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Wow well that was just incredible!
It didnt start too well as after Xenia dropped me off at the airport I got to the check in desk only to be told my flight to Hong Kong was cancelled and that another flight would be leaving at 8.30 in the morning (it was 9pm) They said we could either wait, or see if we could get transfers to other airlines, so after waiting for an hour and nearly wetting myself in the process (single traveller with no one to look after the bags whilst you go to the loo!) they managed to get 10 of us onto a Cathay Pacific flight leaving at 1am. Now, we all had to go to the Cathay Pacific check in desk and get booked onto the flight and we were escorted round by two Qantas staff and I asked them several times if, by cancelling the first leg of my journey home (to Hong Kong) would it affect the second part, from Hong Kong to London in 2 days time. The answer I got was "No, no not at all, its just this leg"
Great! No problems there then. So I had a rather lovely flight to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific which I actaully found more enjoyable than my previous Qantas flights because the seats were bigger and you had more room etc.
So after a bit of a messing about and an 8 hour flight, I landed in Hong Kong. From the airport I managed to get myself onto a train (state of the art posh thing!) into Kowloon where I caught an airport shuttle bus to my hotel. The ticket for the train was $90 which just seemed surreal, especially as I had paid for it with a $500 note (thats like £40).
Once at the hotel, the concierge took my luggage and made sure that I checked in ok before taking my bags up to my room. I, on the other hand, had to wait 30 mins before I could accompany my luggage as the room wasn't finished being cleaned yet, so I decided to just take a walk around the block and go buy some bottled water and something for breakfast.
Upon returning, I was given the key to my room and allowed to FINALLY get out of my jeans (why I wore jeans to Hong Kong I do not know!) Shorts and T-Shirt on I headed out into the city to catch a bus down to the Star Ferry to get myself over to Hong Kong Island.
I found and waited for the bus ok and it was only a couple of minutes before the correct one turned up (public transport is very good in Hong Kong and apparently 90% of people in the city use it everyday) and I got on and tried to buy a ticket - I had a $10 note and I soon found out that I couldn't, after the driver kept saying "no change, no change" at me (at first I thought he said no charge, which I thought was very kind....) and a very helpful Chinese lady told me that the buses only accept travel cards or coins not notes, but she would see if she could change the note for me.
She couldn't.
She told me not to worry and just to ask the next person to get on if they could change it at the next stop. Before we even reached that stop she said to me
Lady: It's ok, I'll pay for you
Me: Really? Are you sure?
Lady: Oh yes, its no problem
She then proceded to but my fare in the meter and said something to the driver in Chinese which I'm assuming meant 'I am paying for her'. I tried then to give her the $10 I had intended to use but she refused to take it, instead telling me all about the Star Ferry and places to visit and where I could get some information from.
As the bus become busier she went to sit down but before she left, she tapped me on the shoulder and told me to have a good day and to have fun. I thanked her again, and she just smiled.
I love Hong Kong already - what a wonderful thing to do.
Smiling and feeling good about the day ahead I carried on the bus journey for a little longer before getting to the ferry port. Once there I bought a ticket for the top deck (you can't swap between levels once you're on it) and took my seat.
It's a really short ferry ride. They don't tell you that. Really. It was over in about 5 minutes!
On the other side, I started to look at my map; I wanted to go to Stanley for the market, the Peak Tram and then back over to Kowloon for the Temple Street Night Market and I was trying to figure out how best to see it all when I got accosted by a Big Bus Tours man who told me that the Big Bus Tours would take me to all those places and more for $332 which included return Star Ferry tickets, a free Sampan ride and a free ticket on the Peak Tram.
This was really starting to turn into a good day.
So I happily said "Sold!" bought the tickets and hoped on a bus to start the tour of Stanley. Then the rain came. Oh the rain....and did it stop? No. Did I get totally soaked for the next 6 hours? Yes. Oh well at least it was warm air!
It didn't really effect things that much, I still got to see and do everything I wanted to and with relative ease so a bit of rain was fine. It was however, a nice change when I got to Aberdeen and took up the free Sampan ride offer as I was then under shelter, albeit on a boat but I was dry at least. The boat itself was incredibly charming with lots of brightly coloured Chinese Lanterns hanging down from the Bamboo constructed roof, and I got the feeling that at night time it would look amazing on the water.
The man driving the Sampan didnt speak much English, occassionaly pointing and screaming "HOUSE" "HOUSE" when he wanted us to look at a House Boat and then he shouted "JUMBO". The only problem was he was looking right at me when he said and pointed and I was about to tell him to calm down, when I realised we had arrived at the famous 'Jumbo Floating Restaurant' and that he could only say Jumbo in English. Close call Mr, close call...
