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Bangkok to Hong Kong
Poised with the Playstation like controller in is hand, Trev was hoping wishing hard that that the runway at Hong Kong airport would be very near the harbour. Smack bang in the middle of it would be nice. The Emirates airbus taking us to next adventure was equipped with a nose and wing camera. The pictures were part of the in flight entertainment. Unfortunately there was darkness on the screen when we touched down.
Hong Kong
Any city worth its name should have dreams of being as efficient and organized as Hong Kong. From our arrival at the massive immigration hall fully manned and pre-sectioned easily coping with the other 3 flights that had also just arrived taking just 10 mins to get through to baggage which was already waiting; through to the fully integrated information desk centrally positioned in front of the airport railway station, which had 2 members of staff at 1am. We were impressed and we hadn't left the airport yet. By the time we were 18 mins away (the journey countdown clock at the bulkhead of every carriage told us) the glow of the city could be seen from the express train we knew that this would be a city that would take some beating. Although it was early morning you could feel that city buzz. The darkness on the screen from the flight was replaced by the twinkling lights from the towering skyline glowing as we hiked through city streets looking for the Causeway on Hong KongIsland. Not unlike many other Cities; no matter what time of day it is there is always something going on and people around but in Hong Kong there was always twice as much going on and always to the back drop of neon; brilliant bright flashing neon.
We spent our first day organizing our visas for China and having a look around the city. There where Christmas lights up everywhere and Christmas music being pumped out in Chinese and English which was beyond strange being this far away from home. At our first of many meals involving noodles we watched a good luck ceremony being performed by street artists in a dragon costume complete with Chinese live instruments and cymbals. With plans to take in the harbour side views and skyline we headed for the metro (underground) It seems that wherever you go in Hong Kong you always arrive in a shopping mall and arriving at the harbour was no different the only exception being the 5 gold star standard of the mall we arrived in. It was a brand name boutique battle played out on 7 levels. We found our way out onto the avenue of stars; a kind of Hollywood walk of fame for the Chinese cinema. Amongst the honoured with hand prints and stars were Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, which didn't quite wind Jo's clock as much as it wound Trev's. After star spotting we found a good spot facing the awesome skyline; it was about to get touristic! At 8pm every night the skyscrapers come alive to the sound of cheesy euro pop and an equally cheesy commentary. Displaying their lights in time to the music, for half an hour the towers light up like a giant graphic equalizer.
This was far too much excitement and so we took a stroll through HarbourCity, a gigantic shopping mall; where suddenly we were reminded that it would be Christmas soon. The impressive decorations were definitely Hong Kong Style; brilliant, bright, flashy and neon. The shopping mall didn't disappoint either; Jo momentarily forgot all about the budget. Snapped back to reality we headed home to save ourselves for the street markets the following day. All that neon was making our eye sore!
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