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Thursday and Friday.
Having walked around the entire town yesterday doing the walking tour (quite a challenge as I said as it depends which way up you have the map!!!), we decided to venture further out and go so what all the fuss is about with the ‘biggest shopping outlets in France’. Now you know me, I am not that big into shopping, but decided that we would probably see a bit more of the countryside as the 2 big centres are out of town somewhat. The information centre quite definitely told us to take either a No. 1 or No. 2 bus to the North and South respectively she even wrote it on the map. We decided to jump on whichever came first which happened to be the No. 2 bus. Off we went, and went, and went, and ended up in a largely industrial area with no-one left on the bus. By this time we had twigged we were on the wrong bus but having little or no French, and a bus driver with absolutely NO English, we stayed put, and eventually finished up back in Troyes. An hour’ sightseeing!!! Undaunted we then waited for the No. 1 bus and checked its destination before we got on in – how sensible!!! The outlet stores cover many acres and are not in a Mall formation but just dotted around the site seemingly at random. It was hot again and by the time we had walked around several sites looking at high fashion labels we had had enough and caught the bus back to town. We had a rest for an hour or so, then venture out again for a lovely degustation meal at a wine shop. We started off with a glass of Champagne (of course the genuine stuff) then chose a menu that also had a glass of champagne, two courses and a glass of red. We sat outside right under the walls of an ancient church surrounded by 16th century half timbered buildings. Very special.
Friday morning we got up and packed but had a leisurely wander around the town and did what the French do, coffee and croissants on the pavement side (fighting off the wasps – there is always something to spoil the romantic notion of things!!).
Back to the hotel to collect our luggage and off to the station to catch the train to Paris. We had plenty of time so just took our time, walked from Gard de l’est to Gard de Nord stopping for lunch on the way. We were both pleased not to be staying for any length of time in Paris – bit over it by now.
Out to the airport on the RER and then a major long walk to Terminal 2A. Of course we arrived hours early for our flight so got some comfortable chairs, put our feet up and read. Eventually we were able to check in and then went in search of something to eat. Settled for McDonalds which we both enjoyed – made a change from salmon salads, comfit of duck, tough steak etc. etc. Do I sound a bit cynical about French cuisine, yes I guess so. I suppose had we been prepared to pay 3 times the price we might have got something better. Even so, the average main course in France cost us no less than $30 NZ and often more.
Once on the plane (it was 45 min late and left about midnight) we settled down, had a light supper and then both of us managed to sleep a little on the way. 12 hours later here we are in Hong Kong. We arrived at our hotel about 7 pm after a very efficient transfer service. We are staying at the Salisbury YMCA which is primarily an hotel, with YMCA facilities on some floors. We are on the 14th floor in a very nice room, king size bed. Perfectly adequate bathroom and all facilities. Unfortunately we do not have a harbour view, but it is great value for money and very conveniently situated in Kowloon.
Sunday (we rather lost Saturday somewhere in the air)
Today we have a half day orientation tour of HK starting at 9.30 so have had breakfast in the hotel. About 75 HK$ each. We were picked up on the dot and in a very comfortable airconditioned coach. We travelled across to Hong Kong island and first climbed up to the peak for the most amazing views. It is extremely hot today and even the locals are finding it hot, but we are blessed with a lovely clear day. The views are fantastic and many photos later we climbed thankfully back on to the bus for the trip to Aberdeen harbour where there are many houseboats, boat people, sampans, floating restaurants, fishing boats etc. etc. Of course we were encouraged to do a Sampan tour of the harbour in and out of the houseboats, fishing vessels, luxury yachts etc. At $60HK each I suppose it sounds expensive for 25 minutes, but translates to about $10 each NZ. Not too bad. The romantic notion of sampans, houseboats, boat people etc. is rather spoilt by the rubbish in the water, the very ancient state of most of the boats, and the rather grotty back view of the most famous restaurant in HK the huge floating Jumbo restaurant. Still, well worth the extra, and a lot cooler on the water.
Off again in the bus to the southern side of the HK island, past many beaches with hundreds of people enjoying the water (inside the shark nets) and lying under the trees to the Stanley market. Again it was extremely hot out of the bus and in the market, so we did what we had to do and were happy to get back on the bus. I was on a mission to buy 2 x Mah-jong sets, one for myself and one for a friend. Did that quite successfully and then Paul went looking for some new sports shoes. His were worn out before we even left NZ and are now in a worse state, so they will be happily consigned to the rubbish bin when we go home. His Reeboks cost him about $63 NZ so he is happy. Of course during this trip we had to visit the obligatory Jewellery factory. Lots of bling, diamonds, pearls, jade, etc. etc. but absolutely nothing that even tempted me. It was all too ornate and fussy thank goodness.
Back eventually to the hotel after a very good and informative tour – we learnt a lot about the present state of HK, how it is administered etc. and enjoyed the scenery.
After a quick respite, we got on the Ferry and went across to HK island again, just for the ride, and to sus out our route for tomorrow. We found out while on the tour this morning that Senior Citizens can travel the ferry for nothing and we found that very easy. Just walked through an open gate marked ‘Senior Citizens’. How good is that!!
One of the things we wanted to do afternoon was find a bar somewhere and have a cool beer. That is very difficult as it doesn’t seem to be in the Chinese culture to do this. We eventually found one by the ferry terminal and had a very welcome cold beer.
Tomorrow we are going to get the ferries to Discovery Bay and meet up with Lizzie and Huki and children and have a drink and dinner with them. It will be good to catch up with them again and especially as we had such a lovely time with Jim and Susan recently in Scotland.
We have booked to go out to dinner tonight to a Chinese restaurant (funny that) – Sunday night is very a popular eating out night and anything decent is usually booked out. We are going to a recommended place not too far away and the concierge has booked us a table by the window! Not sure what we will see out of it, but hopefully a harbour view.
I might go and have a swim in the pool before we go out, but more likely will lie down and have a bit of a rest. The heat is very sapping..
- comments
Janny Hi guys - lovely photos of Hong Kong. I expect you will be well on the way home by now. Weather very hot here and we are staying out of the sun (siesta time). Its nearly 6pm so we will venture out again soon. Paul you would have enjoyed the Wine fair we went to today. Had great chats to some of the winemakers and bought a few bottles (Chateau Neuf-de-pape) and some Chardonnay. Take care and keep in touch. Love J&Kxx