I think Hong Kong Airport is a marvel of design really - it is so remarkably unremarkable. In transportation, I think there are two schools of thought with the design of airports where it is either a destination in itself or it is merely a staging post and I think Hong Kong airport goes for the latter. This does not mean that it is not architecturally interesting but it just doesn't get in the way - it feels transparent. As I was staying somewhere[1] on the island, I took the train to my quarters to drop my luggage and attempted to make something of the evening. The train station in the airport is very much integrated into the airport exit and so I bought my ticket and made my way. Unremarkable.
Hong Kong island is connected to the mainland in countless ways but the most historic is the Star Ferry which continues to cross even though it is no longer the most convenient way to travel for most. My travels are rarely about convenience but this time, briefly, it would be and I took the MTR across to Kowloon for some dinner and a walk along the main road and to some night markets. I did go to the ferry terminal and make a crossing on the way back to the island though - this was an integral part of the trip.
Hong Kong is unmistakably Chinese but when I first came all those years ago, I laboured under the misapprehension that it would be terribly English around these parts. With a nod to the (recent at the time) colonial past, I had breezily assumed that English would be very easily used and looked forward to being a little more comfortable in getting around than I had been. I was wrong. Repeatedly. As I wandered around Kowloon looking for something to eat, the neon was bright, the people were plentiful and I very much knew that I was in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong of both imagination and memory.
The next day was my only truly unbroken day in Hong Kong so I decided to try to see a bit more of the territory than I had before and one thing that I had not done in Hong Kong before was to see the slightly less urban parts. Hong Kong island itself is an intriguing geographical point stuck where it is and is not really that well suited to the mass development that it has undergone compared to other places. I would not go as far as saying that there are unspoiled areas of the island but the Shek O Country Park does afford the opportunity to do some hiking with pretty convenient transport available. I won't lie that the end of the line status was also appealing, of course. So the MTR to the end of the line took me to, of course again, a shopping centre that I got a bit lost in before I found my way out to the path to the park. the park was not brilliantly signposted and did involve a walk through a visually interesting elevated cemetery (or Ossarium) which was suitably grey for the weather. The park had a relatively well-known path called the Dragon's Back which I decided to walk. There were not too many people there on a wet weekday so I rather enjoyed it to myself with only a podcast[2] or two for company. The walk was pretty fun although the variable weather did mean that I found myself getting a little wet - but then also drying out fairly quickly. There were some other people walking but very few and I only bumped into them at designated viewpoints. The variable weather also meant that I could see some of the same landscapes with quite different views which was a bit of a bonus. The park itself is quite green and to see out to all the other islands is definitely a thing worth doing.
I made my way to the exit and waited at the bus stop and checked the timetable - the buses did not seem particularly frequent. Not long after a minivan came beeping along the road quite rapidly and then stopping at the bus stop also quite rapidly. The door opened and the driver motioned to come in. I said in English that I was waiting for whichever bus I had seen on the bus stop sign and he motioned again to get on. I did, but I did not pay a fee and was told, in English, "later". I should have been wary. I was a bit wary. There were other people on the bus and they looked like they didn't know each other so I felt like it was probably OK.
The minibus picked up speed and I wondered whether it was going to be OK. The other passengers seemed fine and I saw a big led display number stuck at the front shooting up in value - this must have been the speed of the minibus. It felt a lot faster down the hill along a semi-winding road in a minibus though but that speed indicator, strangely enough, made me feel much safer as looking out of the window really did not...
Fortunately, the bus ended up exactly where I wanted to go - back to the end of the line and I paid a small fee to the bus driver to get off (he was effectively holding me hostage).
The end of the line is also the beginning, of course, and I had wanted to ride the rails from one end to another (I wasn't really going to go to the other end, but pretty close). After a spot of lunch and a quick look around the harbour and park, I settled onto the tram on the top deck. There aren't many places to get a double deck tram and it seemed a great way to soak in the city's atmosphere while still moving toward where I was meant to be in the evening.