After he threw us all about a bit and forced us to have pictures taken, he drove us back to the start point and we all climbed back onto the bus that had just arrived.
From here, my next stop was Stanley Market where I took time to look around the stalls and soak up the atmosphere of stalls lined up in steep stairwells between buildings, winding left to right and up and down.
After that I went to the Peak Tram which was thoroughly entertaining and steep - you can literally feel the G-force pressing against your chest as the Tram gets higher and higher on a more acute angle before finally levelling out at the top. Just seeing the buildings looking as though they are built diagonally out of the ground is bizarre and really hits home how steep the journey is! You also dont realise how high you are until you get to the top and, especially on a day like today, you are surrounded by Fog.
Fog. Fog. Fog. Fog.
I didn't care too much, I just wanted to say I'd been right to the top, so despite the woman on the desk saying you wont see anything because of the fog, and then even getting her English language cue card out to make sure I fully understood that she was saying it was 'Foggy' I still said "Its fine, I just want to go up there and take a picture of the Fog"
Even I thought 'Stupid tourist' so no idea what she must have been thinking....
After taking pictures of Fog (!) I came back down on the Tram and jumped on the bus again and did a little tour of Hong Kong Island which is a lovely mix of designer shops and cultured side streets and antique shops.
Back on the Ferry over to Kowloon to get back in time to catch the night tour at 7pm it was still throwing it down by the bucket load, and not only was I starting to get tired, but I was also hungry and too wet by this point. So after a quick walk through the Avenue of Stars and some night photos of Hong Kong Island, I decided to skip the actual night tour and just head straight for Temple Street Night Market as it was only 5 minutes from my hotel anyway, so I reasoned that the quicker I got there the quicker I would be able to shower!
It was lovely at the market, everything I thought it would be, lots of stalls and a single path through through the middle of the street, it was quieter than usual as it had been raining so hard but it made it better for me and I was even able to bargain with one seller over Chopsticks....it went a little something like this:
Me: How much for this?
Lady: $79
Me: Hmmm....
(looking like im going to walk away)
Lady: Ok, how much you want pay me?
Me: (pause for dramatic effect) $40
Lady: (high pitched and quick) $40!! I got mouths to feed, kids to fed, why you say $40!? (pause for dramatic effect, voice back to normal) $69...
Me: $50
Lady: $60 - you see how this work, huh?
Me: $55
Lady: Ok $55 - Well done!
I went to get the money out and had a $50 note and 3 $2 coins so just said to her:
Me: Ok let's call it $56, there you go
Lady: No, no we say $55 you pay $55 wait I get you dollar
Off she went to get the change and when she came back she put the dollar in my hand then covered mine with hers and and said to me in a mock hushed voice with squinted brow, "Most English pay $79" and then she just walked off!
BRILLIANT.
BRILLIANTTTTTTT!
Still laughing to myself, I found a busy street food restaurant and sat down in the drizzling rain to eat Sizzling Beef on the corner of Temple Street Night Market. I was happy, tired, but happy.
I walked back to the hotel up Nathan Road and soaked up the atmosphere of all the Neon Signs (it's brighter at night than in the daytime!) and buzz of people.
Once back at the hotel, it was about 9pm, so I figured I had good reason to be tired as I'd been on a plane for 8 hours then been out exploring for 12!
Good Night.
(The next day...)
I woke up at 4am this morning and caught a taxi at 4.45am to the airport where on arrival, I showed my passport to the lady at the Qantas desk who then preceeded to tell me that my booking had been cancelled and I didn't have a seat on the plane.
God Damn you Qantas!! What did I bloody say to you in Melbourne!!?? Would it affect the rest of my journey - NO! Well, quite bloody obviously it did - stupid people!!!
So anyway, after a bit of complaining, I was made to wait until check in closed to see if there was room on the flight. After 2 hours of waiting the lady told me she had seats available and I could fly. Thanks for that!!
If she had been there when I got on the plane I might have had some choice words for her! The flight was half empty!!?? Why did she make me wait - what did she think, a bus load of tourists was gonna turn up wanting a flight to London at 6am!!??
Not a happy Muddy Pony do I make!
Anyway not that it matters, I landed in London and who was there to meet me at the airport? My wonderful parents.
It's good to be home.
- comments
linda JUMBO!!!
linda FOG!! Too funny. love this entry. Really glad you liked cathay pacific- as that is who i am flying with! (sozzard about the delay obviously) love you muddy pony (is this name a keeper?) x
Steph I think it may well be a keeper yes! :-) That whole day was brilliant, I would love to go back there.