8/6 - 9/6 After a morning in work, the holiday started by catching
a National Express coach from Exeter to Heathrow. Although this was
a 4 hour journey, it is only marginally longer than catching the train
from Honiton, but a fraction of the price. Checking in at Heathrow was
very quick (unlike the last time I flew with Virgin Atlantic) especially
as we used the new self check-in facility (put your passport under a
scanner and it called up me details). After getting a boarding card
from the machine, I went over to the baggage drop-off point, although
they ended up saying that I could take it on-board with me. John (friend
from work) and I went for some dinner at TGI Friday's which was nice,
but very expensive. The flight was in a very new A340-600 aircraft,
which had individual screens for each seat and with a media system that
allowed you to watch up to 40 films when you wanted to watch them. You
could even pause, rewind what you were watching; puts airlines like
Lufthansa to shame! Although we were sitting in scum class (sorry Coach
class) we were well served and even the food was pretty good, albeit
still with plastic cutlery (security ban on this has been lifted, but
many airlines still use the awful things). The 12 hour flight went reasonably
quickly, but sleeping was impossible (I can never sleep on planes).
At HK International Airport we found ourselves quickly getting on the
light railway to take us to immigration (very simple paperwork to complete)
and customs. We only had a few minutes to wait for the train to whisk
us to Kowloon station in 20 mins and then catch the K5 bus to the Hotel
Miramar. After a shower and something to eat I took John out along Nathan
Road to the Star Ferry and a quick walk around HK island before catching
the ferry back to Kowloon. There was a nice cooling drizzle most of
the time we were out and about.
10/6 After a disruptive night with John snoring, we went for
some breakfast at the Pacific Coffee Shop (very Chinese!) and afterwards
walked up Nathan Road until I found a Bank of China, were I managed
to get a very good exchange rate for my pounds (14.11HKD), hotel was
13.00 and that was a pretty good rate compared to some of the street
exchange places. After getting money we headed to the Star Ferry and
then up the Peak Tram (20HKD single). Unfortunately the top viewing
gallery was closed for renovation, but we were still able to get a great
view albeit a bit hazy. The crazy people we were, we decided to walk
back down in all the heat and humidity. I need air-con kept on ringing
in my ear - yes John was suffering! After a lovely walk down through
rainforest and some interesting wildlife, we arrived back at the Central
MTR station. As the MTR is air-conditioned it seemed a good idea to
use it and cool down. We caught a train to Shau Kei Wan where we caught
a #9 bus to Shek O. The half hour journey was spectacular, seeing the
reservoir and Stanley in the distance. Arriving at Shek O was stunning.
Beautiful white sandy beach, not what you would expect from Hong Kong.
We also had a great late lunch at a Thai restaurant in the small town.
This was very much a locals beach with only a few tourists. On the return
journey we got off at Wan Chai and caught the Star Ferry back from their,
just for a change. Once back on the Kowloon side we went to the Avenue
of Stars and had some great views of HK island as the sunset. After
a quick rest bite back at the hotel it was a long walk up to Mongkok
where the famous night market and large shopping areas are located.
It was like Oxford St at Christmas and this was 22:00. We had a very
cheap and very good late night dinner before catching the MTR back to
near the hotel. Stopping for a night cap at a bar close to the hotel.
Hong Kong Island
as the sun sets
Copyright © Robsons-Adventures 2007