The trip takes about 90 mins and does show quite a variety of communities from the less salubrious outskirts to the central portion of the city home to global commercial entities. The connection between them, other than the tramline, of course, is that they are all densely populated.
A quick skip across the water took me back to Kowloon where I was due to meet a friend outside the mosque.
This friend had recently moved to the city and seemed to be in that first flush of excitement and intrigue which is always a little intoxicating to be around. We made our way to, and through, the unknown to go to a dim sum place. A lot of Chinese food is pretty piggy so I really was not convinced that this would be a fruitful journey but we went to this shop which had been recommended for them. They had rather sweet scraps of paper that they'd given by the mosque requesting halal and no pig which would protect and enable them to go somewhere safe in the knowledge that it would be OK. It was not OK. Having waited for about half an hour to be seated, we looked at the menu and carefully decided on the options as we were hurried by the staff, in true Hong Kong style. The selections seemed pretty solid but once my friend handed over her little scrap of paper, the waitress became a little annoyed. She took our pencil and crossed off all the things that were not halal - basically the whole menu. Disappointed, we walked out to try and find another place. I wasn't in control so I didn't really mind but I'm sort of used to sniffing out somewhere interesting but my friend was much more hung up on a recommended restaurant or something that felt known. We eventually found somewhere but I don't remember it well. It was fine. Absolutely fine.
It was nice to see my friend that had recently moved. She seemed well and excited to have made the move to a new country and alive with the opportunity but a little stressed, also, with the burdens of choice. They had not yet moved into their own place and were staying in a temporary apartment while they worked out the city. I guess that is pretty exciting.
After dinner, I returned over the water - it was a lovely evening and I thought it wise to take the star ferry which gave a lovely view as we were crossing.
The weather was not going to hold out over the few days so I knew I needed something undercover. I sort of knew that. But I also knew I wanted to see things so I made my way to Kowloon and encountered an astonishing downpour. The rain was truly torrential and that made it a sight to behold. I got very wet, but at the same time, quite enjoyed the visual splendour of Hong Kong Bay in these conditions - I'd not seen anything like it before.
Like a fool, in that rain, I decided to make my way to Lan Tau Island, via boat, which is home to a huge Buddha. It was popular with tourists and so did still have quite a few visitors but it was not teeming with them. It was, however, teeming with water. From the boat, I got a bus to the Buddha which was not exactly full of people.
The area around the Buddha, Ngong Ping village, has been made a little more tourist friendly by making much of it appear to be a theme park version of the olden times - a little like Spirited Away. The Buddha itself is breathtaking and there are plenty of other small sights to see including many statues and a Monastery - all worth a few moments of your time.
The cable car took me back to a train station so it was fairly easy to get back to "Central". I had a flight to Busan early in the morning/late at night but my "host" was also returning so we thought it would be nice to meet up for dinner. I went back to get my stuff sorted and pack it off at the city air terminal (always a great idea) before dinner which was at a Cantonese restaurant. My friend was supposed to be coming to Japan too so we did a little catching up and also confirmed what we were doing (my plans had changed a bit after the ferry cancellation). It was short but sweet before I departed for the airport - which is barely even worth remarking on. My flight to Busan was at 2am - so I would arrive early but would it be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?
CLICK HERE FOR (many) HONG KONG PHOTOS
Hong Kong is unmistakably Chinese but when I first came all those years ago, I laboured under the misapprehension that it would be terribly English around these parts. With a nod to the (recent at the time) colonial past, I had breezily assumed that English would be very easily used and looked forward to being a little more comfortable in getting around than I had been. I was wrong. Repeatedly. As I wandered around Kowloon looking for something to eat, the neon was bright, the people were plentiful and I very much knew that I was in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong of both imagination and memory.
