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On the morning of Tuesday the 10th October I left the dull, grey cold of Xi'an, airbound for the vibrant, colourful warmth of Hong Kong. I couldn't wait!
China may be a world power but of the short time I spent there, other than a few flash, modern areas in the likes of Shanghai and Beijing, I found it to be generally dirty and run down. I was looking forward to a change of scenery, and what better place to do that than Hong Kong.. China's naughty, flamboyant, rebellious little brother.
I jumped on the airport shuttle bus to take me over to Hong Kong Island, slap bang in the middle of where all the action is. Man was it hot when I arrived.. a 20 degree change in heat from 15 to 35!! I wasn't complaining though. And WOW what a contrast from Xi'an.. welcome to the real world where there's colour and fun to be had!
Why's no one staring at me any more? Because half the people here are foreigners.. families on holiday, tourists, backpackers, business men and women, they're everywhere. I finally didn't feel like an alien! And even better, the streets and roads still have English names.
This is another "Sim City" that looks like it's been created for a video game, similar to that of La Paz in Bolivia but a lot more modern. I don't think I've ever seen as many skyscrapers stacked up, one after the other in a concentrated area than anywhere else in the world.. they went on for miles!
Add the South Sea location, along with its surrounding islands, the famous Victoria Peak, trams, subways, ferries, an extensive road network that disappears beneath the ground and reappears elsewhere, huge bridges, a world famous racecourse, Times Square, rooftop bars, MASSIVE prestine shopping malls, and an absolute hype of frantic 24-hour activity..... then you've got yourself one hell of a city that you could never get bored of.
I was all hot and sweaty by the time I'd reached the Yesinn Causeway Hostel in the centre of Downtown at around 5.00pm. Unsure what to do with my first evening, I received a tip-off from some Polish dude who recommended that I take myself up to "The Peak", to check out the view over Hong Kong.
It was on my list anyway, so I literally dumped my bags and dove head first into the madness, jumping on a packed out tram toward the Central Station.. where nearby is the cable car tram which transports you to viewpoints overlooking Hong Kong from upon high within several minutes.
The entrance to "The Peak Tram" was busy.. I was going at a popular time with the sun about to set but it moved on pretty quickly. In the queue I got speaking to a lovely German woman called Marian, who was a flight attendant for Lufthansa and was in town for a few nights with work.
The incline of the tram is extremely steep and forces you back in your seat with it being on such an angle while it makes the steady uphill climb through high-rise buildings and greenery.
Embarkation from the tram is inside a big tourist complex.. several floors of shops, restaurants and various entertainment outlets. However, Marian and I took ourselves away from the masses to walk on further to the various look-out points on Victoria Peak.
WOW! The view was absolutely stunning, the city lights gleaming in what was a near perfect clear night. I haven't seen a night-scape view over a city quite like this before. Shanghai's was majorly impressive but this was on another level. And what else was notable was how calm and peaceful it was up.. such a vast contrast to the congested circus going on below us.
I never got bored of the view.. with a beer in hand I stayed up there with Marian for a good few hours. We also stuck around to see a light show that supposedly occurs at 8.00pm every evening where a large majority of the skyscrapers combine to produce some sort of show in the nights sky. However, for some reason it never came.
Marian and I made our way back down on the cable car tram and jumped on another tram back to Downtown, where we grabbed some food in a Chinese restaurant. I had a lovely evening with Marian, it's amazing how quickly you can read someone's good nature and build a rapport with them so quickly. I wished her farewell, and that was that, never to be seen again! Ha.
I endured a frustrating morning the following day while waiting for a package to be delivered by FedEx, which I needed for my future travels. However, the remainder of the day more than made up for it.
I took the short ferry ride from Wan Chai over to Tsim Sha Tsui, to take a look at Hong Kong from a different perspective. And it didn't disappoint.. the long stretch of skyline looked magnificent under blue skies and the searing heat from the promenade area named "Avenue of Stars."
I took myself out of the heat and into one of the lovely air conditioned and absolutely humongous, maze-like malls. I never came close to making it all the way around.
I took the ferry back to Downtown and got myself ready for the evening. I'd already heard of the Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong before arriving, but it wasn't until Andy, my mate from back home, reminded me to check it out. I had a look to see if there was a meeting on over the course of my stay, and fortunately enough there was - Wednesday evening.
I took myself down to the racecourse which was literally a 15 minute walk from my hostel and bought myself a ticket on the door.
I even managed to blag my way into the Member's Enclosure. There was plenty of folk knocking around in a shirt, shoes, pants and blazer.. I was sporting a t-shirt and shorts with dress trainers. There was absolutely no chance I was donning that sort of clobber in this heat (not that I have a suit and dress shoes tucked away in my backpack). The joke was soon on them.. massive sweat patches on a suit isn't a good look fellas!
I had to pull my shorts below the knee and hope they remained around my waist until I cleared security, but it worked, and it was worth it to get a seat in the grandstand.
Beer in hand, studying the guide, the racecourse looked pretty spectacular under lights, overlooked by the city's skyscrapers. If my late father could have seen me now, he'd be so proud since he always had a big passion for the races. I could have done with his expertise though, I didn't win a thing! Nevertheless, it was a fantastic experience and a great evening.
The next day I took myself for some breakfast and had a look around the Downtown area where Times Square and other massive malls are located.
I decided to take another venture up to The Peak on the cable car tram to have a good look at Hong Hong during the day time. As I did with Marian, I took myself away from the crowds, but this time I wanted to go for a bit of a hike and reach the summit of Victoria Peak. I must have been mad in that heat.. this trekking lark is getting out of control!
Needless to say I was drenched in sweat by the time I'd reached the top. However, I loved being up there, it's incredibly peaceful, and I barely so a soul.. probably because they're not stupid enough to walk uphill in 35 degree heat.
The views were once again superb, yet this time around it was overlooking the opposite side of the peak out toward the South Sea and the surrounding islands of Hong Kong.
I took the loop walk back around to where I viewed the city from the previous night, before taking myself back down on the tram to Downtown.
Another great thing about Hong Kong is that it can provide you with every different cuisine under the sun. I was craving an Indian, and finding myself a good one on my travels so far has been few and far between, unless I get the opportunity to make it myself.. which is never!
I found a decent joint tucked away near Times Square and had a slap up curry. It wasn't amazing but it satisfied the palette. That was me done and dusted for the night, and more or less signalled the end of my short time in Hong Kong.
I had a fantastic few days here in this western-friendly adult playground of glitz, bright lights and chaos. I wish I could have had a little more time to explore the islands or take the ferry over to Macau, however, flight costs and the stupid Chinese National Holidays meant I couldn't get here sooner.
I leave tomorrow morning on yet another flight.. it's time to see what Japan has to offer. Tokyo here I come!
See ya xx
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