Hong Kong

The flight into Hong Kong left Auckland at midnight and landed at just after 7am meaning we had the full day to explore on arrival so long as we weren't too tired! Luckily we both slept reasonably well on the plane, despite the snottiest fellow passenger in our row(!), and felt surprisingly fresh as we came into land. Our hostel was on Hong Kong island in one of the huge 'mansion' building blocks they have here although it was also very compact! Still it was nice and clean and we were able to have a quick shower and change into summer clothes before heading out to explore. I was keen to get another blazer made here so we spent the first couple of hours in countless tailor shops looking for the right colour material and bartering hard until we came to an agreeable price. Once this was all sorted we had planned to have Afternoon Tea at The Peninsula hotel...very civilised! Annoyingly, however, there is no way to book ahead so you just have to queue on arrival. Luckily we arrived half an hour before they opened for tea as we still ended up waiting for around an hour and the queue was far longer when we eventually sat down. Even still it was definitely worth it and I was very impressed with my first proper afternoon tea experience (Poppy is now somewhat of a connoisseur). We finished our first day by heading up to 'Ladies Market' to have a look round and pick up some souvenirs before retiring back to the hostel relatively early, both nakered from the time difference! 

 

 Afternoon Tea

 

 

The following day we woke up a lot earlier than planned so went for a wander around causeway bay before catching the bus over to Stanley, on the other side of the island. The market here was good to look around although we found it more expensive than the ladies market and didn't end up picking too much up here. We had a nice lunch overlooking the bay before getting the bus back over to Hong Kong central to make our way up to The Peak. The queue for the peak was very long but actually moved faster than we expected and soon we were on board the red tram making our way up the very steep slope to the peak. The views out over the city here were fantastic and definitely worth the wait! After the tram ride back down to the city centre we jumped on the MTR over to Kowloon side to walk along the goldfish and flower markets. These were interesting to have a look around as asides from lots of fish in small bags for sale along the street there were also numerous tortoises, cats, dogs and various small fluffy animals. Before heading to Temple Street Night Market we went for a lovely sushi dinner and raced to make it just in time for the nightly 'Symphony of Lights' that takes place on all the buildings along the harbour. This was very impressive to see all the buildings lit up, many of which flashed in time to the music playing. We finished the day looking around Temple Street Night Market, although both agreed that the ladies market seemed to have a lot better stuff on offer. Absolutely shattered and with very sore feet we were glad to get back in bed for a well earned sleep. 

 

 Getting measured up

 

 Stanley

 

 Stanley bay

 

 Times Square Hong Kong

 

 Bamboo Scaffolding

 

 Tram up to The Peak

 

 View from the top of The Peak

 

 Goldfish Market

 

Nightime skyline of Hong Kong

Having realised that not much seems to open before 10am, we decided to queue up early for Jenny's Bakery in Kowloon to buy some of their famous cookies...apparently the best in Hong Kong. We arrived there at around 8.30am, about an hour and a half before it opened and were still around tenth in the queue! Still, by the time the bakery actually opened the queue was huge and the temperature had risen dramatically! It was, however, well worth the wait as the cookies were absolutely delicious! From here we made our way back over to Central to wander along Hollywood road although found that there was wasn't too much we were interested in here other than a quick visit to Man Mo temple. By chance we also wandered into a small tea shop and found ourselves trying a few different teas on offer with the owner, which was very enjoyable, before having yet another afternoon tea for lunch! We the wandered over the the IFC mall as you can climb to the 55th floor of the IFC 2 tower for fantastic views and also an exhibit on banking and money in Honk Kong. By this time I was able to go and collect my new blazer and whilst very excited I was also a little bit nervous as to how it would come out. We caught the Star ferry over from Hong Kong to Kowloon and made our way back to the tailor shop via the Avenue of the Stars. Luckily everything fitted well and I was very pleased with the finished product. We made our way back to the hostel to dump a few bits we had bought and have a rest before we headed back out to ladies market again for one or two more last souvenirs. 

 

Definitely worth the wait! 

 

 Man Mo Temple

 

 Tea Tasting

 

 More Afternoon Tea

 

 IFC 2 Tower

 

 The Star Ferry

 

 The only actor we had heard of!

 

 The finished product

 

 

Having done almost everything we had planned we didn't have too much to do on our final day and due to the presence of a tropical storm the weather was a little wet to say the least! Still, after squeezing everything into our bags ready for the flight later in the day we made our way to a restaurant that had been recommended for lunch, serving dim sum and various other Chinese delicacies. We sat down at our table shared with an American girl and a few other locals and tried to work out how to order food. Eventually with a bit of help from the locals we found out that all the food came round on trolleys and you got a card stamped whenever you picked something off the trolley. Unsure about what we were actually eating we tucked in and luckily found that most things were actually quite pleasant so long as you didn't take too much notice of how it looked! One of the more unpleasant dishes that we thought was chicken actually turned out to also contain fish stomach...even the Chinese on our table refused it when we offered some to them! Still we were pleased to have tried something a bit different and made our way back to the hostel to finish collecting our things together before heading to the airport for home! It has been a fantastic trip and we have enjoyed every second. Whilst both sad to be returning home to reality we are also looking forward to seeing everyone and making the most of some home comforts! As with most people that travel, we have already identified the next few places on 'Our List' to travel. The weather here has closed in so fingers crossed our flight is all ok! 

 

 A more local lunch

 

 Chicken and fish stomach...yumm