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Tom C-B's Travels 2006
Here I am with my 2nd entry of the trip: it could take a while as we have squashed in a whole lotta stuff in two days so bear with me and hope you enjoy...
SATURDAY
Well, after updating our journals yesterday morning we walked down Nathan road towards the 'Star Ferry'. This took us across to main Hong Kong Island where we embarked on a whirlwind tour of all the best sights to see! We started off going to Hong Kong Park where there was an Aviary and a waterfall, and then we took the tram up to Victoria Peak (nearly 400m above sea level!) where we took in the breathtaking views of the city from above. Some interesting Dim Sum and a return tram ride later, we found ourselves back in the city on the number '66' bus towards 'Repulse Bay', which is on the other side of the island and also the favourite haunt of the rich and the famous in Hong Kong. Oh yeah, paying on the bus was interesting as the driver did not speak a word of English and there was no change-giving ticket machine onboard - only a sort of honesty box at the front! Needless to say that I wholeheartedly grabbed this opportunity to save a bit of money and donated a whopping $2.40 to the cause (about 15-20p)! Aside from that, the beach was beautiful, with golden sand and a backdrop of high-rise hotels and lush green mountains. There was however a 'shark prevention' net so we passed on the swimming bit! The number 66 bus took us back to the heart of the city, where the lights were slowly starting to come on for the night. A quick walk back past the 'Royal Bank of China Tower' and the 'Building of 1,000 a*******s' (so called because all of its 1,750 windows are circular, actually representing perfection and prosperity!?) and we were back on the Star ferry towards Kowloon. The setting sun allowed us to get our fair share of photos of the postcard image of the Hong Kong skyline at night, and we walked slowly back to the hotel via a supermarket (where we bought 3 apples, 3 bananas, 2 oranges, and 2 big bottles of water for less than two quid!). We stepped back out only to get a bite to eat, after which we both collapsed after an action-packed day!
SUNDAY
A rather late start due to a failed alarm clock meant that we got out of the hotel at about 12:45. We set off in the direction of Sha Tin on their (better) version of the tube (man I love these place names!) and the 'Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas', which was meant to be spectacular. It did not disappoint. After climbing the 400 steps to the top, not only were we sweating like Gary Glitter at playtime but also were surrounded by ridiculous amounts of incense and 10,000 Buddha figurines. Need I mention that we indulged in some highly touristy 'photo-taking' action before getting something to eat at the hilltop restaurant. After a very satisfactory meal we clambered back down the torturous steps and bumped into the 'local' monkeys who were shooting the breeze and lapping up the camera attention they were receiving from 'non-locals' like us! We got back on the tube towards home ground and were very grateful for the air-conditioning before we stepped out into a bustling Kowloon centre, where we fought our way to the Internet café to share our experiences with all you lovely people! Phew, it feels like I've been here for ages! Anyway must dash - I've got two minutes left on my internet time slot so have to spread the word that I have updated my site. Hope you have had an enjoyable read and I'll be back soon with more to report...
Hope all is well,
Tom
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