I made my way to the exit and waited at the bus stop and checked the timetable - the buses did not seem particularly frequent. Not long after a minivan came beeping along the road quite rapidly and then stopping at the bus stop also quite rapidly. The door opened and the driver motioned to come in. I said in English that I was waiting for whichever bus I had seen on the bus stop sign and he motioned again to get on. I did, but I did not pay a fee and was told, in English, "later". I should have been wary. I was a bit wary. There were other people on the bus and they looked like they didn't know each other so I felt like it was probably OK.
The minibus picked up speed and I wondered whether it was going to be OK. The other passengers seemed fine and I saw a big led display number stuck at the front shooting up in value - this must have been the speed of the minibus. It felt a lot faster down the hill along a semi-winding road in a minibus though but that speed indicator, strangely enough, made me feel much safer as looking out of the window really did not...
Fortunately, the bus ended up exactly where I wanted to go - back to the end of the line and I paid a small fee to the bus driver to get off (he was effectively holding me hostage).
The end of the line is also the beginning, of course, and I had wanted to ride the rails from one end to another (I wasn't really going to go to the other end, but pretty close). After a spot of lunch and a quick look around the harbour and park, I settled onto the tram on the top deck. There aren't many places to get a double deck tram and it seemed a great way to soak in the city's atmosphere while still moving toward where I was meant to be in the evening.
A quick skip across the water took me back to Kowloon where I was due to meet a friend outside the mosque.
This friend had recently moved to the city and seemed to be in that first flush of excitement and intrigue which is always a little intoxicating to be around. We made our way to, and through, the unknown to go to a dim sum place. A lot of Chinese food is pretty piggy so I really was not convinced that this would be a fruitful journey but we went to this shop which had been recommended for them. They had rather sweet scraps of paper that they'd given by the mosque requesting halal and no pig which would protect and enable them to go somewhere safe in the knowledge that it would be OK. It was not OK. Having waited for about half an hour to be seated, we looked at the menu and carefully decided on the options as we were hurried by the staff, in true Hong Kong style. The selections seemed pretty solid but once my friend handed over her little scrap of paper, the waitress became a little annoyed. She took our pencil and crossed off all the things that were not halal - basically the whole menu. Disappointed, we walked out to try and find another place. I wasn't in control so I didn't really mind but I'm sort of used to sniffing out somewhere interesting but my friend was much more hung up on a recommended restaurant or something that felt known. We eventually found somewhere but I don't remember it well. It was fine. Absolutely fine.
It was nice to see my friend that had recently moved. She seemed well and excited to have made the move to a new country and alive with the opportunity but a little stressed, also, with the burdens of choice. They had not yet moved into their own place and were staying in a temporary apartment while they worked out the city. I guess that is pretty exciting.
After dinner, I returned over the water - it was a lovely evening and I thought it wise to take the star ferry which gave a lovely view as we were crossing.
The weather was not going to hold out over the few days so I knew I needed something undercover. I sort of knew that. But I also knew I wanted to see things so I made my way to Kowloon and encountered an astonishing downpour. The rain was truly torrential and that made it a sight to behold. I got very wet, but at the same time, quite enjoyed the visual splendour of Hong Kong Bay in these conditions - I'd not seen anything like it before.
The area around the Buddha, Ngong Ping village, has been made a little more tourist friendly by making much of it appear to be a theme park version of the olden times - a little like Spirited Away. The Buddha itself is breathtaking and there are plenty of other small sights to see including many statues and a Monastery - all worth a few moments of your time.
The cable car took me back to a train station so it was fairly easy to get back to "Central". I had a flight to Busan early in the morning/late at night but my "host" was also returning so we thought it would be nice to meet up for dinner. I went back to get my stuff sorted and pack it off at the city air terminal (always a great idea) before dinner which was at a Cantonese restaurant. My friend was supposed to be coming to Japan too so we did a little catching up and also confirmed what we were doing (my plans had changed a bit after the ferry cancellation). It was short but sweet before I departed for the airport - which is barely even worth remarking on. My flight to Busan was at 2am - so I would arrive early but would it be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?
CLICK HERE FOR (many) HONG KONG PHOTOS
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