30th March - Hong Kong

The train lady woke us up at 6am and we arrived in an already humid Hong Kong about 7am. We stripped down to basics and then froze on the metro to Mongkok because the air-con was turned so low.

Hostel Ah Shan looks like the kind of place that murders happen. We were going to book Chung King Mansions but the reviews said there were very dubious things nearby so we went more 'upmarket'. I'm glad we did if this 14th floor mock-up of a scene from The Bill was anything to go by. Matt also worried that the so-called 'mansions' were a fire hazard and at least this place does have stairs you can flee down if you don't break your neck on the corridoors of crap you have to step over.

Since we were no longer in China proper, we went on the search for something tasty to eat. We were stopped by a guy flyering for a place that served a 'Healthy lunch'. We imagined vegetables and other healthy, tasty things and so decided to give it a go. A lot of Hong Kong shops and bars etc are in the tower blocks and so he took us in the building, up the lift and through a bit of a warren.

It turned out that the guy wasn't just flyering but was franchising the business because he'd lost so much weight following the system that he wanted to be a bigger part of it. By this time we'd worked out that it wasn't going to be what we'd been looking and so were not surprised when 'Mr Alexander' told us that lunch would to be made up of three drinks: an aloe vera based starter, a fruit based shake for lunch and a tea dessert. This still sounded preferable to some of the junk we'd been eating so we were up for sharting one and giving it a taste. He then told us that we'd also qualify for a body analysis and sat with us throughout the whole thing, asking us questions. We weren't too keep on the idea but it was an experience and so went along with it. Before our 'main meal' he weighed us on a machine that told him lots of stuff about our fat levels etc and then fed back the information to us while we sucked on a 'cookie and cream' shake made using sweet potato. We were a little shocked at first when he told us that our fat levels were 'great'. What he meant was massive! He was also worried about how fat our organs were and told Matt his were at a dangerous level - not really what Matt wanted to hear, especially when he'd worked out for himself that he's lost about 15kg and probably deserved to feel bit prouder. We then drank our tea as 'Mr Alexander' showed us before and after pictures of himself and others and tried to convince us of the merits of using this system when we were home. Since there were 'better' flavours available in the UK, he also wanted us to buy them for him and send them on - which we thought was asking a bit much after he'd promised us tasty and filling fruit and vegetables but given us drinks, talked to us incessantly, told us we were fat and fatal, tried to talk us into signing us and then charged us for the trouble.

We weren't sure if it was because we'd shared a 'lunch', because drinks don't fill you up or because we were actually just comfort eating but we were still hungry.  Compared to mainland China the food was very expensive indeed and was more pricey than at home. After looking around for a while we decided that we wouldn't find anything particularly healthy or cheap and so we may as well just eat what we fancied. There was a nice looking India restaurant there and so went for that. Since we'd technically just eaten we shared a curry but the restaurant owner did not seem too impressed at all. The food was good though and I had really missed Palak Paneer!

Hello sailor

We walked past all of the incredibly affluent hotels and businesses to the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade and took the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island. The ferry itself was pretty cool and it was much nicer to head to the island over water rather than on the underground.

We'd read in a our guide book that you get get a good view of the city from the 43rd floor of the Bank of China. It felt a bit weird going in to a massive, sparkly skyscraper dripping with money and asking if we could see their 43rd floor but after they'd scanned our bags they gave us a passcard and pointed us towrds the lifts. We were a bit surprised that there weren't more people there doing the same thing but it was nice to have the viewing platform all to ourselves, with the exception of the security man. The view was dramatic and it was an inspiring perspective from which to view the city, it was just a shame it wasn't a clearer day.

I'd used my card to try and get into a part of the bank that I shouldn't and so my passcard was blocked when I tried to get out. It didn't cause too much of a problem other than them having to release me.

WTF?

We also stopped at the strangely situated pre-historic evolution exhibit on the bottom floor and had some fun playing with the interactive displays and laughing at the models representing what they thought some of the animals would look like. There was a dinosaur bird with teeth monstrosity which looked liked somehow had made it up that we really liked.

Matt's always a sucker for a funicular so our next stop was the tram to Victoria Peak. The peak used to be a popular picnic area only accessible by sedan chair and so it sounded like quite a nice place to see. After looking around the museum section, we took the very steep ride up the hill and discovered that the top was just a huge shopping centre. There would have been some spectaculour views of the city and the harbour had the day not been so muggy. We did stay there for a while though, exploring the different view points and making the most of the brilliant tourist information that was based in an old tram. He suggested going to the Symphony of Lights tonight because tomorrow there was Earth Hour and so it would not be showing.

View from the top

Is it possible to have too many panoramas? It would appear so

Symphony of lights

We took the funicular and then the ferry back to Hong Kong and went to the 'Avenue of Stars' ready for the 'Symphony of Lights', an apparently 'spectacular multimedia show that combines Hong Kong's most famous skyscrapers in a dazzling light and sound display'. We got to the viewing platform quite early which was good because it soon filled up. The display was interesting to see but given that the array of brightly-lit, imposing skyscrapers penetrating the sky is quite a remarkable sight in itself, sticking a few lasers on them whilst a tune was played was actually a bit underwhelming. I'm sure of you watch it on Youtube it will look just as good if not better.

I loved walking through Hong Kong though. It really made me realise why I found  Pudong in Shanghai so disappointing. You still see the majesty of the skyscrapers but when you get in and amongst the base of them, they are anchored in variety and character and interest. You can see so much of every walk of life and it throbs with people and life and the sound of a million different interests. It's a mental and beautiful place to be.

We made our way back to Mongkok through Temple Street Night Market. My phone was being naughty and wouldn't charge so Matt looked for another charger and we both comtemplated the array of stuff on sale. After the markets of stuff there were markets of fortune tellers where tens of mystics sat with astrology charts and other toold of their craft. I'm scared stiff of all that stuff but did enjoy looking at the intense concentration on the faces of people who were having their fortunes told. After a brief stop to goggle at a street-karaoke stall, we made our way back to our tower block hotel.