peak. The Peak has been a sightseeing point for a few hundred years (and probably more), and there is now a cable car that runs up the side of the peak giving stunning views of the city and its sky scrapers below. This is great on its own but the wow factor comes when you reach the top of a myriad of escalators to get to top of the peak tower. I’ll let the pictures show you…

Our final day in Hong Kong we went for a great Western breakfast that we were craving. The Flying Pan, centrally located, 10mins from Central St, one of the best places to get a full English / American fry up / pancakes, maple syrup and bacon. We went for the 4x4x4x4 Monster breakfast (to share!!).

Great friendly service, great food, could do with another one…!

Fully stuffed, we waddled with our backpacks to the Hong Kong /Macau ferry terminal to catch the ferry to the city of dreams… Price was about HK$172 each, and they run every 15minutes roughly.

Off to gambling city/mini Vegas!!

A couple of points for HK!

NB: When walking around Hong Kong, away from the malls and covered market stalls, particularly noticeable in Kowloon, there is 1. A constant sound of chirping traffic lights, and 2. Constant drips from AC units just above you on the streets take a brolly.

NB2: Get a Octopus card (costs nothing, your initial payment is HK$50 deposit + $100 topup, you can return the card when you leave and get the money back that is on it plus your deposit, minus a $9 admin charge – this is a bit of extra cash to expect when you’re leaving…we got a nice cream out of it!). This is much like an Oyster card in London. Things are a little cheaper but the main attraction is you can pay for things in shops and tourist attractions (like Ngong Ping360 and Victoria Peak), unlike Oyster. 7/11 and other convenience shops take them too! Just look out for the card reader at the tills. The other bonus to having the card is that to pay for the bus in HK you need the exact change, something we found out when we went to get the bus from the airport to town…